My Picasso

This Picasso painting is called "Femme a la robe rose":

Okay, okay, so I don't own the real thing.

Not even a print. Or a postcard.

This is what I have:

It's a magazine tear sheet that I mounted...

...onto this blah, empty (but clean!) milk carton.

Here she is, sitting on my desk.

And TADA! I added a little drawer at the bottom...

...where I can hide small office necessities.

I may never own a Picasso piece in my lifetime,

but it's fun to pretend that I do.

Take care ya' all!

Got Milk?

Hello Everyone! I'm back from my break and I feel recharged! Thanks for your well wishes, I missed you gals, too.

This week, let's turn these empty milk cartons from

blah to TADA!

The first step is to wash the blah cartons with dish soap & water.

Allow to dry thoroughly.

Once dry, it's time to decorate!

TADA! A cute little bird house!

It's dressed up with scrap gift wrap, an old box for the roof, a real twig for the perch & stickers for the peephole window. My feathered friend, I got from Chinatown (you can get them at the nearest craft store).

Use it to add some cheer to a blank wall.

Or for a more utilitarian purpose, make a hole at the back using

a box cutter to stash your pens & pencils in.

Have a great day!

I'm On My Way Back

I'll Be Back in a Bit

Books for Cooks

Hey, hey it's finally Friday!

This entire week was about my new camera and

the super fun scavenger hunt that I participated in.

I'm now left with a bag of Polaroid-like photos.

Hiding them in a box would be totally blah,

making me cook up some new uses for them.

Here's one of the photos I took.

It was Item #23 on our scavenger list: books or magazines

for sale on the street on a Northbound Avenue.

How specific was that?!!!

TADA! I turned it into a gift tag.

The image is perfect for this second hand cookbook that I found!

No gift wrap necessary -- just a bow & a photo.

Plus a sweet note written at the back.

The photo can eventually be the bookmark!

Have a delicious weekend ya' all!

Can I Have Your Number?

This week, I'm showing off my new camera that

I got for free at a B&H summer event in New York City.

It was a scavenger hunt where we were given a list

of things to photograph around the city.

I had loads of fun & I'm left with loads of photos, too.

I'm figuring out ways to put them to good use.

TADA! I turned them into calling cards

to give to a new acquaintance.

{This number is for demonstration purposes only}

It's also a creative way to promote a business:

take a photo of a cake or a craft and

print information details on a sticker that

you can put in front or at the back.

More tomorrow!

Happy Thoughts

I have this new camera that's almost like a Polaroid,

spitting out a photo {with the lovely white borders}

immediately after taking it.

I have 30 or so prints that I don't want

to just stash away. That would be blah!

So I'm finding some good use for them.

TADA! I turned this one into a teeny-tiny

birthday card to fit a teeny-tiny envelope.

There's some space on the border to write a witty one-liner

and I can enclose a sheet of stationery if I want to

write a longer message.

It will be fun to see my friends' reaction when they look at

this Polaroid photo...so old school but so much fun!

Travel Journals

Yesterday, I told you about my new camera.

After a fun scavenger hunt, I'm left with these photos.

Instead of leaving them in a dark drawer,

let's make them useful!

Have I told you that I love to travel?

I keep these little notebooks for each destination I visit.

Before the trip, I write down places to check out like shops,

restaurants, markets, important phrases, basic etiquette,

cultural activities and unique experiences.

During the trip, it serves as a journal and a scrapbook

where I can stick business cards or found treasures

like a leaf, a ticket to a museum or a bus pass.

The prints taken from my new camera will now find

a place in the pages of my travel journals.

But for now, here's what I'm doing

with the prints that I already have:

I'll use them as labels for the face of each notebook.

It adds some visual interest...

And serves a functional purpose, too!

See you again tomorrow.

My New Camera!

Can I tell you about a truly enjoyable

summer activity I did recently?

Well, it all began here:

B&H is a little piece of heaven for photo & video enthusiasts.

They have an event space where experts conduct free seminars.

Yes, FREE!

From choosing the best camera, to lighting & composition,

to marketing your work. During the summer, they have

photo safaris & scavenger hunts. They lend you a camera and

the group hits the streets of New York City in search of

items to photograph. Prizes await the best photos.

Here's the camera we got to try:

The Fujifilm Instax Mini.

It works like a Polaroid camera (instant film).

We were also given a free cap & T-shirt!

{I love freebies...they're TADA!}

Cameras being handed out...

Plus boxes of film {we each had a total of 40 shots}.

After a short demo, we were given the list of 25 items

we had to find. We had 4 hours to complete the mission.

The output of the camera is this credit card-size photo:

Item #2 on the list: Tourist taking a photo

in Times Square

Item #14: Green park chairs sitting pretty

Item #22: A French Arch with a fountain in NYC

Item #16: An ice cream truck like Mr. Softee

Item #18: A man riding a horse, and getting nowhere

It took us from midtown to downtown on a sweltering day.

I was able to cross out the items in about 2 1/2 hours,

without taking a break -- I really wanted a prize!

But sadly, some folks who were faster and

highly skilled beat me to it {they gave

away B&H gift cards}.

We got to keep the camera though!

And that's a prize in itself.

I also have a stack of photos:

This week, I'll show you how I turn them from blah to TADA!

See you tomorrow, okay?

Mini Blueberry Pie

Happy Friday!

Here's the final installment of my bottle cap

transformation. You got it -- blah to TADA!

Don't these bottle caps remind you of tiny pie plates?

With this in mind, I made this mini blueberry pie!

It's my attempt at making Whimsy Girl's wee pie.

Check out her tutorial...it's a lot of fun!

Add a magnet at the back & use it on the fridge

to hold recipes for fruit pies.

Or use it to decorate a wrapped gift for

your favorite pie-loving friends.

Have an awesome weekend ya' all!