Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a lovely mother's day — especially you mom! Above: Mother's day breakfast printables designed by Yao Cheng/photographed by me — see the full post here.

Signs of Spring

Spring has taken hold of the magnolias, swathed their branches in the silk of curling petals, stained each flower a flushed violet. In other words, spring has sprung! To celebrate, we drove to an old estate south of the city a few weeks ago, to see the gardens.

Letter to Santa

A sweet little printable I made for Julep — it's a fill-in-the-blank letter to santa that folds up to become it's own envelope. Head over here to download and get the full instructions.

Scandinavian-Inspired Clay Ornaments

Air-dry clay ornaments are nothing new, but they're so easy and so beautiful in their simplicity. I finished up this tutorial for the Minted blog last week featuring a Scandinavian-inspired take on them. Head over to Julep to for detailed instructions and step-by-step photos.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Just dropping in to share a few projects from this month: a Thanksgiving invite and menu (above).


Printable cards to record the things we give thanks for. (Download them here)


A marbled favor box, to welcome guests.


Paper pumpkins to decorate the table (full tutorial here).

Gilded Gourds

Gold leafing is my favorite technique for getting a beautiful metallic finish. Unlike spray paint, it's odorless and easy to do indoors — perfect for this city dweller. Plus, it really gives better results than any type of paint I've tried. Find the full instructions for these gilded pumpkins on Julep.

Apple Picking

Our early autumn is dust and dried earth, wild grasses made gold by the heat. Branches low and heavy, fallen fruit rotting among the ditches and furrows. In September we drove north, out of the city, meeting high sun in the orchard and a measured coolness in the barn. Press and plow were still, half lost in shadow. We left with a jug of cider, passing through the yard outside where they were setting up for a wedding, stringing cafe lights in the trees.

Jewel-Hued Party Blowers

It's summer here in San Francisco, although I can't say it feels like it (60 degree weather anyone?). To warm things up a bit I made a bunch of these bright, jewel-hued party blowers for Julep. Join me over there for the full how-tos!

DIY Photo Ornaments

This is the final holiday project I created for Julep. I think it's a great way to repurpose photo holiday cards at the end of the season — set some aside now, and turn them into keepsake ornaments next year. Get the full tutorial over at Julep.

Print Ad Styling

Last fall I worked with art director Suzanne Shade to style and shoot this print ad featuring Minted wedding stationery (designs by Annie Clark and Cadence Paige). It ran in the winter 2012 issues of The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings and was truly a joy to work on — anything that involves velvet ribbon is pretty much a win in my book.

The Wind and the Sea

A few weeks ago we drove out to the point, where grey skies broke to windswept clouds over the ocean. I hadn't been to the lighthouse since I was a girl, too young to remember anything but the bright of sand and whitewash. I had forgotten the rooms and their strange quiet. The artifacts (circa 1880s), touched only by sunlight and dust. Can you imagine a life here? Overlooking the vast and ancient sea, the lore of a thousand years adrift on the current.

Wont you take a walk with me?
Down where the shore meets the wind and the sea.
I once sought my fortune there,
'Neath torrid sails, in tepid air.
In that place of crest and swell,
Where golden chest and porcelain shell,
Tarnish in the blackened deep,
Forgotten in a lasting sleep.

She Hates California, It's Cold and It's Damp

Road trips that start in the early morning are sublime. Filled with the promise of open highway and burgeoning daylight. Punctuated by quiet breakfasts, beachfront diners and old tunes on the radio. The cares of yesterday get lost in this world of scenic routes, unfolded maps and gas station postcards. It’s certainly true — sooner or later, wanderlust gets the better of us and we take to the road.A couple of weeks ago, I took a weekend trip with Brett along the central California coast. It was stormy sort of weekend - hence my title for this post (a peculiar lyric from this song) - but I managed to take some photos and compiled them in a little online magazine/travel journal. Click here or on the mini magazine below to read (Flash required).

A Belated Valentine

Hello everyone! February is just flying by, and so far it has been full of exciting changes. I turned twenty-three, relocated to a new city and started my first post-college job. Earlier this month I began working as a Jr. Graphic Designer at Stampington & Co. — an arts and crafts magazine publisher. Their range of publications includes Artful Blogging, Somerset Studio and so many others (I'm still getting to know them all!). That being said, I've been extra busy adjusting and getting settled, so I'm afraid this Valentine project I've been preparing for you is a little belated. I hope you'll still take the time to flip through this "Old-Fashioned Valentine Craft Booklet" to learn how to make vintage-inspired, classic Valentines. A free sheet of Victorian scraps is included as a download on page 6. Just click the mini-magazine below to read, or follow this link.

Snow Day

A few weeks ago we took a day trip to a nearby mountaintop. To muted skies and snowfall, and violent winds that whip in and out of an evergreen wood. All of us girls had cameras along for the journey; the photos above were taken by me, my mother and my brother's girlfriend Samantha. I gave them special treatment in Photoshop for a little extra winter wonder.

The End of November

I love this time of year. The way the sky fades at dusk, soft and pink around the edges. The last of the light gets caught in the trees, where pin oak leaves are red and vibrant in the early shadows. After sunset, chimney smoke lingers in the still, cold air.

Autumn Harvest

It is something of a masterpiece, stealing in quietly after the final days of an Indian summer, filling late September with its tinted light. It withers the leaves on the sycamore; reddens ripening apples. In October it is burnt umber and fire maple. Pumpkins blush, red-orange in the sun. Vines curl and decay in the field. And grapes, in a once royal hue, rot amongst the leaves that turn from green to dust. It is a season of life and languish, autumn. But how beautiful things are just before they fade.  
Above: Photos I took at the pumpkin festival hosted by my brother's college.

The Last Afternoon

It was one of August's ephemeral hours, the kind that should be bottled away in something less permeable than memory. Trapped under glass like ferns or fireflies. On the last afternoon the humidity lifted and Alexander and I walked to the lake by way of the old brick elementary. We left out the back, the screen door clapping against the frame as it closed. It was the time of day when tired sunlight falls into the trees and ink blue shadows make the woods seem deeper than they really are. There was a certain freedom in leaving the house that afternoon; something to do with the warmth of the air and a neighborhood familiar yet unexplored. Our dad spent his whole childhood here, and walking down those streets we felt the bittersweet timelessness of place.
(See Part I here.)