Easy washi tape Easter egg holders

If you need something to keep your boiled eggs from rolling all over the table, try making paper holders decorated with washi tape.

Download and print the egg holder template at 100%.


Apply decorative tape over the surface of each band. I used washi tape and patterned duct tape.

Cut out the bands and the slots. Since washi tape is slightly translucent, it's easy to see the trim lines through the tape.


Form each band into a circle and hook the slots together.

Have a beautiful Easter weekend, everyone!

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Floral Easter eggs with printable decals

I dug out some old hand-drawn illustrations I did ages ago and arranged them into little tattoos for Easter eggs.

If you'd like to make some eggs like this, download the free sheet of decals.


Print it on ink jet temporary tattoo paper and follow the application instructions on the package. It's super easy. After the decals are prepared, just place a trimmed shape on an egg (or yourself), hold a wet cloth on it for 10 seconds, and pull off the paper backing. Smooth out any wrinkles with your finger.

I used Silhouette brand tattoo paper purchased at my local PaperSource last year, but you can also get similar stuff from DecalPaper.com.

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DIY woven paper flag garlands

Remember Paper Matrix, the team behind those amazing woven paper hot air balloons? Now you can download templates for making fancy woven paper bunting. I love the scalloped ones. Head over and grab the PDFs!

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Must-have shirts from The Social Dept.

The other day I stumbled upon The Social Dept., a t-shirt company in Akron that's churning out all kinds of screenprinted goodness. If you're a designer, a foodie, a sports fan, or you reside in a U.S. state, they've got a shirt for you.

I was desperate for that screenprinting workhorse tee, so I wheeled and dealed. I whelt and dealt: gimme the horse, and I'll tell everyone I know about your shirts. Score! My t-shirt arrived in the mail, and I get the satisfaction of recommending this sweet little shop.


I asked Andy and Christy for more details about their business, and here's the scoop.

The Social Dept. consists of:
Andy Taray / Owner, Designer/Printer, Cat-Freak
Christy Taray / Owner, Illustrator/Shipper, Cat-Freak

"We are a t-shirt company made up of man, woman, and cats. We specialize in city and state pride with an overall love for good typography, good design, and a touch of sarcasm. We hand print all shirts one-by-one in our litter box sized workshop located in the heart of the Midwest.

Andy is a graphic designer by trade with a passion for printing shirts, cats, basketball, and eating well. Main duties around the workshop include designing, illustrating, the dirty work, and printing. He also runs a small design shop called Ohioboy Art & Design and has worked on projects for folks like Tony Hawk, JFK, Big Bird, KISS and some guy named Elvis, among others.

Christy is a fashion designer by trade with a passion for crafting, shopping, cats, and eating well. Main duties around the workshop include illustrating, shipping, crafting, the dirty work, and child negotiating. Christy has worked for several Taylors in her time... spending a good portion of her career cranking fine design for both Ann Taylor and Lord and Taylor, among others."
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See their handiwork right here!

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Make a paper Hermès clutch

If you need a fancy paper envelope for a card or gift, check out these DIY Hermès Jigé Clasp clutch purses. Choose your favorite design, print the PDF (fit-to-page setting), cut, score the folds, and assemble with a bit of glue.


I didn't make the Kelly bag when it was available, but figured I should give this one a shot just to see if it works. It was a bit unclear how the side gussets were supposed to go together, but I ended up folding a crease down the center of each panel and trimming a bit off the top so the sides would align with the front panel of the purse.

Choose from these designs:

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Washi tape thumbtacks

I decided the plain white thumbtacks on my bulletin board needed to be cuter. And by cuter, I mean oranger. I put a small piece of washi tape on each pushpin, smoothed out any fine wrinkles with my thumbnail, and trimmed around the edges with a sharp scissors. Cuter!

Speaking of cuteness, how about these dolls made from wooden sticks and washi tape?

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Make an origami bunny for your Easter table

Wouldn't it be fun to have a litter of origami bunnies for your Easter centerpiece? Do big ones, like this guy I made. Or decorate each place setting with a smaller rabbit. Or hide them around the house just for fun.

This bunny model is designed by Stephen O'Hanlon and demonstrated by Mari Michaelis in this step-by-step video. Mine is made from an 18" square of sketchbook paper. It's much thicker than origami paper, and thus harder to fold, but the resulting rabbit is quite a sturdy fellow. He's about 9" tall.

Then after I folded him, I saw these printable rabbit chocolate bar wrappers at Mini-eco. You could have a thoroughly origami Easter!

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Pretty, spring-like desktop wallpapers

It's a new week. Perhaps it's time to freshen up your desktop wallpaper or give your iPad or phone a facelift? Take a look at these lovely freebies from freelance designer Breanna Rose in Minneapolis.

And if you live in Minneapolis, my condolences. I've heard that today is blizzardy. Chicago is gloomy and wet. Ugh, I can't wait for spring.

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Library of Congress images for download

I'm always on the lookout for photo and illustration sources for work or personal use. When I saw this wall art idea in the April issue of Martha Stewart Living, I followed the source of the balloon illustrations back to the Library of Congress's prints and photographs catalog. It's a gallery of digitized images you can download and print, sorted by collection. All the images I looked at had "no known restrictions on publication," and in most cases, you can grab high res files ranging from 3"x5" to 11"x16" at 300 dpi.

The hot air balloons on the clipboards are from this collection. I also loved the WPA poster collection. Enjoy!

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DIY jewelry from paperclips and tape

My local library recently advertised a class for making paperclip chandeliers. Sadly it was for 6th graders, but it piqued my interest. I went home and Googled paperclip chandeliers (awesomeness!) and that led me to Lauren Manoogian's paperclip statement necklaces. They were sold at arty shops, and even Anthropologie had a version for $168. Yeah, you read that right.

I was compelled to try it. They're the perfect, brainless thing to fiddle with while watching TV, or you could keep your kids busy for hours making chains. Make necklaces, or bracelets, or heck, garlands for your Christmas tree next December.

Supplies: paperclips, colored masking tape or electrical tape, and (optional) jewelry clasps.


Just wrap a piece of tape around each paperclip, connecting them in a chain.


Add optional jump rings and a lobster clasp (cheap supplies from a craft or bead store) if the necklace won't fit over your head.


This one has strands of varied lengths.


Geometric designs are popular right now, too. First lay out a paperclip pattern to plan your design. Pick up the first clip and wrap it with tape, then pick up the next, hook it on and wrap it with tape. One at a time, attach a paperclip and wrap with tape, adding rows as you go.


I'm on the fence about whether this is anything I'd actually wear, but the simple concept makes me happy.

Folks in Cambodia are making them out of food packaging. Or if you get super ambitious, why don't you go ahead and make a paperclip stair runner? Shouldn't take that long. Ha.

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Manlike, a free font

Roydon Misseldine recently created Manlike, a free font with a name that made me smile. You may need to do a little custom kerning and some leading adjustments, but Manlike might be just the thing for a quirky logo or bit of headline type. Download it here at Pixel Pixel Pixel.

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Six DIY tutorials for scalloped accessories

Scalloped designs are fun and feminine. I prefer mine on the large and simple side so they look more modern and less fussy. For inspiration, here are some tutorials for scalloped accessories you can make yourself:

Scalloped Dresden bag pattern at During Quiet Time
Faux leather scalloped necklace from Nest
Scalloped tote bag at Frolic
Scallop of the Sea knitting pattern ($4) at Holla Knits
No-sew diaper clutch by Melissa Esplin
Leather zippered pouch from Monsterscircus (English instructions included)

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Printable chalkboard gift tags

Have you seen the printable chalkboard gift tags you can download free from Ellinée? Chalkboard graphics are all the rage, and these are particularly nice specimens. The tags come in a variety of messages; tie one to any gift and you'll impress friends with your artfulness.

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Marimekko desktop wallpapers

Marimekko, the beloved Finnish fabric company, posts monthly desktop wallpaper calendars on their blog. You can download the wallpapers in various sizes, with or without the calendar added. I love bold prints SO MUCH, but I have to admit it can be hard to find my files on top of them. So I grabbed a couple of the more subtle patterns for use on my desktop.

I'm signing off until Monday now; I'm headed out of town for a few days. See you next week!

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Easy-to-make St. Patrick's Day decorations

If you've got paper and tape, you can make some easy St. Patrick's Day decorations. Remember the wall of 3D paper hearts? You can use the same template to whip up some quick shamrocks.


To make these:
1. Download this heart template and print it on green paper. Or orange paper, if you want extra points. Nothing wrong with an orange shamrock, is there?

2. Follow the instructions in the original post for forming the hearts.

3. Cut some stem pieces and fold a crease most of the way up the center. These can be long rectangles, slightly curved if you like.


Each shamrock requires three hearts and a stem.


4. Tape three hearts together so their points meet in the center. Tape a stem on top.


5. Apply wall putty or a rolled piece of tape to the center of the shamrock, and stick it to your wall. A surface covered with these would be awesome, and then you could call it an "installation" and get extra respect.

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Jonathan Adler and Pantone at JCPenney

JCPenney is getting cool. They've got Jonathan Adler! I came across this announcement and got excited, then found this bedding on the website by Googling. Google sent me to the Happy Chic Katie duvet set and I starting clicking on related items. Ironically, typing "Jonathan Adler" into the search box on JCP's home page didn't yield any product results.


I'm guessing more items from Jonathan Adler's budget-friendly Happy Chic collection will appear online soon.

JCP also has Pantone products (thanks for the tip, Courtney). As well as collections from Michael Graves and Bodum, the Danish design firm. As part of a desperately-needed effort to reinvent themselves, JCP plans to open a collection of affordable designer shops and home goods boutiques inside their stores. Has anybody spotted these collections in their local JCPenney?

I haven't been to one since Christmas, where I saw those dog collars with ribbons I designed and picked up a really cute $15 blouse.

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Tutorials for storing your stuff

These little DIY projects might be fun for the weekend:
A tree-shaped holder for earrings at Projectville
A simple way to store your washi tape by Silly Old Suitcase
Leather card holders from Caila Made (bonus: these pouches are fab)
No-sew fabric boxes by Rashida Coleman Hale

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