In the summertime, I always feel it's time for lightweight, floaty jewelry that sits lightly on the skin. I guess you could call it un-bling. Fabric is great for accomplishing this, and the step-by-step to making this necklace is right here.

My monthly project for The Washington Post is up, and seeing these placemats gives me a little burst of happiness every time I put them on the table. This is an easy-peasy technique from kindergarten art class, but using an unexpectedly bright color or an oversized leaf makes the project fresh and modern. Step-by-step instructions right here.

I’ve got a new, springtastic project up at The Washington Post today. Check it out right here. And if you want to go whole hog with the DIY plant concept, check out Kate’s painted pot project over at Design*Sponge. Another great way to dress up potted plants.

A new project to take on spring showers is up at The Washington Post. This was a great project to create and work on because, really, when do you ever consider an umbrella DIY fodder? Give one of your dark workhorse umbrellas a punchy makeover with bright stacks of nylon circles, tacked down with buttons for extra dimension and homespun charm.

Get the step-by-step right here.

I have a new project up at The Washington Post to make this stationery kit. Hopefully it will help me make good on my resolution to write more letters.

As I confessed in the column, I based this project on a great gift that one of my sisters made for me. Her stationery kit was sewn, and this one is paper-based, so the sewing is optional. Is imitation still considered the highest form of flattery? I hope so. You can check it out right here.


For this month’s Washington Post column, I created a project you can customize with images of family, friends, or special places for a meaningful holiday table. Simple materials and the sewing is optional. Check it out over here.

The other week, The Washington Post debuted a new craft column, authored by yours truly. This is a pretty proud moment for a newspaper-lover such as myself. Even more so because the Post is the newspaper of my childhood. When we were little, my sisters and I used to fight over the comics and the Mini Page on the way to church. Then later, when I started reading real articles, I used to look up words that I didn’t know in the dictionary. Even now, every homecoming at the barn includes a morning of sitting at the sunny kitchen table, reading the paper.
 
In the interest of full disclosure, my Dad has worked at the Post my whole life long. This is a big confession for me to make here. Because I’m worried that this disclosure somehow diminishes landing the column gig.

But the truth is, I got into journalism without ever breathing a word about my Dad’s job. I wanted to get hired entirely on my own. I never wanted to be that kid who felt or acted entitled.
 
So I started at small community papers, then bigger ones, then moved over to public radio. Along the way, I began merging my love of journalism and my love of craft. I was reminded of this recently when I looked through some old work files and dug out a pitch I wrote up more than ten years ago. Pitching, yep, a regular craft column.

So this is a sweet moment for me.

Of course, I’m not going to be snooping around the Watergate on my craft beat. But I suppose that’s the deal with genetics. You may be born with an inherited inclination, but then it blooms into something entirely new.
 
So I’m pretty proud of the byline. Just below my favorite newspaper masthead in all the world.