Sunday musings

the first light of morning...the quiet hush of the house...the warmth of my coffee cup...
this is the simplicity of stillness...

My fifteen minutes of fame...

and I'd better not waste them!

Within the last week, I've been fortunate enough to have my work appear in two national magazines...

First up...an article that I wrote, styled and photographed for the spring 2015 issue of American Farmhouse Style Magazine...














its a quick tutorial on how to make these whitewashed wooden boxes...
a simple setting for spring inspiration...

And then...I discovered that my workshop studio is one of the featured articles
in this magazine that just hit the newsstands...

The feature was shot back in October when the Cottages and Bungalows magazine crew was here...
this magazine is one of their sister publications and my studio story certainly fits right in with the vintage theme...

With the new year right around the corner...
and with me ready to celebrate 5 years of blogging...how about a giveaway?!  


A signed copy of the Make it Vintage magazine...just leave me a comment...
but please...make sure your email address is included in your profile...otherwise I have no way to get in contact with you...deadline for leaving comments is Saturday January 3 at midnight...

And Happy Creative New Year to all!

Priorities

With winter making an abrupt entrance, cold weather clothing was quickly pulled out of storage...which led me to discover that my Doc Marten boots had a split in the leather toe...which led to more time than I wanted to spend looking to purchase a new pair of winter shoes...

I'm rather frugal with my money...I'm really quite content to wear my patched jeans, fraying t-shirts and oversized sweaters on most days...I'm in the studio working...fashion is not a priority...

But...poking around online Sunday morning...I spied these beauties on From the Alley to the Gallery etsy shop...and I maybe hesitated a minute before I bought them...

I have an obsession with adding to my exhaustive collection of old clocks...and giving money to a fellow artist to provide me with inspiration and joy also tops my list of priorities...

I don't know what it is about old clocks...

its not just the graphic quality of the clock face....

or the intricacy of the gears and springs within the internal workings...

its more about the commonality of this household item...and the lives that were measured by its ticking...
hours filled with joy...or maybe sadness...most likely a combination of both...

All I know is that they provide an impetus for my work...an inspirit for which I am grateful... 
(learned a new word today...inspirit...read all about on Pic Me Up, Donna Hopkins blog)

Joining the group over at kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...
my photos were edited with a combination of kk textures ReverseTTV and Dollardsoft&gentle

happenstance

Lately I've been finding that the most offhand thought/gesture/action yields the best result...I get the sense sometimes that over-thinking the process just bogs everything down...and grinds inspiration to a halt...

In my year long creative class, be still 52, we've been focusing on real life photos...those vignettes composed in a moment's notice...

I had been trying to photograph a trio of my vintage calipers...no matter what I did, I couldn't find an angle or composition that worked for me...frustrated, I started putting them away when the tiny acorn I picked up on my walk with Calvin caught my eye...I literally threw it on the ottoman (where I was taking photos) and it landed in a caliper...I took a shot, cropped it and...

Cleaning up the dining room table...a stray feather that I picked up from a parking lot over the weekend 
(I know...I pick up a lot of things off the ground), laid it on a stack of ticking to take back to the studio...that looked kinda interesting...grabbed a clock face off my desk to add a third element and took the shot...

More cleanup...composting the sunflowers I bought at the farmers market two weeks ago...a quick snap with my phone camera before the last of the petals drop off...perfectly imperfect...

Finally...trimming my rose bush last week...snipped a few blooms not yet faded...thought it would be fun to compose a vignette with them...place in a vase...put on my white painted table...add a book...maybe a pair of reading glasses...take glasses away...get out stool to shoot from above...remove book...it goes on and on...nothing is right...once again, putting stuff away...still have one of the blooms in a silver vase...I spy my vintage clock faces in my office...toss them on the table...add the vase...that's it...

I think sometimes we make more of something than we need to...must remember...simple is the best...

edited with kk texture lookup

Linking up with kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...more simplicity at its best...

The newest craze

I'm not one for following the crowd...or buying into the latest fad...but I have to admit that when I read about this newest craze over the weekend, it was just up my alley...

Introducing the "shelfie"!

As explained in the WSJ Weekend article, this photo sharing phenomenon is replacing the selfie as the way to demonstrate who you are...

I never cared for the selfie...only took one when I had to for the first Beyond Layers course...

But this idea of expressing yourself through sharing what you have on your shelves...bingo! lightbulb moment!

As I discovered as I posted a couple of shots on Instagram, this idea resonates with others...so for the month of May, I'm going to post a shelfie everyday on Instagram...and I invite all of you to join in...

I've been using Instagram to record my artistic musings...I love that its quick, fast and visual... 
I hope that you'll follow along...
fourcornersdesign, with hashtag #shelfieaday

tag me so I know that you've joined in the fun...I can't wait to see what's on your shelf!


Also joining up with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...there might be one or two shelfie geeks in that group...

edited with kk texture 1612 - saturation at 100%

Contemplating the New Year

Welcome to 2014...I'm not quite sure what to expect...new directions taking shape...
a couple of big changes under consideration...what?  if?  when?

Best to take each day as it comes...and so for today...let's celebrate the dawn of a New Year...

From the heart, part 5

It's Monday...two days before Christmas...down to the wire now...just in time, I have another Simple 6 project...another tutorial in my series of easy projects for holiday gifts...







Today uses something that you don't even need to search for...no scrounging through drawers or pulling out a glue stick...its as easy as can be...because the main ingredient is TIME...

The best present we can give is a gift of time...I don't know about you, but I never seem to have enough of it...
and to receive a gift of time would be most welcome.  It might be in the form of a chore that never gets done...
or assistance with a project...or attention to a personal need...or a chance to have some fun...

Dream up some ideas...make up some certificates...embellish them if you like...put them in a fancy envelope...here's a couple that I created...I printed them up on the backside of old factory time cards,
but any kind of cardstock would work...

And to make it even easier, I've included a template for you to print out, write in the details...done!

If you right-click on the photo of the template, you can then download the image onto your computer for printing...

Ok, one more thing crossed off the list...

Need more easy gift ideas...the previous Simple 6 projects are listed on the right sidebar of my blog...
just click on each photo for the complete tutorial...

Check back next Monday for the 6th (and last!) project in the series...a little after-Christmas idea...

The Lady of the forest

Every year I try to think up a new idea for our "christmas tree"...

I use the broadest definition for this term "christmas tree"...I want something that will be center of attention for the holiday
decorations... something out of the ordinary...a little out of this world...
























While trolling my favorite blogs a while back, I came across this idea from pentimento...
I knew then that I had a plan...

I introduce to you, The Lady of the forest...

A swath of tulle wraps her body and forms a small bustle in the back... a garland of pine boughs, white lights and rusty chain encircle her form, while a finishing touch of silver glass ornaments hang from her hemline...

 

 

 

 

 

A pendant of vintage clock faces demonstrates that she is timeless...

while a nesting bird is the crowning touch...

She is the epitome of nature, art and junk at its finest...she is the highlight of our holiday décor...

and a dream to behold...

joining the holiday junk party at Funky Junk Interiors...so inspiring...