Community in the Time of Coronavirus

While COVID-19 has thrown us all off balance, people are helping each other get back on their feet in some lovely ways – sharing their art, connecting people with resources, checking in on family and friends, donating where they can, helping the “helpers” on the front lines, and buying from their local mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. (All from a safe distance, of course!)

I’ve rounded up a list of various goodies to help you stay well, support independent artists and businesses, and give back.

Breathe background for Zoom video — Courtesy of Saywells Design + Why I Love Where I Live.

Free to Download

Adobe: Resources for creativity at home!

Coloring book pages by designers and illustrators. Each week, there’s a new set of pages with themes like “gratitude” and “alphabet.”
Short films about design.
Public domain images and fonts to liven up your paper craft projects!
Tips for photographing your plants and pets.

Badge Bomb: Fun stay-at-home-themed coloring pages, activity sheets, and stickers you can print and color.

Bluprint: Patterns for sewing face masks and instructions for folding no-sew masks.

Native Seeds/SEARCH:

Tips for collecting and saving seeds from your garden.
Lots of resources for gardening in desert climates.

Why I Love Where I Live:

Coloring pages by Southwestern artists.
Backgrounds for your phone or Zoom meetings by Tucson-based Saywells Design, including mask-wearing cacti.

Workshops

Debbie Allen Dance Academy: Founded by Debbie Allen of Fame fame, DADA is a non-profit organization with programs to expand young people’s access to dance + theater.

$3 dance classes on weekdays (signup via Zoom required).
Free Instagram Live classes on weekends.

Lisa Congdon: A couple of free online classes from an artist whose work always makes me smile.

MyIntent:

Free classes to begin and end each day (yoga, meditation, journaling, etc.)
A big list of free self-care resources.

Rohit Gijare: Virtual dance classes on Sundays…

$5 semi-classical or Bolly fusion workshop with the Bollywood Boulevard choreographer.
$8 for both classes with code BOTH.

Skillshare:

Free classes demonstrating a variety of art, craft, cooking, entrepreneurship, and other skills.
Premium membership free for 2 months. (New members only.)

Shop

Arts and Artisans: 40% off everything through April 30.

Badge Bomb:

Free colorful sheet of “Coronavirus Reward Stickers” by artist Gemma Correll with every order!
25% off all items in the Stay Home + Stay Busy collection.
Free shipping on US orders over $30 + international orders over $75.

Stay Home Reward Sticker Sheet by Gemma Correll on Badge Bomb.

Bookman’s: For every $25 gift card purchase, Bookman’s will add a $5 reward. For every $100, get a $25 reward!

Doggie Drawings Shop: Artwork by Lili Chin 20% off. This includes Dogs of the World prints and cute enamel pins of different dog breeds.

Dogs and Donuts: Free delivery in Tucson for orders over $15.

Downtown Tucson Partnership: DTP Gift Card Incentive Program…

Buy a $25 gift card for one of over 60 downtown businesses through the Downtown Tucson Partnership + receive a free $10 bonus!
Participating businesses include restaurants, museums, shops, bars/breweries, salons, fitness centers, a hotel, and a theater.
DTP will announce each round of gift card sales on its site. (Hint: They’ve mostly gone on sale on Fridays starting at 6am and sold out FAST!)
They’ve also gathered a lot of resources to help Tucsonans navigate life during the pandemic.

Hotel Congress: Additional $25 when you purchase a $100 gift card.

L.A. County Yarn Crawl Shops:

Knitting Tree – Sale on discontinued and overstocked items.
Wildflower Studio – Shibui Knits Maai $14/skein (regular $17.50) + free digital pattern for M.1 scarf by Shelli Anderson with purchase of 4 skeins.
Zoe’s Knit Studio – Free shipping (or curbside pickup) on select kits. Email info@zoesknitstudio.com for details.

MAST (at Mercado San Agustin): Free shipping on U.S. orders with promo code MARCHON. Or 25% off any one item made by Mellow, Sofie, or Tasha with code LEANON.

MyIntent:

50% off sitewide with code HERWORD50 (through May 10).
We featured a MyIntent necklace in a previous gift guide.

Arizona Hearts art print by Phoenix Supply Co.

Phoenix Supply Co.

Today: buy 1 art print, get one 50% off!
Free domestic shipping on orders $40+.
I know founder/artist Melissa through the Phoenix design community, and she is a stellar human being!

Not Just Quiltz:

Bolt of the Week 25% off.
All bolt BATIKS and precut bundles 15% off (half-yard minimum).
Select colors of King Tut thread $19.95/2000 yard cone (regular $29.95).
Closeout fabrics $8/yard, while supplies last.
We met this vendor at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival.

Seven Cups Fine Chinese Teas:

20% off Bai Long Xu (White Dragon Whiskers) Loose Leaf Sheng Puer tea.
Free delivery within the continental U.S.
Select tea ware on sale.

Spirit of the Artisan:

$10 tapestry tote bag special!
Another one of our favorite Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival vendors – now with an online shop!

Why I Love Where I Live:

Free shipping on orders over $15 with code 2020IG.
Buy a mask and they’ll donate one to a local organization!

Food (Arizona)

Phoenix Area

Cartel Coffee Lab, Tempe:

Free shipping (except subscriptions) with code STAYHOME.
Pickup available at original downtown Tempe location (on Ash).

Crown Public House, Phoenix: Weekday specials on green chili mac, wings, pizza, and more.

Peixoto Coffee, Chandler:

Buy 3 bags of coffee, get one free.
Free shipping or curbside pickup.
Make a donation to help them provide hot coffee to overnight hospital workers.

Republica Empanada, Mesa: $2 beer or $10 mix-and-match six pack with any order.

Tucson

Several Tucson restaurants are offering $30 takeout meals for two, as part of Tucson To-Go! Even though it’s presented by Sonoran Restaurant Week, this deal is ongoing.

Agustin Kitchen (at Mercado San Agustin): Burgers and sandwiches (a.k.a. “handhelds”) are buy one, get one free from 2-4pm daily. Walk-up or call-in orders.

Beaut Burger (at MSA Annex): Buy one, get one free vegan burgers weekdays from 4-5pm. Walk-up orders only.

Cartel Coffee Lab, Tucson:

Free shipping (except subscriptions) with code STAYHOME.
Pickup available at Grant and Campbell.

Cup Cafe (in Hotel Congress):

20% off Cup Cafe dishes to-go. New menu includes family style meals!
$2 off all pies and cakes by the slice.

Check out Tucson Foodie’s takeout guide or the lists that Brunch Babes Tucson has aggregated of current food, coffee, and alcohol options!

Yuma

Julieanna’s:

Ziggy’s On-The-Fly takeout menu has value-priced versions of their signature items.
Free delivery in Yuma. Curbside or patio pickup also available.
One of our Yuma favorites!

What is helping you find a sense of community during this time?

Chalk board sign — Good Oak Bar in Tucson

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019

Blush: A Color Story

If fire engine red screams Valentine’s Day, blush whispers it sweetly.

It’s a romantic yet subtle shade, as lovely on walls as it is on flowers. Although it’s a more traditional choice for this holiday than last year’s black and white, they look fabulous together. Blush is also great with deep blues or teal-y greens.

Like the illustrations, destinations, and DIYs in this post, blush doesn’t even have to be about Valentine’s Day at all.

1. Ceramic vase by Polina Shutova 2. Flower arranging how-to via Food52 3. Venice, Italy buildings 4. Are We There Yet? painting by Christina Baker

5. Pink room via Esther Lee 6. DIY Grand Budapest Hotel envelope by Thimble 7. Bellevue Corduroy Skirt via One Loved Babe 8. “Room in your heart” hand-drawn type by Maddy Nye / for designlovefest

9. DIY eraser heart stamp via Cotton + Flax / black + white love 10. Living + Working in 350 Square Feet via Design*Sponge 11. Honeymoon in Sardinia commission (map detail) by Mura 12. Jacome Plaza in downtown Tucson

13. Stenciled Valentine Gift Bags via Martha Stewart / Valentines Day DIYs 14. A rural house with urban style in Ibiza, Spain / h/t sfgirlbybay 15. Santorini illustration by Mari Andrew

Photos link to their sources.

December 17, 2018

15 Holiday Ornaments You Can Make Today!

A Christmas ornament can trim a tree or grace a garland, be a gift topper or the gift itself.

Here are 15 DIY ornaments, most of which you probably already have the materials for and/or are simple enough to make that even kids can join in!

1. Cardboard Tube Ornaments

These super colorful ornaments are made from painted paper towel tubes strung with ribbon and beads! / via Vesna Taneva-Miller

2. DIY Gold Leaf Ornaments

Transform clear glass ornaments by swirling colorful paint inside and gluing gold leaf outside. / via The Sweetest Occasion

3. Quick Clay Owls

These cute ornaments start from a circle of clay that you fold to create the shape of an owl. If you don’t happen to have modeling clay around, Paging Fun Mums has a recipe for making your own with cornstarch, baking soda, and water. / via Paging Fun Mums + 4 Crazy Kings

4. Simple Felt Tree Ornament Tutorial

Basically, you just use Handmade Charlotte’s PDF template to cut out felt circles of increasing sizes, stitch up the sides, and stack them up. I can’t decide which I like more: the trees with different colored layers or the ones that are just a single color! / via Handmade Charlotte

5. Upcycled Fabric Ornaments

Braid scraps of fabric to give old ornaments a new look! / via Simply Notable

6. Jar Ring Map

An old map and the ring part of a mason jar lid make a keepsake for remembering a trip or celebrating your hometown. / via Happy Mothering

7. Modern Leather Ornament

Delia (of Delia Creates) took leftover pieces from a leatherwork project to create this lovely minimal ornament. She mentions that you can substitute grosgrain ribbon for the two smaller (contrasting) strips. / via Delia Creates

8. Kusudama Paper Ornament

While Japanese kusudama balls were traditionally made from real flowers, you can make a paper version by folding origami petals and gluing them together. Robin (a.k.a. Robayre at Inspiration Junkie) makes a new one every year before Christmas. She has made them from old catalog pages, origami paper, and paper she’s decorated with herself with gelatin prints. / via Inspiration Junkie + Full tutorial at PlanetJune.

9. Pet Photo Ornament

Make a mini-plush pet ornament with a favorite photo and some iron-on transfer paper. You can use a complementary cotton fabric for the back — check your stash for those random extra pieces! / via Live Free Creative Co

10. Woven Cookie Stars

Super easy project using thread wrapped around cardboard! To mix it up, use variegated string or multiple colors. / via Aesthetic Outburst + Full tutorial at The Crafty Crow.

11. Watercolor Ornament

You get this watercolor look by dipping the ornament in nail polish and warm water. / via Unexpected Elegance

12. Wood Burned Christmas Ornaments

Use a wood burning kit to decorate thin wood slices cut from a tree branch. / via Simply Notable

13. Cinnamon Stick Himmeli

Gwen McKenzie (for Jojotastic) created this project based on the geometric shape of traditional Finnish himmeli ornaments, except using 12 cinnamon sticks instead of straw. I bet it makes your house smell like the holidays! / via Jojotastic

14. Hoop Ornaments

This is actually a series of 8 different ornaments designed for various people on your gift list — including grandmas, Goths, teachers, and teammates! They make use of small (3-4″) embroidery hoops and require little to no sewing. / via Crafts Unleashed

15. Resolution Time Capsule

I shared this one in the Violet color stories post, but such a fun idea is worth repeating! You fill a glass bulb with confetti and rolled up pieces of paper with your New Year’s resolutions on them and then, a year later, you can see how things turned out! / via The Crafted Life

Each image links to its source.

November 3, 2018May 23, 2023

Downtown Mesa’s Día de los Muertos

A 10-foot tall skeleton in a sombrero leaned over to ask if I knew what time it was.

Which is not that weird when you’re at a Día de los Muertos celebration with skeletons everywhere – on banners, as sculptures, painted on kids’ faces, and for sale on tote bags.

So, of course, there would be a skeleton with stilts, a full beard, and no watch.

When you think about it, the lack of a timepiece may be the least surprising part. Schedules are probably pretty irrelevant in the realm of the dead.

Phillip, Quijote, and I had showed up near the end of Mesa Arts Center’s festival. We started at the custom car show and worked our way toward an oversized Frida Kahlo skull made from tissue paper flowers, stopping to listen to a band on the way.

We visited the community altar, which was decorated with photos, candles, art, and flowers in memory of departed loved ones.

On a second stage, Mariachi Pasion, an all-woman mariachi band, began playing.

When Quijote got restless, we moved on to check out the arts and crafts vendors. There were handcrafted decorations, jewelry, papel picado banners, and small ceramics that looked like ones we had seen in Peru.

Now it was 4:30 – half an hour before it was all scheduled to be over – and the party showed no signs of stopping.

In fact, it was still so crowded that our stilt-walking friend had trouble getting through. The bands played on, vendors continued to serve up churros and hot dogs and tamales and paletas, and there was still a line to get into the craft-making area.

As we walked away, the celebration continued behind us – everyone enjoying the moment, like time was irrelevant.

February 1, 2018February 5, 2020

Make a Difference with Things You Make

There are lots of ways to get crafty to do some good – regardless of your skill level!

Here are some DIY projects to make a difference.

Build a Little Free Library.

Make a place for a neighborhood book exchange! You can build it or repurpose a phone booth, mailbox, vintage bread warmer or other weatherproof container to house books in.

Organization(s):
Little Free Library

Good to know:

Crochet/knit a chemo cap.

Help someone with hair loss due to cancer treatment feel more comfortable.

Organization(s):

Good to know:
Before making a cap to donate, check the charity’s guidelines on best yarns and patterns to use. Many of them offer free patterns on their sites!

Make a composting unit.

You can reduce trash by composting food waste and turning it into something that’s good for your garden.

Good to know:

Make a card…

…for a child in the hospital.

Caitlin’s Smiles distributes handmade cards and “bags of smiles” with arts and craft supplies to kids in hospitals. You can make cards, tote bags, or donate art supplies.

Organization(s):
Caitlin’s Smiles

…for a cancer patient.

Make blank cards that will be personalized and sent to people with a cancer diagnosis.

Organization(s):
Card Care Connection

…for a housebound senior citizen.

While there won’t be an official Meals on Wheels campaign like last year’s “Love Letters,” you can contact your local Meals on Wheels program to find out about creating cards.

Organization(s):
Meals on Wheels

…for your congressional representatives.

Postcards may currently be the most effective way to let Congress know what issues matter to you.

Good to know:

Kids Art Congress has ideas for paint and collage, including using watercolor postcard blanks and kids’ art.
CollectiveVision gives tips on who, what, and where to write. They also have postcard sets you can order (if you don’t have time to DIY).
Postcards from the People has free downloadable postcard templates.

Make a blanket…

…for animal shelters (knit, crochet, sew, or tie).

You can knit, crochet, sew, or tie blankets for dogs and cats in shelters.

Organization(s):
Comfort for Critters

Good to know:

20-inch square is the preferred size.
They have free patterns and blanket ideas!
You can drop blankets off at a local animal shelter or ship them to their Illinois headquarters.

…for NICU babies.

Knit or crochet neonatal baby blankets.

Organization(s):
Knots of Love

…for veterans.

Organization(s):

Operation Gratitude gives care packages to veterans, as well as currently deployed U.S. Troops, first responders, and military families. You can make blankets, cards, caps, cool ties, drawstring bags, and/or scarves.
Quilts of Valor awards patriotic quilts to thank veterans.

For pollinators, make…

…a mason bee nesting spot.

Help save the bees! Solitary bees are great pollinators and don’t have painful stings.

Good to know:

Make a wooden pallet bee house
Build a small mason bee house
Drill holes into scrap lumber (National Wildlife Foundation)
UK tips

…a bat house.

Bats not only help pollinate plants, they eat mosquitos and other pests. As forests are cut down, they have fewer safe places to raise their young.

Organization(s):
Bat Conservation International

…a hummingbird feeder.

Hummingbirds need a lot of calories every day! They can fuel up on nectar at feeders or flowers like honeysuckle.

Good to know:

Make a hummingbird feeder from a glass bottle.
Make nectar for hummingbirds.
Tips for filling a wine bottle hummingbird feeder.
More about hummingbirds and their favorite flowers.

Craft for a Fundraiser

If you sell items you’ve made, you can give the proceeds to whichever charity is meaningful to you. Cash is the most versatile donation.

Stamp metal bracelets.

One fundraiser craft idea is hand stamped bracelets. MyIntent (who I received a necklace from) now sells a Maker Kit, so you can make your own custom jewelry. One fundraiser selling hand-stamped bracelets brought in over $4,000 in 3 weeks!

UPDATE: Found a discount code, so I wanted to share! VDAY25 will get you 25% off a MyIntent Maker Kit.

Organization(s):
MyIntent.org

What else can we make to make a difference?

PS While some of these projects are U.S.-specific, hopefully, they’ll spark ideas for anywhere you are!