As a testament to the fact that my craft projects are taking so long that I almost forget having started them, the seemingly simple task of making a few lavender bags is a pretty reliable barometer. Time from first whiff of fresh lavender in the aisle of my local grocery store to having a small stack of shabby chic bags to pepper about my closet and lingerie drawers...about 6 weeks. In which time I could probably have grown the lavender, not just dried and packaged it.
You know that you're a city girl...with a country background...when the sight of bunches of lavender for sale in your local grocery store causes you to stand squealing with glee in aisle seven. For, as every CG with a CB knows, fresh lavender means that (after a little prep work) her closet can be showered with fabric sachets of dried lavender (a much more pleasing scent than any man-made variety).
Step one...getting grubby little hands on fresh lavender
It wasn't exactly a battle of the ages...but in the skirmish of Hebden versus step-stool I can happy report that Hebden won. It was a close call...mainly due to someone (naming no names) not reading the instructions due to the erroneous impression that screwing eight pieces of wood together couldn't be that hard.
From an interior design perspective I can definitely say that I am anti-doily...those irritating, overtly genteel, ineffectual circles of lace...supposed to "protect" furniture...though from what I've never been quite able to decide.
Remember the (let's admit it, irritating) girl back in high school...the one who could take a pair of scissors and a t-shirt and end up with something cute (as opposed to Cinderella's "before" picture)? Well, she's back...courtesy of Maison Martin Margiela. I hate myself for saying this but...I like it. Would I buy it? No...but I do kinda like it.
I love a little fashion DIY...if only because it allows me to do a little creative math when it comes to larger purchases (cue cries of "but look what I saved on item X by making it myself"). Truth be told, though...such is my inherent laziness...that even sourcing the flotsam and jetsam necessary for a specific craft project can sometimes seem like a Herculean task. Which probably explains my enthusiasm for these little bags of joy from dismountcreative...for a mere $10 you have all the paraphernalia necessary to make a Proenza Schouler-esque neon mountaineering rope bracelet...while for $15 you get to try your hand (egad, another pun) at putting together a geode ring.
Let the shopping justification sums commence...
Given the abundance of such groups I have to imagine that some sort of self-help community exists for those who cannot resist the seductive charms of the striped top...if not, I need to start one. The latest incarnation that I happened across...the studded striped sweater...initiated one of those Homer Simpson-esque "d'uh" moments...as in "stripes, studs, relatively easy to DIY...why have I not spent a weekend studding my little heart out?"
If you've been reading this blog for a while now you'll know that Christmas, to me, means an excess of good food and drink...a selection of "vintage" British Christmas specials thrown into the DVD player...and games. Also, let's be honest, it usually includes a few tons of tinsel and glitter. Which is why, this year, I'm going against the grain with a positively restrained version of tiddlywinks...let's call them Philo-winks...with Phoebe as the "squidger"...and colors from Céline's collection for next spring as the "winks".
Full rules can be found here...along with what it means to shoot a boondock, scrunge, or gromp. Just print out...stick onto cardboard...cut out...start playing...and discover that it's just about time to gather round the festive chicken/pork loin/roast beef.
As the nights grow longer...and colder...there's an almost natural progression that causes the brain cells (well, mine at least) to yearn for all things cosy and blanket-y...actually add rustic-y to the list, as the winter months tend to make me lust after the sort of home furnishings that wouldn't be out of place in a vintage Ralph Lauren ad. All of which goes some way to explaining the attraction of these patchwork quilts...blending fabric from APC's archive...with a hefty dose of homespun craftiness. Making me long to be both bundled up (preferably inside, by the radiator, whilst winter winds blow outside)...and...making me think that I should wade through the mass of fabric remnants sitting in bags in my closet, and try my hand at a little quiltin'...
| As all of these one-of-a-kind bags are sold out this is more a case of a yet-another-item-to-add-to-the-ever-expanding-DIY-idea-list than anything else. A reason (as I'm running out of wall space) to contemplate buying slightly abused...and, in all likelihood, badly painted...canvases from thrift stores...and attempting to give them a new lease of life being both useful and decorative. |  |
With all apologies to Amy Winehouse there was really nothing else to title this post...no other way to concisely describe what can happen when an enthusiastic-yet-not-very-practiced-knitter decides that her first project of the winter will be a one-star-difficulty-level-snood.
For those who crave a little more structure in their scarves...say "guten morgen" to Berlin-based Bless' Sakkoscarf with rather nifty black and white tweed shoulder pads. Admittedly, at $475, it's over-priced for what is...essentially...a visual pun...but as the starting point for a little DIY craftiness it does offer some suggestions...
Generally, I can stumble through craft projects...creating an end result that may be a shade short of perfection but doesn't fall to pieces on its first outing...with Hermès' "make your own collier de chien" however, I have met my Waterloo.
I was on track when it came to finding a decent thickness of paper to print the design onto...I was a whiz with the scissors and blades needed to cut out the multitude of slivers of paper required to complete the project...I was an utter failure when it came to the level of dexterity necessary to fold and assembled the aforementioned slivers. Forget bracelet...my overabundance of thumbs created a Hermès-patterned paperweight.
The leap from house furnishings to jewelry is, somewhat disconcertingly, less of a leap and more of a short hop...for now that the agate coasters are resting on various tables (looking lovely though, as Mr. Heb pointed out, not fulfilling their role in the practical sense...as condensation tends to collect on the outside of a glass...pool on the surface of the coaster...and then flow onto the tabletop) the beauty of the stone has encouraged me to look for some wearable options.
Like...one of Brook&Lyn's one-of-a-kind, agate and rope necklaces...
I've been a bad, lazy, DIY-er recently...whose sole forays into the land of needle and thread have either been related to mending pieces that were begging for a little TLC or turning men's shirts into cushion covers...both thoroughly useful endeavors but lacking the excitement and instant gratification that only a good fashion-related DIY project can provide.
Which is probably why I was so excited when I came across this rather snazzy scarf from Maison Martin Margiela. Well...to be exact...I was excited by the scarf itself...and the combination of tourist-shop plaid scarf with chain-link fringe...and rather less excited by the four hundred dollar price tag (a yelp of dismayed incredulity may actually have escaped me).
As a prospective DIY project though it's perfect, given that it's a) something I would get a lot of wear out of...b) something that I am too cheap/sensible to actually buy...and c) something whose composite parts should be ridiculously easy to find (did I mention what a lazy little DIY-er I am?)
You only really appreciate how well made something is when it takes several days...comprised in equal quantities of patience, swearing, and a high degree of hand to eye coordination...to take it apart.
When Mr. Heb grew tired of a rather snazzy, and subtly patriotic, shirt from the Gap I knew that I wanted to do something with the fabric. "This will be easy" said my (obviously delusional) inner voice...lulling me into a false sense of security..."you can unpick those seams in seconds". All I can say, now that the dust has cleared and I am nearly cross-eyed from staring at yards of white stitching is "HA!"...possibly even an "Oh yeah? Says you!"...and definitely a "You stinking little liar!"
Falling under the category of "a great idea but..." are these Venezia travel rings...
...energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks" - Warren Buffett
A new addition to my ever-expanding to do list of DIY ideas...and a new way to get my fix of sweet, sweet, stripe love...this sequin striped tee from J Crew. "Why not just buy the darned thing?" you ask. Put quite simply, it's the neckline...wide boat necks and bad posture being a disastrous combination...but similarly shiny stripes...affixed to a crew neck...would be much more down my waterway...
You know, that is, you finally admit the potential to yourself...that maybe...possibly...there exists the merest chance...that you may, indeed, have one too many items in your closet (thereby breaking one of the basic laws of a successful marriage and proving your other half correct in his assertions that "you have so many clothes you don't know what you own")...when, whilst admiring a navajo blanket skirt on Opening Ceremony's website you realize that the pattern looks vaguely familiar. Not the generic familiarity that comes from having seen one too many spaghetti westerns...no, it's the guilty familiarity of the "that looks like a Ralph Lauren skirt that Mama Heb bought many years ago and which, if my memory serves me correctly now that it’s been given a rather hard kick in the pants, is somewhere in the deepest, darkest recesses of my storage closet" variety.
And sure enough (after a search that would have been worthy of some great, Victorian explorer) I found it...in desperate need of an iron...and in an unflattering, mid-calf, wrap style...but, from a fabric standpoint, the kissing cousin of the OC version. Now I just need to spend some quality time with a needle and thread and see if I can enhance the similarity a little further...
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