Aneboda makeover: paper and glue to the rescue!

Cleaning the kitchen isn't a fun thing to begin with, but when I embarked on that tiresome chore this week, I felt a real sense of procrastination-induced guilt. For one, I found a sizable amount of counter space under the growing pile of magazines and junk mail that I have been neglecting for weeks. And in my smallish kitchen, every square inch really counts. I also realized that I never did a post on a super easy, super quick furniture makeover project that has graced my kitchen for quite some time now. Apparently it's been so long that Ikea since discontinued the piece of furniture in question. Where "furniture" really is a bit of an overstatement, since the Aneboda dresser gives the term lightweight construction a whole new meaning — which I find okay, as long as the price and your expectations are in line with it. Not okay were the ugly plastic panels in the drawer fronts, I felt. But with a few sheets of scrapbook paper, some regular white glue and 20 minutes of work, the humble dresser suddenly looks all kinds of sassy.

A big plus: the decoupaged fronts perfectly hide the chronic mess that reigns inside these drawers, and which you could always somewhat make out through the semi-opaque plastic panels. In my defense, this dresser is the equivalent of what most people call their hallway, since our apartment opens directly into our kitchen. Hence, the three drawers contain a crazy collection of shoes, bags, scarves, plant pots, keys and screwdrivers. And really, nobody wants to see that, not even a little bit — and especially not in your kitchen.

Last-minute 4th of July crafts

Here's a quick and easy craft project to spruce up your 4th of July buffet or picnic basket: all you need to do is to download and print out the template I put together, then a little bit of cutting, folding, and glueing, and then you're off to enjoy the day!

The template includes bunting in two sizes for the banner, and a variety of stars-and-stripes inspired labels that you can use to mark wrapped food items and decorate utensils such as straws and picks. You can also use the labels as napkin rings and write your guests' names on them to use as place cards.

You will need:

• Printed template (ideally printed on a laser printer, to make the art moisture-resistant, but in a pinch your inkjet will do just fine)
• Ruler
• Craft knife (e.g. X-acto)
• Xyron sticker machine or double-sided tape
• Pens, scissors, yarn

For the labels, cut out the template by lining up a ruler on the crop marks on opposite sides of the page. Cut along the ruler with a craft knife.

Back the cut out labels with adhesive — this is especially easy with a Xyron sticker machine, but double-sided tape works just as well. 

Write on your labels with colored pens and adhere them to your food items, or affix the smaller flags to straws and toothpicks, then trim the ends to the desired length and shape.

For the banner, print out the template (make as many copies as you need to get the desired length), then cut out along the dashed lines with a ruler and craft knife.

Fold the diamond shapes in half and adhere them to your yarn with double-sided tape (put some tape along the fold, and a little bit towards the point; fold over and press). Alternate sizes and patterns for a fun look.

That's it! Let me know if you come up with other fun uses for the template, and have a wonderful 4th of July!

Felt foliage on display

I love shuffling through fallen leaves on a fall afternoon walk, and much enjoy the colors and shapes of foliage year-round. Unfortunately, the beauty of a fresh leaf is rather fleeting, and any foliage display will inevitably fade.

A solution? Leaves cut from felt. Not only do they last forever, they're also quick and easy to make, so they can be swapped out or updated based on any mood or season.

I sketched my leaf silhouttes freehand, and with the exception of the gingko leaf they're completely made up. If you like it more realistic, look to nature for a plethora of templates (of course the internet will do as well).

The thicker the felt, the more substantial the leaves will feel, but the harder they'll be to cut out. I had white felt sheets sitting around that were about 4mm thick, and they were great to work with.

Here's the How To:

1. Sketch a leaf silhoutte onto paper (or xerox, print out, etc.).
2. Cut out and affix to felt with straight pins.
3. Transfer the outline using tailor's chalk or pencil.
4. Cut out (the sharper your scissors, the better).

Frame them as you see fit — I used picture frames from Ikea and corrugated cardboard covered with fabric.

Hearts aplenty: Super simple sewn paper garlands

I was in such a festive and productive mood coming up on Valentine's Day this year that I ended up crafting several dozen feet of heart garlands. Which is great, because with certain things, more is more. Garlands for example. There's got to be several feet of it, or you can't call it a garland. And if you can double-strand them, all the better.

I made these with two different size hearts. The larger hearts are about 1" and I like them a lot, but the miniature heart garlands are so darling I could eat them. Those little hearts are barely 1/2", and there's just something irresistible about seeing so many tiny tokens of love strung side by side and ready to decorate just about anything.

I put together a little tutorial below on a nifty way to churn these out. You'll need a sewing machine, but trust me — it's as easy as it gets. You could make them using different shapes, and in different color schemes. These would be so great as decoration for a party or a playful wedding! They also do a fine job adorning frames and felines.

Okay, let's have at it:

Tutorial: Super simple sewn paper garlands

You can make these from paper scraps, cardstock, photographs, gift wrap, junk mail... if you're anything like me, the question isn't what to use, but what not to. This really is a great project for all those bits of pretty paper scraps that were left over from other projects years ago. (In that alone it is an immensely gratifying project, as it rewards hoarding mentality!) Just don't use anything too delicate, or it will shred in the sewing machine. When in doubt, run a small piece of it through the machine just like fabric and see if it holds up to the stitches.

1. Use a craft punch to cut out as many hearts (or other shapes) as you fancy.

2. Find yourself a strip of cardstock of a decent length, and tape a piece of low-tack(!) tape (e.g., artist's tape) along its long side, so that the tape extends just a little bit over the cardstock.

3. Stick the hearts to the tape, leaving as much space in between them as you like. Give them a gentle push against the tape so that they stick, but keep in mind that you want to be able to pull them off again later. Make sure that the hearts extend over the tape by about the same amount, roughly 1/3 or 1/2 of their height.

4. Get your sewing machine ready to go. Use the thinnest needle and the prettiest thread you have.

5. Put a second strip of cardstock on top of the hearts so that they're sandwiched in between. The point here is to cover the sticky side of the tape, so that it doesn't cause trouble in your sewing machine. Only the top of the hearts is supposed to poke out.

6. Using a short straight stitch, sew right through the top of the hearts, feeding the cardboard strip through your machine at a nice and even pace. When you've reached the end of the strip, grab the next one and feed it in right after the first one, thereby connecting several strips to one long, growing garland.

7. This is what it should look like. Don't worry if your stitches aren't even, it really doesn't matter.

8. When you're reached the desired length, or run out of hearts, stop sewing. Cut the thread, leaving a bit of extra thread at the end for hanging. Carefully remove the hearts from the tape.

9. Wind the garland around a piece of cardboard to keep it from tangling. Happy decorating!

Saturday morning beauties: Simple Dahlia arrangement

I went to the Farmers' Market on Saturday morning, right after it opened and before it got crowded. It is very unlike me to be out and about early on a weekend day, but I had to pick up my car before 9am and decided to take advantage of the early morning calm.

I got a lovely bounty of tomatoes, olive bread, sugar sweet corn and two bunches of Dahlias in absolutely irresistible shades of reds, oranges, and pinks.

The Dahlias' heads are large and heavy, and to display them in a flat arrangement, I enlisted a tried-and-true florist tool: scotch tape. The grid, taped across a vase, supports the flower heads and makes the arrangement appear dense without having to overcrowd it with the delicate blossoms.

Et voilà. I really wish I knew how to paint—I'd love to capture these gorgeous colors.

Cermamic jars revived

For a recent garden party at my parents’ house, I was looking for some decoration from the “convenient, because on hand” category. Among other things, I found these lovely ceramic jars in a shady corner in the garden, waiting for their big break.

A trip to the farmers’ market at the height of summer in Northern Germany isn’t only a lot of fun, but also pays off when you’re in need of a lot of flowers. I got bunches and bunches of flowers for little money, and arranged them to happy, colorful bouquets.

Sunflowers, asters and snapdragons looked great in the terracotta-colored jars, and were a fantastic fit for the rustic ambience of the outdoor party. Which proves once again that the unorthodox use of everday items is a true virtue. It would have been a shame if these former pickle jars had missed their revival as summery vases, don’t you think?

Surprise office birthday bash

My friend and former coworker C. is an amazing party planner. For years, she threw the most adorable and custom-themed birthday parties for her colleagues at her job as an office manager. Her sense for party styling is legendary, and yet it's always obvious that the birthday boy or girl's likes and interests are front and center.

Now that it was on me to throw a birthday bash for a colleague at my new job, I channeled my inner C. and organized a small Italian-themed surprise party for my boss, who has a deep passion for everything bella Italia. The green-red-and-white birthday banner was easily crafted from letters I printed on our office printer, and I served up rustic antipasti platters for lunch (easy to prepare the night before and then served on simple white plates).

Rustic antipasti platters:

Cut tomatoes and fresh mozzarella in slices. Serve with fresh basil leaves, good olive oil and a bit of salt.

Peel carrots, cut long ones in half crosswise, then cut lengthwise in ¼” thick pieces. Steam in a pot with little water, minced garlic clove, and a tad of olive oil or butter for about 5 minutes or less. Make sure to not overcook the carrots, they should keep some of their crunch. Drain and let cool. Season with salt and freshly chopped parsley and basil, mix in a couple spoons of olive oil. Let the flavors mingle in the fridge, ideally over night.

Serve with salami, prosciutto, olives, and Ciabatta or a similar kind of rustic bread.

Deck the halls, a little bit

My Christmas decoration is fairly minimal this year, and I only used supplies I already had. Since we will be spending Christmas back home in Germany, I held back on decorating over here and am all the more exited about advent wreath, tree & co. over there. Of course I need some decoration. This festive wreath is done quickly, doesn't shed needles, and you can create it in pretty much any color scheme you want. Simply wrap a straw wreath with a fairly wide velvet ribbon, affix ends of ribbon with straight pins. Then thread three Christmas ball ornaments each onto a piece of slim ribbon, fasten the ends with a knot. Arrange the groups of balls on the wreath, secure them with straight pins. Decorate with felt snowflakes or other ornaments.