A new face on the scene

Since many of my favorite magazines folded in the last two years, I've had a dearth of reading material next to my bed.  I find magazines to be the ideal reading material at bedtime - short articles, inspirational ideas, food for thought.  I gravitate to the shelter magazines, with a few art and cooking ones thrown in (as well The New Yorker and The Week - have to stay informed!)  This new cover caught my eye a couple of months ago but I didn't pick it - until prompted by a friend (thanks Kimberly!) that I might have good reason to give it a look...

Not only was the magazine filled with fresh decorating tips, easy DIY projects and great photos, the last page really caught my attention-

This is one of the projects from my book, The Salvage Studio!  Written with my former Salvage Studio partners, the book features 35 sustainable projects for your home & garden.  Not only did I buy the magazine, but I signed on for a charter subscription for only $10  - and you can too - all the details can be found at FRESHHOMEMAG.COM

Off on a new adventure...

This is a favorite saying at our house whenever we are doing something we're never done before - and so it seems appropriate now....I'm teaming up with Wendy Lee Lynds, fellow local collage artist to have a booth at the upcoming Everett Home & Gift Show.

We decided to join forces and have a booth together - mulitiplying our efforts and our energy.  The Everett Home & Gift Show is tweaking their focus - appealing more to the desire for home decor and gifts - and with the holidays just around the corner from this October show, we plan to offer lots of inspiration for unique gifts.
Here's the details -  
October 22-24, 2010
Comcast Arena in downtown Everett
We'll be in booths 346 & 347

We've even started a blog to focus on our efforts - keep up with all the details as well as get a preview of the goods we will be offering at collageduos.blogspot.com
Mark your calendar now - we'd love to see you there!

The star of the show

The Fresh Paint Art Festival was this past weekend - the fine woman above was the star of the show.  Everyone enjoyed my "Cabinet Card Curiosities" and many commented on the grand dame of the installation.  I was starting to think that she would be left behind - but by Sunday afternoon, she was taken home by a woman who adored her!

As part of the event, each artist was to demonstrate some aspect of their craft at their booth.  For the second straight year, I had a participatory activity in which people could make their own mini-collage.  Using cardboard as its base, I provided scissors, glue, crayons and two big tubs of assorted scrap/ephemera/trimmings for inspiration.  I wanted to demonstrate that collage doesn't take any fancy tools or expensive materials - you just have to be willing to jump in and give it a try.  Here are some of the newly minted artists with their creations - I love how everyone looks so proud!

Seems as if summer is winding down...time to start thinking about fall and holiday art shows...I'll keep you posted!

Art - recycled & refreshed

About a month ago, I had a post about art that is unloved and unwanted -
http://fourcornersdesign.blogspot.com/2010/07/art-can-be-recycled-too.html
I talked about how two lovely bird collages had yet to find a new home and that re-working them might entice someone with their renewed message.  I had these cardboard birds that were most likely from a 1960's classroom bulletin board that provided the impetus for the project.  A lesson in art seemed appropriate - here are the finished collages, ready for my booth at Fresh Paint this weekend...

"E is for effort, egg, and eye"

"I is for inspire"

Hope to see you this weekend - Fresh Paint at the Everett Marina, Saturday & Sunday, 10am to 5pm each day.  I'm at Booth 81 across from Lombardi's Restaurant - stop by and visit me - if you mention you read about the festival on my blog, there's a bonus for you!
More details on the festival at www.freshpaintfestival.com

Join the party!

Join the party - the Junkologie Blog Party that is!  Here's the details - If you happen to be going to the big flea market event at Oronoco, there's a blog party/potluck for those interested - there will be food, there will be fun, there will be prizes.  But if you aren't going, you can still get in on the fun and the prizes (you'll just have to supply your own food!)  The hostess of the event, ALVN of junkologie, is sponsoring a week of online give-aways.  Anyone can participate...and if you click over to her blog today, you can enter to win a lovely set of collage notecards (plus a packet of vintage ephemera to spark your own creativity) from four corners design! 

It's not too late to get in on the other online give-aways - all the details are at junkologie - so what are you waiting for - get over there right now!

Metal madness continues

I brought in several fine metal finds to my space at Faded Elegance today.  I can't put my finger on why metal and rust appeals, but it does!  These metal boxes - whether they be fishing tackle boxes or tool boxes - are great for organizing.  At home, I have one for holding old photographs, one for containing loose knobs and drawer pulls and one, a lovely shade of blue, that is my cash box when I am doing art shows.

This is a close-up of the blue box I brought back from Yakima - love the large leather handle.

This green metal box has a removable, divided drawer that sits just under the lid.  The metal bowl is vintage aluminum with a marvelous engraved floral pattern.

Details from both the box...

and the bowl.

I'm not quite sure what this was - some sort of galvanized sieve - but I love the patina...could be bowl for fresh fruit or veggies just picked from the garden...

"Summer's Bounty" continues at my space at Faded Elegance

until the end of August - Enjoy!

just one more thing...

a local kitty comfortable
among the yard sale offerings

Wanted to share some of my shopping success while in Yakima for my mini-vacation.  Love poking around in Yakima - everybody is always looking for something different and when you change locations, you get a different mixture of castoffs/ buried treasures/ fodder for inspiration! 

Went to a farm sale - "moving off the farm, everything has to go"  These kind of sales are the best since there promises to be lots of rust and metal - two of my favorite items.  Also went to the local Re-Store and found more stray house numbers for my clock collage.  A photo of my finds...I'm thinking of making a chandelier from the metal bike wheel frames...

After shopping the local thrift stores, we wandered into this shop in downtown Yakima - Garden Dance.  They had the most beautiful displays with quirky vintage finds mixed in with the simple chic clothing. 

That's the end of my mini-vacation...now I need to get busy preparing for Fresh Paint!

How the garden grows

Since I've already shown you the garden shed, its time to focus on the garden.  Its too bad I don't have a "before" shot - there was nothing in my sister's backyard but an old maple tree (great for shade but the whirly-birds are sprouting everywhere!)  The progress that has occurred in a year is astounding.  First Stacey killed off the grass in those areas where she wanted her garden beds by putting down layers of newsprint covered with mulch last winter - and voila! - there was excellent compost in place of the grass come spring.  Then methodically she planned...and planted.  After just a year, I would say the results are impressive!

She planted a vegetable garden behind the shed to get maximum sun for strawberries, tomatoes, onions, peppers and melon.  The cucumbers were in full force while I was visiting - so we had plenty to eat and I took plenty home to enjoy.  We also made the cucumber salad (adding in some Walla Walla onions from the garden) that my mother always made each summer when we were kids. 

After we were grown, my mother put together a booklet of favorite family recipes  - she typed up the recipes, organized them by category, bound them in a small booklet and covered the front & back with fabric.  She even added a fold-out piece of plastic to protect the recipe page from splatters while you were cooking.  Each of my brothers and sisters received a copy, each with a different cover.  The cover of my booklet is a hopsack print from one of my mom's favorite skirts.

For your enjoyment - here is the cucumber salad recipe...in my mom's own words.
Peel and thinly slice cucumbers.  Put in a bowl and sprinkle with salt.  Cover bowl and let stand in refrigerator overnight.  Take cucumbers out of bowl (next day) and wring out - use your hands.  Put in another (smaller) bowl.  Pour following dressing over, stir well.  Add in some sliced onion and a dash of pepper.  Let stand at least an hour before eating.
Dressing:  Mix 4-1/2 T sugar, 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/3 cup oil.  Stir well until sugar is dissolved.

812 miles later

I'm back from my mini-vacation to Eastern Washington and other points south.  As I mentioned before I took off, I wanted to accomplish three things-
1) feel some summer warmth
2) see the progress on my sister's backyard
3) attend the Barn House flea market. 


Barn House - check - see my pictures of inspiration from our visit in my last blog post.
Summer warmth - check - it was 90 degrees in Yakima - though it rained for the first time in two months the day I arrived...must have brought it with me!
So onto the backyard progress...
My sister's garden shed is fantastic - a wonderful backyard addition - great gardening storage and plenty of inspiration- just look at the cubby holes - practical mixed with fun.

Nothing had been done to the shed floor, so I offered to paint it so it would hold up to wear/tear and the elements.  There was a grid pattern existing on the pressed plywood floor so I used this as a design feature.  I taped off a combination of large and small squares to be filled in later with contrasting colors.  I painted the majority of the floor with gray porch & floor paint by Valspar.  With such warm weather, it took no time at all to paint two coats of gray and move onto the colored squares.

an aside - these 1/2 pint cans of sample paints from Valspar are perfect for small projects.  They can be mixed in any color you want - but the only finish available is interior satin.  Now this is not a good finish for a floor paint, but with these small accent squares, I felt that it would work fine...and since I picked up these four mistints for 50 cents each, it was a great bargain...it helps that I work in the paint dept at Lowes...can spot such bargains right away!

Here's a shot of the completed floor...

Next up...the garden...

A day in the country

Yesterday my sister and I enjoyed ourselves at the Barn House Flea Market.  We didn't have anything in mind that we were looking to buy...really went looking for inspiration...there was plenty...

The night before the Barn House Flea Market, we hit the Goodwill Outlet in Vancouver, WA which was just down the road from the hotel where we stayed.  After Barn House, we stopped at Vintage Gathering, another great flea market in the area.  Here's a showing of some of my sister's treasures from our trip; I'll post more of my mini-vacation adventures later in the week.