Liz Makes Things

Liz Takes Photos, Project 365

elizabethbiro — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:40:36 +0000

Happy New Year everybody! I decided to copy my good friend Dana and take a photo everyday in 2012, documenting whatever interesting and unusual (or in most cases, mundane) thing I do on that day.

Rather than clog up my blog feed I decided to create a separate account to stream my photos, so my Project 365 can be found at liztakesphotos.tumblr.com

I hope you check it out, if you have your own Project 365 link me up! I’d love to see.

Happy Holidays!

elizabethbiro — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:44:52 +0000

I have been making things to my heart’s content but unfortunately I can’t share them until all gifts have been given! No spoilers here. So I’ll leave you with this and I’ll be back in the New Year!

Our Charlie Brown Tree. John and I have been collecting yearly ornaments, this year we still have to pick one. One is still at his parents home in New Jersey so that left just one ornament for our tree! We bought some fillers at Walgreens and will add this year’s before the season is over, but for now Baruchatar is star of the show. (Baruchatar is the dinosaur we bought at the AMNH last year. He is inexplicably sporting a glitter yarmulke. John is good at coming up with fitting names for things.)

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, and Happy Festivus for the rest of us! If I left anyone out, consider yourself well-wished.

See you in 2012!

Essie Luxeffects

elizabethbiro — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:25:24 +0000

Essie luxeffects in “Shine of the Times” is my new go-to sparkle top coat for the season. I’ve tried it over all sorts of colors and it reflects differently on everything, adding a subtle opalescent glow to light colors and a more dramatic tinted sheen to dark colors. I will definitely be buying another bottle before they disappear in the spring!

22 Before 23

elizabethbiro — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:15:03 +0000

Going through my blog roll I read this post on Delightfully Tacky about being happy. Elizabeth writes, “Make a list of things you want to accomplish and do them. I find that lists like this work much better when they have a shorter time limit on them, such as 25 before 26 lists instead of bucket lists that you have your whole life to finish.” I think those are wise words, lady. I’m a little late in the year but I’m going to give myself 22 things to accomplish in the next 7 months, before I turn 23.

22 Before 23
1. Finish Yoga Teaching Certification
2. Blog regularly
3. Become employed. Pay Rent.
4. Become partially self-employed. Pay for other things.
5. Cook more often. Make dinner at home with whole ingredients once a week.
6. Work on draping skills
7. Make my apartment a home
8. Dye my hair blonde (!)
9. Make an effort to look nice at least 5 days a week
10. Take more pictures, carry around my DSLR.
11. Practice music again.
12. Visit Chicago (Hi Mike!)
13. Visit Montreal (Hi Kate!)
14. Learn more about wine.
15. Lower my cholesterol (lame, but important.)
16. Be more social
17. Work on sketching
18. Make a winter coat
19. Learn to meditate
20. Volunteer for Mighty Mutts
21. Get organized.
22. Throw a party

They’re not in any particular order, just how it all popped into my head. I am now accountable, internet. Hold me to it!

I guess I’ll check back in on this in July!

DOT COM

elizabethbiro — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 01:41:12 +0000

not that dotcom

I am officially located at lizmakesthings.com. Seriously movin’ up in the internet world. Stay tuned for my shop grand opening, should be any day now! Things are happening!

Wise Words from a Wise Pig

elizabethbiro — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:11:41 +0000

“First, remember that style comes in all sizes, so the bigger you are, the more style you have. And second, draw attention to your best features by pointing at them, and conceal your flaws by sucker punching anyone who mentions them.” -Miss Piggy

Temporary Art Installation

elizabethbiro — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:01:18 +0000

My apartment is still too fresh – too many things on the floor leaning against the walls, too many empty nails from the past tenants. I’m feeling kind of under the weather today so I decided to stay home and make some holes in the wall of my own.

These are just some things I’ve had hanging in past apartments: a warhol poster from college, a ascii snoopy from “Prudential’s Roseland Office, 1974″ picked up at a flea market, the approval matrix from New York magazine in which I am “lowbrow and despicable”, a few photos including one of my grandmother in her prime, sent to my grandfather during WWII. A lot of little things that mean a lot to me! I know I’ll likely rearrange, or, you know, frame things instead of hanging things with paper clips. I hear adults frame their art?

Maybe one day.

The First Lady on Style

elizabethbiro — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:43:01 +0000

“My motto is I have to feel good in it; I have to wear what I love. I try to be thoughtful about spreading the wealth: young designers. Mixing things up is important to me. But my day-to-day wardrobe choices are very practical. I’m like, what’s the temperature? Am I going to be sitting on the grass? Will I be playing with kids — because I usually want to.” As for her shopping habits, Obama admitted, “I don’t buy it if I don’t love it. Everything in my closet is something that I love so that I can make choices based on what makes sense, knowing that I’m going to love whatever it is.

I don’t want to waste anxiety on something as limited as clothes. I’d rather be anxious over the issue, or worry about the remarks, or think about the veteran that I’m talking to and making sure I’m listening and paying attention; the clothes are just the secondary part or the third part of what is happening over the course of the day.” Obama’s secret to erasing that anxiety is simple: “If I’m comfortable in what I have on, that’s second nature, and then all my attention can go to the people in the room that I’m with at that time, and I don’t have to worry about whether something is riding up or whether my feet hurt.” -Michelle Obama

for more on Michelle Obama’s style check out Mrs. O, where I found this image and quote

Apartment Musings

elizabethbiro — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:49:58 +0000

ahhhhhh, a big white room.

I am feeling a little under the weather so I took the day off, sat in bed, and watched a lot of food network. I also did a little revamp on this blog and I’m happy with the changes I made. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I recently moved into an awesome apartment and I love it. This one, stupid thing is bothering me about it and I can’t decide where to go with this decision. All the walls are off-white and I, for some deep-seeded unknown reason, really despise off-white. If my walls are going to be anything other than bright white they better be something interesting. There’s a lot of wall space in this apartment, and painting would definitely be an investment of time and money. For some reason, I can justify painting the whole space like a crayola box as a true design move, but I’m at a point in my design tastes where I don’t really want bold color on the walls. This is where I get stuck. Is painting an entire apartment pure white really a design choice? I think it would change my sense of peace in the apartment, and I almost can’t believe I’m saying this publicly because it sounds so stupid. I should probably also disclose I’m on lots of cold medicine…

Has anyone else given white paint this much thought before?

I’m so 1008

elizabethbiro — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:23:03 +0000

I have a new sewing machine and it’s got that boom boom POW. I’m still playing around with it but hopefully you’ll see some actual productivity out of me now! I finally sewed up the bodice to a Vintage Vogue pattern I’ve had cut out for 2 years now only to find the fit is way off. The next new toy on my shopping list is a dress form so once I get that buddy maybe I’ll actually tackle the fit issues. Only time will tell, friends.

Other projects in the works are a bunch of miscellaneous house things with yet ANOTHER new toy, also hopefully an etsy shop soon!