Photo Bomb

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Photo Bomb

When we get all dressed up and fancy without our kids, as in never, I usually try to take at least one photo to remind myself of my youth, and to use as a totally realistic Facebook profile pic.  I know I'm not alone.

So for Adam's birthday party, I got to work making a photo booth, so that everyone could get a pretty shot of themselves dressed up. I didn't have a professional photographer, and I had to combat the nighttime lighting which can be either too dark or stark/artificial, so I had to think through the easiest way to make it work. I thought I'd share some tips for making a photo booth for evening-time soirees. Academy Awards party?

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The January Home

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The January Home

It's January. I know this because the frozen air and my somber post- holiday mood is leaving me with the overwhelming desire to strip my house naked like a tree without leaves.  I love empty space.  I love simple, natural elements. I love air plants, and succulents, and leafy stems, and barnacle covered stones. I made a winter terrarium with them this week. I rinsed the barnacles with cold water and shook the moisture off, then put them on a wooden cheese pedestal with air plants- the moisture from the rocks keeps them hydrated- and covered them with a glass dome.  The air plants look like sea plants to me, and the whole thing looks decayed, and frozen.

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Festoons

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Festoons

The tree is down. I put it next to our fireplace this year, and totally dried it out.  While I'm a little sad to see Christmas go, I was tiring of the endless versions of little drummer boy I've heard over the last month. Fortunately I have next week's NYE party to look forward to. I'm making my first photo booth for the occasion, and I've been working on some festoons for the party guests. While packing away our Christmas haul, I discovered a box of this net-like craft paper padding, and I thought it might look pretty nifty spray painted gold, fashioned into a paper crown. I also painted feather tips with school glue, then dredged them in old fashioned glitter.  To make both, all you'll need is some cheap-o plastic headbands,  hot glue, masking tape (or washi) and gold metallic spray paint. See photo tutorial below...

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Mason Jar Globes

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Mason Jar Globes

I haven't exactly dropped off the face of the earth, but I am finishing up the semester (finals) and my internship with Anthropologie comes to a close this Friday, which explains why the blog isn't being updated as often lately. I'm a little preoccupied with not knowing what comes next... We have been making things here and there, little after-school projects like these mason jar snow globes, but I've decided to just enjoy my downtime, rather than try to document everything. A few weeks ago I led a children's holiday crafting event at Anthro where we ate cookies and worked on a mason jar globe project. It's an easy to do, elementary school inspired craft, and the kids really loved it, so back at home I made a few more with Jasper. We used some plastic foliage from the craft store to fill the jars. They have a bit of an underwater forest look- totally weird, but rather pretty in the sunlight. Here's the tutorial:

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A Winter Recipe

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A Winter Recipe

They say our sense of smell is deeply tied to memory. Just think of when someone walks by wearing the same cologne as your high school boyfriend- you know what I'm talking about. Some of my favorite scents are alfalfa and hay which remind me of my grandparents horse ranch, the salty air at the ocean, woodsmoke, and coffee. I also love the smell of pine sap, and baking from the kitchen which remind me of Christmas. One way you can bring up that aroma this time of year is to slowly simmer dry whole spices, like cinnamon sticks. We have a nice gas fireplace stove in our living room with a ledge deep enough to hold a small enamel pot, and I've been keeping cinnamon simmering throughout our recent cold snap. All you need is your pick of dry whole spices like cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg berries, cloves, rosemary, pine needles. Add to a pot with water and a little oil (I used jojoba), bring to a simmer on a stove top and cozy up with a warm blanket... 

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