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    Weekend Links

    January 30, 2015
    Photo from my Instagram
    TGIF! This week has been incredibly slow and I’m ready to enjoy the weekend. Actually, the reason that I’m so tired is because I’ve been having too much fun this week. I went to see the band We Are Scientists on Wednesday evening, and didn’t get much sleep before I went back to work the next day. That completely threw off my sleep schedule, and I’ve been trying to recover from lack of sleep all week. I think it’s needless to say that I’m really looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation in this weekend!  However, in between naps, I am also making time to finally go see the Hello Kitty Exhibition at JANM, so I’m excited to report on that next week. Until then, enjoy these links:
    -This recipe for Orange, Marzipan and Cardamom Swedish Buns looks delicious!
    -I’m all about self-care and self-love these days, and reading articles on these subjects has helped me become better about incorporating both into my life. These are a few articles that I enjoyed reading this week: 5 Steps to Overcoming A Major Setback, 5 Mantras to Comfort You When You’re Feeling Lonely, and Seriously, Let’s End The War With Our Bodies.
    -Speaking of self-care, I’ve found that yoga and meditation are extremely helpful when it comes to managing anxiety.  Can’t afford a membership at a yoga studio? Don’t worry about that because I’ve got you covered! Youtube has plenty of awesome Yoga channels and this is my current favorite.
    – I’ve decided that next year I’m definitely going to throw a Galentine’s Day Party! This week I’ve been reminded of how incredible all my girlfriends are, and I think having a day to celebrate our friendship is a great idea. If you’re into the idea, Paper & Stitch has the cutest post on how to throw your own.
    -I’m not much of a drinker, but this Blood Orange Rosemary Gin Cocktail sounds yummy!
    xoxo,
    Helen
    Beauty, Food & DIY, Outfit, Travel

    Farewell, 2014!

    January 1, 2015

     

       

     
    For those of you who survived the endless scrolling, thank you so much for following along this year. If you happened to miss any of these posts and you want to check them out, you can click the picture to link back to the original post.
    Although 2014 was full of many changes, it was a good year for me. I have to admit that the beginning of this year was kind of rocky for me for many reasons. It seemed like many of my friends were moving away all at the same time, I was having several doubts about my career and life goals, and just feeling very stuck. I started this blog as a way to keep me from becoming a recluse, like I usually do when I’m feeling anxious about life, and it has definitely helped me with that. I’m a very private person and have always been afraid to put my work out there out of fear of what others might say, but your kind words and support have been very encouraging to me in my efforts to be more adventurous. Thanks to this blog, in the past year I went on trips to Austin and Portland, worked on many creative projects, started working on developing my personal style, opened up an Etsy Shop, and had an outlet for me to express my thoughts.
    I have many goals for this blog in 2015, and I’m very excited to work towards accomplishing them. One of my goals is to use this blog to grow my skills set; I want to become a better photographer, learn new crafts, master the basics of coding HTML and CSS, and work towards better optimizing and monetizing this blog. I also want to diversify the type of content that appears on this blog; although I love putting together outfit posts, I also want to work on more DIY, decor, recipe, travel and inspiration posts in the upcoming year. Basically, I want to truly make this the lifestyle blog that it is meant to be.
    Again, thank you so much for your continued support and Happy New Year!
    xoxo,
    Helen

     

    Food & DIY

    D.I.Y. Stamped Holiday Wrapping Paper

    December 17, 2014
    Today I’m going to teach you how to make your own stamp and wrapping paper, which is very fun and easy to do. If you like being crafty like I do, but don’t have enough time to make something for everybody on your list, this is a good way to add a personal touch to all of your holiday gifts. You might remember that I already did a tutorial on blockprinting if you’ve checked out my handmade Valentine’s Day card tutorial earlier this year. Even though I used the same concept in this tutorial, I ended up switching the materials a bit in order to make it easier for you to create a print, which is kind of necessary when you’re using a much larger area of paper. Instead of making a printing block, we’re going to make a rubber stamp that is more easy to transfer on paper. This method also allows you to use an ink pad instead of printing ink, which makes for a much quicker clean up.
    SUPPLIES:
    X-Acto Knife
    Pen or Marker
    Speedball Speedy-Cut Carving Block or any other rubber carving block
    Ink Pad
    Cookie Cutter (Optional)
    STEP 1: Start off by drawing and filling in your design on a rubber carving block by using a pen or marker. If you’re not artistically inclined, you can do what I did, and just trace a cookie cutter–there are plenty of festive molds that are less than a dollar during this time of year.
    STEP 2: Use a linoleum cutter to carve out the areas around your design on the block. Just trace out your design and don’t worry about carving out the entire block since you’ll be worrying about these areas in STEP 3.
    STEP 3: Use an X-Acto Knife to cut out your stamp. Doing this will help you see the outline of the shape that you’re printing, and better determine the placement of your stamp. When completing this step, make sure to cut at 1/4-1/2 inch away from your design in order to make sure that you have something to grip when you use your stamp.
    STEP 4: Place your stamp on an ink pad and then transfer it on to the postal paper. Your print does not have to be perfect, but if it isn’t dark enough for your liking, you can always re-ink your stamp and print over the area again. Continue to stamp until you’ve filled up the area of wrapping paper that you’ll be using, and then you’re done! You can space out your print as far apart as you’d like. However, I found that it was easiest to create a consistent design by printing out one row at a time.

     

    I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and that you put it to use if you haven’t already wrapped all of your holiday gifts. As I said before, this is super easy to do, so it shouldn’t take up too much of your time. In less than an hour, I managed to carve out my stamp and make enough wrapping paper to package 4-5 presents. If you do end up making your own paper, make sure to tag @SWEETHELENGRACE on Instagram so that I can see your projects.  Have a great rest of the week!
    xoxo,
    Helen