Thursday, May 31, 2012

i like pie





i found this adorable little note one morning last week.
little rikrak really cracks me up ... always.

inspired ... i'm gonna leave more cutiepie notes for dearies to find. 

it's such a good feeling discovering them, isn't it?
found any cute notes around lately?


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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

a gorgeous giveaway with havok designs





i love-ity love love the gorgeous pairing of modern style & innovative design.
havok designs is rocking both!

mixing the natural beauty of laser cut wood with the MOST brilliant styles, i just adore this gorgeous shop. designing duo kristen & denver handcraft jewelry, fabric device cases, original art, amp; home decor and more. and it's all fabulous!


havok designs


read on to WIN a $35 gift certificate for a shopping spree in the havok shop! woohoo!















 







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one way to enter is to grab one of my rikrak studio buttons,
like this one for YOUR BLOG! here they are!


the rikrak studio



the rikrak studio

and add it to your blog!
{ ... just copy & paste the text in the box above onto your blog sidebar! thanks! }

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:: RULES ::

a) it is possible to have a maximum of 12 entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as its own comment. thanks!
c) using random.org, 1 winner of this giveaway will be chosen on
june 8th @ 11:59 pm EST.
d) open to contestants worldwide.
e) please be sure to leave me an email where i can reach you if your account doesn't link to one. thanks.

 

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thanks so much, havok designs!
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

my favourite things: caprese salad


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intoxicating: succulent tomato. homegrown basil. fresh mozzarella. 
& add a pinch of sea salt. ground pepper. a drizzle of olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

oh the caprese salad.

i eat this quick & easy salad way more than i should probably admit.
but i can NEVER seem to get enough of these savoury flavours together!

and aren't these fun variations pictured here?  (check out my latest caprese loves on my *yummy* pinterest board, too!)

obsessed with a food lately? 
do share, nicies!

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below ::  1st -  caprese pops via L'exquiste





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Monday, May 28, 2012

great greenie: trashN2tees



greening.... i find it exciting and hopeful that while there sure are lots of terrible things going on to pollute & harm our planet, there are so many wonderful folks doing fabulous things to help make the world a greener, healthier place! so, the rikrak studio is happy to feature great green-ies : snapshots of amazing, inspiring. eco-forward-thinking folks & groups from all sorts of fields and paths in the greening movement. some inspire by greening at home, or in their business; in their art or the larger world, or on many levels at once! i've asked each green-ie to suggest an easy eco-idea or tip we might all be able to add to our daily lives. today i'm honoured to present the next in this series!  

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i love the pairing of eco friendly style & bright, bold, beautiful colour!
and trashN2tees does this perfectly!

creating custom upcycled clothing, bags, jewelry, accessories & more from 100% reclaimed materials, superstar jenelle masterfully mixes sustainable, eco forward design with classic & modern stylings to create a gorgeous *must-have* collection: trashN2tees!

this fact pretty much sums up the awesome: "TrashN2Tees + Action = To date TrashN2Tees has diverted nearly 2.5 tons of clothing from the landfill."
wow!
that's so inspiring, jenelle! 

AND now, trashN2tees is offering clothing recycling within Central Kentucky. Clothing will be collected & processed in collaboration with Wearable Collections (NYC.) COOL!

so visit this great greenie around the web (you'll LOVE her resourceful & inspiring blog AND check out her FABULOUS upcycled tshirt DIY tutorial list on pinterest, too!) . & read on for jenelle's fabulous ECO TIPS: 

trashN2tees



JENELLE'S ECO TIP: Strut your stuff. Eco is in, ladies & gents. I love new clothes and staying stylish but guess what- You don't have to shop at the mall, boutiques, or big name department stores to do it!

There are several of ways that can build a fantabulous eco chic wardrobe that will 1) give you a guilt free shopping experience and 2.) reduce your carbon footprint. Now for the fun stuff!


Raid your parents & grandparents closet. Seriously- you never know what you might find in there. Jumpers, shoulder pads, color blocking, bright florals & neon are all in right now, and are all old school. I'm only confessing to owning some floral and neons though- none of the others!


Thrift stores. No nose crinkling- thrift stores are AWESOME! By reusing existing items, you’re decreasing the demand – and therefore production. Fewer resources are burned creating new goods and you saved the awesome t-shirt you just bought from becoming garbage.


Just add wine! Okay well thats not all- but its a good place to start! Get your friends together and host a clothing swap party. It's an easy way to pass on some of the items your no longer digging & possibly acquire a whole new look. Don't stop at just clothing either- you can include jewelry, shoes, and handbags!


Lastly, break out the scissors & get craftastic. Restyle your exsisting wardrobe- need some inspiration? Check out TrashN2Tees Ultimate Upcycled Tshirt Tutorial List. 
 






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Friday, May 25, 2012

come advertise with the rikrak studio blog in JUNE!



i just love my sponsors!
and hey - that's a *no-cost-to-my-advertisers promotion, too!*) 
i'm so thankful for their kind and artistic support each month! and i'm just delighted with how things are going, growing here on the blog with you lovelies. thank you!

so i'm very happy to be offering a few new ad spots as of today for JUNE!

with june comes  a great time to continue building your wonderful indie business! 
i hope it might be the perfect opportunity to showcase your beautiful shops & blogs for all of those handmade-loving shoppers & bloggers & media out there! 

if you feel that your shop, group, Etsy Team, or blog would be a good fit with the rikrak studio blog feel & focus, and are interested in rates, please email me at 
---> rikrakmail @ yahoo.com <---
 
there's lots of continued fun coming up on the blog: funfun guests, little inspirations, more fabulous giveaways you're not going to want to miss, great games, fantastic features,  and, as always, a few extra fun surprises, too. being part of our community here is a great way to boost sales, increase exposure and build your little business in the handmade community, too!

i'm a full-time handmaker & mommy and know it's a challenging economic time out there... so i try to keep the rates nice & reasonable and promote your wonderful businesses as best i can all month!

i also love designing ads for folks that need them, too.
so just let me know if i can help!

come & be part of the fun!
thanks so much, nicies.
k.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

yay or nay? *balcony on demand*



i've been pondering lots about neato tiny balcony design ideas (& wee little gardens) of late, and came across this fun fun design by BloomFrame for a *balcony-on-demand* : a flat window frame that can transform into a functional balcony.

whaddaya think? yay or nay? 
what's happening on YOUR fun little balcony? 





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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

sustainable scraps: vegetable gardening with *17 apart* {GREEN ONIONS}



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Hey there! We are Tim and Mary from 17 Apart — our little corner of the blog world where we love to share the things that make us tick, diy projects, recipes, the antics of our 2 year old weimaraner puppy, and a few surprises from time to time. We hope you’ll stop by and join our adventure.






tim & mary of 17 apart

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about the sustainable scraps series: In our constant quest to live and eat in a more sustainable fashion, we have become big fans of learning to grow many different types of foods organically. After moving from a home with a big yard and lots of ground space for our garden, we then moved into a house in the heart of the city (Hey there, fellow Richmonders!) with no yard. Since then, we’ve been forced to think creatively to find vertical solutions in order to grow the same vegetables we once grew in the ground — and now find ourselves with a thriving container garden.

Through this creative gardening challenge, we’ve come across several other ways to grow vegetables both indoors and out right from the scraps of their previous counterparts. We’ve learned how resilient plants can be and we’re really amazed at how all they want to do is thrive to grow. Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing examples of the vegetables we’ve been able to successfully re-grow into new food and beautiful houseplants.
visit
{part 2} : regrowing green onions 
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Regrowing Green Onions
The growing project we’re excited to share with you today is actually what sparked our entire journey into exploring how to regrow vegetables from their scraps — and it couldn’t be simpler.



It all started with green onions — if you simply snip what you need from the tops of bunch you bought at the store and place the rest root side down in a small jar of water near a sunny window, the chopped onions will begin to regenerate themselves almost immediately. No joke, it’s like a magic trick.

Here's a shot of some of the green onions with 2 that we chopped down to the roots. See the two nubs off to the side there in the left shot:
 


This is what they looked like not even 2 days (left) and 4 days (right) later as they literally regrew themselves:


And not even a week later, this is what we had going on; you can barely tell the difference between the ones we originally cut and the ones we let be (which also doubled in size after sitting in the sunny jar of water):
 


You’ll notice the roots regenerating themselves as well:
 


By refreshing the water every few days, we found over time we were able to use and regenerate the same bunch of onions at least 3 times over before they began to weaken in taste. Another solution for taking this little trick to the next level is in simply planting the bunch in a small container of soil. Continue to chop and regenerate while the onions continue to get the needed nourishment they need from soil, sun and water — grow, chop, use & repeat indefinitely!

Re-growing green onions is a great little experiment to get your feet wet in the gardening department — it’s also a quick time and money saver along with a great project to try out with your kids.


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thanks ever-so-much, tim & mary! 
thrilled at how very much all of you nicies ADORED their 1st fabulous post on regrowing celery!
so delighted to have you nicies on the blog (we're all such fans of your fabulous DIY & handcrafted lives.) peek at tim & mary's  beautiful new home, their gorgeous doggie Basil, & an abundance of mouth-watering recipes as a wee little intro to these inspiring handmaking superstars.
& be sure to tune in soon for the next installment of the 17 apart series: 
sustainable scraps!
what are you growing these days, nicies? 
we'd love to hear!

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Friday, May 18, 2012

the facebook resister



are you on facebook, nicies?
(shhh...i'm not.)


so it's IPO time in facebook world today!
but this week marks a more personal milestone of sorts in the land of facebook-ing.

the fact is, as of this morning,  i'm down to just one other real live friend in the world, of my generation, who is also NOT on facebook.
we'll miss you here in the dark ages, lovely a. 

alas. :)

yes. i'm a facebook resister.

but i'm all for everyone else loving it.
& don't get me wrong: i love facebook. afterall , they commissioned me to handmake their Christmas party ornaments for them! i'm forever grateful! (gotta love huge corporations that appreciate handmade!) 

and facebook connects pretty much all of my beloved ones together. and you know how i love community building. 

i think i'm just a wee bit too private for it all.

i read yesterday that 2 out of every 5 north american adults are NOT on facebook. seems hard to believe there are that many of us out there. :)

anyone... ?
anyone... ?

how about you: facebook yay or nay?
& don't worry: i'll always *FRIEND* you here nicies. facebook or no facebook!
have a superfriendly weekend! 

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

artists 101: emily barletta's thread & paper work



Untitled (1). 2011. thread and paper
18 x 24 inches

Untitled (7). 2011. thread and paper
18 x 24 inches


Untitled 18. 2012. thread and paper
14.25 x 15.75 inches

Untitled 20. 2012. thread and paper
14.25 x 15.75 inches

Untitled 17. 2012.  thread and paper
14.25 x 15.75 inches
Untitled (big mountain). 2011. thread and paper
18 x 24 inches
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super in love with emily barletta's gorgeous red thread and white paper work.  isn't the geometric prowess phenomenal?
the thready goodness of it all thrills me.
what artists are you loving these days, nicies?  

check out all of the artists 101 stars so far: 

alex steinweiss 
noriko ambe
lucky jackson 
taylor holland 
shigeru ban


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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

the art of candy: andie's specialty sweets






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prepare to be wowed!
everything in this post is CANDY.
that's right.
edible candy!

is there anything funner than fine art you can eat? 
goodness sakes alive i love andie's specialty sweets.

candy buttons.
candy gears.
candy silhouettes.
candy beach glass.

anything and everything to embellish your next cake, party, dinnertable or gift!
which one's your fave? 

(those walnuts & almonds? hokey dinah wow!)

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