In this post, I’ll be showing you how to personalize a blank award ribbon rosette with a custom design, message, or personalization. This method is perfect for creating custom gifts, awards, or to celebrate unique celebration that would be hard to celebrate or find a card for. Using just about any vinyl cutting system such…
Seattle is an amazing place to visit, but with basic hotel rooms starting at $130 per night, budgeting for a low-cost trip to Seattle can be a huge challenge. As a graduate student, I and my friends have discovered some fun, free ways to get the full Seattle experience, so today’s blog post is…
On the return trip from Croatia in July 2017, I sailed from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Bari, Italy aboard the Jadrolinija Ferry “Dubrovnik”. On this return trip, unlike my first Adriatic crossing with Jadrolinija, I traveled on a daytime passage. This crossing made my first Jadrolinja ferry seem like a cakewalk! Ferry Check In Passengers…
Before downsizing, I purchased a light box for my art studio. It was handy and worked great for finessing my art, but it was also expensive, bulky and difficult to use due to the electrical cord. I sold my light box in an estate sale when I moved to Seattle, but as I do more…
Graduate school is an odd season of life. While many work full time during graduate studies, often others, like me, discover their graduate program isn’t a good complement to a standard full-time job and, like me, seek alternate ways to maintain an income while working towards the next career goal. For me, during even the…
DIY dying cement is a tough job. Cement is often a dark media (my favorite crafting variety, Rockite, however, is already light, making dying easier) and the chemical processes and heating that take place during the curing process seem to destroy most pigments. In my initial attempts, I used a professional grade high pigment fluid…
Did you know that you can make your own naturally freeze-resistant water buckets, troughs, or ponds using natural materials you already have on your farm? This might sound a little crazy, but compost is a surprizingly effective way to insulate buckets. Everyone knows compost heats up- it’s part of the decomposition process and the reason that…
Cavtat, Dubrovnik’s small-town neighbor, has all the old sea-port charm at a fraction of the prices in nearby Dubrovnik. Read on to learn why Cavtat, Croatia was one of my favorite solo travel destinations of 2017. Late July found me in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and weary. By the time I arrived to Dubrovnik’s bus station…
It’s a little bit of a vulnerable thing to throw yourself a birthday party. I turned 36 this year, and with my birthday arriving at the end of a year that held both significant loss and much growth, I was ready to celebrate big. Most years insecurity has kept my celebrations and my invite list…
Unlike most of Europe, Croatia lacks a well-developed rail system. Thankfully, I found the transportation options available by bus to be more than adequate and most of my bus experiences in Croatia were preferable overall compared to train travel that same summer (2017) through Italy. I rank transportation by comfort, stress level, and the…
A departure from my typical DIY tutorials, here’s a step by step tech tutorial for taking old web galleries (created by Adobe PhotoShop 7 and similar versions of photoshop), which are now very out of date, and migrating them to a content management platform like WordPress where they can be adapted and modernized. In my early…
Setting your prices can be one of the hardest parts of having a flea market booth. How you price items determines how quickly your inventory will turn over and imacts how customers experience your booth. If items catch their eye but the first pricetag turns them away, the customer might not stay in your booth…
“Free inventory.” At the suggestion, you might think of curbside finds or perhaps a way to rid yourself of bad Christmas gifts, but as I’ve maintained a flea market booth, I’ve generated a surprising number of consistent sources of free inventory for my flea market booth. Below, I’ve outlined 5 of my best sources…
I’ve traveled internationally in the past, but this past summer’s trip to Italy, Croatia was my first time to travel internationally alone. For me, traveling is always high stress, and traveling alone definitely added a layer of anxiety. Being extra vigilant about my security felt important, and I think the creative ways I…
Solo Travel never really appealed to me until recently. As I settle into myself in my 30’s, solo travel sounds more and more like an adventure with someone I enjoy rather than a stretch of loneliness. Florence’s open markets were one of the unexpected delights of Florence: I booked a truffle hunting tour…
In Seattle, homes are not designed to be air-conditioner friendly. It was during one particularly hot streak last summer that I went to a big box home improvement store for some insulation to place around my apartment’s portable air conditioner vent and discovered along the way the best (and cheapest) photography light reflector I have…
[Originally published on my art site, LindsayBraman.com, I realized this content was very appropo to this blog, so I’ve reposted below] This summer has been kind to me and offered many opportunities to travel. While it was nice to be home after the long trip in July, I took one last jaunt out of the city…
