In my opinion enamelware doesn’t get enough love. Yes it can chip, and no you can’t put it in the microwave but come on. The colors are always showstoppers and the weighty feel of a piece in your hand can’t be topped. I’m crushing on this dinnerware from Variopinte and the stark white cutlery to match. (via Oh Joy!)
Clockwise from top left: Skull-Print Cashmere Sweater by 360 Sweater // Halloween Skull Card by Sugar Paper, Los Angeles // Morton Skull Appetizer Plates, by Z Gallerie // Ceramic Skull Planter by mudpuppy // Sugar Cube Skulls by Dem Bones // Kranium by Acme JR // Skull Pendant Light by Raw Dezign // DIY Skull Garland from Lovely Indeed
Posted In accessories, cards, food, halloween, holidays, house and home, kitchen, lighting, make it, paper goods, round up, wear it
Paola Navone’s collection for Crate and Barrel have me daydreaming of the coast. Any coast. Platters full of fresh seafood, bowls brimming with just-picked vegetables, and glasses full of chilled wine. Choose from three distinct looks. The Como Collection, covered in painterly blues and inspired by Morocco, Turkey, and the Mediterranean. The Mallorca Collection, featuring white porcelain and zigzags reminiscent of flower petals and shells. And the Riviera Collection, with hints of turquoise and the look of the 1950s on the French Riviera. I mean really, no matter what you just can’t go wrong.
Shanna Murray is such a talented illustrator, and this fall she’s teamed up with West Elm to create a heartfelt collection that celebrates friends and family through her well-known handwritten phrases. Choose from salad plates, a platter, coasters, a pie dish, and a tea towel featuring her signature script. Perfect for the upcoming holidays.
Marimekko is consistently jaw dropping, and their latest – the Weather Diary Collection – is right on point. I’m crazy about the color palette that’s derived from nature (a kicked up just a bit) and the dinnerware pieces designed by Sami Ruotsalainen have such a great energy! Check out a few of my favorite pieces from the collection below. (And here’s a look behind the scenes of the Weather Diary Collection.)
The kitchen is probably, okay definitely, my favorite room in the house. I love nothing more than cranking up some music and baking the afternoon away (well, when it’s below 100-degrees that is!). It’s a great stress reliever and it always feels good to share the bounty that comes out of the oven. At least my pants feel that way.
The key to preventing moldy berries.
How to frost a professional looking cake with pourable faux fondant.
Six secrets to the perfect pie crust.
Every kind of glass bottles, glass jars, tin containers, etc you could want.
The common cook’s how many guide to kitchen conversions.
The 15 tools every man needs to cook like a pro.
What do wine experts recommend for cheap drinking?
Freezing, drying, and storing herbs 101.
Eleven secrets to properly freezing produce.
Posted In house and home, kitchen, tips + tricks
Enamelware is some of my favorite to use in the kitchen, the look and the heft of it just feel good. The two-color dipped forms by Sarah Wiener for REISS make me so ridiculously happy. I have a feeling they would not only make me bake (even) more, but they’d also never be hidden away in a dark cabinet! Each piece is dipped and glazed by hand by the Austrian company, making every one unique and leaving your hungry for more.
I love a tall glass tumbler more than just about any other glassware, really I do. But sometimes those guys are just sitting there like a blank canvas in the cabinet, waiting for a makeover. These Color Washed Glasses are a breeze to make and can look as fancified or casual as you want!
All you need:
• a set of straight-sided glasses (I used tall tumblers, but you can use whatever)
• ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape
• acrylic paint in the color(s) of your choice
• 3/4″ acrylic paint brush
• paint palette (i.e. paper plate)
The first thing I did was wash and dry the glasses thoroughly, and then I taped them off. Because they’re going to be used primarily for beverages I wanted to make sure the paint was nowhere near the lip, so I simply used the width of the ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape as a measuring guide. You can opt to paint all the way down to the base of the glass, but I wanted to balance out the spacing at the top with a second strip of tape at the bottom. Since the glasses aren’t exactly straight up and down there will be a small amount of gapping with the ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape, simply smooth it down using your fingernail by pushing down and towards the edge.
Next, squeeze a quarter-sized dollop of paint onto your palette surface (I always use a small paper plate) and load up your brush. Get to work sweeping and swashing over the exposed part of each glass, making sure to overlap the ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape slightly. You want a random look, so go crazy swooping and swashing!
These glasses only required one layer of paint because we aren’t going for a solid opaque look. I set them aside to dry for about half an hour before removing the ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape.
The edges came out very clean, and in the few spots that bled through I used my nail to scrape off the excess before the pain set completely.
Huzzah! Time to sit back with an icy drink and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Because these are hand-painted you’ll need to hand wash these guys after using, or risk all of the paint coming off in the dishwasher – but you totally knew that already, right? I also plan on using these as small vases this fall, I think some brightly colored mums would look incredible with both the gold and white!
This post is a collaboration with ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Brand. Join the community at Facebook.com/scotchblue or visit scotchblue.com to learn more.
ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape | ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Facebook Page | ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Twitter Page | ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape YouTube Page | ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Pinterest Page
Posted In house and home, kitchen, make it, sponsored post
01/ Cut back during meals with this crazy dinnerware set.
02/ For one week in June ABSOLUT turned a block in Williamburg into a giant white canvas!
03/ Embrace bird-friendly architecture with the Bird Brick.
04/ Rockaway Beach’s recently opened Playland Motel is a must-visit.
05/ Graft Tableware, biodegradable utensils that look like vegetables.
06/ Heather Hansen creates art using her own kinetic energy and pigment.
07/ Imaginary Factories inside your favorite devices and appliances!
08/ A Sailing Ship Kite – just what the doctor ordered.
09/ Lightbulbs adorned with cityscapes.
10/ Olga Gladysheva captured some great shots of polar bears mid-water ballet!
This week on Design Crush:
Still Indoor Activities vs Sparkling Outdoor Soireets (and a Sweepstakes!)
Expanding Your Audience (Take my class August 13th!)
Jaime Derringer
Blanket Up
Eve Sand
Willow Knows
Nathalie Boutté
Native Union CLIC Wooden
Solaroids
A to-scale set of interlocking porcelain plates resembling the fifty states called The Fifty United Plates? SIGN ME UP. No you don’t have to purchase all fifty, but wouldn’t that be incredible?
Their uses are plentiful; baking dish, serving tray, conversation piece, collecting tray, tapas plate, etc. They can act as stand alone state plates, pieced together as regions on your dinner table, or hand picked to be the places that mean the most to you. The entire spread will measure 8 feet by 4 feet with Texas sized at 24″ by 25″ and Rhode Island as the smallest state at 1.5″ by 1.5″.
There are a few spots left to support the Corbe Company‘s The Fifty United Plates Kickstarter campaign if you’d like to get in on the action!
.
