Kid's craft gone crazy

I told you I was going to look around and see what creative things from my pre-blog days I could show you. But then things got a little busy around here last week, so I owe you pictures from that jumble of beads I teased you with.

Unfortunately, it doesn't photograph quite to the level it is in person, but I think you'll get the idea.



I made this 6 years ago. I have a slight tendency to get a little obsessed at times. This was one of those times. :)



Each bead is made from a triangle piece of a National Geographic magazine page. Every waking moment for a solid month was spent making this crazy curtain!! The outcome is actually quite amazing for a bunch of rolled up pieces of paper. All the colors come together and give it a lot of depth and movement.



Right now it's hanging up at a gallery space we have at work and has received a lot of great responses. Makes me laugh just a little since it is based on a kid's craft!! I guess what separates it thought is the sheer volume of beads that were made!







I'd kind of like to make another one, but on a smaller scale and at much more leisurely pace!!
Hope you enjoy catching a glimpse into my insane creative process!!

xoxo Lori Danelle


This post is linked to Today's Creative Blog.

Toddle Pallet Bed {2} Completed!

This last weekend I built a second toddler pallet bed for Big Sister! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the 2 of them together in their room. So stinking cute!!

I would like to make one amendment to my previous tutorial though. I take back the part about a sawsall being optional and "could come in handy." Unless you build your own, or somehow, the stars align, fate smiles upon you and you stumble upon the 2 most perfect pallets ever created with nails placed completely out of your way:
You're Going to need a sawsall with a blade intended to cut metal.



The pallets I had this time weren't in as good of shape. We focused on trying to find ones with slats that were close together, and since those are a bit scarce where I get mine, I couldn't be too picky! Some of the bracing was cracked on the pallets and so I had to do quite a bit of reconstruction with 2x4s to get the job done.

Big was ecstatic to get her new bed!

I laughed a little as I tore down her cute, white, store bought toddler bed and replaced it with the new pallet bed. I couldn't help thinking about all the commenters on Design*Sponge and Ohdeedoh who had very little good to say about the bed and what they might think if they knew I replaced a perfectly good bed with this one!! Oh well! My poor little hobo girls don't seem to mind!!

Unfortunately for you, I won't have pictures up until next week as I've been too busy building beds and celebrating the 4th of July this weekend to get any pictures. Plus, we're taking a much needed vacation this week, so while I'm planning some posts to go up during the week, I will not be around. Hopefully you won't notice too much that I'm missing!

Speaking of the 4th of July: FIREWORKS!!!

We took our girls to see the Nashville display.

OMG!!! Amazing. Truly. How have I lived here for 8 years and not ever seen them??

Plus, the only thing better than seeing fireworks as a child is seeing them as an adult with your young child. Big was absolutely mesmerized. Little was hilarious! This was her first 4th fireworks display. She was ooh-ing & aah-ing and every once in awhile she would just let out a scream of delight! Plus she kept holding both her hands out like she was trying to catch them! Too cute! I almost enjoyed watching her face more than I did the fireworks!

Hope you're having a wonderful day!

xoxo Lori Danelle

What I know about pallets

Since it keeps coming up, I thought I'd just go ahead and talk about it.



Pallets & Chemicals.

Pallets are made in all sort of sizes & materials. But if a pallet is made of wood, there's concern that it may harbor bugs. In order to prevent this, pallets are either treated with chemicals (which apparently scares 1 or 2 people.) (that was a tiny joke. . .) OR the pallet is heat treated.

Both of these methods get the job done and are indicate on the side of the pallet with the IPPC logo. Chemical treated pallets would have "MB" stamped on it, while heat treated pallets are stamped with "HT" Easy enough!!



So when searching for pallets, it's probably a good idea to go with ones that were not chemical treated, but heat treated. And you might want to stay away from food stores as your source for them as well because you never know what sort of rotten food has been sitting on them.

If you like the look, but still aren't sure about a used pallet, you can make one of your own with 2x4s and 1x4s like Jennifer did at The Little Things.

Another option is to buy them new. I'm sure you can do an internet search, but one source is Uline.com where you can pick your size AND they are heat treated. However, they do have a minimum order of 5 pallets. . ..

So there you go! I don't know much about them, but you now know as much as me!! And again, if anyone gives the bed a try, I would LOVE to see it!

Hope you had a great 4th!!

Plans for Saturday

I've got a truck bed full of pallets that I will be spending some time with tomorrow! Hopefully this one will go quicker (& with fewer trips to home depot) than the last pallet bed!!! You know, since I'm a pro now and all. ;)

xoxo Lori Danelle

And now I'm on Ohdeedoh!!!!

Always fun to see things you worked really hard on pop up on your blog reader!!



Especially when it's on a site that I admire so much like Ohdeedoh! However, once again, be warned. This site is VERY addicting. Amazing, but addicting. So if you should be doing the dishes, playing with kids, or getting that business proposal done, you might want to check them out a bit later. . . ;)

xoxo Lori Danelle

My new best friend (or Evolution of an X-acto knife)

As a graphic design student in college, I did a ridiculous amount of "mock up" projects and mounting things on black board. Thus began my relationship with the X-acto knife.



My first knife was simple, no frills. I was naive and didn't know to look for anything else. It got the job done, but was hard to hold and hurt my hand if I spent too much time cutting. Plus, it was a bit slippery. Not a good quality in a knife.

So I kept my eyes open for something better.



Something better came in the form of this knife. Seemingly the same knife as before, but wrapped in ergonomically shaped rubber, making it easier to hold and hang on to. Those hours at the cutting table became much less dreaded, though still not ideal.

I graduated college, got a job, and began to realize that my X-acto knife was always going to be a part of my life, despite what I had believed while in school. Projects still needed to be mocked up, but this time for a client instead of a professor.

This believe reached a new level about 6 months ago when I discovered paper cut art. Done entirely by hand, using only an X-acto knife or scalpel, intricate artwork was formed from a sheet of paper!!

I HAD to try it.

Immediately I was hooked! However, my dissatisfaction with my knife grew. I couldn't imagine spending hours cutting for years to come with the uncomfortable knife I was currently using. For simple mock ups, it worked wonderfully, but a project that takes 8 hours minimum of intricate cutting? Not so great.

Enter this beauty:



When I first saw her, I admit. I was skeptical. The packaging claimed to offer superior precision cutting and ergonomic control, but packages are supposed to say that sort of stuff.

Then again, what did I have to loose?
I bought it.

Best decision I could have made!! I love this knife.



I used it for the entire Nate + Lori piece and never once felt my hand or fingers cramp or get tired. So if you find yourself reaching for an X-acto knife somewhat often, head to your local craft or office supply store and grab one of these!! Believe me, I never thought I'd be giddy about a utility knife!!! And if the pink is a bit too much for you, don't worry. They have a grey and black version as well!

xoxo Lori Danelle

I'm on Design*Sponge!!!!!

So freakin' excited!!! Little Sister's bed is famous!!!



I am a HUGE fan of Design*Sponge and find myself on their blog multiple times a day, so it is an absolute honor to be featured! If you're not familiar, head on over, but please expect to be there for awhile!! You've been warned!

Today's really turning out to be a pretty big day for me! :)

xoxo Lori Danelle