It is early October...the weather here turned quickly (not that it was all that hot to begin with...) I've put away the summer clothes, got out the wool sweaters but haven't turned on the furnace...yet.
But already everyone is rushing ahead to "the Holidays"...what's the hurry...they will be here soon enough... I want to stop and appreciate the present moment...
the last of the sunflowers in the garden...
a forlorn snail shell discovered in the brush...
the brilliant hues of falling leaves...
In celebration of the autumn season, I want to share one of my two copies of the new magazine FOLK.
The September/October is just out and is filled with fall images/scenes/ideas/projects custom made for this time of year...
So leave me a comment with your favorite thing about October...and I'll randomly pick one of the comments to receive the current copy of FOLK...drawing to be held on Wednesday, October 12. If your email is not part of your blogger profile, be sure to include your email as part of your comment so I can contact you if you are the winner...
Now get outside, gather up some fall leaves and feel the wind blow through your hair...the holidays can wait!
I love books...especially old books...not only for reading, but also for their artistic quality...intact and whole...or taken apart...
My recent post about stacks, which really focused on stacks of books, got my creative juices going...I hopped over to Etsy to see what others had done...and created my own treasury on the topic...
While I was researching "books" on etsy, I came across this shop, HomeStudio. Not only was I intrigued that they made upcycled charms from Scrabble tiles (my kind of place!) but this quote struck home for many reasons...so I just had to buy it! My charm arrived over the weekend - its so perfect for me...
And since we're on the topic of books, I'm going to add a sidebar, "What's on my nightstand..." to highlight what I'm reading at any given moment...presently its "The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain , a fictional account of Hadley and Ernest Hemingway's marriage during the heady days of 1920's Paris...
What's on your nightstand - I'd love to others share...I'm always looking for a good read...
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...
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!
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...
