Happy mundane holidays 2008

Pepé and I would like to wish all of you a safe, warm, and happy holiday! I'll be posting sporadically through the next week so keep checking back! Have a good one!

branching out on the table for the holidays 08

As I mentioned, the last thing I needed to do for my holiday decor this year was figure out some sort of centerpiece for my table. I knew I wanted to do something with branches, and I also wanted to incorporate some gold and shiny bits. So... this is what I came up with:
I reused more of the yarn (i still have tons left) from my ornaments from last year, and tried to pay homage to those crafty folks that do the whole "knitta please" thing and cover items with crochet. Unfortunately I can't crochet, so I just wrapped the yarn around some white branches. I also did a little mini variation of my white branch thing, and just sprayed certain masked off sections in gold.

The bottom stuff is an assortment of these plastic gold jewel thingys I found at the floral supply place. A pack of four was $8. the other silver ornaments was on clearance at Zgallerie. The votive holder is from Pier 1 from last year. The grey vase was an old vase I got from Anthropologie a few years back. I also stacked some spikey gold ornaments in a glass hurricane. It's my cheapie version of those fabulous gold spikey starbursts that Kelly Wearstler has from her accessories collection. I thought these matched the starbursts in my tree. I got these on sale at Macys.
"...Silver and Gold (and gray and white) decorations..."

in the can

I've seen the Daily Aesthetics range by Seletti before, but now they've come with a Platinum glaze which makes them look like metal! Spotted in the Jan 09 Elle Decoration, I'm not sure where you can get them domestically, but you can get the white porcelain versions here-

Blue Munday: rustic coastal modern

It's a cold and rainy day here in So Cal today. It's also just a few days before the holidays. I think this cover image from the Jan/Feb 09 issue of Inside Out, sums up my mood today- simple, a little grey, a little weathered, but with an anticipation of fun things to come... (love the feather on the tag detail!) photo by Sam McAdam, styling by Vanessa Colyer Tay

last minute madness

It's the last weekend before Christmas. I haven't had a chance to do ANY shopping. I'm in trouble. How are all you guys? All done? In the same boat as me? Somewhere in between? Oy. Gameplan needed. now. (image via)

TGIF video break: Charlie Brown happy dance

christmas is less than a week away!

modern wreath adventure: episode 4- the finale.

"Previously, on The Hills on the modern wreath adventure...", after finding this inspiration in an old issue of Pack-O-Fun magazine, I set out to create a wreath using rolled up pieces of magazines. After rolling up about 70-100 rolls, I cut out the frame out of a thin piece of cardboard. Mistake number one. I highly suggest using a thicker piece of cardboard, or even use a piece of foam core. The cardboard I used was pretty thin- thinner than say a standard shipping box. The reason is that if you use regular white craft glue, the whole thing actually gets kind of heavy until it dries. And then the piece ends up a little flimsy. Anyway- more on that later. So then I put a few swirls of glue down and started putting down my rolls. I picked a middle point and started to lay them one after the other. Mistake number two. I noticed in the picture that there were little gaps in between each roll- but did I pay attention to that as I was laying them down? of course not! I soon realized that simply laying the rolls side by side was not going to create the circular wreath shape. Luckily white craft glue takes awhile to dry, so I could still move things around. I quickly repositioned the rolls. My suggestion is to start by placing the rolls as you would a clock. Put down the 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock positions first. then start filling in the middle of each section and so forth until everything gets filled. This will give you an easy way to place them in right angles and positions. After I placed all the rolls, I let it dry overnight. The next morning was when i discovered how flimsy it was and how I should have used a thicker piece of cardboard. I then had the bright idea to glue a second thicker piece of cardboard to the existing frame to reinforce it. Mistake number three. I should have placed some books on top when I glued the second frame layer. Instead, the whole thing warped. I tried to place books on it to flatten it up afterwards, but it never fully flattened and still remains a bit... warped. but overall it still looked ok. Oh- Mistake number four- I mentioned originally I used double stick tape in lieu of glue to keep the rolls together. Well, after awhile, some of the tape started to come up and I couldn't keep them down. You'll notice it if you look closely in the final photos. I'd probably use a glue stick or something other than tape.

Finally I spray painted the whole thing a shiny gold. The same gold that I used to spray the inside of the pot I posted about the other day. It looked fine, but with just the rolls, the piece felt like it was missing something. In the original example, they had a secondary ring of smaller rolls on top. I didn't like that look, but I did think it needed another layer. So, I went back to the other inspiration, the one that the fabulous Mid Century Modern Utah did- using yarn and a little bird. I used the leftover inside bit of the cardboard and created another ring. I used the left over yarn I had when I made my ornaments from last year, and wrapped around the ring. I then found a pretty glittery bird from Michaels for $4.99 and voila! a new modern wreath for Christmas 2008! Overall, this was a pretty easy project to do. And since i already had all the existing materials, the only thing I had to pay for was the spray paint and the bird. So the total was about $10. I opted to keep the wreath inside, since the weather has been a bit unpredictable lately, but it looks great on the back of my front door, which also is conveniently painted grey!
The last thing I need to do for my holiday decorating is do some sort of centerpiece for the dining room table. Stay tuned for the final wrap up this weekend...

mixit closing

i'm so sad, i've enjoyed using mixit for the past few months, creating good ol'skool mixtapes. i just got the email that they are shutting down at the end of the year, so... i guess there's only have a few weeks left to enjoy these mixes here, here, here and here.

stackable oven dishes by Menu

These stackable oven dishes from Menu could be quite handy if you're entertaining this holiday season. Made of porcelain, they have heat resistant silicone feet so you can take them right out of the oven and onto the table. I love the little gap detail at the bottom, which allows for heat to circulate through all the dishes at once. Get them at Emmo Home.

a lil gilding will do ya #2

Over the summer, I saw this inspiration and since this holiday season I'm all about gold, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I took a vase that I got from West Elm awhile back, which I've been using to hold a candle, and gave it a little touch of gold. I spray painted the inside and it's made such a difference! Easy simple way to dress up an old pot or bowl and give it some warmth and a little glamour.

mundane aesthetic: my winter palette

As I've mentioned, I'm continuing the palette from last year for my holiday decorating- muted golds, grey, and white- but this year I'm adding in lots of metallic gold as well. I saw this leaf on the ground the other day and it sort of summed up my color mood of the moment.

On a completely unrelated note- this morning, it's raining quite heavily here in So Cal. While I'm happy for the weather change, this will be the first time I'm taking Pepé out in the rain so he can do his business. I'm not sure how this will go. Hopefully he'll be ok with it. I got him a little raincoat on clearance from Old Navy so he wouldn't be soaked. He seems... tolerant... of it, but we'll see...

Dior Homme Butterfly by Andrea Mastrovito

So striking and beautiful! Kind of reminds me of those beer can butterflies by Paul Villinski, but this installation is by Andrea Masttrovito. Love it! (via Hypebeast)

TGIF video break: Coraline

I was such a huge fan of Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. Totally looking forward to seeing this movie next year...

Pinxo by Ferran Lajara

Such a simple and genius concept- Hopefully these Pinxo clothespins by Ferran Lajara will become available stateside soon. Read more here. (via Mocoloco)

modern wreath adventure: episode 3

So... still looking for inspiration for a DIY modern wreath this year. I'm always picking up vintage craft books when I go to thrift stores or garage sales, so I went into my archives and came across this old December 1974 issue of Pack- O- Fun! They had a really interesting starburst wreath made out of pieces of rolled up magazines! It reminded me of the one I posted from Living Etc, and I really liked that concept. The instructions were fairly simple. Take 8.5 x 11-ish size magazine pages, cut them down into fourths, and roll them up with a pen or pencil and glue (i used double stick tape because i was lazy and I had a roll handy- but I guess a glue stick could work just as well). I estimated I'd need about 70-100 rolls- so while catching up on my Tivo'd shows, I went to town using an old issue of In-Style magazine. Two hours later, I had a box full... It then says to cut out a ring using corrugated cardboard and glue them down to it. I had an old sheet that came inside a box laying in the garage, so I used that. Well, after that - armed with some normal white craft glue, I set out to make my wreath. It was definitely a learning experience to say the least. Stay tuned to see the results...

larytta by körner union

so mesmerizing... (via VLU)

bone china snowflake ornaments

these are so lovely- and now on sale! (from Crate&Barrel)

a lil gilding will do ya

Love how just a little gilding or etching can totally transform a mundane object. Works by Tomas Kai. (via Oh Joy)

TGIF video break: Lily Allen "the Fear"

Sukie Iron On Transfers

I spotted this in Real Simple's gift ideas- I've always been a fan of Sukie, and now they have a book of iron-ons to transfer onto t-shirts or other items!

 Apparently they're not in-stock yet, but you can pre-order it and hopefully it will arrive before Christmas-

karen Kimmel ornaments

A few weeks ago, I showed you the stunning house tour of Karen Kimmel- Her work never ceases to amaze me and for the holiday's she's come up with some beautiful ornaments for the home. These pieces could easily be up all year long. One side has wood veneer, and the other is in a colored plexi glass. They come with an ultra suede tie. A perfect gift! The sizes range from 2.5" to 9.5". You can get them at A+R.

modern wreath adventure: episode 2

OOH! i'm getting closer to a solution!!! I'm in LOVE with this amazing wreath idea from the fabulous Mid Century Modern Utah blog that Laure posted over at AT:LA- I love the idea of wrapping the yarn because I had wrapped styrofoam balls for my tree. I still have leftover yarn from that- oooh... great inspiration... getting ideas...

modern wreath adventure: episode 1

So as I mentioned, I've decided that this year I'm going to make myself a wreath- but I want it to go with the theme I started last year with my tree, and to keep it modern. I've been looking at a bunch of options out there- and still haven't come to a decision- The latest December 08 Living Etc. has some interesting ideas. First, I like the retro starburst concept- I'd probably do it in gold, to match the starbursts in my tree- but I'd probably do the rays in smaller proportions. It does make quite a statement on your door though doesn't it? The second one is similar to the wreaths by Cardboard Safari I posted last week- these are also made of paper- but I like the little gold accents mixed in... anyway these two pieces above are by Helen Musselwhite. She is amazing. You must check out her site for more of her work.

trouble

Speaking of paper cut-outs- love this new video by Lenka
Trouble Is A Friend

insufficient postage

sorry for the lack of posting- i'm still in Turkey food coma from the holiday this past weekend- and am now trying to get back up to speed- more soon-

TGIW. rainy pre-holiday wednesday mixtape

easy graphic advent calendar

British Elle Decoration loves this. I love it too! Simple easy, graphic and such a cool idea!

"A fun way to countdown the days to Christmas is with a vivid numerical wall display using vintage calendars and photocopies of graphic numbers. Try highlighting key dates like cocktail parties by hanging them in picture frames."

from December 2008 British Elle Decoration, photo by Paolo Riolzi and styling by Stefania Vasques

Cardboard Safari wreaths

With the holidays right around the corner, I've been thinking about a holiday project to continue the theme I started last year. This time, I've been wanting to get a wreath for the door and have been exploring the options. I recently got a tip from Chad over at Cardboard Safari, who have this pretty recycled cardboard version. Check out more of their holiday offerings here.

Yorozu audio speaker kit

This is a fun idea- Why not have a milk carton as a speaker? Apparently with this gadget you can transform all types of things into speakers for your ipod. More info here. (Thanks to Anna at Nerve.com for the link!)