A trip to the promised land

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote here about the new IKEA catalog and what a joy it was to receive...well, the Southern Man and I travelled south recently and visited the nearest IKEA store to get my yearly fix of this sweet Scandinavian shop...

The sign is like a beacon from the interstate...leading you in...its huge and very tall...you can't miss it!




As you enter the store, there's a number of quotes on large scale walls...it gets you into the vibe of the setting...

and then I saw the best kitchen layout I've ever seen...and it made total sense that size has nothing to do with great design...I was so enthralled, that I neglected to take a few photos...but here's a slightly tweaked version from their website...the layout is a little different than the one in the store but the space planning was well thought out...it just felt right to us...all within 81 square feet!

Throughout the store, I noticed that the most common of items made a design statement when grouped together....

white display shelves...

storage canisters...

even wine corkscrews...

A few things really caught my eye...strong graphic fabric designs...

clear glass lamps...the bottom of the lamp base is open...think of all the great things you could display in the base and change out according to your whim...

this substantial woven wicker chair...I'm thinking two of them with our round dining room table...perfect place to lounge, eat, relax, enjoy...the price here includes the seat cushion...I can make better looking cushions...so the chair itself is only $79...its on the list of possibilities...

and of course, no trip to IKEA is complete with a stop at...

So what did we come home with...6 white cotton kitchen towels, 5 yards of the numbers fabric shown above, and a couple of HEMMA light cords...its a light assembly cord from which you can hang your own pendent light...I find these indispensable in designing hanging lights...such as the one seen here that I just finished...

I had some old garden fencing that I thought would be perfect for a light fixture...a few twists & turns and a HEMMA cord - its done!

and just wait and see where the numbers fabric shows up...

It's a party...and you're invited...

Dress to the nines...

and come join us at Faded Elegance on Friday, September 30
for Kimberly's Anniversary Party!


There will be champagne...

and treats to eat

as well as feasts for the eyes, heart and soul...

Dust off your crown and your wings...its time to celebrate!

Faded Elegance 11th Anniversary Party

Friday, September 30

6 to 9 pm

1116 First Street, Snohomish

360 . 568 . 5333

A shift in seasons

Now it is officially autumn...you can feel a change in the air...a difference in the light of day...
the wind blows in anticipation of what's ahead...

I collected this leaf on a recent morning walk...autumn brown is creeping around the edges of summer green...this leaf study is one of my new art card designs...available soon for sale in my etsy shop.

And speaking of art cards (and winds of change)...I am pleased that I have been invited to "Pitch my Product" to Country Living Magazine...in Atlanta...in October...and its happening concurrently with the Country Living Fair...so of course I am flying in early to spend a day junking before I make my presentation...can't wait!

Linking up to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House...I'm sure others will have signs of autumn among their pics...

Metal under wraps

I love vintage wallpaper...
I love metal...
I love taking something and making it into something else...
why not combine all three together!










I picked up these wooden frame-like objects at an estate sale about a year ago...I thought the shape was interesting...they were a dollar each...I didn't know what they were but thought they could be made into something interesting...

Initially I thought of making them into corkboards...but when I found thin pieces of MDF that fit within the back recess framework exactly, I had another idea...

I decided to make metal message boards...but line the front metal face with vintage wallpaper to give it a decorative look...I went to work...

First I painted the topside of each frame with a green tone of paint...I left the sides alone, so that the dark brown edges offered contrast...







Next I glued the galvanized metal sheets to the MDF using Liquid Nails adhesive - two 8" x 12" metal sheets covered the MDF completely...




After the glue had dried overnight, I roughed up the metal surface with 60 grit sandpaper - this gives the surface "tooth" to hold the glue that binds the wallpaper so it will adher to the metal surface...

I used three different patterns of wallpaper for the three boards, all in shades of green.  Its been relatively easy to find single rolls of vintage wallpaper...its not enough to do a room (or even a wall in most cases) so these lone rolls are cast aside...but they are perfect for art projects!  I cut a piece of wallpaper for each board, extending beyond the edges so there was plenty of overage.

I glued the wallpaper onto each piece of MDF and let them dry in the sun...I always extend the paper beyond the perimeter and then sand off the edge of the extra paper when it is dry...gives a nice clean finish...

Now that the boards were finished, I had to mount each one into their individual frames.  I used metal strapping tape to fashion a mounting holder...and used wood screws to attach the strapping tape holder to the frame and to the MDF board...

There were pre-existing holes around the edge of the frame...I used the top two holes to thread a length of jute twine through the holes for hanging.  I made three magnets for each board by gluing a magnet round onto the backside of dark wood circles I had...matches the dark wood edge of the frame.

And here are two of the completed message boards hanging in my space at Faded Elegance...and there's a partial view of the lampshade on the table lamp I made from that great green damask print wallpaper and a tiny glimpse of the hanging lampshade I fashioned from the green plaid wallpaper...

I still have three more of the empty frames...I'm thinking of finishing them for Christmas presents for friends...

I'm linking up to Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors...plenty of ideas...amazing amount...now that summer is over, is everyone feeling a creative burst of energy...?!

One good picture deserves another...and another...

Seth Apter has sparked a stack revolution...or rather a picture-taking stack revolution...
let me explain...

Seth Apter of The Altered Page posted a picture a couple of weeks ago of a stack of paper in his art studio...the textures and colors were so interesting and fascinating...another blogger suggested that we should all take photos of the stacks in our studios and share them...and so was born the idea for today's post...I am participating in the Stack Sharing Project that's going on over at The Altered Page.  The idea was to take photos of the stacks you have and post them on your blog - and then link up over at The Altered Page where over 80 (!) artists are participating....without further delay....my stacks...

I grabbed my camera and before I could even make it to my studio, I noticed the stack of newspapers on the kitchen table...we're a newspaper reading family here - two papers a day...they stack up quickly...

Recently I've been working on a series of collages that use book covers as the base...

so I have alot of books without covers stacking up...

and here are a stack of covers waiting for their turn...

This stack of covers is from a 1908 set of encyclopedias that survived a fire...

I'm making journals out of them...find a tutorial on my journal-making process here.

I use a lot of books in my work...for the base layer of a collage, for an interesting image to transfer, for a memorable snippet of words to inspire ...so I need a big inventory to draw from...

As you can see...I have books stacked everywhere...

As I climbed the stairs up from my basement studio to my office, there's more stacks...

and to round out the photo montage...a stack pic taken with my new smartphone...

Thanks to Seth for hosting such a great link-up...now get over there and check out all the other stacks!

Some want diamonds...others, rust

I had a chance over the weekend to sort & clean my finds from my Yakima trip.  Some will end up in my space at Faded Elegance...some will be fodder for future art projects...some will stay at home with me...










I collect black croquet balls...just the black ones...this beauty is my newest addition...
adore the pewter bowl too...well-loved with great patina...it will be at Faded Elegance as part of my October/November vignette...

The metal trowels with their wood handles make handsome photo holders.  I always carry a magnet with me when I'm junking to check out whether or not found metal is steel (magnet will stick) or aluminum (magnet will not stick)...whether or not a magnet sticks often dictates how it will be used.  The fabric button magnets are a quick and easy project...find details on how to make them here.

Old tools, of any kind, fascinate me...especially anything connected with measuring.  The wood handled awl is going into the container with my other art tools...the wood feels so comfortable in my hand...

And then there's this honey of a tool...the Southern Man bought this for me at one of the estate sales we were at...he told me, "You need this."  He was oh so right...

Linking up to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House...stop by to see all the other mosaic wonders...

Authentic style, part 3

Over at WhisperWood Cottage, Amy is continuing her series on Authentic Style.  She has been highlighting some fantastic individuals who demonstrate authentic style in their home...taking design elements (vintage, rustic, classic, modern, etc) and making it all their own. 

Other bloggers are invited to share what their style is...I've been playing along...
you can read Part 1 and Part 2...now on to Part 3: Personality on the Wall...

What you display in your home I think says a lot about you...I figure that I look at the walls of my home everyday...I want it to be interesting and inspiring.  Incorporating salvage elements is an important part and defines my authentic style...

I spend a lot of time in my upstairs studio/office...I have two large inspiration boards tucked into a nook...my work table is directly in front of them...

These two boards showcase vintage and found images that I never tire of looking at...

Upstairs in our bedroom, there's a comfy chair for reading...behind the chair hangs two art pieces.  I wanted to tie the two pieces together to give it a more unified look...the rusted refrigerator coil mounted on the wall gives texture and interest...when I rescued it from a junk heap that my neighbor was hauling away, he thought I was nuts...not the first time someone has thought that...

I think its important that what hangs on your wall is significant to you...the original watercolor was purchased from a street artist in Florence when my sister and I visited Italy...the set of vintage keys are from a visit to my parents many years ago...

I utilized this same idea of a rusty framework to give more presence to a postcard print in our guest bath...I love using those ubiquitous brass metal frames to hang small artwork...leave the frames outside for awhile, they develop a lovely patina...the picture hangs from a piece of jute twine looped around the metal wire...

The master bath has a touch of salvage too...the wooden shelf is a pine box turned upside down and mounted to the wall...

the old wood, the twine ball and the vintage elements complement the favorite photograph perfectly...

that's the end of the tour...but there are more authentic styles over at WhisperWood Cottage...be sure to check it out...and let me know...what's your authentic style?