diy project: anna’s paper pennant garland

even though our wedding is over, i love checking out wedding-related diy projects and imagining ways to incorporate them into my post-wedding-day life. this beautiful craft project comes from anna, the diy guru at once wed. emily from once wed sent it over last night and i totally agreed with her when she said it “would look great at any type of celebration whether it be a wedding or a backyard barbecue”. i don’t have a backyard, but i know some people who do and i am totally going to make some of these for the next summer party we have. maybe they’d be ok with my BYOD (bring your own decorations) theme…

ps: click here to check out abigail’s beautiful post the transitional wallpaper collections of lene toni kjeld (a must see)

CLICK HERE for the full instructions at once wed!

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diy project: kate’s knitted twine dining set

this month i am focusing on another room in the house which is not actually a room, nor is it in the house… it is your backyard! i know this is a sensitive subject, as the majority of us probably have little to no outdoor space. but these projects can fit outdoor areas of various sizes and shapes, and some of them (like this first project) can make your indoor dining area feel like you’re dining outside. i don’t normally knit in the summertime, but i love garden twine and one day i was staring at it and thought, why not? this project is also good for learning the ABCs of knitting, as the shapes are simple and twine is very easy to work with. have fun!! - kate

CLICK HERE for the full project instructions!

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reporting from copenhagen: darling clementine

today i’m thrilled to share a post from our summer correspondent in copenhagen, brittany watson. brittany is a graduate student studying interior design at the corcoran college of art + design and is spending her summer studying textile design in copenhagen. she’ll be checking in with us a few times over the next two months sharing home and studio tours, interviews with and reviews of great local artists and designers.

this morning brittany is sharing a special home tour with us- ingrid of darling clementine! we’ve already visited ingrid’s partner tonje holand’s home, so i’m thrilled to check out brittany’s post about visiting ingrid’s beautiful home (and sharing a delightful norwegian lunch of meats and cheeses).

CLICK HERE for brittany’s full post and ingrid’s home tour!

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diy project: nicole’s modern bunny hutch

[this clever diy project comes to us from nicole of design curiosities. thanks to nicole for sharing and sending such a great write-up!]

my boyfriend and I fell in love with the idea of getting a holland lop the moment we laid eyes on one. we didn’t, however, fall in love with the cages that were available at the local shops. so, we made a decision then and there - before we could get the cuteness, we had to make him a suitable home. it had to be something we could proudly display in our future home - something that would look good sitting next to all the furniture we plan on purchasing when we get married. so we decided that instead of starting from scratch, it would be easier to modify a piece of furniture. we headed to ikea (of course!) for an inexpensive solution. it was a labor of love; looking at our little eames sleeping in his hutch makes it worth all the trouble. -n

CLICK HERE for the full project instructions!

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diy wednesdays: wallpaper wipe off board

we discovered the joys of clear contact paper when we were working on our wallpaper book last year, and used it over and over again to make our paper covered projects waterproof and extra durable. we can’t believe it took us this long to realize that it also makes a great wipe-off surface for dry-erase pens! we used a special custom wallpaper designed by lena corwin to make this simple wipe-off board, which also doubles as a place to clip notes and small pieces of art.

have fun!
derek & lauren

CLICK HERE for the full project instructions!

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before & after: ryan’s bowling table + pei’s headboard

i’ve been trying to convince my friends to go to brooklyn bowl with me, so i’ve got bowling on the brain. so when i saw ryan brown’s reclaimed maple bowling lane top table, i was instantly hooked. a bowling table turned table? so fun. click here to read more about ryan’s bowling table project.

[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images (low res, please).]

CLICK HERE for pei’s headboard makeover after the jump!

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before & after: kristin’s couch + kim’s office calendar

this couch from photographer kristin eldridge really grabbed me for some reason. the new look is so pretty and feminine and fresh- and it doesn’t hurt that kristin sure know how to take a good photo. kristin loves to rehab old furniture to use in her work, so click here to check out more of her photography. thanks, kristin!

[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images (low res, please).]

CLICK HERE to see kim’s office wall calendar after the jump!

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we like it wild: daffodil hill

On a rainy Sunday at the farmer’s market this week we weren’t expecting to find anything too exciting. With the weather as it was, we weren’t sure if we’d find anything at all. To our surprise we found buckets of sunshine under a soggy tent belonging to Bill, the self-proclaimed Bulb Baron of the Central Coast. Bill has a passion for the narcissus genus and sells his flowers at local markets (and for those not lucky enough to visit in person his amazing bulb varieties are available to purchase through his website). He was also kind enough to identify each of the flowers we purchased. The smaller heavily fragrant flowers such as Paper Whites and Early Splendor are often referred to as Narcissus, where the larger varieties like The Bride and Tonga, are commonly referred to as daffodils.

These perennials are ideal candidates for potted gardens, but grow amazingly well almost anywhere in the garden with little attention and can continue to bloom for years (keep these sun-loving beauties out of the shade and they’ll be happiest). The varieties that Bill the Bulb Baron grows happen to be best for growing in our area of California, in a Mediterranean-like climate, but traditionally daffodils or dutch bulbs are very cold tolerant and actually need a “freeze” treatment in order to flower, so don’t despair if you live in colder climates. The daffodil recently became the official flower of New York City and thanks to the city’s Daffodil Project, begun as a commemoration of September 11th in an effort to replace the city’s neglected open spaces with flowers, nearly four million daffodils bloom in New York City annually with another 500,000 bulbs being planted each year. If these flowers can live through an east coast winter and still come out swinging, then we think we can endorse them for almost any garden.

If you’re getting flowers from your own garden make sure not to damage any leaves as these tender greens store the energy that will be required to produce next season’s flowers. If the plant’s leaves are cut before they naturally die down, the bulbs won’t get the nourishment that they need. If you plan on using daffodils with other flowers in any arrangement, make sure to separate them in their own bucket of water for a few hours beforehand to help leach out some of the sappy toxins that can quickly clog the stems of other flowers.

We gathered an armful of Bill’s offerings combined with some larger varieties from the flower market to make daffodil hills, small round arrangements that work best with lots of tightly packed blooms. We thought these fun little mounds would be great centerpieces for a spring brunch and look great combined with single stems in bottles and jars. Start with a few stems of different varieties, forming a round shape on top. While holding the stems tightly, add a row of more flowers very close together under the first few stems. The second row should help push up and support the heads as they sometimes like to look down. Continue adding rows to your bundle until you have a tallish, round mound. You may need to feed in a few stems from the top to fill out the shape. When you are happy with your hill, rubber band the stems together at the bottom of the stalks, then slide it up to the very top to keep your tightly bunched shape. Then cut the stems really short and rest them on a shallow vase or dish of water to display. Use a floral frog if your hill is too tall to remain upright and balanced on its own. In cut arrangements or given as potted bulbs, these sunny flowers help take the gray out of any day.

CLICK HERE for more beautiful daffodil images after the jump!

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Crafting with kids

I love that our son is getting to the age (3 1/2) where he loves to draw and craft. I try to foster this as much as possible and have a few favorite products that I thought I’d share here today.
First, we keep a standard toolbox of all his crafting supplies (I originally saw his a couple of years ago over at SHIM + SONS and thought it was a brilliant idea). Its one central location for everything and helps to keep it all organized and our son loves it.

I keep that box stocked with favorite crafting products that both my son and I like. Including some of these:

Links from left to right: colored pencils, butcher paper, recycled star crayons, eco playdough, rubber stamps, stencils

There are also a lot of favorite everyday products we incorporate into his “crafting”, including these:

The Ikea paper table cloth is not necessarily for crafting but I always keep a few rolls of it around – its affordable, looks good and works well for covering tables for messier projects (as well as wrapping large gifts!).

That’s it for me this week! I’ve really enjoyed being here on Design*Sponge – thanks so much for reading.

susan schwake for working proof + crafts with kids

good morning! i wanted to kick off the day with this pretty bird print from susan schwake of artstream, for sale at the working proof. each of susan’s “on the rocks” prints is a gelatin monotype on archival etching paper, with hand-painted birds done in india ink on each of the 50 prints. 15% of the sale of susan’s prints will be donated to médecins sans frontières so click here to check out (and shop) susan’s print online. thanks, anna!

over at the d*s guest blog, suann is finishing up her time with a great post on crafting with children. click here to check out her ideas…