10 DIY | Watercolor Mug

Contributor post by  Caitlin of The Merrythought

Lately, I've felt like someone could come in and splash some watercolor patterns all over everything I own and I wouldn't mind it one bit. Unfortunately, in a few months, I'm sure I would be a bit annoyed with that decision. So I've been trying to come up with a few ways to add some faux watercolor splashes around my house. Last week, I was watching my cousin give herself a "watercolor" manicure and I thought, that would be a great technique to use on a mug! So I tried it… and it works!

What you need:
-White Ceramic Mug
-Old or Disposable Bowl/Container
-Nail Polish

How to make it:
-Fill the bowl with warm water.
-Add a drop of nail polish to the water and let it spread out. You can also use a skewer to swirl the color around a bit to give it the effect you'd like.
-Dip your mug in the water.
-You can use nail polish remover to remove any excess nail polish on the bottom and inside of the mug or sections that got messed up.
-Carefully pat mug dry with paper towel.
-You can repeat with additional colors if you want.
-Once you've achieved the look you want, let it sit for at least two hours.

I would recommend hand washing these mugs. (Although I haven't tried mine in the dishwasher yet!) Durability will also depend on quality of the nail polish a bit - just as it would on your nails. I let mine sit for about 5 hours then scrubbed them and they were fine. If you run into problems, try coating the outside with a clear coat of nail polish or a non toxic finishing spray.

About the Contributor

Caitlin McGrath lives in a small town in Western New York. When her face isn't hidden behind her camera, she's usually crafting and daydreaming for The Merrythought, where she is a part of the three lady team sharing DIY projects, recipes, fashion, home décor & and bits of daily life.

1 Announcing | Poppytalk Workshops

We are thrilled today to announce the first set of our Poppytalk-hosted workshops!  Continuing with our newest venture, bringing our online world into the real world, we're so excited to bring three workshops to our new space/shop here in Vancouver!  Our plan, when we first started talking about getting a space was to host workshops, learning from super talented folks, (whether it be from around the world or locally) and we couldn't be more thrilled to start out with three talented ladies (Rena Tom from San Francisco, Brittany Jepsen  from Utah and Karla Lim from Vancouver) in our first set of creative workshops at our Poppytalk space at 109 East Broadway in Vancouver, B.C.

As there is limited space for each class, we're thinking these spots might go fast.  We have listed them up on our online shop here. If you do find they have filled up, feel free to shoot us an email asking to be put on a waitlist, if you'd still like to attend. We may add extra classes if there is enough interest.

Paper Flower Wreath | Aug. 20 (5 to 7 pm)
with Brittany Jepsen of The House That Lars Built

Come learn the art of paper flower making! In this class, you will learn the basics of paper flower making, discover some great resources, learn how to work with crepe paper, and apply them to a self-made wreath. Materials are included. This class is taught by Brittany Watson Jepsen, blogger and designer of The House That Lars Built, a DIY/lifestyle blog with a focus on paper flowers. Click HERE for more information and how to register.


Beginner Calligraphy | Aug. 27 (5 to 7 pm)
with Karla Lim of Written Word Calligraphy + Design

Kickstart your love for calligraphy with this starter class with Karla Lim of Written Word Calligraphy and Design. This beginner's workshop in modern pointed-pen calligraphy will teach you how to use the tools of calligraphy, the various strokes and techniques, and also the alphabet from A-Z (both small and capitals!).  Click HERE for more information and how to register.


Retail Readiness | Sept. 27/14 (10 am to 12 pm)
with Rena Tom of renatom.net and Makeshift Society

Do you make and sell products to a loyal following online or at craft shows but want to see your work on the shelves of your favorite boutique? It takes more than having great products to earn a retailer's interest, trust and money. Learn how to approach stores and make it easy for them to buy from you from Rena Tom, founder of Makeshift Society, a coworking space and clubhouse for creative freelancers in San Francisco and Brooklyn and former owner of Rare Device, a boutique and art gallery in New York and San Francisco, which was featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lucky, Real Simple, Food and Wine and Martha Stewart Weddings. Click HERE for more information and how to register.

Stay tuned for more workshops planned, including weaving, photography, social media workshops and more! If you are a master in your field and would like to teach a workshop in our new space, please email us here, we are happy to discuss possibilities with you.

6 Blackberry Coconut Popsicles With Greek Yogurt

Contributor post by Lyndsay Sung of Coco Cake Land

Tough to beat freshly picked summer berries, ripe and bursting with flavour, a reward for sweating it out in the sun plucking the delicate sweet gems. I always like to consider a singular berry very carefully - they disappear into a mouth so quickly, but their tininess still took a long time to grow. Magic. 

Another summer fave? Popsicles of course! With the proliferation of ice pop molds in dollar stores and fancy online shops, there's no need to go without making your own! Literally the easiest dessert you'll ever make. It's such a treat to have a collection of frozen popsicles at the ready on a blazing hot day. A little mixing, a little freezing and then instant creamy blackberry coconut refreshment!

Blackberry Coconut Milk Popsicles with Greek Yogurt
Yields 10 Popsicles


Ingredients: 

1 cup of fresh blackberries
1/8 cup granulated sugar
11/4 cups full fat coconut milk
1 cup of honey greek yogurt
10 teaspoons of blackberry preserves

Make it:

1. Roughly chop your blackberries.
2. In a small bowl, coat the blackberries in the sugar and let sit for 20 minutes to macerate.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the berries, coconut milk and yogurt.
4. Pour the mixture 3/4 full into your popsicle molds.
5. Using a teaspoon, add 1/2 teaspoon of blackberry preserves into each mold, swirling slightly.
6. Freeze popsicles for 6 hours and bite into summery frozen bliss!

Meet The Contributor
Lyn­d­say Sung is a baker and blog­ger at Coco Cake Land. She loves super cute cakes, sweet design and snacks. She lives in Van­cou­ver, Canada with her hus­band and tod­dler son.

10 DIYs of the Week

A few cool projects we've come across this week:

1. DIY FRUIT MACARONS

How cute are these fruit macarons made with food markers. Get the how-to from Sugar and Cloth.

2. MONOGRAMMED CHEESE BOARD

A cool project to make for someone special. Instructions at Baked By Joanna.

3.  DIY GOLD DIPPED CERAMIC SPOONS

Make some ceramic spoons extra special using metallic paint.  From Sarah Hearts.

4. ICE CREAM DONUT SANDWICH

Make these adorable ice cream sandwich donuts. By StudioDIY.

5.  MAKE A PATTERNED FLOOR WITH LINOLEUM

Make a cool patterned floor using vinyl floor tiles. Instructions at A Beautiful Mess.

6. HANGING PAPER LANTERNS

A simple idea that looks lazer cut. Get the how-to at The House That Lars Built.

7. DIY WOODEN SPOON

Carve a spoon with the help of this how-to from The Merrythought.

8. DIY LEATHER NOTEBOOK

A cool Cricut Explore project by Vintage Revivals. Get the info here.

10 Best of DIYs | Botanical Prints Downloads

To continue with our "Best of" series for the summer, we thought we'd bring back this beautiful botanical prints post which was so popular from last year.  (A selection of downloadable botanical prints we found courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library). Check out the post below:

Free Botanical Prints Downloads

We've been admiring vintage botanical prints for some time and found some really pretty ones from the Biodiversity Heritage Library that we thought might work for a nice wall display.  We fixed them up a bit in photoshop and created pdf's to print out to share. These are all 8.5" x 11" making it easy for any printer.  We just taped ours up temporarily with gold striped washi tape but think they would look nice in some white RIBBA picture frames from IKEA (like above). Wouldn't they also make pretty wrapping paper?  Links to downloads below.

Download:

Fig. 1 | Fig. 2 | Fig. 3 | Fig. 4 | Fig. 5 | Fig. 6.

Images courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library.