lemmemakeit

mourning

2012-01-30T21:53:00.001-05:00

My fascination with Victorian and Georgian mourning jewelry lead me to carve a few skull charms—each sculpted out of wax and cast in sterling.

It may seem morbid but Momento Mori (translated as "Remember you will die") artwork and jewelry was not a an uncommon theme in the past. The purpose, to remind people of their mortality. I was sadly reminded last week.

My Yiayia (Greek Grandma) passed away on Monday, January 23rd at about 10 to 10 in the evening. She would have been 96 in April. I have to keep reminding myself that death is inevitable— something everyone will experience—and she lived a long healthy life.

It's just hard to accept that you will never see someone again, hard to imagine where they went and hard to swallow that their experience on planet earth in over. One of the last things she said to my mother before she died was, "I want to go home."

beading bracelets

2012-01-18T00:00:00.001-05:00

Hosanna did a couple posts on beaded bracelets (here & here) on thecraftsdept blog and I was eager to try some of the tutorials myself. There is a superb how-to (here) that solve the mystery of how to secure a strand of beads between two pieces of cord.

It takes about five beads into your first bracelet to master the process.

Tip: the larger the bead's hole the easier, so begin with a medium size bead.

I used Swarovski rondelle crystal beads with silk beading thread that conveniently has a beading needle attached. You can basically use any type cording, to sandwich the beads between, that you prefer and use that pretty vintage pearl button you've been saving as the toggle clasp.

Okay, now get started!

make paper clay polar bears & igloo!

2012-01-16T18:49:00.000-05:00

It totally slipped my mind that today, Martha's Snow Day show aired. As a child, I always played with clay and being stuck indoors with no school gave me the perfect opportunity (my sister & I would make endless miniature Fimo snowmen). What makes more sense than making polar bears and igloo (or snowmen) in between snow sledding and hot chocolate?

I recommend all parents have clay in their homes at all times. Its a great tool for endless imagination and entertainment for kids. Growing up, there weren't many options of clay types—we would work the crumbling Fimo for like 10 minutes before it was soft enough to hold together! Today, there are all sorts of clay out there. I am really into Paperclay—it's easy to work with, air dries, is light weight, is easily carved when dry and is completely non-toxic.

Sculpting these polar bears is merely sculpting at all and covering a upside down bowl with a sheet of clay to make an igloo couldn't be easier either. Watch the video to learn the step by step and be prepared for the next big storm.

Polar Bear snowball fight!

Jude's animal tapestry book

2012-01-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

Today, Martha posted on her blog about the tapestry book that I created for her first grandchild, Jude. Please check out her post—it captures how the book came together, including images of the process of making it.

Enjoy!

The Arctic.

The Ocean.

The Jungle.

Africa.

Antarctica.

felt animal art

2012-01-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

I posted on the craftsdept blog about the segment I did just before Christmas. A handful of wintery animals from the Arctic and Antarctica aloft ombre dip dyed wool felt stretched in an embroidery hoop. They really came out sweet and I look forward to experimenting in different palettes with other animals.

For the how-to video click here.

For additional photos check out here.

For the original inspiration look here.

Artsy videos that I enjoy. watch.

2012-01-05T21:16:00.000-05:00

I was introduced to the "Don't hug me I'm Scared" video by a 12 year old girl. It's pretty awesome—a must see. This is it collective has a couple other hilariously strange videos like "Bad things that can happen to you".

Hosanna posted "All That Glitters: The History of Shiny Things" on thecraftsdept blog recently. I have always wondered how glitter was produced and this little educational video does that and more.

I saw Hero by Miguel Endara on RageHaus and just love the dot calculating. I have always liked the only black dots illustration technique.

fringy tissue garland

2012-01-04T19:11:00.000-05:00

To distinguish where the ceremony part of my wedding would occur, I draped a strand of lights along with a white tissue paper garland that I made.

It's super easy—a couple layers of tissue paper, fringed and folded with a rope sandwiched and glued between. Done.

It was an inexpensive way to set the stage for a priceless occasion.

do-ho suh

2012-01-03T10:00:00.006-05:00

Back in October, I was able to visit Korean-born artist, Do-Ho Suh's exhibit just a couple days before the gallery's show ended. I was so blown away at the precision, craftsmanship and intricacy of his work that I wanted to share it with you.

Rendered in sheer polyester, these 1:1-scale, 3-D replicas are pinned in place like ethereal creatures in frames and Plexiglass boxes. Suh's attention to detail is so fine that he even includes the instructional text on this strand of lights.

I can't imagine the time spent and the patience in sewing all the tiny pieces of fabric together to create these structures. I imagine the fabric would fray and it would be nearly impossible to sew the tiny pieces together. Most people would have to be institutionalized if they attempted to make something like this, I would anyway. Jaw dropped— I was sincerely impressed.

I could have stared for hours at the gigantic dollhouse sliced open revealing a perfectly decorated interior, that stood in the center of the gallery, titled Fallen Star 1/5. Meticulously crafted, the to-scale model was a replica of Do Ho Suh's first American home, a three-story traditional in Providence, Rhode Island. In the living room, walls have collapsed as a model of Suh’s childhood home in Seoul crashes through the room.

"It’s an architectural mash-up as a metaphor for cultural dislocation."-Aaron Krach for Elle Decor

The detail was out of control incredible. I can't express how astonished I was—this project would take me a lifetime to accomplish. It was too perfect for me to swallow that one artist could hand make all the pieces to this magnificent sculpture. Do Ho Suh is an artist to go see in person if you get a chance.

clay shapes

2011-12-29T10:00:00.001-05:00

Right before our Christmas break, my fellow co-worker, Deb Jones, brought in the start of her beautiful handmade clay Crèche she had begun working on. She had been experiment with a chunk of Laguna Dry Hard Clay I gave her a couple weeks prior and I was thrilled to see her adorable creations. Passing supplies, like clay, along to people who don't work in the craft department at Martha but enjoy making things, is something I implement. Deb is an artist like most of the people I work with, but one of another kind—she paints the faces of all the guests, with makeup, that appear on Martha's show.

How sweet are her sleeping donkeys?!

And the little sheep!

She also made her own version of my clay mushrooms and a garden snail to slug on by them!

facebook status: married.

2011-12-28T18:00:00.002-05:00

Almost finally getting used to calling Ashley my husband.

rounding up the herd

2011-12-28T17:00:00.001-05:00

Did a couple of craft fairs this holiday season—one for the staff at Martha Stewart, which was also a party... hence the vino! Among the items I was selling were wool felted sheep with cinnamon stick fences and clay mushrooms.

I was felting sheep in the days leading up to the fairs. They are a good holiday craft project and make a cute gift. I gave what I had leftover to family members and everyone thought they were super sweet!

I actually developed the felted sheep for Martha's 2010 Christmas special. They were scattered all around her kitchen!

DIY Rope Bangles

2011-12-06T22:29:00.001-05:00

Check out the photo how-to on the Crafts Dept Blog for the rope bangles that I demoed on Martha's show! They make a great DIY holiday gift!

Make: miniature crystal chandeliers

2011-12-05T19:10:00.002-05:00

Inspired by all the amazing chandeliers dangling low from the high ceilings of ABC Carpet & Home here in New York City, I created miniature crystal light fixtures to hang over the long banquette tables sashaying the loft space where my wedding was held. They are fairly straight forward and simple to make and add a delicate sparkle to any space; I have a few in my bedroom now- makes nice mood lighting ;).

Here's how they were made:

1. Use lamp plates/bobesches as the fixture to hang the crystal strands. Drill holes along the edge with a Dremel drill to hang each strand from. I evenly spaced seven holes around the 3" round plate.

2. Spray paint the front and back of the plate white.

3. Create strands of crystals with wire using the basic wire wrapped link beading technique. I used 6 oval Swarovski crystal beads per strand finishing each off with a crystal tear drop, all connected used an oxidized silver wire.

4. You can make your own jump rings by coiling wire around a pencil, removing it and snipping into individual rings with wire cutters.

5. Use the jump rings to connect the crystal strands to the lamp plate where you drilled the holes.

6. Wiring the light fixture is fairly easy. A wire stripper tool is helpful to remove the plastic around the wire cording.

7. I used porcelain sockets for the fixture and cloth covered lamp cord. Remember to put the crystalized plate on the cord before you wire it all together!

8. Finally, add the plug to make your mini chandelier electric!

Look how pretty!

Shrooms!

2011-11-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

Mushrooms available for sale on Etsy... and A photo how-to on thecraftsdept blog!

growing together

2011-11-13T21:42:00.001-05:00

Not sure if you remember my wedding invitation, but we invited our guests to "watch us grow together like crystals." We were serious.

During the ceremony that gave us the official title of husband and wife, we each tied a knot on a piece of monofilament that bared a tiny seed crystal on each end. Once tied, the knots were submerged into a crystal potion.

By the end of the evening our knots had grown together into a beautiful crystal!

We used Figgy's fabulous alum crystal formula and it worked like a charm. A charm we will have forever!

Clay Mushrooms

2011-11-09T21:41:00.001-05:00

Totally slipped my mind... I forgot to tell you guys that I made clay mushrooms on Martha's show today!

They couldn't be easier to make and the outcome is super sweet. Paint them grey for your Thanksgiving table or toadstool red for Christmas perhaps?! Or if you just love whimsical mushrooms like me, you can stick them in the soil of your house plants for all year round!

I developed these clay mushrooms over my time off in the summer if you remember... I thought I would get around to posting a few for sale on Etsy, but just never got around to it. Hopefully this weekend I can make that finally.

If you are interested in trying to make them yourself, you can watch the how-to video on MarthaStewart.com and I will be posting a photo how-to on thecraftsdept blog soon as well. The clay is called Laguna Dry-Hard Clay—it can be purchased through Amazon.

3 things Pico loves...

2011-11-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

1. Being involved in any craft project I am in the mist of.

2. Snagging a head rub whenever she gets a chance.

3. Hanging underneath Ashley's shirt and peeking out once and awhile to check out the scene.

3 things I love: Pico, Ashley and scissors.

the people that MAKE Hermes

2011-11-08T11:31:00.000-05:00

Interesting videos of the makers behind Hermes products. Hearts and Crafts.

Give it up for the craftsmen!

GREEN pins

2011-11-03T09:53:00.002-04:00

On Pinterest, All green.

pin it

2011-11-03T09:47:00.002-04:00

I think I've started an addiction to Pinterest. My digital pin boards are cultivating and my search for more inspiration is enslaving. Organizing imagery and ideas is what I used to do on my desktop! It became overwhelmed with files and folders and I would forget what I had already archived. Pinterest is the epitome solution.
You must start pinning!

Here are some of my pins from my "black grey white" board:

city witches

2011-10-31T14:05:00.000-04:00

photo by Nicki Manchisi. downtown nyc.

happy halloween!

2011-10-30T18:20:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone had a few scares this weekend and are prepared for the little trick or treaters tomorrow! We've got a bowl of candy waiting at the door!

Unexplainable Photos.

dead

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

Still thinking about the animals that died.

Ode to their lives.

witch broom lashes

2011-10-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

If you were able to watch Martha's Haunted House Halloween Special, you might have noticed the crazy eyelashes I had on. Makeup artist, Kristofer Buckle created these twiggy lashes from a broom!

They look very similar to an elephant's real eyelashes. How amazing are those beauties!?!!

Tonight! Mmmmmwah ha ha ha!

2011-10-24T11:23:00.001-04:00

The Martha Stewart Halloween special airs tonight on the Hallmark channel. Don't miss out on the unusual transformations and decoration ideas. You'll want to build a haunted house in your garage next year—it's really fabulous!

I was turned into a voodoo witch and Figgy, a mad scientist! The children were running out of my shanty room in the haunted house when they saw me! I was horrid looking!

Figgy's lab was full of fun stuff for the children...well those who made it to his room...

Martha posted some great behind the scenes photos on her blog here, here and here.

sadness

2011-10-19T23:08:00.000-04:00

This morning, I was devastated by the news of the escaped exotic animals in Ohio and the thought of their fate. I was utterly horrified to hear reports of their massacre this afternoon. I don't know what to say, what to think. I am very sad.

Rest in Peace.

pearl eyeballs

2011-10-18T09:22:00.000-04:00

SEE how-to string bloodshot eyeballs just in time for Halloween on thecraftsdept blog.

!!! glittery shoes !!!

2011-10-17T19:11:00.013-04:00

Glittery shoes are quite popular this season—Miu Miu did a whole collection of glittered pumps and even sneakers. Lots of DIY sparkle action has been happening in the blog-a-sphere, like Honestly WTF's great how-to and demo on The Martha Show. I thought I would do some glittering myself after a mad search for the Miu Miu glittered pumps all over New York and not finding any in my size, boo. I bought a pair of red suede pumps from Nine West that were perfect for an embellishment though and they look almost just as good!

Here goes:

—Cut two pieces of thick grosgrain ribbon with the proper length to wrap around your shoed foot.

—Adhere sticky-back Velcro to the ribbon—soft side on one end of ribbon and prickly side on opposite end, reverse side of ribbon. This way the glitter is removable, you can wear the shoes with sparkle or not.

—Paint the front side of the ribbon with a generous amount of Mod Podge.

—Sprinkle a coarse glitter over the glue and shake off excess on a piece of paper or tray so that you can save the remainder. I actually used a silver shard glass glitter and coverage wasn't dense. To fill in any tiny uncovered spots between the coarse glitter, use a fine glitter in a similar shade.

—Let dry and shake off any loose glitter.

—If necessary, coat with another layer of glossy Mod Pogde over the glitter to secure it down.

—Wrap around your shoe and you're good to go out dancing!... or get married...

little diy favors for you

2011-10-13T23:00:00.001-04:00

I couldn't have had a wedding unless I did it myself and that is pretty much what happened. Aside from all the decor that swept across the loft space, I crafted a little thank you gift for all our guests to take home.

To go along with having a film photo booth at the actual event, one Sunday afternoon, Ashley and I strolled down to the local bar that houses one of the three black and white film booths left in Manhattan. With us we brought print outs of our message in letters (THANK YOU!) and words (for coming to our wedding. Ashley & Kristin tied the knot October 8, 2011). Happy hour beers waiting made it easy for us to take several fun photo strips. We went home and scanned the originals, printed copies, cut out each picture and laid them out in the proper order on a long strip of paper, front and back. Rescanned and printed dozens on large pieces of paper, that were then cut down. With the handy dandy Martha Stewart Crafts scoring board, it was super easy to line up the photos and score evenly in between each. Once scored, accordion folding was a piece of cake! Covers were made out of mat board, cut to size and adhered to the front and back of the accordion. We further embellished the mini books with an embossed monogram stamp.

To keep with our quartz crystal decorations at the wedding, I sent everyone home with their very own Herkimer diamond nestled in a cotton ball tucked in a specimen tin. Hidden beneath the cotton I secured a magnet so the diamond could be displayed on a fridge or whereever else it may stick.

The final stamp on the outside of the tiny muslin bags made the project come together and assembling each and every one was very satisfying.

It wasn't over until a day before the wedding when I shared the accordion book process with Martha on the show!

wedding dress

2011-10-12T22:31:00.001-04:00

It started with this image posted on Haute Macabre. I became infatuated with this dress... obsessed... nothing could compare. I contacted the polish designer Gosia Baczynska and inquired—is it possible this could be my wedding dress?

The lace is exquisite—a unusual geometric lace, different from the typical floral laces wedding gowns are usually made with. Day after day of scouring the internet, I actually tracked down the lace source. Made in France, the unique lace design was created by Solstiss. Distracted by the lace itself, I visited Solstiss's New York showroom. I was blown away at how incredibly amazing their lace designs are. I wanted yardage of dozens—I could just wrap myself in it and prance down the aisle.

(The lace pattern below haunts me.)

Lucky for me, Gosia had a dress in my size and, no need to worry, she makes the dress in white as well. After emails back and forth to Poland, about a month before my wedding, I received my dress in a gothic style black satin garment bag. I couldn't have been happier.

More pictures from the magical event to come...

dollar store Halloween

2011-10-11T21:16:00.001-04:00

Do you know what you want to be for Halloween yet? Well you better start planning because it will be the 31st before you know it.

Be creative this season and make your costume—original and homemade costumes always take the cake. Use things you might have around your home and if you need some extra supplies, hit up your local 99 cents store for inexpensive materials. This past Monday, we, the craft team at Martha TV, shared our $15 costume ideas on The Martha Show. You might not want to dress up like a gnome or superhero, put your kid in box or twirl around in a tutu but you might get some clever ideas for using the unexpected to create a costume this year. Check it out!

painted feather

2011-10-04T10:56:00.000-04:00

I stumbled upon this photo I snapped last time I took Pico to the Avian vet. Pretty green feather with a portrait of a parrot painted on top. Very sweet and nicely done. Sorry for the terrible reflection in the glass!

keepin' it hardcore

2011-09-26T21:49:00.005-04:00

I am lucky to have had the same best friends for basically my entire life. Who else could I possibly ask to be my bridesmaids then them, my flock. Originally I didn't want to put anyone out by asking them to be part of my wedding party but when I thought about walking down the aisle, I said to them, "I'm not gonna be the first one to get married and do it all alone, you guys are walking first!" I made it somewhat easy and requested only that they wear all black and their only duty will be to walk ahead of me.

For sharing the special day with me, I decided to make them a little something to wear to remind us of a past time we all shared together...being punk rock. Those were the years of my life that left the biggest impression on me and really formed me as a person. A safety pin through our ear was something we all tried and it is a symbol of the way we were. For each of them to wear in their ear on my wedding day, I had 14k gold safety pins made.

Displayed in a unique box with a current picture of each best friend and a picture on the flip side of me in those punk years over a decade back... keepin' it hardcore with all of them—I love you riot grrrls.

delivery!

2011-09-08T21:45:00.001-04:00

I was so excited last week to receive a package I have been waiting for for about three months! I ordered a ton of phantom crystals (130 to be exact) for the wedding (going with a crystal theme). In their fully loaded box, they were all lined up, pristinely wrapped and each one had to be meticulously undressed. I cleaned them all up (with goo gone to remove tape) but still need to bathe them of their old energy and give them a new life. Hosanna told me a glass bowl of water in the sun should do the trick. Happy to hear that I won't need to rinse them in the East River!

Two deliveries arriving at once is overwhelmingly exhilarating—when you've waited so long. I opened the second box that encased this odd rock ball...

Yes my geode is here!

the untraditional wedding invite

2011-09-07T20:08:00.000-04:00

I'm really not the wedding type but... I am getting married.

It took months to figure out what we wanted to do to celebrate, we decided to throw a party. The party has morphed into what I would technically have to call "a wedding" but we are doing things a little differently.

It starts with the invitation. After being time warped into the 1950's for the film I was working on, I became obsessed with ads from the era. I couldn't stop flipping to this Shirley MacLaine sweepstakes ad in the center of a Spencer Gifts catalogue and decided that was it!

With some play on words and handy Adobe Illustrator, I re-created the mail-in as our wedding invite.

Our theme, crystals.

I was struggling to find the right image for the back of the postcard and I came across this article on a contortionist in another old magazine. I just loved the photos and thought they were so fun, crazy, different and kind of represented how I feel when I think about weddings—they looks like fun but are always a little uncomfortable. Why not bend the wedding "rules" a bit?

A stack of invites, complete and ready for the usps.

Martha's Plaid

2011-09-01T21:58:00.004-04:00

We started back up at Martha on Monday after being on a (long) summer hiatus. Day two, arrived the new Martha Stewart line of Plaid craft paint. We unpacked it to get inspired and study the colors. It's a pretty innovative paint line—it works on all different surfaces– you can use the same paint on glass, ceramics, metal, wood, paper, fabric... basically anything! It's a thrill for me to experiment with new products and oddly enough, exciting to be back at work!

The art department took a lunch break stroll on the high line as well and these beautiful colored glass windows made me want to dabble in gradients of paint colors when I got back to the studio. Color makes me happy... but complete lack of color makes me happy too!? whatever

WOO WOO

2011-08-30T09:00:00.005-04:00

Lemmemakeit has been on the back burner this summer because my focus has been on Woo Woo. Like I've said in a few past posts, I art directed my best friends short film titled Woo Woo, set in 1961. A period piece was a challenge for production design but it wound up all coming together and looking pretty lovely. Here are a few photos I snapped from the set with the actors. It was an amazing experience for me, a lot of work but in the end, I know I will be proud of the result.

The location of the shoot was in Astoria, Queens, New York, at Nicki's Nana's home that she has lived in since the 1940's. Not much has changed structurally in the house but all the decor and interiors have been updated. The whole house was basically emptied out and all the props loaded in and reset to resemble a low income city home in the late 1950's.

A set of bunk beds from the 1950's were by far the most difficult props to find. Nicki and I actually drove 6 hours to Maine to pick an authentic set up. And there are the awesome antique paper dolls that I scored on Ebay that have real human hair!

A lot of the props came from my personal collection, local NYC flea markets, Brimfield antique fair, Etsy and Ebay. Nicki's most favorite prop I bought was the funny looking teddy bear.

Kitchen supplies and decor were probably the easiest to find.

The antique Mrs. Butterworth container was a definite plus to making the breakfast table look authentic.

Vintage cafe-style curtains were a staple for a 1950's kitchen.

There's the Irish Blessing I made hanging on the wall!

The little actresses were so excited to stick their fingers in the pie which was part of the story line.

I liked the living room area... maybe because a lot of the things in the room came from my apartment.

That thermostat is definitely NOT from the 1950's—don't worry, it was cropped out of the shot!

For more pictures of the set taken by set photographer Lisa Weatherbee, check out my post on thecraftsdept blog!

adirondack mushroom

2011-08-24T18:21:00.001-04:00

Did our annual trip to Lake George this past weekend—always a good time and just an amazing place to escape to from concrete to green. I even found some mushrooms in the yard!

quartz\\

2011-08-17T15:47:00.000-04:00

Crystals have been on my mind.

urban green

2011-08-15T15:37:00.001-04:00

Since I have been technically off (from Martha) and not working, I've had some time to do other things besides art directing Nicki's short film. I was able accompanied my sister to a few showings of the line she reps, WeSC, which were fun min adventures. We drove to Philadelphia to the Urban Outfitters head quarters located at an old Navy yard. The grounds were very cool, slightly reminiscent of a collage campus but a bit more industrial. There were many "green" elements to the design of the spaces and I especially liked the hanging garden in the cafeteria building.

They also had a yummy veg/vegan cafe, floors made from recycled glass bottles and everyone had reusable cups! Oh and I can't leave out the compostable cutlery in the cafeteria and that every other person had a pet dog with them at work!

five ways to lose weight

2011-08-10T14:00:00.000-04:00

The Twistersizer

The Slender Suit

Rubber Slenderizer Suit

The Trim Wheel

Midriff Belt

Kind of amazing, don't you think? I have done so much 1950's research and I am constantly freaking out about the ads from the time. They are brilliant! So many different weird solutions to lose weight. No one ever thought about just changing their diet perhaps?

funny old ads

2011-08-08T20:24:00.000-04:00

Mini Paper Cutter

Universal Fisherman Shears

Portable Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

Fish Gripper

Tiny Pistol Big Bang

Flower Carpet

Protect

Rear Viewer

handmade antiques

2011-07-24T18:04:00.000-04:00

This past week, Nicki and I drove back up to Brimfield, back to NYC and then up to Maine to pick up a hard-to-find set of 1950's bunk beds. I was on a mad search for them and was having no luck. Finally I found a set on Craigslist in Maine so I jumped on it. The ride up there was nice and we got to stop by some antique stores on the way back. Brimfield was successful like the last time and we basically found every last prop we needed.

So it's been a summer of antiquing (well 1950's prop shopping) and in the midst of all things old, are many handmade objects and art. I just adore finding old crafts. I am so curious about each piece I see and I just find the homemade pieces to be so much more interesting.

Above is a framed pair of felted parrots that I spotted in a warehouse style antique store on Route 1 in Maine.

This piece is made of all dried natural materials like flowers, grass, and moss. Hidden by the stream is a paper Dresden of two little girls playing. It was a very magical piece and reminded me of a secret garden.

Shell art is probably the most common handmade craft I see while antiquing. Above is a beautiful shell flower wreath in a shadow box frame at Brimfield and below is a shell flower arrangement in an antique store in Maine! Good old shell art! I am yet to find a relic sailor Valentine heart shaped box to add to my collection of treasured things.

I just thought I would add this picture of a mouse trap I saw. Catch the mouse, it runs in the wheel so you know he's trapped and can hear him because often times people forget to check live traps and the animals wind up starving to death, defeating the whole purpose. Plus rodents love to exercise and this will keep him busy for the time he is jailed. Then you take him out to the woods to set him free! Wish it was that easy. Mice are so cute.

I don't know

2011-07-12T23:35:00.000-04:00

I am always interested in what drives new visitor to my blog so I often look at the stats. This week a few people searched "i don't know" and ended up on lemmemakeit. I love that :)

I also love the squirrels in my neighborhood—they make me smile almost everyday.

fleas & elephant feet

2011-07-07T13:00:00.009-04:00

Most of the time, flea markets can be an inspiring atmosphere—there is so much to look at—so many different types of things from so many different times, owned by so many different people. I get a lot of ideas from the things I see at flea markets and sometimes can't stop thinking about them.

My sister spotted this old taxidermy parrot at the Avenue A flea and called me over to take a look at it. Yes it was interesting, jangly and somewhat frightening (it would be to Pico anyway)—I snapped a photo of the bird to remember it and noticed something strange behind it.

This is when you say WTF! I just don't understand!

Laying behind the inanimate parrot was the foot of an elephant. I stared at it for a minute and thought "no, it can't be?" But it was and I couldn't help but think of the poachers who might have done this, the black market that supports this, the culling in Africa, and the memory and intelligence that elephants carry—the fear, the terror. It brought me back to the first few chapters in the book I just read, Zoo Story.

I would have never expected to see something even close to this at a flea in New York City—I was ashamed.

yarn art

2011-07-01T12:58:00.001-04:00

I purchased a piece of yarn art from the Avenue A flea market for $5 last weekend—wow, I can't even believe that the whole week has gone by—time certainly flies. Anyway, the vendor had an interesting collection, all bought from one estate sale. I was kind of fascinated by them—wondered how old they were, where did they come from, were they all created by one artist, who previously owned them? The unknowns of flea market finds...

the mosaic man

2011-06-28T22:07:00.002-04:00

Bumped into New York City's mosaic man (and his dog) on this past weekend.

He's been making mosaics on street light poles for 25 years!

Support his public street art by visiting artist Jim Powers site, themosaicman.com or walk the streets of the East Village and seek his works out yourself.

Zoo Story

2011-06-27T22:54:00.002-04:00

On my recent excursion to the Bahamas, I read an amazing book—so good, I sacrificed sun and sea to continue page turning. The book was called Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives. I'm not going to give you a book report or anything, but the story dips into the harsh truths of wildlife conservation and helps to answer the inevitable question of whether zoos are good or bad. I highly recommend reading.
After reading the book, I had some questions & thoughts and I felt I needed to visit my local zoos to help paint a clearer picture. First I went to the Central Park Zoo. The mini mecca of exotics located in the center of one of the most highly populated cities in the world, the zoo does a modest job at showcasing the animals and providing them with decent enclosures.
Scenes from the visit include:

baby mongoose...

sleeping penguins...

a lap swimming polar bear...

sun bathing turtles and begging swans.

Then I went to the Bronx Zoo. I went alone so I could observe the animals at my own speed. I focused on the primates, as I have a weak spot for prosimians and anthropoids.

The jungle house was extremely quiet, not how you would ever expect the jungle to be. It was nap time and everyone was trying to sleep on display. I wondered if the monkeys ever have a peaceful sleep with so many people walking in and out of their bedrooms.

The gorillas were unreal. I could watch them for hours. I could watch the people watching the gorillas for hours too. It amazes me the way humans respond to them—most people can't believe there are other creatures on this planet that are so much like us.

My absolute favorite to see were the pygmy marmosets. The smallest of the primates, these little guys blow my mind. No bigger than a chipmunk, they look at you same way a curious 4 year old child would. This little guy was following my camera (a point and shoot that was bigger than him)! He made my day.

After visiting the two zoos, my questions aren't completely answered. I still am not sure whether I think zoos are bad or good. I enjoyed watching the animals but it shouldn't always be about me. What's right for them?

odor proof your body with MS

2011-06-24T13:11:00.000-04:00

Don't know how Kir found this, but it certainly made me smile—a young, active, pretty, free loving Martha Stewart (with absolutely no blemishes)!

blessings

2011-06-21T13:49:00.001-04:00

My best friend Nicki is in the final steps of earning her MFA in film from San Francisco State. The preparation for her thesis film, Woo Woo, has consumed her the past few months and up until this point, Nicki has done all the work herself. She has really impressed me—I know the amount of work that goes into a daily TV show and it has a staff of about 80 people—she is managing all the parts behind the scenes.

When she started her first year in the graduate program, she asked me if I would art direct her thesis film. How could I refuse the opportunity to work with my best friend on a project that is the start of her career—I couldn't say no.

It's been fun so far, 1950's image researching, photographing locations, prop shopping at Brimfield flea market... The film takes place in Astoria, Queens in the early 1960's—a period piece is more challenging then you might think.

A brief synopsis: Woo Woo tells the story of a young girl and her relationship to a brain damaged war veteran. Woo Woo, the war veteran, lost his ability to communicate after WWI. He now wanders the streets repeating "woo woo" to himself. The neighborhood children mock him. When the little girl's older sister makes up a story about Woo Woo's past, she becomes terrified of him. Her fear only heightens her curiosity as she begins to watch him from her window.

The first handmade prop I've made so far, is an embroidered Irish Blessing that will hang on the wall where the family gathers for meals.

First I ironed freezer paper to a piece of cotton fabric so I could run it through my inkjet printer. This is a brilliant, easy way to transfer a design onto fabric for embroidery. The small black text on this piece was all done with regular cotton thread. The green Irish Blessing and shamrocks were done with embroidery floss.

It feels so good to tie off the last threads and rub your fingers over a finished piece of embroidery. I always love the messiness of the back.

I found this lovely, old, lacey trim with a touch of green at Brimfield. Immediately upon spotting it, I knew it would be perfect for an Irish Blessing. I bast stitched the trim around the blessing and mitered the corners so it looked complete.

All that is left is framing. In order to print on the fabric, I was restricted to an 8 1/2" by 11" piece. It was perfect to fit in an 8" by 10" frame but there was not much wiggle room.

It wound up just fitting and I was able to pad the back a bit with batting to give the embroidery a soft, cushion feel.

Voilà!

stranded on an island

2011-06-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

I just got back yesterday from a much needed vacation in the Bahamas. It was wonderful. We luckily only had one day of rain and that was enough. A 12 hour storm is plenty when you are trapped inside with barely anything to do. I had a few craft supplies with me, of course, but very few. As we anxiously waited for my sister to fly in from New York, not knowing if her flight was delayed or not—there is no internet access—I thought the only way to calm my nerves would be to make a little something for when she arrived, if she arrived...

I found a pad of paper in a drawer and a pen. I had some supplies for an embroidery I was working on as well. Ashley suggested I make a banner announcing how excited we were that she made it! I decided on YAY! MELI (we call Melissa Meli for short).

I call this ghetto craftin' and I kind of love it.

Ghetto Craftin': [get-oh krahft in] verb. When you use what you have available, when supplies are low or limited, to create something somewhat janky.

(I made it up)

I hung it in the fogged up windows by a piece the thread that I baste stitched through the top of each piece of paper (oh I found a half roll of masking tape too).

When Melissa arrived off the ferry that evening, I felt so relieved! Yay! Meli, you made it!!!

knotted together

2011-06-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

I felt like I was in middle school again, while sitting on a plane last week, wrapping embroidery floss around ribbon cards and starting a friendship bracelet. It's been probably more than a decade since I've made one—in the back seat of the car, Dad driving, Mom passing me back snacks and Melissa stretching her feet onto my half of the seat, listening to Nirvana in my Walkman, with string safety pinned to my jeans on a family summer vacation up to Maine.

Knot after knot...I already want to make another.

so little...

2011-05-30T22:00:00.003-04:00

...time.

The sixth season of the Martha Show is over and you would think I wouldn't be so busy! Freelance projects have kept me indoors and away from my computer and missing you.

I have been making though... things like mini wire hangers, similar to the ones your dry cleaning comes on except about an inch wide.

Speaking of tiny... we went to Atlanta last weekend and I spotted these nesting dolls upon Ashley's Grandmother's dresser. It was unbelievable how small they were! Just when you thought your at the last doll, another one was inside!

last minute trip up to Brimfield antique show 2011

2011-05-18T23:16:00.001-04:00

Nicki and I wound up scoring a vehicle, early early Saturday morning, to transport us over to the Brimfield antique show. We made the journey to purchase props for a film Nicki is making, set in the early 1960's. Primarily looking for specific items from the 1950's and before, I must say, I think we were quite successful. While prop shopping, I was able to snap some photos of objects that caught my eye but wouldn't necessarily fit into the films theme and aesthetic—more like the kind of stuff I would have liked to take home.

Pretty pink porcelain parrots.

The absolute first thing I saw upon entering the world of Brimfield, was this amazing cabinet-like canary cage–quite exquisite.

Loved this over sized parrot mural...

and these antique model mushroom specimens that were priced at two grand for the set

(I thought the guy was joking when I asked how much).

Anything macabre I admire and this funeral case held this infant memorial that was quite a spectacle.

Too young to have any hair to make the traditional mourning adornments, these were hand crafted from felt and fibers—it was really sweet.

Amongst the many other things handmade that I spotted, was this funny box with a pile of figurines on the lid all painted gold.

I was scolded for taking a picture of this monkey by the vendor—I wanted to run and hide.

Always drawn to ships, I found a big ship model encased in a glass box and am now regretting not buying this ship plate that was only $9.

This car is just awesome. I wish cars still looked like this one.

A boudoir lacy cover up flows in the breeze of Brimfield, Massachusetts.

I wanted so badly this Aztec carpet, but I was not about to spend $1200 on a rug—even though it is probably worth it.

I thought this looked like an asshole. funny. laugh.

My Mommy's Day card

2011-05-10T13:51:00.002-04:00

I posted about the sloth card I made for my mom over at thecraftsdept blog. It's a unique card handmade for a unique mom. Oh how I love her...

Happy Mother's Day (a few days late) to all the mommies!

sloth

2011-05-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

Sloth

Sorry for my absence this week—I have been preoccupied with planning a holiday—a possible trip to Costa Rica. What started out with just wanting to relax on the beach turned into a hiking through the rain forest into being secluded in the jungle with the animals into visiting a sloth sanctuary and finally obsessing over having the opportunity to actually live with the sloths at a humble sanctuary! It would be a dream come true to sleep with a sloth.

multiple ashleys

2011-04-28T00:00:00.001-04:00

Back track a little over a week ago... it was my birthday, April 16.

Ashley had the genius idea of making multiples of himself and placing them sporadically around the apartment to surprise me (or just freak me out). I thought I was going crazy when I awoke to go to the bathroom and was greeted by Ashley outside my bedroom door...wait, wasn't he still in bed?!?! Paper life size Ashley was standing in the hallway. It frightened me so much that I made him tell me if there were more in the apartment before I left the room. "Flat" Ashley was also jumping in the living room and sitting on the couch—too bad he wasn't preparing me brunch too...oh wait, I have the real Ashley to do that!

After a little Birthday party, my pal Jordan wound up taking a "flat" Ashley home. He was very pleased to have a friend to go to the park with the following day.

Ashley is out of town this week and I am solo with Pico. I am thinking I will sleep next to "flat" Ashley tonight because I miss him so much.

art that makes me happy

2011-04-25T22:51:00.001-04:00

Laura Carlin's folk art ceramics & illustrations make me feel giddy inside. Funny how a bowl can do that to a person.

bunny perks

2011-04-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

One of many perks of working for Martha Stewart...

...you get to take home a 3 foot chocolate bunny at Easter...

(Nicki foil wrapping him up)

and it makes an impressive Birthday treat!

(Amy hugging her new best friend)

Mmmm dark chocolate beauty!

Thanks Martha!

egg world

2011-04-21T10:34:00.002-04:00

Here are some more pictures of the Whimsical Window Eggs that we demoed on Martha's Show. I just can't stop looking at them. I want to shrink down and live inside an egg just like these! Magic!

Martha made the orange horse egg above. I love the mini vintage pom-pom chick sitting at the horse's feet.

I made the pink swan egg during the live segment. I was amazed at how fast it came together. Pretty pink luscious world.

I finished out some of the swap outs from the segment so that I could bring them home and display them on Easter. Totally in love.

paper dolls

2011-04-20T10:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday a special delivery came for me. I had completely forgotten that I scored an amazing piece of art on ebay last week and was giddy when a large box arrived at my desk.

The piece is a framed pair of children in a sort of oversized paper doll style. Each child is dressed adorably, but the best part of the whole piece is that the dolls have real human hair. I love that someone created this so many years ago and took such care in making these dolls come to life.

The back of the frame revealed some information about the artist, which makes the piece even more special. The frame was old and dirty and the paper backing peeling and flaking away. It needed a bit of restoring, so I did some cleaning and replaced the frame backing with an archival mat. I also tidied up the hair because it too had flaked off underneath the glass.

I thought is was neat how the artist had decided to mount the dolls. A stretched piece of silk over a recycled piece of cardboard with old graphics. The silk was not glued or taped to the board, but was zigzag stitched from side to side and top to bottom. It made me smile at the artist's cleverness.

Of course I saved the only reference of the artist in its original form and re-adhered it to the back.

What a cool piece of homemade art!

Now I need a place to hang it!

pico lily

2011-04-19T21:44:00.001-04:00

pretty Pico with pretty lilies

easter in an egg

2011-04-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

Whimsical scenes encased in real eggshells—tomorrow's craft on Martha. Hosanna and I will show you how to make one just in time for Easter.

We'll demonstrate how to cut a perfect window in an ostrich egg and embellish the inside of the shell with sparkle, miniature creatures and vintage adornments from some of our favorite sources.

Here's a little sneak peek...

trash picker

2011-04-13T00:25:00.008-04:00

I just finished watching Waste Land, a documentary about artist Vik Muniz and his undertaking with the garbage pickers who mine treasure from the trash heaps of Rio de Janeiro's Jardim Gramacho landfill.

Quite an interesting film.

Portraits are composed completely of rubbish.

He obviously likes to explore a variety of different mediums and material.

Other works include replicas of the Mona Lisa done in PB & J...

Che Guevara in canned beans...

A landscape made from 9000 yards of thread...

Toy soldiers position perfectly to create a portrait of a soldier...

grain by grain

2011-04-11T22:48:00.000-04:00

Andrew Clemens was a SAND artist.

I can't even fathom how on earth he created these masterpieces with such crisp lines and photographic realism. This takes bottled sand art to an entirely different level. You have to be a very special individual to be able to collect sand samples, carefully sort every little grain by both color and size and meticulously place each sand speck in the perfect position within a glass bottle. Wow—I'm utterly impressed.

paper flower

2011-04-10T21:02:00.001-04:00

Hallmark channel, Monday morning, watch Morgan Levine make her delightful oversized flowers with Martha. They are SO striking, you're gonna want to make one... or just buy one...

2011-04-06T21:02:00.001-04:00

tulips in Holland.

Magical.

Spring is in the air.

quote of the day

2011-04-06T17:53:00.001-04:00

"When any creativity becomes useful, it is sucked into a vortex of commercialism, and when a thing becomes commercial, it becomes the enemy of man."

Arthur Miller

Make a Birthday card!

2011-04-05T11:41:00.000-04:00

Follow the photo how-to on thecraftsdept blog so you can make this card. Your friends will love it!

homemade mushrooms

2011-04-04T19:51:00.000-04:00

I finally finished a couple sets of clay mushrooms—some toadstools and some plain gray.

I need to take a few more photos and then I can put them up on Etsy.

What a process!

blending in

2011-03-31T14:05:00.000-04:00

matchy matchy

House of Hackney via Style Bubble

earth

2011-03-31T00:11:00.001-04:00

incredibly thankful for mother earth.

I can't imagine what life would be like if the nature looked dreadful.

beauty surrounds us.

keep it glistening.

source: pixdaus.

dear blog

2011-03-30T10:07:00.000-04:00

I have not forgotten about you, I promise.

epic

2011-03-24T22:51:00.001-04:00

On my way to work this morning, I rode my bike down 1st avenue against traffic. Passed a cyclist riding the correct direction in the bike lane and he shouted "SALMON!" at me. Took me a minute and then I got it! Made my morning.

Riding home from work last Friday, I got into a little accident on 7th avenue. Car pulled out of a spot right in front of me and I slammed the brakes, face planting over the handle bars into the street. No real damage, but a gnarly bruise on my upper thigh.

It's kind of pretty. Like outer space.

doing mushrooms

2011-03-22T22:00:00.003-04:00

Spent Monday—my dreary day off—inside crafting clay mushrooms designed to add a bit of whimsy to any potted plant.

Attack of the fleshy fungicide!!!

Should have some available on etsy soon.

color scraps

2011-03-21T20:42:00.001-04:00

Last Thursday, we spent the day cleaning the craft room at Martha. I worked on rearranging and organizing our paper section. It was extremely satisfying to organize all the paper scraps by color.

Sometimes the strangest things can make you smile.

Organizing by color is one of 'em.

currently inspiring 3.15.11

2011-03-15T20:53:00.000-04:00

embroidery

abbey lee and bunny

bats organized neatly

books + prints, printed books, books in prints

awkward art photos

lace covered faces

abandonment

pickles.

milk paint pots

2011-03-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I develop projects for Martha because it just something I want to do at home.

For instance, I was so sick of looking at all the terra cotta pots that line my windowsills that I cultivated an idea to fix the sore sight and made a segment out of it so it could be shared with others.

What can you do to update your terra cotta without purchasing expensive planters and trashing the old clay pots?! The first step: change the color. Second step: add some simple details. Let's do it.

Milk Paint is a perfect solution for painting clay pots. It's natural, has no VOCs, dries matte, soaks evenly into porous surfaces and comes in a variety of colors that will complement any plant. I chose Driftwood, a grayish color, to offset the brown teak furniture that is prevalent throughout my apartment.

Milk Paint comes in a powder form so it needs to be mixed with water to become actual paint. I didn't even bother to take my plants out of the pots while I painted them—messy but who cares, we're crafting.

I ran out to buy some cotton rope from the hardware store and used it to create a decorative element to the plain pot. I braided it, twisted it and even tried out my newest skill of 4 strand braiding.

Paint one coat, let it dry, hot glue your rope under the rim around the pot and paint again. The rope absorbs the paint and it winds up looking like part of the original pot design.

I'm loving my new plant vessels—I notice my plants now and remember to water them!

It's always a success when it's cheap, simple and a transformation.

Now I want more plants!

I've had FOXES on my mind

2011-03-09T20:24:00.060-05:00

folded fox

fashion fox

fox fur for fashion...

...fatal fashion.

fox hunt

fox in sweater

fox silhouettes from old fur coats

run fox run

felted fake fox stole

foxy pillow

Mr. Fox

tame fox

Giveaway on the craftsdept blog!!!!

2011-03-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

The mesh ombre necklaces Martha and I made on the show last week are up for grabs!

Click here for details

wirelace ombre necklace photo how-to

2011-03-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

1. To create an ombre effect, select four strands of different color beads. I purchased 6mm fresh water pearls from Stone International, here in NYC. Ombre is a gradation of color tones and can be achieved in any palette. This necklace starts with white pearls fading into a deep brownish pink.

2. Decide whether you prefer the gradation to go from light to dark or dark to light. Separate and arrange your beads into eight equal portions to create 4 new beaded strands. Whether it's the dark or light color that ends up in the middle, double up your eight portions of that bead.

3. String beads on thin monofilament (0.01- inch gauge).

4. Your 4 strands should look similar to the above. These strands are 16" in length.

5. Be sure to leave about six inches of extra monofilament at the ends of each strand. To secure the end beads firmly on the strand, feed the end of the monofilament around and back through the bead. Do this on all ends of your strands.

6. Line up the four strands of beads and, using electrical tape, tightly tape one end of each of the four strands to one end of a thin double-pointed knitting needle. To prevent snagging on WireLace, make sure tape completely covers all ends of monofilament.

7. Choose a color of 6mm Wirelace that complements your gradient. For this palette I used a yard of blush.

8. Insert a thick knitting needle into one tubular end of the Wirelace. Remove needle.

9. Insert the knitting needle into the other end of Wirelace and remove, keeping the Wirelace in a tubular form.

10. Feed all four strands of beads through one end of the Wirelace. The knitting needle will help pull the strands through.

11. Carefully guide the knitting needle through the yard of Wirelace until it is out the other side. Center the strands in the WireLace by smoothing it out over the beads.

12. Remove tape and detach strands from knitting needle.

13. Tie knots in WireLace and monofilament at both ends of necklace where beads end.

13. Determine the length of your necklace and fold ends of WireLace to mark ends. Using a small hook of fine-gauge wire, pull each WireLace loop through a metal cone end cap. With jewelry pliers, attach jump rings to each loop and attach lobster claw clasp to one jump ring.

14. Trim any extra WireLace and monofilament hanging out of end caps and squeeze a drop of all-purpose adhesive into each end cap to secure loops.

15. Now you have a pearl necklace like Martha!

For a video how-to, visit marthastewart.com.

wire lace ombre pearls

2011-03-02T21:24:00.000-05:00

Phew. The Craft Show happened and it was an exciting morning!

Here's a few photos of the pearl gradient necklace encased in wirelace that I taught Martha how to make.

More how-to photos to come.

crafting hour on MARTHA!

2011-03-01T09:15:00.000-05:00

Mark your calendars to watch the craft hour on The Martha Stewart Show, live at 10am Wednesday on the Hallmark channel!

It is so amazing to be able to work with such talented people at Martha.

Hosanna, who leads the craft department at TV, is a craft fail solver—I always go to her for suggestions, opinions and advice on the work I am producing for the show. I trust her aesthetic, and her experience with working in so many mediums is impressive. Before becoming a full time crafter for Martha over 10 years ago, Hosanna studied photography, but her passion is really in fabricating jewelry.

Check out her most recent collection of acorns. They are more than just whimsical!

We have two Dartmouth graduates in a craft department of four. Figgy thinks like a scientist and sometimes I can't understand what he is talking about. If he wasn't testing alum to form crystals or mixing borax to make goo, he should probably just start a lab—he'd be really good at figuring out the perfect concoctions! Check out some of his kits at Professor Figgy.

We are very bummed to be missing Kirsten for the craft hour. She is literally about to give birth. Another smarty pants, Kir is great with words and writes all our craft how-to's for the web. Before she bailed on us to have a baby, she made an awesome solar system mobile—soon to be a demo on an upcoming show. The sewing crafts often fall in Kir's lap—she is an expert quilter. Her meticulousness and accuracy boggles my mind—look at these silk tie pillows she quilted—they are impressive!

The craft hour is going to be a fun show with interesting projects, good techniques and a glossary of the must have craft tools!

Get a sneak peek at some of the stuff we have been working on here.

beading beading beading beading beading

2011-02-27T22:03:00.000-05:00

I have been beading for 2 days straight—non-stop—for my segment on Wednesday in the Martha Stewart craft hour! I can't wait to show you how every turns out.

Thanks Meli for straining you eyes all day to help me get this done!

we're not kids anymore

2011-02-24T11:09:00.002-05:00

Artwork Ashley did in the 4th grade, about 20 years ago!!!!

What?!

We're adults?!?!?!

Used to have a mohawk, now Ashley's bald.

Are we getting old?

Dot.

2011-02-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

the world's smallest stop-motion animation.

teeny weeny.
itty-bitty.

.
dot