Discoveries

I've been on a massive purge of my studio...and it's amazing what I have unearthed...

For those of you familiar with me and my home, you know I have a massive stack of suitcases...
I discovered that I have a fetish for metal boxes since I've gathered together quite a collection while cleaning up...

They certainly take up less room than suitcases...

Behind the scenes

The end of summer is turning into quite the exciting time...so much happening...so much on the horizon...

First and foremost - I am proud to have our home featured in the October/November issue of Cottages & Bungalows magazine...

Last October, Jickie Torres, editor and Bret Gum, photographer spent a long and crazy day here...photographing every nook and cranny...here's a few shots to show you what goes on behind the camera...
















A quick run to the local grocery store provided pumpkins for a seasonal touch...
I was so glad that it was a glorious sunny day...it made the house shine...

Lots going on in the background while getting the perfect shot...

Even Calvin had to get in on all the activity...

stealing Jickie's heart...

At the end of day, all were tired and exhausted...and it was hard to have to wait so long to see how it all turned out...

But I'm pleased as can be with it...and I invite you to pick up a copy at your local newsstand or grocery store...I share lots of ideas for incorporating vintage treasures into your home...I think you'll enjoy it...

Following the thread...

I love old things...and the stories that they tell...

Some people see a pile of useless junk...I see a former life, a past event, a fleeting thought, a momentary wish...

Sometimes I let my imagination run ahead...and spin a tale...pulling the thread of the story...seeing where it may lead...

Last week I participated in the 7 vignettes challenge on Instagram.  Sponsored by Interiors Addict, there's a list of 7 prompts for you to follow and post your photographic inspiration.  I had such a grand time chasing down my story that I thought I would share with you here...

Day One - Blush
I can't say exactly what prompted me to pull out these things...most likely it was the large spool of linen thread in a dusty pink color sitting on a shelf that caught my eye...and then the photo on my inspiration board behind my computer screen...it was the start of the tale...

"blush...the color that rises in a young girl's cheeks when an admirer notices her in all her beauty..."

Day 2 - Bloom
"the fresh lilac blooms brightened her outlook that spring had arrived on this first day of April"

Day 3 - Light
"and so she had a thought...an inkling of an idea...perhaps this young man who made her blush...and brought her such lovely blooms...was the one...her face lit up with anticipation..."

Day 4 - Soft
"she felt like she could soar...her heart unfettered...but if she fell, she knew she would have a soft place to land...is this what one calls love..."

Day 5 - Easter
"rebirth...a new awakening...a fresh start...could this be the direction she sought...the path to follow...her heart guides the way...

Day 6 - Weave
"she remembered him hanging around her father's auto shop...never saying much but always tinkering...papa passed away while she was away at nursing school and now he had taken over the shop...their lives had been intertwined at the edges for years...perhaps it was time to strengthen the weave..."

Day 7 - Gold
"tied up with hopes for the future, a home filled with love and a promise of time eternal, the circle of gold on her ring finger signifies, not a closed chapter, but a new beginning..."

Pulling the thread of imagination, you never know what you might find...
joining with others over at kim klassen's Friday Finds...

and I invite you to follow me on Instagram, you'll find me as four corners design...
let me know if you're on IG, I'll follow back

Running a close second

After my obsession with string...thread comes in a close second...it must be a fiber thing...
though I have to admit that I have little affinity for yarn...

I have plenty of wooden spools of thread...in an array of colors and tones...I've had these large cones for some time...I think they were my mom's...she did a lot of sewing in her time...she had an elaborate system of eye-hooks and dowels rigged up so she could use these larger spools with her old Singer machine...she worked in the costume department of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater when I was young...I think she acquired the large cones of thread then...

In any event, I have no Rube Goldberg system for use with my machine...so I've been thinking what to do with them...and suddenly I had the eureka moment...displaying photos or notes!

I gathered up supplies...pretty simple...
a wine cork and a display pin for each...
wine corks were easy to find...the pins were in my stash...

I figured that I would push the wine cork up into the top of the cone and then stick the display pin into the cork...since the cone is pointed, I trimmed the end of each cork so that it would fit as close as possible into the top...after I trimmed off the excess cork, I added a thin layer of adhesive to the outside of the cork (Amazing Goop being my adhesive of choice) and pushed it into the nose of the cone...I used a large metal nail setter and a hammer to persuade the cork to fit as tight and snug as possible...and then I stuck in the display pin...









Finished!

The easiest solutions are often the best.  
With my large collection of sewing paraphernalia, these two cones fit right in...

and make me smile...

Joining the groups over at Knick of Time's Vintage Inspiration Party and Funky Junk Interiors Party Junk  ...inspiration abounds...

the first signs

edited with kk texture scripted edges

It begins with the sprouts of green among the dead leaves and withered grass from last fall...and then those first pops of color...little beads of purple...the grape hyacinths are blooming...

and then the light of day changes...it becomes brighter...and lingers longer...

The assignment for this week's bestill52 class was to capture this lightness...using elements of white and glass...my collection of small glass bottles put to perfect use, complemented by a swath of white linen and lovely afternoon light...

both photos edited with kk texture hughes

This spring awakening inspired me to clear out the dust and the cobwebs and 
to brighten the dark corners of the house...

edited with kk texture rainyday

hope and dream...the promise of spring...

joining the group over at kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...

Visiting an old friend

Just before christmas, I visited an old friend...of the metal persuasion...
my mint green cast iron Singer sewing machine...

I really hadn't seriously sewn in quite a while...part of the reason due to the fact that my sewing table was piled high with stuff...unfinished projects, garage sale finds, leftover materials, etc, etc, etc...
I had a few projects in mind...so after spending a couple of days of clearing off the table completely, I was ready to go...

I love to sew...I have sewn since I was a young girl...my mother was a seamstress and my grandfather a tailor...there is a certain calmness that I feel from the rhythm of the stitching, the hiss of the steam iron, the satisfaction of creating a functional item...

So it probably comes as no surprise that sewing paraphernalia is one of the things I collect...













The past week I participated in a monthly "contest" on Instagram called 7vignettes...sponsored by Jen of Interior Addicts, it is a daily photo prompt that occurs the first seven days of each month, with the objective to photograph whatever your interpretation of the word prompt is for that day.

I had dabbled in past month's competitions but really hadn't given it my all...this time I thought I would commit to all seven days...and with sewing on the brain, I thought I would give a creative thread to all of my vignettes centered around sewing...the quest for items began...and I was quite surprised by some of the treasures that I unearthed...

Day 1 - the theme was sparkle
nothing more sparkly than rhinestone buttons, 
coupled with the sheen of metal and the shimmer of pearl...

Day 2 - the theme was yellow
I had no shortage of yellow measuring tapes on hand...

Day 3  - the theme was blue
the gigantic scissors that the Southern Man's daughter brought back for me when she was in Turkey was an instantaneous choice for blue...along with my vintage mattress ticking that I am hording...

Day 4 - the theme was green
colored dressmaker's pins on white linen...simple but classic

Day 5 - the theme was pink
I adore silk thread...especially when its wound around old wooden spools...
I was quite surprised that I had so many spools of pink thread since its not a color I use...

Day 6 - the theme was rainbow
there's something very nostalgic about rickrack...had to supplement with seam binding for the orange and the violet...but the mnemonic of ROY G BIV stuck in my head all day...

Day 7 - the theme was black and white
digging deep into one of my metal storage baskets I found a treasure trove of notions I had totally forgotten...
this compilation features many of them...which I will keep out so I can incorporate them into a future project...

Having now cleared a space and become reacquainted with my old friend, we will be back together creating...

linking up with kim klassen's Friday Finds...where my find is what was hiding in my own studio...
I just had to re-discover it for myself...

and by the way...I'm having way too much creative fun on Instagram...you should join in...
and follow me...find me as fourcornersdesign...