our graphic designers have made a new downloadable/printable calendar for 2011!
i can’t stop looking at it, they did such a beautiful job and have captured the mood of each month perfectly.
click here to go to our flickr page and download the large size – they made two versions, one for regular screens and one for wide screens :) enjoy and happy new year!
you’ve all probably seen an image of photos arranged in a heart shape before… i know it’s been done. i found this one particularly sweet though – i like how it consists of all images of deer. and it got me thinking about other variations you could try this with. i have this one wall in my apartment with nothing on it, so i think i might do something like this but i can’t decide what!
my first inclination was to make a collage of my favorite photos of various places i’ve been… but then i thought this might be a really fun project for the new year – making a collage of photos from the past year. i decided to try it out at work today using some of my favorite images from our 2010 catalogs!
it was really cool just looking back through this year’s catalogs and tearing out my favorite images. i feel like they just kept getting better and better this year – i didn’t think our team could top the august catalog shot in the desert in morocco, but then i saw september and fell in love. and wait till you guys see our january 2011 book – it’s breathtaking.
i don’t know if there’s a certain way to do this that’s easiest, but i started in the middle. it was a little tricky because my images were all different sizes. i wanted the camel image to be at the center because i love it, then i just worked around it, using different image sizes and rearranging them until they formed a heart.
i really like how it came out!
top image source.
this awesome photo was sent in by our reader jenna, who wrote:
“so i’m on winter break…and have a ton of free time. i bought a cheap ukelele and am currently teaching myself how to play via youtube. anyway, i was still bored, so i decided to decorate my uke using acrylic paint… i think it ended up looking pretty freepeople-esque!”
i agree! i love it so much :)
you can check out her tumblr here.
i can’t believe christmas is just a few days away… it always sneaks up on me! for today’s DIY i thought i’d give you guys a roundup of some last minute crafts. i wish i had time to do all of these!
a pretty fabric wreath… tutorial here.
a lace doily and christmas light garland – this would look cool with paper snowflakes too!
love these sequin trees…
… and these felt ones.
a pretty fabric fringe garland.
make your own ornaments with little bits of nature inside.
these little plastic figurines painted with nail polish remind me of our current store displays!
another creative take on a wreath.
and some really fun wrapping paper made with bits of crayon!
a couple of readers saw my stocking DIY a couple of weeks ago and sent in photos of stockings that they created based on the tutorial! i had to share cause they’re really cute :)
left: jeannie’s “charm stocking” with feathers and pieces of her own handmade jewelry.
right: a shorter version, from courtney – love them ladies thanks for sending in photos!
sorry for not posting the DIY yesterday!!
i may be a little late to the game but i just discovered the site craftgawker and spent a little too much time perusing page after page of crafty ideas – if you have not already heard of this site you have to check it out! these little felted acorns by lisa of lil fish studios caught my eye and i haven’t stopped thinking about them since. easy to make and just so adorable…i love projects where you can play around with color combinations and create different arrangements (a la andy goldsworthy). take a look at these and tell me you don’t feel inspired!
so cute! love the idea of using them on gifts this holiday season.
making the acorns is very simple, requiring just a few steps:
for the holidays add a little glitter for some extra sparkle :)
i explored lisa’s site a little bit and was also very inspired by her experimentation with natural dye:
pieces of felted wool, from left to right: nothing/undyed, dyed with carrots, dyed with parsley and dyed with pomegranate.
left – parsley dyed wool and thread; right – pomegranate dyed wool and thread
left – red cabbage dyed wool and thread; right – onion skin dyed wool and thread
such gorgeous colors. check out her blog here!
i’m sure some of you remember these adorable stockings we sold a few years back. i’ve been kicking myself ever since for not buying one – so i finally decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own free people stocking inspired by the ones above!
i went over to a.c. moore during my lunch break in search of a stocking and embellishments. they didn’t have the plain old red stockings i had in mind, but this knit one worked just as well. i also got some fake fur trim, ribbon, feathers, sequin trim, and some tassels and pom poms i didn’t end up using.
the only items i used from here at the office were a free people bag (which many of you may have!) and some strips of fabric from our display team.
the only other things you need for this project are scissors and fabric glue! your stocking might come out a little bit prettier if you sew things onto it but the glue worked just fine and was quicker :)
i started out by gluing the fur trim to the top and then worked my way down by adding different embellishments at random. it only took a little over an hour, and here’s the end result!
i’m really happy with it and it will look lovely hanging by my desk. now i want to make more!
if any of you are inspired to make your own stockings i would love to see photos! you can send them to blog@freepeople.com :)
such a sweet little sketch.
one of our fans tried the hand-drawn frames! it looks so much better than mine!
and a mini tree inspired by our store displays! so rad.
some of you asked for a tutorial on how to make the sequin hangers in our holiday displays… well ask and you shall receive! one of our lovely visual display gals was kind enough to put this together for the blog. the hangers are actually quite easy to make!
a hanger, scissors, needle & thread, marker, pins and fabric! we obviously used sequin fabric, but any kind of fabric works and would look great. i’m already thinking about all the other fun fabrics i want to try :) and if you can’t find sequin fabric, try looking for a sequin top at thrift stores!
steps (pictured above):
1. trace outline onto fabric 1/2” around outside edge of hanger – do this twice for front and back pieces.
2. cut out both pattern pieces on marker outline.
3. place the two patterns on top of each other, with insides of fabric facing out. pin together. sew tops together only, 1/4” in from edge of fabric, along pink dotted line. if you are using sequin fabric, we suggest sewing by hand – the sequins might break your sewing machine needle!
4. turn cover right side out.
5. cut small hole in top center of hanger cover. poke metal hanger through hole.
6. cover hanger with fabric. sew bottom shut by hand.
all done!
for today’s DIY i want to show you guys how to make snowflake panels like the ones in our new store displays! it’s actually really not as difficult as it looks, it just requires a lot of patience and good cutting skills :)
image via design sponge.
these panels immediately reminded me of a DIY i saw a while ago on design sponge – the only difference being the material. our team actually made ours out of paper first, and then had them laser cut out of felt.
what you need: paper or felt or whatever material you want to use (this is a great way to re-use old scrap paper or junk mail!), scissors, and glue or tape!
start by making as many paper snowflakes as you desire, in varying sizes, patterns and shapes – because no two snowflakes are alike ;) if you’ve never made a paper snowflake before, check out this tutorial.
once you have a bunch of snowflakes, start gluing them together where they overlap, alternating shapes and sizes as you please.
i’m going to keep adding to mine over the next few weeks!
for best results, hang your panel in front of a window and enjoy the patterns the sun leaves on the floor :)
in the spirit of today being wednes-DIY, i wanted to share some photos that our facebook fans have uploaded recently, showing how they’ve turned their fp bags into shirts!
very creative, ladies! i might have to try this as well…
*UPDATE: we have a winner! this giveaway is now closed.*
time for a giveaway! why? because it’s my birthday! :)
actually, our holiday displays have gone up in our stores and the fall displays have come down so we want to give away one of these pretty fabric covered urns! the vases were cast in india and covered with fabric from antique indian quilts and turbans, and decorated with beaded tassels. we have some in our lobby and they look awesome – this would be a great decorative piece for your home!
all you have to do is leave a comment below and we will select the winner at random on friday morning! be sure to leave your email address so we can contact you if you win. good luck!
*p.s. those of you who missed it, check out our DIY to make something similar to these!