Tuesday, October 30, 2012

DIY Paper Shirt

Ready for Halloween? 


A friend (who is a teacher) had an idea for a costume but had trouble putting it together so I came up with the idea of making a Paper Shirt as part of her costume. After searching online I came across the perfect photo that matched what I was picturing in my head. Only the photo was screen printed. Screen printing (after all the preparing of materials) can be easily done however, for the reason that I do not have one, I decided to hand paint it myself. Here is the rough draft I did on my husband's shirt before working on hers.



from this...

to this!


I used:
-red and sky blue fabric acrylic paint
-black fabric marker (can use black fabric acrylic paint as well)
-old white shirt

Directions: 
-draw (with pencil) one vertical line on left side of shirt after measuring how far you want it from the seam.
-measure how far down you want to start the first horizontal line, draw a line going across the shirt.
-measure the space you want in between each horizontal line. 
-draw lines until you get to the bottom of the shirt.
-with red fabric acrylic paint, go over the vertical line, let it dry (only should take a couple minutes).
-check if red paint is dry. Start to go over the horizontal lines with sky blue fabric acrylic paint. Let paint dry. 
-Use black fabric marker or black fabric acrylic paint to write in words. Let it dry.

Voila, your shirt is complete.




via photos: 1

Monday, October 29, 2012

Refreshed

I took a mini vacay last week back to my hometown for a week and it was simply refreshing. Time could not have gone so quickly and slowly at the same time. During my visit, I had a couple successful visits to 2 new thrift stores, but more on that next time. Nonetheless, I am glad to be back and have so many new ideas and projects I was anxious to start on during my visit (will update on these soon!). In the meantime, here's a recipe on homemade kalbi tacos that my husband and I devoured.




Kalbi Tacos


Ingredients:
-Korean Kalbi (marinated beef) (my mom sent us my grandma's infamous kalbi, words can not describe her marinating skills and her recipe). You can find recipe's online (our family recipe is a secret :)) or you can find ready to cook marinated meat at a Korean market. 
-corn tortillas
-chopped lettuce
-sweet corn on the cobb (for a quick and easy cooking process remove husks from corn, wrap the corn back up with its leaves. Tightly wrap the corn with clear food wrap and microwave for about 2 minutes or until done. After the corn has cooled down a bit cut off corn with knife.) 

Cilantro Cream Sauce: 
Ingredients: cilantro, jalapeno, sour cream, lemon, salt and pepper
Chop cilantro (use as much as you like) and jalapeno. Then place cilantro, jalapeno, sour cream, and squeeze as much lemon you can take and mix in blender or use hand blender until you see bits of cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste. 


*There is no perfect way for any recipes until the taste matches to the individual who is dining.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Driftwood Wind Chimes

We picked up some driftwood and rocks at the beach a couple weeks ago and all I could think about is making a driftwood wind chime. I have been trying to add several things to the outside of our home to give it a little character. Here are some ideas I found.




woven together with jute and hex nut jewelry

stacked together with cotton twine (can find the tutorial here)

with muscle shells (love this!)

not a wind chime, but this would be a great idea for the holidays that are coming up.


Here are the materials I am going to use for this project:








via images: 1,2,3,4

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Inspirational


As I was watching this amazing video, a thought came to mind. What would the world be like if everyone channeled their anger through art. Obviously there are various forms of art, but I can only imagine that the world would be a more colorful place.





Thursday, October 11, 2012

Thursday in the Rain

It has finally started to rain here in Watsonville. The weather started out gloomy a couple days ago but the rain finally did come the night before and now it's drizzling! I am now looking forward to a lot of baking, cooking, watching holiday movies, and time spent with family and friends when on our trips back LA. Here are some things I am enjoying right now.



The Family Stone
Remember this movie? If you have not watched it already, it's a great movie that touches all the human emotions. 

Driftwood and Rocks

Succulents being fed

 Unique wrist clutches

Lovin' the shoes



via images: last two photos from the sartorialist

Thursday, October 4, 2012

All Things Natural: Seashells by the Seashore

We made a visit to Manresa beach that's about 30 minutes away from our house. The first time I visited this beach, I just loved everything about it. Not to crowded, clean water, clean air, clean sand, beautiful sea shells, what more could you ask for at a beach? I was able to pick up some sea shells and sand dollars, which were very abundant. I am in the process of thinking of what I'll do with these shells but in the meantime, here are photos of what I picked up. The dried sea fan (in its natural color) was purchased at the pier in SF, isn't it just lovely?




 furry and smooth sand dollars

 seashells from the seashore

 more seashells and sea snail shells

sea rock with a brown/maroon shade

sea fan dried naturally




Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Recovering

I caught a bad cold from my husband this past weekend and have been recovering since. It's definitely times like these I am reminded to be thankful for mine and my family's health. The weather clearly did not help as it was between 90-100 degrees the past couple days. Thankfully, it has cooled down today. 

I have not been updating as often as I normally do but my MIL is visiting us and I have been trying to show her around Santa Cruz county as much as I can before she heads back to Japan next week. We have been visiting all the tour sites and to both our favorites vintage/second hand/flea markets. Here are some things I scored during our visit to the Santa Cruz flea market this past weekend. 



 vintage pant hangers 3 for $2

vintage eskimo mini fan bargained down to $8

 multi use handmade basket $.50

vintage talon zipper for $.25