quick and easy bling

Jewelry making is one of my favorite things! I love creating simple designs that go with every outfit and can easily transition from day to night.  I thought I'd take a moment and share my favorite way to glam up any outfit. Introducing....the easy to make, always stylish, sparkle hoop.

What you need....
  
- Circular bent, silver plated (or sterling silver) hoops with loops at one end (you can bend these yourself from wire, or you can purchase them at your local craft or jewelry making store)

- Pretty beads! I like using swarovski crystal beads because they are small, dainty and perfect for small hoops.

- Jewelry making tool (basically, find something you can use to bend metal)

Create!

String your beads onto your hoop...

And bend,the non loop sided hoop, up in a 90% angle.

 Repeat, and there you go! You have a lovely pair of glamourous earrings!

How do you glam up your daily wear?

baby its cold outside - a knitting project

We've been lucky to have a mild winter so far in Virginia this year, which make my 3 block walking commute to work extremely pleasant.  However, mornings can be a bit chilly and I've been keeping my ears warm with this comfy knitted ear warmer, which keeps you comfortable, but isn't as bulky as a hat.  I discovered this knitting project on pinterist, but have started embellishing the design with little flowers, to remind me that spring is right around the corner.

Headwarmer
What you'll need:
- yarn (any kind will do, an acrylic wool mix is pretty comfy and - doesn't stretch as much as just pure wool)
- knitting needles (size 7 or 8)

What to do:

1. Cast on 23 stitches. Continue with a simple knit stitch until you've reach the desired length. I usually knit to a length of 15 or 16 inches, unstretched. Wool will stretch, so a tighter knit and length is okay. Cast off when you have reached desired length

2. Fold edges together.  Using a large eyed needle, thread yarn through and sew the sides together so that they pull together.

3. Use the left over yarn to wrap around the seam you have created. Wrap as much or as little as you'd like. Once you have wrapped yourself out, tuck the lone thread into your knot.

4. Wear! With the knot in the front.

5. Or add some simple lacy flowers and wear with the knot in the back!

Now, Add those flowers!

What you need:

- pieces of simple lace, any size cut 12 inches in length.

- needle

- left-over yarn

- scissors

What you do:

1. Lay lace flat and thread your needle and yarn through the bottom half of the lace.

2. Pull the needle out and push the lace together so it bunches up. Tie in a knot to keep the bunch together

3. Thread each string through an area in the head band and tie behind (this way the flower isn't permanent and can be removed!)

4. Wear and be warm, and fashionable!

Just learning to knit? When I was re-learning, my friend Liz recommended Stitch and Bitch for easy instructions and projects - best book ever.

- Marisa

a january craft - spare paper chevron art

When you are a paper goods nut like myself and work with paper of all shapes, sizes and colors, you tend to end up with a bunch of odd strips of excess card-stock.  I even have a smaller box within my "Colored Paper" box just labeled "scraps" that I can access for a rainy day.  Staring at it this weekend, (when it was indeed rainy) I decided I was going to put those scraps of paper to work to help fill up an empty frame I had sitting around the house.

so here's what you'll need:

• 2-11"x17" pieces of paper
• scraps of colored paper, no less than 1"x1" in size
• xacto knife or cutting utensil of some sort
• glue (elmers works just fine)
• a pencil

 1- start with 2-11"x17" pieces of paper.  Overlap, trim and tape/glue together as needed to create the size artwork you'd like.  For this project, I chose to make my art measure16"x20".


2 -Then mark about 1/2" from the corners.  This gives you an idea of a border so your frame won't overlap the squares.  Unless you want it to, then just ignore this step


3 - Cut your pieces of colored paper down to 1"x1" squares.  Then line one up with your marks and glue it down (please pardon the fuzziness of these first few pictures... crummy iPhone camera)

4- Then take your next 1"x1" piece of paper and line it up next to the first one

5 - Now its time to start the chevron - take the paper square you'd like to place next and fold it in half on a diagonal.  Then glue it next to the other squares.  This creates the void of color that will define the shape of the chevron.

6 - Keep this rhythm going until you finish the first row and start again on the next row - but this time move the folded square either forward one space or back one space to create the chevron..  This is a great art project for when you just need to let your mind rest - its so wonderfully repetitive.  

I started with about 10 colors and just kept the pattern of colors going to create at least some cohesion. It's totally up to you.

Once you're done, you can then pop it in a frame and voila - a fantastically simple, colorful, and did I mention 3Dimensional piece of wall art in one afternoon!

  - Leslie

a december craft: polish stars

I'm lucky in that part of my job is to create creative art activities for kids. Of course, many of the projects I come up with are modified projects that I've done on my own.  One of my favorite holiday past times which I was able to modify for work is to create polish stars. These are pretty labor intensive, but they are beautiful and add some neat decor to your holiday tree (in our case, a lime tree). Try them out! Let us know what you think!

Materials!

Paper (use a variety of colorful papers if you feel like it, but I would suggest staying away paper that is too thick, like card stock, or too thin, like tissue paper)

Pencil

glue

scissors

paint brush

glitter

A  cup that is about 4 inches in diameter

Thread or string (any type will do, we chose to use embroidery thread).

Needle 

1 quarter

Get Going!

On a piece of paper trace the mouth of cup. Carefully, cut out your circle. Repeat this step until you have 8-10 circles (enough to make one star).

Grab one circle and fold it half. Then fold that half in half, corner to corner. And finally, fold it in half one more time (your last fold should look like a piece of pie). 

 

When you open your circle you should have 8 “pieces of pie. Take your quarter and place it in the center of your circle. Trace around the quarter to make another circle. 

Next, cut along each crease, stopping when you reach the traced circle. 

Once all creases have been cut, you will form each of the eight segments of the circle into points. To do this, take a pencil and place it in the center of a segment. 

The pencil point should meet at the edge of the paper. Wrap both sides of the segment around the sharpened point, mimicking the shape, similar to a cone. Secure point with a dab of glue.

When finished with each segment the circle will now look like a star. Repeat until all circles are complete. Add glitter to your stars. I simply use my glue brush to add a dab of glue around each point. Then I simply sprinkle glitter onto my point! Viola!

Thread a piece of string (with a knot on one end) and punch it through the center of the first circle, so that the needle exits through the folded side of the circle.  Pull until the circle stops at the knot.

Repeat with remaining stars, but make sure the needle exits through the unfolded side of the circle

Pull the two separate strings together and tie in a simple knot. This should cause your circles to become bunched into a star. 

 Cut the string to the length you would like to hang it. Tie a knot at the ends of the tread to make a loop for your mobile. Set aside, display and create the rest of your stars.

- Marisa

welcome!

hello sweet friends!
Welcome to post meridian! In this space, we hope to share the DIY projects, recipes and general life lessons that we conquer.  You see, we are two crafty, creative girls, who became dear friends in college, but now live several time zones away (Marisa in Richmond and Leslie in Germany). We used to communicate via cellphone, gchat and text, but now that we are divided by the Atlantic (and cell phone bills get expensive when you try to text to Germany), which means that when Marisa wakes up Leslie is busy with her day, and when Leslie is heading to sleep, Marisa is finishing up at work and getting ready for dinner at home. This is our afternoon craft and creativity blog where we can grab a cup of tea and share our craft-tastic dreams, doubts, uncertainties and successes with each other and with you!  We hope you'll continue reading!


- Marisa & Leslie