Monthly Archives: May 2012

Ironstone

16 Wednesday May 2012

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One of our Brimfield scores was an addition to our ironstone soap dishes.  These heavy utilitarian dishes are my favorite for the bathroom sinks.  They were often made for hotels and are sturdy and useful.  I love that they are each aged to a different mellow white.  Now we just need to find the perfect sinks to go with them:  I am dreaming of a heavy porcelain double basin farm sink for the kitchen, a pedestal for one bath and aged marble for another.  Slowly, slowly this home will be found in pieces and assembled to our liking.  Some days it is hard to be patient, but I know it will be worth the wait.  We are enjoying the hunt for the perfect treasures and trying to listen to what house has to tell us about our plans.

DIY Tissue Paper Tassels

15 Tuesday May 2012

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We made these tissue paper tassels to decorate an engagement party for our friends Kristin and Linsey.  The lovely weather and people made the day so much fun.  I spotted tassels in an adorable booth at Playtime in March and it reminded me I’d been wanting to make some myself.  The Playtime tassels were from Confetti System – an amazing and inspiring site if you don’t already know.  To make our own version we followed these directions posted by Chelsea on The Sweetest Occasion.  Thank you ladies!  The only changes we made to the concise directions were to use two sheets of tissue instead of one and to tie the twine around our tassel ends.  The process of cutting and twisting is so simple and completely satisfying.  I love a project that transforms the simple into the magical!

Pinwheels

14 Monday May 2012

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Pinwheels made from vintage fabric for headband crowns.  I found a big box of cut circles at a flea market and the prints were perfectly bright and preserved.  I remember a quilt made from these at my Gram’s house when I was little.  Yesterday Chris took the kids for the day and left me to a quiet house and NPR Podcasts and production.  So lovely!  I am working during the kids’ naps and between art projects to get lots of crowns done before Renegade in June.  I love a project!

Instagram and Sturbridge Village (New, Meet Old)

11 Friday May 2012

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Details from Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA

I recently began playing around with Instagram on my IPhone and I am loving the results.  The images are very similar to old Polaroids and the format is a square.  In my opinion, everything looks better framed in a square.  I only paint square paintings and when I sold my greeting cards, they were all on square stock.  I love a square.  Instagram has gotten me excited about starting a new feature here.  I am going to start posting a regular Inspiration Category each Friday.  The photos will be details from the week.  I hope this inspires you to find beauty in your daily routine just as we try to do.  Enjoy!

Brimfield for Mother’s Day

10 Thursday May 2012

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Oh Brimfield, how I love you.  You never know what you will find there in the mix of strange and beautiful things and wandering around looking at antiques for hours is my idea of Heaven.  I get such inspiration from the design and quirky ingenuity of objects from the past.  The materials are often more beautiful and sturdy after 50 years than things for sale in stores today.  Thanks to my in-laws, I got an early Mother’s Day gift:  an entire day wandering the rows and rows and fields and fields of antiques with Chris and without children.  Despite the rain, and only a few small purchases, it was a wonderful day.

My List of Favorite Mother’s Day gifts so far (in no particular order):

*Unexpected flowers at my desk at work when I was first pregnant with Ada.

*Big bunches of cut peonies, lilac, lilies and iris – delivered by Ada in her pjs.  Chris got her up early, went to the market, and then left me alone to put them all in vases as he and Ada cooked pancakes.

*Brimfield with my love, who walked around for hours in the rain and pretended to be as excited as I was about all of the treasures.

What is on your list of best gotten or given gifts?

Here are some photos from the day:

Lilac

08 Tuesday May 2012

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Our neighbors gave us a little lilac bush last fall and we planted it in the back and weren’t sure if it would make it through the winter.  It is happily in bloom now and reminding me of growing up in New Hampshire.  When we were kids we had amazingly fragrant lilacs planted in front of the house and the smell of them always takes me back to early summer there.  Vintage juice glasses are some of my favorite vases and have a bit of a glass collecting obsession.  I usually refuse to pay more than $3 per glass.  This lily-of-the-valley etched version came in a set of 12 for $15 from an Upstate New York antique shop.  Bargain!

Paper Puppets

07 Monday May 2012

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I love these paper people.  Leslie first introduced them to us when our kids were in a preschool co-op together.  They are great for some DIY puppet making and this batch kept our kids busy for almost an hour.  The cutouts are made of card stock so they can handle some heavy decorating.   We used markers, glue, paper, plastic gems, feathers, metallic confetti, card scraps and pom-poms.  Popsicle sticks can be added as handles for a puppet show.  Older kids can cut out clothing shapes and add more detailed features.  I would love to see a full kid-designed family tree!

Angela, Meet Charlie (or How to Clean a Wool Rug)

04 Friday May 2012

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We love our Angela Adams rug.  Her designs are abstracted from nature and her life in Maine and her rugs are made beautifully and responsibly.  We have had this one for about four years and have been really happy with how it has held up to kids and spills.  The wool resists stains better than cotton rugs, but it still needs a good deep clean once in a while.  Charlie’s Soap is my favorite for the job.  (We get our Charlie’s at Green in Brooklyn if you happen to be in the neighborhood).  I didn’t quite understand the hype over this soap until I tried it.  It smells a little funny, but it is amazing.  I dilute the super-concentrate, spray it onto the rug, let it sit for a minute, and then wipe down with a damp towel.  (Be sure to test for color fastness first).  The Charlie’s Soap label says it “Cleans Everything From False Teeth to Diesel Engines”.  I cannot vouch for the teeth or engine part, but rugs it works wonders on.

Beautiful Thing

03 Thursday May 2012

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Early Mother’s Day Gift for me from Ada. She has been talking about Mother’s Day for two weeks now and I was sure she was only excited about the prospect of eating cake to celebrate.  She used some of the contents of the surprise ball I gave her for Easter to make this sculpture.  This is the exact thing I would have wished for when I was three.  And she gave it to me.  Totally made me cry.

Bubblesuit Romper

02 Wednesday May 2012

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We have been longing for warmer days and our Friday forecast calls for sun and 80 degrees.  This bubblesuit from a 1971 Simplicity pattern (#9395) is perfect for a toddler in summer weather.  I think my sister had a similar one when she was little. The vintage fabric is from Ebay – I love the abstract bright figures.  You can find similar ones on Etsy here.  Be sure to check the quality and yardage when you are buying vintage fabric.  This Simplicity pattern also comes with a matching pinafore- so cute!  I’ve made a few versions of both from different fabrics and they are some of our favorite warm weather outfits.