CasaSugar

Danger! Danger! Love It or Hate It?

CasaSugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:15:38 -0700

Artist Lisa Congdon made a mobile out of scissors and loops to display in her San Francisco design shop, Rare Device. Inventive. But you know what I think? Don't try this at home.

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Cool Idea: Shredding Scissors

CasaSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:00:57 -0800

It's not often that I have top-secret papers that need to be shredded, but it happens occasionally. I can't justify cluttering up my house with a clunky shredder, or spending the dollars on something I rarely use. I would, however, throw down for a pair of The Container Store Stainless Steel Shredding Scissors ($8.99). For that periodic confidential envelope, or when I want to make confetti or packing stuffing, these shredding scissors will come in handy. Yeah, they require a little more work than an electronic paper shredder, but it's fun work.

Nice and New: Scissor Letter Opener

CasaSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:15:10 -0700

I don't take my life - or my mail - seriously enough to ever own a letter opener. But, I do think they're ideal for staging a chic, mature home office, and they also make great gifts for the man who has everything. I guess I'm not the only one who can go without one, because I haven't seen an innovative letter opener since, well, ever. That is, until now.
Jean-Sebastien Ides designed this Scissor Letter Opener ($40) as a play on traditional scissors, resembling a single scissor blade. I think it's pretty clever. But then again, traditional scissors, if you hadn't noticed, also do a fantastique job of opening letters.

Cool Idea: Fabric-Painted Curtain Panels

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:00:15 -0700

For an accent that's often merely decorative, curtain panels are expensive. You can buy affordable ones from shops like IKEA, but that means you only get the pick of the rather generic litter - and the same ones as every other penny-pinched decorator in the world.

So I was excited to see how High-Heeled Foot in the Door personalized a set of solid white IKEA panels using fabric spray paint. Inspired by a sunny yellow skirt she'd seen at Kate Spade, this resourceful lady painted 7" wide horizontal stripes on her basic panels. Want to get a peek at the project in action and learn how to do it yourself? Then read more.

She first taped off the stripes before painting, but all the project really requires is paint, tape, a tape measure, construction paper, and scissors. Learn the steps here.

How-To: Create a Craft Corner

CasaSugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:00:42 -0700

A good friend of mine just sent me photos of her new house in Los Angeles, and I was excited to see that she made room for a craft corner. My pal loves to craft and sew, and now she has an established space for her handiwork (which is more than I can say for my own house).

There are many advantages to maintaining a permanent space for your crafting or sewing hobby. For one, you won't have to haul everything in and out of a closet or cupboard every time you want to work on a project. Additionally, you won't have to clean up your crafting area and put it away once you have guests over. And perhaps most importantly, having a craft corner will help you to get motivated and actually finish all of those projects you've started!

For all of my tips on creating a craft corner, read more.

A small desk is perfect for your craft corner. Look at garage sales or flea markets for a solid wood desk. You'll want something that's sturdy and not overly precious.
Organize with pretty tins and boxes to keep everything in its place.
If you need additional shelving, try hanging shelves on walls to maximize space.
Positioning your craft corner close to a window will help you to take advantage of natural light. Otherwise, use a task lamp so you're able to see everything you're working on.
Keep all of your tools accessible. Use a large tin can or vase to hold your glue gun, scissors, and other needed tools.
Keep things pretty! As long as you keep your space organized and pretty, it will be a joy to work in this space, as well as to look at when you're not crafting away. Since your corner will be integrated into a bedroom, living room, or study, you want the space to flow. Organization is the key to keeping things looking their best.

Before and After: Taming a Messy Craft Room

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:00:19 -0700

Roxy Nova recently posted some inspiring before and after photos of her craft room, and I absolutely love and admire this transformation. She says, "I'm very embarrassed to be posting these [photos] because my house is usually not nearly this messy, but once i decided to redo the room, everything kind of went to hell in a handbasket. it really became a dumping ground."

As messy and daunting as this room may look in this picture, Roxy Nova was able to tame it with a lot of hard work and some smart organizing ideas. To see the glorious afters, read more.

Can you believe the difference? Roxy Nova made sure to create an organized space for her sewing machine, which you can see in this photo. She also took down the closet doors and replaced them with pretty tree-printed curtains. Multiple shelving units provide space for organizing boxes of patterns, fabrics, and other needed craft materials. Roxy's husband hung up organizing units for tools and notions including scissors, thread, and ribbon.

Oh, and as if all that wasn't enough, Roxy also reupholstered this cute chair. I love her use of color and pattern. It really makes the room pop, and seems like the perfect place for sewing, crafting, and getting inspired.

I am seriously feeling some craft room envy right now. Are you?

View 8 Photos ›

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DIY: Cloud-Like Ceiling Lamp

CasaSugar — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:00:57 -0700

If, like me, you were wondering how Ashley got the look of the awesome ceiling lamp fixture in her Very Carrie Bedroom, you're in luck, because Ashley's shared her DIY with the rest of us!

What You’ll Need

Lamp shade
felt (1-1.5 yards or about 20 felt sheets from a craft store)
hot glue gun
scissors

Want to find out how to make this cool, cloud-like lamp cover? Then read more.

Cut out many, many felt circles, approximately one or two inches in diameter. They can vary a little and do not need to be perfect circles.
Fold the felt circle in half and put a small line of glue down the center crease.
Place petal down onto shade and secure the crease to the surface
Keep adding as many as you want, and overlap some to fill the entire surface

Nice and New: Flavor Paper's Fresh Wall Flavors

CasaSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:00:00 -0700

This past weekend, New Orleans-based wallpaper company Flavor Paper debuted its Spring 2009 line at BKLYN Designs featuring fresh new designs from Brooklyn-based Dan Funderburgh. While the designs vary widely in subject matter and look, they're all eyecatching and provocative, especially Sharp Descent ($150 per roll), which features a deluge of knives, syringes, and scissors raining down one's wall. I'm more of a fan of the Fruits of Design ($150 per roll, shown here), which provides a modern twist on classic damask.

Want to see all the new designs? Then read more.

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DIY: Simple Panel Curtains (in Four Hours or Less)

CasaSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Our living room features large deck doors that look out over the San Francisco Bay - a beautiful view, no doubt, but one that was previously obscured by some boring, less-than-aesthetically-pleasing vertical shades. Intent on making a Spring change, I decided to whip up some simple panel curtains to improve the view both inside and out. I chose a pretty, patterned Amy Butler fabric, which added a textile highlight to the room, and with a few simple but smart techniques, I managed to get these off my ironing board and onto curtain rods in about three hours.

Want to learn how to make these curtains? Then read more.
What You'll Need

2 to 4 panels of fabric (cotton is easy to work with, and seasonally appropriate), cut to the correct window length, plus about 1/3 of a yard extra to allow for shrinkage and seams
Sewing machine
Matching thread
Iron and ironing board
Pins
Scissors
Curtain rods

How to Do It

The first time-saving technique begins before you even step into the fabric store. Measure the length of the window/wall you want your panel to cover. Add 1/3 of a yard to this number. (For instance, if your window/wall is six feet, you want seven feet of fabric cut, and would ask for 2 and 1/3 yards cut.) Now, decide how many panels you need. Two? Four?
At the fabric store, ask (nicely!) the fabric store employee to cut your fabric out in panels, instead of in one long piece. This will save you a lot of time measuring and cutting at home. Just remember to measure very carefully before jotting down your needed lengths.
At home, toss the fabric in the laundry, as it will definitely shrink.
Iron your fabric panels. Look at the long sides of the fabric. The edges are already semi-finished (no raw edges), but the name of the fabric designer, as well as the color stamp, are visible. Iron this edge over, and then sew the sides first with a straight stitch. You won't have to double the edges over, since the edge is semi-finished to start with.
Next, fold over about half an inch of fabric for the bottom hem. Iron this hem over, onto the wrong side (the side with the lighter fabric pattern). Now, fold that hem over and iron it again. This will hide the raw edges. Sew this bottom hem with a straight stitch.
Now, start on the top of the curtain. Fold over about half an inch of fabric onto the wrong side. Iron, then sew. Then, fold the top of the curtain over so there is enough room to slide the curtain rod through. Iron, then sew with a straight stitch.
Your first panel is done! Now, repeat these techniques with the remaining panels. If you're using a pattern like I did, you may want to check to make sure your patterns match on each panel. You can easily do this by pinning the unfinished panel next to the finished (hung) panel, and then adjusting to line up the patterns.

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DIY: Tissue Paper Pom Poms

CasaSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:15:42 -0700

I spotted these great Paper Pom Poms on Etsy, and thought they'd make fun décor for a bridal shower, if you have a friend getting married. But, at three for $15, I think the prices are steep. It'd be much more economical to make them yourself, seeing as they're fairly simple. I like to craft small ones for gift wrapping. To learn how, read more.

Supplies:

Tissue paper (20 inches x 30 inches). Choose one to three colors, or similar shades of the same color, to keep things from looking like a circus.
Scissors
Monofilament
Floral wire. White, if you can find it.

Here's how:

Stack four to eight the sheets of paper on top of one another, depending on you puffy you want them to be.
Now, fold the sheets into 1.5-inch accordion folds, all the way across.
Prune the ends of the tissue into round shapes, to give them a petal-like look.
Cut about a foot and a half length of floral wire.
Wrap the wire around the center of the folded tissue and secure it by twisting.
Now the fun part! Pull apart each layer, separating it from the center one piece at a time.
Measure the length you'd like to hang your pom pom from and cut a piece of monofilament accordingly.
Knot the monofilament to the floral wire and hang!
Repeat until you've created a pom pom fantasyland. The more, the merrier!

Be sure to check out all of the Sugar network's wedding coverage here!