DIY Overdose & Happy Holidays!

Hand felted, wool stars. So easy to make and are great for ornaments or gift embellishments. You need felting wool, felting needles, and a cookie cutter of your choice. The felting supplies can be found at your local yarn shop.

Handmade wreath made from recycled magazines. There's a great how-to on Design Sponge. I just replaced the paper they suggested with an old Anthropologie catalogue.

Great, super easy gift idea. I made these out of an old fabric swatch. I used light weight rivets that you can find at any craft shop.

Not quite finished with this one. A necklace for my sister using leftover fabric from another project. I cut out flower-like shapes and strung them onto the necklace, sewing the petals together at the base to give that semi-closed look. It frays as its worn, but that's the beauty of it! Also going to add a monogrammed gold tag to help weigh down the center of the piece.

PomPom ornaments made with tissue paper! They look adorable on a tree or tied to a gift.

MOUSTACHE!

My boyfriend got me possibly the coolest present of all time from my favorite paper shop in Portsmouth, Gus & Ruby. I'm a nerd about MANY things, but my true geek-out moments frequently take place around: typography, patterns, and sweet sweet moustaches. He managed to find me something that contains all three. How is this possible?? He definitely earned an overly animated hi-5-hug&smooch. Can't wait to frame and hang this sweet piece of art.

A little thing called homemade

I've been rather head over heels about stencil-style numbers and raw-edged linen recently. So while on a craft binge, I combined the two together and made a few napkins. They came out just lovely and were simple to make! Now the tricky part is actually using them...

The last of its kind?

I'm joining Charmingwall Gallery for their final 6x6 art show. So exciting! Only minor detail: they reside in a large city known as Le Grande Pomme, and I reside in a tini-tiny town often referred to as Junc City. There is approx 6 hours between us, along with a state or two. I don't know how I will make it, but I'm dreaming up road trips that will lead me to their door...

An old friend.

Suddenly, Fall.

A new loft in an old barn has yielded high ceilings, magic art corners, and ridiculous mountain views. A girl really can't complain about waking up to bluebird skies and trees revealing every sort of red, orange, and green shade possible. We got lucky. Real lucky.

{Happy Autumn.}

Water side leisure (the last bits of summer).

Summer is apparently ending soon. Although, you wouldn't know it with the humid 90-degree days. The sun hasn't stopped shining, even with threats of hurricanes making their way up the coast.

Ode to the warm weather months: We love you. We do. We treat you as we wish to be treated and we do it whole-heartedly with abandon. We swim in your oceans. We play in your rivers. We jump off your bridges and swing on your ropeswings. We sip cocktails while your suns set and roast marshmallows while your evenings offer shooting stars. We respect you, summer. We do. Please remember us when you make your fall exit and do ask winter to be gentle. Yours always.

All of the above.

Escape plans? New adventures? Secret notes scrolled in cement on lonely streets?

Secret Gardens and Unexpected Patterns

In Flight...

Face Lift! And overuse of the word NEW.

I'm leaving for Savannah tomorrow. And with a new adventure comes new scenery. And with new scenery comes new inspiration. And with new inspiration comes new art. I'm very much looking forward to it!

With the anticipation of new creative juice, I've given my website (and blog) a little makeover. I didn't change very much, but gave it a much needed facelift. Bright colors, new patterns, and anticipation for a new destination.

APPLEGANG.COM

Happy summer!

Time for POPPIES.

And other pictures for the new, BRIGHT year ahead.

Happy Weddings in Seattle:

My lovely friends, Niki & Shawn, tied the knot last month! It was a warm, sunny day in Seattle and we were all happily surprised. Congrats you two! It was a truly beautiful ceremony with a ridiculously fun after party (complete with a hot dog stand, photo booth, and wild dancing).

I was lucky enough to design their invites and had a blast mirroring the theme to the venue: The Georgetown Ballroom. It had a lot of exposed brick, set in an industrial area, with bright colored lanterns and vintage signs.

Their dog, Rogue, was the flower girl. She is like a person in a dog-suit most of the time, and I couldn't resist making a cameo like Stella's.

Animals Rule.

Paris Inspired:

I've recently become quite smitten with the idea that France would be a lovely destination for my next international excursion. This daydream occupies my thoughts to ridiculous proportions. So much so that, not only did I purchase a party dress and a pair of red high heels with (unrealistic) anticipation, but I also purchased several books on Paris and France antique markets and boutiques. These books lead to some serious page perusing where I discovered the most fabulous handmade lights made out of jam jars. My crafty side had to replicate the artwork I found.

So I went to my local coop and found a lovely France-made jam in an equally lovely glass jar. But one can't let such $$ jam go to waste. I baked delicious jam-filled cupcakes and used every last drop of french goodness, cleaned the jar, cut a hole in the top (with a few smaller holes for heat ventilation), found a tini light bulb, cord kit, and PRESTO. My own French inspired light. It's adorableness hangs over my bed and is a romantic reading lamp. One that allows me to fall further into dreams of French countryside, Paris outdoor markets, and black party dresses with dramatic ruffles and very, very red heels.

Cut It Up.

Scissors on the brain.
Bright red on the brain.
Head cold.
Snow hurricane.

Stella the Bella: A dog cameo

the hopeless romantic in me

Just can't stop:

happy hearts.

I love Valentine's Day. Whether I have a relationship to snuggle or am flyin solo. The crafts and inspiration that come from this day of love-honoring are truly fun! This design is inspired by two pairs of antique scissors I recently acquired. The real things are old and rusty, but have so much charm. There is something to be said about tools made out of metal. None of this plastic disposable business... Antiques tell stories that I can't resist. So secretive and mysterious, leaving most to the imagination. My favorite.

yeehaw!

With three jobs it's hard for me to visit my favorite site as much as I'd like: Design Sponge. But yesterday I took time out of my day to peruse through posts from the weeks I've missed. This wee little collage is inspired by what I found.

Winter Blues