Here’s another project that I recently finished for work. I wanted to play off a Día de los Muertos aesthetic but interpret it in a new way. Foam-core was used for the base and standard sewing pins to created the larger image. After that, I used bright thread to fill in the rest of the piece.

I love how it turned out and I have so many other ideas I can’t wait to try this technique on! This first one was quite ambitious and terribly time consumming but I learned some valuable tricks along the way. I’ll be sure to share more projects soon!

A few weeks ago I was struggling to keep my curtains in place. Every time I opened a window the rings would slide or my sheers would shift. I ended up using mighty magnets to keep the rings in place and they’ve worked out brilliantly! Best part, they’re so little that you can place them towards the wall and you’ll never even know they’re there. It’s such a simple and easy fix so I thought I’d pass the tip along. Here’s to drapes that always stay in place!

Well, I don’t but I’m pretty sure there are some ladies that enjoy a cold brewski from time to time. In honor of them and to people that are fond of drinking from glasses period, I created this pint for the design club at my office. Each month, a designer is selected at random to design an object. We typically do a series of things like t-shirts, or notebooks and now we’re doing pint glasses.

There are no rules other than to do whatever you want and whomever is in the club is stuck with whatever you design; a tall order for a designer and quite an terrifying one at that. It’s not every day that I can design without any restrictions. Admittedly, I was a bit overwhelmed at first. But once I’d made up my mind to design something pretty and overtly feminie, I just went with it!

The phrase on the side “may you enjoy many, many happy hours” is my personal wish to all that drink from my glass; whatever the beverage may be. Cheers!

Thank You by Drew Melton of The Phraseology Project

Hello again friends! Gosh, it feels like it’s been forever! Only three months away from blogland and I felt myself going a little crazy. I’m happy to report that I am finally feeling much better. I still struggle with some pain from time-to-time but overall I am encoraged by my progress.

I want to say a big thanks to all that sent me notes and good wishes. I can’t tell you how nice it was knowing I had so many people caring for me and thinking positive thoughts. I think it helped to take some time off from blogging and realy focus on getting better. Thank you agian for your support and patience.

Hi friends! I am so, so sorry for not blogging in so long. Some of you know that I recently had surgery for a severely herniated disk and I was feeling great for a few weeks. I was beginning to feel like my old self when I started suffering from similar pains again, only on the opposite side this time.

I’ve thought long and hard about this decision but I’m afraid I will be officially taking some extended time off from Twig & Thistle to rest and (hopefully) heal. I feel like I’m breaking up with a best friend or the sweetest boyfriend ever and I can tell you this hasn’t been an easy process for me. You all have been so supportive and generous with your comments and kind emails and I will miss all of you dearly. I’m not sure how long I”ll be taking or what exactly the future holds but I hope to run in to all of you again soon!

Before I say my final goodbye, I have one last DIY project that I had to share. (I managed to fit this one in when I was feeling tip-top) I’ve been drooling over this painted zig-zag rug by The House of Smiths and wanted my own little bit of chevron style so I thought I’d make a picnic blanket!

This project took me about 4 hours total but overall it was pretty easy. I bought a fabric drop cloth from Home Depot for $6.98, which is perfect for a picnic blanket since it’s backed with plastic. And since I was covering a larger surface area, I didn’t have enough vinyl to spare so I created a chevron template out of foam core to trace the pattern onto the tarp.

Once my pattern was drawn, I used painters tape to seal off the paintable areas – this part definitely took the longest. Once it was all taped up I got to painting with a roller which went relativly quick and dried overnight. I love how it turned out and I have so many more picnic blanket ideas now. I think they’d make fun gifts or a great way to decorate for an outdoor summer party.

Lot’s of love to you all and thank you again for visiting! Sincerely yours, Kathleen xoxox