Cracked Logs

STUMP - table / light / stool 

Cracked Log Lamp 

Beautiful cracked log tables and lamps by Duncan Meerding. 

Tipi Shelving System

The "Tipi" shelving system by Joynout is so cool and versatile.
I love that it comes with the storage baskets made from Veta Vera grass imported from Africa.

The tipi shelving system is made of solid oak and comes in three colors: black, white, or natural. 

You can purchase one here. 

Feeling Green

Here's a collection of pins in the shade of my favorite green.

1.flyer mockup by Marin Design / 2. retro lamp via Lola Life Lines / 3. hand block bedcover by Gypsya
4. packaging design by Hinomoto Design / 5. Terracotta wall planter by Tailmore

NEW! Tie tacks

Original genuine leather tie tacks available in my shop.

Hand painted, hand cut, and sealed. 

Comes gift ready in my handmade box. 

Scrap fabric made beautiful

I can't seem to throw away remnants of beautiful fabric.
Here's a few things I've turned them into in the past....

embroidered denim

Japanese fabric 

hand dyed cotton fabric 

waste tie turned mens bracelet

recently

Right after Halloween, I dove right into creating things for the holidays.
This is the third year I will be participating in a holiday event at my children's elementary school.
I set up a booth and for 3 days my main customers are children from age 5 - 12 looking to purchase gifts for family and friends. I absolutely love this event, getting to interact with children all day long. It is so much fun for me to try and think like a 'kid' and produce products that the kids may enjoy gifting.
Here are a few things I've been working on...

Arrow- hand embroidered bracelets in array of colors! 

Felt hair clips - inspired by rudolph's red nose. 

Scandinavian folk print magnets- using recycled paper

Miniature notebooks - handmade with origami cover

Monogrammed felt keychains- a bit of plush for backpacks etc. 

Leather tie tacks - recycled genuine leather, hand painted.  

handmade boxes / packaging 

woodland ornaments - hand inked, glittered, and sewed. 

Ooh shoes !

Oooh! I want these !

Wave shoes designed by Marita Design in Finland.
You can purchase them here: Marita Design shop

Kiraku / Japanese Tapas / Berkeley, CA

The best meal we had on our trip was on our first night at Kiraku in Berkeley, California.
It is a small Japanese Izakaya (tapas) place owned by a husband and wife (the Saitos). They serve traditional Japanese small dishes with a bit of flair. The chef Daiki has many years of training in French cooking, and his wife runs the front of the house.

  "Kiraku" in Japanese means to 'relax'.

Mountains of Spice

The Himalaya Mountain Spice Shakers by Peleg Design are too cute!
You can purchase them here at the Marmelada TLV store .

DIY Outdoor Seating

We finally finished our outdoor seating! Here's the before and after photo.

When I first learned about this awesome cinderblock and wood outdoor seating on Curbly,
I was so amazed at how simple and ingenious this design was.
I instantly had to give it a try! The step by step tutorial can be found here at Kaylas Basement.

during...

What you will need:

12 cinderblocks (6 for each side)
4 pieces of  4" x 4" x 10 ft. lumber
concrete adhesive
cushions

How to:

*Tip: Make sure the ground is level before setting everything in place.

1. Start with one side.
    Set 4 cinderblocks vertically, and 2 that go on top horizontally.
    Allow approximately 8 - 9 ft. of distance before setting the next side of cinderblocks.

2. Feed the wood through one side to the other. Make sure you have at least 6 inches sticking
    out on both sides. If you want smaller seating, you may always trim the excess wood.

3. Once you are happy with the placement and size of the seating, temporarily remove the wood beams.
    Use the concrete adhesive to set the cinderblocks in place.

4. After the concrete adhesive has dried, feed the wood beams through the top holes of the cinderblocks.
 
We decided to paint the blocks to give it a bit of color.

We used Behr Paint in Island Oasis HDC-MD-09 for the cinderblocks.
We used about 2 small containers of the sample sizes in this color, available at Home Depot.
This amount will cover the outer sides of the cinderblocks only.

You can easily buy a cushion and be done with it at this point.
I recommend the "deep seating" cushion for this width, approx. 32".
They are available for purchase at such places like World Market, however, a cushion this size will easily cost you $200 or more, for the insert cushion plus the cover. I recycled a mattress pad (used for camping) that I found, cut the cushions to size, then covered it in leftover fabric from curtains I trimmed for the kids room.The curtain fabric was from Ikea, and it is just as durable as fabric sold for outdoor use.
I also covered four pillows in the same material.

I hope you have fun creating your own outdoor seating!

Heath Ceramics Tour

Our road trip to Northern California is fast approaching as we are working really hard to wrap up work before we leave! We were originally planning to make it all the way up to Oregon, but unfortunately we do not have that kind of time before the kids start school! However, we are very excited to be able to take a different kind of trip visiting places that our new to us since we've done all the city stuff already! One of our stops will be Sausalito, CA which I have never been. This is also home to the original Heath Ceramics factory. My favorite! I am very excited for the tour I was able to book for us.

Every aspect of their tile and tableware production, from clay-making to kiln-firing, is done right there in their Sausalito factory. The building was built in 1959 for Heath Ceramics. It was designed by the mid-century architecture firm Marquis & Stoller in collaboration with Edith Heath.

Pretty Shop : Lightly

I discovered a beautiful shop Lightly from Australia.
I love everything they carry, but here are a few of my favorites!