diy | kimberly ah

Mar 21 2013

home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking

Slow Productivity

We are having a little party on Saturday night (Fondue Fun Night!!!), so naturally I’m busy hanging stuff on the wall, checking out Jell-O molds and planning menus instead of doing what I’m supposed to do (finish cleaning, finish the spare room, finish painting the bathroom door…)

I’ve had the square Ikea frames for almost a year now. I originally had another idea for them (I actually own four), but that didn’t work out. I’m not sure this worked out either. I’m not in love with it. It’s fine, but not great, but I can’t decide if it’s the placement, the papers, the colors or just the whole thing that’s bothering me. (If you’d like a closer look at the papers–you know, without the camera glare– the left one is similar to this Lokta paper, the middle on is this Japanese paper, and the right one is this Lokta paper.) I love the papers…I took the colors from my chevron pillows…I love the gold, I’m just not sure if it all looks a little too matchy matchy..maybe it would look better with only one paper design in all three frames? Maybe I need a new lamp? (I definitely need a new lamp shade!) Also, this whole set-up doesn’t help with that awkward hold between the side table and the television…

In addition to hanging some lame frames, I finally got up the nerve to hang the bathroom mirror yesterday! I was very nerve-wracking, lots of measuring and leveling and math (the math part I can handle…it’s the stress of holding the measuring tape and the level and the drill and the screw that is the hard part! Home improvement is not a solo gig!) So, the mirror isn’t hung perfectly, but it is centered and level, so that’s perfect enough! You should have seen all of the hang-wringing and sweating that was going on in there as I held my breath and prayed for a straight outcome!

Hopefully next week, I can be back with some pictures of the finally finished bathroom. I am still searching for an elusive frame for my artwork (and I have to paint the door still…can’t forget that.)

In the meantime, any ideas for the living room?

Tagged decorating, diy, home, home improvement, homemaking

Mar 06 2013

1 Comment

adventures, celebrations, Christmas, crafty adventures, handmade=happiness, homemaking

Monogram Tea Towel

I whipped up a quick tea towel for my parents last night. It was a last minute craft, one where I didn’t even iron all if the wrinkles out of the tea towel…

I keep a stash of plain white flour sack tea towels in my closet for craft emergencies. (Mine are from Target, but you get the idea.) They are the first things I learned to embroider (I made a sushi towel for Naoto) and the fabric is thin but not too thin for little stitches. My mom has several of these towels that she’s had for years, and like most things, the ones made today are much thinner than the old ones. (They don’t make things like they used to.)

Because I wanted to keep things simple with a monogram (A for Adami, in case you didn’t put that together…), I just practiced writing a few cursive A’s until I found one I liked, then I traced the A onto the fabric with a Pilot FriXion Pen. I use the FriXion pens in my calendar, I love they way they write and the eras-ability factor. So imagine my delight when I heard from Mollie and read a great tip here that the ink disappears when it’s heated, making the FriXion pen perfect for embroidery and quilting (and probably other crafts). I didn’t have to worry about heating up my A to remove the lines because my 6-strand split stitch covered the thin (0.5) line perfectly.

Sidenote: I do have first-hand experience with the disappearing ink. I left my FriXion pen on my balcony on a sunny summer day last year and when I went back to use it again, the ink flowed clear instead of black. Huge bummer for me, but thankfully I had about ten back-up pens…

I think my parents liked it–my mom told my dad he should use it when he bakes bread–and I think the red variegated floss (Anchor #1206) matches their kitchen just enough. All-in-all I think a quickie tea towel makes a nice little gift, don’t you?

Tagged adventures, celebrations, Christmas, crafts, diy, holidays, home, homemaking, parents

Feb 15 2013

Over the Moon

I like to send silly greeting cards to Naoto at his office (the translation office, not Trader Joe’s). I do it because he mostly gets the boring mail at home and because I have a compulsive habit of falling in love with the perfect greeting cards for him and buying them too often. I love going to visit Naoto and seeing them all displayed on the ledge behind his desk.

When I saw this card with “Presley” flying over the moon, I fell in love (as I do with all Rifle cards!). I decided to send it to Naoto as a little pre-Valentine. I also made him a special blue washi tape bunting (because blue is his favorite and all of the pink ones just seemed too girly!) and tucked in inside the envelope.

I decorated the envelope with some blue washi tape and a vintage paper heart from this set by K is for Calligraphy and I used one of our leftover wedding invitation stamps for the postage (because who else wants to see that stamp!).

When I went to Naoto’s office on Wednesday night, he had the bunting all strung up by his desk. You can see his little card collection in the background (along with the all-business bulletin board information!)

For his “real” Valentine, I bought him a box of Choco Tacos (mentioned recently here)…I’m pretty sure he appreciated those more that the washi bunting!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, diy, holidays, mail art, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 06 2013

1 Comment

adventures at the library, crafty adventures

Into the Fold

Last night my friend Jackie and I went to the Oak Park Library for an origami flower class.

Ian, a librarian and the origami class teacher, learned origami at a young age and has been doing it ever since. He was a cool cucumber in a large class, full of latecomers, adults, children and different paper-folding capabilities. He had a big board displaying the step-by-step folds, which was an awesome tool both for comparing my folds and trying to sneak ahead as I got more comfortable. I folded the three flowers above in about an hour and my folds were better each time. That’s not to say my last flower was perfect (oh, far from it!)…but I did get better!

Learning a new paper fold made me realize how much I enjoy learning and taking classes. I need to take advantage of opportunities like this one and get out more often, even in the snowy cold!

Thanks for joining me, Jackie!

If you are interested in learning how to fold an origami lily, I found a helpful tutorial here.

Tagged adventures, crafts, diy

Dec 10 2012

2 Comments

crafty adventures, handmade=happiness, homemaking

new business card stamp!

I’ve been wanting new business cards since I changed blogs last spring. I didn’t need them…it’s not like I have a business or anything…but I wanted a little something to stick in letters (and Christmas cards) to spread the word about the ol’ blog and my new-ish cell phone number (I’ve hidden the last few digits). I thought a stamp would be fun because I can change up the inks and the paper with my mood (which changes often, though grey always seems to be in season around here).

In my months (I don’t take decisions lightly) of scouring the internet for options, I was happy to find Ampersandity again. I love Cathie Hong’s work and we have an address stamp done in her calligraphy. (I actually won it, and she uses it on her site as an example stamp.) I love the blend of her calligraphy and the sans serif typeface and I love the dots…the dots pretty much sealed the deal for me. I’ve already purchased some peacock, paper bag and gravel business cards to get me started.

Fun times will be happening tonight while I stamp up some business cards and Christmas cards (because that stamp just arrived, too!) Never mind the fact that the house is a mess and the Christmas decorations are still strewn about…paper projects are priorities!

Tagged crafts, diy, homemaking, rubber stamp, snail mail

Nov 23 2012

5 Comments

celebrations, holidays, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's, what's for dinner

This was my Thanksgiving…

Another Thanksgiving is behind us…it’s all a little sad for both Naoto and me–we love hosting a party, even a small one of my parents and our friend, Santron. Even though the guest list was small, the food was plentiful! We had all of the classics: the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (we make this one every year–it’s Naoto’s signature dish!), green bean casserole (I caved for the classic, although we used the Trader Joe’s stuff and it was much lighter than the Campbells version!), fresh veggies (courtesy of Santron), Hawaiian rolls (courtesy of my mom) and Kathy’s grandma’s cranberry sauce…I made it on Wednesday and I am a cranberry sauce convert…the cognac makes it delectable!

For dessert, my mom made a Twinkie cake, in honor of the “late, great” snack.

The table was half planned, and half happy accident. On Wednesday night I cut a long sheet of kraft paper and made a table runner. I used my fancy gold paint to draw feathers and polka dots. My mom brought up some pheasant feathers (from my dad’s “feather collection”) that I used with my glittery votives to fill out the center of the table. I forgot to buy flowers so my mom mentioned my jade plant (purchased this summer at Trader Joes) as an option. It’s in a copper pot, so it was kind of perfect. (Well, probably not perfect for Sandra Lee, Queen of the Tablescape, but perfect for us.) I finished off the table with a tiny turkey, a gift from my parents earlier this fall.

For the place cards, I used acorns from this Paper Source garland kit (not available again until next fall). I was in a neutral & metallic mood apparently…

The meal ended with a table viewing of Psy and MC Hammer singing at this year’s American Music Awards…clearly it will be a meal I never forget.

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, diy, food, holidays, memories, parents, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's, twinkie cake

Nov 16 2012

thanksgiving invitations 2012

They don’t look like they looked in my head. They were much more layered and complicated and perfect in there. But, they also didn’t have fancy gold artist ink on them…or feathers…those were happy surprises. Oh, and I am not a designer. At all. But, even though professionally created invitations might look more perfect, I enjoy creating something with my hands and with paper. Even though things didn’t work out as they did in my dreams, I am still happy I took the time to create something tangible and special for my guests. For me, this is what the holidays are all about.

Because our printer is broken (and my other printer–a.k.a. Naoto–is on vacation this week), I knew I was going to have to either rubber stamp or use my beloved cursive typewriter for the word part. The typewriter won. And even though the message is subtle (or hard to read without your glasses!) I think the cursive text is pretty. (Besides, typewriters are totally trendy right now, so I’m in style by accident!)

So, I typed my message on my (cheap, but lovely) 140 pound watercolor paper. It felt more luxurious than my other white paper choices, and it fit through the typewriter just fine. Then I taped on two strips of gold striped washi tape, lining up the stripes so it looks like one wide strip of tape. Then I cut out my practice feather (on Paper Source aubergine) and I sewed it right on top of the washi tape stripe. The sewing was a huge pain. I jammed up my machine no less than ten times (and I only sewed three tiny things)! I was able to fix it each time (yay for patience and the owners manual!) but I wasn’t able to determine the source of the problem…it might have been the two layers of paper together, since my first paper sewing adventure only involved one layer of watercolor paper.

Every year, I try to include a quote on our invitations. This year’s quote is from Henry Ward Beecher, “Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”

I mailed them out on Tuesday, so hopefully they will arrive at their destinations soon.

(One more picture! This Instagram shows the shimmery gold!)

Tagged celebrations, crafts, diy, holidays, snail mail, Thanksgiving

Nov 02 2012

3 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, Election Party, thoughts

These Guys Won’t Even Know What Hit ‘Em

Election Party prep is in full swing around here. On Thursday I packed up all of the Halloween stuff and the weekend ahead promises to be full of cleaning and craft projects of the red, white and blue persuasion. Those guys up above (a plastic elephant and donkey from the toy animal bins at Michaels) are going to get a glitter treatment. We are still deciding on food and I’m trying to motivate myself to get the cleaning and decorating and shopping out of the way so I’m not rushing around on Tuesday while I’m trying to vote and obsessively watch the election coverage on television.

And, while everyday life goes on here, everyday life has virtually stopped out East. My heart is breaking over the devastation there. Cecelia, my longest-running pen pal lives in Manhattan and I am anxiously awaiting a letter from her so I can hear how she fared in the storm. Of course, I understand that it might take awhile as she focuses on adjusting to the new normal there, but in this age of instant communication, it’s weird for impatient me to have to wait for news in the mail…like we’ve turned back the clock 100 years. Cecelia and I have never exchanged email addresses or phone numbers, so I’m relying on John-the-Mailman to bring me news.

In the meantime, I will be hoping for the best for Cecelia and everyone who is affected…

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, diy, election

Oct 05 2012

2 Comments

crafty adventures, homemaking

when things fall apart…

I only took this picture to show you that I not only bought a frame for my letterpress project, but I also hung it up. But that is the extent of the home improvement projects around here…as a matter of fact, if you look closely at the background, you can see the remains of my mail call mess that still lives in the dining room. (You cannot see the mail call mess in the living room, kitchen, guest room, hallway and car, but it is there.)

So, in spite of living in a messy house, being behind on broken blog promises (The Little Red Toolbox will be back soon!), being behind on a boatload of mail, being behind in my party planning and Halloween decorating and being behind in my book club reading, I am still a happy and thankful girl…even when things fall apart.

Tagged decorating, diy, home, home improvement, Honor Flight Chicago