Free Pattern Download from Alea Toussaint: Day 6! By: Grace Bonney

Happy Saturday everyone! Alea Toussaint has been sharing beautiful handmade pattern downloads on DS all week and she kindly agreed to make some for the weekend, too! So today we’re sharing pattern number 6: a playful piece comprised of mixed nuts, seeds and berries. This makes me want to pack a snack and head out for a hike today. CLICK HERE to download this new pattern for your computer or phone backdrop. Thanks, Alea and have a wonderful Saturday! xo, grace

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1J4A4si From Grace Bonney

LENDA Constellation Curtains By: IH guest

Materials: LENDA Curtains

We just added onto our house and I wanted a pair of curtains that would let a lot of light in but also be fun, since the room is largely used as a playroom for my two kids. My kids LOVE looking at the stars, so I thought constellation curtains would be a great solution! The LENDA curtains from Ikea were a perfect starting base! I cut off the tops of the curtains and folded the top over and sewed, creating a passageway for my drapery rod. Then I set to stenciling!

I could easily place my designs under the curtain and trace with a fabric marker and a ruler. It only took a few hours to put these curtains together and it was so much fun! I love the way they turned out. You can read more about how these curtains came together on my blog, here.

By Jill

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The Stall Ultra Slim Entertainment Center By: IH guest

Materials:

- Stall Shoe Cabinet

- Uppleva Cable Cover Strip

- Uppleva Wall Bracket for TV

My wife and I just had our first child and so space is now at a premium. The design of our apartment has the front door opening onto one of the walls of the living room, which was a major constraint in how we could lay out our room. The only piece of practical storage I could find for that wall that didn’t disrupt the flow from the front door was the STALL tilt out shoe storage bin. I loved the slimness and functionality of the Stall unit, but it still left a great deal of open wall underutilized above it. It occurred to me that our TV could be mounted on the wall and the unit could be used as a media cabinet of sorts.

For my Entertainment Center I have a cable box, wireless router, Mac Mini, External Hard Drive, Nintendo Wii and a PS3. The Stall (or Hemnes) shoe cabinet had plenty of space to contain these objects along with a couple of surge protectors and game controllers. Access to all of the devices is easy. Wiring is messy, but blissfully concealed when closed.

My bright little idea was a go but for two small problems encountered when the cabinets were closed:

The signal from my remote control to the cable box could not go through

The unit was not well ventilated, causing many of the devices to run a little too hot.

And so, here are the small modifications I came up with to address these issues and make this a fully functioning media cabinet:

For the Remote Control Signal issue I got a simple Remote Control Extender. The Next Generation Remote Control Extender was what I used, though there are a number of products out there that can accomplish this.

The Ventilation issue was also a fairly simple fix. I bought a thermally controlled fan cooling kit to install. Many kits will do, I went with the Coolerguys Cabcool 1203 Three 120mm Fan Cooling Kit w/ Thermal Control for Cabinet or Home Theatres because it had everything I needed in one package. How To Geek has a nice blurb on the components needed for one of these if you want to source the parts yourself.

The idea was to set two fans into the bottom of the box blowing cool air in and a 3rd fan at the top blowing out the hot air as it rises. For this reason it’s better to use the Stall line of shoe cabinet rather than Hemnes as Stall has small openings in the cabinets in place of handles, which provides a little extra ventilation (it also makes it a tad narrower which for me is always a plus):

I used 4 simple wood screws for mounting each fan (got them out of the Ikea picture hanging kit of screws and anchors, though any screws will do). I left about a half inch of space when mounting the fan onto the top cabinet to allow a little more air flow. The resulting air flow out is not massive, but it’s enough for my devices:

Next, I measured and cut some square holes into the bottom of the unit (about an inch smaller on all sides than the size of the fan). I originally thought to drill multiple holes but decided to cut them out. It looks messy but never gets seen with the finished product:

Mounted the two fans on the bottom of the unit and put the Thermostat component in the top left cabinet (the one that runs hottest):

And presto, a fully cooled, super skinny storage solution to contain all those messy media devices:

I used the Uppleva Cable Cover Strip and wall bracket for the TV mount.

A couple of notes:

These cabinets may not fit standard sized DVD/Blu-Ray Players. I use my Mac Mini and PS3 for DVDs and Blue Rays respectively so this wasn’t an issue for me. But worth measuring your devices before you build.

I was also lucky enough to have a wall outlet directly beneath the TV and in a position that matched the open space behind the bottom left storage drawer. Not critical as it’s certainly possible to run an extension cable in from the bottom of the unit. But certainly makes it cleaner if you can plan to encompass a wall outlet.

The cooling kit I bought can accommodate a 4th fan if you want to mount one behind the other top handle. As the devices on the right side of my kit were not being used regularly I did not bother getting the extra fan.

By Mike Mulcahy

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via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1GRLFLX From IH guest

Hackers Help: Does anybody know the name of this shelving system? By: laralovely

I loved this system – the end pieces were metal bars that came in either grey or black, and you clicked beech-laminated shelves into place at the fixed locations. Does anybody know the name of this system?

The post Hackers Help: Does anybody know the name of this shelving system? appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

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Alea Toussaint Pattern Download: Day Four! By: Grace Bonney

On the first day we moved upstate, I dropped my phone and the face splintered into a million tiny cracks. A new phone isn’t going to happen any time soon and since it’s still working, I’m going to use it until it won’t function anymore. To my delight, all of these patterns that Alea Toussaint designed for us this week still look pretty through my phone’s screen, even with all the cracks running through them. Today Alea is back with another handmade pattern, created from carefully arranged star anise and cardamom pods. This makes me want a hot cup of tea, but until that’s on my desk, THIS will be downloaded on my desktop. CLICK HERE to download today’s spice pattern for your desktop and phone wallpaper. You can check out more of Alea’s pattern work here on Instagram. xo, grace

*If you missed this week’s earlier patterns, here they are: Monday (citrus), Tuesday (green veggies) and Wednesday (tea).

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DIY Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs By: Grace Bonney

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Samin Nostrat for the first time and it felt like we all became instant great friends. She is one of the most delightful people in the food (and all-around) community and I’m so thrilled to welcome her for a special holiday DIY. Take it away, Samin!

I grew up celebrating Nowruz, or Persian New Year, where one of my favorite traditions was dyeing eggs to symbolize fertility and abundance for the new year table, or Haft-Sin. Now, as a professional cook, I marvel at the myriad ways food affects our lives and traditions beyond the dining table.

A few years ago, I met Kristine Vejar, whose passion for fiber-based arts is wildly apparent from the moment you step into her beautiful Oakland shop, A Verb for Keeping Warm. I began wondering — could she come up with a dyeing method that would yield delicious, properly cooked eggs with vibrantly colored shells? Does it always have to be one or the other? The answer is a resounding no!

On a recent morning, we invited friends, photographer Terri Loewenthal and artist and stylist Aleishall Girard Maxon, to lend their talents to this tutorial. Terri shot everything on medium format film, and the light was ethereal that day. Aleishall’s delicate touch made everything look even more beautiful than we could have imagined.

These eggs will thrill your eyes and your tastebuds. Use them to make egg salad, radish + egg and butter sandwiches, egg and anchovy toasts, or just snack on them with a little flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

DYEING TOOLS

-Saucepan or stockpot

-Measuring cup

-Measuring spoons

-Strainer

-Funnel

-Tongs

-Mason jars

-Wire rack

-Oil

DYEING MATERIALS

-White vinegar

-4 cups shredded red cabbage (1/2 head of cabbage)

-3 cups yellow onion skins (9 yellow onions)

-3 cups chopped red beets (2 large red beets)

-1 tablespoon turmeric

Optional and luxurious: 1 teaspoon saffron threads

This recipe yields enough to dye 10-12 eggs.

Credits:

Styling: Aleishall Girard Maxon, Studio Deseo

Photography: Terri Loewenthal

Dye Tutorial: Kristine Vejar, A Verb for Keeping Warm

Samin Nosrat, Ciao Samin

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1xY6Zhd From Grace Bonney

Alea Toussaint Pattern Download: Day Three! By: Grace Bonney

I love when artists can make me look at the most everyday objects and see them in an entirely different way. All week artist Alea Toussaint has been sharing handmade patterns with us that she’s turned into desktop wallpapers you can download for your phone or computer, and today she’s back with another pattern inspired by tea. Dried rose petals, cloves, dandelions and lemongrass make up the ombré fade of this pattern and it makes me want to tear open my tea packages in the kitchen and make something beautiful. But if you’d prefer to drink your tea instead, you can download Alea’s pattern for today RIGHT HERE.

If you missed the last two days of patterns, click here for Monday’s and here for Tuesday’s!

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1OZ8alR From Grace Bonney