Keeping It Simple - Origami

Hello everyone!

Today I'm sharing a simple origami DIY, that has a variety of uses....plus it's easy and fun to do.

For this project, I wanted to make holders for mini succulents to be used as place cards for a brunch. You can use any paper you like, but I scanned two contrasting fabrics, double-sided, to make mine. I cut down the paper to 9"x12" to make my 3" containers/boxes. I also used a bone folder (seen in video) to make sharp creases (important in origami). I asked my husband to make a short video, as he was heading out the door, of the action - easier than step by step pics!

That's it! I've also made these for candle holders for backyard parties, and for holding individual servings of party snacks....like popcorn. If you give these a whirl, let me know! 

janis

Baked

I haven't done it in awhile, but I baked some cookies with my niece over the weekend, inspired by fast approaching Valentine's Day.  Even though I shot the Butter Baked Goods book, including countless cookies, I hadn't made the Butter's Shaped Cookies myself. We gave them a go this weekend....they're my favourite sugar cookie recipe by far!

Butter's Shaped Cookies (aka sugar cookies) - made about 60 1.5" hearts

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons pure vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350f. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Onto a large piece of parchment paper, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
4. Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.
5. Shape the dough into a large disk about 1" thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
6. Divide the disk into two, and place half the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about a 1/4" thick.
7. Use the cookie cutter of your choice to cut out cookies. Carefully transfer to the prepared cookie sheet and place about 1/2" apart. You may have to combine the dough scraps and re-roll the dough to cut out enough cookies. Avoid doing this too many times, as the cookies will become tough with over-handling.
8. Use a rolling pin to roll out the second disk of dough to about 1/4" thick and repeat step 7.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges.
10. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for about 10 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Royal Icing:

4 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup meringue powder
6 to 8 tablespoons water

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the icing sugar and meringue powder. Mix on medium speed until the meringue powder is evenly distributed throughout the icing sugar.
2. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the water, little by little, until the icing reaches the desired thickness and consistency.
3. Once the water is incorporated, beat the mixture on high to create some volume and lightness in the icing.
Colour the icing with a little food colouring of your choice.

We went with shades of pink, for our hearts, and made some mini bags to to package them up. So simple.

If you try this recipe out, I'd love to know what you think. Keep me posted!

Have a good day!
janis

Christmas "Spruce" Style

Happy Wednesday! Hope you're having a great week.

My last post was pretty festive, so I'm just going to carry on with that theme. 'Tis the season, yes?

I've had the pleasure of working with the women behind the fantastic shop, Spruce Collective, a number of times, but I think this shoot might be my favourite so far. They created a festive dining room, complete with DIY ornaments and decorations. They're featured in the current issue of Chatelaine magazine.

I love that they've created a festive setting without screaming 'it's Christmas'! If you're in Abbotsford B.C., definitely pop in and see what they've got happening for the holidays. I promise, you won't be disappointed. 

I'm off to Tahiti and Australia tomorrow, but I do have a couple of posts ready to go and will, no doubt, post something from my travels. If any of you have been to Tahiti, I'd love to know any secret spots that we shouldn't miss. Merci in advance!

Until then, take care!  

janis

x

Sunday Observations

Actually, it's more of a weekend observations kind of thing. I've been working but did manage to fit in a fun letterpress work shop, and a quick bit of shopping. What did you get up to this weekend?

I took part in a letterpress workshop with Kristin Lui of National Press, along with 6 others including my pal Jan, of Poppytalk. Heaps of fun. I hope they offer up another workshop soon (there is so much to learn!).

We had to choose between 3 typefaces, then decide if we wanted to print in gold or black. Luckily, everyone went with gold (or no colour at all) to keep the cleaning to a minimum. 

It took awhile for everyone to work out what they wanted to do, for their cards, and the set up took a bit longer. Once the type was all set up and locked in, it took no time at all to print 20 cards. So much fun.

Voila. I had a card at the end of it all. Thanks Kristin!

I picked up this cute sheep here. The proceeds go to back to Tibetan refugees. I love that. 

That was my weekend, along with some work. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Back soon. 

Janis

Sunday Observations

What a fantastic weekend. It's been sunny, and I became an auntie for the 10th time! How was your weekend? What did you get up to?

The day started off with an early morning shoot at Granville Island with my husband. We're working on a project for a hotel so it was pretty fun, though a tad early. ;)

I finally found a new bag for my 17" macbook pro. I have to haul it around to my shoots, so it had to be roomy and sturdy.  A little better than the actual computer's box that I've been toting. Love the stripes!

We were hanging out with one of our nieces today, so we thought a game of Toss Across was in order. It's a vintage game, so it's missing some bean bags. We created some new split pea bags.

That's it for today. I'm now sipping a refreshing Main Street Pilsner. Yum. If you live in the Vancouver area, have you had one?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Back soon.
janis
x

A Road Side Find

How's your week so far? Hope it's moving along smoothly!

I know so many people that just find stuff on the side of the road, or in an alley. I can tell you that has never happened to me, until just the other day. I came across this rusty, and slightly bent, vintage plant stand that had been kicked to the curb. I've always had a soft spot for these, so I brought it home. A little sanding, some gentle persuading it back to more of a circle shape, and a lick of some leftover gray paint, done. It now sits up in my office, but I'm thinking about finding another one to make a pair of bedside tables.

What do you think? Are you one of those people that always seem to find freebies lying around? Any tips?

Have a great day! Back on Friday.
janis

Friday D.I.Y.

How are you all? Hope you've all had a great week!

I've had another bonkers busy shoot week, so lots of post production work as well. To take a bit of a breather from the computer, I decided to recover a lamp I've had for ages.

I started off by rolling the lampshade across a large piece of paper, tracing along as I rolled. I then pinned the paper template to the fabric, and cut out. I left about 1/2" on either end, then wrapped the fabric around the shade (wrong side out) and pinned. I then sewed the ends together, and slipped it over the shade. I've done this before with an even larger shade and it works really well. This is a lot less messy and toxic than using spray glue to attach fabric.
Thanks to Lili at The Spool of Thread, for suggesting I make my own binding and showing me how. I used white glue to attach the binding to the top and bottom rims of the shade. The whole process took about an hour.

I love these tiny air plants. I picked them up at The Hach, here in Vancouver. All they need is bright light, and a spritz of water.

Have a great weekend! Back soon.
janis
x

Hey, it's Friday!

I hope you all had a great week! I ended up shooting everyday, so I haven't done a lot of blogging, but I have received a lot of really sweet emails from some lovely bloggers. It never fails to amaze me how nice and supportive the blog world can be. I so appreciate your feedback and comments, and for taking the time to check in. So to say thanks.....

I think you know by now that one of my hobbies is baking, as well as shooting the baking process. I'll
be adding a set of 16 recipe cards, selected from my "Baked" posts, in a cloth bag, to my shop next week. As a kind of happy-friday-thank-you, I'm offering one up as a give away. All you need to do is leave a comment, to be added to the draw. That's it. Nothing else. I will send it anywhere in the world. I'll make a random draw on June 8th.

Also, I did a very simple, and inexpensive, d.i.y. over at one of my favourite blogs, Poppytalk. If you have some time, pop over! Here's a sneak peek:

I hope you all have nice weekends where ever you are! Back soon.
janis

Sunday Observations

Wow, that was one fast weekend. Where did it go? Hope you all enjoyed your two days!

Today I observed that scraps of fabric, left over from a DIY project, can make a nice addition to a last minute gift wrap.  

I've decided that arepas are my new favourite food, along with a margarita. You can find these, and heaps more, at Latitude (pic below).  Arepas created by chef Lisa Henderson, traditional margarita by Nick Devine. If you don't know (I didn't), arepas are grilled corn cakes filled with all sorts of goodness. Mine had wild prawns, arugula and smoked paprika mayo. Mmmm.

A little Sunday etsy shopping to share with you. Deedee 9:14 is the perfect place for a mid-century style print.

That's it for now. Back on Monday! Night, night.

janis