Illustrated Menus Inspired by Chef Jacques Pepin

It's the week of Thanksgiving and I'm inspired by the great and endearing Chef Jacques Pepin. Over the years, he has taught us easy French meals through his TV show and a slew of cookbooks. I don't know if you're aware, but he's also one talented artist. His work has been featured in an exhibit and his favorite subjects include food, flowers, and chickens.

In fact, my husband and I acquired this print (that is personally signed) in 2020. It's displayed in our dining room and we find the colors truly joyful and love the abundance that it represents.

Chef Pepin has also illustrated menus over the years, memorializing food he's cooked and parties he's hosted:

via Jacques Pepin

via Jacques Pepin

via Jacques Pepin

Aren't they lovely? What a nice way to remember a meal!

So I thought, maybe I should illustrate our Thanksgiving Menus from now on using watercolor, brush lettering or calligraphy: 

Once the menu is finalized, I write it down on a sheet of paper (cardstock or watercolor paper would be my preference). I use a pencil, being mindful of the margins and the spacing at this point.

Then I use a brush pen while following the pencil marks that I made. I make sure the letters are legible and thicken all the downstrokes (as compared to the thin upstrokes). I let the ink dry then erase all the pencil marks.

Then I sketch out a border (I'm really feeling the autumn leaves outside my window) and fill it in with watercolor.

Here is the illustrated Thanksgiving menu that I made...TADA!

If it's a small party, I can make several copies and position one on each place setting. If it's a buffet, I can frame it for guests to know the names of each dish. Then I can send a digital copy of the illustrated menu together with the evening's photos to all of our guests. It's definitely a unique party favor showing the memories we've made.

That is how I'm turning a plain menu from blah to TADA!

To all of you who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving!

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Monograms on Luggage Tags

I'm happy to see you today!

Whether luggage or a weekend duffel bag, I'll always attach a luggage tag to it. It's my small guarantee that I'll reunite with it if it ever gets lost. It's happened once and the luggage tag did its job!

I have a good number of luggage tags on standby, mostly plain leather ones like this one. They look a bit "blah" so I'm going to show you simple ways to make them "TADA!"

First up is this leather luggage tag. 

My friend gave me these monogram stickers that I haven't used.

Stick one on, front and center, and instantly we've got a stylish monogram tag...TADA!

Before sticking it to the tag, the back of the sticker can be reinforced with glue for more staying power. 

These luggage tags are made of plastic and are waterproof.

To add a monogram, I make an outline using white pencil (erase mistakes with a paintbrush dipped in water). 

Then I color in the monogram with white acrylic paint and a size 1 paintbrush. 

It will look like this after it dries...TADA!

For the other luggage tag, I'll likewise make an outline of the monogram with a white pencil.

I'll fill in the letter with a matte gold paint pen.

This is what it looks like...TADA!

Add some personality and personalization to your plain luggage tags and transform them from blah to TADA!

Since we've got a travel theme going on, how about crafting your own passport case, shoe bags and sleep mask? 

If you would like new crafty ideas delivered to your inbox, please subscribe here. See you next week!

A Watercolor Project for Ink-Tober

Hello everyone and Hello November!

I participated in a month-long drawing project last October called Ink-tober. I did something similar a few years ago and this year, I was ready for a new challenge. 

 

I used the prompts provided by They Draw, also known as @theydrawandcook on Instagram. 

My ink of choice was watercolors (my favorite). I used watercolor paper and blank postcards. Colored pencils also came in handy for shading and highlights. Here, let me show you what I made:

Donuts and Dahlias

Mushrooms and Marigolds

Coffee and Chrysanthemums

Artichokes and Asters

Wine and Wisteria

Apples and Amaryllis

Soup and Sunflowers

Tea and Tiger Lily

Pomegranates and Poppies

Cake and Calendula

Pumpkin and Pansies

If you'll notice, I tried to do a raised or 3-D effect. I did this by gluing small pieces of foam board in between the watercolor sketches and the base background. I like that the sketches look like they're floating...TADA!

If you flip the artwork, they are mounted on postcards. I can use them as greeting cards for dear friends but I'll enclose them inside envelopes to protect the sketches.

It was a very fun challenge that encouraged making time in the day for mindfulness and creativity. I highly recommend that you do something similar!

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Happy Halloween

A spooky hello to all of you!

Do you celebrate Halloween? I enjoy dressing up, watching Halloween parades, and exploring the neighborhood for over-the-top Halloween decorations. One of the best places for decorations is New York City. Here, let me show you: 

There is a graveyard in front of this townhouse. I bet it looks even scarier at night!

If you move your eyes upwards, you'll see these spiders and the web that they're spinning.

Dungeon-like feels for this apartment.

How would you feel seeing these frightening characters right at your front door?

The skeletons are out of the closet and hanging out on the stoop. I think these black and white pumpkins are tres chic!

Here's another classy one using a black, white and red color combination.

Day of the Dead costumes on mannequins...they look so life-like!

Surely there will be a lot of tricks...

...as well as treats!

I hope you liked this tour of Manhattan during Halloween. You know where I'll be this Tuesday night -- checking out more homes and how the owners transform them from blah to TADA!

Have a fun and safe Halloween! If you'd like new crafty ideas delivered directly to your inbox, please subscribe here. 

Confetti Gift Tags

Hey, hey, I hope you're feeling swell today!

I've been repurposing different kinds of paper and making them into envelopes. Some of the materials I've used include a supermarket flyer, brown paper bags, empty chocolate boxes, tea packaging and scrapbook paper remnants. I use them to house greeting cards or to package little presents.

Let me add this to the list:

I found this at the Target Dollar Spot many years ago and I kept it with my gift wrapping supplies. It was unopened, of course, because I do that a lot. I stash things away to be used as craft inspiration. 

All they really are: glassine envelopes with confetti inside. The top section is punched with a cord detail to serve as closure and accent. Aren't they cute?

It's easy to tuck in a small card that can be personalized or you can write directly on the envelope and attach this to a gift.

I happened to have some white wrapping tissue that I rescued from a gift. Instead of tossing this, let's turn it from blah to TADA! 

I trimmed the paper into a rectangle measuring 7 inches by 5 inches. I eyeballed the shape of an envelope and trimmed the edges so that the paper looks like this.

Glue the two open edges of the paper to make the envelope, leaving the top side as the flap. Fold the top flap, find the center and punch a hole.

Make some confetti using paper scraps and a hole punch. Experiment with other shapes if you have other craft punches in your collection.

Put the confetti inside the envelope.

Since this paper isn't transparent like the glassine envelope, why not extend the confetti outside by gluing some on the envelope. We can even enclose a card with a power quote...TADA!

Thread cord or ribbon (this is a good way to use up any ribbon remnants you might have) through the hole as a finishing touch.

Look what we've made -- our own version of the confetti gift tag...TADA! Attach it on a gift so that even a plainly-wrapped package can transform from blah to TADA! 

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