live the repuposed life: beautiful reinventions

{Creativity is allowing yourself tomake mistakes.  Art is knowingwhich ones to keep.  ~Scott Adams}

I have long since learned that this

is the beauty of {ART}. There is

no right or wrong. No proverbial

black or white. We, as creators

of art, are free to claim our

mistakes as much more. We are free to scoop them up, recycle them, re-purpose them,

reinvent them ... make them into something beautiful once more.

... but first let me take you back a bit ... 

I have long since been a lover of the primitive arts. Years ago I bought a simple set of

directions, a rug hooking frame and some scraps of wool. I was literally {hooked} if

you will! Armed with a new cutter and a notebook full of designs I began creating rugs. 

They took hours and hours and hours and hours to make, but they were {real}. They

were going to last a lifetime. A craft of the past. When someone ordered a custom

designed rug they were in fact getting an heirloom.

... fast forward ...

I recently started what was to be a miniature {rug} for a wall hanging. Somewhere

along the way it dissolved into something smaller than miniature. A mistake. {or so I

thought}. So I tucked it away for another day ... after all, the wool had been dyed,

stripped and partially hooked. I could abandon it, but I have never had to heart to

take a rug apart ... and so that day came. Last week, as I rooted through a cupboard

I stumbled across the partially finished {miniature rug}. The colors were wonderful

and since I have been a fanatic crazy woman making bags left and right, around here

I decided then and there it might not be a rug, but it could certainly be a bright and

cheery panel on a bag.

... and so it was ...

I remounted it on the frame and finished the hooking. It was satisfying to be holding

the hook again. Once it was complete I sewed it to one of the panels of a duck cloth

tote bag I was working on ...

... a fresh and funky design. Birds, hearts, arrows, scallops, flowers ...

 ... as I am huge into {re-purposing} these days as well, I gathered up some cool

vintage fabric my sweet, sweet neighbor gave me and used it as a liner for the

tote bag. Some canvas straps, a shabby muslin ruffle and of course, a {great big

huge ruffly silky flower}. I even threw in a hand dyed velvet center for the flower ...

 

...the reverse side of the tote is embellished with a tiny felted heart with wings ...

... and so there are no mistakes.

 Just {beautiful reinventions} ...

 ... and always a reason to {CREATE} !

 

 

{Be Mine}

{Valentine's Day}, a day of romance, flowers, candy and love ... it is one of my favorite holidays. Not for the candy or the flowers, but for the air of mystery surrounding this special day. There are many different theories to just how this day got its' start, but only St. Valentine knows for sure. What I {love} is the anticipation and secrecy ... a day when we, as adults, can relive the giddiness of a child, waiting and hoping for a certain {note} or treat from a special someone ...

... to receive a special {Valentine} at this time of year is intoxicating. There are so many little delights to be had in these love notes ...

 ... so each year I make my {Valentine's} ... something that speaks of the past, a time when these notes were made with distinct care for their intended recipient ...

... this year I wanted to create a {Valentine} that was representative of a vintage {memory book} ...

... a miniature collection of mementos - vintage tinsel, cupcake paper flowers, stitching ...

 ... vintage book paper, ruffled and painted with a glittery coating and a petite silky flower ...

... itty-bitty letter beads and layers of pretty papers ...

 ... and lots and lots of sparkle ...

... a recycled fair ticket is cut into a stacked heart ... velvet and glittered ribbons are added as 

whimsical tabs ... a heart fashioned from vintage fabric is stitched to the card ...

 ... the pretty blue floral paper is another cupcake liner . The puffy fabric heart has been stitched across. My Sophie said it looks like {lips} ! ...

... the {Valentine} itself is an over sized tag shape with pretty pink & red stitching around the edges ...

... the top of this giant {tag} is embellished with either a shabby linen tie or a loop of hand dyed vintage seam binding,  and a glittered clothespin ...

... a hodge podge of {Valentine} mementos ...

... that will be a {sweet treat} for someone I {LOVE}.

 ...made with {L O V E} for all of my very special Valentine's!

in my house: laundry room makeover

I have been wanting to do a "makeover" on my laundry room for a long time now. I live in my laundry room. Well okay, not literally, but sort of... a family of {seven} tends to make a great deal of laundry. I also might have mentioned {once or twice} that I actually {LOVE} to do laundry. I love the calming affect that sorting and folding laundry has on my spirit. I love ironing. A monotonous but gratifying chore for me. I love crisp towels and sheets, miniature piles of soft little kiddo socks and stacks of sweetly scented dyed textiles for the studio...and so I want this room that I spend so much time in to be {beautiful} ...

...  I love walking into this room through a {screen door} ...

... this room was never {ugly} ... just {dark}. Very dark. It is an interior room, so no windows. A great panic room for when the occasional hurricane blows in, but a terrible in terms of available {light}. Among the many things that disturb me as a person who suffers from OCD is a lack of sufficient {light}. I need light. Lots of light. My living room and studio are flooded with light. It is wonderful, but sadly, unless I tear down my garage and the staircase leading to the second floor of my house and add a window or two, this is not going to be the case in my laundry room ...

...so I decided to bring the light in another way. Through paint and fixtures. Artificial light is better than  no light at all. This is what the laundry room looked like before. Don't ask about the paint color. I chose it. I hated it, but had to live with it for the last two years. 

FINALLY I made the time to repaint, rearrange. The result was nothing shy of {amazing}. I could not believe the transformation in such a simple move. Two coats of paint and an added lamp and it was literally like {night and day}.

It was the cheapest room makeover I have ever completed. Two gallons of paint from Home Depot {$55}. One new fluorescent light bulb for the ceiling fixture {$6.93}. One lamp from goodwill {$5.00}. 

Grand Total {$66.93} Wow!

All the other little decorating {details} were found by shopping my own home and closets. Swapping items out of one room to add to another is a biggie for me. I do it all of the time. An easy fix when you feel like you want something new, but don't want to spend a lot of money.

These cool wall stars came home on the roof of car from one of my many visits to Pennsylvania. They didn't even show up on the darker painted wall. Now they are beautiful focal point.

I shopped for this cool over sized frame in Miss Sophia's Bedroom. She has informed me that I will need to replace it ... I shall be thinking of what to put in it's stead.

... this piece from {IKEA} is not my style at all. It is modern and cold, but functional. I have a plan for what it is going in it's place, but have yet to build it. Will keep you posted on that. In the meantime I am going to try a sew this for the top of it...and while I do not like the looks of this piece, it really is a great item to have in the laundry room. The three large bins on the bottom sort laundry into whites, lights and darks. The three large middle bins are for the older children's clean and folded laundry. The three smaller bins sort hangars, school projects and papers that are ready to be filed and miscellaneous things that need a {home}...

... the counter top over the washer and dryer slides out for easy access to the machines ...

... Glass jars hold dye catcher, fabric softener and swiffer sheets ...

... an old lamp was given a coat of white paint. The bamboo shade was covered in shabby linen ruffles ...

... a vintage wire basket from the studio was dumped of its' contents and hung on the wall. A pretty hydrangea was clipped to side ...

... more glass jars were filled with all sort of laundry goodies ...

...an old candle tin was propped up on a pretty frame stand. The glass lamp is from {goodwill} ...

... little paper birds on a tray add some whimsy ...

... a reproduction crate with glass jars ...

...I hate cords. This sweet cord cover was fashioned from a length of linen. Now the cord can lay on the counter top without looking offensive ...

...a faux lavender bouquet. Perfect addition to a laundry room ...

... cork boards covered with burlap, vintage resin letters and shabby flowers spell out a favorite saying in french - {have faith my friend} ...

 ... { this is for petite michell } ...

 ...I keep my giant white enamel pots handy. I use these to dye my fabrics, but they look so pretty sitting out too ...

... a canvas pennant adorns the frame ...

... assorted large baskets for sorting and folding laundry adds warmth to an all white room ...

...the laundry room sink sits on the opposite side of the {IKEA} counter. It is indispensable to me. I use it for everything from rinsing dyed fabric to storing wet pool towels until they are laundered. There is a hanging rack that folds down from the wall behind the sink. It is great for hanging delicate "drip dry" items - they can {drip} right into the sink.

... and my favorite giant wire baskets. I love to use for storing folded sheets and towels ...

...  I love the feeling of walking into a {light filled} room. It is so refreshing and cheerful. I am still amazed at the difference such a small detail as {paint color} can make ...

 

 

{farmhouse apron feature}

A while ago I made this sweet {farmhouse chic apron} ... it was, surprisingly my first sewing project ever, on a machine, even though I had been collecting fabric for years...and sewing little things by hand ...

... when I showed my pals, they encouraged me to send it in to (apron-ology) magazine. Imagine my surprise when they accepted it into their February 2012 issue!

I had posted a few photos but somehow when I was updating some computer/blogger information this post, among others, was lost. Since the apron is to be featured this month, I thought I should recreate the post ... so here it is.

... I am a collector of fabrics. I do not need a reason to buy them. I have stacks and stacks of favorite textiles lining the shelves of cupboards in the studio. One day I happened to move something and there was a little pile of neatly folded calico's ... and an apron was born.

... I have fond memories of a favorite grandmother wearing an {apron} at all times. She was the matriarch of a hard working farm. No matter which chore she was immersed in, you could find her bedecked with an {apron}.

... and while {Granny's} aprons were not neatly starched and spotless, they were {loved}. Each one of us grandchildren would find a way to bury ourselves within her {apron strings} ... she would dry our tears, wipes our mouths, and mop up our spills with her {apron}.

To don an {apron} is a wonderful thing for me ... a reminder of my past and the love that a sweet and wonderful woman gave to me. I think of her often, as I brush crumbs into my pocket ... Granny keeping her post tidy ...

... and so the {farmhouse style}. A gentle reminder of what I remember. What I {love}.

{featured here}