The Coming Weekend: Simple Pleasures

I was just having a conversation with a friend about how when anyone asks what my hobbies are, I'm not really ready with an actual answer. I guess that's the good thing about having a job that you absolutely adore: it doesn't feel like work to you! So, my answer is usually, "well, I like to work a lot." This is not usually met with a good reaction. The word "work" holds different connotations for different people. So, I've done a bit of thinking about other things that I actually enjoy doing. I enjoy learning French (although I'm not that great at it), and other than that, I enjoy simple pleasures. So, without further ado, I present you with my weekend map, my hobbies, so to speak.


1. Granny squares. I know we've chatted a lot about our Granny Square Kit (don't forget they're 20% off through March with the coupon code!), and also the little video that accompanies it, but this time, I'm going off the Assemble color spectrum and attempting to make someone a gift. You would think that nine months would be plenty of time to get this finished, but we'll just have to see. At the moment I have lots of tiny little circles! I'll be working on this at our Craft + Chat too.

2. Fantastic Mr. Fox: the cassette! My mom found a bunch of my old favorite cassette tapes from my childhood hiding in a box over the past year. The Roald Dahl ones are all original narrations by the author himself, and I'm longing for a cassette player so that I can hear them again! I also have The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me. So, perhaps some thrifting for a cassette player?

3. Sunmaid raisins. Speaking of things from childhood, I have rediscovered tiny boxes of Sunmaid raisins. I will be eating this simple pleasure most DEFINITELY.

4. Gone Girl. I have a very hard time reading books lately. My mind wanders to work and I end up absent-mindedly reading 18 pages without having a clue of what I just read. However, this one has definitely grabbed my attention. A mystery about a wife that's gone missing and the unreliable narrator is the suspected husband. It's a good one (so far)!

5. Painting my nails. I take way too many photos of my hands for this blog for them to always look so raggedy. This weekend, I will be painting them with my favorite FACE nude nail polish.

6. Brand new business cards. Okay, this isn't really something that I'm doing, but I'm so excited that we finally have our brand, new business cards with our new address and (finally) my new name. Yippeee, who wants one?? No one? K.

7. Magazines on the iPad! My favorite is definitely Matchbook Magazine, and I'm sure the new Martha should be coming out soon. I will be sitting on the couch, tea in hand, reading the brand new issues.

8. Another little treat: my Great Grandma's crochet hooks. This pretty much goes with #1, but it's a delight to use them and it always makes me happy to think that this was the same hook she might have used to make my baby blanket.

What will you be up to?

Crafty Project: Recipe Cards with Small Object Stamps

There are some beautifully designed, ready-made recipe cards out there that would do just fine for a kitchen collection, but nothing beats whipping some up on your own--even just for the fun process! I played around with washi tape and the Small Object Recipe Card Kitchen Stamp Set (and some ink pads and my typewriter of course) to make a recipe card of my Berry Medley Smoothie.


Since the recipe fractions in the stamp set are all on one stamp (economical!), I used the same old masking technique (remember that post from last week?) from our last stamp tutorial to single out the exact numbers that I wanted to use. I just cut out a little mask out of excess card stock. See below:


Easy-peasy! And yes, I did just want to use the tablespoon stamp, that's why I added "happy." But come on, they're so cute!! Oh and the Sweet Tooth. He's just so darn cute too!! See all of the Small Object stamps and stamp sets here. Now cook one up!


Recipe Card Kitchen Stamp Set, $24 and Sweet Tooth Rubber Stamp, $6.

Those Girls: Know Yourself Part I // The Proust Questionnaire

My good friend Michelle told me about an artist (I didn't catch her name) but apparently she is a very successful textile artist that sells her work at West Elm. This artist doesn't look at anything online: no blogs, no Pinterest, no nothing. Her philosophy is, "there is a place for me, and a place for my work." I found this so interesting--a successful artist that feels no need to view others' work and compare and contrast, gain inspiration or feel inferior to others. This person knows who they are, and is true to their artistry. I respect that so much--not simply the avoidance of internet creatives (I for one love to see what lovely things people are up to), but the immense personal confidence. "There is a place for me, and a place for my work." Lovely and true.

It got me thinking a lot about knowing ourselves. Do you really know yourself? Do I? If someone asked you today--"what is it that you are really good at, bad at, and what do you truly want out of life?"--would you have the answer? I thought we might take some steps in finding the answers to these questions by self-reflection with proven method. Number one homework assignment: the Proust Questionnaire. Marcel Proust, the turn-of-the-century, French writer, penned a few versions of answers to this questionnaire in a family confessional diary belonging to his friend Antoinette. The questionnaire has since become very famous and a version of it has been adopted by Vanity Fair at the back of each issue, filled in by various celebrities.


Marcel Proust
It's interesting to take this survey merely to sit and contemplate your own personal answers (for your eyes only--unless you're Emily and I) and reflect on how and why you feel this way about yourself. In what areas are you confident? In what areas are you lacking? And after finishing, do you know that you were truly honest with yourself?

It's also really amazing to take the questionnaire and put it away for several years, bring it out and see how you've grown. If you'd like to fill it out, we've made our Printable version available for download. Download the Proust Questionnaire here to fill out and keep for yourself. Below, have fun reading our answers (Andie's in scratchy handwriting and Emily's in red type), written March 4th 2013.

March is National Craft Month! We're Celebrating!

March is National Craft Month! We were so excited when we heard that (cause who's heard of that??) that we decided to offer a 20% off for the ENTIRE month on our Assemble Crafting Kits! Head over to our online shop to check them out, and enter code CRAFTMONTH at checkout.


Also, we have a brand new, special event coming up! On Wednesday, March 20th, we will team up with Seattle Bloggers Unite! for a Craft + Chat with Assemble at the Trophy Cupcakes Party Room in Wallingford. This event is a two-part Craft & Chat with me (Andie) & Emily, and you can come to one or both of the events:

At 5pm: Come socialize AND learn a fun new skill as we teach you how to crochet! We will demonstrate our fan-favorite Crocheted Granny Square kits and teach you how to do it too. All attendees will receive a crochet kit, personalized instruction, treats, a sip or two, and a fun new skill -- plus stay for the meetup afterward! Ticket price: $30

At 7pm: Just want to come for a chat (and some delicious Trophy Cupcakes)? That's fine too! At 7 p.m., we will put our crochet hooks down (you can keep working of course) to discuss the ins and outs of "Selling your Self and your Stuff, Online and In Person" with a brief presentation and Q&A -- all about how to best present your online persona and/or business on the world wide web AND face to face. Ticket price: $5.

Tickets will be available until 3/19 so get yours fast! You don't have to be a blogger to come, but you MUST have a ticket to participate, even if you're just coming at 7. Click here or the image in the right hand column )near the top of this page) to register.

We can't wait to see you! (And eat cupcakes!!)

Friday Finds: It Don't Matta' If You're Black Or White

We haven't done a product post in a while, so I thought we'd kick off your weekend with some fun black and white finds! The main reason for the black and white being that I've had Michael Jackson's "Black or White" stuck in my head for about three days now for some unknown reason. Regardless, don't miss the flashback video at the end of this post. For now, check out our favorite black and white treats!


1. A Mr. Raccoon 5x7 Print by Berkley Illustration! This raccoon spends his days in a science lab experimenting with ways to convert garbage into an alternative fuel source. Occasionally he will indulge in a snack from his test pile. $10

2. Saddle Shoes! I can hear my mother right now, lamenting about the fact that her generation did this first. Yes, yes, Mom, I know! But they're still awesome! I'm hoping to grab myself a pair of these sometime soon. These are Cooperative Two-Tone Saddle Oxfords from Urban Outfitters, $49. (I'm a size 7, Mom--you know, in case you were wondering).

3. The cutest Frying Pan-da ever. $54.99 from ModCloth.

4. The Alpaca Baby Baggu. I've been dying for a Baggu for a while now. My favorite is the striped canvas, but I love this nylon Alpaca too! $7 from Baggu.

5. You can never have enough Washi Tape! I love these Black & White Patterns from Chickydoodle on Etsy, $8.50 for 3.

6. A Boston Terrier Oval Plushie Pillow, for all of you Boston lovers. So cute, made with high-quality upcycled textiles, $70 from Three Bad Seeds for Assemble.

Now here's a treat for you, complete with controversial ending. Remember how state-of-the-art this was at the time??

Michael Jackson - Black Or White from Varol Maksutoğlu on Vimeo.

Recipe: A Super-Easy 220 Calorie Berry Medley Smoothie to Start Your Day

You will need:
1. 1/4 cup orange juice
2. 1/8 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt
3. 1 cup of frozen berry medley
4. 1/4 cup of baby spinach leaves
5. 1/2 cup nonfat milk


This one's so easy, I barely need bullet points!
• Defrost your berries in the microwave for about 2 minutes. You want them to be still a bit frozen so that your smoothie is icy and cool.
• Add ingredients, blend & serve! mmmm! (Double the ingredients for two!)

Images: Andie Powers

A Project for the Day: Handwritten Letters

Stationery by ilfant Press, available here.
I don't know about you guys but we LOVE handwritten letters. The art of handwriting is sadly dissipating. In an article called "The Case for Cursive" in The New York Times, Katie Zezima relates that "...learning cursive helped students hone their fine motor skills." This may eventually create better artists, illustrators, or architects!

My personal handwriting is a mix of cursive and printing, but I am proud to say that I am able to write in all forms of cursive and shorthand (I actually was in one of the last high school classes that had the opportunity to learn short hand). I've looked over my teacher husband's shoulder as he is grading his high school students' papers, and I have to say that I'm afraid we may be going backwards in the art of writing. I see no cursive whatsoever, and even the printing is sloppy at best.

Will you teach your children cursive? Will you teach them the art of the handwritten note? How about thank you notes, the most important kind of notes of all? Here's our version of the handwritten letter:


• Dear So & So or "Hello Joe, what do you know?"
• Always include the date. It will be so fun for your grandchildren to find these notes and be able to see the long-past date.
• Emily Post says: "If you take the trouble to write a letter, you have remembered someone in a friendly way, otherwise you would not be writing at all." With that in mind, tell them why you are writing, what you are thinking, etc.
• Answer their questions, or elicit a reply by asking your own. Give your own news, good we hope! Another Post-ism, on Letters of Gloomy Apprehension: "The chronic calamity writers seem to wait until the skies are darkest, and then, rushing to their desks, luxuriate in pouring out all their troubles and most especially their fears of trouble-to-come on paper to their friends."
• Nothing special in ending a letter, simply lovingly end the conversation. "Adieu!"

Now it's your turn: write us a letter! You may just get one back ;)

To: Emily & Andie
c/o Assemble Shop & Studio
PO Box 30904
Seattle, WA 98113

PLUS, these beautiful Earthscapes stamps deserve more than just the phone bill:


Emily Post quotes via Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage by Emily Post, 1956
Earthscapes stamps via USPS