My Friends Are Talented (My Cousin Is Talented)

"He who works with his hands is a laborer.

He who works with his head is a craftsman.

He who works with his hands and his head is an artist." 

-St. Francis of Assisi

Meet Mike Ambrose. My cousin, who I have memories of running around with in the backyard of our grandparents San Gabriel home, memories of going on summer camping trips on the California Coast, and who is so so talented. He recently was interviewed for a film collection called "My Friends Are Talented". I just had to share it with you, because Mike truly embodies pursuing what he loves, and taking a risk. He is self taught. He is entrepreneurial. He is awesome. I'm totally encouraged by him to continue waking up each day and pursuing my dreams--and I hope you are too. 

You can check out Mike's handmade pieces at Ambrose Woodworks.

Finally "Us"

I've never felt like the Christmas cards I send out are truly "us." And to be frank, I never truly felt delighted in ordering them, because my experience has been void or creativity. I find a template, plug in my posed photo for the year, click "order", and go on my way. Perhaps its because I come from a line of Christmas card makers (or at least, that's what I've coined my grandpa and uncle who carry on the tradition), with my grandpa hand making each and every card when Christmas arrived, and now his son, my uncle, doing just the same. I come from a family who literally makes everything they are capable of (we are one creative bunch!) Perhaps our card has never truly felt like "us" because Matt and I  are all about the process--the process that comes with doing, and making--and not just  the outcome of a product. Don't get me wrong, I completely love the cards I get from my friends and family. They are so "them", template or handmade, they fit the sender. However, when it came to "us", its never felt like a process. Its an upload and go, a disappointment in the price tag, or a last minute rush--and then that's it, its done. 

As I get older, and hopefully wiser, I'm learning that the process is what counts. And really all that our cards have been these last few years are a product, completely missing the enjoyment of slowing down, sitting around a table, and painting, cutting, glueing, and getting messy while creating our cards. What I love most about the ornaments on our Christmas tree is that each one has a story. Even more than that I love that my entire life, someone has taken the time to slow down and tell me the story behind them. They invested time in the process of Christmas traditions. For you, the process of making a card or hearing the story behind where a passed down ornament came from might not be as important, and that's okay! But for me, it is central to who I am--that's how I tick. The process that comes with making traditions and being creative is what fills the crevices of my being.

Although they might not look as put together as let's say Minted or Tiny Prints, they are "us." (Discalimer : I am by no means bashing these companies, I LOVE them!) When I sat down to make our cards this year, I really focused on the process. I focused on the process so that one day I could pull out cards past, some that we made this very Christmas, and tell our kids about them as we take them out of a dusty box, passing along story and tradition. 

This year, our cards find themselves hand painted on recycled paper and meshed with Prinstagram Mini Prints. I just ordered the Mini Prints and chose a random assortment of Instagram photos from the past year. I decided to be less stress and go with Intsta for our "family photo." Kinda fun, right? I cannot wait to assemble and mail to them off!

What about you, do you find delight in picking out or making your Christmas card? What are your traditions that you cannot wait to tell the stories of and pass along to family?

Wooden Bib Necklaces, Part II

After making the natural wooden bib necklace last week, I could not get enough. I mean, seriously, this is my favorite necklace right now. So I made another. And another. Are you catching on? I used up all of the wooden beads in my path. ALL of them. Colored beads, and natural beads. All wooden and chunky and glorious. I couldn't be happier with what a little wax thread and wooden beads can become. Take a look! For the tutorial, hop on over the Part I, here.

Making Wooden Bib Necklaces, Part I

Yet again, get ready for another one of those Pinterest projects that I found on a wonderful DIY blog, that could not be shaken from my "must make" mindset: the wooden bib necklace. Pattern credit fully due to Martha Stuart, and wooden bead styling inspiration fully from to Heather of Poppy Haus. 

Although Heather and Martha do a lovely job of giving direction on how to make this amazing statement piece, I found while I was making it that if a few more steps were included in the original tutorial, this already simple project would be that much easier. The wooden beads are much larger than the beads in Martha Stuarts original pattern, so to go about this particular style, a few adaptations have been made. Using the original pattern, plus a few pointers from my experience making the necklace, you'll be well on your way to quite possibly the best bib necklace you'll wear all summer (thank you, Heather, for the amazing inspiration!)

Girl Shops Globe

It goes without saying that one of my favorite parts of travel are the markets and shops. When we were in Peru, it was the textiles; in Buenos Aires, the shoes and antiques. Did any of you ever see the show Man Shops Globe on the Sundance Channel? It chronicles Keith Johnson doing, what I might consider, my dream job: searching for the most unique and beautiful objects and decor for Anthropologie. It was always a tricky show to catch when it was airing--but you can watch the episodes online now at Sundance.com. Anyways, Man Shops Globe follows Johnson, who travels six months of the year, to ends-of-the-earth excursions, from flea markets in Paris to remote villages in India to obscure art studios in Turkey. Did I mention dream job? When I travel I always think of that show and what Keith would say--would it make the cut and take the trip back? I try to only bring back items from my travels that I couldn't find elsewhere, that are part of the culture or folklore art, and/or just tickle my design fancy.

Sprinkle Covered

I realized something while looking at snapshots from our trip. If I had to describe Sayulita, Mexico in all of its splendor, my description may be best given as a metaphor. Sayulita is the chocolate-dipped-sprinkle-covered-frozen-banana of my dreams. It is bright, and rich, and messy, and melt in your mouth perfection. And when you are enjoying it, all the rest of the world disappears. The moment is about enjoying each bite. You cannot help but think of the chocolatey, melty, sprinkle goodness that is the dipped banana--that is Sayulita. And even better, is when all of your friends have choco banana with you--everyone ooey and gooey and enjoying it together. Sayulita, and frozen diped bananas, are best this way. 

The "sprinkles" of Sayulta are all over the place. Colors here and there, everywhere. The markets are filled to the brim with hot hues of every shade. At one store, called the Gypsy Gallery, hand loomed and woven vintage fabrics are ALL over. It was hard to resist filling up a second suitcase! Handmade, bright, and rich textiles--perfection, right?

5 more days!

Only FIVE more days to join up with kickstarter and support Jenna and Blake's new line of wooden accessories become a reality! Here is a little bit more about The Birch and The Bee: 

While the elegance of precious metal and stone is undeniable, there is something comforting about wood. We use it to make luxurious furnishings, sturdy cutting surfaces, and delicate music boxes; so why not jewelry? That’s the question we found ourselves asking when The Birch and The Bee was born.

the Birch & the Bee

My amazing cousin Jenna and her husband Blake are kickstarting their new line the Birch & the Bee. I believe in what they are making and hope you do too! (Those earrings! I get to choose a pair, but don't know which to pick they are all so stinkin' cute!) Take a moment to enjoy their kickstarter video and meander over to the Birch & the Bee (.com)

I'm so excited about this! XO, Lauren

Jenna's Whimsical Handmade Goods.

Meet Jenna. She is more than just my cousin. More than just a best friend. More than just a woman with a huge heart and a love for the little things. More than just a girl with a crazy creative mind and an expansive imagination. And more than just a grown up who is okay with posing like a dinosaur :)  Jenna and her sister Katie have been more like sister's to me. Some of my best memories are from adventures with these two. Jenna has always been that older girl in my life who I thought (and still think) was just so cool. And let me tell you, she is cool and so much more. 

Jenna is the creator of Jennasaurusfun-- her darling Etsy shop full of handmade goods. Crocheted octopus cozies, whimsical beanies (like "Lucy" the dinosaur above), scarves, and a new line that I am so excited about! Teaming up with her design smart husband Blake, there are wooden rings in her shop. A monster, diamond, and owl are first to premiere. And I hear she has so many more to come. You should go check Jenna out. I promise, you will love her. 

Jennasaurusfun Blog  ||  Jenna's Etsy Shop  ||  Jenna on Twitter 

[photo source: all photos are originals and the property of Jennasaurusfun ]

And remember to enter the Pinkies Up Giveaway with Shabby Apple--over here! 

Hand Painted Tea Towels {Maraschino Red}.

When I first got out my flour sack linen, Tulip soft Fabric paint, and flat rounded paint brush, I had the thoughts of painting my next tea towel with a geometric pattern such as stripes or chevron. Yet something held me back from painting. I love chevron, yet I am beginning to feel its loosing its novelty as every other DIY I come across embraces the zip zag pattern. Believe me, I still love it, and you would most likely wow me with your very own DIY showcasing the pattern, as I am still adding chevron pins to my Pinterest boards--however, I am needing a new pattern to be my new chevron, you know what I mean? And in regards to stripes, my hand felt a bit wobbly, so that idea went out the window!

To try a pattern with the similar zig zag that is near and dear to the chevron lover's heart, yet add in a new little twist, I decided to go with this hour glass shape that I continued to dream about from a recent perusing of West Elm pillow cases HERE. The pattern still embodies that zig zag quality, yet it somewhat tricks the eye with the brush stroke length increasing and decreasing in size like it does. I also love that the pattern goes well with the Ikat prints in my home and compliments the last tea towel I painted HERE.

To start, I used blue painters tape to hold in place the plain white flour sack towel on my kitchen counter. Underneath the towel was a drop cloth as the paint does seep through a bit because the material is rather thin. I started painting from the top left corner of the fabric and worked my way down.  Each vertical line painted was either a bit larger or shorter than the proceeding line (as you can see in the photographs). Each line was the width of the brush I used. I did this purposefully to keep a consistent and easy line width. Below you can see the process of painting one line:

After painting the very first hourglass row at the top of the linen, I went back to the left side of the towel and began line two. To master the zig zag pattern in this hourglass look, each row needs to compliment the row above and below. This means that where the row is in its thickest points, the rows above and below should be in their skinniest. After your first two rows, it is easy to see the zig zag and use that as reference for the spacing of your following rows. The main trick is to stay consistent in spacing of where you start and end each row. Just use your eye and your gut to make the call on whether it looks right, that's what I did! After completing about ten rows, I left it to dry for about 3 hours. When washing, wash on cold and preferably not with your clothing (you never want to chance getting any remnants of fabric on your favorite comfy tee!).

This tea towel is so bright and cheery. I have a lot of aqua blue in my kitchen along with the almost black cabinets and stainless steel appliances. This red really adds a color pop and I just love it! And, like I have said in the past, my outfits always seem to translate into whatever I am painting, designing, or swooning over. 

Its true,West Elm pillows have been a common inspiration for my projects. You can see the fabric chevron inspiration HERE. And in case you missed the last tea towels painted, you can check those out--over here. Any thoughts on the next hand painted tea towel design?

Hand Painted Towels {Just in Time for Tea}

The tea towel to the English, the dish towel to the Yank. The companion of the freshly washed dish, the linen for the cook, and the fabric to soften a table. Before the tea towel was mass-produced (post Industrial Revolution), and popping up everywhere making its way to every home store near you, this linen was held as something novel. In the 18th century the dish towel was "a special linen drying cloth used by the mistress of the house to dry her precious and expensive china tea things" {source}. Sounds quite pristine doesn't it? I have always had a love for dish towels, and I can distinctly remember the very day that I took notice to this particular linen. I was close to 7 years old, in North Dakota, at a lady's house. She was a relative that knew my mom well, but I was just a little girl, and I don't recall much about this particular day except for the tall set of stairs in this old house, the wooden banister, the warm yellow hues, and the drawer that was opened upstairs. It was filled with vintage hand embroidered tea towels. I had never seen something so delicate and detailed like that. Embroidered deer, kittens, geese, daisies (the obvious details a 7 year old would notice). I remember looking at the few towels that my mom took home with her from North Dakota to California after that day in that old house. I think in some small way, those dish towels are part of the repertoire that made me love pretty details in home design, with bits of vintage flare. 

SO fast forward to now. Just like those hand-made embroidered dish towels, I wanted to make my own hand-made set. I had stumbled upon some flour sack towels on sale at the grocery store, purchased soft matte fabric paint, and set out with my paintbrush. For my first towel, I hand painted the design that is on my favorite pot holder from Anthropologie (a bridal shower gift that I use daily still, almost 4 years later!). It is a really unique design, and I felt up to the challenge. Using the kitchen counter as my painting space, I placed my paint cloth and a hard plastic board under the flour sack cloth (the paint does seap through  just a bit, if the cloth is thin) which I secured with a few pieces of tape (to ensure it would not move while I painted!). The painting process went like this:

I still have yet to wash it, but I know it will turn out fine as fabric paint is washable. I still have three more towels to paint on! I would say this first one was a success. I love the idea of painting a set of two or three towels to give as a gift {or maybe a future Giveaway?}. Hand painted towels can be so personalized and range from intricate to simple. I just love the way they can bring extra life to a kitchen, and for the Brits, tea time! Someone put the kettle on.

(Part I) Over the toilet pretty!

There is a huge lack of storage space in our bathroom. When searching for storage options, too pricey yet my taste vs. rickety yet my price was the dilemma. When Matt came to me with his drafting paper in hand and a sketch up of the perfect over the toilet storage unit, I pretty much melted at the thought. Collaboration, a trip to buy wood, a free quart of paint from Ace, and some weekend hours of labor later, and we have the perfect little bathroom storage. You can see what our bathroom looked like before HERE, and stay tuned for Part II of this little project. (OH, and leave a comment if you want the plans/sketch/wood dimensions added in to the detailed post- a.k.a. you are just jumping at the thought that you could build this too, and get a free quart of paint at Ace (Aug. 4th!), and make this shelf for your very own commode. Because if this is the case, I will make sure they are included!).