DECO AURORA: diy

Showing posts with label diy. Show all posts

Sunday, January 18, 2015

CENTER STREET PROMENADE WALKING TOUR

A rooftop view of the Anaheim Packing House & the Santa Ana mountains in the distance.

On my day off I tend to do anything that involves not staying home and sitting on the couch! There are cafes to try, places to be seen and cities to be explored So when I get a random day during the week by myself I do exactly that, EXPLORE!

This week I spent both of my days off pretending to be a resident of Downtown Anaheim. I always rant & rave about it and most people don'y have a clue what I'm referring to...so if you're one of those people welcome to my blog I hope you love it :) You can find yourself parking the car and having a mini day trip on the Center Street Promenade and here are a few of the places I visited this last week.

Although I didnt stop in this particular visit I have gone to Healthy Junk which is anything but. Its actually a very healthy place to eat that offers a vegetarian/vegan menu I believe.

Here is a view of the promenade, lots of benches and palm trees line the streets. Great for walking :)

Of course I had to make a pit stop at Gypsy Den! Love their Vegan Chili and Chai Tea Latte is to die for! And no the Vegan Chili doesn't taste weird or anything. Its surprising quite tasty, try it out sometime.

Here is an outside view of Gypsy Den. It's quite charming and great for people watching...I know I've done my fair share of it. LOL

Here's Loki after he dumped his water all over the place...silly pup!

Here is my server Alyse who loved Loki as much as he loved her! So cute!

After my little snack with Loki at Gypsy Den we took a stroll down the walkway towards the new Goodwill Boutique called RARE! Have you heard of it? It's a super curated Urban Outfitters inspired thrift store! Must check it out!

Did you know that you can learn how to trapeze in Downtown Anaheim? Well apparently you can and it looks pretty fun! If you're interested here's the # to call 1-877-9-SWING

After walking by the trapeze place I was coming up on RARE! Here's a few pics of the place below.

Tell me this doesnt look like Urban Outfitters! The only exception is it isn't $50 for a tank top...

Here is the main womens section that has all kinds of goodies and there is a rotating weekly deal like 25% off skirts etc.

Can I just say that I want this table and set of chairs? Of course I would reupholster it some psychedelic colored fabric. DUH

After stopping at RARE I walked on back to the Center Street Promenade to check out some other stores. There's quite a few I've frequented and some that I finally got a chance to go into and chat with.

Some super cool birdhouse action going on at the Ice Skating Rink! Did you know you can do that here?

I stopped by LOOK this cute boutique that has just charming things for sale and fun jewelry. I remember one time I went in here and went on a rant about something with one of the girls who was working there. Don't worry I just can tell if I have a good connection with people right away and we clicked. Don't you love when you can to a store and there is a person working there that's honestly cool?

This is the inside of LOOK! I bought one of the candles on the left of the table...makes our bedroom smell amaze.

After leaving LOOK I walked into the store right after called HOME ECONOMICS! It's really cool in there. They house ECO friendly, local and American made products and anything that isn't made in America is part of a charitable company. I was there for a bit talking about dog training tips for Loki and ended up finding a beautiful set of Quatrifoil Earrings...my fav.

Here is one of HOME ECONOMICS shopkeepers fav products they carry. The MAN CAN, a unique spin on soup cans, male inspired scents...read more about it here!

The really cute kids section inside HOME ECONOMICS!

Need some greeting cards, books or inspiring wall decor? Look no further!

After a few hours of walking through the Center street Promenade it was time for some coffee from INK & BEAN! This place has my heart in love with their iced coffee both Nitrogen brew and whatever the other one was lol...It's strong and smooth with really moody decor and a chill place to immerse yourself into whatever it is you do.

Shameless selfie..because I can.

The entrance to INK & BEAN.

The inside view of INK & BEAN. Can you see the floating books? Very creative.

Outside the window is just the cutest patio with an Airstream camper!

Well there you have it, my walking tour of Center Street Promenade! Hope you enjoyed, and if you have any questions let me know! And if you see me there say hi!

Since you made it to the end of my post, here's a special insider on whats going on at the Center Street Promenade this week!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

DIY raffia pendant light REVISITED

THIS POST IS OVER TWO YEARS OLD NOW BUT KEEPS GETTING HIT'S SO I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE IT AGAIN WITH YOU ALL. THIS IS A GREAT DIY PROJECT FOR DECORATING EVENTS AND YOU CAN USE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT MEDIA TO MAKE THIS PENDANT!

What a bright idea!

While brainstorming for additions for our Fall window display for Road Less Traveled I kept thinking about the moon and the sun. The certain way the Autumn sky seems to glow through the leaves and cast soft shadows. I wanted to interpret this somehow into the window display that Delilah had already started. I searched for ideas and came across this idea and thought I would try it myself. It never hurts to try you know.

BTW: Many customers love this light and ask about it.

Raffia-Michaels Craft Store

Punch Balloons-Party City

Mod Podge-Michaels

Paint Brush-already had

Sharpie-already had

Pendant Light Base-Cost Plus Market

What You Gotta Do:

This craft needs at least 2 hrs of invested time so gather a friend or sister and a beer to help keep you company :)

1. Inflate the balloon to desired size.

2. Draw circle with sharpie that is large enough for light bulb to go through.

3.Adhere mod podge to raffia while tying the raffia around the balloon.

4. Continue covering your balloon as desired and tie all ends of knots together.

5. Make sure entire surface has glue to ensure that it is stable when hardened.

6. Hang your balloon over night and leave newspaper underneath in case of glue drips.

7. Wait for at least 8 hrs for glue to dry and for there to be a hard sturdy surface.

8. When ready insert light base and either hang (using s brackets) or use as a table lamp.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

You Need To Visualize

They say you need to visualize what it is that you want in life. Well, here it is. I want to work for Anthropologie. I have for a while, and for the past few years been working on building my portfolio and style as a visual merchandiser and display artist for small business. I feel that it is time for me to become a part of something big, something that is part of the big picture. Become a member of a tight knit creative world where perfectionism is a godsend, and quirkiness is encouraged. So when I applied last week, I knew in my heart that this was where I wanted to be and that the hard work I have done will pay off. But you can still wish me luck on landing an interview for their open position :)

The second part of of getting where you want to be in life is immersing yourself in it. So this past week I went to 4 different Anthropologie stores. I went to look at and indulge in their displays, merchandise, vibe, and overall vibes. What I loved most is that though each store had a similar theme, you could see the uniqueness of each crafted display. I visited the stores in South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island, Pasadena and The Grove.

The third part of this process is to ask questions. So upon arriving to one of the locations I asked about a question I had in regards to applying online. And the following day I received an email from a manager. I instantly felt that this was working in my favor. I'm a believer in the secret. And the law of attraction. So I'm going to keep doing the three parts of this process, and I encourage you to do so too!

The following photos were taken at Anthropologie South Coast Plaza. I couldn't resist taking photos of the work that the visuals team had put together. What an amazing job. I want it all. Including the job!

Front and side entrances featured an abstract reptile design. Those blue hues are breathtaking.

The front entrance of the store is so effortlessly cool. Layers of textiles and home accessories.

Intimates in bright hues of salmon and neon pink caught my eye.

Double sided painted bag for those days when you want a bold or basic look.

Luxurious bedding, pillows and hand towels. Hard to pick just one fav.

Gorgeous clothing featuring sequins, exotic prints and cobalt, magenta and yellow.

An enticing view upon entering, we have spring embroidered, dyed, scents, and a floral backdrop. Everything you need to bring you right into a spring Sunday afternoon.

All photos by Maggy Slater
Taken at Anthropologie South Coast Plaza

Friday, June 8, 2012

Button Making 101

Back in April al of us ladies had a meeting at road less traveled and had a special button making tutorial as well! Tracy Gayer, Associate Director of GCAC stopped by to show us a few tips and tricks on button making. We snapped a few photos to show you how we made our super cool buttons for the shop/patchwork/craftcation. Its alot easier than it looks, especially if you have the right tools for the job. Thank you Tracy for showing us how to make buttons!

Stop by the store to pick up a button and show some love!

* I will be adding a video soon of this DIY tutorial stay tuned for updates*

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

DIY Card DIsplay

Its time again for another easy and fun DIY project that we have tested out for you! This time around we created a paper goods display out of an old door and base boards. This is a perfect way to display cards for at a retail space or photos or even books & artwork at home! We love how easy it was to make( we made it the night before we re-opened) and it is very customizable too.

DIY Paper Goods Shopping List

-paint

-scale

-old door (or new depends on what you can find)

-base boards(depends on how much you display)

-nails (2-3 per baseboard)

-eyelets (2 per baseboard)

-fishing wire/metal wire

8 Easy steps to making a paper goods display

1. The first thing you need is an old door, you can get these from a lumbar yard, craigslist or buy a new one from home dept. Once your door is selected make not of its width and write this information down.

2. Next step is selecting a variety of base boards which you can find at a lumber yard or in the scrap area of home depot. We chose 6 different base boards for our door. You will want your baseboards to have a thickness of 1" or more to display on top of. *Make sure that the base boards are cut to the same width as the door.

3. Lay down the door on the floor and place base boards in a way that looks appealing to you and will effectively display your art/cards etc. Now you will have a visual of how you want it to look so you can either take a photo or put a pencil mark saying the number order of the baseboards.

4. Now its time to paint those baseboards. You will do this separately from the door (less messy). We did alternating colors that matched the shop theme of citron, fuchsia and turquoise. You can choose any color you like. You can also paint the door whatever color you would like. We chose white as a background for our display.

5. Once the paint has dried on the door and baseboards you can begin assembling them together. Once again layout your baseboards in desired places and check with a scale that they are straight. Then you can nail the baseboards into the door.

6. Next you will get your eyelets and assemble them onto the side of the door 2"-3" above each baseboard. You can use your scale to make sure these match up.

7. Tie fishing wire/metal wire into one eyelet and pull across the front of the door to the corresponding eyelet. This forms a barrier for the artwork/cards to keep from falling down.

8. Begin placing your artwork, cards and books onto your super cute and easy DIY display!

Below: Are some photos of us in the process of constructing the display.