things I made

My San Francisco Apartment: Living Room

There were lots of extra outtakes that didn’t get used in the Design*Sponge feature the other day so I’m going to post the rest of them here this week and talk a little bit more about our little apartment. First of all it is a true one bedroom apartment (no dining room) and we lived there 3.5 years. It’s not a large apartment but as one bedroom apartments go its decent sized. Because of the space we really had to be efficient. I also have to give a shout out to Jenny from Little Green Notebook who helped me last year with the big decisions like get reupholstery etc. You can see those living room pictures back then right here.

A few notes and sources: The Ikat Settee is from HSN | Bright Painting by Michelle Armas | Other Artwork is a print of Paul’s or from thrift stores | Yellow Chairs are from Craigslist but were reupholstered in yellow velvet | The dressers and green side table are from Craigslist and the Thrift Store | The Coffee Table is from Ikea but we painted the silver legs brass | The brass lamps are from Craigslist |The patterned table lamps are from Anthropologie | Vintage Persian Rug is from Craigslist | Corner desk unit is from Ikea but we painted it | Toy shelf is from Craigslist (for toy sources go here.)

All photos by Aubrey Trinnaman who is not only a great photographer but an amazing stylist and the nicest person ever.

Our Home on Design Sponge

Our San Francisco apartment is being featured on Design*Sponge today. Thanks to Grace and Amy for the feature.

Postcard Birthday Poster DIY

This project is part of a campaign I’m doing with Yahoo! Mail on different ways to keep in touch with family and friends. I had wanted to recreate an easier version of this big project I did for Aubrey last year and this seemed like the perfect time. I contacted the artist, Shanna Murray, to help me come up with artwork for a poster that everyone could download. It says “I’m so glad you were born” which is my favorite way to wish someone happy birthday. If you have a special person whose birthday is coming up here is how it works. You download the pdf below made up of 25 different pages that each have a part of the poster or “piece of the puzzle” on it. Then you email each page to a different person like their family and friends and assorted lovers. Then each person prints it out on cardstock, cuts it out, writes a note on the postcard, and stamps and mails it to the birthday person. The birthday person will get love notes and birthday wishes for a week or two from everyone they know as the postcards trickle in with the daily mail! Find detailed instructions and the download below!.

Step 1: Decide who you are going to give this surprise to and get their mailing address. You’ll also need to make a list of 25 friends and family with their email addresses.

Step 2: Download the 25 sheet pdf. Each pdf has some basic instructions explaining the project but you’ll need to include more detailed instructions with your email. Here is a sample of instructions you could include:

Hello,

I’ve put together this little poster project for (__________’s) birthday. It’s pretty simple and just requires you to print out the attachment of this email on cardstock, write on it, stamp it and drop it in the mail. Then (_________) will receive all 25 pieces of the poster in the mail like a puzzle. (__________’s) birthday is (_____) so please mail it between the dates of (_____and____). If for some reason you can’t send your card in will you please let me know so I figure out a plan B.

1. Print out the paper on a heavy paper like cardstock.
2. Cut out the card.
3. Address the other side of the card to (_____________) fill in address.
4. Write a note to (__________) feel free to get creative, draw pictures, or even mail it in an envelope and attach old pictures.
5. Stamp it and drop it in the mail between (______________and__________)

If you have any questions email me at (______________).

Step 3: Send an email to each person with a different attachment and instructions.

Step 4: If you want you can send a follow up reminder about the mailing dates. When we did it we tried to get everyone to send it in but I sort of liked that a few came up missing, it wasn’t “perfect.”

Download the 25 pages with postcards below!

A special thanks to Shanna Murray for the beautiful design, to Aubrey Trinnaman for the photos and for Alexis Birkmeyer for pulling it all together. What do you think? Would you ever do this? Do you think you could get 25 people to mail in a postcard?

All photos by Aubrey Trinnaman for Oh Happy Day

Anthology Magazine

I’m so excited to show you part of the story I worked on for Anthology Magazine. If you haven’t heard Anthology is a really beautiful lifestyle magazine that actually comes out in print! It is well done every single time.

This story is about some of the surprises that my friends and I have done for each other. We recreated them so they are picture perfect. The one below shows the installation that my friend Aubrey did for her boyfriend’s birthday. There is lots more to show you but I don’t want to ruin the surprise. (ps: Aubrey did all of the awesome photography.)

This issue is my favorite because the theme is Life is a Party, its choc full of awesome content. See the online preview right here. You can get a copy from any of these stockists and Anthropologie is now carrying them. Or better yet get yourself a subscription right over here!

All photos Aubrey Trinnaman for Anthology Magazine.

DIY Baby Masks!

Here is another DIY I did for Mother’s Day. Surprise mom with some familiar faces on Mother’s Day with these baby masks. Chances are she’ll remember the faces that she spent so many hours awake with in the middle of the night! Kids will love this project and it’s really easy to do. See the instructions below! (A special thanks to the fantastic Hawaii-based photographer Natalie Norton for the photos.) The adorable pancake toppers are from Pretty Swell.

Step 1. Get a baby photo where the whole head is showing straight on. Blow it up in either a software program like photoshop or take them to a copy machine and enlarge them. Print them onto cardstock.

Step 2. Cut out the faces and glue it onto a wooden popsicle stick.

Step 3. Voila! Surprise mom with breakfast in bed wearing your baby face!

all photos by Natalie Norton for Oh Happy Day