Sunday, September 23, 2012

DIY // Invisible Bathroom Drawer Organizer


Happy Sunday everyone; I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.  Here’s a quick and easy DIY project to kick off the new week.  I missed our last recycling pick up and had an overflow of plastics and glass in our little milk crate that we keep in the kitchen.  This inspired me to take out a few items and reuse them around the house.  One of them was a plastic cookie container from the bakery that got transformed into this neat and simple drawer organizer for my bathroom.


Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 plastic container with at divided sections on the bottom
- a pair of scissors

Step 1.  Rinse container.  If there are any stickers or labels on it, run them under some warm water before gently peeling them off.

Step 2.  Cut along the plastic hinge that connects the top and bottom of the container.  Be sure to sure to cut down any sharp edges.

Step 3.  Place container into a drawer and get organizing.

Wasn’t that easy?

Monday, September 3, 2012

Relaxing Monday Picks


In the spirit of Labor Day, this Monday’s picks will help you relax and unwind.  I hope everyone will have a clam, stress free week and be able to make some time for you.



Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood is the book I have been unwinding with each night.  It’s deals with the themes loss and change but doesn’t drown you in the subject.  Instead, Murakami’s words gently lull around you and pull you effortlessly into the memory of the main character.  It is engrossing without pulling you in so deep that you can’t step out; that’s why it’s the perfect book to help get your mind off the day for an hour before bed.

Even if you’re not a tea drinker, you will be soothed by Teavana’s Monkey Picked Oolong.  Its delicate flavor unravels from whole tea leaves in a light balance of earthy sweetness.  Any time of day is perfect to treat yourself to a cup and escape for a bit.  While you’re at it, why not enjoy that tea in these adorable cups from Dawn Vachon?  I find their pastel pallet irresistible and am impressed by the illusion of softness she has managed to create.

Finally, I couldn’t mention relaxation without pointing you in the direction of Lush’s Dreamtime bath melt.  Drop this into a tub of hot water and your bath will be transformed into a calming sea of jasmine, lavender, chamomile and sandalwood.  It’s aromatherapy qualities make it perfect for just before bed time.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Fragrance Inspired Stationery

I have some letters to send out to friends and decided to make a new stationery set, inspired by Marc Jacobs' Oh, Lola! packaging.  I have no idea how the fragrance smells, but the design is wonderful.  The bright flower shaped perfume card caught my eye in the department store and I picked up a few of them, intending to use them for crafts.  Once I got them home I realized they were too pretty to cut up or paste to anything, so I tucked them away in my ephemera collection.

To hold my snail mail, I wanted to make something quick, colorful, and playful.  I remembered the Oh, Lola! cards and dug them out.  What attracts me most about the design is the bold use of color and shape.  The loosely defined petals are layered to create a poping flower that jumps right out at you, and I wanted to create a similar effect for my envelopes.
Instead of flowers, I cut out some black and white bird pictures and pasted them to vibrant printing paper.  To add to the playfulness, I used contrasting colors instead of monochromatic ones.  After cutting them out and leaving a generous border, I picked some backing paper and cut out large organic shapes.  I layered and pasted them all to some blank pastel manufactured envelopes I had.

After making the bird ones I decided to create another set using some blank labels.  I'm happy with how they both turned out and can't wait to mail them.  I definitely want to toy around with this idea some more and perhaps make some influenced by Jacobs' Daisy fragrance bottle.