I've Moved!

Hey Guys! I've moved. Come visit my new website:
christinawilliamsblog.com

This site will remain open as an archive, but I won't be updating it any longer. Drop by my new site for new projects and some old favorites!

Moving!

Hi Friends!
I know it's been ages since I've updated my blog.
That's because I'm moving. I'm finally making the leap to my very own website.
Can't wait to show you what I've been working on. The new site launches next week.
Stay tuned!

xo
christina

DIY Striped Straw Necklaces

A few weeks ago, my friends at Party Pail sent me a challenge: choose some of their party supplies and make a craft project with my kids. I did my best Barney Stinson impression when I replied, "Challenge accepted!" Although, I had absolutely no idea how I'd meet this challenge. I mean, there are only so many variations on paper plate masks, right?

A few days later, something reminded me of these paper bead necklaces my sister and I used to make from old magazine pages. Basically, you cut the pages into long, thin triangles, and wind each triangle around a toothpick and glue it. When it dries, you have a colorful tube-shaped bead. We made hundreds of those beads. It was my goal not to let any magazine go wasted. I bet my mom loved having bags of those paper beads allllll over the house. Twenty-some-odd years later, I'm still making things…so I guess nothing really changes.

When I thought of those beads, I realized it was the solution to my crafting challenge: Let's just cut up some striped straws to make tube-shaped beads. It's simple and colorful, and kid-friendly. So these necklaces were born of a crafting challenge combined with a memory of my childhood hobby (which may have seemed like hoarding at one point).



Want to make some necklaces of your own? You probably have most everything you need hanging around the house. Yarn, tape (not pictured), scissors (also not pictured), wooden beads (we used a combination of these round beads and these cube beads), a handful of striped straws (Party Pail gave us the orange, pink and green ones for this project), and a clip of some sort (or anything else you can attach to the end of the yard to keep the beads from falling off).

 Step 1: Cut up the striped straws. I didn't measure exactly, but each straw made about 10 beads.

Step 2: Tape one end of the yarn like the end of a shoelace. This makes threading easier for small fingers. Next, attach the clip to the opposite end of the yarn to keep beads from sliding off while you're working.

Step 3: Start stringing your necklace. Charlotte loved making up different patterns and she named each design. One was called "cotton candy" another was "pink lemonade" and one was the "unicorn necklace," of course. Once you're done beading the necklace, tie the ends together with a square knot, and cut off all but about .5" excess yarn. You can easily tuck the ends into one of the straws to hide them.

That's it. Now throw on a necklace (or six) and hit the town. We made necklaces for our stuffed animals, for our friends and neighbors and we still have plenty of supplies to pull out for our next play date.

A Happy Living Room

The nice folks at Chairish recently invited me to put together a style board using one of their accent chairs. I love interiors. I love style boards. And I love, love, love Chairish. But let me tell you something: I don't know what I'm doing. I don't have special training, I don't even know what centuries of furniture work well together. Sure, I've designed a couple kids' rooms…but those are for my own kids. So I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.

I know what I like, and I put it all together. And it sort of works. For me, at least. I mean it probably doesn't technically work. But this is a room I could be very happy in and I  believe that's what our homes should be. A collection of things that make us happy. A place where we can be comfortable being ourselves.

Here's the living room scenario I put together. It all started with the sexy pink chair up top. She's outfitted in hot pink tweed and she's got fantastic legs. Then I remembered this artist that I recently fell in love with, and the rest just sort of happened. My favorite rooms have more of a "collected" feel. That collection is built over a lifetime, and each piece has a story--the sunburst clock you got from your grandmother; the terrarium your kids made you for mother's day; and that perfect piece of artwork you bought in college and moved all over the country just because you knew you couldn't live without it.

I love the young, fresh, happy feel of this room. I'm quite certain many of these pieces will eventually find their way into my own living room. Especially that side table…so nobody buy it before I get to it, or I'll put you on my bad list. It's not a good place to be. I promise you that. But if you happen to snag it before I do, congratulations. All is fair in love and living rooms, I guess.

And for those of you interested in a source list. Here you go:
Pink Chair
Fringed Pillow
White/Gold Lamp
Sunburst Clock
Gold Foil Pillow
Artwork
Turquoise Framed Mirror
Light Blue Sofa
Terrarium
Brass Side Table
Hive Vases
Zebra Pillow
Coffee Table
Rocking Chair

Recent Print Projects

I've been busy with print projects lately, so I thought I'd share some of them here so you can see what I'm doing when I'm not playing with my kids or blogging. This week's round-up is a selection of business cards and promotional materials I've done recently.

First up, a new business card for the creative ladies at Crave Interiors. For their cards, I went with clean lines to reflect their crisp, fresh aesthetic. These cards have a matte finish, which is a sophisticated alternative to traditional glossy cards. The Crave team headed off to market recently and I can't wait to see what they're going to do next.

Next up is a business card for Capital Fund Law Group. I'm a huge fan of matte finish; so this one got the same treatment. This card is single-sided with a subtle watermark in the corner to reflect the logo. I also did a coordinating letterhead and email signature for him, too. I'm always amazed at how much information can fit on one tiny piece of paper. (And just FYI, I blurred part of his email address above, since it's not listed on his website.)

Here's a custom thank you note I designed for Dr. Jordon Green. On the inside, there's a little message thanking patients for referring friends and family to the office. I wish I could say I designed the logo, because it's awesome…but I didn't. I've been taking on quite a few medical and dental projects lately. I love it. And it's always a good reminder to floss. :)


And last, here's a little collection of promotional goodies I put together for my most recent trip to Alt Summit. I wasn't sure what I'd do with the roll labels when I ordered them, but I've always wanted them. And guess what? I use them for everything. I put them on the back of the mini notepads I made to give out with my business cards. I put them on the back of the merchandise in my etsy shop; and I use them for return address stickers on my shipments. They're perfect and versatile and I love them. And don't even get me started on those customized golf pencils. In my book tiny = cute, so these babies are clear winners.

And now I have a confession: I have four different sets of business cards. Four. It's practically a lifetime supply of business cards. But in my line of work, having an excessive amount of business cards is probably normal. Right? Of the four designs, these are my favorites. They're a silk laminated card with a spot UV treatment. It's kind of hard to see the spot uv in this photo, but take a look here to see the shiny hearts on the back. And the silk lamination adds a great, velvety smooth feel to the cards. Next time I see you, just ask and I'll let you stroke one of my business cards. You know you want to.

Well, that's it for this week's show and tell. But that didn't even make a dent in the pile sitting on my desk. So stay tuned. I'll be back later to geek out over more paper goods.