As you know Easter was last weekend, so this post will actually not be useful to anyone for approximately 381 days- but I don’t really care because I don’t blog for money or anything, and I took nice pictures and if I don’t write down what I did I will surely forget. I’ll try to remember to re-post this in a more timely manner next year. Until then… allow me to “resurrect” the Easter spirit (ba-dam-cha.) I’m here all week, folks.

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I love to play with this SUPER FUN app that generates a lovely harmonious color palette from your photos. You upload a photo and the app processes it and spits out the palette. This would be a great way to think about room decor, website design, or even what color picture frame to get. Here are a some I did from some of my photos:

This is the (amazing, delicious, if you love cheese don’t miss it!) cheese shop in Neal’s Yard, London, that makes a lovely subtle palette.

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Gift wrapping can get so boring, and I get super jealous of people who wrap gifts all tastefully and creatively. So here are 2 ideas from the internetz about some easy and fun ways to step it up from a gift tag perspective.

1. You can print out these free gift tags from Angry Chicken, there are a bunch of designs.

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YaYa Chou, a Taiwanese artist, created this bearskin-shaped rug out of Gummi Bears and fake nails, and it’s amazing.

I have no words. I love it.

Visit YaYa Chou’s site for more info and photos of this and other works!

It seems I’ve been serially bookmarking a whole bunch of odd and unusual DIY lighting ideas so I thought it was time to clean it out and share a few with you.

Latex Glove Lamp by Katarina Britse
STUNNING- the trick would be keeping them inflated for more than a couple hours.

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Check out these stylish bracelets made out of dead Starbucks gift cards.

Now I’ve seen everything. Young whippersnappers today are really just way too crafty, talented, creative, patient, eco-conscious, and skilled for their own good, I SWEAR, it’s almost enough to make you sick- that is, until you realize you’re just feeling sick because you’re jealous of their mad skillz and ability to execute ideas successfully and efficiently.

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I am so enamored of this decoupaged table I saw on Craft:! I want one!

Sigh. Sometimes the internets get me down. It usually occurs when I build up an overload of crafty projects I covet but know I will never and would never do. Why? Because I am impatient as heck, that’s why. In the meantime let’s ogle other (better) people’s recent craft projects that have been on Craftzine, shall we?

Stamped Tea Tins With Japanese Paper



Hand Stitched Father’s Day Card



Blinged Out Laptop

Note to self: stop subscribing to Craftzine’s feed. (Oh but I can’t. It’s like craftporn.)

Last Easter I made these pretty marbled pink eggs, but this year I was inspired to try silk-dyed eggs. They turned out more gorgeous than I expected!

To make them, you wrap eggs in patterned silk (thrift store rejects) and then in plain fabric (I cut up an old t-shirt) then tie them tightly with string. It’s important to get as tight a wrap as possible for good results. They look funny and cute all wrapped up and ready to go!

A couple of notes: you must use 100% silk fabric. I used silk neckties I bought from our local thrift store and was able to dye 2 eggs with each necktie. The only downside to the thrift store ties: when you pour out the water at the end, it smells like thrift store for a minute or two! You could also use a tie that had an irreparable stain, or an old silk shirt. I was tempted to buy one of those sandwashed silk shirts that were so popular in the 90s, since there were quite a few to choose from, but I wasn’t sure if washed silk would work, so I stuck with the ties. I was really happy with how they turned out!

Here are the ties I used. Some of the colors that came out were surprising. For example, the dark green and tan tie made eggs that had all different shades of light blue, green, and yellow. Overall the vibrant colored ties came out more dramatic, but I like the softer colors as well. Some of the eggs came out with fine-grain patterns that weren’t discernible on the ties, which was neat.

To make your own…

• Cut pieces of silk large enough to wrap around an egg.
• Wrap the egg with the silk, printed side touching the egg. Tie tightly with a piece of string.
• Add a piece of white cotton scrap material around the egg. Tie tightly with a piece of string.
• Put eggs in a non-metal pot (glass or enamel, like Le Creuset.) Cover the eggs completely with water and add 3 tablespoons vinegar.
• Bring water to a boil, turn down the heat to low, and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
• Remove eggs from hot water and let cool. Once cool, carefully remove the fabric from the egg and set out to dry on a rack.

A note: because they have to cook so long to let the silk dye come out, they don’t make the best eating eggs… but my uncle Paul usually doesn’t mind them overcooked. Happy Easter!

UPDATE: I thought you might enjoy seeing some more of these eggs. I’ll keep adding links to photos of other people’s silk-dyed eggs-periments! (Couldn’t resist. Sorry!) Let me know if you make them and I’ll link to you!

City Mouse in a Country House used some Christian Dior scarves and some ugly ties to make these gorgeous eggs.