diy enamel tie clip

12.6.12

It’s another one for the dudes! If your guy needs a tie clip that’s a little more dressy than last week’s, this is the one for you. And it’s even easier than the last one. You’ll need:

blank tie clip (from the craft store)
Sharpie paint pens

Start by painting a base coat of black on the entire surface of the tie clip. Let it dry thoroughly and repeat the process to build up a little paint on the surface.

Using another color (I chose gold, duh), paint a pattern over the black. I did some tidy polka dots, but you could do stripes, colorblocking, or a zillion other awesome things.

Make sure you let this one dry according to the directions before you wrap or use it! Make it, give it, and love it. xoxo

make and give // diy stamped leather tie clip

11.29.12

Hey hey, holiday lovelies, we’re back with another installment of our Make and Give series, this time for the dudes! Mr. Lovely has recently introduced me to the wonderful world of tie clips, and I was kind of stoked to try making one. Apparently all the classy fellas wear ‘em.

If you want to make one of these beauts for your man friend, you’ll need:

a tiny bit of thick leather (I used my scraps from this project)
craft knife
a blank tie clip (you should be able to find them for about $1 at your craft store
strong glue
a letter and number punch set like this one
a hammer

Start by cutting your leather to the size and shape of your tie clip. Next, choose a word or phrase to stamp on your leather and stamp it in using the metal punch set and a hammer. We experimented with a few choice words.

Finally, glue the leather piece onto the tie clip, ensuring that it’ll be right-side-up when the tie clip is attached to the right side of the tie.

Make it, give it, and watch your dude be stoked. Be sure to come back next week if you like this project — we’re doing an enamel version! xoxo

Dude DIY: Arrow Marquee Light

8.28.12

After doing a ton of thrifting and flea marketing when we first moved to LA, Mr. Lovely found himself totally jonesing for one of those vintage marquee lights. They’re pretty popular right now, and you can get a handmade reproduction for a few hundred bucks, but that’s just a little too tough on the pocketbook for yours truly. So Mr. Lovely confronted the sitch head-on and got all man-crafty.

Full disclosure: I was not involved in this project whatsoever. I basically said, “Have fun!” and took a photo every once in a while. But I’ve got the instructions straight from the horse’s mouth, so read on if you want to make your very own! You’ll need:

strand of globe lights (Target has bunches)
plywood
6-inch wide aluminum flashing
jigsaw
drill, screwdriver bit, and 3/4″ bit
tin snips
screws
wire stripper
electrical tape
screw cap
protective gloves

Put on your gloves! Lay your plywood out and draw your arrow design. Mr. Lovely measured twice and cut once with the jigsaw!

Across the back of your arrow, screw in a piece of plywood as a cross-brace. Plan where you’d like the bulbs to be on the arrow (we cut out paper the size of our bulbs to be able to experiment and move it around). Mark lightly with a pencil and drill a hole on each mark with a 3/4″ drill bit.

Unscrew bulbs from the strand of lights and push the sockets through the holes from the backside.

Measure the exterior of your arrow and cut a piece of flashing long enough to fit around the outside. Carefully mold it to the corners. Screw it in place, starting at one end and working your way around. Place screws about 2-3″ apart.

Screw lightbulbs in. Cut off the excess lightbulbs and use wire stripper, tape, and caps to attach to an extension cord if necessary.

There you go! Seriously manly stuff, right? And that husband of mine didn’t even break a sweat (that’s a lie). But it’s relatively simple! And now we’ve got a vintage vibe for seriously a fraction of the cost. Whaddaya think? Would you attempt this one? xoxo

manly man valentines

2.1.12

Okay guys, if you remember last year, you know that Mr. Lovely and I like to DIY our Valentines. But if you have a dude in your life that you’d like to get a little gifty for and you’re just stuck, you’ve come to the right place. Check out my picks for A Very Manly Man Valentine’s Day.

1. Get your dude some new kicks like these super-cool Nike Classics.

2. Help him keep the sun out of his eyes with a new hat.

3. Mix him a drink when he gets home from work; I can just about guarantee he’ll love honey whiskey.

4. If your fella’s perpetually late, an impossible-to-miss watch might do the trick.

5. Nothing says “I’m too cool for school” like disguising your newest technology to look like old technology.

6. Men like being manly.

7. Maybe your dude needs a little help getting organized? This should do it.

And finally, if you’re into something a little wacky (like me), your Valentine’s gift could look a little something like this:

{Bike.}

Anybody else have any brilliant ideas? I’d love to hear how you celebrate Valentine’s Day. Don’t you love love? xoxo

lovely indeed gift guides: dude gifts

12.7.11

Ever have trouble shopping for the dudes in your life? Hopefully this little guide will help you out a bit; we’ve got something for everybody, from super-manly to kinda-silly. Take a peek and give with love. xoxo

1. Wooden Sunglasses from Tumbleweeds Oddities. 2. Embossed Anchor International Wallet from Jack Spade. 3. C-3PO Flash Drive from ModCloth. 4. Bow Tie from Steven Alan. 5. Mach 3 Horn Shaving Set from The Art of Shaving. 6. Bear Opener from Urban Outfitters.

his & hers: wedding gifts

10.27.11

We’re taking a quick trip back to our wedding day today for a His & Hers post featuring our wedding gifts to each other! Mr. Lovely and I wanted to get each other something cool and significant, but we were both aiming to stay within a pretty reasonable price range. So naturally, without realizing that the other was doing the exact same thing, we both turned to Etsy!

Mr. Lovely found me these awesome vintage book pages with fun illustrations printed on them from Prrint. (My fave is the girl playing a giant ukulele).

And I found him this letterpress print from The Big Harumph on Etsy.

We thought it was kind of funny that we essentially got each other the same thing for our gifts! Maybe it’s a good sign. We’re already on the same page. xoxo

{Images by Joelle Pulido Photography.}

man bags

10.3.11

Hey! It’s Monday! Let’s talk about dudes wearing purses.

Okay, not purses, per se. More like man bags. Because a dude can only shove so much stuff in his pockets, right? Mr. Lovely happens to currently be on a hunt for a man bag, so I thought I’d toss together a little something to inspire him. Here are some faves that I happened across in my internet travels. Do you have a fave? And does your man wear a man bag? Or better yet, are you a man who carries a man bag? Inquiring minds, people.

Gimme the low-down. xoxo