Make a Papier Mache Easter Egg Container

Easter will be her before we know it and with springtime crafting already in full swing, we wanted to share a fun project with you: decorating a German papier mache egg box.

You'll need:
• a blank egg, like those pictured below, available here
• acrylic paint in white and other springtime colors of your choice
• a selection of Dresden foils and trims, available here and here
• springtime and Easter scraps, available here and here
• and of course glue, scissors and paint brushes

These German egg boxes are lined with pretty vintage floral paper, just like the papier mache eggs that have been enjoyed for generations.

Start out by painting both halves of the egg white to ensure your final color choice is vibrant. When dry, paint with color. Next step, glue on scrap images and Dresdens. When adding trim around the seam of the egg, take care to line the trims up precisely. And voila! Your egg is complete.

You can also add colored mica, elegant fabric trims, glitter, and a glossy glaze to your egg. If you add any gloss, be sure to do it before you apply Dresdens so as not to dull any of their luster and shine.
We chose birds and florals for this set of eggs, paired with powdery hues in pink, blue and mint.
Happy Spring and Happy Crafting!

An Almost-Spring Neighborhood Walk

click to enlarge

A few days ago blue skies drew us outside for a long-overdue stroll around the neighborhood. With cameras in tow and at the ready we set out on our favorite loop that includes a couple of good hills and plenty of pretty views. Funny thing... every single picture I took was a flower shot or had blue sky. Guess I'm more ready for spring than I thought!

Be sure to visit Mary at Little Red House for more mosaics.

Repurposing Fabric into Handmade Bias Tape

A pile of strips ready to be passed through the bias maker.

We recently sorted through our fabric stash as much for organization as to remind ourselves of what exactly we had. Some yardage serves as souvenirs from past travels (a bold cotton flora from Tahiti, dainty Liberty of London-style silks from the Caribbean) other yardage reminds us of past phases and trends (like our chinoiserie craze several years ago).

Our sorting and refolding yielded several candidates perfect for a new project: hand making colorful and unique bias tape. Inspired by our project, my grandmother also sorted through her fabrics and gifted us with quite a stash of calicos, stripes and checks from the 1970s and early 80s.

Pretty brown and cream stripe bias tape freshly ironed and waiting to be wound onto a card.

To make our bias tape we used a Bias Tape Maker like the ones pictured below. They're available at fabric stores or online.

Here are several examples of the finished tape:

The above three are all vintage. My grandmother made me an Easter dress out of the purple flower print on the right when I was only 4. The below photo is from fabrics we bought in Hawaii and Grenada about 10 years ago.


If you've wanted to try making your own bias tape, we say go for it! It's fun, rewarding and makes you look at your fabric with new eyes. However, if you're hesitant and think it looks like a lot of work, stop by our etsy shop for a selection of interesting and varied prints that are ready to go and perfect for a multitude of projects (braided rug? purse edging? scrapbooking?).

And Then There Were Three

We've been doing a bit of spring cleaning here at the blog over the last week or so, adding new elements, changing columns and links, etc. The most noticeable change is undoubtedly that we now have three columns instead of two!

It was a bit intimidating at first to edit the html of the blog template, but everything worked great thanks to this easy tutorial at threecolumnblogger.com. Not only were the instructions super easy to follow, but they have tons of tutorials for different Blogger templates.

We have a few more changes in store, like a wider header, so check back to see how our new look evolves!

We Sell Seashells by the Sea Shore

Crafting with seashells adds beauty and interest to everyday items. Above is an example of how small and medium shells have transformed a vintage box into a sailor's valentine. The design was first laid out without gluing to allow for adjustments, then the shells were secured in place with all-purpose craft glue. Here's a side view:


Picture frames are also perfect for embellishing. Below, small and tiny shells were adhered right to the frame's glass -- we liked the look of the wooden frame and wanted to incorporate it into our finished look. Another option is, of course, to glue directly onto the frame itself.

We've recently added a large selection of natural and dyed shells to our etsy shop in various sizes and shapes:

New Scraps for 2010 Arrived Today from Germany

We've been anxiously awaiting the release of the new German scraps for 2010 and are excited to announce that we have them in hand as of today. They've been added to our site as well as listed in our etsy shop. As usual, they are so much more beautiful in person than in the photos with beautiful embossing and rich detail. Pictured are three of my absolute favorites.

Rebecca's Wedding Bouquet

We love seeing the beautiful creations our customers make with supplies from our shop and were completely blown away by how Rebecca used these flowers. She created her wedding bouquet using various sizes and shades of paper flowers and an elegant silver holder -- absolutely stunning!

She incorporated white star flowers, lemon yellow and aqua forget me nots, yellow marigolds and two kinds of yellow roses. Here's a closer look:

You can find all these paper blossoms and more in our etsy shop.


Thank you for sharing Rebecca and congratulations on your special day!

Vintage Style Cotton Stripe Tea Towels

I loved these iron-on transfers featuring burros.

A good hand towel is a kitchen staple around here so we were thrilled to find two vintage styles to add to our shop. Woven of pure cotton, they're reminiscent of the 1920/30s flour sack towels and are lovely to use as-is or can be printed on or embroidered.

I chose one of each color to keep for myself and plan on doing a bit of south-of-the-border inspired embroidery. Towels are ironed and images are transferred! Now for a little color selection and handwork.

You can find these tea towels in our etsy shop by clicking here.

Fresh out of the dryer and ready to be ironed.

Waiting for their images to be transferred.

Mosaic Monday

With Valentine's Day behind us, our thoughts have turned to Easter and springtime. We love vintage images on chromolithographed paper scraps from Germany and use them in cards, decorations and gifts. More of our favorites are here.

To see more mosaics please visit Mary over at Little Red House.

Mosaic Monday: Springtime Crafting

The calendar may still say winter, but we're getting in the mood for spring and busy filling our Etsy shop with all manner of colorful supplies. From hand made paper roses and forget me not flowers to spun cotton mushrooms from Germany and fancy ribbon trims in satins and velvets, we hope you'll find something that either sparks your creativity or fits right in with a project already underway.

To see more mosaics please visit Mary over at Little Red House.

Shadow Shot Sunday

We've had a seemingly endless stretch of storms here in Southern California: rain, hail, high winds, high surf, the works! Good for getting lots of work done, not so good for outdoor activities or shooting shadows. So... here is one of my favorite shots from last summer. My boyfriend and I like to switch off taking pictures of each other surfing. I shot this one of him in the golden afternoon light at the end of a long beach day many months ago.

Be sure to click below to check out all the other shadows over at Hey Harriet!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Last weekend I was inspecting my vine and how it's finally attaching itself to my wall (grow! grow little vine!) when I couldn't help but notice these palm shadows.

Be sure to click below to see more shadow shots over at Hey Harriet:

Shadow Shot Sunday

Christmastime brought a new waterproof camera, and weather in the 70s with minimal waves provided a perfect opportunity to try it out. That's me taking my turn stand up paddle surfing into the camera with the late afternoon sun casting a few shadows.

Be sure to click below to see more shadow shots:

Mosaic Monday

Christmas Day and the 26th my mom and I took advantage of the phenomenal weather with a walk along the beach and a local hike on trails through Torrey Pines State Park leading down to the beach. Here's a glimpse of what we saw, from left to right....

1. A view of the Pacific Ocean through the Torrey Pine trees.
2. Pretty seaweed at low tide.
3. Wispy clouds and backlit trees.
4. Recent rains have prompted a few wildflowers to bloom.
5. A building swell.
6. Two campers get into Christmas Day.
7. Hikers enjoying the perfect weather.
8. The lifeguards keep an eye on things from their beach-mobile.
9. Looking north.

Be sure to stop by Little Red House to enjoy all the wonderful mosaics!

Shadow Shot Sunday

This is actually a shadow shot of Golden West taking her shadow shot!