perfect for fall: pendleton’s national parks blankets
There are lot of things I love about the fall: the humidity all but disappears, I start drinking apple cider and tea in large quantities, and it’s finally hoodie weather again. Come to think of it, all the things I love about the fall could be summed up in one word: cozy. Things get cozier in the fall. Add Pendleton’s National Parks blankets to that list.
Pendleton has been making their world renowned, cozy wool blankets since 1909. They started making their National Parks line in 1916 when Great Northern Railroad founder James J. Hill wanted something special for his Glacier Park lodges’ gift shops. Today, Pendleton Woolen Mills continues to honor America’s National Parks with a collection of blankets incorporating frontier traditions with the spirit of each park. I’m partial to the Glacier Park blanket ($228) with its Bison, tee-pee, and bear silhouettes and the warm, sunset-invoking colors of the Grand Canyon National Park blanket ($188- $218).
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etsy find: little monsters keyboard
Anything that makes working in a cubicle more bearable is aces in our book. The Little Monster Keyboard, from etsy seller Killer Duck Decals, makes answering Monday morning emails much much more fun! The decals dress up a Macbook for just $12 with adorable, cartoon monster faces. It’s hard to pick a favorite key, but the caps lock ”ANGRY” makeover is hilarious.
photo fun review: make a customized view-finder with vacation pictures
We always like to make physical mementos of our family trips. Usually we order printed books through iPhotos or Shutterfly, but this year we found a new way to preserve our vacation memories: We made a 3-D View-Master Reel of our Maine getaway! You probably recall View-Masters from your youth, and all those amazing 3-D images of dinosaurs or scenes from National Parks. The site image3D.com helps you make your own reel using photos you’ve taken yourself. Click here to see the super easy to understand instructions to “build a reel.” You simply upload and edit your images just like you would a Shutterfly project. The key, says my professional photographer husband, is to use images that have a shallow-depth of field: The foreground is in focus and the background is blurry. The price for the first set is $25 and that includes a View-Finder. The more sets you order, the cheaper it gets. What a fun post-wedding gift idea, huh?
diy project: a tea towel tote via the curiosity shoppe at target
The smart folks at Target continue to give some of our favorite independent design brands a guest platform in their stores. Starting September 9th, they are unveiling The Shops at Target, and you’ll have access to one of the most creative stories in San Francisco, The Curiosity Shoppe. The spirit of The Curiosity Shoppe is to encourage your own DIY projects with other beautiful goods, so Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom, the clever team behind the brand, put together this awesome craft project — the “Tea Towel Tote Bag.” Here’s what you need to make this cute carry-all: 1 tea towel from The Curiosity Shoppe at Target (set of 3 is $10). 1.5 yards of 1” cotton webbing. 1 pair of scissors. Some pins. Thread. And, a sewing machine.
Here are the super-easy step by steps:
Fold tea towel in half, right sides together
Using a half-inch seam allowance, stitch up the sides of the towel, back-stitching at the beginning and end of each seam. Turn bag right side out. Cut the webbing in half to make the 2 straps.
Pin the ends of each strap 1” down from the top of the bag and 3” in from sides, making sure they’re not twisted.
5. Attach the ends of each strap by stitching a square around the edges of the 1” tail of webbing, removing the pins as you go.
Carry your new tote bag!
(And don’t forget to look for The Curiosity Shoppe in Target, starting September 9th!)
shelter-spotting: what we loved at nyigf, part two
Continuing our tour of what we loved at the NY International Gift Fair last week, we thought we’d show some of the more clever things we saw. A bit of whimsy always excites us. Look at what’s coming to stores soon:
Areware‘s mixed media wastepaper baskets, Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer.
Cracked Colander from Fred & Friends.
Exquisitely mismatched “hybrid” plates by Seletti from Italy.
And, from the design’s more prolific leading man, Jonathan Adler, comes his long awaited Junior line. Who says baby girls have all the fun?
Want to see more from NYIGF 2012? See this post.
