Jennifer's Junky Life ~

Project Restyle :: Upcycled Mailbox

I've been wanting to join the Flickr group Project Restyle ever since it was up and running earlier this year and I'm so excited to finally be a part of it. It's hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, Elsie of A Beautiful Mess. As you well know if you've been here for any amount of time, my passion is upcycling and repurposing and I've really enjoyed all of the great things I've seen in the group so far! Check it out when you get a chance.

My first entry is this old mailbox with an artificial rusted patina I found while thrifting on our trip to Minot, ND when Mark was working for an oil company out there this past winter. I think it was around $4.00, if I remember correctly.

I've picked so much stuff up over the years and it's really hard to remember exactly how much everything is off the top of my head. (And I don't feel like looking it up right now in my little notebook where I keep track of things like that.) And, let's be real - I've picked up so much stuff over the past six months, there is no way I'd remember everything exactly!

Before.

After.

I primed it both inside and out, painted it with several coats of spray paint, distressed it, and embellished it with a little vintage card and Mod Podge for use in a studio or home office and it will be listed in the junk shop sometime in the coming weeks along with numerous other upcycled treasures as I find time to photograph them all!

P.S. That blue in the 'Before' photos hurts my eyes, too. I tried to tone it down a little, without much success.

Color My World :: Color Yours

I woke up to a bunch of monkeys running through the house. Or was it chickens...? Maybe it was both. It was hard to tell... But I shipped them outside either way just to be safe.

Two of my nephews stayed the night with Abram and Carter. And Nikayda went to stay over at her cousin's house. They were tearing around playing some kind of animals.

It was somewhere in the high 80°'s yesterday and I heard we're getting more of the same today but then it's going to drop to the 60°'s. (That's more my speed.) It was calm yesterday but today it's a little breezy for spraying. That might not stop me though. But the heat will.

I had my annual physical yesterday, overdue by a year, so I didn't get much spraying done yesterday. I've been 30 for 4 years now and don't have to do blood work but every three years. But since it had already been two, we did that as well. I'm always curious what my cholesterol levels are and all that good stuff.

It's funny, when I was first married, I would have probably passed out if I even attempted to watch as they drew my blood. Now after having babies (and getting blood drawn so many times), it's a piece of cake to watch. Almost.

After my appointment, I ran to the thrift real quick. I found a few treasures. Including a light blue vintage typewriter for a whole $2.00. Even the cashier couldn't believe the price on it! I've been wanting one for awhile.

I also found a midcentury coffee/end table for $3.00 that I'm going to repaint to sell or keep (??). I love it so I'm not sure yet. But then again, I love everything I find to repaint. I try to justify keeping it all but, really, I need to clear out here so this craft show is a great start and then I can start listing more upcycled items in the junk shop. And, hopefully, start hosting monthly occasional sales sometime in the near future. I'm currently looking for a vintage camper to have sales out of... (Will post about that soon!)

I found this awesome little lampshade last week at the thrift! I need to dig around the basement to see if I have a small lamp to match it. I took photos of my other thrift finds from last week but they didn't turn out. I'll try to get around to it soon but I can't promise too much... You know how it goes!

Before I left yesterday, I started the red enamel on an old metal stool of mine that I've wanted to paint for ages. Will have before and after shots when it's finished. I'm so happy with how it looks now! Shiny and bright instead of drab dark green.

This little frame (below) is about 6-7 inches tall. I'm still toying with the idea of using fabric and filling the frame with something pretty... I'll see what happens when I start that phase of these projects.

Before

After

I'm so anxious to start posting more photos. I've got quite a few things finished for the craft show. Including a few accidents that I like (see yellow frames). I just wish I had a good way to photograph them here at home. I might need to dig up an old door from the basement to hang them on as I photograph them. I'm fearless when it comes to hammering holes in my walls to hang up my own decor but not really interested in pounding random holes just to show a finished project. If you know what I mean.

I've attempted to edit photos in Picnik a few times over the past several days so I can do some posts but for some reason after I do my edits and click save they revert back to their original unedited versions. Quite frustrating! But I'm trying again today.

...and it's working now. :)

Oops, I spoke too soon! The photos are coming out with grey sections, like they're chopped off... (below) So I'm back to using Picasa. I prefer the clarity I can get with Picnik (via Picasa) and I dream of owning Photoshop. (See the diff. between the yellow frame below and the first image of it above (the 'after' photo) which was done in Picasa.)

The 'accident' part... I know I mentioned this the other day, but some of the paint was starting to wrinkle on my things. I had that happen only once before (last summer). I haven't been able to figure out what causes it yet. (If anyone has any ideas, I'd love your thoughts!) Anyway, it happened on a bunch of things recently. Mark was thinking maybe I was spraying too thick...but I had the same level of spray/coverage on everything I did when it happened and only certain items did that. Then I was wondering if it was this particular spray paint's reaction (Montana Cans') to the Krylon Fusion because it seems like that was what I had used as a primer of sorts for some of these things. The other thought was the temperature outside because it had dropped so much during the time I was painting. But, really, I'm at a loss here.

I started sanding them down and they started looking nice and distressed, including the sections of wrinkled paint -- it was sanding off to look like crackled paint and I liked it. So I ran with it and that's how they'll stay. The fuschia colored wall hanging will go on my wall as soon as I clear coat it. I rather like it but I don't want this to keep happening because it could ruin the look I'm going for on certain things.

Hope you're enjoying your week! We're sure enjoying the beginning of our summer vacation.

'S' is for Show :: Arts & Crafts Show

Because that's all that's been on my mind lately (July 9, here).

A little 'S' ornament I painted for the show and will add a contrasting ribbon or string to clash-match with it. (See note at the end about the wrinkled items on either side of it.) I love these colors together. I want to be surrounded by them because they make me so happy.

I got my spray paint order on Tuesday and went to town this afternoon. I love this stuff. So far, I like both the Montana Gold and the Montana White. It's nice, thick paint and goes on so smoothly. I can't see myself ever going back to Krylon. Seriously, this stuff is awesome and the color selection is fantastic. Although... I have to add that some of the colors are so far off from what they appear on my screen that it's ridiculous. I ordered the Montana Gold Power Orange, which appears to be a nice and warm tone of orange but it's blaze orange on the can that I got. Nothing like the photo.

And both the blue colors of Kilimandsharo and Mt. Everest (both from the Gold line) look more down the lines of periwinkle or powdery grey blue, yet, the order form looks like they're both nice shades of turquoise.

Even some of the colors that I really like still looked nothing like they did on my screen. I'm hoping I can get ahold of a color card from the company before I do another order so I can get the right colors. I'm anxious to get my hands on more shades!

I got quite a few things painted and primed today. It was gorgeous out! Except a bit windy but I ran with it. I'm really hoping to have all of my painting done by the end of next week. That way I can just do anything new I might find garage saling or thrifting. And I can start working on upcycling things like adding wire to picture frames to make jewelry holders, or chicken wire and clothespins for cards. And, most importantly to me, maybe I can finally start adding some more upcycled items to the junk shop.

I'm acting like I know what I'm doing but I really don't have a clue. I have no plans for any of it yet. I just play with it all and let things fall into place as they will. I'm excited to start the repurposing phase though once the painting's done!

(Photos: I love color. And I love the colors in these photos but the paint got all wrinkled on some of these frames this evening. My only guess is it's because of the quick temperature drop we had after a warm day... I'll have to do a little light sanding and carry on and, hopefully, they'll turn out alright in the end. Note: I've been trying to edit photos in Picnic lately but I just don't have time to mess around with it right now. And, I finally printed my camera manual. Maybe some year I'll read it...)

Montana Gold colors in photos: Yellow - 1200 Advocaat, Red-pink - 3030 Raspberry, Deep plum - 3160 Bettertimes. Montana White - Aqua - 6110 Soap.

Keep on rollin' (Sneak Peek)

I've been meaning to pop on here every day for the past week but I've been busy painting like crazy. Mostly priming at this point. (For the Midsummer Arts & Crafts Show that takes place July 9 here, along with a few things for myself. My sister, Sara, and I will each have a booth there. I'm going to be plugging that a lot, so please excuse the repeat if you've already seen it!)

I ordered a bunch of spray paint, in a whole bunch of different colors, from Blick last week and am expecting it this week. I'm trying out a new brand (Montana Cans). The reviews were great, so I'm excited to try it. It's geared toward the graffiti artist so I hope that means the spray nozzles are more comfortable, too. I ordered all 6 different sizes for the caps, just to test them out. (They each have a different width spray.) I've mostly used Krylon or Rust-Oleum until now. But I'm so bored with the lack of color selection they have.

To be fair, they have a lot of options but their selection of unique, bright, retro like colors that I love are pretty much non-existent. I want unique colors for my items that are different from everything else and Montana Cans has so many different new-to-me colors.

(Below) My current arsenal. I love the white Fusion when it comes to painting vintage plastic picture frames and 1970's wall hangings. The Clean Metal Primer is a must for all of the metal pieces I find that are a little rusted and chipped. It really holds that rust in. I use the regular primer on other metal items that are in overall great shape and on wood items. I pretty much prime everything I paint. It's rare that I skip it, even though I know it's not always necessary. Something about starting from a fresh clean (in this case, white) slate...

 
I started editing a few photos to post here but just haven't been able to make the time to do it so I'm throwing some (mostly) unedited pictures up here to give you a little view into my world as it is lately.

I prefer spraying over brushing when it comes to painting but I enjoy doing both. It's therapeutic and relaxing. I just prefer the instant gratification and the ease of application when it comes to spraying a little bit more. Everything turns out nice with the spray. Although, I use Purdy brushes (and foam rollers) so the brushing does, too, but you still have to be more careful. I have an actual sprayer for the gallons of paint I buy (Benjamin Moore*, is my favorite) but I haven't tried it out yet. I've only had it for a few years. (Not unlike the printer, which only took us two months to hook up. And, which, by the way I love having again.)

I'm hoping to test out the sprayer this summer when I do mine and Mark's vintage metal dressers. They're a sludgy grey color right now and I can't wait to perk them up. They've been sitting in the basement for about four years or so. I'm sensing a pattern here...

I'm having a ball. I love doing this and it feels so great to be at it again after a dry spell for the past few years.

I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day! A special thank you to all of our soldiers and veterans and their families! I spent the entire afternoon priming and painting. It was a good day.

*These are only my opinions on paint. I've painted a lot of things over the years but I'm no expert so take them as you will: If you're looking for a good latex paint, I highly recommend Benjamin Moore. The others don't hold a candle to it (in my opinion). It's like painting with pure liquid silk. When I started out, Dutch Boy was the first paint I tried and I'll never use it again. It's junk (the bad kind). My paint stayed sticky on a bunch of my items. After 3-4+ years some of my red picture frames still are -- so is my pantry, also red, which needs to be repainted because of it. Cardboard boxes stick and then rip after sitting on the shelves. I tried Glidden with the free sample recently, and it's good. I'd use it again -- but I still prefer Benjamin Moore. I could definitely tell a quality difference between the two after using them practically side by side recently. The application was smoother with the Ben Moore.

Take it or leave it, that's my little paint spiel for anyone interested.

My back is killin' me, my face is smiling and my heart is happy

My Grandma T. always says only lazy people count their work... I spent the entire afternoon and evening priming two stools (one metal, the other wood), the top of a coffee table, a small but ornate picture frame, a wooden tray, a metal midcentury bathroom shelf, a bunch of small oval metal frames and two wooden plaques. Next week, I get to start on the fun part... Making them colorful! I'll have before and after photos as I finish them. (Below: All but the upside down metal stool and the long table are for the craft show.)

It all started on this rainy Saturday because yesterday while out garage saling I came across this super long mid-century coffee table. It had all but lost all of its stain and was in pretty rough shape. After checking it out a bit, we figured the top is probably oak. It's heavy. The legs are wobbly (I need to glue and secure them before priming them). It's also slightly buckled in the middle -- but it's subtle enough, I don't care. The elderly gent hosting the sale told me to just take it.

Well, there was a slight problem with that because I only had the ol' bargain cruiser and there were already three children inside. After briefly contemplating whether or not to dump them and take the table, I quickly came to my senses and called Mark who was working nearby. Luckily, he agreed to run by and pick it up after work.

So when I got home from garage saling and running errands, much to my surprise he was already home. And the table was sitting smack dab in front of the couch in the living room. Since the basement is already flooded with projects and junk to go through, I knew I'd have to do something quick or I'd be staring at an ugly table for who-knows-how-long.

We're forecasted rain for the next few days, so I just threw down some junky vintage sheets drop cloths and started priming.

And couldn't stop. I'm so wired on doing the craft show this summer and on getting projects done around here so I can do more decorating. And, mostly because I've been wanting to join Project Restyle (hosted by A Beautiful Mess) ever since it started.

The sun popped out this evening for a short spell and I quickly ran outside to squeeze in some spray priming for some of the metal pieces for my booth. (Have I mentioned how fun this is? I'm loving painting again!) The best part is, I have enough stuff in the basement to refinish that I won't have to buy a single thing for the show (not counting paint and supplies). Although, I know that won't stop me now that garage sale season has started.

I'm not a quitter.. I'm not a quitter... I'm not a...

Wow. Seriously... I can't believe how easy it is to not blog when you've not blogged for so long.

My sister, Sara, and I are planning to do the Midsummer craft show in our town this summer (in July...she was thinking it's July 9). I figure if I post about it we're committed, so it makes it feel more real. We did it a few years ago but even though we talked about it, we didn't end up doing the past two years. We're both very excited!

She sews and has a ton of cute stuff in the shop over at Circle Boutique (bibs, pacifier clips, burp cloths...etc...) I'm a complete blog slacker, and that means I've also slacked in helping to promote my mom and and my sisters' shop! So, go check it out! There are mostly baby items. But Emily has a few scrapbooks and Amanda has some headbands for little girls. Heidi no longer has any items listed because she is working on branching out on her own. I'll let you know when she has her (*ahem*...Beatle...) shop open!

I piled a bunch of stuff near the doorway in my room in the basement today. The room that you can't walk thru because it's so full of projects that need to be worked on. There are many things that I plan to paint and use in our home but I was happy to find a ton of stuff that I'd picked up to either refinish or repurpose and sell. There will be no shortage of projects around here for the craft show. Now to get the ol' wheels turning so I can come up with ideas for everything! I'm especially excited because my stash of vintage fabric and wallpaper have both grown since I did the last show. More options = more fun!

This afternoon, I finished painting the bookshelf I mentioned the other day as well as a tray that I will have at the craft show. I plan to line the tray with vintage wallpaper. I'll show more photos of the bookshelf when it's finished.

I need to allow the paint to cure for a few days before I add some vintage wallpaper to the inside and I'm hoping to find or make some decals for both of the sides. I used my free quart of Glidden paint from last year on these projects. I chose 'Tropical Coral'...but, to be honest, I was picturing it to be a few shades lighter, more of a nice granny pink, than it actually is. I think it would be better lighter when it's on furniture so I'm hoping it grows on me, or I'll have to repaint it.

It's been so beautiful lately. Sunny and warm. My favorite weather (mid- 60's to 70°). A little too breezy/windy for painting but I ran with it today and am glad I did in spite of the tiny little bugs that occasionally tried to paste themselves to my projects and thwart my efforts.

Our goats are back! And they brought friends. (Two of them are ours (Bella and Luna) but we have six here right now.) They were gone all winter while Mark was away. Our friends offered to keep them with their goats while Mark was gone and we greatly appreciated it! They're all Nigerian Dwarf goats so they're pretty tiny, although it's difficult to tell from the photos without anything for comparison. (Both photos were taken out back by our clearing in the woods.)

We are back to milking again because Quinn and Xena (not sure on the spelling of either) are both back again. We had them last year for milking, as well. Xena (all black) has her twins with her this time. Last year, her kids were weaned when we brought her here to milk.

I'm a total city slicker and admittedly don't take much part in the caring for the animals (which is Mark's hobby) but I do enjoy watching them and having them around for the most part. I just absolutely loathe the chicken sh*t though. Free range birds are great for many reasons. (#1: They help with the local tick population.) But not their droppings all over the yard. It's my hope that we'll have them more contained once we have an actual yard and a deck on the house. I love hearing the chickens cackling and clucking and the goats bleating when the windows are open or we're outside, though. There is just something about those sounds that I'll never get sick of hearing!

Silence is golden... except when it comes to blogging

I alluded to things being a little rough around here earlier this winter... Well, I can finally tell those of you who may not have known, that it was because Mark was working 500 miles away from home (about 8 hours drive time). And he only got every other weekend off (and only Saturday and Sunday) so we only saw him 4 days a month for the past 4 months.

After hunting for work for three months around here, he finally headed out to the North Dakota oil wells right after we got back from being with my family in Michigan at Christmas. He left on January 3rd to look for work, sleeping in his truck and hoping to find a place to stay.

He ended up finding a job working in a shop for one of the oil companies after a couple of weeks. And, for one month he rented an old bomber of a camper at a car dealership with a couple of other guys from our church who were out there (two of them also with spouses back here). After that, he was back sleeping in his truck (with no heat) when the others were put up in man camps by their employers. (His heat hadn't been working for a couple of years. Ironically, he did fix it now but only since the weather has warmed up. Too late to be of much help when it was cold.)

I sent him out there with a bunch of heavy quilts and sleeping bags and he ended up bringing some of them home after a few weeks. So, I was glad to know he was managing to stay warm enough while he slept anyway! (He was able to shower at the local rec. center.)

I can't even begin to say how hard it was having him away from us. The kids and I missed him like crazy. We've never had to do this for this long before. (We'd been apart for work for a month at the most prior to this.) We were all lonesome. But so very thankful for the work. It felt a little bittersweet finally getting a job when we were living under these circumstances.

(And at the same time, I had to remind myself that there are those who do this all the time and especially I often found myself remembering our military families out there who's loved ones are in constant danger while they're away. It just gave me a whole new appreciation for those who have to be apart, under any circumstances.)

We decided to play it by ear when he went out there. If work didn't come up here, he was going to look for a rental so we could all be together. In fact, he had just started looking for a place when he came home one weekend this spring and met with the guy he contracted with last year. Intending to decline the offer to come home and work on one cabin with him, he went to meet him -- only to come home in the afternoon and decide that he was going to come home (even though he only had the one cabin lined up).

(Mentioned on book but not here: Got my blue suede shoes today. I love the color! Photo credit: Ebay seller.)

He came home 'officially' this past Friday night and it's so nice to have him around again! I still keep reminding myself that he doesn't have to go back. Now, we're hoping more work pops up or we'll have to revisit the oil company thing again in the fall or winter. But it also feels nice to know that's an option if we have to do it. We've done it once, we can do it again -- but this time I'd want a place out there so we can go back and forth and see him more often. (We have no plans to leave this area or to sell our house -- we love it here.) For now, we're just very much enjoying our new 'normal' again.

It was especially hard for him to be away from the kids so long. He was gone for his 30th birthday (Jan.), for Nikayda's (Feb.) and Abram's (Jan.) birthdays and for our 10th Anniversary (in April). For the kids, he called and we put him on speaker phone so he could sing with us while they blew out their candles. But he was home for Mother's Day, and my birthday is tomorrow (Thur.) and as small as it may be, I'm just so, so happy to be able to spend it with him! I'll be 30 for the fourth year in a row. Looking forward to it. :) The kids want me to make a cake. I never have before and haven't decided if I will or not -- but I might just to see their smiles.

(Also mentioned on book but not here: my new summer sandals that should arrive tomorrow! Thanks to a link from an old school friend on book, I couldn't stop thinking about them and got them for now insead of these ones because they're brighter and more colorful. Purchased for half off thanks to Swagbucks gift cards! Photo credit: Amazon seller.)

PROJECTS: I've been working on a couple of projects this week. The cabinet I mentioned last time I blogged is almost completely primed (I just need to contend with the rusty bottom section) and the bookshelf is now ready for a couple of coats of paint. It's upside down in the second picture because I just finished priming the bottom.

It was covered in oil in spots near the bottom (first picture). I tried getting most of it out before priming it with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3. It should be fine with a couple of coats of the primer. It'll house some of our homeschool books. They're all in wire fridge baskets in the living room. It'll be nice to have them on shelves finally.

I haven't decided on colors yet. I'll have to dig through my stash and see what I've got or go pick out more. I'll be using some vintage wallpaper inside to pretty it up, too. I'm anxious to get them done! It feels so great to be painting again. It's been far too long!

Sunshine Catcher

We don't have a very formal approach to art in our home school simply because the kids are always doing art. They have free reign of all of the art supplies and at any given time are making things on their own throughout the day. So...when I come across a fun art project (i.e. a structured project), it's always kind of fun to sit down and make something together. (Below, a corner of Nikayda's room. I feel like adding the little heart banner finally helped to pull this random wall collage together.)

I came across this tutorial last week, while surfing through some of my favorite blogs, for some wax paper hearts that I thought looked pretty cool. The kids had a blast grating a bunch of our old/broken crayons for this. I gave them each a vintage grater, last night, and let them go to town! They loved it.

Let me warn you, this project makes a bit of a mess but as I told the kids, "It isn't fun unless it makes a mess!" In hindsight, I would have put the drop cloth over the entire table as opposed to where the kids were because it kept sliding and we still got crayon particles everywhere.

It was fun to see the different colors they each carefully chose for their respective banners. I ended up free-hand cutting out all of their hearts for them (their choice) and threading Abram's and Carter's. Although, Carter helped me thread quite a few of his. Nikayda did her own threading, and they all picked out their own yarn color. (Below, Abram's banner hanging in the living room window. The little lean-to is for the goats.)

Now they're hung on our 'newly' trimmed but unpainted windows, adding a little splash of color around here. And I love that they would work year round even though we made them for a Valentine's project. (Below, Nikayda's.)

I may have a relatively new point and shoot -- but after scoping through Ashley's blog, I have a renewed itch for a digital SLR! Maybe this will be the year...! or next. A girl can dream... (Below, Carter's banner hanging in the sitting room window. You can see the chicken coop (which still needs windows) in the background there.)

It's been such a treat now knowing that we'll get a steady paycheck every two weeks -- as opposed to the random checks of self-employed carpentry that we've been getting for the past 9 years. We just got our second one...here is to catching up on the past few months in the next few months! At least, we're heading in the right direction now... :)

Thanks to the gent whose house smelled kind of funny...

I'm getting my bedroom organized.

The kids and I stopped at a garage sale this summer and when we walked up, the tall bearded gentleman greeted me with a, "Hello, darlin!", and then proceeded to invite the kids and I to go on a nature walk out back on the trails behind his house. He was a bit unkempt and I politely declined.

I thought it quite odd, until I realized his house was for sale and he was heading to New Mexico, selling nearly everything he owned. So, either, a) he was a squirley criminal and we were his next victims, or b) he wanted us to really check out the land in the hopes we'd be interested in buying.

I'm going with the latter, although the former was what immediately came to mind when you consider we were down a winding dirt road out in the middle of nowhere with hardly a soul around.

The kids still like to loudly proclaim, "Hello, darlin'!" from time to time in a southern twang just for giggles.

I might add, that it's not necessarily the 'darlin' part that bugged me, although, I don't necessarily love when random gentlemen whom I don't know call me 'hon' or 'darlin'. Happens all the time. You'd be surprised. (Ok, maybe not.) It was the way he said it and the way he talked to me while I was there. Sort of in that way that he may not necessarily have had the most respect for women. Guys like that creep me out. And make me mad.

To make a short story long, I got a couple of old metal shelf brackets from him, some kitchy blue birds that I plan to hang up somewhere, a couple of old metal tool boxes to decorate, a bucket of vintage wooden clothespins, and a vintage wooden folding lawn chair. (I said he was creepy. I didn't say his junk was.)

Tonight, Mark hung the white metal shelf brackets in our room and cut and sanded up a section of board to use as a shelf to go above it. No closets necessary! I'm using the shelf and brackets out in the open. I plan to paint the rod and shelf or cover them in fabric or paper. But, they're functional for now. (I'm scrambling to shape up our bedroom and the loft before my mom and sisters come. Some of my sisters haven't seen my house yet -- producing that little thing called motivation.)

Our bed was originally against the wall in the photos (why it's still sitting in front of the shelf). I plan to put it on the opposite wall tomorrow, once I move the stuff that's there right now.

I also put all of Mark's clothes into the midcentury dresser we got from the guy he works with (pictures soon). Neither of us have had dressers since we were married (over 9 years ago). I have two matching retro metal dressers in the basement that have been sitting there for a couple of years -- some year I'll get around to painting them so we can use them. Up until now, he (and I) have had our clothes in plastic boxes.

Granted, we've moved countless times prior to this house but I think it's time to start settling in around here. I'm pretty sure we're not going anywhere.

(Last photo: Sneak peek at our 'new' nesting boxes boot/shoe cubby going in the entry way. I'm super excited about this find! -- more pictures in the coming weeks.)

Whip up a WIP

When I'm not creating or doing art, I always feel like this part of myself is missing. I've been so negligent in that aspect in regards to myself this past year or so that I've had this  permanent little voice constantly telling me I needed to make something. This little part of me that felt like I was sleeping. (Below: My new 'picture' from the thrift. I love it -- especially the little blue birds and the owl.)

So, today amidst the long overdue dusting and cleaning of the kitchen shelves after we did school, I sat down and made something.

I've had this vision of what I wanted on the overhang from the loft just above the entry way for several years. I want a row of circle frames up there. I've gathered a few but I'm still hunting. I'd not put much thought of what I wanted in those frames until today. I decided each frame will hold a different letter all coming together to spell out our last name. Or some other word... I love words in decor. I love them on the walls, in frames, on pillows, on banners, everywhere.

I made the 'J' today. (I still need to secure the fabric at the back with some heavy paper so I can hang it.) Although, once I held it up I'm thinking the 'J' itself may be a tidge too small to be hanging up so high. So we'll see how this goes... It may end up somewhere else. And I'll have to think of something new for the loft overhang.

Besides actually making something, I did two other 'new' things today. I finally started using cut into a vintage pillowcase (above). I've been stockpiling them for years -- along with fabric and other linens but haven't made too many projects with them. So, this was a little milestone for me. (I spent part of my day on Monday sailing around blogland, visiting my favorite blogs for inspiration.)

And, I used gold. A gold frame to be precise. I've never cared for gold. Or yellow. But I'm slowly finding them both slipping into our home. I love color and I'm realizing using multiple combinations of colors, all colors, are what I'm liking the most about decorating lately. I feel like the things I like are evolving and I'm embracing it -- welcoming it with open arms. The more colorful, the better. I love change!