Greetings From The Enchanted Pumpkin Patch

November 6, 2020 by mymateriallife

Halloween has come and gone, but you can still join me for a visual tour of the enchanted pumpkin patch. Did you happen to see the Blue Moon come up that night? It was spectacular. A quiet night around these parts, but there was definitely magic in the air … and on the ground. New tissue paper, cardstock and acetate covers for the lantern. Skeletons adorned with pumpkin heads made of tissue paper, glue and felt. I’m not sure I’d […]

Categories: Halloween • Tags: cinderella's coach pumpkin, halloween, pumpkin houses

Favorite Halloween Display Tricks & Techniques

October 10, 2020 by mymateriallife

What are you planning for Halloween? It’s a bit scary, the thought of anyone ringing your doorbell these days I know. I haven’t figured this year out myself. Will there be candy set out at the end of the driveway in individual little bags? Will there be Honeycrisp Apple Sangria for my adult neighbors? I don’t know, I only know there will be a display. Oh yes, there will be decorating! Here’s a photo from last Halloween. We hosted a […]

Categories: Halloween • Tags: disneyland, halloween, halloween display, handmade halloween, haunted mansion, madame leota, pink pixie forest ghosts

Uplifting Things to View on Your Screens

September 16, 2020 by mymateriallife

Hello. How are you holding up out there? I’m probably the only one in my household who is particularly well-suited to the quarantine kind of lifestyle but I tell you – after a month of these fires and the claustrophobic feeling of not being able to spend time outside or to even just open the windows because the air is so unhealthy, not to mention the terrifying stories you hear from those directly impacted – it’s a spirit sapper for […]

Categories: TV & Movies • Tags: bambu productions, dance of dreams, escape to the chateau, grand hotel, high seas, lucy wyndham-read, netflix, san francisco, san francisco ballet, vertigo

A Paper Gardenia for Anna

August 15, 2020 by mymateriallife

I’ve been wanting to make my Godmother a paper gardenia for a couple of years now. She turned 88 earlier this week so I figured it was time to get on it and make one for the birthday box I sent her. Why a gardenia? I think there is some nostalgia in it, but I can’t say why for sure. Anyway, it’s a relatively simple flower to construct and awfully pretty. I found the instructions in Jennifer Tran’s excellent book, […]

Categories: Paper • Tags: flowersmith, jennifer tran, paper flowers

Tante Marie’s Chocolate Apricot Ice Cream

July 22, 2020 by mymateriallife

So much has been happening in our country since the last time I wrote that it’s like a different time or a different pandemic now. I hope you’re staying well through it all – finding ways to move forward, connect with friends and family, and enjoy some simple pleasures. I haven’t made anything exciting to share with you lately, but I did make ice cream last week. The recipe comes from Lisa Prince Newman’s book, For The Love Of Apricots, […]

Categories: Illustration, Paper, Sweets • Tags: chocolate apricot ice cream, for the love of apricots, lisa prince newman, mary risley, mats gustafson, tante marie cooking school

Ten Years On, A Few Favorite Things from the Blog

May 8, 2020 by mymateriallife

My ten year blog anniversary was in March. It didn’t seem right to recognize it at the time, but after 501 posts and for reasons both personal and pandemic, I’m in a period of looking back. So here are some favorite projects that I’ve documented in this space. They’re not the ones with the highest traffic – not like this one that was picked up by HuffPost, or this one that was included in a list of “Impossibly Cool Crafts […]

Categories: Embroidery & Needlepoint, Kid Stuff, Paper • Tags: embroidery, kids' crafts, my material life blog, paper projects

Happy May Day My Dearies

May 1, 2020 by mymateriallife

These are both California natives – dusky rose poppies and lilac verbena De La Mina ♥  

Categories: Floral, Other Holidays • Tags: dusky rose poppies, lilac verbena de la mina, may day

A Weekly Calendar to Print & Bind at Home

April 25, 2020 by mymateriallife

Lately I’ve been wanting to make some kind of record of what happened when, so I created a little weekly calendar that I could use to jot some notes down. This allowed me to complete a brilliant little binding project from Jennifer of Sea Lemon. The binding for this calendar is all hers, right down to the use of a La Croix box for the cover. I’ve probably been holding onto that box for over a year now – whenever […]

Categories: Paper • Tags: diy, diy staple-bound book, paper, print at home calendar, sea lemon

Pleated Masks With Adjustable Headwrap Elastic Ear Loops

April 24, 2020 by mymateriallife

I made some more masks this week. This time I used the headwraps that I purchased at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago for ear loops – one headwrap cut in two provided two ear loops for each mask. I got an idea from a photo of masks on the Steele Canvas website for how to make the loops adjustable. It looks like some of their masks have a small loop that the elastic is threaded through on […]

Categories: Sewing • Tags: adjustable ear loops, coronavirus, diy masks, face coverings, new york times masks, sewing