rule of thumb

some great craft ideas using a little more than your thumb. enjoy!

 (via design*sponge)

 (via weefolkart)

(via groomsoldseparately)

 (via highheelsandddp)

 (via buttereggsandjam)

  (via grayhood)

These green reindeer are my absolute favs. 

crafty craft

Out of boredom the other day, I began this little craft that turned out to be pretty nifty. All I used were strips of paper (which I saved from my printmaking class) and fabric dye (food coloring works too). Enjoy.

I filled a baking sheet with water and dye. Remember to cover your counter with newspapers because the dye can and will stain your counter tops if you're not careful.

 

 

To get the gradient effect, I added more dye every round so, in my case, there's light pink to crimson.

I rolled the strips of paper until they swirled (the tighter you roll, the tighter the swirl is). I then glued them in sections and pinned them to the wall. Voilà!

 

This hangs above my bed in my room. Simple and pretty.

Joshua Tree, and then some

Last weekend was the first for many. My first time to Joshua Tree, Paul's first time rock climbing, Zulay and Zadie's first time dodging swarms of bees, Danny's first time running over a dog, and all our first time camping with a dude named Dennis.

 Dennis has been going to Joshua Tree even before Joshua Tree was a National Park. He's a 17-time El Cap climbing veteran. His job for the last 35 years is tree trimming. This guy has spent more time climbing than walking. After a long day of driving (an even longer day for Danny and Zulay, who were stuck in LA traffic, had a fender bender, hit a dog, and had to scour for a campsite before nightfall), the last thing we expected was to share a camp with the rock climbing mogul. He showed us the ropes (literally) to some climbs we wouldn't have been able to do without his lead and gear. Here are some photos.

                           

 

Doublecross. Such a freaky climb.

 

                           

 Headstone.

The weekend before, I had gone out to California (again) to see my sister and brother who were both around LA. We spent the day at Manhattan Beach before hanging out with our aunt and uncle, who took us wakeboarding and wakesurfing on their boat the next day (hence skipper zades).

 

And then Ryan and I celebrated three years of fun by a lake back in Tempe, Arizona. Who knew?