More chatter / New Twitter
I started a twitter account that I share with Zoe- we will be discussing among other things- snacks, better ways to nap, walks, as well as a little design and other miscellaneous thrown in.
check us out @zoeandelsa
Project / Chalkboard Piggy Bank
This weekend I spent some time on a fun little project I had been wanting to get to for a while. I’ve seen many chalkboard piggy banks online and always wanted one of my own, but never really found the right piggy shape- so I decided to take a shot at it myself.
It took a good deal of digging online to find the right piggy bank. Most of the shapes were too rounded or cartoon-y, and some looked way to close to an actual pig. I finally found this shape and loved it, it’s a made from a mid century mold and based on Mexican piggy bank designs.
We had some leftover chalkboard paint from a chalkboard wall Tyler painted for us a few months ago, so I was ready to go. It only took one coat, since the chalkboard paint is very thick, and after drying overnight it was good to go.
Now we’re ready to start funding our Costa Rica trip- one penny at a time!
Materials:
Bisque piggy bank (I recommend ebay or etsy to find the shape you like best- I got mine from Lisa, she was kind enough to sell me an unpainted version)
Chalkboard paint (available at your local hardware store)
Small brush / warm soapy water
Friday Fun / FUD Meme Wallpapers
After a few very busy weeks I’m happy to share a little fun project this friday.
I made some wallpapers featuring my favorite meme, FUD. I can’t figure out what makes misspelling food so funny, but it just is. So here they are, with a couple iphone wallpapers to boot.
Happy friday!
1280 X 800 // 1440 X 900 // 1680 X 1050 // 1920 X 1200 // iPhone A /P // iPad
Stitchings / C3PO & R2D2
Two of my favorite Star Wars characters turned out to be my favorite stitching in the series so far. I found some gold thread and knew it had to be used for this, and I’m pretty stoked with the results.
See the others in the series here.
Wedding / Announcement Print
We posted some photos and a bit of background on our wedding print on our company blog:
For our recent wedding we were lucky enough to have the chance to commission our great friend Andy Kurtts to illustrate and print our wedding announcement.
We’ve been friends with Andy (and his wonderful soon-to-be wife Nicole) since college, and we’ve always been big fans of his woodcuts. Mr. Kurtts is a real craftsman, and it shows
in his work.
While planning the wedding a tree theme started to emerge, so we knew we wanted something that mapped back to where we had the ceremony, The Hoyt Arboretum. After Andy sketched up a few pine cone options, we fell for the coastal redwood and never looked back.
In addition to the print, we made a pair of stamps for the backing board that gave some info about the day- one in English and one in Spanish, which were stamped on each announcement accordingly.
We couldn’t be happier and more impressed with the results, our prints are a beautiful reminder of such a special day.
Andy has some process photos on his blog- where he posts projects including his series on Native Southern Flora, we definitely recommend keeping an eye on his updates./AWH
Stitchings / Star Wars Series
I’m a sucker for anything Star Wars related, so when I had an idea for a Darth Vader stitch and finished it, I just couldn’t leave it well alone- I just had to keep going. This is where the series is at the moment, I have R2-D2 and Yoda in the works, looking forward to get them going…
Flannel & Polka Dots: Tyler & Elsa Get Married!
This October 16th I was lucky enough to get married to my wonderful boyfriend Tyler in a small and beautiful ceremony with our family. We had always wanted a small celebration, so very early in our planning we decided to make it very intimate, with only our parents and siblings. Since it was a small event we did our best to keep everything simple and true to our personalities, celebrating a location (Portland, OR) and season (fall) that we both love so much.
The sometimes drizzly northwest weather was on hold for us and the sun was out all day, with bit of chill that made it feel like fall but wasn’t too cold (even for our Florida-based family). The ceremony was at the Hoyt Arboretum, which has the distinction of being a 10 minute drive from downtown Portland, but still gives the impression of hiking in the middle of a national forest.
The ceremony was short and sweet, and after we were treated to a beautiful song that my brother Bruno wrote for us.
Since we had such a small group, everyone was able to contribute in some way to the celebration- everything was homemade or locally sourced. The reception was in our backyard, where we prepared and cooked everything together.
As the sun set we toasted and ate under the bamboo stalks. The table, the food, the setting, the company- everything was beautiful and perfect, more than I could have hoped for but exactly how I envisioned it, and what more can a girl ask for?
View the full set of photos here.
A big thank you to everyone who helped make this happen- but mostly to our family for coming all the way out here
and making our day so special.
xoxo
Credits:
Photography by Kim & Chris of K. Miller Photography
Flowers from Lucky Farms, arranged by my mother Flor
Pumpkins and Gourds from The Pumpkin Patch in Sauvie Island, OR
Pie topper from Sian Keegan
Table runner and pennant decorations by my BFF Ayelen Carrasco
Flower garland decorations by Bonnie and Sarah (Tyler’s mom and sister),
from a tutorial at Once Wed
Pie and cupcakes by Bonnie and Sara respectively
Music by my brother Bruno and Tyler’s dad Chuck
Our adorable flower girl is our niece, Evie
The backyard was shared and lovingly landscaped by our landlords/neighbors,
Ron and Suzi
Elsa
Hair and makeup by my sister Gabriela
Dress from Anthropologie
Cardigan from J. Crew
Shoes from Seychelles
Veil by Tessa Kim
Tyler
Shirt from Epaulet
Boots from Eastland
Belt from Tanner Goods
Tie from John Helmer
Recipe / Tacos de Carnitas
Do you love carnitas tacos? do you?
Then you should make this carnitas recipe from Serious Eats. They figured out the best way to make them (you can check their work here) and produced a simple but flawless recipe.
We made it this weekend and were very excited with the results. The only suggestion I would add would be to substitute their salsa verde with my mom’s own salsa (recipe here) which can be made after you put the pork to roast in the oven- it will be perfectly cooled in the fridge and ready to go by the time the carnitas are done.
Go forth and make delicious tacos.
Recipe / Summer Jugo
It’s summer, it’s hot, fruits are in season- no better time than now to make some fresh juice!
Growing up my Abuela would make fresh jugo (juice) everyday at lunch from whatever was in season at Abuelo’s farm, be it mangos, papayas, or my favorite- passion fruit. As an adult I discovered aguas frescas- a mexican version of juice that’s less concentrated and low in sugar-which was perfect for me since I would always have to cut store-bought juice with water because of how sweet it was.
This season I’ve been playing with my own mashup of Abuela’s jugo and Mexican aguas. It’s actually surprisingly simple to make your own juice (no fancy juicer needed!), and to customize it exactly the way you like it.
Work / The Awards Show
I was recently asked to participate in a group show titled The Awards Show here in Portland curated by the wonderful Jen Davison. I humbly accepted and took the opportunity to work off the computer and make some fun one-of-a-kind stitchings.
I’ve always been inspired by Native American prints and patterns, so I decided to draw from the Navajo weaving traditions as a base for my medals, adding adding a more contemporaty color palette. I was very happy with how these turned out, and excited that one of my little ones found a home after show (Chester, who can be seen here).
Now the remaining three are up and available in my shop, ready for any kind of awarding situation, or just to remind someone of how great they are.
