Bear With Me…

I’m updating and redesigning the blog a bit, but I’m quite the amateur when it comes to those things. So if you see something wonky over the next few weeks, it’s  just me playing the Wizard behind the curtain (or maybe more like Caractakus Potts).

A Spring Wreath

Our door has been looking so woefully bare since the Christmas wreath came down – it’s so much nicer to come home to be greeted by a lovely piece of art instead of burgundy sameness day after day. (Okay, it’s not that bleak.)

I don’t like storebought wreaths and I loathe fake flowers, all plasticy and … fake. So I decided to try my hand at a spring wreath, again in paper:

Each petal is hand cut from white or cream cardstock, as are the fringed centers. Glitter and holographic embossing powder coat each petal, giving them a bit more depth and dimension. And each flower (after endless gluing) is finished off with a vintage button from my mother’s stash (and to think, just a short time ago I was going to get rid of the buttons altogether!).

I won’t lie – this took me about a month and two false starts to get it right. But it’s so worth it, don’t you think?

Hollywood Cemetery, 95-96

I have been laid out flat by allergies this year, so for much of the last two weeks I’m been operating under the influence of my favorite snot drug ever: Mucinex D. That stuff is a miracle worker. All that is to say that I’ve had some time on my hands because I’m indoors so much right now.

Last night I came across these photos that I took in college. They were taken at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. I think it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve been, and I spent a lot of weekends there shooting, both in black and white and in infrared (you know, from back in the day where you had to use a manual camera because the LEDs in an automatic would ruin the film). I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you: All images copyright Silver & Chalk/Megan Van Schaick.

Religion Rewritten Through Paper Cuts

I am in awe. This is probably the most interesting paper cutting I’ve seen in the last two years. Forget laser cutting through books (does anyone else think laser cutting is kind of cheating?), this is… well, I’ll let you see for yourself!

Meg Hitchcock painstakingly cuts letters from religious texts and then reassembles them to create the words of other holy books.

Isn’t that beautiful?

Egg-cellent Easter Eggs!

I am not even going to apologize for that pun – you had to know it was coming!

My super cool aunt submitted these pics of my uncle and cousins trying out the nail polish swirly egg trick.

Payten and Grandpa getting their swirl on.

Christian – can you tell that he’s the precision type? This pic proves that even high school boys can down with some nail polish swirling!

The end result – it really works!

So now tell me – did you dye eggs for the weekend, and if so, did you use this technique? (My mind is now buzzing with all the other things I can dye using this method – custom stationery, here I come!) How would you use this method on other media?

Sneak Peek: Upcoming Project

Can you guess what I’m making?

I hope to have the reveal at the end of  next week!

Spring Tulips!

I can’t really grow tulips out here the way I’d like – way too hard to keep alive, especially once it gets hot (and it’s already getting there). But last night I treated myself to a small bouquet from the local market and they are just too luminous not to have been photographed.

Aren’t they pretty? I could just stare at them for hours.

And I haven’t forgotten the cat scratcher post I promised. Our kitten seemed to think it was just fine as-is and now there is a lot of damage to repair. Crazy kittens!

Today’s Project: Cardboard Cat Scratcher

Our dear little Windom Earle is finally starting to get obnoxious (or talented, if you ask her) with her clawing technique. Maybe “refined” is a better word. As in refined to the very expensive trunk we just bought for the living room. You wouldn’t think it to look at her, would you?

But it’s true. So it’s time for a solution.

Enter the Scratcher Sleeper (TM me, I just made that up right here, right now.)

My version is still under construction, but I hope to have it finished today and in action by tomorrow. Stay tuned for ridonkulously cute kitten pics!

Upcycled Trellis – From Golf Clubs!

I found these lovelies at a Goodwill a few months back and I couldn’t resist them. They are aqua, they are bakelite, they are awesome. Still, what do you do with just two golf clubs?

Trellis!

It’s going to be planted with my new jasmine plant which smells soooooo delicious – let’s just hope it doesn’t fry in the summer!

DIY Nail Polish-Dyed Easter Eggs

These are amazing. Amazing! They remind me so much of the swirly papers we used to make with paint and water when I was little, but ultra intense.

All you’ll need is nail polish (I suggest hitting the Dollar Store for this), a dish of water and some nail polish remover for cleanup. You’ll also want a disposable plastic cup or bowl, toothpicks and of course, eggs.

Fill your container with water and then start adding drops of polish. Once you get a color combo that you like, use your toothpick to gently swirl the surface, creating the marbleized effect. Then you just dip! Go as far as you can on one end and let dry, then go back and repeat with the other side. Let them dry – topcoat or don’t, it’s totally up to you!

I would caution you to do this with blown out eggs or hard boiled eggs that you don’t intend to eat.

I think I’ll give it a try this weekend!