Picnic

Necklaces for the Teachers

We have had the most amazing teachers this year and I wanted to thank them with a handmade gift, my favorite kind, at the end of the school year.

Necklace How-To

Supplies:  vinyl disc beads in an assortment of colors, thin gold chain link (small enough to fit through the holes in the beads), 2 gold jump rings (small enough to fit through the chain link), 1 gold clasp, 2 pairs of needle nose pliers, and 1 pair of wire cutters.

1.  String as many vinyl beads as you want onto the gold chain.  You may choose 8 inches of beads or just two, it's totally up to you.

2.  Standing in front a mirror, decide the length of the chain you'd like.

3.  Cut the chain with the wire cutters.

4.  Open one of the jump rings using the pliers and attach to the end of the chain.  To open the jump ring, twist open, do not pull apart or it may break.

5.  Open the second jump ring and attach to the other end of the chain and include the clasp to that end as well before closing up the ring.

 

For packaging... I decorated some kraft boxes with my kid's paint set.

Pendleton Pillows

Oh my, it was an exciting day at the fabric store when I came across these delicious Pendleton wools.  Desperate for a need to buy them, I reminded myself that our cabin needed a few new accent pieces in the living room to make the space cozy.  These textiles would be perfect for the long winters.  I justified the steep price by only buying a half yard of each, which proved to be enough for 3 new pillows.

To Make:

Measure your pillow and cut 2 rectangles out of the fabric, taking into account the placement of the pattern and adding a 1/2" seam allowance to all four sides.

With the right sides of your fabric together, sew along 3 sides of your rectangle leaving one of the longer sides open.  

Turn right side out and stuff your pillow inside.

Using a running catch stitch, close up your pillow.  A video tutorial can be seen here.

My Favorite Vintage Shops on Etsy

fan from Whisky Ginger

old wooden buoy from Rescued Junk

Old Scrabble Board Game from Vintage Jane

Dansk Mod Pitcher from Sassboxclassics

Cathrine Holm Lotus Bowls from Hindsvik

Yellow Desk Light from Found Vintage Style

Vintage Auction Paddles from ethanollie

Target papers from Oh, Albatross

Salterini Patio Chair Set from The Modern Historic

Hairpin Table from Gallivanting Girls

Magazine Rack from Cast and Crew

Wool army blanket from Ani & Rose

Collectors Shelf

I saw this shelf on Pinterest and loved the asymetry of it and thought it would be a nice addition to Bijou's room and perfect for her inherited shell collection we had recently brought out of storage.

The seashell collection came from Doug's grandmother who enjoyed collecting things from her travels, some near and some far.  She lived the last quarter century of her life at the top of Nob Hill in San Francisco and would often ride the cable car down the hill to browse the seashell shops at Fisherman's Wharf.  After each purchase, she would write the type of shell and where it was from onto a little piece of paper and tuck it inside like a little fortune.  These little notes are treasured by us and her great-grandchildren, whom she never had the chance to meet.

Bijou and I did a 30-day drawing project over the last month, each choosing one shell to draw (or paint) each day.  Both are displayed on the shelf, Bijou's in the top left corner.  I loved the simplicity of her painting on day 12.  It was such a nice way to connect and wind down from our busy days.  I admit, we did cheat a few times, missing a day and playing catch up the next night.  I totally encourage you to try this with your budding artists in your household.

The shelf was spotted on Pinterest but knocked off by Grandpa.  Thank you Grandpa!  It was fun spending the day with him in his wood shop even though I really didn't participate in the building of the shelf very much.  In my spare time, I snapped photos of the junk treasures laying around and played dress-up with some of the safety gear.

Photography Apps to Try

Phoster... Bijou's new favorite app to play with on my phone.  She took the above photo and made this poster of me drawing designs for an upcoming screen printing project at the studio last weekend. "Live What You Love"... a good mantra.

Pic Jointer.  I was just playing around with the app and plugging in random photos I had on my phone.  The above collage includes a photo of my new USA cutting board from The Curiosity Shoppe for Target, a bowl of apples fresh from the farmer's market that were snacked on by at least one toddler in my house and the sign at Ippuku restaurant in Downtown Berkeley that is INSANELY good.  I totally loved that they made me juice my own grapefruit for my sake cocktail.  Something different.

SigNOTE. A fun app where you can add cute little hand-drawn pictures and words to your photos.

Kiddies @ Heath Ceramics

My friend Sarah and I took our girls to Heath Ceramics in Sausalito this past weekend for  a holiday kids event.  The girls got to get their hands dirty in clay, sip hot cocoa, and hit up the Modern Kids photo booth and Asher Bakehouse bake sale.  

Bijou told me she made a nest with eggs.

It was a gloomy day but we indulged in the gelato they were passing out anyway.

I do love a good bakesale, yum!

Franny & Bijou makin' stuff.

Valentine Gifts for the family

For Doug- A personalized wood tree slice/candle holder.

Bragging Bags

For Olive- A fuzzy felted love bowl for little earrings and things.

The Fuzzy Monkey

For Bijou- Five-years-old is the perfect age to master the yo-yo.

Something's Hiding In Here

For Wilder- What 5-month-old doesn't need a mustache on a stick?

Something's Hiding In Here

For Eero- A collection of stamps.  Now I realize he won't be able to use them for probably another year and a half but I figured it's never to early to start the art supply collection.

Happy Doodle Land

Driftwood Decor

 I scavenged the beach this summer for driftwood after seeing these driftwood fish on Made By Joel.  I knew it would make for perfect handmade decor for my beach-pirate themed nursery for the twins.  Seriously... decorating a nursery is SO MUCH FUN!  I had a little hay-day yesterday shopping for pillows for the "reading nook" on Etsy.  Here's what I bought...

 Black Cross Organic Pillow, $30 

Petit French Industrial Pillows, $32 

Hand-painted Octopus Pillow, $36

ok...I realize this has nothing to do with the beach or pirates but I just love Skinny Laminx's shop so much I couldn't resist.

Herds Pillow Cover, $30 

Things I Love- Craft Books

I might be a bit crazy, thinking I might actually be able to accomplish a few projects with 3 little ones running around but Rubyellen from Cakies does it, so I plan to give it a shot.  Here are my newest additions to my craft book family....

 

Simple Sewing For Baby by Lotta Jansdotter

 

Linen, Wool, Cotton by Akiko Mano

Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner  

  

Things I Love- Babies

It's a good thing too since I'll be spending 24/7 with two baby boys in about a month or so.  To document this crazy experience of having 2 babies growing inside me, my lovely, always generous and extremely talented friend Jackie from Avocado & Papaya did a little photo shoot with me on Sunday afternoon.  Here are a few of my favorites...

 

{me, 32 weeks pregnant with fraternal twin boys}

   

{My motto for after the twins arrival... just one day at a time}

 

{Apparently, drinking 100 oz. of water a day does prevent the cankles}

 

{This prop got polished off by moi by the end of the photo shoot}

 

{this=UNCOMFORTABLE}

 
 

{I hope my boys spend enough time in the workshop with their Grandpa to learn a thing or two}

 

{beach ball}

 

{Baby B decided to throw a punch for the photo. See the bump on the upper part of my belly?}

 

{Until this photo shoot, I've kept my belly hidden, as you can tell by my nearly iridescent skin tone}

 

{I'm SO ready}

Thank you Jackie!