simply sublime

Tattooed Easter Eggs

Ooh...I'm so excited!  The tattooed Easter eggs I made for the April issue of Country Living ended up on the cover!  (Well, at least some of the covers.  The magazine put out two versions, and the eggs are on issues at selected newsstands around the country.)  So just in case your copy doesn't have eggs on it, here it is:

And now, about the whole tattoo thing.  That's right, these eggs are "tattooed" with beautiful images I found online.  Most of them are from The Graphics Fairy -- an amazing free clip art site and one of my favorite blogs.  If you don't know about this site, you're going to become an instant fan.  I also found some beautiful graphics at the Vintage Moth.  These eggs were so much fun to make, and very simple. (The step by step instructions can be found on Country Living's site, along with links to all the supplies I used.)  But I have to mention one more thing here:  the eggs themselves!  I got these beautiful pre-blown eggs from Bracken Ridge Ranch.  The woman who runs the ranch is also named Jodi. She went above and beyond the call of duty to get these eggs to me in time for the story.  And when the box of eggs arrived at my house -- in shades of blues, greens, browns, and soft creams -- I was awestruck.  The eggs were simply GORGEOUS.   I couldn't believe the eggs "came" in those colors. 

Make sure to check out all the goodies for sale at Bracken Ridge Ranch.  You'll love the eggs, whether you tattoo them or not.

Happy Spring!

 

Cross Stitched Canisters

I just learned how to cross stitch about a year ago, and now want to embroider everything I see.  I designed these "stitched" canisters for the March issue of Country Living using a free embroidery font called Home Sweet Home:

(photo via Country Living/Seth Smoot)

You can find glass cracker jars like the ones above at the Container Store.  And the other day I saw some at Target, too.  Get the full set of instructions to make these kitchen canisters on Country Living's website, along with lots of other ideas for "practically free" crafts.  

 

DIY Heart Pincushions

I'm so excited to share my latest Country Living project with you:  Heart shaped pincushions made from vintage cookie cutters.  

(photo via Country Living/Seth Smoot)

These are really easy to whip up and make great Valentine's Day gifts.  Hunting for the cookie cutters is half the fun -- (I found the ones above this summer when I was in South Carolina, but I've also spotted several on eBay listed for just a few dollars.)  You can find all the instructions to make these and lots of other gifts from the heart on Country Living's website.  XOXO!

 

Bouncing Eyeballs!

A couple months ago, this box arrived at my door:

The box was filled with over 100 bouncing glow-in-the-dark eyeballs.  Oh, the things I could do with these eyeballs!!  And here's what I actually did with them:

(image via Country Living/Seth Smoot)

Just in time for Halloween -- make your own glow-in-the-dark eyeball wreath!  The wreath was a project for the October issue of Country Living.  And you can get the full set of directions to make this eery decoration (and lots of other fun Halloween projects) on Country Living's website.  It's surprisingly easy to whip up, and will glow for several hours.  

Now is also the perfect time to stock up on bouncing eyeballs for next year. When I made this wreath a few months back, I had to order my eyeballs (ha!) online, but with Halloween right around the corner, you might be able to find some on sale at Target or Michael's.  Happy Halloween!