Christmas Layovers, Part 2

Note: I clearly intended to post this 2 years ago, but hey, why not now?

--LJE

Hello, Readers! Today, I will show you the beaded projects I made for holiday gifts and one necklace I made for myself with the leftovers!

I showed you my supplies and methods before, but here's something I bought to make beading easier for only about $6 which is absolutely amazing--a beading board. Everything is so much easier. You can measure more easily, lay out your design, and use the recesses for seed beads and findings.

I made three necklaces:

I also made bookmarks, 2 of each kind: 

The bookmarks were very easy. Using beading pliers,  I opened, attached, and closed a jump ring to each shepherd's hook bookmark. For each one I opened one end of an eye pin and put on my beads. I closed the eye pin around the jump ring and voila! 

These projects were fun in the making, but also in the choosing of beads with the recipients in mind: colors, designs, styles, etc. I ended up with lots of leftover seed beads and decided it would be fun to try to make a two string necklace with seed beads. I think I have a lot to learn about technique for this type of necklace, but I'm enjoying the finished product. 

That's all for now, friends! 

--Lael

Christmas Layovers, Part 1

Note: I clearly intended to post this 2 years ago, but hey, why not now?

--LJE

Howdy, Everyone! It's been awhile! The holidays were super busy, and in this post and my next one, I'll show you why!

I made my own holiday cards this year and a bunch of beaded gifts for my friends. In this post I'll show you several of the steps to make my finished cards. I chose to make postcards because, that way, I wouldn't have to buy seals or use envelopes and cheaper postage! It was much easier to "assemble" the cards and mail them out once I had them finished than ever before. And, the entire endeavor cost me about half as much as my usual cards.

You could use Vistaprint or a bunch of other sites, but I used Staples. I was really impressed with the quality of the finished cards. I downloaded a template from their website and drew my design in Adobe Photoshop on my Adesso Cyber Tablet. (Were I to buy a new tablet, I would buy a smaller one. A year ago I was under the incorrect assumption that there would be more of a correlation between the size of paper I would traditionally use to draw and the size of the tablet space.)

I took my inspiration from folio 17r of the Ingeborg Psalter and created a loose adaptation. Here are a few stages of the development...You can see I made a few changes as I went along.

 

That's a wrap for today! Tune in next time for some beaded projects!

--Lael

DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments

Hi Everyone!

I'm back again to share this easy Christmas Ornament DIY. These take very little time and turn out really beautifully.

All you need is some patterned paper (I used this paper stack), string (I used green baker's twine), glue, and scissors. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the ornament shape, but you can hand cut the shape or use a circle cutter. I just happened to like this particular shape, it really doesn't matter - circles, hearts, stars - whatever you feel like cutting up! You need 5 different pieces of patterend paper, cut in the same shape. Essentially, you fold each piece in half and glue them together.


I followed this tutorial by Lori Whitlock and voila! A beautiful Christmas ornament to keep or gift!

*please ignore the last remnants of my paint splatter manicure - it's coming off before this post goes live, I swear!

Check out my other DIYs over at MixedMethod! Have fun crafting, and Happy Holidays!!

CHEESE!

Steph here. 

Maybe you like taking photographs all year round (like me). Or perhaps you are the type of person that only takes photographs at holidays or big family gatherings. Maybe you don't have a camera or rarely pull it out. The intent of this post is to show you how cool it is to have those 100% natural, completely candid photographs. There is definitely a place for a posed family shot. But let's be honest, most of life isn't posed. Really great memories can be captured if you are willing to pull out the camera at all sorts of everyday moments. An evening ice cream cone, a nightly bath, a walk in the park, a ride on a mower, a happy child.

Whether you are taking photographs of your children, significant other, family, landscapes or places you'll create great memories to view later if you snap today. People often tell me that they don't have a nice camera. NOT a good excuse! If you learn how to use any camera (even a phone camera), you can capture some great memories that you will cherish later. So go, snap away. The seemingly mundane moments in your life often are the ones most remembered and appreciated later.

Check out some of my other photography on my website: LeeEdwardPhotography.com

Santa Fe Beauty

Last May, I had the great fortune of traveling to Santa Fe, New Mexico to visit my husband's aunt Kathy. The flights were a bit long with a baby, but were certainly worth it! Santa Fe is gorgeous. Breathtaking. We really enjoyed the change of pace and scenery. The architecture is completely different, the lifestyle is a little more laid back and there is art everywhere! I was able to take a lot of photographs of the beautiful scenery there and I am devoting this post to sharing them with you today!

Here is 5 secs. worth of advice before diving into the photographs while traveling: BEFORE taking any photographs of a place you are visiting, take a few moments just to enjoy the place. Look around, explore. Become engaged in your environment. Be in the moment! Then take photographs to commemorate a space, a place or a person. Sometimes, photography can get in the way. Don't let the initial focus be on taking photographs. Enjoy the place first, then capture it!

Grab Bag of Cool Things from a Weekend in NYC: Art, Architecture, DIY Decor, and Cuisine!

Howdy, Friends! Today I share some nifty stuff from my weekend in NYC to inspire you! 

This is part of the mural at Tu-Lu's Gluten-Free Bakery! I'm in love!

The decor in the Yaffa Cafe was quite eclectic.                                                                                   

While walking I saw this weathered gem. 

You know I love architecture! 

 I just love this view in Abe Lebewohl Park. 

This guy just made me happy! 

Ahh, now to the cool DIY part of this post! We stayed with my architecture student friend, and I just love how she decorated her apartment! So simple, clean, and DIY! 

 I'd seen this before, but it looks so cool in practice!

On Sunday, we brunched at Queens Comfort which had a very different type of decor than the Yaffa Cafe and my friend's apartment. 

This was the painting in the bathroom. 

Never had ice tea with brown sugar in it! I think I liked it! 

That's all for this week!

--Lael