DIY: Christmas Cards

Wondering what to give your co-workers, friends, or extended family?  Maybe these cute and simple handmade cards will help bring joy to everyone on your list!  With just a few supplies and a little creativity, you can bring a personal touch to your gift-giving this year.  Enjoy and have fun!

Supplies:

Bristol Board or Watercolor Paper

Alphabet Vinyl Stickers

Watercolors

Brushes 

 

Fold the bristol board or watercolor paper in half with a small overlap.  

You can tear or use a pair of decorative scissors to scallop the bottom.  

Pick a fun and festive word and use the vinyl stickers to apply it to the paper.  

Make a wash over the card using water.

 

 Pick a color you want and watercolor over the wash.  

Try mixing different colors together and dropping them in pools of water on the page.  Another fun technique is sprinkling salt over the wash of color.   

You can really have fun with however you like to paint.

 When you have the look you like, remove the vinyl stickers! 

 

 You can embellish the words and use your creativity 

to make the cards more interesting.

If you don't feel like using stickers, you can always embellish a stamp with a little color and add a pop of sparkle...because you can never have too much sparkle!!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Road Trip!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  We had a few family members in town and had a delicious meal, complete with Grandma Presley's homemade apple and pumpkin pies-yum!  A couple weeks before this fantastic holiday, My wonderful husband surprised me with a trip to Memphis, so I thought I would share a few photos from our excursion.  We are rapidly becoming experts at road trips!  Despite our common last name, we did not get a discount into Graceland, but we (literally) packed everything you could do in Memphis in one day.  Was it tacky?  Of course, but so worth it!  And we even made it in town early enough the day before to catch the Cardinals win the World Series (which is a BIG deal in our household).

We started our day with Graceland

 Elvis' dining room

 The backyard

 An entire hallway of gold records and awards

The Meditation Garden and resting place

of Elvis and his family

 Stuart channels Elvis-ha!

The Pink Cadillac!! (His Mom's favorite)

We then made our way to a serious gem of Memphis...

amazing work and story behind the museum

 Ribbons at the Metal Museum

    Who could pass up famous Memphis Barbeque?  Not us.

 After we were stuffed from Rendezvous, we took a stroll down Beale Street to hear some jazz, which is played constantly in this area.  We did hit the Gibson Guitar Factory Tour too, but weren't allowed to take photos, but it was super cool to see how they hand make each guitar to order- especially for B.B. King, who made it famous.

 We completed our day at Sun Studio.  This place is a-mazing.  Filled with old treasures and still a working recording studio today, it is where Elvis recorded his first song, as well as a place where some of the greats have sung (Johnny Cash anyone?).  The tour is really a great way to learn more about the history and get a glimpse into what it was like back in the heyday of rock and roll.

 Enjoy a milkshake at the concession stand before your tour

And finally...touch the microphone Elvis sang his first recording with!

Yep.  We did all this in one day, so if you have a few hours to spare and a thirst for jazz history, make a weekend trip to Memphis.  It's swell.  

Coming soon: A DIY post on hand made Christmas Cards- stay tuned! 

Craft Fair Love!

Thanks to everyone that came to hunny::plum's first craft fair appearance!  It was tons of fun and Katie and I had a blast.  I was really nervous at first because everyone seemed to know what they were doing, but it was so much easier than what I had made up in my head.  Once Stuart and I set up, we were peppered with customers and eventually got selling!  Apparently hot for the season: knitted ear warmers with an extra special detail.  I have been making these for a little while, but started to add embellishments and twists to make it more special.  Also a big hit were the weighted wrap necklaces...so I will be making more of these for the next go-around.  All in all, it was so great to see what worked and I look forward to the next one!  Here are some pictures from my booth:

To anyone that is interested in something they saw at the fair, but were unable to purchase, or if you are interested in custom work, please feel free to email me :)  Thanks again xo

Hunny::Plum at the Art Fair!

Come check out my handmade jewelry and accessories at the Principia Arts and Crafts Fair, along with my partner in craft, (thanks Allison!) the lovely Miss Katie Sheridan.  She is a fantastic painter and creator and we will be sharing our creativity with the community on November 5th.  Hope to see you there!

Garden Adventures!

The other day was just beautiful...a perfect fall day.  It made you feel like you HAD to get outside or you would miss something important that day, like a certain color red on a changing leaf or the smell of crisp fresh air.  This is somewhat unlike me since I am well versed in couch-potato-ness, but it was impossible to resist the great outdoors.  So, Stuart and I made our way to the Saint Louis Botanical Garden...but not without a quick pop over to The Hill for lunch at Lou Boccardi's (best toasted ravioli ever per Stuart's well groomed toasted ravioli palette).  We sat outside and enjoyed our delicious Godfather pizza, minus mushrooms of course...
Then it was off to the Garden.  Yes, we went earlier this year for Mother's day, but so much has changed since then, and my favorite fall flowers are out now, so I brought my camera and snapped a few in new places of the Garden I have never been- like the Shaw House, where the owner of the property before it was given to the city and garden-lover Henry Shaw lived and is buried behind.  It was amazing.  If you ever visit Saint Louis, be sure to stop by here and just explore.  It's so much more than just flowers...

Mr. Shaw's sitting room

Wreath adorning the door...gorgeous

 Mr. Shaw's bedroom.  He was so classy- a la top hat

 Hi Mr. Shaw.  Thanks for letting us in your garden.

 Leafy greens

 The prettiest cactus I have ever seen

 Yes.  I took this.  With my phone.

 This is my happy place.  I would visit every day.

Hello spider mum...you are my favorite.

 The handsome hubby and the greenhouse.

 Cast shadows

Hanging gourds!!  Watch your head...

Hope you enjoyed the pics!  I can't wait to see what it looks like this winter!  I plan to visit every season just to see what new treasures I can find in there.  Maybe I will get a new camera for Christmas...? Hint, hint...

 

GroveFest

St. Louis is really a great city to live in.  There are so many nooks and crannies, towns and neighborhoods to explore.  One neighborhood that is up and coming is lovingly known as "The Grove".  Still with boarded up buildings and struggling shops, GroveFest brings together a street fair and awareness about the neighborhood...and a fashion show (in which my friend rocked the runway with her designs)!  Oh, and did I mention roller derby?  Yes please!

 

 The Arch Rivals Roller Derby (how clever!)

 

Bubble maker in the street

 
The middle of Manchester.  You could just stand there!

Welcome to The Grove

We have such great adventures!

My New Project

So I have been working on a couple new projects, one involving designing and making jewelry based on my "Tasseled" collection.  In college, I actually took a "jewelry making" class, in which I thought we would be making jewelry with beads and jewels...you know...pretty things.  Boy was I surprised!  Next thing I knew I was forging solid silver on an anvil and soldering jump rings.  Though it was not what I expected, it gave me a great respect for those who actually do those things.  For me, however,  I wanted to try my hand at making something I could actually do and would actually wear (and have been!), and here are a few of the results, with more to come! 

   

Deco Bracelet

 

(Deco Bracelet Detail)

 Dame Bangle

 (Dame Bangle Detail)

 

Dandy Wrap Necklace

 (Dandy Wrap Necklace Detail)

 Dewey Earrings

(Dewey Earring Detail)

Dizen Ring