It's perfect.

Okay. I've never written anything about cosmetics here before, probably because I don't wear much, and probably because this is a designy blog. But I have to admit I have a weakness for buying lip gloss, even though I usually forget to wear it. I have just found my all-time favorite, this lip stuff from Neutrogena (who is not paying me to say this!) It feels lovely and is sheer, so it's not overpowering, and not sticky like some gloss, and not heavy like lipstick. I want to buy a truckload of it and have lovely lips forever.

(Image from Neutrogena.)

[Note: I have just reread what I posted, and I sound like a badly written TV commercial. Sorry. But this is good stuff.]

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Get on the DIY bandwagon

Head over to the Design It Yourself website for project tips, a list of resources and links, and best of all, the downloads section. Here you can get printable PDFs for stuff, including my favorite, the Post Consumer T-shirt. Be sure to read the PDF's instructions, since you'll get some clever ideas for embellishing your shirt.

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Ode to orange

I'm delighted to see that Holly Becker over at Decor8 is featuring the color orange this month. So if you like to see orange things, go browse posts like this one. (Above is a swatch of my home office rug, a $10 clearance special from Target a year or two ago. Just to whet your appetite for more orange.)

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Easy felt magnets

Here are some quick little magnets you can whip up. Cut out bits of felt into shapes you like (I did them freehand—I think it gives them more personality than drawing on them first and making them too perfect) and then glue the layers on top of each other with craft glue. Make sure the bottom leaf layer is big enough underneath for your magnet to sit fully on it. Stick the magnet on with hot glue.

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A picture test from Hello Kitty

Well, the survey is closed, but if you were dying to answer questions, you can do this instead. While googling the other day, I came across this quiz from Hello Kitty, who is now delving into the field of psychology. Take a test to find out "how much you care about people and stuff around you." Note: maybe the questions will make more sense to you if you're Japanese.

My sad result: "About 40 percent. Basically you don't really like the act of caring." I think Kitty discerned this because I kept the red cup for myself when drinking juices with a friend.

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Make this blog better

I've constructed a quick little survey to find out what you, dear reader, would like to see on this blog. If you have a minute, would you fill it out? Thanks a bunch! (Also, it was a good excuse to try out Survey Monkey—perfect for all your surveying needs. :)

[6/22, 8:00 AM NOTE: Apparently the survey closed itself at 1:41 in the morning last night while I slept. It seems I can only collect 100 responses without paying $19.95 a month to upgrade my free Survey Monkey account! So I've removed the link. Thanks to all who took the time to fill it out, and sorry to everyone else who tried to, but got stopped by the Monkey.]

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Cool desktop wallpapers

If your computer monitor needs a facelift, check out Pixelgirl Presents. You'll find tons of cool, free desktop wallpapers. Some of my faves, above. I regret that in my downloading enthusiasm, I forgot to note the artist names, so I'm sorry I can't credit their creators. But I'm definitely going to enjoy my new backgrounds. Start browsing here!

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Some things you can make

Lenticular images from Photojojo
Fabric flowers at Wise Craft
A patchwork notebook cover from Craft Apple
Paper airplanes by Christian Lowe and John Collins at a site found by Paper Forest
A fabric wallet at Blissful
Huge paper pom-poms at Martha Stewart (perfect for party decor)
Fabric-covered wall panels at Bella Dia

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The art of Heinrich Toh

We went to the The Old Town Art Fair the other day for bit and walked through as briskly as the crowd would allow (i.e. at a snail's pace). Alex has pointed out that I get very crabby in crowds, and it's true. So we tried to keep moving, but here's where I had to stop and seriously look: Heinrich Toh. My favorite of the day. To see more, visit his website.




All images by Heinrich Toh.

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Grow a Magic Garden

I bought this little kit for $4.99 at Art Effect, thinking it would be a goofy little thing to add to somebody's care package sometime. But... it kept calling my name, and against my will, I succumbed to the urge to open it up and try it out myself. And it turned out to be FASCINATING! The kit comes with flat, boring paper shapes you open up and stand in a tray, and then you add various packets of clear liquid to each tray compartment. In 2 hours, you start to see pink buds. In 12 hours, it looks like this!

I'm amazed. Some kind of salt crystals grow. But why? How? Must be magic. This crappy picture I took does not do it justice. You should get yourself one. Or if you're too dignified, at least give one to a kid you know.

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Find out your "personalDNA"

Trisha of blackwhitebliss sent me a link to this really cool personality test. Instead of the standard multiple choice format, you get to use sliders and quadrants and other nifty ways of rating yourself on a continuum. A much more realistic way to assess yourself. It's fun! Try it here.

My result:
See my complete report here if you want.

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Tiny pincushion tutorial

My friend Megumi (click the link and there she is, on the left, looking gorgeous) mailed me three of these adorable little pincushions for my birthday. I was so delighted with them that I asked her if I could post instructions for making some here. She agreed. Maybe she makes them differently (and definitely with better craftsmanship!), but here's what I ended up doing.

You'll need:
• A bottle cap from a 2-liter pop bottle, or something with a larger diameter if you like, depending on what size cushion you want. It should be about 1/2" to 3/4" deep.
• Pretty fabric
• Coordinating felt
• Coordinating ribbon that's wide enough to hide the sides of your cap
• Stuffing, batting or cotton balls (I stole some stuffing out of a pillow on my couch)
• Needle and thread
• Scissors
• Glue (I used craft glue and a hot glue gun.)

1. Cut a felt circle the same diameter as your cap and glue it on (I used gel craft glue).
2. Cut your pretty fabric into a circle. For the 2-liter bottle cap size, make a circle that's about 3 1/2" in diameter. Add a little more for a bigger cap. It's not too fussy.
3. Stitch in and out around the circle to gather it, making a bowl shape.

4. Put as much stuffing into it as you can possibly fit, and tie off your thread. If some stuffing sticks out, no problem.
5. Put some hot glue around the inside edges of your cap and nestle your little stuffed pillow into it, smooshing it down tightly.

6. Glue decorative ribbon around the cap to hide the ugly sides. Done.

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Hey, this is good.

We just bought some of this grapefruit soda at Trader Joe's, and I love it. Real grapefruit taste, just a tiny bit sweet. So refreshing. I'm drinking it right now in front of my computer. I think I'm addicted.

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Print your own photo cube

Tabblo has a nifty little tool that lets you upload some photos, arrange them in a template, and print out a PDF you can cut and fold into a cube. Could be fun to make some for a birthday/ engagement/ anniversary/ graduation party and stack them as a centerpiece or scatter them around the room for guests to look at and play with.

Image from Tabblo.

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Follow up quiz: Arial or Helvetica?

Okay, all you Arials from the previous quiz. And typophiles everywhere. See how you do at this quiz where you have to tell whether the font is Arial or Helvetica. I did badly. But if you read the article after the quiz, you'll do much better.

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Quiz: What font are you?

Here you can take a quiz to find out what font you are. Since this is absolutely a burning question that's haunted me over the years, I had to know. The result: "Arial - You're pretty normal. That's certainly not a bad thing, as a lot of people like you." WHAT?!? In other words, "You're bland. You're dull. You're completely boring and your friends have to prop their eyelids open with toothpicks to stay awake whenever they're around you." Humph. Stupid quiz.

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New sidebar links

I updated the sidebar to include a new section for people who like to make food and entertain guests. I do, I do! Check out the links. And if anybody knows other good blogs with party, food, or entertaining ideas, I'm interested.

Strawberry lemonade photograph from Simply Recipes (Great site. Go see.)

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Cut paper votive holder project

Several weeks ago while browsing at Blick, I found Canson self-adhesive paper on clearance. Didn't know there was such a thing, but I thought it could come in handy for something. Especially since a pack was only 99 cents. So here's a little project I made with it. The really complicated instructions are: draw some shapes on the paper backing side, cut them out, peel off the backing, and stick the shapes on a glass candle holder. Voila! The paper is somewhat thick, so I'm noticing a few of the points have unstuck themselves just a bit at the tips, but it still looks pretty and you can't tell unless you put your nose up to it. Which you wouldn't want to do anyhow, since you might singe your nosehair.

You could make a bunch of these, each with a letter on them to spell somebody's name for their birthday. Or put simple hearts on them for a romantic candlelight dinner with your sweetie. Lots of options.

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Will somebody please buy this for me?

Just kidding. It's $49,000. But ever since we stayed at the Shady Dell, I've longed for an Airstream trailer. And what should arrive in the mail today, but a new Design Within Reach catalog featuring THIS on the front. They've designed their own Airstream, and I am in love. Read about it at the DWR and Airstream websites.

Photographs from Design Within Reach and Airstream.

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Pattern inspiration

Click here to see (and buy, if you want to pay for international shipping from Germany ) a collection of vintage wallpaper. The site also has new wallpaper designs with a retro influence. Fun to browse if you're looking for inspiration sometime.

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More free fonts

A resourceful coworker recently told me about dafont.com, a site where you can download free fonts. They're nicely categorized, and there are some interesting choices. Some are nice, and others are rather hideous. But you might find a nice display font for your next project. Black Jack is shown above.

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