Blog Posts

DIY Skateboard Deck Swing

July 1, 2013 by Andrea Howe 9 Comments

Believe it or not, Taylor came up with the idea to build a swing out of a skateboard deck. While I believe my daughter is a creative genius, I do have to wonder if she saw this somewhere, and unknowingly tucked it away in her subconscious mind a long time ago, because the idea was just too brilliant.

We have the most amazing tree in the backyard, a 40 foot Chinese Elm to be exact, and it was just begging for a swing to be hung from it. When Taylor came up with the skateboard deck idea, we ordered one right away and then it sat in our garage for the last year. This weekend we finally put up the swing, and really couldn’t believe we had put it off so long because it was pretty quick and easy of a process. Here’s how we did it, using this tutorial as a guide.

You’ll need braided rope that will hold at least 135 pounds per rope (1 50 ft per swing), 2 steel rings, 2 carabiners, scissors, matches/lighter, skateboard deck.Start by tying a bowline knot, keeping a loop on the end and throw that over the branch. Art tied a steel wrench to the rope to help get it over the branch. Take the loose end and feed it through the loop and then tighten/pull the rope so it creates a noose around the branch. The bowline knot allows for a super tight and secure knot, but expands when there’s no pressure from the weight of the swing, allowing for the tree branch to grow properly.

Then cut the rope to the desired length. We wanted the ability to take down the swing and store it during the winter so we added this extra step, but it’s not necessary. We tied another bowline to a steel ring so that we could hook and unhook the swing to it. Repeat this process on your second rope so you now have to ropes hanging down from your tree. Then go ahead and drill your holes into your deck (we used a ⅜″ bit), and feed 2 pieces of rope through your deck. It’s important to note that we fed the rope through horizontally so they run along the long side of the deck as opposed to vertically running along the short side. This provides additional support of the deck.Then take your two pieces of rope on either side and tie together in at least 3 half hitch knots, pulling extra hard to ensure a tight and secure knot. The last step is, using the rope from either side of the deck swing, tie another bowline to your carabiners and then attach to the rings. You can now unhook your carabiners and take down the swing if you’re having a party or during the winter. One last thing you should do is burn the edges of your ropes to prevent fraying. Simply take a match or lighter to the ends and singe till they melt together, should just take a few seconds. Now you’re ready to have fun and be safe!
We couldn’t install a swing for the big kids and leave out little Hayden, so we got a baby swing up for him too and he’s in heaven.

It’s only been a couple of mornings since we installed the swing, but so far they’ve ran outside each day and got on their swing. They ate breakfast by their swing and then their popsicles later in the afternoon. It’s awesome to see them so excited about it. Syd, the night we installed it, said “I can’t believe we actually have our own swing in the backyard now.” It feels good to see them getting so much joy out of such a simple experience.
And because our tree is so high up, the swing gets a really deep, high arc to it so you really lose your stomach on it, in the most awesome of ways. It doesn’t get going super fast, but what it lacks in speed it more than makes up for in the drop and the free-fall.
Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. This was such a fun, easy and quick DIY project that I’m so glad we completed. Just when I thought it wasn’t possible, the backyard went and got even cooler.

It goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyhow, this tutorial is how we did it and I cannot be responsible for any faulty installation of your own swing at home. We suggest doing your own research, asking questions at your hardware store to make sure you get the right supplies, and maybe even watch a video or two online. We test the swing each time, with our own weight, to ensure strength and security and recommend you do too.

Exciting News For Gwyneth Made Me Do It

June 27, 2013 by Andrea Howe 20 Comments

When I checked out It’s All Good just almost 3 weeks ago, I certainly never had any intention of doing more than try a few recipes, flip through photos of Gwyneth looking flawless with no makeup on, and maybe proving that gluten free baking was nothing more than a crock of shit. And I definitely did not set out to get other people to actually go out and buy the book. Sure, I wanted to try to cook and eat more healthy, and for that, my intentions were valid. But I never dreamed that this book would actually teach me so much and get me to explore such a wide variety of recipes, in such a short amount of time.

Within 30 pages of the book though, I knew there was something about it I really, really liked. Between the writing style, the simplistic way of breaking down all the scariness that is vegan, dairy free, gluten free cooking, and loads of purty photos, I discovered that clean eating didn’t have to be torture, and could in fact be enjoyable. And better yet, I could actually cook it for myself and my family.

I know it sounds like I’m getting all sappy about Gwynnie, and maybe I am. But I never thought that I, a hardcore carnivore and cheese lover for life, could so easily adapt to cooking and eating vegan, dairy free meals and treats on a regular basis. While I most certainly never have any intent of giving up brie, nor can I say I’ll never have a filet or In N Out again, I’ve learned that for the majority of my food intake, I can live without those things, and in its place, I’ve discovered so many other alternatives.

So friends, I have some exciting news to share. It looks like I’m going to actually have to go out and buy a copy of the book, because starting this Monday, July 1st, I’m going to begin writing a weekly column titled Gwyneth Made Me Do It, over at Babble, in their brand new Health & Wellness section. I’ll start out by posting twice a week, and in many ways it will be an extension of my Instagram account, but in more detail of course. Thank you so much for the support over at Gwynethmademedoit on Instagram! Almost 600 followers in just a couple of weeks! I’ll be writing about the recipes I try, the trip ups and stumbles along the way, and how clean eating is changing me, for better (health), and for worse (I’m broke!). It will be a very real and authentic account of my journey.

I’m excited and very nervous. I’ve been wanting to write for Babble for over a year now, and who knew this would be how I would get there? A book borrowed from the library, written by a celebrity I couldn’t stand, and an Instagram account started on a whim one night so I wouldn’t annoy my regular followers with endless healthy food pictures. Wish me luck, and thank you as always for being a huge source of inspiration and support!

Patriotic Pinwheel Cookies Made With Royal Icing

June 18, 2013 by Andrea Howe 3 Comments

I’m taking the next few days off to be with my family and enjoy summer, so I thought I would leave you with one of my favorite tutorials that I pulled over from my old blog. I recreated a cookie that was on the cover of Martha Stewart magazine, skeptical I would be able to achieve similar results. I in fact did achieve great results and my faith in the Martha Stewart enterprise was restored, or strengthened, depending on how you look at it. I still love how they came out and think they’re just as timely today as they were two years ago. And oh my, look at how my children have grown! I hope you enjoy this little tutorial, and please let me know if you have any questions!I don’t even like royal icing cookies, yet I keep making them. I’m so weird. “Hey kids, let’s spend 2 hours making cookies that I’m not going to even eat!” “Hooray”, say the kids! They are way too sweet for my liking; as you may recall I much prefer a sweet & savory cookie like a flaky shortbread for instance. But really, I just can’t help it, they are so darned pretty and let’s be honest, impressive. Especially these patriotic pinwheel ones, claiming to be “easy” on the cover of this month’s Martha Stewart Living. I have to say, she didn’t lie, they are in fact easy. And oh the kids love them! Instant sugar high no doubt.

I posted a video tutorial on how to use royal icing back in February if you’d like to check it out. I was told it was a tad too long, but at any rate, I share some tricks I learned along the way to help you achieve a “perfect” consistency for royal icing. Once you’ve achieved the perfect consistency, a little practice at a steady hand and consistent pressure is just about all you need to achieve these pretty cookies. You start by outlining the cookie Then you just start flooding it in, using your tip to push the icing around a bit to help fill it in Add some sprinkles if you like, and enjoy. Royal icing takes about 10-15 minute to set, so you have to work a bit quickly, but you still have plenty of time to get the job done at a nice steady pace.To achieve the pinwheel effect like Martha’s cookies, simply place a dot of royal icing in the center of your cookie, and then 3 concentric circles surrounding it. Your icing needs to stay wet so immediately place your toothpick in the center of the dot and drag a STRAIGHT line from the center all the way out to the outer edge. Your icing needs to stay wet so immediately place your toothpick in the center of the dot and drag a STRAIGHT line from the center all the way out to the outer edge. The straight line is the part that was left out in the magazine. I was imagining I had to draw wiggly lines to get the curved effect, but nope, a straight line is all you need.

Here’s what a cookie looks like in the beginning of the process Drag your toothpick from the center all the way out Easy right? To get the other side of the wavy pinwheel effect, you start at the outer edge and then drag your toothpick towards the center like so:So you’re first dragging from the center out, and then from the out into the center And you just repeat drag out, drag in, all the way around the cookie And you end up with a pretty spectacular looking cookie! For the red and blue combo, you start with a blue dot and then alternate red and blue circles. Taylor’s cookie below has a wavy effect if you can tell. For that effect, as I was dragging out and in, I slightly curved the line to the right.So even though I may not enjoy these cookies very much, everyone else seems to love them so I’ll keep making them. 🙂 I’m thinking these would be so pretty in hot pinks and oranges for a girl’s birthday party don’t you think?Happy 4th Of July!!

Gwyneth Made Me Do It

June 4, 2013 by Andrea Howe 17 Comments

Let me be clear and start by letting you all know that I have a love-hate relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow, which leans more towards strong disdain/hate more than the love part. Not for reasons you would probably guess though. I’ve loved her as an actress for many years, and like most of the world, thought she was nothing but perfection when she sweetly accepted her Oscar in “the pink dress“. No one can doubt her pure natural beauty, even if you think she’s too thin, too boyish, too flat chested, whatever. The woman is a beauty and at age 40, she looks much less tired than I do.

But after an initial love affair with the goopster, it became clear that Gwyneth and I didn’t have a whole lot in common, as she began to appear on more and more talk shows and more and more magazine interviews. My disdain for Gwyneth reached epic proportions when she appeared on Conan with her legs all oiled up, talking about how she had just arrived home from a trip to some remote, far-flung island that clearly, only millionaires could ever afford traveling to, and she paused and looked at the audience, and smugly instructed them that “You all have to go there!” As if.

I certainly don’t have a problem with affluent people, and I don’t have a problem with people born into wealth. But when you are so clearly detached from reality and how the world actually works, that you assume everyone is able to live the same lifestyle as you Gwyneth, you come across as not just affluent but as delusional and entitled. There are links upon links which I can refer you to, which shows the goopsters detachment from reality, but I’ll spare you, because I’m sure many of you get the picture.

So you may have heard that GP has a new book out titled It’s All Good. I had no intent of touching it, until I read this review, and I gotta admit, it got me curious (clearly). It’s subtitled Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great. Well heck, I want to look good and I definitely want to feel great. At 37, I’ve been feeling exhausted lately, which no amount of rest or sleeping in can seem to cure. My dark circles seem to be getting more pronounced, and I’ve been experiencing chronic back pain that is some days so debilitating I can barely sleep. I work out on a regular basis, I overall eat sort of healthy (but could always do better), and I try to take care of my skin. But I was still looking and feeling older than I ever imagined feeling at 37. So I asked my Dad to track down the book at the library for me, because I refused to give her any of my money.

30 pages in, I have to admit that I sort of liked it. I actually really liked it. Loved it in fact.

Let me warn you in advance, if you are already slightly annoyed with GP, you will definitely at times, be annoyed with her in this book.

enjoying my breakfast in the garden, aka my backyard

Evidence A: The book jacket says “While she may not eat this way every day of her busy life, this is the food Paltrow turns to when she needs to revitalize or lose weight…and now you can too!” First off, when the f*%k did GP ever need to lose weight? That kind of sentence right there is why people in general are usually annoyed with thin people.

Evidence B: In her introduction, Gwyneth writes, “One sunny afternoon in London, in the spring of 2011, I thought – without sounding overly dramatic – that I was going to die. I had just served lunch in the garden at home…” Sorry GP, but you most definitely sound overly dramatic, especially as you read on and see that she was having a migraine. Just a regular old migraine, not some scary heart attack or anything. And she was serving lunch in “the garden”. Do you mean your backyard? She goes on to tell us she ordered up a battery of expensive tests (and you should too!), and equated a lot of her physical woes on the fact that she had been spending the last year eating too many french fries and red wine. If you’ve known GP’s antics for as long as I have, are we really supposed to believe that the health crazed mom of 2 really went on some wild french fry eating bender for a year? Give me a break Gwyneth.

Evidence C: In one of the recipe instructions for a kids meal, she writes, “See the recipe for Homemade Gluten-Free Dumpling Wrappers on page 229, or find premade ones in the grocery store – we know they’re usually made with wheat, but considering that they’re a vehicle for quinoa and veggies, we’re pretty okay letting a little gluten fly here!” Oh Gwyneth, you’re so easygoing and lighthearted! Thanks for giving us allowance to feed our kids a little gluten!

Evidence D: One recipe is noted as being “quite a bit of work to make”. You told me the recipes were easy Gwyneth! Your book jacket even says so! You lied GP, you lied.

So why in the hell am I still reading the book? And why would you want to? Well here’s why.

I do believe that food has the power to change us, both physically and mentally. It’s as simple as when I eat well I feel well, and when I eat bad, I feel bad. I am very sensitive to sugar and experience such a sugar hangover and crash the day after over-indulging that I suffer from a raging headache and mood swings all day. When I eat too much processed foods I have a low energy and my digestion gets all out of whack for days. My own body tells me food effects me, and science does too. I believe clean eating goes well beyond just portion control and eating your fruits and veggies, though, and do believe there is indeed a science to it, based on your body’s needs. Ever read the Eat Right For Your Blood Type Diet book? Certain foods, no matter how healthy we think they to be, can in fact have different negative effects on your body. If you believe that food allergies exist, then this type of science follows along the same lines (somewhat).

I am overall, poorly educated when it comes to true clean eating. I have wanted a crash course for a long time now, but was overwhelmed by the dizzying array of information out there. Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, the list goes on. I would like to try out baking with rice flour, but I haven’t a clue what to do. I’d love to try and eliminate a little bit of dairy from my diet, but where do I start? This book gives a very simplistic crash course on eliminating some of these items for your everyday cooking. All recipes are virtually dairy free and gluten free, and many are vegan. While my hardcore vegan for life friends may in fact think the recipes are “lame” (Laura!), for a rookie, I’m finding them overall very mountable.

The content covers a wide range of diets and ways of eating. To be honest, I don’t diet, but rather try to eat a well balanced diet as much as I can, and I think the many diet plans out there are overwhelming and a little overboard. But whatever type of “diet” or eating system you follow, these recipes fit in with most of them. Gwyneth says so.

Her co-author Julia Turshen keeps the book real and normal, not just a book dedicated to GP. Gwyneth’s co-author’s voice is real and authentic, and her spirit shines through in the photos of her throughout the book. She seems like the kind of gal I’d like to hang with.

Good little tips sprinkled throughout. Did you know that if you soak almonds in water for half a day, they are easier to digest and absorb the great benefits into your system? Neither did I!

Braised Chicken With Green Olives and Lemon, served alongside Mark Bittman’s Stewed Vegetables With Beans and Quinoa

So what about the actual recipes? Well, I’ve only tried 3 so far, and so far so good. The braised chicken with green olives I made last night was tasty and overall easy to prepare. I was surprised she had my fry the chicken in EVOO I’ll admit, and the rest of the recipe instructions weren’t anything ground breaking, in fact I’ve made an almost identical chicken before, sans the green olives. But it was good and at her urging, I bought an organic chicken for the first time and it was in fact very beautiful.

The simple green juice was indeed simple and delicious. Only calling for 4 ingredients, it is the least complex but best tasting juice I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot of concoctions!

I made the Quinoa Granola With Olive Oil + Maple Syrup last night and ate it this morning, and HOLY SMOKES, it is fantastic. The kids gobbled it up this morning as a cereal and I ate it for dessert with goat’s milk yogurt (look at me!), and this morning as cereal with almond milk. I couldn’t find quinoa flakes (GP says she’s allergic to oats, who is actually allergic to oats?!), but I used my coach’s oats because they’re so flaky and it came out great.

I plan to try more recipes in the following 4 weeks, before the book is due back to the library, and I even plan to follow the 7 day cleanse menu plan to see if I do in fact look good and feel even better. I’ll keep you abreast of my adventures with Gwyneth, if you’re interested, and will definitely be posting some more of the recipes I try on Instagram, so please follow along if you’re interested. I’ll use the hashtag #gwynethmademedoit

Also, because a couple of you asked for the green juice recipe, here you go:

The Best Green Juice
5 large leaves of kale, ribs discarded leaves roughly chopped
1 lemon, zest and pith removed
1 large apple, roughly chopped
A 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 sprig of fresh mint

Push all ingredients through a juice or in a powerful blender. If you’re blending, add ½ cup water. Juice/blend and enjoy.

DIY Patriotic Mason Jar Luminaries

May 24, 2013 by Andrea Howe 59 Comments

Hi there friends. It’s Friday and I’m running around, trying to get ready for Memorial Day weekend, but I wanted to pop in and say hi. How are you? Have any fun plans for the weekend? Well in case you’re looking for a craft or are hosting a BBQ this weekend, I thought I’d share a project from the archives of my other blog, that still is as relevant and pretty back then as it is today. The actual tutorial itself is fairly simple and you might have seen it already around the web, but if not, you can see how I made the exact same luminaries for Halloween, by following this tutorial. But the thing I’ve always loved about these patriotic ones is how simple and pretty they look when glowing on a Summer night at dusk. Have a happy Memorial Day everyone. See you back on Monday (or Tuesday if I’m enjoying myself too much)!

DIY Graphic Onesies

April 29, 2013 by Andrea Howe 9 Comments

My little guy is growing despite his best efforts to refuse all solid foods lately. He’s now comfortably fitting into 12 month clothes and has quickly outgrown the arrow onesie I made for him just 2 months ago. So it was time to stencil up some new pieces for him to wear, and this time I had some help from the Handmade Charlotte stencils from Plaid. I have was the Family Message Center set which contains 87 stencils to create calenders, to-do lists, chore lists, etc. I however, saw some of the smaller scale patterns and designs and figured they’d be perfect for some more bold, graphic onesies.
As fun as it is to make your own stencils, I have to say it’s twice as fun to create these onesies when you have half the work. To make them all you need are your set of stencils, some sponge brushes and acrylic paint or fabric paint, whichever you prefer. You’ll also want to make sure you place a rag or piece of thick cardboard between the 2 layers of fabric so the paint doesn’t bleed through.Start by taping the stencil in place, and then with a gentle pouncing motion, apply the paint in up/down strokes. You don’t want to attempt to brush it on side to side because it will pull at and stretch out the knit too much. Up and down, applying a generous amount of paint is the way to go.To get the gradated colors of the raindrop I just mixed some of the aqua paint with white and didn’t worry about being too precise with color match, so that it kind of came out in a swirly blend of light and dark shades of aqua.To get the graphic Morse code looking pattern, I cut out a grouping of 3 shapes and then just applied the paint and alternated the stencil right side up and upside down.Allow the paint to dry for at least 2 hours and then remove your rag or card stock. You can prewash it but not necessary. These hold up in the wash fine for me and we end up getting lots of use out of them. They never come out perfect, but that’s part of the charm I suppose.

Let me know if you have any questions, and if you have a set of the Handmade Charlotte stencils, I’d love to know which one you have and how you like it, so I can get another set. The catalog of stencil sets can be viewed here, and I’d love to get the patterns or party set.

DIY Watercolor Easter Eggs

March 25, 2013 by Andrea Howe 42 Comments

Watercolor Easter eggs are a novel way to update traditional dyed eggs. Using liquid watercolors and spray bottles, you can easily create lovely speckled and marbled effects.

watercolor easter eggs sprayed with liquid watercolors

Dying Easter eggs has been an annual tradition for as long as I can remember. We’ve carried the tradition on with our kids, and every year we try our best to always try a new technique.

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Why you’ll love this craft

This unique Easter egg painting idea is a great activity for kids and adults alike. It only requires a couple of craft supplies that are available at any local art supply store, and the results are spectacular. You’ll want to make watercolor Easter eggs all year round, they’re so stunning and fun to make.

Creating special works of art with this activity is also so easy and simple. From start to finish, create dozens of eggs for your holiday celebration in under an hour. But it’s so fun, you’ll be in no great hurry to speed through this craft.

Supplies

Hardboiled eggs – definitely use white eggs. Paint won’t stick to plastic eggs, so they have to be good old fashioned eggs.
Liquid watercolors – instead of coming in palette form, liquid watercolors come in concentrated bottles that you mix with water. While you can add the watercolors to a bowl and paint from there, I added them to spray bottles to create the cool speckled effect. Liquid watercolors can be found at any craft supply store.
Paint brushes and spray bottles for applying your watercolors. I picked up my spray bottles at the Dollar Store and they work perfectly!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 – Prepare your liquid watercolors by following package directions and mixing them with water. Add to bowls for painting directly on, or spray bottles to apply with the splatter effect.

Step 2 – Start painting and spraying! To create a marbled effect, first apply metallic watercolor paint, allow to dry, then generously apply your chosen colors with a brush. Allow them to blend and bleed together.

applying watercolors to hardboiled eggs to create watercolor Easter eggs

Step 3 – To create the speckled spray effect, begin by spraying a watercolor about 3-4 inches away from the egg. This will create little droplets that don’t completely cover the egg, but give just a minimal sprayed effect. Standing too close when spraying will create much larger droplets that completely cover the egg.

Then add a second or third color to create a rainbow of droplet shades.

Step 4 – Allow the eggs to completely dry for about 30 minutes before handling. Then enjoy!

Use these for Easter egg hunts, or gift them in little cotton muslin bags for a pretty and unique Easter gift. They also look lovely displayed on a platter or in a bowl on your holiday table, next to a DIY Orchid Centerpiece or Floral Arrangement.

marbled watercolor Easter eggs set on cotton bags

FAQ’s

Can I use traditional brick watercolors?

Unfortunately, no, you cannot use the standard brick type watercolors. They need to be liquid to apply in such a unique pattern. The liquid watercolors are also much more concentrated, so they create more dramatic effects.

Where can I find liquid watercolors?

Most craft and art supply stores including Michael’s, Joann’s, and of course Amazon.

How long do these last?

Just like any hardboiled egg, make sure to keep refrigerated and they will last for a week. Peel and enjoy!

Are these watercolor Easter eggs edible?

Yes! The watercolors do not leak through the shell, and the egg will remain completely edible.

speckled painted Easter eggs using liquid watercolors

Expert Tips

Use bright and vibrant colors for the best contrast and pop.

Experiment with the water to watercolor concentrate ratios that the directions recommend. I have noticed some brands call for a higher water ratio than necessary, which lessens the vibrancy.

While liquid watercolors are much more concentrated than traditional brick paints, you want to keep that vibrancy by not diluting them too much.

While these watercolors wash out of most fabrics, it’s still a good idea to cover up your work surface with some sort of scrap paper or an old cloth. If really young kids are doing the painting, make sure they wear a smock or old clothes you don’t mind getting a bit messy.

Watercolor Easter Eggs

Watercolor Easter Eggs

Watercolor Easter eggs are a novel way to update traditional dyed eggs. Using liquid watercolors and spray bottles, you can easily create lovely speckled and marbled effects.

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 40

Servings: dozen

Author:Andrea

Ingredients

▢ 1 dozen white hardboiled eggs
▢ 4 bottles liquid watercolors use any number of colors you'd like, 4 is a good start
▢ 4 spray bottles
▢ 2 bottles metallic watercolors
▢ 2 paint brushes
▢ water to dilute the watercolors

Instructions

Hard boil 1 dozen eggs and let cool
Mix water and liquid watercolors according to package directions and place desired colors in spray bottles
Do the same with the metallic watercolors, and place in small dishes
Paint on metallic colors first if you'd like a shimmery effect
To create a marbled egg, liberally paint on 2-3 colors separately, allowing the colors to blend together. Allow to dry for 30 minutes before handling.
For the speckled effect, hold bottles back about 3-4 inches and lightly spray desired colors on each egg, creating a light stream of color. Allow to dry for 30 minutes before handling.

Notes

Experiment with the water to watercolor ratios that the package directions recommend. You want bright and vibrant colors, and if you water them down too much, they won’t really stand out. Start by adding a little bit of water, and then add more if necessary.

The best place to get liquid watercolors is at any local craft store. You can get spray bottles at the Dollor Store.

Tried this Recipe? Connect with me and let me know by commenting below!

DIY Painted Arrow Onesie

February 12, 2013 by Andrea Howe 32 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I made this little onesie for Hayden’s first Valentine’s Day. I think most baby holiday stuff slapped with a “first” label on it is a bit much, so I opted for something modern and updated, that he could continue to wear after V Day. The how-to is quite easy and follows the same technique as the heart jeans from yesterday! A bit of advice though, black fabric paint and white cotton knit are frienemies, so be very careful as you can’t wash off the black paint, as you can with the white paint on denim. There will most likely be some smudges, but that’s okay. It still looks really cute overall and everyone will be focusing on the cute baby anyhow, not a smudged arrow! Add hearts in place of the aqua arrows, or switch up the colors. The possibilities are endless! And a few have emailed and asked how this wore over time and with multiple washings, and it did great! Lasted him almost a year in fact! Enjoy and I’ll see you back tomorrow with a new style post!

DIY Seed Bead Necklace

November 15, 2012 by Andrea Howe 24 Comments

This DIY project went through a few transformations before I finally settled on this particular design, and I have to say I love the way it came out. My original intent was for it to just be a plain clustered necklace that was much shorter in length, lying closer to my collarbone. But the more I worked with it, the more it just felt a little too mature. I tried braiding it, and while it looked cool, it also looked too young, almost bordering on tweenish. Finally this morning, it came to me to attach it to an existing old necklace I had on hand that was missing its pendant, and leave it as a simple long draped necklace. So while this necklace really only took about 4-6 hours to make, it took over 4 weeks for me to finally settle on a design I loved.

For this project you’ll need the following, as well as a steady hand and just a bit of patience. Stringing seed beads is tedious, yet strangely very therapeutic work. I string a little at a time, usually in front of the TV at night and stop when my fingers get tired.

Start by double knotting the filament wire around the jump ring like so{*Please see updated post on how to properly tie off strung seed beads using crimp beads}

And then you just start threading your beads. There are tools that work like channels that help you string your beads more quickly, but I just do it the old-fashioned way.

A little trick I have is to pour out some beads on a flat surface, and then lightly moisten my finger tip with my tongue so the beads can easily stick to my finger, and then pick them up one by one, maneuvering the filament wire to easily pick up each bead. Sounds weird and kinda gross, but it’s an effective technique.

Once you complete a row of beads, double knot the end so they don’t slip off, and make another row.

My necklace has 12 rows of seed beads, but you can add as little or as much as you’d like.

Once you’ve completed your rows, a little trick I have is to very carefully burn the edges of the filament wire so the messy little stragglers sort of melt into each other, giving it a cleaner finished look, as well as better securing the ends so they don’t come untied, which has happened to me before. It’s heartbreaking when a row of beads comes falling to the ground.

Attach the completed rows of beads to another jump ring at the other end, and singe those ends as well.

Line your row of beads up to your chain necklace and figure out where you want to attach the beads. The chain was already the perfect length, so I went ahead and figured I’d attach the beads 6″ down from the opening on each side.

Open up your jump rings very carefully and attach to each side of the chain

Close the jump rings with your pliers

And you’re done!

I love the way the chain adds a bit of texture and dimension to the beads. Originally I was going to cut the chain and attach just the upper half of the chain to the beads, but attaching the beads directly on to the chain adds depth and eliminates another step!

A note about the ends. They don’t look perfect I will admit. There are tiny bits of the filament wire sticking out, but since it’s clear no one really notices at all. If you’re really wanting a perfectly finished look, you could add some decorative little covers to each end, and are available at any jewelry supply store. But really, no one will ever really notice if you don’t.

The total length of the necklace is 32″ and has 12 rows of seed beads that are approximately 20″ each. The total time it took me to complete the project was roughly 4-5 hours, and the total cost was less than $10. I used 5 different colors of beads, some of which I already had on hand and some I purchased. Any beginning crafter could easily complete this DIY in a weekend with just a bit of patience 🙂 Also, a note about the chain. If you don’t have one already on hand, you can of course buy chain at a craft store, but the least expensive solution is to pick one up at Forever 21 in their $1.50 section. This is where I got my chain from; it originally had a cute fishie attached, but fell off after a few weeks. What do you expect for $1.50 I guess? Anyhow, the chain is still in perfect condition though, so I’m glad I saved it and found a way to repurpose it!

I hope you enjoyed this one, and please let me know if you try it! To see a couple of recent jewelry DIY’s, you can see my friendship bracelet tutorial here and my threaded rhinestone bangle tutorial here.

Hayden’s Neon Inspired Nursery

November 13, 2012 by Andrea Howe 19 Comments

We finally finished Hayden’s nursery over the weekend, just shy of him turning 11 weeks old. It had been complete for the most part, but I was going back and forth about placement of some artwork. I’m still not sure I love the placement of the pieces above the bed, but for now I can call it done, and can always change it later. Hayden’s room was our old office, and I’ll share pictures next week of how we transformed the office into his nursery, because it involved about 4 weeks of construction, including tunneling through an existing wall to make a hallway, and closing off one point of entry to make another point of entry. It was a lot of work for not a lot of sexy; meaning we went through 4 weeks of construction and all we did was change the point of entry of the room, but a change that was much needed and will improve resell value down the road.

Anyhow, Hayden’s room ended up being the largest of the kid’s room, measuring about 8’x11′, and lots of long wall space that I struggled with. I wanted to keep the walls feeling light and airy, so I was mindful of trying to not hang too much crap on them, something I tend to do. Some corners feel a little busy, but also busy cheerful. I love rooms with lots of blank space, that whole minimalist look, but when it comes down to it I guess we’re just not minimalist people. This is the first room I’ve ever gone with all white walls, and I can finally see the appeal. The room gets great light, and with the white walls and all white furniture, it is the brightest and airiest room of the house. We all congregate here and love spending time in here. And if you recall, I originally wanted it to be all white with pops of neutral beige and neon, but finding all neon was a bit difficult, so when I didn’t find neon pieces I liked, I went with bright colors that read like neon. Overall, the bright pops of color really are what make the room so cheerful.

It’s definitely become one of the favorite rooms in the house, and we love how light and bright it came out. I’ve never painted a room all white because I was always afraid it would come across as too cold and barren, but now I get why designers go goo-goo ga-ga over all-white rooms. So without further adieu, here you go. Enjoy! And you can see the source for most of the items at the bottom of the post.

The crib is tucked away in a corner of the room and is adorned with the most colorful felt garland I could find, from The Land Of Nod. The quilt is probably the thing I love the most though in the whole room. It was designed by Miranda from One Little Minute and handmade by Katie of Swim Bike Quilt. It’s a work of art. The crib skirt and sheet are from Land of Nod as well.

In the corner opposite his crib, we have the dresser and changing table combo and the rocker, both from Ikea. A separate changing table fit into the room, but it felt a bit crowded, and having it on top of the dresser is actually the perfect height for us since we’re tall. I debated recovering our old glider but the cost to do far exceeded the cost of the Ikea Poang rocker. It’s not as comfortable as a glider, but at about ⅛ the cost, it suits us just fine.

On the opposite of the room, right when you walk into it, is a twin bed and nightstand, also from Ikea. Since we had the space, I knew I wanted a twin bed for the middle of the night when he was restless and I didn’t want to run back and forth. It also comes in handy when my mom spends the night. We’ve already used it quite a bit, and it’s the perfect spot to swaddle him at night. The bedding is all from Ikea as well. The lighting fixture is from Land Of Nod.

I wanted a wooden mobile that didn’t light up or have music, more of a decorative piece than one that gives a light show. I found this one on Amazon.

The garland is from Land of Nod and comes in a few other colors, as well as in triangles, which hang above his changing table. Someone with a lot of patience could probably DIY this, but at $8 a strand, it’s a great affordable decorative element and is really well made.

The Between a Rock lamp from Land of Nod is the cutest piece in the room. I love the shape and the sleek shade. Colorful books from Penguin, a cute bunny bank and some DIY artwork sit atop the Ikea nightstand.

My sister found this girl on Etsy that makes these amazing linen pillows and had to have a few for his room. I love the graphics and bright colors. The little owl is Jellyfish and was a gift from my friend Rachel.

My favorite pillow in the room, from the Etsy shop Paleolochic. Linen front with neon graphic and cotton backing.

The poof is probably the funnest and most versatile piece in the nursery, and is from Joss & Main. I use it as a foot rest when I’m nursing, and the kids use it as a place to sit, or as a toy to roll around the house and roll around on.

I needed a spot to place a glass of water, a bottle, some books, etc, but I wanted a different element other than white, so I found this tree stump from West Elm and patiently waited till it went on sale. The dot pillow covers are from Ikea.

I’m still not 100% sure I love the placement of the artwork, but for now it’s good enough. I am really bad at artwork placement actually, so if any friends out there have some suggestions for a different arrangement, I’m all ears! The piece above the bed is from Petit Collage and was a gift from my friend Jules. My sister gave us the Hayden print, and the hedgehog is from Lisa Congdon.

You all remember the DIY project I posted a while back right? If you need a refresher visit here

Eventually I’d like to find a spot to fit a bookcase into the room, but for now we hung a couple of shelves from Ikea to hold books and fun tchotchkes. The bull book ends are from Target and the neon polka dot pot is a DIY I posted here

A gift from my friend Anne, this is definitely Art’s favorite piece in the room. Via Etsy.

Source List:
Hemnes Bed, Dresser & Nighstand from Ikea
Alina Bed Spread from Ikea
Ekby Wall Shelves from Ikea
Poang Rocking Chair from Ikea
Between a Rock Geometric Lamp c/o Land Of Nod
Hanging Around Lamp from Land Of Nod (both lamp shades in Khaki)
Garland in Circles and Triangles from Land Of Nod
Crib Bedding c/o Land Of Nod
Neon bed & crib pillows from Paleolochic on Etsy
Natural Stump Side Table from West Elm
Handmade Custom Quilt by Katie of Swim Bike Quilt
Mobile by Sevi
May The Force Be With You & Hayden’s birth stats prints were gifts from Etsy and I have asked my friend and sister for the source so I can credit here.

DIY Dip Dye Chairs

September 15, 2012 by Andrea Howe 7 Comments

I’ve been working on completing Hayden’s nursery, and one thing every little kid’s room needs is a little chair. I actually quite adore little chairs and we have about 8 of them in different shapes and sizes all about the house. I was going to buy him a new one, but instead decided to give one we already had new life with a dip dyed leg treatment. My inspiration below.

image 1, image 2, image 3

Because Hayden’s room is primarily white with some bright pops of color, and some even brighter neon pops here and there, I decided to refurbish a simple pastel yellow chair we had that previously sat in Taylor’s room, and give it just a hint of an orange neon leg. For this project, you’ll need paint or spray paint in which ever colors you like, as well as some primer; here I used white and neon orange. You’ll also need some painter’s tape, a ruler and some painter’s paper.This is the chair before I added a coat of primer and white spray paint. It was cute in the yellow, but didn’t quite work in his room.Once the white coat of paint had dried completely, I taped off each leg (I went 6 inches up), making sure to add plenty of paper to block off the spray from the paint can. When you’re taped off, simple spray your legs and let dry completely. Remove your paint and paper and there you have it, a simple dip dyed chair leg that adds an updated twist to any room.Eventually the chair will be used for Hayden to sit and read a book or two, but for now, it’s getting a lot of use in the room by the big kids. They are using it to read to Hayden, and even more so as a step stool to help me change diapers (bonus!).I love how this little chair came out and love how easy it was to complete. It was the perfect DIY project to jump back into after having Hayden, and helped to get my creative juices flowing. I’d love to try it in the pastel and natural wood tone options too, for another room in the house. So do you guys have any DIY projects in the works this weekend?

DIY Floral Arrangements

April 24, 2012 by Andrea Howe 8 Comments

So fresh floral arrangements may not be a necessity at a 7 year olds birthday party, but since I was heading down to LA to visit Moskatel’s and Michael Levine, I figured why not make a pit stop at the LA Flower Mart too. After all, shouldn’t having a few fresh flower arrangements around the house after the party be my reward for all my hard work? I am no expert at floral arrangements and like with most things, I try to keep it as simple as possible, so I thought I’d share with you how to make a simple fresh floral arrangement for your next event.

Over the years I have collected several round and square clear glass vases. I use these because of the clean and simple lines and the fact that they go with any color or party scheme. You can add ribbon, as I did for her party, to go with the decor, as opposed to trying to match the flowers, and then use fresh white flowers for your arrangement.Measure out your ribbon, add some double stick tape (or a touch of hot glue) and then apply the ribbon. Add layers of ribbon or keep it simple with just one patterned strip of ribbon.*Tip: Add strips of double stick tape in a quadrant to help the flower stems stay in place. Now you’re ready to begin arranging your flowers.Begin by trimming your stems to desired length and snipping off leaves towards bottom of the stem so the arrangement looks clean in the base of the vase. I like to begin by adding my thicker, fuller flowers, and then add bits of stock and filler at the end where needed.
With shorter arrangements you may not need to add the tape, it just depends on the type of flowers you’re working with.Your end result is an array of beautiful, fresh flower arrangements that cost a fraction of what you’d pay at the florist. If you’d like to see the details of the types of flowers I used in these arrangements, and which vendors I purchased from at the LA Flower District, please visit this post. Follow For the Love Of on Bloglovin and via Instagram @fourflights

DIY Ombre Seed Bead Necklace

March 13, 2012 by Andrea Howe 47 Comments

Design Mom asked me to create a spring version of a classic DIY of mine, the seed bead necklace. I ended up creating this pretty coral and gold version for her site, but I also created a fun ombre layered necklace for me and I wanted to share it with you all! I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, working with seed beads is simple, but tedious. Expect this project to take you about 3 hours, but the level of ease is quite high. A novice should be able to recreate this beautiful interpretation of a fun trend out there.

Your Supplies: Various colors of seed beads in light to dark shades, stringing wire (looks just like fishing wire), crimp beads, 4 jump rings in varying sizes (2 larger for your ends, one tiny one to attach your chain to and 1 medium size ring to leave on the end of your chain to lengthen – Michaels has a pack of various sized jump rings that contain all the sizes you need), 1 lobster claw closure, a small bit of chain, and scissors, wire cutters and needle nosed pliers.

Begin by cutting a length of line about 20 inches long.

Next, add one crimp bead, then a jump ring

Then loop your string over the jump ring and through the crimp bead and pinch shut with your needle nosed pliers. This will keep the beads in place when you start stringing.

Then begin stringing. You can start with your lighter shade of bead like I did or reverse it and go from dark to light. A trick for quicker stringing is to lighten dampen your finger tip with a wet sponge/cloth and then dip your finger into your bowl of beads to grab a few at a time. This limits how many times you have to dip into get beads a bit.

As you complete each string, make sure to repeat the crimp bead process as above so that you add a jump ring and crimp bead to one end. This secures your other end and leaves you a jump ring on both ends to add your strings to. Here are some in progress shots. To create the layered ombre effect it is important that as you add your strings of beads, you also add a bit of length to each line. I added about 1 inch to each line so that at the end, my necklace varied from 20 inches to about 25 inches long when hung on my neck.

Once your stringing is complete, you’ll want to add your chain. I added a 3 inch piece of chain to the end of my necklace to make it a bit adjustable.

With your needle nosed pliers and the smallest jump ring, attach your chain to one end of your necklace.

Trim your chain with your wire cutters

Add the medium sized jump ring to the end of the piece of chain, and then using your needle nosed pliers attach the lobster claw to the other end.

And you’re complete!

A pretty spring necklace reflecting ombre, one of the biggest ongoing trends. The color options are endless and you because the necklace is adjustable, you can wear it short or long depending on the look you’re pairing it with. I hope you enjoyed this DIY and let me know if you have any questions!

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