Design Inspiration

DIY Simple Holiday Vases

December 4, 2014 by dailygnome 1 Comment

It was fun to create these easy and inexpensive vases for our Thanksgiving table this year. Only took a few minutes and the kids enjoyed glazing the cans and arranging the flowers.

Materials:
Tin Cans (soup, beans etc), labels removed
Festive Cardstock (I’m a fan of the 12″x12″ pads available at Michaels)
Glue Stick
EXACTO Knife
Ruler
Mod Podge
Paint sponge

Directions:

Soak empty tin cans to easily remove labels.
Choose cardstock and cut to height of can, just under the lip.
Glue back of paper and wrap around the can.
Cover with a couple of thin coats of Mod Podge and let dry.
Fill with flowers.

I’m looking forward to making some winter-themed ones for the holidays. They can be used for more than just flower vases, too. Pen/pencil holders, dish brush container, craft containers. So many possibilities!

Frozen Birthday Party with Scavenger Hunt

August 3, 2014 by dailygnome 5 Comments

Even I couldn’t help catching Frozen Fever planning Hadley’s 6th birthday. With the soundtrack on constant rotation combined with Hadley’s contagious excitement when the party wrapped up I just wanted to give Olaf an endless supply of Warm Hugs. On a recent balmy Sunday afternoon our house transformed into the Kingdom of Arendelle:

Pin the Nose on Olaf Party Game:

Thanks to Jason’s mad freehanding skills he cut out Olaf using simple foam sheets from the craft store.

Photo Booth:

I put together a pop-up photo booth and found some downloadable props on etsy. I had the print shop down the street adhere them to chip board and the kids loved hamming it up in character. With my instant Polaroid everyone took home a pic or two.

Frozen Themed Scavenger Hunt:

It’s become a tradition to include a scavenger hunt at our birthday parties and Hadley had fun helping put together the clues and prizes. We started at Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post {and Sauna!} where they collected shopping bags and received their first clue.
Download all clues here Handing out “Olaf Noses” in the garden The “Love Experts”

The cake {ice cream, of course}: Lots of Warm Hugs for Olaf! Happy Birthday Miss Hadley! Some people are worth melting for. Menu:
Sven’s Antlers {pretzels}
Olaf Noses {baby carrots} with greek yogurt dipping sauce
Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches
Kristoff’s Ice Blocks {blue raspberry finger Jello}. A Pinterest fail but I set them out anyway
Frozen Grapes {forgot how tasty these are on hot days}
Melted Snowman {ice water}

Resources:
Arendelle Printable Banner
Frozen Printable Bookmarks
Snowball Playdough Recipe
Frozen Character Props
Frozen Printable Tags

SimplyFine Design Studio Tour

May 23, 2014 by dailygnome 1 Comment

When we moved back in to our home after the remodel I was so happy to have my own private studio, no longer squeezed in a nook off the kitchen. My own sanctuary where I can close the door and create. A peek at the space where I spend my days:

pen_holder

design_studio

portland_web_design_studio

office_decor_ideas

Free Wall Art:
A group of designers assembled posters symbolizing their “favorite worst feedback” from clients. I printed up a few of my favs on white card stock and framed them up. View all posters from the Creative Catharsis Project here.

client_feedback_posters

Why use a boring business card holder when you can use a pretty glass dish?

creative_business_card_holder

My coworker:

designers_studio_tour

My other coworker:
bosley2 A fun way to display kids artwork: I arranged a collage of some of my favorites, then had a piece of plexiglass cut to size and laid it over the desktop. Super easy to swap out when the kiddos bring home a new masterpiece.

kids_artwork_ideas

A shout out to my journalism roots. I found this old newspaper box at an antique shop in Sellwood:

vintage_newspaper_box

you_can_go_your_own_way_poster

Deets + Resources:

New Life for our Family Victrola

February 27, 2014 by dailygnome 3 Comments

Before I was born my parents purchased this old Victrola at an estate sale dirt cheap. Small town. Midwest. Growing up it housed a turntable on top, stereo in the middle and an impressive collection of viynls in the bottom cabinet. Oh the countless times I lifted the needle to replay I Feel Pretty, pretending to be starring on Broadway. And listening to the first pop album I purchased as a preteen for hours on end. A stark contrast to this childhood gem years earlier. Irony. Throw in Van Halen, John Denver and Buddy Holly and it housed an eclectic collection to say the least.

For the past couple of decades while my parents moved around the Victrola has resided in multiple storage units and garages. A few months ago I spotted it in my parents’ garage and had an idea to convert it into a bar. I asked. They didn’t resist. At first I was going to strip and paint it, but in the end the “antique” treatment it had in the 60s started to grow on me, chips and all.