I am pleased, honored, thrilled, and completely beside myself with excitement at having been invited to be a judge in the Alluminare Design Challenge on Homeworkshop.com. 475 delicious patterns were submitted from around the world, and the one and only Mr. Christopher Lowell has narrowed them down to ten finalists. Keep an eye on Homeworkshop.com — within the next week, voting will begin and another designer will be inducted to the World Class Designers of Alluminare.com! Good luck to all!
Category Archives: DIY Awesomeness
How To Make A Pattern Out Of Your Friend’s Face
I’ve been working extrariffic-hard on a project, to the point of near brain burst, so when SparkyFirePants posted this contest today, I couldn’t resist the diversion. I’ll show you what I sent in, but let me show you the progression.
Here’s his original photo:

I cut him out:

I made a pattern with him:

Then I thought, well, hm, that’s sure boring. And kind of obvious. Let’s be different. And then I noticed the shapes created by the Not David parts were kind of… cool. And we have our pattern.

Wah-lah! I think it kind of looks like chandeliers hanging up-side down and right-side up.
Valentine’s Day 2010
A little pattern or two:


*Coming soon to Spoonflower
And a print:

Available as a card on Cafepress and as a print on Etsy.
I could definitely be persuaded to update the colorways on these for specific uses. Talk to me.
FTC disclosure: if you buy my stuff, I make money.
Crafty Wallpaper Contest: The Results!
The wallpaper craft is finished! Yipee! And I have the pictures to walk you through the steps.
(*NOTE: I am not a photographer. I apologize for this in advance.)
Cool Picture Framed Art
1. Buy nine – 1 foot square frames and spray paint them black.
I modified this step. I bought 32′ of 1×2 and mitered the ends to create 8 1′ frames, and spray painted the sides black. The reasons were cost and functionality. Frames can be expensive, and finding eight with flat faces was going to be costly and difficult. When you can’t find what you want, make it yourself, I say!
2. Carefully cut out a bunch of 1-foot x 1-foot squares of wallpaper – it’s ideal because you don’t need to trim or break the pattern.
I modified this step as well. It made more sense to me to paint the design on the front of the paper and then cut the squares. Thank you, thank you to Design Hole and Alluminare for the wallpaper! The paper is really strong and durable – believe me, I’m clumsy and I didn’t even nick it! – and the surface texture is great for painting.
3. Tack the squares to the front of the frames (and only the fronts, no wrap-around).
I used Tacky Glue. I love it! It is super strong and dries clear. I just like the stuff – no kickback for me if you buy it because of this site.
4. Arrange the frames into a 3-foot × 3-foot grid and secure them together (temporarily, carefully). Find a simple, graphic design and paint it in white across all the pieces.
Modified: see above.
5. Separate the pieces, affix to the wall in the same grid order, but about 1 to 2 inches apart on all sides.
(This is where my sucky photog skills really show off.)
And wah-lah! Wallart.
What’s that you say? Where’s the rest of the wallpaper? I’m glad you asked!
Before & After: The China Cabinet
I had some leftover wallpaper, so I decided to use it in this china cabinet spruce-up.
Before
After


Even put crushed velvet on the doors. Now, all those heirlooms have a proper place!
You Don’t Write… You Don’t Call…
Ha. Actually had a college boy-interest say that to me once. There was a reason.
Dear blog-readers, I’ve not kept up with you – I’m sorry! I’ve been traveling, first to my family for Thanksgiving, then to Oregon to see friends and family. My Google Reader has over 300 unread items! I can’t wait to see what everyone has been up to. And I am on the hunt for Christmas table setting ideas, presently.
This is also partly why I’ve been absent. We moved into our house October 26th and the chipper bird in me offered to have the Big Family Christmas Dinner at our new house. I’ve been a tornado of painting and decorating since. It’s our first house (every wall was hospital white – ack!) and I want the Grand Unveiling-Slash-Christmas to be just perfect. Today, I will be putting the finishing touches on all the painting projects, applying the final coat on the refinished china cabinet, and rearranging the living room. Hobby Lobby & Home Depot, here I come!
On top of trying to channel Martha the last few weeks, I’ve been working. Two (TWO!) lines of Christmas cards, a few patterns, a tutorial, tons and tons of sketching and I have a major-huge project next week. No, I do not take any drugs. But I drink an inordinate amount of coffee. And I don’t sleep…much.
So my fine feathered friends, as I have nothing of my own to show you, I’d like to point out some really juicy bits I’ve seen on other blogs (no particular order, no particular category).
- Do You Look Cheesy, Dull, And Out Of Touch? and My Designer Sucks! Posts by the infamous Sparky Firepants. The first is an excellent 1-2-3 for why people need designers; the second is a cringe-worthy 1-2-3 why people might hate designers. Excellent information in both.
- These Cheat Sheets by Made In England made me laugh out loud (yes, LOL) yesterday. Fantastic concept, and I like the design. Oh, and they’re FREE.

- Cry Translator for iPhone on Ohdeedoh. I don’t have a baby, I don’t have an iPhone, but I know plenty of people who do and THIS IS BRILLIANT. But…does it work?

- 4 Beautiful Holiday Place Setting Ideas from Design Hole Online. I like the 4th one best!
- My photo shoot with Aaron Courter Photography. He’s so incredibly talented. Well done, Aaron. Very, very well done.
OK kids, I’m off to Home Depot & Hobby Lobby. (Let’s hope DH isn’t reading this.) Enjoy your day!
Wallpaper! It’s Here!
I just received my wallpaper from Alluminare (thanks to Design Hole). Thank goodness the FedEx guy didn’t leave it in our soggy, snowy bushes (like the mailman did with my new coat – grr!). It came all nicely packaged in a HUGE cardboard tube.

I opened the tube, and inside was a plastic sleeve, housing the wallpaper roll.

I like the colors I chose against my dark purple walls. I think the project will turn out really well!

(No, the pillows are not staying. Yes, there will be a piano along that wall. Stay tuned!)
Wallpaper Ordered: Check!
I just ordered this wallpaper from Alluminare for the projects I’m going to start soon. I’m really looking forward to them! I’ll post the DIY steps when I’m finished, but for now, here’s a taste of what’s to come:

Shed-yule (said with a very fine British accent)
The next week or so might be sparse, due to a very ill-timed sinus infection and our moving into our NEW HOUSE! (New to us, I mean.) But after all this dramz, you can look forward to
two to three (potentially four) DIYs:
- The wallpaper contest project. The colors for the room are coming together quite nicely. I need to order from Alluminare.
- I have a china cabinet, found on craigslist for $25, that I plan to turn into something amazing, using the leftovers from the wallpaper contest project.
- I’m going to make hand-made pattern stamps and go crazy on our guest bedroom. My mother-in-law will be there to help me, so we just might jot down our “howdy dos*” for you.
So do stay tuned. Back to the chicken soup for me (sniffle, sniffle, etc.).
*I stole that phrase from Ellie Snow’s Mint Design Blog. Cute new series she’s doing!
New T-Shirt From Design Hole
Remember the Crafty Wallpaper Contest? (I won!) Part of my winnings was a Design Hole T-Shirt, and I received it today!

Thank you, Jennifer!
We move into our new house in 9 days, and I have plans for the wallpaper I’m going to order from Alluminare (including, but not limited to, the idea that won me both the wallpaper and the shirt). I’m so excited!







