CasaSugar

Etsy Find: Decorative Adhesive Labels

CasaSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:00:41 -0700

For those of you who don't find organizing traditionally fun, I bring you Remake Decorative Adhesive Labels ($5 for 16). Filing away your utility bills? Organizing your pantry? Slap these beauties onto your file folders or flour, sugar, coffee, or even makeup jars, and getting your house into shipshape might actually be fun, or at the very least, chic. This set has an aqua, chartreuse, turquoise, and periwinkle color palette, but other colors are available if you're not looking for a cool palette. What do you think? Do you dig them? I think I might have to go on a Spring cleaning binge, just to make use of these purdy things . . .

Casa Quickie: Sayonara Adhesive Residue

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:30:06 -0700

Has the label on your brand new uterus vase left you with a sticky residue that's not so pretty? If you have one handy, you can scrape away the adhesive with a craft blade, but that could potentially scuff up your fab new home accessory. A simpler solution, though, is to rub the residue with a cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. That should kick the stick instantly. Then, you can focus on explaining to your guests why you bought a uterus vase in the first place . . .
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How Do You Announce That You've Moved?

CasaSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:15:08 -0800

I've always admired friends who have their acts together enough to mail out cards with their new address. It's so civilized. Myself, I have a hard enough time labeling boxes when it comes to moving day! If you're organized enough, check out these cute moving cards from Happy Girl Greetings.

Desire/Acquire: Rubie Green Tillinghast Fabric

CasaSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:50 -0800

Don't get me wrong: I absolutely adore Rubie Green textiles. But the label's stylish and eco-conscious fabrics are not exactly wallet-conscious. This cheerful, Chippendale-esque Tillinghast fabric goes for $90 a yard. It's true, there are fabrics much more expensive. But this price tag adds up when you're ordering drapes for every window in your living room, or covering the whole canvas of a chair, and then you pay your upholsterer. Luckily, I know one fabric with a similar sunny yellow trellis pattern to save you some dimes. Want to see it?

Home Away From Home: A Skate-Inspired Hotel Suite

CasaSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:30 -0800

Skateboard label Etnies is rolling into the world of hospitality. The California-based brand has designed a skate-inspired hotel suite in Laguna Beach's Casa del Camino. But you won't find any Etnies logo monogrammed sheets here. "We didn’t want to make it look like a trade show," said VP of marketing Don Brown. "We focused more on the culture of skateboarding, taking the movement, curves and shapes and injecting that into the design."

Elements include wheel tracks on the ceiling, a mirror framed with skateboard wheels, mounted skateboards for guests to use, and "Go Sk8" artwork in the bathroom. My favorite piece is the God Father Lounge Chair, a leather chair and ottoman inspired by Eames's iconic Lounge Chair, made of pieces which remarkably resemble a skateboard deck. It's part of the Skate Study House collection, which I wrote about back in 2008. Continue reading.

Casa Quickie: Sayonara Stickies

CasaSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:00:28 -0700

If you've got stubborn adhesive labels on any of your home purchases (bottles, plates, books, etc.) or gifts, there's a simple way to remove them that doesn't involve picking at them with sticky fingers. Just blast your hair dryer onto the label for a few seconds, and then use a basic craft blade to scrape it off. The heat from the dryer will loosen up the adhesive, making it a cinch to peel off the label. Ahh, if you'd only known . . .
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How-To: House Backyard Chickens in Style

CasaSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:00:24 -0700

My friend Beth, who I've known since high school, recently started a blog to update her friends and family on her latest domestic adventure - raising backyard chickens. Since Beth never does anything halfway, she and her husband Craig built a chicken coop that is super cute and matches their 1922 Craftsman home.

She writes, "I paid my way through college 10 years ago raising and killing chickens and also had laying hens. I wanted to get another batch of layers, but was resigned because a) we have a teeny tiny backyard; and b) my husband isn't much of a farmer."

However, all was not lost. Beth notes, "This spring, I convinced the man who drank a case of Diet Mountain Dew each week when we met (he has thankfully kicked the habit since) to build raised beds and start an organic garden. I gave up on the idea of having chickens, but he took up the cause and was convinced we could fit a small coop next to the garden."

To find out more about Beth and Craig's chicken-raising adventure, and to see how well their chicken coop matches their home, read more.

"We bought our chicks on July 9th and went on Seattle Tilth's coop tour the following weekend," reports Beth. "Craig took lots of photos and took all the best ideas from the coops we saw for his own design. Some materials were recycled: he salvaged the window and built the window box out of scraps we had from this and other projects. The coop is painted to match our house, white trim and all. Craig thinks the finished product took about 100 hours to build. It's a little over the top, but that's my husband. (By the way, not only has he stopped drinking Mountain Dew, but he's off all high fructose corn syrup and is quite the label reader. Weird. Now he's all about organic veggies and can't wait for the hens to start laying.)"

I have total chicken coop envy now, and I'm also envious of Beth's hubby's building skills. What a great coop! You can keep up with Beth and Craig's chicken adventures on Beth's blog. In the meantime, check out the gallery to see images of the decoupaged interior of the coop, as well as the coop's perfect match to their Craftsman.

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Casa Quickie: Label Residue

CasaSugar — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 09:03:23 -0800

With the holidays over, chances are you've received some gifts that have labels-or label residue-on them. To get rid of both label and that sticky ickiness it leaves behind, just rub the label with a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover. Voila! Problem solved.

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Inspired: Vena Cava 2010 Spring

CasaSugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:00:29 -0700

New York Fashion Week is a mecca for design enthusiasts around the world, but it's not limited to fashionistas. There's plenty of interior design inspiration to find on the catwalk, be it in a pattern, a material, a shape, or the heft of a model's bangle. Vena Cava is one of my favorites, so it's no surprise that I found lots of design inspiration from the label's 2010 Spring collection.

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Casa Quickie: Avoid Carpet Burn

CasaSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:15:41 -0700

This type of carpet burn, though, is the type that can scorch your indoor air quality. If you're getting new carpeting installed in your home, you want to watch out for nasty VOCs, which can make the indoor air quality in your home positively dismal, and contribute to asthma, lung irritation, and even long-term breathing and health complications.

So, if you're going to install carpet, minimize VOCs by buying carpets that have a Green Label. This label ensures that the carpet has been tested and shown to have lower levels of VOCs by the Carpet and Rug Institute's indoor air-quality carpet testing and labeling program. To further minimize your exposure to VOCs, make sure to air the house out for 48 to 72 hours following installation.

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