Warning, spoiler alert if you are a mother in my son's kindergarten class. I put together a very on trend gift for the kids to make today in art. Inspired by the dipped wood all over Pinterest, I picked up 3 packs of the wooden kitchen utensils at IKEA (at $.49 its a steal). Using masking tape, I marked the dip line and lightly coated the ends with acrylic paint. Once dry I tied the set together with baker's twine.
Read MoreI learned all about planting succulents this weekend at the CB2 DIY Saturday from the folks at Lila B. a sustainable floral design studio specializing in succulents and carnivorous plants. It was an informative, interactive event, and I got to take home my own DIY tiny terrarium for about $7 which included soil, rocks and succulents.
Read MoreCB2 has been hosting DIY Saturdays at select stores for the past few weeks. This free event, open to the public (RSVP) features DIY's for container gardens, design projects, and drinks + tastings. I am bringing along a friend to the Berkeley store. We plan to hit up Tacubaya (it's Cinco de Mayo after all) and I'll hop across the street to the Crate and Barrel Outlet. That place is a treasure trove of castoff floor samples, discontinued items and Marimekko fabric by the yard.
Read MoreI swear by this book. It's not glamorous. It's tried and true. With instructions on how to do just about anything with food, measurement conversions and temperature guidelines, The Joy of Cooking is my most utilized cookbook and it shows. My copy lost it's dust jacket and gets muckier every time it's used (the cookie section has bits of cookie dough stuck to the pages). To protect it from the elements, I employed a 5th grade book cover technique using left over oil cloth from recovering my kitchen stool. Now I can wipe it off, and the cookie particles inside it can serve as bookmarks for recipes I've made.
Read MoreToday I paid a visit to The Temescal's East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse. My art teaching partner and I were on the hunt for a centerpiece for a wire sculptural hanging project that the kids will be doing on Thursday. I'd stepped into this space before, but I'd never really looked around. It was amazing. Packed to the gills with jars of vintage knitting needles, bins of tubes, cartons, corks, foil ties, books, frames, typewriters, toys and furniture, it was organized chaos, and everything had potential. If you are in the Bay Area, its a must see. They are not for profit and take donations, so consider sending your unwanted treasures their way. They may get re-purposed into something cool! I want those knitting needles.
Read MoreMake + Haus is the new name and online home for the blog Poppy Haus. Established in 2011, the blog archive now contains hundreds of original design projects and whole food recipes, many featured on the likes of Apartment Therapy, Martha Stewart, Design*Sponge, Curbly, and Epicurious.
