Ribbon envy

There is something about fine ribbon that is such a luxury to enjoy - to wrap up a special gift, to embellish an art piece or enliven an outfit.  One of the finest ribbon manufacturers in the world is right here in the Seattle area - Midori Ribbon. 

The best thing about Midori Ribbon is their outlet store that is open to the public.  Not only can you purchase lovely ribbon but there is a fine selection of handmade wrapping paper, gift boxes, tags and buttons.  Here's the details from their email invitation that I received this week...

Regular MIDORI Outlet Shop openings

When: Friday, October 1^st, Friday, November 5^th, Friday, December 3^rd

Hours: 10 am to 3 pm

Where: MIDORI Warehouse, 708 6^th Avenue N. , Seattle , WA 98109

Special 2-week Shop opening

When: December 6^th thru December 17^th

Hours: Mon-Fri, 10 am to 3 pm

MIDORI Holiday Heaven Sale

When: Saturday, November 20^th & Sunday, November 21^st

Hours: Saturday, 9 am to 4 pm & Sunday, 9 am to 12 noon

Where: MIDORI Warehouse, 708 6^th Avenue N. , Seattle , WA 98109

The fact that our Holiday Heaven Sale is entering its second decade is overwhelming. We feel grateful for the opportunity to meet and inspire so many talented and creative people.  We can’t wait to connect with you all this year.  Saturday, the first day of the Sale , is traditionally marked by a line down the block as people from all over Washington – as well as parts of Oregon and Canada - flock to the South slope of Queen Anne hill for first dibs on exquisite ribbon, gift wrap, and all manner of beautiful things.  Whether you and your friends are shopping for pretty wrapping, crafting, scrapping, giving, keeping, or just plain fun supplies, Holiday Heaven is the best place to find beautiful, discounted MIDORI items.  
Find out more at www.midoriribbon.com

One of my favorite items at these sales are the grab bags of ribbon they sell for $3.00.  Filled with snippets and samples, its a great way to indulge in ribbon envy at an affordable price.  I won't be able to make the Holiday Heaven sale, but most likely will pop in during December to find a few things for dressing up holiday gifts. 

If you go, Enjoy!

Getting ready...

A tumble of ceramic tiles before...

A set of beautiful coasters after!

I'm busy getting ready for my upcoming art shows.  I made these coasters with digital reprints of my original multi-media collage images.  Embellished and finished by hand, they will be for sale at my booth at the Everett Home & Gift Show.  The show is October 22-24 at Comcast Arena in Everett.  Click here to receive FREE tickets to the show!

And here's another date to save - December 4 & 5 - I'll be at the Phinney Winter Festival held at the Phinney Neighborhood Center in Seattle.  This will be my tenth year at this popular holiday art show.  With over 100 artist booths, its a great opportunity to complete your holiday gift shopping.

Hope to see you at one of these shows - or maybe both!

Easy as 1 - 2 - 3

One:
wooden plant stand found in the "free" pile at a yard sale.

Two:
two wooden rounds - one is a piece of scrap lumber, the other is the bottom from a large cheese dome. 

I painted both rounds with cream colored semi-gloss paint.  I turned the large round from the cheese dome upside down so the smooth surface was on top.  I then applied porcelain crackle and raw umber glaze to the surface.  After I painted the scrap lumber round, I added a collage combination of vintage french book pages, wrapping paper and printed tissue paper. 

Two & 1/2:
I attached the collage round to the top and the painted plain round to the bottom.  I used wood glue as well as a screw through the center cross-pieces.  I countersunk the head of the screw so it wouldn't protrude.

Three:
Here is the one of the two finished pieces - for sale at my spot at Faded Elegance.  Isn't it the cutest little side table?!





















Faded Elegance is having a fabulous Ten Year Anniversary Sale & Party on Friday, September 24 from 6-9 pm.  Get all the details at www.fadedelegancestyle.blogspot.com  Hope to see you there!

I am FLORed!

A couple of years ago I read about this new company making carpet "tiles" called FLOR...the idea sounded intriguing...instead of having one large rug or wall-to-wall carpet, you lay down some "tiles".  An added bonus was that these "tiles" were made of recycled materials, environmentally friendly and could be returned to the manufacturer when worn out.  Plus there was the ease of removing a tile to clean it (hosed off in the kitchen sink) or a new tile could be swapped for an old tile if that spill from a glass of red wine just wasn't going to budge.

So I gave it a try - first I comprised a 8' square rug for the living room of a natural, nubby berber.  The tiles are approximately 20" square so you can configure them into any size/shape that you need.  Pleased with that decision, I ordered up a  5' x 7' rug for my office of green/gray/teal stripes.  I was hooked - visited the Flor website; got on their mailing list.

striped rug in my office with Calvin,
our golden retriever and the main reason why
I need easy to clean carpet!

Recently I received an email from FLOR that they had started a blog...I'm thinking "Your carpet is great but how much can you say about it to launch a blog!"  So I clicked...and was so surprised...this is one of the most interesting design blogs around.  The day I visited, this was the post about how to re-use items being tossed into useful decor - a blog after my own heart!


side tables made from upcycled brass table lamps
reprinted from Musings, Flor's design blog



I've added Musings, Flor blog on design, to my reading list of blogs...I encourage you to do the same!

Back to Basics

Yesterday at Faded Elegance I turned over my space to an autumn vignette.  With summer over, September conjures up images of going back to school - whether one has children or not/ whether one is taking any classes or not  - it always seems like turning over a new leaf.

I've focused on a basics "B" theme -



handcrafted mini-journals and vintage quilt squares
are bird-inspired.



bugs & butterflies are highlighted in books and prints.
















dictionary pages cover a vintage desk.

wallpaper in fall tones & designs can enliven
any creative project.

plenty of vintage casters waiting for inspiration!

Faded Elegance will be having a grand 10 year anniversary event - Friday, September 24 from 6-9 pm.  Get all the details at www.fadedelegancestyle.blogspot.com.
Hope to see you there!

if I could have any job...

I would want to be the one who names the colors.  Working in the paint department at Lowe's, I mix a lot of paint - and it is incredible the vast numbers of colors there are and fascinating to read the name given to each individual hue.  Obviously some are pedestrian - "Grass" for a bright shade of green or "Lipstick Red".  Some standard colors are given more interesting names... of course it sounds more stylish to say "I painted my kitchen stools "Cracked Pepper" than just saying you painted them black.  There are some customers who spend hours (I kid you not!) deciding on a color...and then others who nonchalantly tell me to pick it - they don't care.  Joy and Agony all in a $30 can!

But other color names are more poetic and attempt to attach an emotion or a feeling to a particular tone...

I especially like the Valspar color swatches that have the small square cut-out.  I'm cogitating on an art project here - a mini collage inside the cut-out that exemplifies the color name...then cover the mini collage with a square glass bevel and mount on a piece of painted wood...

Still working on the details but will post the pictures when they are complete.

What is your favorite color...and what would you name it....

Everybody's talkin...

Everybody has been talking about this book -

First there was Donna Watson  - donnawatsonart.blogspot
and then Lisa JonesMoore - jonesmoore.blogspot
My interest was piqued - I wanted to find this book!
My name finally made it to the top of the list at the local public library and I picked up my copy of Masters Collage to peruse for the next two weeks.  Just thumbing through it briefly filled me with awe and inspiration.  Layers is one of the blogs that I just relish - Donna Watson has a calm and collected perspective - her work is included in this book.

The ideas, compositions and approaches vary greatly but all are appealing.  Its incredible to see how 40 different artists interpret collage 40 different ways.  It sparks the discussion of where that root of creativity originates - and what compels some of us to take a torn piece of paper and attach it to another piece of paper just so.

I'm only halfway through the volume - I'm wanting to savor every page - but so far I find the work of Nancy Goodman Lawrence astounding.  She primarily uses pieces of maps, with all their color variations, as the composing pieces of her collage.  At first glance, you see the overall image of the work but as you look closer, you see the intricacies of the map pieces and you are amazed.

I'm also loving the work of Mary Emma Hawthorne - mostly because she focuses on birds which is a favorite subject of mine.

I could go on and on about the artists in this book, but you should check it out for yourself - Masters Collage - Major Works by Leading Artists published by Lark Books.

I believe in karma

I have always believed that one should be responsible for their actions and that goodness will encourage more goodness whereas bad...well, let's not go there...
And where I normally shrug off bad stuff, I've had two instances in the last three weeks that have just been too much...
The first instance was at the Fresh Paint Art Festival a couple of weekends ago.  While I was helping a customer in the back of my booth, someone came along and helped themselves to the display on my front table, taking two small glass mounted collages and one paperweight collage.
After the Fresh Paint weekend, I took some of my multi-media collages to my space at Faded Elegance.  I still had a garden theme going on and thought that my "Plant the Seed" collage would fit in nicely.  Today while I was at Faded Elegance to fluff my booth, I discovered that someone had taken the vintage embellished bottle that was wired onto the collage - and not just looped around once, but wrapped with wire three times and attached to the back of a wooden board.  They really had to work to remove it - I'm only thankful that they didn't destroy any other part of the artwork.

broken wire...no bottle!

This is the first time that I have been on the receiving end of such brazen action regarding my art.  Both instances took a lot of nerve.
I hope that the individuals who did these deeds receive their karmic kickback!

The Weekly Fluff

With the calendar turning to September,
its time for this season to come to an end.

Take measure of all your summer memories...

and tuck them safely away...

it's time to hit the books.

Faded Elegance will be celebrating their 10 year anniversary with a lively soiree on September 24 from 6-9pm.  Mark your calendar and plan to join in the festivities.  More info at www.fadedelegancestyle.blogspot.com.

Hoping you have a fabulous Labor Day weekend and enjoy the last vestiges of summer!