In a normal year my Christmas tree goes up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year it went up the Friday before, I had the itch to decorate and scratched. I blame it on the perfectly chilly day full of sleet that that Friday was, but think it had just as much to do with the abbreviated holiday season we’re experiencing in the U.S. this year.
I love pulling out all of the ornaments I’ve collected over the past ten or so years. All pink, blue, silver, and white for the most part. For 2013 I changed things up a bit by adding silver garland to the mix, a first ever for any tree I’ve ever decorated. (If I’m too crazy for you, I totally understand.)
When I decorate for the holidays I don’t like to disrupt everything, but rather add here and there to enhance. A few ceramic faux bois platters on the cocktail table, a bunch of eucalyptus in a hippo vase, and of course some seasonal candies. A metallic snowflake hanging from a lamp, a few pomanders, and a candle on the credenza… we’re getting there!
The fireplace and mantel were strung with Edison bulbs and a banner begging for snow, as well as a few mercury glass and bottle brush trees. A set of silver finials and some woodland creatures help round it all out.
A few bits on the kitchen cabinets and a bauble on the hall closet door, a favorite card over there in the guest bath, and some gold tinsel hanging around a frame. That’s how we do Christmas at Design Crush!
Each December I make the effort to take on at least one holiday craft project. Because it’s true what they say – homemade/handmade really does mean more. I can look back at past projects and know just what was going on in my life the years that I made them, almost like a timeline. I haven’t decided on my project for 2013 just yet, but these 25 (yeah, that number is no coincidence) are for sure in the running!
Click on each image to go to the project. All photos copyright of their respective sites unless otherwise noted.
Today seems like the perfect time to tell you all how thankful I am for you. Because whether you realize it or not, you’re responsible for making this dream that I didn’t even know I had come true just by reading Design Crush.
If you’re in the U.S. I hope you’re having the best Thanksgiving. One filled with lots of food, lots of love, and lots of leftovers. Back to regularly scheduled programing tomorrow!
Do you remember 24 Merry Days last December? Well, this year it’s back and about a million times better than ever. In case you’re not familiar, 24 Merry Days is an advent calendar of giveaways – one a day from December 1st through the 24th featuring 24 bloggers. Audrey of A Little Street has completely outdone herself pulling the entire project together with gifts from Public Bikes to Max Wanger to Mud Australia – times 24. (I can hear your jaw dropping over here. It’s okay.)
I’m not allowed to spill who’s giving away what when, but I can tell you that it’s going to be amazing. And that you can check in on the 24 Merry Days site each day starting December 1st to find out where to go to enter that day’s giveaway. You can also follow me on Twitter at @designcrush where I’ll be sharing the same info each day. Get ready to click guys, cause it’s gonna be AWESOME.
For me it’s been a bittersweet year. I’m thankful for the time I got to spend with my step-grandfather, Pete, as he battled the end stages of Alzheimer’s. I’m thankful for a big decision that was just made, one that should lead to great things (Sorry to be vague – more to come on that front!). And I’m also extremely thankful that I’m able to earn a living doing what I love.
Today I’m happy to share the work and words of friend and (killer) photographer Jessie Askinazi. A few weeks ago we were chatting and I thought it would be interesting/awesome to see what she’s is most thankful for because if nothing else Jessie is always beautifully honest.
So, what are the three things you’re most thankful for this year?
COMRADES. When I say comrades, I mean more than friends. These are my beloved, the people I’d take with me to a desert island because I couldn’t imagine a life without them. These are the sort of nut jobs I can make morbid and distasteful jokes with; things we could never say to most people, our dirtiest thoughts that expose character flaws and perversions. The real stuff. The good stuff. The bad stuff, too. The faces that have seen me after I’ve been hospitalized for an intestinal migraine, and came equipped with a bottle of Pedialite in the middle of the night; or made me dinner with what little money they had left. They don’t judge me for my essence – they know that I will always exist outside of conventional perimeters, and I know that they will too. They’ll say the truth, especially when I’m terrible – and call me out.
FASHION DESIGN. I’m thankful for fashion design, for style being a means to protective armor, an illustrative palette that says it all and says it proudly. I’m grateful for the heavy-knit sweaters I want to burrow under so I can pretend I’m nestling in a cavern by a seaside during the winter. I love fighting the bigotry, the confines and the tar pits of the big picture by wearing a dress splashed with colors of the rainbows. I time travel through the decades by browsing my closet and issues of Harper’s Bazar from the 60’s. I outline my femininity, I imitate architectural blueprints, I mirror historian findings and I conjoin with textures. I fight the good fight, and I’m proactive through what I put on. Fashion takes me outside of the flatlands and transports me to a sky full of stars.
MORTIMER. When I lived in Los Angeles, I worked at a great shop called Polka Dots and Moon Beams. During my lunch breaks, I’d wander into the pet store next door and play with the puppies. One day I met a teeny tiny chihuahua about the size of a newly hatched duckling. He was so much calmer and sweeter than all of the other pups and there was something special about his disposition that kept calling me back. I guess it’s that thing pet owners talk about when they said “he chose me.” Even Penelope Cruz told me to buy him (she was in the store at the same time). I wasn’t planning on getting a pet, but everything in my gut told me I couldn’t stand to see him go to someone else. I’ve had Mortimer for about six years now and he’s lived with me in LA, NYC and FL. He has been by side through every crashing point over the past several years. He burrows under the blanket and sleeps wrapped up in my legs. He knows when I’m sad or sick and fills up my loneliness. He doesn’t question my antics or judge me if I’m broken out and wearing a face mask. I’m convinced he loves more than any creature can love, and his eyes look up at me with pure devotion. I miss him if I’m gone for an hour and I see how much he’s missed me when I return. Sometimes it feels like he’s the only thing I need in the whole world, like that’s enough.
Jessie Askinazi is a photographer and journalist that has contributed her work to Purple Diary, Whitewall, Bullett, Vogue Italia, Filter, Artinfo and others. She does her own styling and art direction, and runs an art/fashion/design blog called Morning Passages. She also writes poetry and personal essays. Jessie studied theater in New York and continues to act in independent films and theater. You can follow her on Twitter at @jessieaskinazi.
Because Thanksgiving is falling so close to the end of November this year, it really feels (to me) like I’m rolling out holiday coverage early. I’m so thrown off, it seems like we’re going to carve the turkey and Christmas is going to be the very next week! Which is also why I wrote out my holiday cards last week. There are so many incredibly designed/illustrated/written creations that I thought it was high time to start passing them your way.
I was really excited when Bing asked me to partner with them to share the new Smart Search for Windows 8.1. I’ve always been a really visual person, which probably helps to explain why I’ve always worked in creative fields among other (more nerdy) things. It’s also why I love my job as an art and design blogger, but sometimes the internet doesn’t translate well for my type of folk. Smart Search is an entirely visual search that shows you a clean, graphic view of information from across the web – right up my alley. You can use it to check out the weather, get directions, or like me… find the perfect Christmas cookies!
One of my pet peeves about recipes in general is when no photo is attached. How do I know what the end result is supposed to look like?! Is this chocolatey blob accurate? Well, Smart Search eliminates that problem completely. I can now find the cookies that I’ll make to take home with me to my Grandma’s for the holidays by what looks most delicious. (All of them, obviously.)
It was no easy task, but after a major search I narrowed down the results to these eight. And I still need to take that down further, because my 89-year-old Grandma and I have an agreement that we’ll each make two kinds. (Though she’s such a cheater.) Which two get your votes?
This post was created in partnership with Bing. With a type or a swipe you can search the web, the cloud, apps, and your PC or tablet, all in one place using Bing Smart Search on Windows 8.1.
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Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!