allison nadeau

The end to a long day. Being self-employed is wonderful in that...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:57:24 -0400

The end to a long day. Being self-employed is wonderful in that you can work whenever you want. At the same time, I tend to feel I never stop working. Recently, I’ve been trying to wind down before bed with a cup of hot tea. It’s really relaxing and is becoming a nice nightly ritual. Chamomile and peppermint tea is my current bedtime favorite.

Pretty weather in Charleston means the perfect opportunity for a...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:30:00 -0400

Pretty weather in Charleston means the perfect opportunity for a picnic. This DIY project (which I did as part of the Charleston City Paper’s DIY series) transforms a bed sheet into a lightweight picnic blanket for less than $10. By varying the length of the dye time, a single dye color produces a gradient from light to dark, which is called ombre.

Sneak peek of an upcoming DIY for the Charleston City Paper:...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 20:40:46 -0400

Sneak peek of an upcoming DIY for the Charleston City Paper: hand-dyed ombré picnic blanket

What a beautiful weekend! Hope you’re making the most of...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 20:37:44 -0400

What a beautiful weekend! Hope you’re making the most of it!

inkmeetspaper: We’re so excited to participate in the...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:25:54 -0500

inkmeetspaper:

We’re so excited to participate in the Lowcountry Artist Market this Saturday at the Music Farm in downtown Charleston!

Lauren, Christine, Gretchen, and I are so excited to have the...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:15:00 -0500

Lauren, Christine, Gretchen, and I are so excited to have the Charleston Craft Bee featured in this issue of Country Woman magazine. They did a lovely write-up of our Spring Cleaning Craft Bee, including our recipes as well as cute downloadable labels.

Now, we need to get to planning the next bee!

We finally got our mid-century modern couch reupholstered this...

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:33:09 -0500

We finally got our mid-century modern couch reupholstered this past month— what a transformation it’s made to the room too (unfortunately, I can’t find a good “before” shot with the old couch). We’ve had this couch for about two years now (it was a curbside find in the neighborhood). Picking a fabric seemed really daunting, so we just left it sitting in the bedroom. We checked out a fabric store in town and found this great green/brown tweed-like material (on discount!); of course, there wasn’t enough yardage left to cover the couch. I googled the fabric name and found it carried at a store in Texas (and it was even cheaper). We’re so happy to have it finished!

Our vintage Evergleam aluminum tree is up. I love this time of...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:40:25 -0500

Our vintage Evergleam aluminum tree is up. I love this time of year so much.

Sneak peek of the start to a DIY project I’m working on...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:39:02 -0500

Sneak peek of the start to a DIY project I’m working on for the City Paper

Ink Meets Paper will be at the North Charleston Artist...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:25:02 -0500

Ink Meets Paper will be at the North Charleston Artist Guild’s $5 to $50 Gift Market this Saturday (12/3) and Sunday (12/4) from 11am to 3pm at The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague in Park Circle. This event is going to have a market/bazaar type of feel, and there will be all sorts of vendors. Not to mention, nothing will be priced over fifty bucks.

Thanksgiving 2011

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:47:05 -0500

Thanksgiving 2011

life in the nadeau house recently

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:10:29 -0500

life in the nadeau house recently

Really excited about our Ink Meets Paper holiday collection

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:39:49 -0500

Really excited about our Ink Meets Paper holiday collection

Just a peek at the fun we had this past weekend at...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:01:15 -0400

Just a peek at the fun we had this past weekend at Gretchen’s baby shower. More to come (including a couple DIY projects).

This past Wednesday was the Design*Sponge Craft Event and Book...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:36:26 -0400

This past Wednesday was the Design*Sponge Craft Event and Book Signing in Charleston. I started following Design*Sponge when we lived in Savannah (thanks to Daniel), and it’s been so inspiring to see Grace Bonney take this blog from a hobby to a full-time career (and I have such admiration for the amount of original content produced). Needless to say, I had such a great time. The craft event was limited to 30 people, which kept a nice intimate setting. We made stamps using cardboard and self-adhesive craft foam (a project from the book). I opted for a fall-themed tote and made acorn and leaf stamps. I’ve primarily worked with freezer paper stencils for fabric printing, so the stamps were a nice change (and i definitely think I’ll make stamps for future projects). I also picked up a copy of Design*Sponge at Home. While I haven’t had time to really sit down and read, the parts I’ve read have been impressive. From sneak peeks to DIYs, this book covers it all.

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated…...

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:48:03 -0400

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated… but that doesn’t mean nothing’s happening. It’s the opposite. I feel like Daniel and I have been working on so many projects that we barely have time to sleep, much less keep a consistent blog schedule together. It’s been a whirlwind of fun and hard work though, and I wouldn’t trade it. So, I’ll leave you with this photo for now: an afternoon of sketching at Hope and Union, our favorite coffee shop in Charleston. (And they’re should be more updates happening this week—I’ve got an entire week off of my full-time job, so I’m looking forward to a week of creating and printing).

A few photos from the bicycle safety & scavenger hunt at...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:08:01 -0400

A few photos from the bicycle safety & scavenger hunt at Mixson in park circle

I just have to share this photo from friend Maura Grace...

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:52:00 -0400

I just have to share this photo from friend Maura Grace Ambrose’s blog. She and her husband Chap are journeying through the US in their restored VW Riviera camper. I absolutely love reading their stories and seeing their adventures (she also keeps a great Instagram photo feed). And I can’t get enough of that red Riviera.

Cheers to living the dream, Maura and Chap!

I was driving to work this morning when I passed this bike...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:21:02 -0400

I was driving to work this morning when I passed this bike placed on the curb for trash pickup. Obviously, I couldn’t let it head to the dump, so I convinced Daniel to go rescue it. It’s a 1978 Schwinn Suburban (5-speed). It needs a bit of work, but it will be nice to have another bike (especially for when guests are in town).

wrapping a few small, easily mailable gifts for family...

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 04:26:00 -0400

wrapping a few small, easily mailable gifts for family members’ upcoming birthdays. I love the simple beauty of kraft paper and striped baker’s twine (I use Divine Twine— mac & murphy in downtown Charleston carries a huge selection of colors).