Feeling a Little Indie

Back in fall of 2010, when I lived on the northern side of Berkeley campus and made the occasional stroll over to Philz Coffee for a delicious Iced Mint Mojito coffee (yeah, you read that correctly), I picked up a glossy postcard-sized flyer advertising something called the Indie Mart. At the time, I honestly didn't care about the flyer's advertisement so much as the gorgeous design of the flyer itself--very bohemian/tribal with its bright orange tones, plethora of triangles, and skinny, compressed font-face. Everything about it just screamed, "Take me and put me on your wall NOW!"

So I did. And on my wall it has remained, though the wall and house changes from time to time. 

On Monday, during one of my many procrastination sessions, I happened to glance up at my wall, see the flyer, and proceed to look up the Indie Mart online. 

I was ecstatic to learn that the Indie Mart was indeed still an ongoing thing and was going to be held in the Mission District on Sunday (today!).

 Occupying a few blocks in the Mission, the Indie Mart features dozens of vendors selling gorgeous handmade jewelry, clothing, vintage clothing, shoes, and accessories, handmade stationary and greeting cards, plants, and artwork. The mart even features DIY tables where you pay to partake in a fun DIY craft (today's craft was terrarium-making). Not leaving you to fend for food after all that shopping and walking, food trucks provide delicious eats, while various bands keep the crowds entertained and energetic.  

 Seeing the mart for the first time was something out of a movie--getting off the bus, watching it pull away to reveal the glorious splendor of people and items dazzling behind it in all its glory. We didn't really know where to start...

 Walking from booth to booth, the four of us were constantly pointing out something fun and creative for the rest to see. These bottle lamps were no exception.

The mart was absolutely fit-to-bursting with jewelry. I was absolutely torn between these pyramid studs and a pair of coral rose earrings (coral, as usual, won as shown below). 

 As is to be expected, due to their handmade quality, many of the items were pricey. I loved these silk headbands from Bachman's Sparrow, which you can find here, going for $24.00.  But in my honest opinion, I recommend spending a little bit more and buying handmade. It supports local artists and promotes a small business mentality. Moreover, you end up with a one-of-a-kind, quality-made item like these scarves! (I'm pretty sure I'll be making this purchase sometime soon.)

 As many of you have probably already seen, painted/color-blocked wooded bangles are all the rage on Pinterest right now. I almost bought the set of three on the bottom right, but I think I may try to DIY them sometime in the future (so keep an eye out!).

 And then, of course, each vendor's presentation of their items was just as cute as the items themselves! Loved this cowboy boot-as-planter idea!

With it's barely-there entrance fee of $3.00, the Indie Mart was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I loved my experience, my purchases, and the company with whom I enjoyed it!

SO CHECK IT OUT! 

(I recommend joining the mailing list--you will get updates much faster.)

Ribbon-Bound Journals

The end of the semester is steadily approaching, and I would be lying if I said that I was for once not dreading its arrival! While the end means, papers turned in and finals done and also summer (well actually summer school), it also means I have to endure a few all-nighters, many late night cram sessions, and stress! ARGH! I am NOT ready!

At this time, I have already said goodbye to my Jane Austen decal class as our last day was this past Tuesday. It was such a chill class and I am sad to have said goodbye. I have become quite the Janeite. I am even contemplating joining the Jane Austen Society of North America, how devout is that?

I know, there is no need to answer!

Well for our last day everyone submitted a final creative project. Now, for Christmas my mom bought me a book on bookbinding (this reads so funny!) called Adventures in Bookbinding and I have been itching to implement my newfound knowledge. I did tweak the method a bit as I do own the more intricate tools of the trade. 

I. HAD. SO. MUCH. FUN!

Our teachers were pretty flexible from the beginning, telling our class that we could pretty much do anything that involved the readings. I knew I wanted to make something, and when I decided to create a journal, I thought it would be fun to write this journal with the voice of 15 year old Jane. Practicing a little creative writing, something I have not done since my early teenage years when I was obsessed with writing horror stories (there really should be a genre entitled "spaghetti horrors" because these stories definitely fit into that category), I based the premise of my journal around what would have been Jane's 15th birthday--December 16, 1790. From here, I embodied what I felt to be the 15 year old intellectual/satirical voice of Jane Austen. The journal recounts fictionalized excerpts of her everyday encounters, encounters that are based loosely on the story and themes surrounding Pride and Prejudice, so as to suggest that her inspiration for the novel came from her own life experience, Elizabeth's relationship with Mr. Darcy included. 

 Making the Ribbon Bound Journal

Since I was attempting to create a journal from the 1790s, I tried to stay with muted, natural colors and a simple design. 

Using two cardboard rectangles 9" x 5 3/4" that I cut from an old box and wrapped in brown parchment paper, two pieces of burgundy ribbon 1 1/2" thick, burgundy embroidery thread, and several sheets of fine unlined paper folded and placed within one another, I created a simple, eco-friendly journal. 

1. Place all sheets together and make sure edges are even. Place a piece of ribbon on top of the creased edge, making sure the ribbon rests evenly divided. 

2. Thread embroidery through ribbon and pages and loop back, pulling thread back through to ribbon-side. 

3. Tie in knot and then tie in decorative bow. Repeat for top or bottom. Feel free to get creative and use thinner ribbon to make three of four bindings. 

4. Place parchment paper-wrapped cardboard on top of now bound journal pages (Make sure taped edge of wrapping is inside as it will be covered by inner page. Place ribbon binding on top of cover. Adhere ribbon to cover using glue dots or hot glue gun. Make sure to adhere ribbon right along the edge as well or the cover will flop away from binding when opened. Repeat. 

5. Inside, adhere first page of journal to inside cover. I placed my glue on inside cover and closed journal to see where the page naturally rested when closed.

Note: To decorate my cover, I used a dandelion stamp paired with a clear ink. After stamping my clear design (it shows up on the brown paper just as a watermark would), I sprinkled white embossing powder over my stamped work. After dusting off the excess powder, I heated the design using an electric heat tool (it dries the powder giving the design a three-dimensional, glossy finish).

Enjoy Your Lovely Little Works of Art and Happy Journaling!

Oh Sew Sweet Messages

Just in time for the Easter holidays! While I do love myself an Easter basket chock full of chocolates and plastic eggs filled with fun things, I love a heartfelt message even more. And what better way to remember the true meaning of Easter than with a sweet message and a bible verse--and all tied up in twine (my absolute favorite way to give a gift). 

Here is a sweet and unique way to let someone know that you are thinking about them.

 I recently asked my mom for old spools of thread and she sent me several bags filled with these gorgeous wooden spools (I really like the one on the far left). I untied the string and cut strips of colorful cardstock paper to fit in the groove of the spool. I adhered one end to the spool with a glue dot, the textured side away from the spool. I then wrote my message on the inner side of the paper and wrapped it around the spool, tying it in place with a small piece of twine.

SEW SIMPLE but SEW CUTE!

Chunky Hardware Friendship Bracelets

I love receiving friendship bracelets, but I am not the biggest fan of wearing them because they tend to clash with my clothes, the rest of my jewelry, etc. After ruining one of favorite necklaces (I accidentally flushed part of it down the toilet), I started looking around in thrift stores for old chains that I could potentially take apart and use. While searching for chains, I found the most amazing, chunky gold chain. Unfortunately, it was sewn to the neckline of a shirt as part of the design. The shirt was unflattering and not really worth buying, but for $1.50, I figured the price covered the chain alone. Once at home, I realized that the chain would look amazing paired with some color. Even better, it would look prettier combined with a different texture, like...embroidery thread!

 My first step was to cut the chain. I figured half chain and half friendship bracelet would look nice. 

 I then picked my colors of coral, beige, purple and, forest green.

   I then folded the strings in half and tied them into a knot around the end of the chain.

 Organizing the thread into a perfectly symmetrical pattern, I begin to tie the Chevron pattern. 

 Starting with the string on the far left, loop the string over and under the string to the right. Pull snug and repeat so that each string has two knots. Continue until the middle is reached. Begin on the right side and move to the left. Tie the two middle pieces together and repeat steps starting on left.

Braid remaining pieces into two braided strands and tie them around the loose end of the chain.

Pair with other fun pieces and ENJOY!