enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

  • bringing fall in.

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    The flower stand at our farmer's market has been selling sticks with little pumpkins attached for the past few weeks. I haven't seen anything like them before. They look fake they're so cute. We bought a branch this weekend and I hope they'll last the rest of the month.

    I made a practice apple pie on Saturday using this recipe. We are planning on making apple pie and sweet potato cupcakes for Thanksgiving.

    I put out orange candles in our new candle holders and made the bed with dark brown sheets.

    I should note it's in the 80s outside. So at least inside, it feels like fall.

  • navy ball.

    Navyball

    Last night, we went to a ball to celebrate the Navy's 235th birthday. I wore the dress I wore to my homecoming dance junior year of high school. (I loved that dress.) Paul wore his fancy whites.

    Sometimes being a military wife is terrifying and frustrating.

    Most of the time it is humbling and makes me so very proud.

    photos with the iPhone ShakeItPhoto app.

  • sewing napkins.

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    It's possbile that cloth napkins are the easiest thing to sew. Cut out square. Fold in sides. Sew four straight lines. The end.

    Love the color mix.

    fabric from ikea. instructions from Simple Sewing.

  • around here.

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    I have a sketch book page filled with holiday decorations. I acknowledge that it's only early October, but can't help it. I'm going with metallics and white and wood accents, just like my West Elm obsession. It's going to be as DIY as I can make it… we'll see what happens in November.

    When we moved to California, I got a reseller's permit. It affects how I do business in three main ways. 1. I now collect sales tax for CA state sales. 2. I will be filing in July and paying sales tax to the state. 3. I can now purchase paper goods at wholesale prices. The venture into wholesale is awesome but overwhelming. I have the hugest box ever arriving on my doorstep soon. And from that will come 2010 holiday books. (Here is last year's.)

    This book looks awesome.

    Yoga is back in my life via this DVD. Right now, I only get through the first half hour but it's enough. Loving it.

    I just discovered and placed an order for postcards with this company. I have seen their samples and was impressed. Love that they are green and are semi-local (Berkeley, CA) to me.

    Have you seen No Ordinary Family? We watched the pilot early this week and enjoyed it. Pixar's Incredibles meets Heroes, before Heroes lost it's way.

    Thank you for your comments and support on the bread making post and DIY lanterns. I am hoping to bring so many more DIY ideas to this space.

  • DIY paper lanterns.

    Lanterns

    Or paper pumpkins? Or paper gourds? Or paper balls?

    I am not sure what to call these guys. I am totally in love with them though.

    This fall and holiday season, I am working on bringing a little bit of DIY decorations to our apartment and to this blog. I'm re-channeling my Paper Source days. When I worked there it was like, what do we need? A wedding cake? Make it out of paper. A tree? Make it out of paper. A flower? An owl? A pinwheel? A wreath? A cartwheeling monkey? HURRY, GET THE CARDSTOCK.

    And if we could do it there… I can do it here.

    Or at least try.

    These lanterns are totally inspired by the gourd place card kits that Paper Source sells. They are adorable. Probably my favorite paper kit next to this wreath.

    I just blew up the concept & hung them from the ceiling.

    Supplies needed : 8.5×11 cardstock in various colors, string or ribbon, a hole puncher, some sort of sticker or tape, a pushpin for tacking them to your ceiling.

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    Cut your cardstock into strips that are equal in length and width. I did 16 strips of 11" x 1" and 14 strips of 8.5" x .75".

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    Stack the papers and punch holes through the top and bottom of each strip.

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    String the strips on your piece of string or ribbon. Seal the string with a piece of tape or sticker.

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    String through the top holes.

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    Pull the string tight until the paper bows out. Tie off the top (make sort of a bow/messy knot. It just needs to be big enough that the string doesn't go back through the paper).

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    Fan out the strips until you have created a sphere shape. (For easy storage, just unfan and box up.)

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    Hang from your ceiling and secure with a push pin. (note : my string in the images shown ended up being too short. I just added some extra length by tying two pieces together. Your string length will depend on how low you want the lanterns to hang.)

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    Use different colors, sizes and lengths of string to create a cluster of autumn excitement.

    (And p.s. can't you just imagine these in red and green for Christmas? Or yellow and white for a baby's room? Or rainbow for a birthday party? Or orange and gray for a wedding? No? Just me, then?)

    Happy crafting!

  • the BIG mini workshop details!

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    GENERAL DETAILS :

    • a two week online workshop
    • November 1 – 12, 2010
    • will take place on a private blog with daily written posts and some video tutorials
    • designed for mini book beginners & people who have made mini books before but haven’t adored their results
    • primarily lecture based (with oodles of visuals)
    • incorporates never before seen samples
    • PDFs of class lectures and projects available for download at workshop completion

    CLASS WILL COVER :

    • photography for mini books
    • paper selection for mini books
    • telling short stories though words + images
    • various binding techniques
    • strategies for ongoing mini books + travel albums
    • strategies for completing mini books in one sitting
    • messy + tactile books
    • clean + simple books
    • my book building process from start to finish
    • and etc.

    CLASS COST : $22 USD

    Ready to register? Click HERE.

    The answers to many questions about the class can be found in the comments section on the orignial workshop post. But please let me know if you have more questions. 

    Thank you!

  • metallics, white and wood.


    Westelm

    I took a field trip this morning to West Elm. I can't help but be inspired in there. Makes me want to redecorate my house, throw a party and make some metallic and white books. I am so glad we are hosting Thanksgiving this year so I can play with table settings. Weird, I know.

    Above are some of my favorite pieces from their website.

    p.s. I saw a sign at the register that said there is a 10% military discount. I know Paul will be very excited.

  • my camera.

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    I decided to get a digital SLR ages ago. But then I got very caught up in the battle of what is best? Which is a lame battle with no winner. I went with a Canon because I have a Canon point and shoot (it's an old, discontinued model which is why it's so expensive) and because my film SLR is a Canon.

    So basically, familiarity was key.

    The Canon Rebel XSi was expensive, but not break the bank, which was huge for me right now. I bought it through amazon because I had some store credit and because it seemed to be the best deal.

    As with all major changes, there is a learning curve. I am shooting exclusively in manual mode (with automatic focus) because with more control usually comes better photos. I have taken a few (film) photography classes in high school and college and have an understanding of aperture and shutter speed. Being able to see the results on the screen and then make appropriate changes is such a blessing compared to the wait and hope method that came with film.

    I'm loving it.

    In fact, I am bummed I waited this long. The quality of even my first few shots already seems much better than what I could capture with my digital point and shoot. These photos are closer to the film quality that I am obsessed with. If you are like me and caught up the what's best drama, I recommend just picking something in your price range and running with it. Your future you will thank you.

    PS : I still do love my point and shoot and the fact that it fits in my pocket and can be dropped is awesome. It will continue to get a good workout as well.

  • on bread baking.

    Making bread always seemed like this impossible task. Something for real chefs. Which I am not. Something involving patience. Which I have not. Something that you needed a bread maker for. Which is not true.

    Since moving in with Paul, I have become the pizza dough maker. Pizza dough uses yeast. Pizza dough is just water, flour and salt. It gets kneaded and kneaded and then takes time to rise. As it turns out, it is really just bread.

    And I made that just fine.

    But real bread? Like a loaf? Like for snacking and sandwiches?

    That still felt impossible.

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    And then we got a big mixer with a dough hook. And while that is far from needed (no pun intended) to make dough, it's a huge help. And my impossible task suddenly felt a little more possible.

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    I started with foccia bread.

    Then I bought a bread baking book. Complete with beautiful photographs and simple instructions.

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    And out of flour and water and a bit of oil and salt and baking soda came awkward-looking but fantastic-tasting pretzels.

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    Then came Kranz Cake Babka. Known around here as "the twisty bread with chocolate chips." I'm a huge fan of this one, probably because it reminds me of the chocolate crissonts we ate every morning on our honeymoon. I picked it because the book photo is awesome and it looked challenging.

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    Soooo tasty.

    I have started to look forward to baking bread every few days. I am hoping to work my way through each recipe in my new book. Including the sourdough ones that involve a 5 day process for "building a starter."

    Right now, this make it from scratch food is so worth the work.

    (And I am considering #15 – try something new – crossed off the list.)

  • first sunday of october.

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    We drove north for about an hour this morning to check out a pumpkin patch. They run a few craft fairs each fall and I wanted to see if this was something I would want to sell my own shop goods at. (survey says : probably not.)

    We came home with six awesome little pumpkins.

    (And then we went to the local grocery store on the way home and found the exact same pumpkins for half the price.)

    But the trip was totally worth it. We bonded on the way there and spent the way home lost in thought. Aparently, I still do good thinking while sitting in the car. I have a few DIY autumn and holiday projects in my head right now and I am excited to share them over the next few months.

    October, let's get crafty.