Okay, we just have to say that we were BLOWN AWAY by the number of awesome submissions we received for our Painter’s Tape DIY Contest!! It was extremely difficult to narrow it down to 20 finalists, and I don’t envy you readers for the tough task ahead: choosing your favorites! We have separated the finalists into two groups of 10 projects. This is Group 1, and Group 2 will be posted tomorrow at 1pm EST. You can cast one vote only in each group, and next week we will share the top 6 finalists for one last round of voting before the winners are declared. Voting ends at 7pm EST on Sunday, August 19th.
Images of the first group of finalist projects and a little background for each are posted after the jump. Once you have admired, studied and evaluated them all, please CLICK HERE to cast your vote for Round 1 (PLEASE NOTE: The voting page will open in a new window/tab). Again, thank you so much to everyone who entered — your level of creativity and craft are truly an inspiration to our team, and we are so honored to be able to share these amazing projects. And thank you to Scotch Blue Painter’s Tape for sponsoring this contest; it’s been so much fun seeing what you all have come up with. Good luck to you finalists, and happy voting! — Kate
See the first round of finalists and cast your vote after the jump . . .
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Brooklyn-based jewelry designer Aaron Ruff creates pieces that are equal parts romantic and gritty. His past life as a carpenter and cabinetmaker combined with his playful and nostalgic sensibilities are the blueprint for what is Digby and Iona. This androgynous jewelry line is comprised of several different collections that reflect Aaron’s new antiquarian style and dedication to his craft. I personally wish I could live in his studio! — Ginny
*Full Disclosure: I have been stalking following Aaron’s personal blog, a catalog of his vintage/antique findings, for quite some time now. All you vintage hounds should visit Grit & Steel and prepare yourselves for some serious Americana envy.
1. Design*Sponge: What is in your toolbox?
Aaron Ruff: Gooseneck hallmark stamps, ring mandrel, carving wax, tweezers, liver of sulphur (oxidizer), pliers, saws, jewelry parts, brass and silver wire and findings, unassembled castings, and a box of diamonds.
2. Design*Sponge: Fill in the blank, “When I am in my studio, I feel ______.”
Read the full interview with Aaron after the jump . . .
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One of the problems with iPads, tablets and ebook readers is that, while normal books cost just a few dollars, their electronic counterparts can set you back several hundred. The loss of a book can be irritating, especially if it has sentimental value, but it pales in comparison to the nerve-racking annoyance of losing one’s tablet or phone. In addition to their monetary value, the electronic devices we carry every day are stocked not only with reading material, but also photographs, contact lists, e-mails, notes and ongoing games of Words With Friends. To accidentally leave such a thing on a subway seat or in the back of a taxi can mean hours of agonizing regret and proverbial self-kicking. Fret not, dear readers. There is a solution!
In addition to using the fabulous Find-My-iPhone/iPad features that Apple has introduced, it can be incredibly useful to take a page from ye-olde paperbound books in the form of custom bookplates that grace the heretofore unused space of electronic lock screens. Ever since I switched from my woefully outdated flip phone to the touch-screen version of today, I have been an advocate of lock-screen bookplatery. Perfect for those times when you leave your device at a restaurant or bar (“It has my name written on it!” you can scream to the bartender over the phone), these cute reminders of yesteryear prove stunningly useful in our modern world.
Follow the simple directions below, and you too can live fret-free with your chosen electronic pal! — Max
Materials
- iPad/iPhone/smartphone/tablet
- scanner and/or digital camera
- Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or similar photo-editing application (Gimp is a great free alternative.)
- photo or scan of a wallpaper, pattern or texture you like (We used patterns from the V&A Museum’s series of pattern books. For a truly book-like experience, scan the endpaper of a book that you love.)
- vintage clip art book for images to attach to your bookplates (We used Dover’s handy-dandy book of nineteenth-century animal engravings.)
iPad/Tablet Directions
1. Create a Photoshop file with the exact pixel dimensions of your device’s screen. The new iPad’s retina display uses wallpaper that is 2048 x 2048 pixels. (It’s important to maintain a square format for iPad wallpapers so that it looks good in both portrait and landscape positions.)
2. Paste your wallpaper or pattern photo into your Photoshop file. If your scan or photo doesn’t fully fit the file, you can expand it while maintaining its proportions by dragging the image’s corner and holding down the Shift key.
3. Next, create a 500 x 800 pixel Photoshop file. This will be your bookplate. You can also use one of the templates provided in our bookplate package (download the .zip file here).
4. Design your bookplate any way your heart desires. For maximum insurance against loss, include your name, address, phone number and e-mail. Use scans from your clip art book to add some nice imagery to the top of your bookplate.
5. If you’re using one of the Design*Sponge templates, we suggest inserting your information with a contrasting font and color. We used the typewriter font Courier (standard with most computers) in a bright red.
6. Next, “Flatten” your image [Layer >> Flatten Image] so you can copy and paste all of your text and image layers into your final wallpaper file.
7. Copy and paste your bookplate into the wallpaper file. If using Photoshop, the bookplate should paste directly into the center of your file. If not, you can just drag your bookplate layer until it’s centered.
8. For some added flair, add a light drop shadow to your bookplate layer [Layer >> Layer Style >> Drop Shadow].
9. Save your file as a JPEG and e-mail it to your device.
10. Save the image to your device, set it as your lock screen’s wallpaper and BAM! Bookplate awesomeness!
11. For an added touch, also save your wallpaper file without the bookplate on top and make this your home screen’s wallpaper.
iPhone Directions
Download our pre-made iPhone wallpaper template as a .zip here or, to make your own, follow the directions below.
1. Start by taking a screenshot of your iPhone lock screen. To do this, turn your lock screen on and hold down your home button and top lock button at the same time. This will save a screenshot to your photo library. E-mail this photo to yourself.
2. On your computer, open your screenshot in Photoshop. This will allow you to arrange your “bookplate” information within the space created by the upper clock and the lower unlock button. If the lock screen information is too distracting, or you have covered it with an opaque layer, simply change the opacity temporarily on one of your layers.
3. After designing your bookplate, erase the background screenshot layer and save the file as a JPEG.
4. E-mail your final image to your phone and save it to your phone’s image library.
5. Set the image as your lock screen’s wallpaper. Ta-da!
Click here to download all template files as a zip.
Note: All patterns from the Victoria and Albert Museum are property of the V&A and are for personal use only.
I’ve always been a huge fan of objects that cross the boundary between art and furniture, and I find the idea of mixing art and fashion equally appealing. Combining art, fashion and home decor? Consider me obsessed. I’ve been noticing a few trends in scarves lately: big, bold patterns; painterly and photographic imagery; and exaggerated scale. There are so many beautiful giant scarves on the market right now, and I believe all of them would make amazing art for your walls.
I bought this Hex Dot Scarf from Salvor Projects (shown above) on Fab a while back and have been so happy with it ever since. I like to move it from room to room, and occasionally I take it down to wear for special occasions and then just tack it back up the next day! Whether you are looking ahead to gift-giving season or you’re in the market for something truly special to add to your wardrobe or your walls, I want to make a plug for these incredibly vivid, artful scarves. — Kate
Clipper Scarf from Louisa Parra. It’s not available online yet, but should be coming soon. You can shop her first collection here.
Light as a Feather: Meteor Scarf by Fieldguided. Unfortunately this style is sold out right now, but it’s my favorite, so I had to include it! You can see the full collection of scarves here.
These super-saturated collage scarves by Sophie Duran look amazing printed on lush velvet. There’s nothing tacky about these velvet artworks; they are definitely the coolest use of velvet I’ve ever seen. Her scarves have amazing names, too: This one is called “Aurora of the Hazy Woods.“
The full post (and more scarves) continues after the jump . . .
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The intersection of gardening and technology is always an interest of mine. I love it when that intersection helps prevent me from killing plants, but I’ll take any intersection between the two I can get. Bloombox is a new project from Nicholas Hyde that combines an iPhone/iPod docking station with space for a terrarium. The tech side of the project amplifies sound, and the green side provides room for small plants to grow. I hate it when tech products feel too cold or slick, so having something natural growing underneath would be the perfect balance for me.
Bloombox is currently being funded on Kickstarter. Nicholas is looking to raise funds to make a mother mold so he can manufacture multiple Bloomboxes to sell. Right now, Mudshark Studios in Portland, Oregon, is making the existing molds, but a mother mold is needed to increase production.
I’m backing this as we speak, so if you’re interested in finding out more about the project or backing it yourself, click here to read more or click “play” below to watch the info video. Good luck, Nicholas! xo, grace
Lovey dovey prints get me every time. What’s not to enjoy about giving or receiving something so sweet? 
