out & about // pride weekend

This weekend marked the Twin Cities' 43rd Pride festival, & boy was it a doozy. I mean, I don't have any frame of reference being that it was my first time going, but being there I could really feel the energy in the air. Everyone seemed so excited to be out & celebrating - not only LGBT pride but also this momentous occasion in American history. It was awesome. Here are a couple of snapshots from our exciting weekend.

weekend work | multi-colored bow tie

Hello, & welcome to a surprise weekend post! Normally I take weekends off, but in light of recent exciting events, I wanted to share this quick DIY with you. While I had made myself a shirt for Pride this weekend, Heather pointed out that she was without something fun & funky to wear. I didn't have any rainbow-colored fabric lying around, so I improvised with white cotton & acrylic paint to make her this piece of neckwear.

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Instagram @wecanmakeanything | Twitter @wcmanything

It's going to be a good weekend. The Pride festival starts tomorrow, which means lots of food, drinks, & evening fireworks. Sunday is the parade, which is officially going to be awesome. This weekend I'm going to buy at least a window fan if not an A/C unit so maybe it'll finally get below 80° in the apartment. & I'm trying to get my whole family on Skype at the same time for one big family hullabaloo (cue chaos). ALSO THE SUPREME COURT RULED IN FAVOR OF GAY MARRIAGE. So yeah. Good weekend. 

Happy Friday!

This week's links: 

A look at one of the few matriarchal societies in the world
Heroic cat proves once again that cats are better than dogs
Sorry doesn't cut it - stop apologizing, women!
21 insanely awesome tools & trinkets for cyclists (one of each, please. In the name of safety.)
Summer is here, gardening tips!
Poehler & Meyers are back with "Really?" talking about women's sports & it's amazing
I absolutely love seeing people do our tutorials. Please share if you ever made something you've seen on the blog! It truly brightens my day.

xoxo, 

-m.e.

Related // Both of my Pride-themed DIYs in case you missed them!

how-to // grid drawing

Ever since moving, I've been itching to make a map of Minneapolis to hang on the wall. Rather than free-hand it, I knew I needed a more accurate method to get all the proportions right. One brainstorming sesh later, & bingo - grid drawing came to mind. It's something I did a lot as a kid (I feel like there was a grid drawing activity in every coloring book ever made). Turns out it's really helpful, & by using a grid to draw out my map, I was able to sketch it accurately on the first go around. 

diy pride t-shirt (+ free stencil!)

Happy LGBTA Pride month, you guys! For this tutorial I've partnered up with the ever-fashionable Emily of That Cheap Bitch to bring you TWO tutorials for the price of one! Emily came to me with the idea to create t-shirts that showed our pride without infringing upon our sense of fashion. Check out Emily's awesome take on being out & proud using chic geometric patterns. Gah. 

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Instagram @wecanmakeanything | Twitter @wcmanything

When I lived in Tallahassee I visited every coffee shop in town more than once. I knew which one had the best drip coffee, which one had the better wifi, & which one was the best price per ounce. It was easy because there were only like six or seven places to get coffee. I haven't a clue who has the best coffee in the city where I've moved because there are SO MANY. I've visited about 2% of all the coffee shops in Minneapolis. When I Google search coffee shops, the red dots on the map look like chicken pox. The point being I'm a very happy person who is constantly caffeinated, & one day I will visit every coffee shop in MPLS. I'll make it my mission. 

Top links of the week:

• Barbie's heels finally hit the ground for the first time ever
• 100 years of fashion (also what happened in 1965 that we stopped wearing gloves all the time?)
• Some weird laundry tips, including using a tennis ball 
• I'm in love with these dip-dyed curtains
• ALSO THESE TEENY TINY MACARONS
• Tegan & Sara's Instagram account is nothing but Holiday the Cat, & that's okay.
• I HAVE LOTS OF FEELINGS because I am a sensitive person
• Read what Heather & I have to say about blogging over at Confessions of a Refashionista

xoxo, 

-m.e.

motivational iphone wallpapers

Lately I've been feeling sluggish. Uninspired. Constantly fatigued. Very blaghhh. You've been there, right? Sometimes it feels like it's just not your day (or week? or month? or year??) Rather than obsess about the gross feelings, I'm focusing on moving forward. Less dwelling, more doing. 

If you're looking for a little pick-me-up, download one of these inspiring iPhone wallpapers. Okay, maybe they're not inspiring, but they are fun. It's like every time you look at your phone it's rooting you on. Like having a personal pocket cheerleader! GO GIRL GO! You can do it!

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To use these wallpapers, get on your phone & click the links below to open the wallpaper you want to use. Then press down on the image until you're prompted to save it. Save & set as wallpaper!

• DON'T STOP
• GO GIRL YOU GOT IT
• KEEP GOING!

Here's to staying positive!

xoxo,
-m.e.


Related // More iPhone screens & free downloads on the Graphics page.

homo sweet homo sampler (+ free template!)

With the last of the wall art going up, the new apartment is finally beginning to feel like home - & since June is LGBTA Pride month, it's the perfect time to show off my favorite piece of wall art in the house.

Even though I like showing off my gay pride in my house, there are limitations. I'm not a huge fan of the rainbow color scheme. Not that there's anything wrong with rainbows. They're cheery, happy, bright - it's just hard to match all the colors of the rainbow to the rest of the decor in the apartment. That being said, I do want to make my house feel like my home. Plus I like subtle wit. The resulting combo? This little home blessing.

If you'd like to cozy up your dwelling with this homey sampler, you'll need:

• Embroidery floss:
• Black (lettering)
• Purple (house roof)
• Burnt umber (house)
• Off white (door & window)
• Green (grass)
• Aida cloth
• "Homo Sweet Homo" Template (click to download)

Print out the template & follow along with me! This sampler only took me about 20-30 minutes to complete, which is only like half of an Orange is the New Black episode. Unless you have no self control like me & power-watched the whole season already. Oops.

xoxo, 

-m.e.

Related // Tips on how to cross-stitch like a pro.

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Instagram @wecanmakeanything | Twitter @wcmanything 

I have taken some things for granted in my life. Most prevalent: air conditioning. There is none whatsoever in our apartment building, & even though I moved straight here from the Sunshine State, this heat is killing me. A/C, I miss you, & I'm sorry I never gave you the accolade you deserved.

I'm hoping to do some more exploring this weekend. Most recently we saw the Gold Medal Flour mill ruins. It was like something out of a movie - half-demolished buildings alongside the river, entrances to underground tunnels that were long barred up. We also took a stroll down the pedestrian & bike only bridge that crosses the Mississippi River. It's awesome to live in a place that's so supportive of non-automotive travel. 

Oh, & this weekend I hope to be a successful crafter. What are you guys up to this weekend? Let me know, I love hearing from you!

• Current fave Pandora station: Summer hits of the 2000s (what a great terrible time for music. Also whatever happened to JoJo?)
• Aquafaba is the new everything (also, shout out to my vegan brother who is ahead of the trends)
• Confession: I've watched all of "Say Yes to the Dress," & this article is accurate 
• I want to do all of the doggy DIYs!
• Gluten-free? Then this art blog is for you.
• Will Ferrell & Kristen Wiig are coming out with a Lifetime movie - no joke!
• Mama koala gets surgery, baby koala never leaves her side, I sob into a pint of ice cream 
• Tips for an all-around stellar picnic (step one, go outside) 

xoxo, 

-m.e.

Related // All the summertime DIYs!

c'est la vie

Why is that photograph of the beach floating in a bowl of water? Because sometimes things don't  work out the way you planned.

summer projects

Summer is definitely here & it's time to get outside & soak up that vitamin D! I'm taking advantage of the warmer breezes by riding my bike more, taking the dog on extra long walks, & keeping the windows open all day long. If you've got a little down-time now that school's out & the days are longer, here are a couple summertime projects to keep you busy (listed below from left to right):

Style your ride with a fancy bike pouch
Blueberries are in season - make a tasty cheesecake
Super simple coaster idea for your ice cold lemonade
Keep summer with you all year by learning to press flowers
Stay sporty with a bright leather cuff
Make a quick t-shirt bag for a trip to the beach

Don't forget to wear your sunscreen! That's no joke, you guys. I've already managed to get sunburned twice this summer. The damage to my skin is bad enough, but what's worse is this very unattractive farmer's tan I'm left with.

xoxo,
-m.e.

Related // Summer Edition links.

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Instagram @wecanmakeanything | Twitter @wcmanything

Sharing moment! I'm so delighted with our decision to move to Minneapolis. Honestly, I was worried. I'd never visited, I didn't know a soul here, & all I knew about the city came via the internet. So far it's been amazing, & I couldn't be happier. Maybe it was risky to just get up & leave, but I wouldn't change that decision. This has been a good week, & there are grand times to come.

Speaking of upcoming events, LGBTA Pride is coming up & this year I'm more excited about it than ever. It'll be an opportunity to see what organizations are out there & to meet members of our new community. We're living in one of the more progressive areas of Minneapolis, so lucky us, a whole bunch of the events are happening in our neighborhood! I've got a Pride-themed tutorial in the works too which I'm excited about sporting day of. 

• Pride you say? The ultimate Pride bucket list
• Also, check out this list of Super Gay DIYs
• Hairstyles through history, animated
• I've been putting my produce away all wrong!
• All the feelings I felt while moving, as told by the ever-psychic Buzzfeed
• Photographer Sarah Wong takes transitional photos of cross-gender children & they are amazing
• Don't know which book to read next? Try Whichbook!
• Love this powerful take on a varsity jacket
• The life & death of one man's label maker

xoxo, 

-m.e.

Related // My newly altered pants did not disappoint during my interview this week. Hooray for DIY style!

stenciled planter

Slowly but surely the new apartment is beginning to feel less foreign & more like home. Putting art on the walls really helped. So did finally emptying the last packed box. Having plants around makes it feel homey in here too. We brought this one aloe vera plant with us when we moved & just put it into this new DIY-ed pot. It says "YAY" because, why not! Yay to moving, yay to life, yay to new adventures, & yay to this plant somehow surviving the move.

In truth, we didn't really take any extra precaution when moving with the aloe plant. We kinda just shoved it in a plastic bag & threw it in the back of the truck. The message here being if you're not tough enough to survive being tossed around for three days, you're not welcome in our lives. No wimps here. The plant was a toughie & made it from Florida to Minnesota, & now currently lives in our kitchen. YAY!

This tutorial is a total breeze & only took about 10 minutes. To stencil your own planter, you'll need:

• A terracotta pot
• White acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Letter stickers (preferably vinyl, but paper works too)

The first step is to decide what you want your planter to say & then lay out your stickers. Use a piece of masking tape as a guide if you're having trouble getting your letters evenly aligned. Make sure you press down firmly on each sticker. 

Next, paint the pot with two coats of acrylic paint. Paint right over the stickers. I didn't paint the base plate for the pot, but it's up to you how you want to decorate yours! 

Wait for the paint to fully dry, then remove the stickers. This is where vinyl trumps paper in the sticker department. I used paper stickers for my pot, but the paper wasn't as easy to remove as vinyl would've been. I ended up needing tweezers to remove some small remnants of sticker. 

Done! Now fill that beauty with a happy plant. Yay!

xoxo, 

-m.e.

Related // Make your own tiny succulent pots with this tutorial. 

diy hideaway book tutorial

There's nothing quite like the ugly presence of very necessary technology. I like having the computer on, but I hate the look of all those wires. I enjoy printing important documents, but the printer is an eyesore. I like having internet, but the modem is so not cute.

While we may not yet have a solution for hiding all of the very-neccesary-but-very-blah objects surrounding our technological needs, Heather has worked up a fix-it for hiding the modem & other small electronics. Hooray! Can you guess where? It's a spin on this ever-popular hack of hiding things inside books, with an added level of discretion on the sides. This is the project Heather was cooking up a while ago. Looks like a normal pile of books, right?

Woah! There's my external hard drive! Ahh, I love it. So sneaky.

To make a hideaway for your modem, router, or other device, you'll need:

• An old hardcover book you can stand to part with
• Your modem, router, or other piece of equipment 
• An x-acto knife
• White or tacky glue
• A pen or pencil
• A paintbrush
• Something heavy (to weigh down the drying book)

Step 1. Pick a Book // Pick a book that will be large enough to hide your electronic equipment. Measure your equipment, noting the length, width, & depth. Find a book whose measurements are 1/2" or so larger in the depth & the width (not including the cover). The length of the book will have to be about 1.5" more than your equipment as we'll be keeping the sides of the pages for added discretion.

Step 2. Measure, Cut! // Open your book & lay your piece of equipment down on the first page, leaving space on each side. Trace the space you'll need for your equipment to fit, plus a little wiggle room. Start cutting away at the pages, starting from the spine of the book & going to the edge of the page. You won't be able to cut all the pages at once; you'll probably only be able to get five or six at a time. Take your time, & cut straight down. Retrace your equipment size as necessary.

Step 3. Seal It Shut // Once you've cut through all the pages, it's time to glue. Take your paintbrush & apply glue to the inside of the hardcover where it meets what's left of the paper. You'll also need to apply glue to the inside along the pages to keep them rigid & box-like. Don't skimp on the glue! Use a big glob so it soaks through a good portion of the paper.

Step 3. Wait // While the glue is drying, set something on top of the book. Don't clamp the book shut as it glues as this will change the dimensions of the paper by squishing it. Use a weight heavy enough to keep the cover & pages together.

Once the glue has dried, you're ready to hide that technology! Throw some other books in there too, really throw off the scent. Undercover modem!


xoxo,
-m.e.


Related // Looking for more life hacks? Check out our 1-step caramel sauce.