Mint

I’ll be taking off today and will be back on January 3rd. Wishing you all happy holidays! Thanks for reading Mint, and see you in 2011!

Spread the Love 2011 calendar via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Come visit me at Felt & Wire, where I’m sharing my favorites from their collection. My wish list is all about textures, patterns and books!

Most of our new-house projects have been of the non-glamorous, non-photogenic variety. We quickly realized that washing machine/plumbing problems and the busyness of the holiday season trumped decorating dilemmas, so our kitchen looks just like it did on the day we moved in, and we’re still working our way through boxes. But! We did make one big change… our dining room, which was inexplicably painted three different shades of white, is now a beautiful light gray with bright white trim. (You guys gave us a ton of great tips on the grey color, and we ended up going with Sherwin Williams’ On The Rocks).

And our ugly chandelier got a quick DIY makeover, which only took us an hour, some new bulbs, and a can of black spray paint. Voila!

This week’s recipe is peppermint chocolate cookies from Shared Sugar, and they scream Christmas. I’m ready!

MaeMae tweeted about this blog Dots and Lines are Just Fine last night, and I’ve been saving a bunch of posts for pattern inspiration. Beautiful!

Links to the original posts: 1 / 2 / 3

I love the bright whites in this restaurant, combined with the warm wood and terrarium light boxes. Designed by Y.A. Studio with Kelly Lynn Waters.

From Kelly’s site:

“A beloved fixture in Hayes Valley lost their lease along with their prized outdoor garden. Their move next door placed them in a dark pancaked concrete shell. With a wink to their previous space the concept was to create a garden setting in a space with limited to no light, through various means, of color, live terrariums, and materiality.”

photos by Lucas Fladzinski

For those who haven’t done letterpress or screen printing before, both processes can be kind of mysterious. We all know the end result is beautiful, but it’s hard to appreciate the skill that goes into it if you’ve never seen it before.

With my own clients, I often need to explain the printing processes I offer through Hello Tenfold so that we can choose a method that fits their project and budget. Below are some videos that will give a good insight into the processes, and are interesting to watch even if you’ve seen it before!

LETTERPRESS:

This Gestalten TV video on letterpress company Studio on Fire gives you a great look at a letterpress printing job from start to finish, and you also get to see a bunch of beautifully printed and designed work (they kill me).

SCREENPRINTING:

This (OK, slightly over-the-top) video is by screen printer Jonathan Capuano. I like this one because it gives you a good step-by-step of the basic process. But if you want a much faster run-down of how a professional print shop does it (more brief but confusing if you didn’t watch the first one) check out the video below by Threadless.

For another awesome screen printing video, check out Oil and Water Do Not Mix on OK Great. Designers Anthony Burrill and Happiness Brussels screen printed a poster using the oil that washed ashore in Louisiana after the BP spill, and used the money raised to benefit a non-profit who is helping with the cleanup.

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Howdy Do It came from “how do you do It,” the question Ellie & Margot found themselves asking about their freelance lifestyles, and so Howdy Do It was born, a column about the things we do to keep ourselves organized, inspired and on track.