Thanks Evie!

My house is not what anyone would ever call glamorous. Handsome is a better word. So when we got our new (very glamorous) couch I knew that I had a fair bit of tweaking to do to make it fit in. While the couch needs to be (slightly) glam-ed down, the rest of the room definitely needs to be glam-ed up. I know that just a couple of key pieces will bring it all together to achieve the eclectic mix I am looking for. I found the perfect start thanks to Evie at Post College Working Girl. I saw this gold chevron lamp shade on her blog and hustled out to Target to get one for myself! Thank you Evie you are an inspiration as always!

That's a Nice Pear...

I'm a bad blogger! I have been very uninspired and it shows! Add to that a broken computer, a very sloooow net book and a new iPad (not very blogger friendly) and you have the perfect storm of bad blogging! To all of my 26 followers, I'm sorry! We finally got a new family computer and I will do my very best to be inspired and inspiring. Thanks for hanging in there with me! Meanwhile I have noticed a theme in some of my Goodwill finds of late...Pears. I found the print about a year ago and blogged about it here. The silver pear came later and the studded bronze I picked up the other day. I saved the print for myself but the other 2 went to a good home, a client of mine who has a son named Per! She will love them more then I ever could!

A Mini Make-Over!

When school lets out and summer begins, I am always excited to spend lazy days with my children, going to the library, strolling to the store for fresh fruit and spending cool summer nights on the back deck with my wonderful husband, sipping margaritas. Ha! About 2 days in, I am racing off to work leaving a list of chores for my kids, while trying to figure out how I'm going to keep one of them occupied while the other is at camp, then coming home to discover that the library books are over due and I forgot to take anything out of the freezer for dinner! I love summer but summer is certainly not easier! My point is this: I have had very little time to work on any projects, visit Goodwill or blog about it! I did do a mini-make over on this college bound little dresser a few weeks ago. It was languishing in a spare bedroom at our lake house, getting little or no use. When my son moved to a smaller place I decided this could be the new home for this compact gem. My son is fairly immune to my many attempts at transforming cast off second hand furniture, so when I asked him how he would like me to overhaul this, and keeping in mind that it would likely end up stashed in a closet, he said it was up to me. So I pondered, and sanded, and pondered and primed and then just pondered. After being completely uninspired by anything I came up with, I decided to do a much smaller version of another dresser I had transformed. Can you steal an idea from yourself?

Biggest Dresser Challenge Ever!

I have had this ugly little dresser for a long time, acting as a night stand in a bedroom at our lake cottage. I never really liked it, and no one ever used it, so I am finding it a new home. My oldest son recently moved from a rented house to a small quad where he has less room to spread out, but a greater opportunity for efficiency. (That's a nice way of saying: he has a much smaller place and so needs to be better organized!!) This little dresser will end up in a closet so it doesn't need to be too amazing, but I want to take the ugly out of it before I hand it over!

I Heart the Library!!

I went to the library with my kids today and picked up this book. I'd seen it referenced on another blog and was inspired enough to put it on hold at my local library. It features eclectic design in relaxed settings with really beautiful photos. I've been in a design rut lately and could use a little creative kick start!

Hay There!

I've been working on my free chairs and when I took them apart I found the seat cushions were padded with hay! It's a little creepy! Needless to say I will be using nice, new, clean chair padding when I put them back together!

A bird in the hand...

I found yet another reason to haul out my new sewing machine. Yay! While at the Goodwill a while back, my sister found this needle point wall hanging and commented that it would make a great pillow. That was all I needed to hear! At the time I was looking for any excuse to sew more stuff! Because the needle point is so old fashioned and quaint I wanted the back fabric to be more modern and graphic. I like the contrast and that it's reversible. I just wish I had added some pink trim or tassels...maybe next time!!

Gum-Drop Pillow: Part Deux!

After multiple trips to "Jo-Ann's" to buy ..."just 1 more box"... of fiber-fill, I have finished my second Gum-drop pillow! I bought 1 yard of this grey ikat from West Elm, and that was all it took, barely a scrap left over! I stuffed, and stuffed, and stuffed it full with 3+ boxes of fiber-fill and then sewed it up, all the while trying to contain all that stuffing! What a job that was!! I love how it turned out and it fits into my living room perfectly...and I finally got to take my new sewing machine out of the box!

Drama-dary!!

I hit up the "Goodwill" yesterday with my sister. That is always a fun time! We stroll down the isles cracking each other up with the random things we see, and then find the most outrages, dated and crazy clothes to show each other! It's so fun! Mary is a "Goodwill" Pro! She goes for the clothes (she owns a clothing resell shop) and I gravitate towards furniture, so we don't compete. Later that night I talked to her and asked what she did with the rest of her day and she said "went to another Goodwill!!" What a life! Oh...and I got this great stuffed camel...totally random!

Visions of Gumdrops...

I finally decided what to do with this lovely grey ikat fabric I got from West Elm. Here is a clue!

Ode to My Mentors

My Grandmother made this patchwork dog, out of scrap yarn no doubt! My Mom hand sawed 2 pieces of plywood to create this perfect sun burst mirror! I am the proud owner of both these treasures!

On this Mothers Day I would like to pay tribute to a couple of my crafty mentors: My Grandma Reta B and my amazing Mother, Christie. My grandmother was literally a pioneer. She grew up in the country and while sitting in a horse drawn wagon, taught herself how to knit with an old scrap of red yarn. Some 60 years later she taught me to knit. She crocheted over 100 afghans in her life and I still have the 1 she made me. She taught me how to use a thimble and she had a large collection of them that I inherited from her along with bags of yarn and half done projects. She and I had a somewhat unsuccessful attempt at learning tole painting...but we tried!! She was the original DIYer not just out of fun or hobby but out of necessity and the need to preserve the craft. I often wonder what she would think of me now and what I have done with the skills she passed on to me. And then there is my truly amazing mother. When she was 18 and her and my Dad were newly married, their first home together was on an Air Force Base. Their base housing was without a fireplace, so for Christmas she made one out of cardboard. She painted it like brick and hung their homemade stockings from it. She has sew everything from bibs and pajamas to matching dresses and Halloween costumes galore. She can slipcover anything! For several years she made our holiday cards, lining us 5 kids up on the couch for a photo she would take and frame beautifully with construction paper, every one done by hand. Our parents built us a Barbie penthouse one Christmas and my Mom decorated every room perfectly, framing our tiny school photos and hanging them there so we could pretend that we were Barbies pals. She can paint and draw beautifully, use a miter box, work a jigsaw, hang wallpaper, do stained glass, and one summer she painted the entire outside of our 3 story house using just an extension ladder and a brush. If the whole diy-home improvement-blogging world existed back then she would have ruled it. Only she would not have had time because she was too busy being creative to brag about it. My grandma Reta B and my beautiful Mother Christie are my crafting idols. They were crafty before crafty was cool, and they taught me everything I know!

Still Bummed!

I rearranged my living room the other day.

It is sometimes easier to clean if I move everything around.
These matching bookshelves ended up on either side of my television.

This one holds my complete collection of the now defunct
but once pioneering design magazine, "Domino".
*sigh!*

You had me at "Free"

I was driving back from Target the other evening, making my way up a steep, winding hill on my way home, when I spotted a grouping of chairs set on the side of the road. There was a home made sign taped to them...."Free" it said, and I drove on. "I have too much on my plate right now" I said to my self. "I don't have time for another project" I reasoned. "I already have way too many chairs" I muttered. But before I could say "hand sander" or "staple gun" and before I really knew what I was doing, I had whipped that truck around and headed back down the hill. Yes, I said truck, I had left my own beautiful car at home and just happen to be driving the old truck we keep for hauling stuff and for loaning to friends who are moving. Those chairs were meant to be mine, they were just waiting for me and my truck to roll by and take them home. They are sturdy, made of solid, hard wood and the removable seats are just begging for an infusion of lovely fabric. I could not leave them behind. I threw them in to the back of the truck and was on my way, up the road to yet another chair project! The gods of free stuff were smiling on me that day.

Do It!

I believe this with all my heart!

Thank you for reminding me Honeycomb Print Shop

Major Blog Love!

The most amazing thing I have discovered while blogging is the wonderful community of generous and thoughtful folks I am now a part of. I am truly honored to be considered among this talented bunch I have gotten to know through this blog. One such lovely lady is the one behind the blog "Of Peacocks and Paisleys". She opened up her beautiful blog to showcase my homes entry way. I am so flattered! Thank You Gagan!

LinkWithin Love

I ordered 1 yard of this lovely grey ikat from west elm. I'm not at all sure what I'm going to do with it but I love how it is used here:

Since I only bought 1 yard I will likely bust out my new sewing machine and make a pillow or 2...or I could turn to my tried and true, girls best friend-staple gun and transform a chair seat into a work of art...or sell some of my stock in fiberfill and make another pouf! The possibilities are endless!!

Why So Snarky?

I see a lot of beautifully decorated rooms and truly inspired and eclectic home design all over the Internet. There are a multitude of decor blogs giving opinions about things they love and just as often things they are tired of. Haters I call them! This poster has somehow made it onto the haters list. I don't know why, except maybe they feel the need to express their coolness by jumping on the bandwagon of snark. Well I still love this poster! I have it in pink and it is the first thing I see when I gaze down the hall way to my daughters bedroom. It makes me smile and reminds me of how constant love is. So ignore the haters I say and embrace this classic work of art! You can now get it in other colors. If I only had more wall space.

It's Never too Late to Make a First Impression.

When you walk into my home you walk, right into my home. There is not a foyer that tastefully sets the tone for the rest of the house or a hallway that gently leads you into the living area. Just open the door and there you are, right in the middle of it. I have over the years moved furniture in and out and hung and rehung art, to find the most inviting arrangement to be the first thing that someone sees when they walk into my home. This is my latest configuration and I think I like it!