Wood & Grain

Sculpey Mushrooms

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:29:08 -0700

Found myself walking around Utrecht the other day with gift card in hand and happened upon some Sculpey. It brought back memories of the 5th grade, when we were making mini replicas of Native American homes. I decided to grab some in the Pearl color and make something fun.

I just molded the top and bottom of each mushroom. Then attached the two pieces together using an Xacto knife and then baked them in the oven according to the directions on the package. These babies are going in the garden.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:58:09 -0700

A couple weekends ago, we took a forty minute trip out to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon. It was absolutely gorgeous. It reminded me that I seriously need to plan a trip to Holland soon.

The weather was perfect. It was so nice to feel the sun on my face after weeks of rain.

Spring Brunch

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:02:13 -0700

On Saturday, we had some people over for a delicious spring brunch and got to reuse a bunch of our wedding decorations.

For drinks, we served mimosas and a crisp shandy (beer, ginger ale, ginger beer, lemon and lime juice). So refreshing!

The Food:

1. Julia Child’s Quiche Lorraine and Mushroom Quiche

2. Strawberry Balsamic Spinach and Arugula Salad (greens were fresh from the farmer’s market the morning of).

3. Fruit & Oat Muesli (I usually add a couple pinches of cinnamon and toasted coconut to this recipe).

4. Rainbow Fruit

White Chalk + Chalkboard

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:41:46 -0700

The in-laws got me a generous Utrecht Art Supplies gift card for Christmas and it has given me a reason to try new types of art and old types that I haven’t done since I was little.

One of my first purchases was this white chalk drawing pencil that I’ve been wanting for a while, but haven’t been able to find until I stepped into that art store.

Here is the result of my first go with the pencil:

The hard part is getting myself to erase it so I can do another one.

This new pencil is making me want to buy some of these other chalkboard goodies, so I can use it some more.

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Spring Gardening

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:29:18 -0700

It’s spring and we officially have a garden AND it actually looks healthy! I am one of the worst at gardening and I did not think the plants would survive for more than two days. But it has been almost two weeks and they look beautiful.

We’re growing kale, arugula, parsley, chives and lettuce. I can’t wait until they are big enough to eat.

We also grew some collards from seeds indoors and they seem to be growing well, but then again I wouldn’t really know. They look really, really tall…I should probably look into it.

I was inspired to make something plant related to decorate the garden and decided on some garden markers.

Here are some other awesome gardening accessories and decorations I found on Etsy.

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Returning to Thailand

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:00:06 -0800

After nineteen long years, I’ll be returning to Thailand! My family visited a couple times when I was younger and I’m so excited to finally return and explore the country - except this time I’ll actually remember the adventures.

These photos are from a trip in the mid ’80s of my sister, dad and mom (I was growing in her belly). My mom looks so beautiful and I love her dress.

Here are some photos from a later trip in the early ’90s when I was a bit older:

My sister and I in our awesome matching outfits that I know you’re super jealous of. The adults are our family friends. (Carol is on the left and I’m on the right).

Cake Topper for a March Winter Wedding

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:02:05 -0800

I made some cake toppers for an Etsy customer earlier this month.

If anyone is interested in cake topper dolls, I’ll be renewing the Etsy listing in the middle of March (I’ve only been doing one a month because they take so much of my time). You can message me on Etsy if you want to secure a spot.

Have an amazing weekend!

Christmas in Alaska - Part 2

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:02:00 -0800

It snowed everyday while we were in Alaska this winter. While I did love it, the constant snowfall made for some challenging driving conditions on our trip to Fairbanks, a city six hours north of Anchorage. Thankfully we all made it there and back in one piece, and with a bunch of great stories and photos to share.

Our main reason for going to Fairbanks was to see the northern lights. They didn’t feel like showing themselves while we were there, but we still had an awesome time.

Upon arriving in Fairbanks we checked into our hotel, Wedgewood Resorts (which was more of an apartment than a hotel) and my mom cooked up some delicious Korean BBQ. As soon as we finished eating, we drove another one and a half hours to Chena Hot Springs Resort and headed to the Ice Museum.

Absolutely everything in the building was made of ice - the floor, the walls, stairs, entire hotel rooms, chandeliers and more. They had incredible ice sculptures and an ice chapel, where dozens of couples get married every year. Ian and I pretended to get married again and my sister officiated it :).

We drank $15 appletinis in ice martini glasses while sitting on ice stools at the ice bar - definitely worth it.

We then headed to the infamous natural hot springs. After changing into our swimsuits in the less-than-glamorous locker room, we followed the signs to the hot springs. We passed the indoor swimming pool and discovered a nearly-frozen door to the outside - to the hot springs. We had to walk in the -30ºF weather (I kid you not) wearing nothing but our swimsuits through a dark tunnel of an unknown length to reach the springs. After only about thirty feet, we stepped into glorious 105ºF water - it was absolutely amazing.

After a couple hours of relaxing in the hot springs, we got out and drove on the icy roads back to Fairbanks. The next morning, we made a quick detour to North Pole, AK, “where the spirit of Christmas lives year ‘round”, to see the decor and the gigantic Santa Claus. It was not worth it, but at least I can say I’ve been to “the” North Pole.

Our trip to Alaska ended with a sweet Lez Zeppelin (all-female Led Zeppelin cover band) concert at the Alyeska Resort.

Happy Valentine's Day

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:22:00 -0800

We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I was still super ecstatic when I got this in the mail from my mom. She is so sweet and romantic!

Ian and I spent Valentine’s Day getting cheap, delicious and unhealthy burgers from Brunch Box.

(The burger on the right is my favorite burger ever and it’s called the YouCanHasCheeseburger - a cheeseburger between two texas-toast grilled cheese sandwiches.)

It was a good day for my belly.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:04:06 -0800

Ian and I made pie last week. It was amazing. Try this recipe. You won’t regret it.

I substituted tapioca for the cornstarch and topped off the pie with some homemade Cardamom-Vanilla Whipped Cream. Delish!

New Shop Item: Save the Dates!

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:44:00 -0800

I’m so excited to share a new item we have in our shop! (A large portion of that excitement is probably due to a caffeine overdose this morning.) BUT the other portion is from the fact that we finished a design for custom Save the Dates, which is now on sale at the shop. Check them out if you’re planning on sending some out or if you just want to take a peek.

Christmas in Alaska - Part 1

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:00:06 -0800

It’s a bit late, but I’ve finally gotten around to posting about our trip to Alaska:

For the past three years, we’ve spent Christmas and New Years with my mom in Alaska. Having been there three times before during the winter, you’d think I would have seen snow fall…a ton, however, that wasn’t the case. I had only seen snow fall once - it was very light and it was right as I was leaving for the airport to go back home. It’s a very depressing story, I know.

This year, however, when we stepped out of the Ted Stevens International Airport our nose hairs immediately started freezing and it was snowing! I was so giddy.

When we got home from the airport, my mom and I ran around in the snow. As you can probably tell, I was very excited.

Christmas Day:

I got my brother and Ian snoflings as a stocking stuffer. These things allow you to make snowballs and throw them really far without ever touching the snow. I was trying to encourage the classic snow ball fight that usually occurs between Ian and my brother every year. I ended up playing with it more than them.

We ate lunch at my mom’s restaurant, Wasabi Garden, and went to church for Christmas service.

We also made some delicious eggnog from scratch. It was taking way too long to cool in the fridge (37ºF), so we ended up leaving it outside (1ºF) because it was 36 degrees cooler. Crazy!

The next day, my siblings, Ian and I went snowshoeing at the Eagle River Nature Center in Chugach State Park with our rented snowshoes from REI. It was a beautiful yet painful hike because of the cold 0ºF weather that we hadn’t yet acclimated to.

It was so cold, that our hair and eyelashes were freezing - making it difficult to blink.

Ceremony - DIY Fabric Streamers

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:47:00 -0800

For our ceremony backdrop, we had seafoam, gray and pale red fabric streamers.

For the fabric, I used an old white bedsheet and bought a few white flat sheets from IKEA for only $3.99 each - way cheaper than buying fabric.

I used Jacquared iDye in Silver Grey to dye one of the sheets gray by following the simple instructions for the washing machine.

The seafoam and pale red dye were a bit tougher, because I wasn’t able to find specific dyes for these colors. So, I bought a small bottle of liquid dye called Jacquard Dye-na-Flow in Emerald Green (seafoam) and Salmon (pale red). For each of the colors, I filled a 5 gallon bucket with a couple tablespoons of the dye, added water and tested the dye with a small strip of the bedsheet. I added more water and/or dye until I got the color I desired and dunked the whole sheet inside the bucket and swished it around until the it was an even color.

I took them out of the bucket, wrung the sheets and hung them to dry. The pale red came out more pink then red, but by that time it was over 90˙F out and I was too hot and lazy to fix it.

After the sheets were dry, I ironed them and cut them up into strips about 3 inches wide (this step was the most painstaking part of the project).

Lastly, I tied them in random order to some thick jute I found at a craft store and then we stapled the ends to the bark of the trees.

(last photo by Stone Crandall Photography)

Used Bookstore Engagement Photos

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:13:00 -0800

Now, back to the wedding…

For our second round of engagement pictures (first one is here), we went to Ames Bookstore in Grass Valley, CA. This bookstore is absolutely amazing. If you ever find yourself in the area - you need to go here.

They have tons and tons of used books in every genre imaginable.

I got my vintage ~1950s dress on Etsy.

DIY Gold Fringe Photo Backdrop

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:54:41 -0800

Carol here, guest posting on one of the DIYs we did for the New Year’s Eve party.
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With the new year and all the January organization and shelving sales, I was determined to organize the office loft in my apartment. I received a shelving unit the week before our party and the best part, besides being able to organize my closet, was the large cardboard box it came in.

When Christine arrived the morning of the party, we stared at the box, wondering how we could reuse it to create an amazing piece of decor.

A coffee table covered with a linen?
A fort or cardboard box house?
Or maybe…an awesome backdrop?

Materials:

3 packs of gold fringe ($7.99/pack at Party City)
Double-sided tape
~ 5’ x 6’ cardboard (we used a shipping box taken apart and taped to create a flat rectangle)
Fishing line
3-4 large picture hooks from Ikea

1. Lay your cardboard box out and tape to create a rectangle.

2. Using double-sided tape, tape the gold fringe to the cardboard, starting at the bottom and moving up. Instead of doing straight rows (which could end up looking like thatching for a tiki-themed party), we laid out the fringe in diagonals and overlapped short and long pieces to create texture and dimension.

4. We ended up using three picture frame hooks which we just punched into the top of the cardboard and used fishing line to hang from nails on the patio roof.

The end result:

DIY Poof Swizzle Sticks in a Gold Mason Jar

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:25:31 -0800

This DIY is kind of a no-brainer - but I’m going to explain it anyways.

DIY Gold Mason Jar

Materials:

Mason Jar or other glass jar
Gold Spray Paint

1. Place the mason jar upside down on some newspaper or packing paper and spray paint the jar in a back and forth fashion about 10 inches away (follow directions on your spray paint).

2. Let dry.

3. Fill with utensils, flowers, or make swizzle sticks…

DIY Gold Swizzle Sticks

Materials:

Gold Poofs from your local craft store
Swizzle sticks or coffee stirrers (swizzle sticks would probably look better, but my sister had free access to some coffee stirrers - not stolen)
Jewelry Glue or Glue Gun

1. Glue a poof to the top of the stick. Done!

DIY Glittery Gold Wine Glasses

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:05:48 -0800

Materials:

10oz Clear Plastic Wine Glasses from Party City (base comes separate from the cup)
Gold Spray Paint
Gold Glitter

1. Lay newspapers/recycled packing paper on the ground in your work area and place all the bases onto the paper.

2. Spray paint one base at a time in a back and forth fashion and immediately sprinkle the base with glitter so it sticks without having to use spray adhesive. It’d be easier to do this with a friend.

3. Let them dry for a couple hours.

4. Shake off the excess glitter.

5. Fill with your drink of choice and add a swizzle stick (DIY coming up).

DIY Gold Bow Belt

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:23:58 -0800

For our small New Year’s shebang, I made a gold belt to go with my simple navy dress to give it some pizazz.

Here’s a quick tutorial:

Materials:

3/8” Ribbon (I got mine from Etsy)
Needle & Thread
Measuring Tape

1. Cut a 5.5” piece of ribbon.

2. Fold the sides inward so it measures about 2.5”. Sew the ends to the middle of the bow so you have two loops.

3. Cut two 1.75” pieces of ribbon. At the end of each piece, cut a small triangle shape. Sew the two pieces to the back of the ribbon you made in Step 2 (see picture).

4. Cut a 1.25” piece of ribbon and wrap it around the middle of the bow to hide the stitching in the front. Sew it to itself in the back to close it off.

5. Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to go around your waist + 2” extra. Sew the bow to the piece of ribbon where you want the bow to be along your waist - keeping in mind that the two ends of the ribbon will meet in the back.

It took about 20 minutes to make. I wrapped it around my waist and closed it off with a safety pin in the back.

A Belated New Year's Eve Bash

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:22:00 -0800

Since we spent the holidays in Alaska, our 2011 NYE festivities were a bit less glamourous than usual. We had already planned a trip to LA to visit family, so my sister and I decided to add a small New Year’s bash to the agenda.

We flew in last Saturday morning and made plans to have the party that same evening. Amazingly, we made the decor and the food in less than 8 hours. It turned out to be a smash and we spent less than $30 on the decorations. DIY posts coming up!

The menu consisted of small bites and holiday punch by Mrs. Lilien.

I give you "Wood & Grain"

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:09:58 -0800

I’m excited to announce that we’ve changed the name to Wood & Grain and the site has been completely redesigned…it’s about time! And it’s all thanks to husband and his mad skills. Get ready for some more crafty goodness and bits and pieces of our lives.