playfulness

New to Me: Made of Sundays

Design & Designers

Made of Sundays is a new-to-me design studio focusing on creative wall graphics – decals, posters and stickers – based in Helsinki, Finland.

I have to confess their style isn’t quite to my liking in general; I’ve never been big on polka dots, sprinkles, or triangle or dot patterns, for example. However, this door hug decal is incredibly cute!

Made of Sundays Door Hug Decal Bathroom

Made of Sundays.

 

Ok, I confess that I like the green-to-blue rain drops, too. 🙂

Made of Sundays Gradient Rain Drops Blue Green

Made of Sundays.

 

I guess I’m more of a fan of their style than I thought! 😀

Visit Made of Sundays for more!

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Happy Halloween!

Arts & Crafts, Colors, DIY, Inspiration

I’m impressed – and cheered! – by the DIY rainbow pumpkins by Brittany W. Jepsen at The House that Lars Built:

House that Lars Built Rainbow-Pumpkin-Porch-0102

The House that Lars Built; photo by Jane Merritt.

Isn’t the array simply stunning?!

Happy (Rainbow) Halloween!

P.S. An honorable mention goes to Brittany DeMauro at Costume Supercenter for sharing Avengers pumpkin-carving stencils. Avengers assemble!

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Online Finds: TP Roll Ghost Halloween Craft

Arts & Crafts, DIY

Being a Finn, I don’t typically decorate for Halloween. These über-cute ghost tea light holders might make me change my mind, though:

The Craft Train Kate Ghosts-hero-2

Kate at The Craft Train.

Aren’t they adorable! And made from very simple materials – repurposed toilet paper rolls, white paint and a black marker. Visit Kate at The Craft Train for the whole project.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Quilting-Like Upholstery Tacking on Cabinet Doors

Design & Designers, Inspiration

What a fascinating take on upholstery tacking: the doors of a free-standing dining room cabinet are tacked in an elaborate pattern on what looks like leather.

Desire to Inspire Toronto Interior Design Group Quilted Cabinet Doors

Toronto Interior Design Group, found via Desire to Inspire; cropped.

The leather is clearly set over some sort of puffy filling held down with the tacks. It quite reminds me of quilting.

Found via Desire to Inspire.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

A Pompom Solar System

Arts & Crafts, DIY, Geek out!, Stunt Double

Love this – Lisa Tilse at We Are Scout turned our solar system into a pompom mobile:

We Are Scout Lisa Tilse Pompom Solar System

Lisa Tilse at We Are Scout.

So clever! The blue and green Earth is the best, closely followed by Saturn with its rings and the colorful Jupiter.

Visit her site for the tutorial.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Experimental Cooking: Popcorn Nachos

DIY, Food & Drink

Due to various dietary restrictions (some old, some new), we’re trying out different versions of old favorites and recipes completely new to us. This means food experiments! Here’s Husband’s latest: popcorn nachos.

Experimental Cooking Popcorn Nachos

It works surprisingly well, even if the result is a bit crumbly. As long as you’re using a fork, it’s fine.

You don’t need a recipe as such, but here’s the how-to:

  • Pop a batch of corn and pick out the unpopped kernels. Spread in the bottom of a baking dish.
  • Top with a light layer of salsa, chopped peppers, olives, mozzarella, etc. – whatever you’d put on regular nachos.
  • Bake in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit / 175 Celcius until the cheese melts.

Did you try it? What did you think?

Colorful, Geometric Paper Jewellery

Arts & Crafts, Design & Designers, DIY

This amazing geometric paper jewellery pings the same receptors in my brain as the geometric quilting patterns I found earlier.

The House That Lars Built Paper Earrings Necklace

The House That Lars Built; photo by Jane Merritt.

They come from a set (tiara, earrings and necklace) inspired by the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of Britain.

How inventive – kudos! Visit The House That Lars Built for the tutorial.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Colorful, Geometric Quilt Patterns

Arts & Crafts, Design & Designers

Oh, wow, I love the colorful, geometric quilt patterns by Elizabeth Hartman.

Elizabeth Hartman Fancy Forest and Delightful Desert Collage

Elizabeth Hartman / Oh, Fransson; collage by Eppu Jensen.

I first found them while browsing for various fox crafts, and didn’t have time to immerse myself in her other patterns until now. There are so many great ones I can’t choose a favorite, or even a few favorites. For example, there are these unicorns with colorful manes…

Elizabeth Hartman Lisa the Unicorn

Elizabeth Hartman / Oh, Fransson.

…and (erudite) hedgehogs:

Elizabeth Hartman Hazel Hedgehog II

Elizabeth Hartman / Oh, Fransson.

In addition, the patterns include swans, feathers, sloths, butterflies, owls, whales and llamas, to mention a few. And the colors in the sample quilts are gorgeous…! Even though I said it already, I’m gonna say it again: so hard to choose! 🙂

Did you find a favorite?

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

New to Me: Majestic 3d-Printed Dice

Design & Designers, Games

Oh, wow, look at these 3d-printed dice:

Etsy MajesticTrinkets Art Deco Dice Set

MajesticTrinkets on Etsy.

They’re designed and made by Carolyn. She sells her dice under the name Majestic Trinkets through an Etsy shop and a Shapeways shop.

Shapeways Majestic Trinkets D20 Lace Brass

MajesticTrinkets on Shapeways.

Carolyn uses CAD software to design the dice, so they’ll be properly balanced. Some of the designs can be printed from a variety of materials.

Shapeways Majestic Trinkets D10 Spindown Nickel

MajesticTrinkets on Shapeways.

Very cool – what a wonderful way to channel your creativity. I love that she combines her training (mechanical engineer) and hobbies to make pretties for her fellow nerds. 🙂 Kudos!

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

P.S. Visit MajesticTrinkets on Twitter for more photos of neat die projects!

Creativity Is: Wonder Woman – Renaissance Garb Crossover

Arts & Crafts, Geek out!, Stunt Double

Jenn at Ms. Makes mashed up Wonder Woman and Renaissance garb with brilliant results:

Instagram Msjennmakes Wonder Woman Renaissance Full

Ms. Jenn Makes on Instagram; photo by Angela (wanderings_in_wonderland).

Instagram Msjennmakes Wonder Woman Renaissance Portrait

Ms. Jenn Makes on Instagram; photo by Angela (wanderings_in_wonderland).

It’s a version of late fifteenth century Florentine dress. Jenn describes the details:

“The outfit is based on those common in 1490’s Florence, largely documented by Domenico Ghirlandaio, and consists of a camicia, side lacing gamurra (with bead and sequin embellished neckline decoration), a set of tie on sleeves (also embellished), a velvet giornea, and a #tambourbeading embellished and faux leather belt! Other accessories include a lasso holder, faux hair braid, and a diadem […]”

She also shared some details of the costume, like the beaded collar piece…

Instagram Msjennmakes Wonder Woman Renaissance Neck Beading

Ms. Jenn Makes on Instagram.

…and detachable sleeves, lined, with another set of embellishments from Wonder Woman’s costume:

Instagram Msjennmakes Wonder Woman Renaissance Sleeves

Ms. Jenn Makes on Instagram.

Absolutely breathtaking! Jenn mentions using a beading technique called tambour beading, which I hadn’t heard of before. I just love learning new things from my fellow textile geeks!

Visit Jenn’s Instagram for more views and details or the Ms. Makes website for more sewing talk and tips.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.