Posts Tagged ‘Handmade’
DIY: Mr. & Mrs. Personalized Wedding Gift Mug Art
If you are on Pinterest at all I’m sure you’ve seen the DIY Mug Art craze. I’ve been pinning a few ideas and decided to give it a try for a special wedding gift. I found the white mugs at a thirft shop for $0.48 cents! Spring is always full of weddings so if you are looking for an inexpensive, quick (takes about an hour to create and about three hours to bake and completely cool), handmade gift look no further! This is definitely my new “go to” gift if I’m wanting to do something a little special.
MATERIALS:
- Cup(s): Can be different shapes, sizes, and colors
- Paper: To practice illustrating your design(s)
- Sharpie: Can be black or try a colored sharpie on a white cup
- Oven
- Dish soap and Paper Towel: To erase mistakes before you bake
- X-Acto Knife: For possible mistakes after you bake
HOW TO:
- Practice illustrating the front and back designs on a piece of paper. Feel free to do a scripture or fun quote that relates to the couple. Look for ideas on Pinterest, the couple’s Facebook Page(s), their Wedding Invite, or visit their Wedding Website. Make sure you double check the correct spelling of the couple’s name(s) and wedding date. For mistakes (before you bake) wet a paper towel with dish soap and the sharpie should wipe off.
- Pre-heat oven to 425
- Place cups upside down on the rack and bake for 30 minutes.
- DO NOT REMOVE. Turn off oven and let the cups stand and cool completely in the oven. If you find a mistake (after you bake) take an X-Acto and scrape the sharpie off. Re-do the sharpie and bake again for the full 30 minutes. There might be a slight smudge where you scrape the marker off but you should be able to wipe this off after it is baked. This method works best if you catch any mistakes while the cup is still hot!
Let us know how your mug designs come out! I’m already taking notes on ideas for other upcoming holidays like Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. It’s definitely a fun way to personalize a gift for someone you love.
From The Farm 
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DIY: “I Love You Because…” Flip Book
Sometimes in your marriage you have to think back and remember what it was like when you we’re dating. What were the things that you just did to say “I love you” and how can you apply those things to your relationship now? They may not come as natural as they once did but after a little soul searching you’ll remember the simple things you once did to make that special someone feel all warm and gooey inside.
I remember a time when I was really good at at this. I would send Cale cards and make cute “I love you” books. Yes, I know… cheesy but hey it’s what I loved to do! In my opinion there is nothing better than a handmade Valentine’s Day gift. I think it has something to do with my childhood memories of cutting hearts out of construction paper, decorating an old shoe box with glitter, and adding as much red, white, and pink as possible! Handmade gifts, although simple, take time and thought and that fellas can go a lot farther than a box of chocolates!
This year let that special someone know all the weird, cute and funny things you love about them by making a handmade gift.
To help you get you started think of the things about that person that made you fall in love with them… and then onto the weird, quirky and even serious things that you cherish about them today.
GCD: Valentines Day Limited Edition Concrete Heart Necklace
At Green Couch Design we have a sweet spot for love and ALL the sappy and gooey moments that come along with it. We’ve been working the last two years with concrete and just so happen to come across this fun little design just in time for Valentines Day. Enjoy!
Everyday Design: Wooden Ties
These boys look like a lot of trouble + a lot of fun! Meet the guys behind Wood Thumb. Located in San Francisco their start-up company uses recycled wood to make wooden ties. A unique spin on the term “business casual” each piece is handmade and a modern spin on the old neck strangler.
GCD: The Wonder Revolution [Branding]
The holidays were such a busy time for us that we are just now getting to share one of our recent graphic design projects! It’s not very often you get to work on a branding project where the client encourages you to get lost inside your imagination… but that’s exactly what we got to do! Looking for a brand that was a bit softer than “Where the Wild Things Are” and a little less psychedelic than “Alison in Wonderland” The Wonder Revolution pushed us out of our standard design box and forced us to look closer at our day to day world with a new and wonderful perspective.
“The wonder revolution is a call to re-awaken and cultivate a child-like mind set of wonder. As adults we lose our desire of Investigation, imagination, and creation to life’s daily problems, practical thinking, drama, jobs, ideologies, cultures, egos, fears, etc. We are taught through culture, society, and education to see life as a set of abstractions and therefore we miss the miraculous Wonderworld that surrounds us.” - The Wonder Revolution
The Wonder Revolution is a group of friends, through Air House Records, creating original music and art that inspires an attitude of awe and wonder towards life. A conceptual, organic, idea The Wonder Revolution can take any form. It is uplifting, a new genre of music, and style with it’s own Wondermusic and Wonderart inspiring live, multi-medium music/art shows with music, books, merchandise, film, products, etc.
Don’t stress, we’ve got FREE shipping & local gift guides! :)
It’s getting to be that time of year where things are starting to pile up and you remember that one person you forgot to get something for?! We’ll, no worries, we’ve got you covered! We’ve got great gifts for those hard to buy for neighbors or office mates. Try one of our tea towels, can’t go wrong, or aprons. Their a guaranteed hit for even the scroogiest of types.
We’re offering FREE shipping this weekend only. If you order in the next three days we can guarantee Christmas delivery!
GCD: 2011 Illuminate, Deluxe & Online SALE Code
It’s been our busiest holiday season yet and we are once again hitting the road (only for 30 minutes this time)! We love watching customers interact with our products and look forward to our select holiday shows every year.
GCD Giveaway: Set of 3 Holiday Tea Towels
My friend Alison and I go way back. She actually dated one of my friends her senior year and we went to prom together in a big group (we we’re so cool!). But, it wasn’t until my Freshman year of college that we got really close and she began her exploration in food.
Alison’s that one friend I can call up and we can chat for hours about blogging. This may sounds really boring to some of you but she understands how much work it can be to post a simple feature about muffins. She understands me. It’s been so much fun watching her grow as a cook and as a blogger. I’m really proud of her and have been anxiously waiting to introduce you to her yummy blog!
Visit Ali’s blog and enter to win a set of 3 Green Couch Design Holiday Tea Towels. The giveaway runs through Sunday, December 11th so make sure you stop by and whatever you do stay away from the Flourless Chocolate Cake (it’s just terrible)! 
From the Farm
P.S. Ali, Thanks for letting us be a part of your December giveaways. You are a truly a dear friend and we love you! 
Creatives Near You: JD [Handmade Artist]
We first met JD last year when we participated in the OKC Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar. I don’t know how she finds time to balance it all (and right around the holidays) but JD and Sara Cowan (her BFF) put on Deluxe every December in addition to their own personal creative endeavors. After teaching in the Oklahoma City Schools for several years JD resigned to being a full-time creative. You can find her today working in her studio and weaving in time for her 18 month old.
Q1) How did Deluxe get started?
A1) Deluxe was created out of a need for a different kind of craft show in OKC. As crafters ourselves, we were hungry for the kind of show that would showcase our creative work and not lump us in with resellers and other non-handmade products. We wanted something a little more selective both for our vendors and our shoppers.
Q2) Define what makes a good craft show?
A2) What makes a good craft show is going to change from person to person. For us, it’s all handmade with the opportunity to talk with the maker. A good craft show for us also changes some from year to year. We like to bring back some of our favorite artists and also new ones, keeping the show fresh each year.
Q3) When you select artists for the show what are three key factors that can make or break the selection process?
A3) Selecting artists is probably the toughest part of putting on Deluxe. We love all of the handmade work that we see but we have to filter some out to keep the show in line with our vision. Three of the many factors we consider are:
- Is it handmade? First things first! If it’s not, it’s not going to fly at Deluxe.
- Would we buy it for ourselves, our home, our families?
- Creativity. Is it something we’ve seen a million times or is it new and something we think the shoppers will appreciate?
Q4) What advice do you have for others interested in starting their own handmade show?
A4) Get started. You learn a lot in the process. It helps to have a partner with complementing skill sets. Someone that can do the tasks that are out of you aren’t as comfortable with. It is also a good idea to go to other shows, see what you like, take notes, pictures, whatever will help you later. It’s really nice if you can get some experience as a vendor and a shopper.
Date on a Dime: Thankful for…
As you are probably more than aware, we are in that season of giving thanks. Though there was an attempt to not “go with the flow”, and to come up with something that wasn’t completely season-dependent, the attempt fell short and we gave in to the overwhelming desire to join in with the thankful festivities. Besides, there’s nothing better to kindle that flame than to sit down together on a cold day with a cup of hot cocoa, and reminisce on all the things we’re thankful for. And as a bonus, we made our “Thankful List” a beautifully adorned one. We first went in search for the best leaves in the neighborhood and, since it was a little rainy, enjoyed a walking cuddle under our umbrella. Once our selection was made we started the process of flattening our leaves, placing them inside a large book and using a few extra as weight. Then commenced our sipping and thanking. When our list was complete… our leaves were not yet flat!! There would be no laminating tonight. =/ We laughed and figured that we’ll have to have another short date in the near future to add our adornments, and complete our beautiful creation.
High class design in overalls. It's the simple life of a farm through the eyes of a couple of crazy designers. We call ourselves Green Couch Design and we are Bringing Design Home.
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