Weekend DIY Project

My project for this weekend is going to be this ribbon organizer! I have so many candle sicks that I never use and think this would be a great way to display them and make them purposeful. It also looks super simple. I going to try and make it work with candlesticks that do not have a hole all the way through so we will see how that goes. Happy weekend crafting!

Great Valentine's Day gift.

Check out these Maple Valentype Blocks. Wonderful! And to even prove the point that you should buy them, read House Industries' product description....it's great.

"As a potential or current House Industries customer, your discerning tastes have undoubtedly driven you to become hopelessly intertwined with a mate who is at least as critical, cynical and mercurial as you. After another long day of ignoring the growing level of commitment and continuous evolutions that define ongoing close interpersonal relationships, you’re not going to want to show up at his or her door with a commercially-produced holiday greeting, a dye-sub printed digital calligraphical representation of the word “love” or a bundle of acetate-encased roses that you haphazardly purchased from a street vendor. With very little advance planning and a relatively low percentage of your hard-earned daily income, you can resolve this conundrum by purchasing one of these lasting tributes to your undying love. And, since the vagaries of complex human emotions are rarely apparent until you’ve already forgotten an important date or emotional milestone, we are supplying you with an all-important deadline and call to action."

Pretty things

I thought I'd give you a few things to covet over the weekend.

Renovo Hardwood Bicycle.

Very Good and Proper Canteen Utility Chair.

Heath Ceramics Salt & Pepper Shakers.


And a delicious looking Lottie + Doof Blood Orange Tart worthy of any Sunday brunch.

Nendo

How inspiring is this design studio out of Japan? I'm not really too sure what their main focus is but I find Nendo truly amazing. Just read their concept, you'll want to go out and change the world.

" Giving people a small " ! " moment.
There are so many small " ! " moments hidden in our everyday.

But we don’t recognize them.
and even when we do recognize them,we tend to unconsciously reset our
minds and forget what we’ve seen.

But we believe these small " ! " moments are what make our days so
interesting, so rich.

That’s why we want to reconstitute the everyday by collecting and
reshaping them into something that’s easy to understand.

We’d like the people who’ve encountered nendo’s designs to feel these
small " ! " moments intuitively.

That’s nendo’s job."

You must go browse thorugh their works, it is all so fun and genius. I am especially in love with these chocolate pencils. A pack with a variety of chocolate and a sharpener for grating on top of desserts. I want to us them!

Ummm awesome

How delightful are these laptop book cases by twelvesouth as seen on design*sponge today. If I ever get a laptop this is the case I want.

Bunky Boutique Valentine's Event

Come and see Perfect Dressipe and Phx DIY on Saturday Feb. 13 from 11-4pm at Bunky Boutique in downtown Phoenix. Shop for last minute Valentine's gifts and enjoy music, food, and sun! There will be a raffle in which all proceeds will go to helping Haiti. Come and support your local community and Haiti.

Love day 24

of the Collection A Day, 2010.

Pod Hotel

The last time I went to New York City right before the holiday I stayed at the Pod Hotel. It was a great time, a little hotel in Midtown East with wonderfully designed accommodations that have quite a minimalist approach...and all for a great price. There were community type rooms as well as private rooms, great patios and views, helpful staff, and at a very central location. I would definitely recommend it!

Playful Blog

I cannot tell you how much this blog will make you wish you were back in the days where your lunch time was filled with recess and playgrounds. Playscapes, is a blog dedicated to playground and playhouse design. It is sublime! How I wish I could be on these large seesaws in Berlin or in these stickworks playhouses by Patrick Dougherty or biomorphic climbing system by Tom Luckey and his son Spencer. What a great inspirational site to get your creativity flowing!

Adorable website

While snooping around the internet, I stumbled upon a wonderfully designed website. Saxelby Cheese Moongers in New York. You must go visit it, I promise it will make you smile. Simple, yet fun and informational...I wanted to go to every section. Especially check out the "Farms we love"...who doesn't love an interactive map that looks good. Hmmmm must go find some cheese now.

New PHX DIY member

I know I have blogged about them before so SeeSaw Designs should be no stranger to you. We are very excited to welcome them into the PHX DIY crew. SeeSaw Designs is a Scottsdale based graphic design and letterpress studio. They do great work! Lovely, invitations, stationary, prints, calendars, etc. etc. Don't you agree they are wonderful?

Lovely meal

This past week I had to go to Minneapolis (brrr) for business. While I was there I had the pleasure of seeing my cousins who took me to the most delicious restaurant. I am still thinking about my breakfast of a spinach and brie frittata with homemade thinly sliced hashbrowns and yummy bacon! The restaurant was called Edina Grill and I guess they just redid their space. There were some great interior elements done in there. If you are in the area, make a stop...it's wonderful.

New events

Good news! We are getting our spring events lined up and we have the next couple months planned out. First up....another In the Yard event with Bunky Boutique and PHX DIY. The last one was such a hit so we are very excited to have another one. Come join us Saturday, February 13th from 11 am to 4pm at Bunky. Same great music, food, and artisans as last time but with a sweet Valentine's Day twist!

And then in March is the M7 Street Fair. This one holds a dear place in our heart as it is the first event Perfect Dressipe ever participated in. See the above flyer for more details but come see us with our PHX DIY friends on Saturday, March 6th from 11am-6pm.

Put them on your calendars and we hope to see you out there!

The Shady Dell

Ever since I moved to Arizona I have wanted to take the drive down to Bisbee and stay at the Shady Dell, a midcentury modern trailer park. The Shady Dell website lets you reserve its nine fully restored 1950's vintage aluminum travel trailers, and today I finally reserved the Mansion for my boyfriend and I in Feb. I am so excited!

Within the park lies Dots Diner which sounds as fabulous as it looks. I can't wait to get a shake!

While we are treking through the wild west, we are also going to take in the history at Tombstone, check out the Kartchner Caverns, and take in earths beauty on some nature hikes. It should be fun times!

Awesome Wallpaper... Did I just say that?

After the many many walls that I have had to remove hideous wallpaper from, I never EVER in a million years thought that I would here these words come out of my mouth. But... "I love this wallpaper!" It can be purchased at Hygge & West where you can also find fabulous ceramics and art.

I just can't get enough! It makes such a great statement in a room, but I recommend only using it as an accent so there isn't so much to remove when you decide you need a change.

Bows made from Magazines... Brilliant!

I wish that I would have seen this fabulous bow making tutorial before Christmas! I just found it on a great blog called How About Orange where you can find may great DIY ideas including this one on making gift bows out of magazines and other papers.

Here are some bows that a How About Orange reader made and sent in.

I can't wait to make some of these for my gifts to give!

Need a little break?

Or a great way to start your day? Or end it? Check out the blog A Collection a Day 2010, by artist/illustrator Lisa Congdon. It is adorable and I am hooked. She posts collections of things, photographed, illustrated, or painted everyday for one year. It makes me wonder what kind of "collections" I could come up with in my house alone. What do you collect?

Apron!

This is a picture of Kim wearing a Perfect Dressipe apron that she got for Christmas from her dad who has great taste! She matches perfectly and this shows that aprons make a cute fashion accessory as well.

New iPhone case

I received an iPhone for Christmas this year (love it!) and got a new case not too long ago. I am just as much in love with it now as I was when I bought it. Who doesn't need a little gold sparkle in their life? And a bright red interior? Delightful. You can see and buy the incase chrome slider cases here.

I have to say I am also a fan of the beautiful wood ones out there....maybe my next case?

What's your favorite iPhone case?

Fun diy project!

How adorable are these little Altoid tin toolboxes. Perfect gift for any handy dad, boyfriend, or man in your life. I think I might have to make some for myself....in fluorescent pink (I'm on a fluorescent pink kick lately). You can find the whole tutorial right here on Alpha+Mom.

I love bike

Ever since I received my cruiser last winter, I have been in love. It makes me so happy to ride it around on a beautiful sunny day. Not too long ago I found a style of basket that worked with the structure of my bike, but if I could, I would have bought this delightful Carrie Bicycle Basket by Design House Stockholm. So intricate and delicate and just plain girl. (P.S. It also comes in black and green)

Cute poster

Made by Erin Jang for a bride who wanted to give it to her man. How adorable. She also has some other pretty cute stuff so make sure you check it out.

Gotta love a good bottle opener

I am always on the lookout for a good bottle opener, why I don't really know but I could not help reposting this fabulous collection put together by Design*Sponge. Which one would you get?

Speaking of shoes

I got a new pair of booties over the holiday and I am so excited about them. I have been eyeing them since a trip to NYC a few weeks ago and then found them onsale...perfect holiday gift to myself. By Dolce Vita and called Webber, these booties have pull tabs and a bow in the back. Hurry and get your own pair before they are all gone.

What a lovely "A"

My obsession with letters, especially "A", is kind of taking over my life...mostly taking over my jewelry collection. I have more "A" necklaces than I know what to do with and I am always looking for more. How lovely is this one from Albeit. By a designer aiming to redefine the classics, I would love to have one of these someday. You should read about her and her idea of balancing the perfect pendant horizontally...it's intriguing.

Fun cards

Check out these fun cards and stationary by Pancake & franks (adorable name), a designer from Arizona now in San Francisco. I love the simple design of them, paired with great colors, and fun visuals/sayings. You can order them of the website here.

If you love shoes

If you love shoes you should go check out the Elle Shoe Diary. I am not too sure how often it is updated but there are some pretty fabulous ones on there. I especially like the Givenchy shoes above.

Custom Aprons!

I made matching mother daughter aprons for my friend Melissa and her daughter Candace. She wanted the aprons for Thanksgiving while she and Candace cooked for family and friends. Melissa and her husband also just got done renovating their house, so she wanted the aprons to match the house paint colors. The apron colors are eggplant, mocha, orange and lime green. Don't Melissa and Candace look so cute??

Lovely

How adorable are these felt acorns? Seen on Design*Sponge earlier in December, I just had to post them as a little fabulousness to bring in the New Year. Cheers to 2010, I wish all the best to all our readers.