inspiration

Playing Favorites

09/26/2014 by Jennifer 8 Comments

I love the big wave of change that seems to come with a new season. Sometimes change occurs on its own and sometimes we just get restless and make it happen. This past week, I decided to cut off all my hair (Not really, it’s still long. Just feels so short to me!) and I got a new job! What the! I am so excited and still kind of in shock over how quickly it all happened. I will tell you all about it eventually, but for now I just want to share my appreciation for all things fall! Apparently, a roundup of a trillion pumpkin spice recipes wasn’t enough for me.

First up: peach pie and a peach spritzer! Oh my. This looks so delicious. The coffee shop I’m sitting at is right across the street from a pie place and boy am I tempted to go over there this very second.

This oversized pink shawl coat from Anthropologie is too perfect. I love everything about it, except for that it is $600. Nope. Moving on…

I usually shy away from anything with too many fruit flavors, but this rhubarb, grapefruit, and thyme cocktail looks too delicious to pass up!

Hot chocolate and tiny macarons? Together? This photo makes me want to curl up under a pile of blankets for about a week.

Have a beautiful fall weekend and I’ll see you Monday with a DIY!

Internship with Bramble Workshop

09/22/2014 by Jennifer 14 Comments

When I moved up to Portland a few months ago, I was lucky to be able to easily transfer jobs. But I knew I wanted more than just retail experience on my resume. I needed to be creatively challenged and was particularly interested in helping with large-scale handcrafted displays. Through Instagram, I learned that Jessica of Bramble Workshop was also moving to Portland! So I put her at the top of my list of people to contact. We had coffee at the cutest little cafe, chatted for a while, and ta-da! I began interning for her shortly afterward. I didn’t think creative connections could be made that easily, but perhaps I hadn’t tried hard enough in the past.

Through Bramble Workshop, Jessica creates beautiful detailed window displays, backdrops, and installations for events and companies. To give you an idea of her work and process, here are some photos I grabbed from her Instagram:

We usually meet up about once a week at her studio and work on whatever backdrops or projects need to be done. Other times, we just get coffee and brainstorm creative craft and business ideas.

While writing my list of creative businesses and people to contact in Portland a few months ago, I was seriously expecting the worst outcome. I thought every effort was a shot in the dark. But by sending that brief email to Jessica, I ended up with a fun, creative internship and a wonderful new friend. Even if you live in a small town where nobody has heard of a blog (those towns are real), I want to encourage you to be brave and look for those people with similar interests as you. :)

To see the rest of Jessica’s work (and a few projects I’ve helped out with!), visit the Bramble Workshop website or follow along on Instagram.

Inspired by California

09/19/2014 by Jennifer 7 Comments

Moving to Oregon has taught me many things and while that’s a blog post for another time, I can tell you one thing. I love California. Oregon, with all of it’s lush green trees and friendly faces and tax-free shopping, has been a long time love of mine. Living here is wonderful and I plan to stay here a while. But the saying is true, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” California is the home of my family. It’s home of the tallest, most giant redwood trees in the entire world. It’s my home.

I love finding items that are inspired by states (especially CA and OR). Here’s a bit of California swag:

I can’t imagine what would lead me to move back to California, but I’m just saying it could happen. :)

Playing Favorites

09/12/2014 by Jennifer 2 Comments

Good morning! Hope you all had a nice week and are ready for fun weekend! Depending on which days are your “weekend” I guess. My weekends are usually Wednesday/Thursdays. Yesterday, I finally got out into nature (to the beach!) and the weather was a ridiculously perfect 75. I’ll share some colorful photos from the beach later on but for now, here are my favoritest faves of the week:

I’m loving this concept. I’ve always loved the idea of faking it ’til you make it, but I think this quote is more in line with what I mean. Read the full blog post for the idea behind it.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself since it’s not officially autumn at all, but I am excited to start craving (and maybe just maybe, making) soup this year! This creamy cauliflower soup looks so delish.

Oh, Tina Fey. She always knows what to say, huh?

And ahhh, DIY mini leather envelopes! I love them. Trying to think of a need for them, asap. Follow this link for a bunch of other great color/pattern combos created by the crafters at Mamie Boude.

Well, I’m off to finally try out Fried Egg I’m in Love. YAY! Then the work week(end) begins. What do you have going on this weekend?

Handwoven Wall Hangings

09/09/2014 by Jennifer 11 Comments

My grandma weaves breathtaking wall hangings (and blankets and sweaters) on a giant loom that just looks so crazy and complicated to me. It’s a beast. I always used to say, “someday I’ll learn to weave…” in a wistful way like it would take me years and years. It wasn’t until I started seeing small-scale weaving tutorials (see list at the bottom) that I realized I could actually do this at any time, with a random old cardboard box. I am much less intimidated by weaving now, but even more in awe of it.

1. Wild Columbine Textile
2. Ran Ran Design
3. Oh Albatross
4. Hiedra
5. Toni Penrose for Moorea Seal
6. Straw & Gold
7. Liz Toohey-Wiese
8. Combed Thunder
9. Heddle & Needle

Here is one of my very favorite weavings made by my grandma. For a long time she lived in Gualala, a tiny town along the Northern California coast. Gualala is all redwood trees, oceans, and artists. It’s my favorite place in the entire world and my heart aches a little every time I visit because it is so full of wonderful memories. Anyway, this weaving is inspired by Gualala. Amazing, huh? I’ll share more of her work in the future.

Is weaving something you have tried or would like to get into? Also, does anybody else have a favorite place like Gualala, that is filled to the brim with sweet childhood memories?

ps. Here are a few weaving tutorials that I think are quite excellent:

Weaving 101 | Playful Learning
DIY Woven Wall Hanging | Honestly WTF
Weaving Class: The Basics | A Beautiful Mess
Learn to Weave | Clare McGibbon on The Etsy Blog

Playing Favorites

09/05/2014 by Jennifer 4 Comments

Since moving up here, I’ve become a bit of a workaholic. Last night, however, I participated in my first girls night since moving here! A few coworkers and I had dinner at a cute pub, took silly pictures outside, sang and danced to Taylor Swift, and enjoyed one too many glasses of champagne. Considering the amount of time I sit alone in my apartment working on my computer, this was so refreshing and good for my soul. :)

And now a little color inspiration for the weekend…

Can you believe how perfect this color palette is? I might steal it for an upcoming project. Too pretty for words.

These DIY hand-painted pillowcases are so, so bright and happy. I might even consider dusting off my sewing machine for this project. Imagine all of the color combination possibilities!

The focal point in this apartment is obviously the rug, but I think I’m in love with everything else in the room as well! The chairs. The couch. The bar cart. Those windows. That lamp. Swoon…

And how beautiful is this geometric crochet scarf? Follow the link to purchase the pattern! I can’t wait to try this out sometime soon.

Are you working on any colorful projects these days? Hope you all enjoy this weekend!