Poking through a small flea market seemingly a million miles off the beaten path, I stumbled across a cache of stationary, pens, and notepads from the 1930’s and 1940’s. With each vintage notebook cover sporting a classic design, and each priced under a dollar, I scooped up the whole pile and began making plans!…
In this article, we’ll talk about cheap and reasonable ways to provide sound dampening and rental space. Although you may have found this article by googling “soundproofing,” the materials and effort required to actually soundproof a space are unrealistic for an average renter on a budget. But the good news is that unless you are…
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to use paper bags, wrapping paper, or recycled packing paper to produce this fun paper doll garland. My pattern is loosely styled on a primitive doll or gingerbread men, but feel free to use make modifications to my basic template- a printable PDF which you can download for…
[As a professional artist in my “day job,” I rely heavily on drawing tablets. Because of that, I’m serious when it comes to tracking, monitoring, and testing tech developments in the realm of digital art pads. This post was originally published in January of 2019, comparing the Surface Pro 4 to the iPad Pro. …
If chandeliers were a love language, it would be the one I speak most fluently. I love chandeliers and have always gravitated towards them (going so far as to book AirBnb rentals based on a good chandelier in the suite!) At one point, nearly every room (including bathrooms) at Hawk Hill included a chandelier. I used to…
Long grazing platters, a luxuriously bountiful counter to the restriction of diet culture, are one of the hottest food trends of recent years. In this post, I’ll tell you about my take on this food trend, and how, from a small 10×10 foot mixed garden plot (of flowers, vegetables, and herbs) I create both edible…
I’ll confess, I get most of my lampshades from thrift stores or secondhand shops. With patience, it’s easy to find just about any shape or style of lampshade that I need. What’s harder to find at secondhand sources are clean lampshades. Often, lampshades I pick up from these sources are brand new but have…
In today’s post, I’ll be showing you how I made a project that I recently completed for my community garden. Check out the video below for a preview, or keep scrolling for a depth tutorial and supply list. One of the hardest parts about moving to urban Seattle was losing my farm…
By some measures, chalk might be the ultimate art supply. It’s affordable, erasable, non-toxic, and it’s easy to use. While many art supplies require technique, prep, training, or required supplies, chalk is easy and versatile –a fun and approachable art project for children and adults. Indoor chalkboard walls are a fun way to have an…
One of my most popular posts is my tutorial on making your own tumbled sea glass using a rock tumbler. I love seeing the projects people are creating using the glass produced with the described in the tutorial. From vase filler to aquarium decoration and all kinds of beach-inspired crafts, it’s fun to follow…
When I started website-building in the pre-blog era of 2005, I found an article titled “26 steps to $26k in One Year.” Although by 2020 standards that advice would be terribly outdated, in 2005 those 26 steps were my gameplan and helped me create several thriving e-commerce companies and blogs, and over time informed…
Whether you’re in the investigation/planning stage of installing a doggie door or if you’ve already installed one and discovered the freedom a doggie door gives owners and pets, this article is for you! I love pet doors. The confidence that pups get from having their own freedom to go outside when needed is such fun…
First, pick the litter. Then, pick from the litter. You’ve considered the options and chosen to get a dog through a breeder. Now what? No matter what breed of dog you’ve chosen, it cannot be stressed enough that picking the litter is more important than picking a puppy. Although we’ve got some tips here for…
If you have more than a handful of chickens, and maybe even if you only have a few, you likely know that one of the challenges of maintaining a flock of laying hens is that they always seem to nest practically on top of each other! In this article, I’ll talk about the method…
This is a little outside of my typical wheelhouse, as this blog is more about crafts, DIY, and occasional travel post than it is about scrapbooking and genealogy research. But I love old photographs and I am excited to share a new way I discovered to more meaningfully organize mine. Initially, I discovered this application…
One of the most frequently asked questions I am asked about my above ground pond is how it is cleaned out. This is often framed as negative feedback- which kind of confuses me because, having had both styles of garden pond, my above ground pond is much easier to clean than the in-ground…
Did you know that wool makes an exceptional diffuser for essential oils? Wool felt is a highly porous natural fiber, allowing air to pass through rather than around it. Because of this, wool felt can be used as an eco-friendly portable diffuser for your favorite scents. You may have seen diffuser necklaces that use…
