Saturday, October 31, 2009

Color Story-Vintage Books

The school library was weeding through and discarding books that hadn't been checked out in a while and among them I found a few vintage books that attracted me mainly because of the colors and interesting cover designs. They all happen to have been published in the 1950s and may be used later as props in my merchandise photos, but in the meantime they made a pretty collage.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Organizing Inspiration (Lemon Jitters Blog)

Last week Katie of the Lemon Jitters blog featured one of my Etsy items as part of a weekly segment called "Tidy Tuesday" which highlights wares found on Etsy among other things that might be helpful in organizing. I'm a big fan of organizing, and having an organized space doesn't mean it has to be sparse or void of creativity. Using re-purposed, vintage, or handmade things can make organizing more interesting. Check out past "Tidy Tuesday" segments on:
Jewelery Organizers and Repurposed wall organizers

More Inspiration.....

How about a vintage magazine rack used for pretty file folders instead?

Surprise Coffee Table


Last week I took a little detour to the local bargain barn on the way to....well, I'm not sure where I was going. Anyway, I picked up a short upholstered bench with teak legs. I love small upholstered things because of the redo potential, but immediately upon getting it home I realized it didn't fit in my living room, as seating anyway. I thought, however as the legs were easily removable, I could rip off the stinky upholstery and unscrew the legs to store for future use.


I expected to see plywood under the fabric, but was pleasantly surprised by the nice blond wood with a finish that had been well protected under the layers of batting.


The funny thing was that it didn't match the legs at all. It appeared that years ago someone had married two separate pieces of furniture. I tried it in place of my old coffee table, which I wasn't super in love with, but the height was all wrong. The different woods were really bugging me too. I must of dreamed about it over night, because very early the next morning it dawned on me that I had a small mid century stool with the same light wood legs as the bench and oddly they seemed too tall for footstool. I jumped out of bed and had to check.


Amazingly I found that the legs on both pieces were attached by the same hardware and could be instantly interchangeable so I swapped them. Now the bench/coffee table and footstool were at appropriate heights.


By about 8 a.m. I had a new and unexpected coffee table. For my next trick, I will attempt to upholster the footstool.
Bench $10
Footstool $7
Leg Swap $0

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Little 'Ol Me On Apartment Therapy - L. A.


Today I was thrilled to have a photo of one of my rooms featured on Apartment Therapy Los Angeles. It was included in an article written by Beth Zeigler, contributing editor of Apartment Therapy, about using scrap wood in decorating. The partial Ghiradelli Chocolate sign in the corner was an item I had saved from the trash. It had been turned around and the back side had been used as paneling in a garage. During a renovation, the owner who had removed it from the wall had thrown it into a pile of trash. She couldn't figure out why I saw any value in it. I organized this room with the hope that I will use it for artistic ventures. For now it's where I store and package my vintage items for shipping. This photo can also be seen in the Rearranged Design House Tour and Corners of My Home Group on Flickr

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

DYI with a little help- Labels

I just received a set of vinyl canister decals that I purchased from Jenn Ski. I'm still trying to incorporate color into my kitchen.


I have some vintage clear glass canisters with graphic labels in black. One is for coffee, but I realized that when I fill up the canister with black coffee you can't see the label. That's when I found these cool decals from Jenn Ski that come in several colors that can be adhered to all sorts of surfaces. I acquired a vintage ceramic canister which had worn remnants of some sort of design that I had to remove.


Then after having read the directions carefully, Voila. It's a fun way to add little bits of color to a kitchen. I thought it might be interesting to use another color like lime on the flip side for a quick an easy change.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Chartreuse Baby!

It was scary at first. Chartreuse is a favorite color in small doses like pottery or pillows but using it on a piece of furniture in my house? I'm always admiring pictures of rooms with lots of color, but I seem to play it safe. Well, when I came across this hutch at the Salvation Army for only $30 I couldn't pass it up.


It was veneer and damaged, but I liked the lines of it (no is wasn't a coveted Danish modern teak or anything). What would it hurt to experiment? It was too scratched to repair the wood and my kitchen couldn't take the heavy dark wood especially because if you look closely it's a smidge too big for the wall. Painting the base of it white visually toned down the size, but I wanted to reserve a portion for color. Painting the inset of the door and the drawer faces seemed like the perfect solution.


If I want to change it later, it's just a minor fix, but for now I'm satisfied.

Recent Etsy Purchase from Moofus

I just received a new print from Moofus of Etsy. I discovered Moofus one day while perusing Etsy and noticed some prints of his that featured skateboarders. As my son loves skateboarding I looked further. I was impressed.

This preteen lives in Australia and many of his scenes are inspired by places in and around Sydney. The print "Dwelling" was created especially for the March 2009 edition of Dwell Magazine. It is a rendition of his Dream House. I loved the colors and whimsical nature and can't wait to frame and display it.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Rainy Day


Thrifted Domino storage
Originally uploaded by thriftytown
This is the first rainy day in a long while. School was canceled due to storm warnings so we're home and I'm rearranging, making things cozy and lighting candles.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Open Studios- Featured Artist Addie Rementer

This weekend The Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County began its annual Open Studios Tour and I had the opportunity to revisit local artist Addie Rementer of The Heart Wood Gallery.

Addie is one of my favorites. I love the color, texture and bit of whimsy she adds to her mixed media pieces. Some of her works are very sophisticated while others are playful, but I love them all. Addie is also an Etsy artist offering a collection of her greeting cards.

Imaginary Friends is on of Addie's prints that I have in my own home.