This February Share Your #LocalArtLoves!

Let’s celebrate local art and artists!

Since we had fun sharing Local Art Loves last year, I thought we could keep the challenge going throughout the month of February this time!

Just look for art in your community and share photos using the hashtag #LocalArtLoves on Twitter or Instagram. I’ll post some of your finds here on the site.

Keep an eye out for public art, local galleries, neighborhood art walks, and rotating art displays at coffee shops or libraries. You can also share favorite art spaces, street art, or your own work.

Can’t wait to see some art from where you live!

First photo: Paintings by Bud Heiss on display at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Last photo: Round sculptures by Hidden in the Hills artist Peter Skidd at Renee Taylor Gallery, Sedona.

January 15, 2018January 14, 2018

Violet

Since it’s the beginning of a new year, I thought I’d share some art, food, destination, and DIY ideas inspired by Pantone’s color of the year, Ultra Violet!

1. Berries, Le Marche, Italy. 2. Pantone Ultra Violet. 3. Chocolade Van Brugge, Scottsdale (photo: Stephanie Haworth). 4. Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix.

5. “Victoria” painting by Mari Orr. 6. Photo transfer tutorial. 7. Ed Mell art for Riders of the Purple Sage. (Photo: Tim Trumble).

8. Yuma Garden Company’s colorful carrots. 9. Making Chive Flower Vinegar. 10. Lo & Sons O.G. Overnight Bag.

11. Chaparral sage, Tucson. 12. New Year’s time capsule DIY. 13. Let’s Be Better Humans campaign bus. 14. View from Sunset Point rest area near Black Canyon City, Arizona.

Finally, a cake decorated with actual fresh violets….

Photos via respective sites, except as noted.

December 7, 2017March 22, 2020

A Zarf

I learned the word zarf when I was writing about a coffee travel kit with a list of accessories that included “Two Felt Zarfs.”

Looking it up, I found out it’s another word for something that goes around a coffee cup to keep you from burning your hands on it. Like a scarf for your coffee.

They definitely could have said “coffee sleeve” or “cozy” instead. But zarf is kind of a cool word. Originally, it was a fancy metal thing used with glass tumblers. Now it’s a cardboard ring around a disposable cup.

***insert pithy observation about the decay of civilization here***

The good news is there are several ways to make a zarf/coffee sleeve/cozy that you can use over and over.

(My sister-in-law Liz made me the cool fabric one above. I love the colors!)

Craft

1. Reusable Coffee Sleeve: First, a coffee sleeve in the most literal sense – made by upcycling the cuff of an old shirt.

2. Leather Cup Jacket: Make a leather jacket for jars or other cups without handles.

3. Fabric Coffee Sleeve: Inspired by projects she had pinned, Sarah from One Crafty Home sewed up a reusable sleeve and a put together a tutorial with a template, so you can make your own, as well!

4. Crochet Cup Cozy: Julie Tarsha of Simply Notable created this cute pattern for a cable-knit cozy that you wrap around a mug and secure with a button.

5. Felt Coffee Cozies: Tutorial for making 16 felt coffee cozies at once, so you can give them as gifts or set them out next to cups for hot chocolate at your holiday party.

6. R2D2 Coffee Cup Cozy: Twinkie Chan created this clever crochet pattern that uses acrylic yarn, a red button, a silver eyelet, and a safety eye with the post snapped off to make exactly the droid you’re looking for.

Shop

And, of course, if you’re not up for DIYing this time, there’s always Etsy!

Caffeinating Please Wait Cup Cozy by Sew Tara ($14).

Happy Fox Cup Cozy by Tiny Bubbles Crafts ($12).

“You Got This” Leather Coffee Cozy by Wilhelm and Friends ($18).

If you do end up with a cardboard sleeve around your cup, you can still re-purpose it as a travel flower press or work it into collage and other paper craft projects.

Photos via:

DIYs –

1+2. Me

3. Modcloth

4. Matt Pierce / Design*Sponge

5. Emily Abbate / CafeMom

6. Julie Tarsha / Simply Notable

7. Purl Soho

8. Twinkie Chan

Etsy sellers –

1. Sew Tara

2. Tiny Bubbles Crafts

3. Wilhelm and Friends

December 4, 2017January 3, 2018

How to Get a Melted Candle Out of a Jar

I love the look of candles in glass jars – until they’re all melted and stuck to the sides. I’d read a tip about freezing them to make the melted candle stub easier to remove, but that only works some of the time.

Phillip came up with an ingenious improvement: give the candle a handle!

Here’s what to do to unstick melted candles from jars and other glass containers:

Pour some water into the jar on top of the candle stub.
Partly submerge an S-hook or something else sturdy enough to use as a handle.*
Freeze.
Once frozen, you can use the hook/handle to just pull the candles right out.
To retrieve the handle, allow ice on top of the candles to melt.

*Phillip used IKEA S-hooks, because we had those around. Large paper clips weren’t strong enough, but a Popsicle stick or butter knife might work.

November 20, 2017November 20, 2017

Autumn and Indigo: A Color Story

We tend to think of fall colors in the family of rusts and browns, pumpkins and mustards. But you can also reach across the color wheel and pull in some cooler hues. Shades of indigo and slate are a perfect match for warm harvest tones, complementing them beautifully without taking away their autumn feeling.

So here is some fall color palette inspiration – with a few projects and recipes along the way.