CRAFT & DESTROY

Jul 18, 2013

Drink: Summer Sangria

For me, sangria is a summer staple, one that I look forward to enjoying every year as soon as it gets warm outside. It's been 90-100 degrees here in NYC for the past couple of weeks and I honestly can't think of a better way to beat the heat than relaxing up on the roof, fire escape or - if your're really lucky - in a pool or backyard with this easy boozy treat in hand.

House tour: Living room

My living room is looking snazzy these days thanks to my "somewhat healthy" thrifty/craiglist/freecycle obsession. The newest addition in our place is that sexy looking surfboard table up there, which I just brought back from Philadelphia. I found it listed on Craigslist and had been eyeing it for the past couple of weeks. I finally made my way to Philly this past weekend and picked up the beauty from Jen at Picked Vintage. It was just what I needed to pull everything together. As it turns out, the finish of the table and the tapered legs with bronze detailing match the mini bar exactly... to a T. It seriously looks like they were part of the same set!

Click the link below for the rest of the details..

Back (in Black)

After a nice vacation from the blog and very nice, very long fourth of July holiday vacation from the daily grind I am back. It really was a much needed break from routine, the burdens of city living and I feel so refreshed. In all honesty though, it wasn't all an escape, this whole time I've been plotting away ideas, projects & picking up vintage steals - and I'm sure as hell ready to share all of the awesome stuff that has happened while I was away.

During my little extended vacation I drove up to Massachusetts (first time!), spent a weekend up in Martha's Vineyard, got tattooed, did some major spring cleaning, celebrated my 25th birthday, got my very own (another first!) powerdrill, hung out in the countryside out in Bucks County,PA and brought back tons of goodies from a day trip to Philly - and thats just the past two weeks!

Stay tuned!
x

Apr 9, 2013

Stitch & Bitch: Embroidery Edition

In all honesty, I'm not really sure why I chose to do this round up about embroidery in the first place but what I do know is that while putting this together I somehow unearthed a bag of embroidery thread from my craft room and stared at it for a little bit trying to figure out why I never even gave it a chance before. I rather like the idea of taking a craft like needlepoint that is so traditionally feminine and giving it a contemporary context but I have never really tried to embroider myself. Maybe it's time to change that..

Follow the links for some really great embroidery related projects (no experience necessary!):

and while we are at it.. I just HAD to share these:

Mar 31, 2013

Tutorial: How to make your own hair ties (Photo heavy!)

I have tons of bandannas, all of which have seen better days so when I noticed how badly battered my favorite one was I finally realized what would be the best use of my bag of fabric scraps. The best part? I got to pick and choose what color combinations I made my new hair accessories in. These hair ties are thicker on the strip that falls on the back and a little thinner than most bandannas overall so they easily tie neatly at the top of your head.

Step-by-step below:

Easy Yarn DIY

Here's an incredibly simple little sunday project. For this project, I slowly unraveled an old unfinished knitted piece and wrapped around a vase to dress up an otherwise boring clear vessel. I simply wrapped the piece for a semi-temporary uplift but if you can also glue the yarn to the base to secure it for a more permanent and even look. I personally like the idea of taking the yarn off when I feel like giving this vessel a new look but if you are doing this for an event or on a bottle instead of a vase It may be better to just glue it on.

Note: This is also a great way to utilize yarn scraps - as long as they are at least long enough to wrap around the vase once or twice.

Below is a step-by-step look at how I did mine..

Project Round Up

Here's my attempt at a (semi) regular feature... (The first project round up went up in November)

I diligently went through my inspiration folder and did a little key word searching to round up my top five picks of d.i.y projects this month. I know it's not officially spring yet, especially here in the NE where it snowed this morning, but I'm hopeful it will soon arrive. I've found I am already in spring cleaning mode and possibly a little too excited to take on a million new projects this season.

Behold, the links: