A Childhood Classic Revisited

Some people take coffee breaks, I take craft breaks. In honor of the cold weather we've been having here in DC, I present to you a (mostly clean) paper towel (from the office kitchen) turned snowflake. What can I say, I enjoy using scissors as stress relief.


As you may be able to tell, it's been strategically posed on my office chair, and photographed with the not super high resolution camera on my phone. As for the original, it is now hanging in my office window.

I'm Loving: Penguin Cloth Cover Books

I've always said that it's fine to judge a book by its cover, as long as you take time to discover what's inside too.* Now (finally!) Penguin USA has released it's gorgeous cloth-covered editions of some fantastic books, many of my favorites, actually. And they are so pretty (plus, only $13.60 each)!

What do you think, would you buy a book because it looked nice?


In case you were wondering, and because I can't help myself, here is a list of the titles that I want (did I mention PRETTY????)

Available Now

• Sense and Sensibility
• Wuthering Heights
• Great Expectations
• Jane Eyre
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Pride and Prejudice

Not Yet Available in the US

• Crime and Punishment
  
• The Hound of the Baskervilles
• Emma
• The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint
• Little Women
• Oliver Twist

*I'm talking books, here, not people!

Interior Personality Quiz

Enjoyed this quick color/style quiz (via How About Orange). I thought my results were pretty accurate (leaning more towards the purples than pinks, though):

Design*Sponge Sneak Peeks

As I mentioned on Friday, I spent the weekend moving into a new place. I'll provide some pics once I get everything out of chaos. But moving means decorating, and I love using the web for inspiration.


Design*Sponge's "Sneak Peeks" are perfect for those who A) need some new decor ideas, B) like snooping in other people's lives, or C) like me, fit options A and B. Basically, they just show behind the scenes pictures of creative people's homes. Have fun with the voyeurism!

Shelterrific

While we're on the subject of websites, here's another one that I just came across. Shelterrific lives up to its name, providing great ideas for crafts and purchases for the home. I'm totally addicted, especially to all the great earth-friendly suggestions.

Celebrate a New Era

Things have been very exciting in our country--especially Washington D.C.--this week.  I was lucky enough to get to go and see some of the inauguration events.  It was amazing how many people came from so many different states and even countries to be a part of it all. 

Well, even if you couldn't make it out for the inauguration, you can be connected to our new president by turning a picture of yourself into the style of the classic Obama poster.  Visit Obamicon.me to make your own. (via How About Orange)

What I Did Last Night...

...Was make my Halloween costume using materials from Goodwill and my sewing machine.  It took far too long, and I'm still not quite done.  I'll post results, though I'm undecided whether to wait until after Halloween to show off my little creation.   Either way, here's a hint about what I'll be:

Well, it's either a hint or just a photo I really wanted to look at longer.

How To Make a Watermelon Keg

As it continues to get hotter here in DC, I am inspired to share this exciting tutorial from Evite blog on how to make your very own watermelon keg, so that you can serve guests spiked watermelon juice right from the tap. (via How about Orange?)

Knit Organs

Because...haven't you always wanted to know what your insides would look like if you were made of wool?

Hey, maybe God is a knitter.   Oh, wait.  These actually were made by artist Sarah Illenberger (via Craftzine).

Designing Fun With Polyvore

"What is Polyvore?" you ask.  Only the best time suck for the wanna be artist, designer, or procrastinator ever.  To quote from the website, " Polyvore lets you mix and match images from anywhere on the web, to create outfits, interior designs, or any kind of collage."

In other words, you can literally spend hours searching not only the Polyvore site, but the ENTIRE world wide web for  components for practically any kind of picture you'd like to make.  Below, you'll see my first attempt.

One warning, (besides the obvious that you shouldn't start this if you have an addictive personality and somewhere to be in the next hour):  Polyvore still has a ways to go in developing the tool to make it its best (it's only been around since sometime last fall).  Cropping and rotating images are limited/non-existent, and it's a huge hassle to deal with changing things from foreground to background images.


Still, it's far too fun not to check out!  There's also a Polyvore Facebook group, for those so inclined.

Transit Sign Chairs

Earlier this week, I mentioned eco-artware.com. I also saw these hilarious (if impractical) chairs on the site:At $800-$1,000 each, these chairs are more than a little pricey. Besides that, they don't look like the most comfortable options ever. But I have to applaud the creative re-use! They also make me think of a transit-loving friend of mine. If you have some extra cash on hand, you can get them here. Have a great weekend!

Graduation Day!

Today is my graduation from law school...trust me, there were times I believed this day would never come. In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd share two of my favorite accessories (see above).

Since I start my new job on Monday, I'm gonna take a little vacation from blogging for a few days while I get settled. See you soon!

Just for Fun: Barcode Designs

Courtesy of Ulla Maaria at HobbyPrincess: Bar Code Revolution designs bar codes for major Japanese brands such as Suntory, Calbee, Wacoal and others. Pretty awesome.