Watermark Tee

I found this craft on this site, via Pinterest and just had to try it. I made this for my niece, Olivia...as you might've guessed. Try it, it's so easy and fun!

 

Tag, You're It!

Don't throw away those Holiday cards just yet. Take a tip from my sister, Dianna (Cookie) Facci.

Save them for next year and make gift tags out of them. Cut out your favorite part of the card with pinking shears, punch hole, sign, tie on package with fun ribbon and enjoy the savings.

 

Holiday Cards

Here are some of my Holiday Cards and Invitations.. all available & customizable on Kleinfeldpaper.com

 

 

A crate solution for my stuff

I purchased this old Chesterman Co. soda bottle crate online. The company use to bottle several flavors until they took on a new client, Coca-cola.  Due to the rapid growth of Coca-cola, all the "flavors" were discontinued so the company could concentrate on bottling only Coca-cola in six and a half ounce bottles.

I was in the process of redoing my NYC bathroom and wanted it to be a bit more vintage feeling. I used an old sap bucket for a garbage pail, a metal milk crate to hold towels and this soda crate to hold my cosmetics and such...

 

Carving Out Time for Halloween

Just wanted to share this year's pix with you. I believe this is the 9th year I'm carving pumpkins with these beautiful children (only 3yrs with Ethan). They're getting old enough to carve them themselves, so me, Karen and Andrea take that time to catch up, drink wine and eat pizza. Love it!

Ethan is curious

Look at his cute face!

Ethan, Alexander and a Magnolia cupcake-faced Thomas

The Witches of Westside

Vivi as a Viking Princess

My niece Olivia wanted me to make her Halloween costume this year. I was honored. So, the day of the project there was not a fabric store in sight or at least not close enough. What to do? My sister Cookie had the idea of finding a shower curtain for the skirt and top. We decided on an inexpensive gold curtain for the skirt, some gold ribbon for trim, a curtain valance for the cape that was on sale...after 75% off, it was 25¢. We raided her moms closet and found a perfect top and necklace. We purchased long white gloves and embellished them with some fake fur and some bling. We purchased a gold crown & embellished that too with some rhinestones. I made the horns out of white cardboard.

We didn't feel like bringing the sewing machine out so we glue gunned and safety pinned everything! Olivia added her own touches with some glitter glue. We glued some feathers to a fabric rose that we ripped off of a cosmetic bag and pinned that to the back of the cape. Sorry these pictures aren't the greatest....but you get the idea. Olivia is excited to go trick or treating.

She's happy now that she has her fire poker...

back of cape

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured on Ehow.com. Fall Decorations to Make at Home with Kids

Three of my crafts are featured on ehow.com. Check it out and make some easy fall decorations with your kids!

 

Sharpie Nails

Ok, so I got a little bored the other night watching tv and took a black Sharpie to my red nails. I was trying to create an ombre effect. Next, I want to try painting my nails a light red or pink and then creating the same effect with a red sharpie...could be fun - or not.

Our "Back" Yard

I often show pix of the front or side of our house and garden, so I thought I would share a picture of the back deck. It's situated right off the bedroom and the sound of the trickling stream just puts me in another state of mind..quite different from what I hear outside my Upper West Side corner apartment!

This time of year the stream is almost non-existent but, believe you me, it has flowed up onto the deck...especially during Hurricane Irene. (video below)

The Petunias are doing just beautifully this year.

Now That's Just Super!

My good friend Cheryl mentioned her daughter Kaia needed a costume for a Super Hero Party. She showed me some outfits she found online and I said, "Oh, that's so easy to make! So I made it for her. 'Cause what crafter doesn't want to work with bright pink & blue sparkly fabric, gold sequins and glittery tulle? (To this day, I'm still sweeping up glitter) It took me a Saturday afternoon to make this outfit, cape and all! Beautiful Kaia and mom were thrilled! Check out the video at the end of the post Kaia made for me.

Got Henna?

So, I've been contemplating getting a tattoo. I just love the artistry of tattoos. I love the way they look on...um, most people and I'm not even scared of the pain associated with getting one. It's what do I want to have on my body for THE REST OF MY LIFE?!

So, I got henna-ed. It's safe, painless and temporary. It'll probably last about a week, week and a half if I leave my right arm out of the shower stall...

BEFORE HENNA FALLS OFF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy, Peasy, Reversible Tote Bag

The greatest thing about making your own tote bag is the control you have over the size, color, pattern, etc. I decided to design my own fabric. I used graphics from The Graphics Fairy and produced fabric through Spoonflower.com... which is a crafters/designers dream.

Not only is the bag reversible by turning it inside out, but I gave the bag two slightly different front panels for some variety. For a How-To Instructable, click here.

 

The Construction of Our Garden Arbor

Last weekend Gene and I decided the back of our garden near the stream would look better with an arbor. We felt it would pull everything together by kind of making an entryway to the stream. So we got out the pencil and paper and started sketching. This is what we built.

 

 

 

 

Take Cover

It was time for new cushions, something lighter and brighter...what was I thinking with the old ones? I purchased the outdoor fabric at Joanne's at 50% off....love! 

I covered the seat cushion by machine sewing an "envelope" - 3 sides of the fabric, stuffing the cushion in there and then hand sewing one end closed. Yup, it will have to be spot cleaned.  For the pillows, I cheated by folding the edges of a square piece of fabric under and sewing it directly around to the top edge of each pillow... so the other side is still a solid color. I always loved sitting under our pergola but now it's so much more enjoyable. It really makes me smile.

 

Your Table is Ready

I think most of you know I'm a garbage picker... and well, proud of it. I found this table on the street and knew it had potential. I used a palm sander with 80 grit sandpaper and then finished it with 120. Once it was sanded, I coated it with a clear polyurethane. I love the results.

I Can See Clearly Now

It’s gotten to the point where I can’t go anywhere or do anything without my glasses nearby. But the thought of hanging them on an ordinary eyeglass chain gave me the shivers.

So I created my own. I wanted something that didn’t look like an eyeglass chain but rather a pretty necklace. This is what I came up with.

I cut the flowers out of some scrap leather, coated the back with some white glue and molded them over a tablespoon!

I'm feeling lucky...

Some of you may know this already, but I love searching for 4 leaf clovers. Well, look what I found yesterday in my garden! There's even a 5 leaf clover in there.

THIS is why I bought a FIAT

Other than a smart car, not sure even a mini would've been able to get into this spot. I believe the Fiat is several inches shorter. I love my Fiat for this reason and many more.

My night at Per Se

Wow!, Oh My God!, Unbelievable ! It Melts in My Mouth! Amazing! These are just some of the words we all uttered at Gene’s 50th birthday dinner the other night at Per Se.

Large arrangements of cherry blossoms and forsythia greet us. We sit down at a beautiful table facing the East side of Manhattan. It happened to be a full moon, which was breathtaking. The statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus Circle is now eye level. Sharon and I get the party started with a flute of sparkling wine, Gene enjoys a dirty martini.

We open our menus and see that they’ve customized it. Printed on top is “Happy 50th Birthday Gene”. It was such a nice surprise. You get a choice of a Tasting of Vegetables or a Chef’s Tasting Menu. We all went for the meat. Gene chooses a wonderful bottle of Riesling to begin dinner with. There are so many things to describe but right off the bat they present you with two canapes, one was a tuile cone filled with creme fraiche topped with salmon eggs, just like a little ice cream cone. One bite and we knew this was going to be a special evening.

The server comes out with a bread basket filled with tiny baquettes of pumpernickel, sour dough and german pretzel rolls. He places 2 small dishes of hand-churned butter on the table. One is from a Vermont farm with only 7 cows, the other a salted butter from...hmm, I forget. And THEN, in the center of the table a beautiful silver tray appears with a large variety of sea salts. The server describes each one - all the different colors, tastes and textures from Hawaii, France, India, etc. All this just for a piece of bread! Our taste buds are exploding already!

Some other highlights: Moulard Duck Foie Gras... rich, buttery, delicate and smooth as silk. Was I really eating duck liver, yeah, I guess so. It’s served with warm brioche. I had only taken one bite out of it and the waiter takes it away...“wait, where are you going, I wasn’t finished”... only to replace it with a warmer one. Sharon chooses a bottle of Pinot Noir. The dinner continues with Spanish Turbot (split down the middle and filled with an English Pea Mousse), Nova Scotia Lobster, Herb Roasted Squab or Rabbit (I had the Rabbit that was deconstructed, mixed with something yummy and then put back on the bone. Wha?), Nature Fed Veal, Rappleree Cheese with Bacon Wrapped Date, Dragon Fruit with Greek Yogurt Sorbet, “Popcorn Cola” or Vanilla Genoise.

Then the server presents us with a beautiful wooden box of artisan chocolates and describes each one for you. There were 24 to choose from. Roasted Cinnamon and Orange Marzipan were the ones I had. I felt like Julia Roberts when Richard Gere presents the case that holds that gorgeous diamond necklace...yes, that’s how I feel about chocolate. THEN, just when you think you’re done, he comes back with a beautiful tier of chocolate fudge in delicate silver foil cups, a variety of French Macarons, truffles, bon bons and tiny, powdery chocolate covered hazelnuts.

We asked for a tour of the kitchen. So freakin’ organized, clean and quiet it was scary. Really, like an orchestra performing a silent and complicated piece of music or maybe a very simple piece of music...not sure how to describe it, but the chef definitely held the baton.  It was just another highlight of the night. As we headed out the door with our little canvas bag of sweets and copies of our menu, we didn’t feel stuffed, but very happy and fulfilled by the experience...and a bit surprised at the bill. Just about $1800 for 4 hours of bliss. We would all do it again in a heartbeat...or when our wallets recover!

I know I will remember this evening for a long time, I don’t think I will ever forget the crunch of that creme fraiche filled tuile or the texture and taste of that Foie Gras, something I cannot say about any other dining experience.

Eggstra! Eggstra!

Some of you might remember this picture. My sister and I made these bonnets for the 2009 5th Avenue Easter parade. That's me in the papier mache egg and Cookie in her vintage lampshade bonnet.

Every time I see this eggcellent picture...it cracks me up.