Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Grass Lake Pickers

If you've been following along here for a bit, you know that the hubs and I are avid DIYers. A few weekends ago, we were working to complete a letter "T" that Jon pieced together from pallets. We wanted to find a bunch of old hardware to put on the "seams". Our downtown is graced with a wonderful antique salvage store. Actually, it's more like 3 buildings worth of stuff! It takes up several store fronts along the main street, but there is tons to discover in the back too, like this courtyard. 

I wore my Lilly Pulitzer for Target maxi dress, my favorite Gap denim jacket that is in most of my posts (both dress and jacket from consignment shops). My necklace is Chew Beads for Carson's enjoyment. Sandals are from TJ Maxx. We went to a cookout later, and this outfit was comfy all day long. 


 Pictures could never do this store justice, so I just focused on the "smalls" that we were seeking out. 
 They just don't make things like they used to........
 So.... much..... stuff!


 The boys, being on their best behavior.
 And.... our completed project. We even dug through a jar of old screws since new screws would have looked out of place. Jon came up with this idea when he saw the curves for the forklifts on the underside of the pallets (how funny since we met at a forklift business) and thought they looked like the curves of this monogram for our last name!

Monday, June 29, 2015

Favorite Skirt

I took these pictures several weeks ago, and am just now getting back to blogging. I wanted to share one of my all time favorite skirts from a brand I talk about from time to time - Matilda Jane. It's a mix of fabrics, patterns, pleats, ribbon, buttons, etc.... Just a mish mash of stuff that "works" together. Since it's such a busy skirt, I kept the rest simple with a tank and jean jacket.

"At the Fair" Skirt - Matilda Jane
Tank - Motherhood Maternity
Gap Jean Jacket - consignment shop
Apt 9 Belt - Kohl's
Jessica Simpson Sunglasses - TJ Maxx
Gomex Heels - Zulily
Necklace - self made 






Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Jellyfish

To continue from yesterdays post, one of the reasons I traveled to Wisconsin last weekend was to attend the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee. I've been going to this annual show for...... hmmmm, 15 years which is when I started making jewelry. Time sure does fly! Even though I don't have much time these days for jewelry making, I still love going to the show. And this year I had a "new beader" to introduce to the show - Richard! Yes, my 4 year old is turning into quite the artsy dude!
There's a "feeling" in the air as soon as you walk into the show, and I have to admit I've felt down sometimes when the show is over. I enjoy seeing (or at least trying to see) all of my online beady friends that I only see once a year. I have noticed minor changes over the years though - as online shopping and social media exploded, there seem to be less booths. I can totally understand the cost of travel in addition to paying for a booth for some business owners.
Anyway, it was a gorgeous day and the most important thing is to decide which handmade piece(s) of jewelry to wear as that is what everyone looks at. I had just gotten this jellyfish print shirt from Zulily. Richard is delighted when I wear animal clothes, and I too love a unique print so I'm happy to agree. With all of the colors, I wasn't too worried about finding a necklace to match. I had some trays of necklaces on the floor of my closet that I needed to organize, and Richard pulled this one all of his own! No joke, the kid couldn't have picked a better match! I think I made this necklace sometime in 2009 (first posted about it here). The focal bead is from Andrea Guarino-Slemmons and she made the 2015 Commemorative Souvenir bead this year! She was the first person I ran into when we walked into the show!
These pictures were taken outside of the Wisconsin Center where the show is held. Whenever I am in a big city, I am reminded that there has always been this part of me to experience living in a big city. It really hits me when I venture over to the Third Ward in Milwaukee, with it's cool loft apartment/condos, outside eating lining the streets, cute little coffee shops. Milwaukee holds a lot of memories for me and I just love visiting whenever I can.
Outfit details:

Zero Degrees Celsius jellyfish top - Zulily
white tank underneath
Hi Rise Jeggings - American Eagle
Mint Sandals - Target (last summer)
Sunglasses - TJ Maxx
Necklace - made by me

My outfit from the day before was "mint" as well and included the same white tank and sandals, and example of streamlining my packing!
Linking up with The Pleated Poppy

Monday, June 8, 2015

Vacation Day

Last Friday, I had the day off. I had an appointment to get my hair done in the morning, before the kids and I set out to go to Wisconsin for the weekend. It was so relaxing to "recharge my batteries" for a few hours. I am a firm believer in Moms being able to get away every once in a while and do something for themselves. After all, happy Mom = happy family. 

I am loving this new salon I am going to. It is my only my second time there, but I know already it is a good fit. When we moved, I tried a different place for about 4 visits before realizing it was not working out. I LOVE the gal at this new place - we have the greatest conversations - and she is getting my hair back on track. An added perk, is there is the cutest cafe attached to the back. I planned to grab breakfast there Friday morning and it was wonderful!
 I picked the boys up from school and we got on the road. They did AWESOME on the trip. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about going alone with them for the first time. But we got there safe and sound and the return trip on Sunday was just as good.
 I was comfortable in this all day long! Jon and Richard got me this sweater for Christmas a few years ago, and I have to admit it's been one of those pieces that has stumped me. I was stuck in the mindset that it should be worn in the Winter. But just looking at the color and the breezy holes I can't believe it took me this long to see how perfect it is for Spring/Summer.
 Apt 9 sweater - Kohl's
white tank underneath
Hi Rise Jeggings - American Eagle
Mint sandals - Target (last summer)
Lucky Brand Necklace - Macy's

Monday, June 1, 2015

Decorating with Globes

In recent years, I've really become drawn to globes and decorating with them. I've been wanting to try my hand at altering one for a while now, and just wrapped this project up. 
If you go on Pinterest and search for painted or altered globe, the inspiration is endless. But mine mostly came from my favorite store (Anthropologie) and my love of finding/making something on a budget.

This first two pictures are from Anthropologie and the brand they carried was 1canoe2. As you can see from the link, they are sold out but you can visit the brands website here. You probably recognize a lot of their products. The last picture is from Pottery Barn Teen and the decoupaged sphere they are carrying is from ImagineNation. Wow, if you check out their site the price at Pottery Barn is quite a deal!?!?!
I decided to paint my globe versus decoupage or anything else. Here is the globe I found at an antique shop for $12. It has a flat surface versus those that have texture for mountains, so that is important. As much as I loved the faded colors on this, I taped off the stand and slapped some off white paint on it.
There was no way my freehand was going to be to my liking, so I used some stamps I had as a guide. These were unmounted stamps which made it easier to curve them to the shape of the globe. Of course I wanted a peacock theme, so the verse I picked is the one I always use when working with feathers by Emily Dickinson. I started with just the first line (hope is the thing with feathers) until I knew how much room I would have. Then, I roughly drew 2 feathers with a pencil.
I started painting away to see how it went. Some of the paints I used were iridescent. When I started to paint the plumes, I knew I wanted to layer several colors so I did exactly that - did one color, then the next and so on. However, looking back now, I wish I had spaced them out more because I feel it made it too too full and almost stripey. My lines ended up going more straight across out of the quill so to "fix" this I used a gold paint over the top and made sure it was in a "V" pattern. I really like the texture and illusion that created.

Once I had the first verse and 2 feathers done, I could see that I would have the room to do the second verse (that perches in the soul) and 2 more feathers on the other side. So I just repeated the same process.

My lettering was just navy at first, but I felt it needed more. This is the only time I used a paint pen to get the gold accent in the middle of the letters. Once I was all done, I could tell it definitely needed some "antiquing" but I was scared about what technique to use because I did not want it to turn out bad and ruin all of the work I did. I ended up using a brown chalk, applied with my finger which was the best way to have control over it. I love how the chalk settled into the groves from painting it off white, as I used a bristle brush and was pretty crude with my application. Then, I had this watered down brown paint in a spray bottle from another project so I lightly, lightly sprayed it. 

I am just giddy with how it turned out! Since I already had all of the paint and brushes (seriously, I've had some of my acrylic paints for like 10+ years) this project really only cost me the $12 for the globe and my time. It sits on the desk in the office and I love seeing it every day and looking at it while I work (like right now)!

I thought I would show the other globes that are around my house as well. These 2 reside by the fireplace. The one on the left is the very first one I bought a couple of years ago and the pre-altered one I found at TJ Maxx.
Remember the "perfect day" from my second to last post? This is the globe I found that day that I mentioned. It is my largest one and I just love the patina on it. That is not it's original base and I wasn't sure if the white paint (while I love the chippy-ness of it) was too stark for the globe. But, it's current placement in a corner of the living room where the couch hides a lot of the base makes it okay for now.
Out of all the globes I have, this one is the most traditional in color. I found it - months ago - at the same store in town where I just found the one above. So that makes 2 globes from the same thrift store so far. This one sits in a suitcase display in our bedroom, housing mementos from our trip to Belize. It's base it also unique compared to the others and in doing some research on globes I have found these bases were meant to hold atlases.
I just love that I remember the places I've gotten my collection so far, more specifically the days themselves..... feelings and moments. Jon is starting to look at me oddly when I bring another globe home. He better get used to it because I am sure there will be more. While right now, they are scattered about the house, I love the look of a collection of them together as the pictures below from Pinterest inspire me. Look at the one of them all in their own little cubbies!!! Gah, it's almost too much for me as I love uniformity and randomness at the same time. I just love all the sizes and colors they come in, and the ideas are endless!