I know it’s only June 25th, but if you are throwing a July 4th party, get your decorations done so you can focus on the food next week. Garlands are the easiest way to decorate—they have a sweet nostalgia to them and they have to potential to cover a large area. Here are a few of my faves…

Flag garland by Saltwater Kids, via The Crafty Crow.

Starfruit print banner by The Long Thread, via The Crafty Crow.

4th of July party banner by Modern June.

Martha Stewart has a ton of great July 4th garland ideas!

To celebrate the US win yesterday, here are more fun soccer/World Cup finds…

If they asked my opinion, I think the World Cup ball should actually have a world on it! Found via Chroma Labs.

Visit the New York Times for a cool interactive tool that takes you through a timeline of the World Cup balls. Found via Black Eiffel.

Bas & Daan designed this shirt in support of the Dutch soccer team. From the website:

A lot of football players celebrate by pulling the shirt over their heads. On the inside of our supporter shirt, we printed the heads of the 3 most popular players of the Dutch national football team. So now, when the Dutch team scores you can pull your shirt over your head and become a legend!

Found via Design Mom.

Pink organza embroidered bags, shelf installation
2009

When fine art mixes with a craft technique, I’m always intrigued. Today I found the amazing work of Lauren DiCioccio (via Handmade Charlotte). DiCioccio tediously embroiders rather banal object replicas; the common “thread” in her work is the fast-approaching extinction of everyday manufactured media objects. About her pieces, DiCioccio says…

My work investigates the physical/tangible beauty of commonplace mass-produced media-objects, most recently: the newspaper, magazines, office papers and writing pads, plastic bags, 35 mm slides. These media are becoming obsolete, replaced by the invisible efficiency of various technologies. In some cases, this transition is a good thing- faster transmission and distribution of information, streamlined systems, openness to user input, less waste. But a hole is left behind by the disappearance of these everyday objects. What will happen when we no longer touch information? When newsprint does not rub off onto our fingertips? When we no longer write longhand?

Here are some examples of her work:

19MAR10 (Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton)
2010

Pair, 2010

Vanitas Objects

This World of Ours
2009
Hand-embroidery on organza, altered found objects
approx. 12″ x 12″

As I’ve mentioned, life has been hectic lately, and my husband’s birthday fell right in the middle of that chaos. So I had to go low-maintenance on his birthday this year, but yet I didn’t want to sacrifice any thrill factor. So I went with a store-bought food theme, all based on his favorite cities in which he’s lived.

Representing Buenos Aires, we had empanadas from Ruben’s Empanadas. They were the only restaurant that made their beef empanadas with raisins in them. This is very important in an Argentina empanada (at least a Northern Argentine one).

Michael and I both grew up in Atlanta, and we, along with every southerner, love Chick-fil-A. If you live in New York, you may be wondering how the hell I scored such loot. Well, I drove to Jersey. Yes, I drove to and from New Jersey in horrible traffic just to get these golden sandwiches (plus waffle fries and sweet tea) for my beloved. In retrospect, it was worth it. In the moment, I was hating myself. Especially when my phone died in the process.

I almost forgot New York (duh), so I made it the beverage with Hudson Whiskey.

Ok, it looks totally unappetizing, but I swear it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten! It’s a King Cake from Gambino’s Bakery in New Orleans, where M went to college. Inside every king cake is little plastic baby. It’s customary for the person who gets the baby in his or her piece to buy the next celebration’s king cake.

All in all it was a festive night, and I didn’t have to cook a thing. All I did was drive, arrange, ship, and make little city flags.

The dog days are starting…no doubt about it. After a smothering hot Father’s Day in New York, there is no denying that today is the first day of summer. And summer = vacation, and vacation = camp, and camp = tents. Here are few you can easily make on your own, for your very own backyard (or fire escape).

This is a more bohemian tent, one where you’d sip jasmine tea, rather than rest your body after a long day’s hike. Styled by Danny Seo for Parents Magazine. The green fabric are these curtain panels from PB Teen.

I love this traditional-style tent DIY fabric pup tent. Get the instructions at Readymade.

Ok, this one is a little O.T.T., but check out the amazing details (like the nook at the top for dolls and the removable flowers on the side) at Ikat Bag.

Happy First Day of Summer everyone!

PS…I’m sorry for my absence last week. Family in town + work duties + 6 months of pregnancy left me too exhausted to think. But I’m back; I promise!