Blue Monday: Forest Friends

  

MARILYN ARTUS & ANNIE HUNTLEY SHOW: “Our Lady of the Anti-Personnel Weapon & Her Stepford Friends” (via Ghost Gallery)

So sad I won’t be in Seattle to catch this show…Seattle friends it’s only a 3 day show!

Oklahoma City artist, Marilyn Artus, will bring her controversial work to Seattle to show with Seattle jewelry designer, Annie Huntley. Come see the 7 life size Virgin Marys that started the national uproar and Annie's one of a kind jewelry that inspired the collection. The opening reception is Friday, August 20th, from 7 p. … Read More

via Ghost Gallery

Best of My Inbox: Weekend Edition

Owl still warm my heart – recently I picked up a family of owls for the nieces, complete with an Auntie (moi), daddy, and mom with two baby owls under her arms. This little owl from Urban Outfitters is way more functional and modern – but evokes the same quirkiness. This hidey hole owl is only $8. Bonus: Free Shipping on $75 or more at Urban Outfitters with the code FREEFALL until 8/23 at midnight EST.

<-Morning is a lot brighter with these little gals smiling at you each morning. Fred Flare has the set of three glasses for $20.

->Yes, I have a thing for owls – you caught me guilty as charged. The sis and I have this little number, but in silver – a gift from the mom. Sorry mom, now I know how much you paid – $16.

Perhap it was my summer spent writing letters over and over in the Millrace studios on the U of O campus or my 4th grade calligraphy classes – either way I have a THING for typography. So show a little pride for your PDX hood with these Ork Posters. I’m a Kenton girl these days – hey how many people can say Paul Bunyan lives down the street from you? Even if he is gawking at the strip joint.  

Blue Monday: New York City

A week ago, I was roaming the streets of Chelsea with Jilliann. Saddened by the knowledge that I don’t know when I’ll be back to see her or New York I was feeling the need to reminisce about old New York. So this week’s Blue Monday is dedicated to the vintage treasures of New York.

   

Weekend Craft Project: Lively Letters

What better way to add personality to a bedroom/office/living room than through the power of words.  Here’s an easy 1 day project for a weekend that’s easiest enough for pre-teens. The letters can be initials, a favorite word, saying anything you want. Spice up the letters while saving money. Using supplies I already had, these letters were a quick and easy project that didn’t require any additional money.

Suggested age range: 12+

Supplies: Wood letters – I found these letters at Goodwill, Glue – Mod Podge decoupage or Aleene’s Tacky Glue, paper – prefer scrapbooking paper due to its thickness, scissors, unused fingernail file – I buy these in bulk from the Dollar Tree, paint brush

Instructions: Step one: Letter prep

• If you get the letters secondhand like I did, I highly recommend wiping them down to remove any dust or loose paint. Once the letter has dried, take your paintbrush and smooth glue over the front. Make sure all surfaces are covered – you don’t want the edges to come up from a lack of glue.

Step two: Get Gluey

• Once it’s covered flip your letter over and place the glue side on the back of your paper. Firmly press down on the letter to ensure there are no air bubbles or uncovered areas. You may want to set a book on top of the letter while it dries.
• Leave the letter to dry for approx. two hours.

Step Three: Trim it down

• After the glue has dried take your scissors and trim around the letter. This will make it easier when you file down the excess paper on the letters.
• Once you have it trimmed down flip your letter over so the print side is facing you. Take your fingernail file and start filing at the edge of the letters. I find that running the file across the edge from left to right makes it easier to break through the paper. After a bit of work you’ll notice the edge of the wood emerge through the paper and you can start to pull away the excess paper. Continue to do this all the way around the edges of the letters so all the excess paper is removed. By filing it down you’ll be able to get a crisp line that doesn’t lift the paper.

Step Four: Finish the Edge

• Once the paper is all removed I like to take my file and sand away at the edges all over the letter. This gives it a more rustic feel and looks like the letters are vintage and loved.
• Another option is to take an ink pad and rub it along the edge of the letters. If you’re using black and white print, this will really make the letter pop. Since these letters were more neutral tones I decided to leave it alone.

 

 Note: Any product recommendations in this post are because I personally use these products and have not received compensation or free products.

Best of My Inbox: Weekend Edition

BlogHer’s done! Yes, it’s taken almost a full week to recover. This weekend edition will include some of the wonderful products I came across while roaming the halls of BlogHer. Since my box is delayed due to the shipping station overload, I’ll have another roundup once it arrives on the steps of my porch.

FisherPrice – Big Foot

I instantly fell in love with this toy – too bad I don’t have any nephews (ahem **cough** Katie?). Perhaps it was his manly appeal that first drew me in or that I’m from the Pacific Northwest where the hairy, unshaven neanderthal is said to roam the woods. This foot tall dreamboat can feed himself leaves, exercise, and rollover – hey that’s more than a few guys I know can do on their own. 😉

 

Hautelook – I may need to buy one of these cute lunchbags for the niecie who’s headed off to school this year as a first-grader.

Weren’t able to attend BlogHer in person? Here’s a useful coupon we can all appreciates since there’s nothing more depressing at the grocery store than seeing the receipt total for soap, window cleaner and shampoo. Soap.com is stocked full of cleaning supplies, cosmetics, and much more. Cleaning supplies stocked, or you’re one of those lucky ducks with a house cleaner. So maybe you have a little one at home? I may be an auntie but I know diapers are EXPENSIVE. Hop on over to www.diapers.com and www.Soap.com – use the promo code BLOGHER2010 until 9/30 to get 15% off.

Note: I did not receive any compensation/products for these posts.

Barn House Sale

Trekking across the streets of  New York it dawned on me that I had neglected to post the recent pictures of my journey up to the Barn House boys sale last weekend. Not sure what reminded me of it, could have been the stacks of discarded furniture nestled among growing bags of trash.

However, at this sale you will find no trash, just treasures and furniture that is reminiscent of discarded furniture – I mean this in a good way. The sis longs for nothing but rusty furniture and dressers covered in peeling paint. All my Pacific Northwest favorites were there – Bella Shabby, A Thing for Roses and petite Retreat.

We continue to find new ways to entertain the niecies while at the sales – so far cats and a digital camera seem to do the trick and since one is a lot more portable, we left the cat action to the Barn House boys. See below for my niece Jaida’s visual portrayal of the sale. It’s always fun to see things from new heights.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My Fortune Cookie Knows Me To Well

At a team lunch, this fortune appeared nestled away in the folds of a crisp layer of cookie perfection – it made me smile as I tucked it away in my purse for safe keeping and made me reflect on what entertains me. Recently, my mom, sister and I took on a new business adventure – an antique booth at Stars Antique Mall here in Portland, OR. So we’ve been scouring flea markets, Goodwill, garage sales, attics, closets, you name it to stock our booth.

I’ve enjoyed the process or “the hunt” as we refer to it; it warms my heart to find forgotten treasures and pictures of a time before my reality. It may seem materialistic to be so attached to possessions, but for me it’s a way to remember. The other day in a barn sale near Banks, OR I found a wood toy dog that was exactly like the one I played with for hours as a child at my great grandfather’s house while my mom and aunt took care of him in his final days. Finding the toy brought back a flood of feelings of pain, love, and anguish, along with pleasant memories of the hand tricks he used to teach me or the weathered smile that peaked out under his gigantic nose.

He was the only real grandfather I had in my life, and I was quite young when he passed away. His nose and smile now reside with that toy dog. So for now, thank you I’ll keep my junking hobby. It makes me happy and that little dog sits right next to my front door. On my way out every day, he makes me smile and remember how loved I was and am by my family.

However, this new hobby has had one downfall, I’ve been a bad, bad, bloggerette and have been neglecting LuckyChristi. I know, I know it’s all about discipline. Blogher is just around the corner and it will be the creative fuel I need to get me back on the path. I can’t wait for the conference; I’m giddy at the prospect of being surrounded by so many incredible and intelligent women. Watch out New York, you’re about to be invaded by brilliance.

Blue Monday: Dishware

        

Best of My Inbox: June 11