Happy Valentine's Day!

Click on one of the squares and type "erin loves chris" for a Valentine's Day surprise...

Hope you all have a lovely day!

image{s} of the week

Pain

camera: screenshot of live webcam
source: kirotv.com 

This is the live webcam where Chris and I are going skiing tomorrow morning. The last and only time I went skiing was probably one of the more terrifying experiences of my middle school years: I didn't know that I should wear sunblock while skiing in March and came home with the worst sunburn I've had to date. Also, I crashed coming off of the lift and failed to ski any way but straight down the mountain praying that I could keep my knees bent and snow plow at the bottom. There were a lot of tears that day but I'm headed back out there... 

WedWed - Wedding Wednesday {6}

above: cute, simple packaging for wedding favor ideas.

I heart paper shopping.

When you're planning an event like a wedding, you get to partake in activities you've never had the chance to do before, such as have platters of cake samples served to you, be invited to private tastings of food and wine as well as tag along with a friend to go paper shopping. As a maker of things, I have been on many a random shopping exertion but I must admit that before Sunday, I had never gone shopping specifically for envelopes, paper, and packaging. I knew that I would enjoy it, but I didn't think that I would walk away with all sorts of goodies!

Check out the small paper bags, kraft paper boxes, and jute string I brought home for pennies on the dollar:

They are fun to look at even if I have no idea what kind of favors we'll have at the wedding. Besides, having a few samples around will ignite my creativity and certainly allow me to work out any kinks before I order a couple hundred online. For example, how fun would it be to have a stamp made and use it to adorn the outside of these little packages?

When I think about it, it's understandable that I would delight in such things. During my childhood, my mother was a fanatic about Christmas gift wrapping. Too pretty to tear open, each present was wrapped exquisitely with matching ribbons and bows in graphic arrangements. She would also tie small goodies to the bows that gave hints as to what was inside. Hopefully we'll be able to come up with something that, like my mom's wrapping, delights our guests and shows them how much we appreciate them sharing our day with us!

Here are a few resources if you're looking for ideas for your own project:

• For inspiration, check out the die line - their website showcases all the latest in packaging design.


• If you're in Seattle, visit Paper Zone and Packaging Specialties in Georgetown where Sara and I went on Sunday.


• I've found a number of custom rubber stamps producers on Etsy lately (here and here). Hop over to Wedzu as well (a handmade resource much like Etsy, but devoted exclusively to weddings) for more ideas and vendors.

Terry's Table: How to construct a fabric cutting table

above: finished cutting table in shed. Pins stick into the soundboard easily, which is a top priority in a cutting table. Also, the soundboard tends to heal itself better than the cork board typically used for such tables. 

Do you remember this image of the plywood and soundboard saran wrapped to the top of my car? Well, those materials were meant for a cutting table in the shed. I, along with my handy fiancé Chris, finished the cutting table on Saturday and I thought that I would share it with you.

This simple, inexpensive, and functional design comes  from my fashion design and construction teacher, the ingenious Terry Horlamus (Director of the New York Fashion Academy). While fitting my dress sloper one evening, I noticed a cutting table to my right that was soft enough to take pins and asked Terry how it was constructed. Here's what she told me...

Materials (for a 4'x4' table):
4'x4' sheet of plywood
4'x4' sheet of soundboard
4 10 inch form tubes
2 yds of a heavyweight canvas - just be sure that the canvas is wide enough.

The reason why Terry chose soundboard is because it is able to absorb pins well, meaning that I can easily stick pins into my table to cut fabric or make changes to a pattern without damaging the material or my pins. I don't know exactly why she chose canvas, but I surmise it is because heavy canvas, while sturdy, can be written on, washed, or replaced easily.     

I was able to find the materials I needed at my local home improvement center, aside from the canvas. The employees were kind enough to cut the soundboard, which is only available in 4'x8' sheets, in half for me. I purchased the canvas from Seattle Fabrics, a store specializing in recreational fabrics (think sailing and outdoor sports).

Tools needed:
Pencil or chosen marking tool
Hacksaw
Staple gun
Measuring tape

above: left over soundboard hanging out in the shed. 

above: form tube typically used to mold concrete acts a leg to the cutting table.

Assembly:

First, the shorthand version (Chris calls this the TL;DR version): wrap the canvas around the soundboard and plywood, staple the canvas to the plywood, cut the tubes to the desired height with the hacksaw, then place the wrapped table on top of the tubes. It is ready to use.

above: a meager guide in case you hate reading directions.

Second, the detailed version: 
1) Determine the finished height of the table. Some people go for belly-button height, others like their table a few inches shorter than that so this one is up to you. I wanted to shoot for waist-high so we measured the distance from my belly-button to the floor.

2) With the overall height in mind, subtract an inch or so to account for the thickness of the plywood and soundboard. Use that number to measure and cut the form tubes with a hacksaw. Set the tubes aside.

  
above: measure, mark, and cut each of the form tubes.  

3) Place the canvas on floor wrong side facing you. Next, place the soundboard on the canvas followed by the plywood. 

4) Beginning in the center on one side, wrap the canvas around the soundboard and plywood. Pull the canvas tight and staple the canvas to the plywood. Move to the opposite side and repeat. Once the canvas is tightly stapled in the center on all sides, begin to make your way to the corners, continuing to pull the canvas tight as you staple. 

5) The corners are a toss up. We chose to fold the edges like a present and stable the first layer of canvas over the second. 

above: how to fold and staple the canvas.

6) Finally, place the table on top of the four form tubes and you are on your way!

One huge benefit to this table is that I am able to take it down and store it easily should I need the extra space in the shed for another project or should I need to transport the table to design on location. Not that I think I would ever need to design on location, but I could now that I have this table. And that's cool.

Thanks Terry!

update: If you're wondering what to do with the remaining 4'x4' piece of soundboard, have it cut into quarters (2'x2' squares), wrap it in decorative fabric, and use it as an inspiration board for your wall! That was Chris's idea - it's nice to be surrounding by smart people, isn't it?!  

image{s} of the week

makeshift saran wrap ties

camera: iPhone 3GS

application: Instagram

behind the lens: me

I'm building a cutting table and the pieces wouldn't fit in the car, so we saran wrapped them to the top. Miraculously no one was hurt.