My Latest New Hobby

Lamps, Lamps, Lamps!

I think I may have mentioned my weakness for lamps in past Friday notes.  I’ve never met a lamp I didn’t like, and there is not a homeless lamp in the county that isn’t welcome in my shop.

Our grey skies have made me crave a little fun, a little fancy, a lot of color, and a tad bit of whimsey, so I’ve taken my affection for lamps to a whole new level and added lamp SHADES to my repertoire!  I am learning to re-cover lamp shades and it seems that dotting a few of these little critters throughout my shop has brightened up the corners!  I have a new hobby and I love it!

All I needed was an investor in my lamp department, a hot line to a journeyman electrician, unlimited access to dads wood shop (screws, bolts, drills, etc for the finials), unlimited access to moms quilt room (for obvious reasons), a good Dr. (for when I have glue accidents) and off I went, into the world of manufacturing new lamp shades to dress up my old lamps.  

It seems to me that lamps are making great strides in the interior design industry.  In many circles they are the definition of functional art!   An uncommon lamp cheerfully announces the flavor of a room and it does so with a relatively small price tag and level of commitment.  Unlike the stars in the furniture world, a lamp can be changed in and out to match the times, the season and your decor.  

When I have an old (yet stylish) base, a tired shade and bunches of fresh colorful fabric, I can’t help but want to measure, cut, glue, trim, and finally, pull together an eye catching conversation piece.  In my own little way, I feel like I’m a contributer in the world of home decorating.  My lamps are vintage, they are green and most of all, they’re unique and interesting!

If you want to join this fashionable journey into the twinkling world of refurbished lamps, well, you know where to find me!

Pieces and parts - waiting to become something special!

Pieces and parts that became something special!

Transition

It's Friday!!

As you might recall, in my last Friday Note we explored some clever, alternative cleaning options.  I promised that this week, we would recruit my overachieving cousin Megan for some tips on how she does her deep speedy spring cleaning!  I contacted her and apparently,  this is all she’s got.  Thank you Megan.  Really, not very helpful in the cleaning department - but it does give me some inspiration for my topic this week ....  Transition.

Transition, and our changing world, and globes and vintage globes and how to date old globes.

Once again, I turn to my trendy Dad for advice. Dad has always been a fan of geography, maps, globes, topography and most recently, his I pads Google Maps function.  I, on the other hand am not very good at directions so I’ve never really been interested in maps.  If I get lost, I stop and ask someone for directions, it’s that simple.   However ...  recently I’ve noticed a variety of globes showing up in decorating magazines and furniture catalogs so now, of course,  I’m interested in maps and globes and directions.

I’ve found out that some of these old globes are making their way into “collectors item” status and can or soon will sport some handsome price tags.  With that in mind, I wanted to know some simple quick tips that I could remember for on the spot old globe dating.  

Here is what Dad suggested:

If there is an East and West Germany, your globe is 1949 to 1989 

If there is only one Korea instead of a North and South Korea - your globe is pre 1953

If you look off the tip of India and there is a little country named Ceylon, your globe is pre-70’s  because in 1972 Ceylon became Sri Lanka

If you suspect a really old globe --- take a look at Iran.  If it says Persia - your globe is really old --- pre 1935 and should probably be wrapped in tissue and driven to the antique road show for appraisal. 

As far as assigning a dollar value to these little gems, I am still relying on e-bay for my information, but if anyone out there has another idea, I’m all ears.  Meanwhile,  I think I’ll just enjoy collecting a few here and there, because they are fun, they’re smart, they are interesting ... and they are featured in the designer magazines!!

Here are my two 1949ish (I'm guessing) desk globes - if you're looking for an antique GPS, drop by Echo before you get your passport!

Spring Cleaning

Are you feeling a bit crusty around the edges?  You know ... the way a long winter tends to leave you feeling ... Duncan and I feel that way too.

But ... as luck would have it, into my shop walked Mr. Ray Moe, a fellow  entrepreneur from out here in the North Reserve end of town and owner of “Rods-N- Dogs" car wash. 

As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for Duncan and I to grab our bubble bath and towels, hop into our dirty bug and tear down to 4620 Expressway to check out his operation.   With a simple swipe of our credit card and the low price of $9.00, Duncan AND the bug enjoyed heated floors, a generous assortment of cleaning agents and a variety of blow dry options. 

Before  

                                                                      

During

Ray Moe demonstrates his super duper polish cleaner

After

Indeed ... it felt just great to scrub off all the winter scum.

We told Dad about our field trip and he decided it would be a good opportunity to get jump start on yard clean up, so he loaded his truck with lawn furniture and last years flower pots and joined us for the fun.  When we invited Mom on our excursion, her exact quote was “I don’t have a dog in this circus”, and she headed down the Bitterroot to her quilting consortium.

Everything worked great until Dad tried to use Rays super duper polish on the furniture.  But .. the good news is .. that’s now Ray Moe’s problem - not ours!  Thanks Ray for the fun day at the car / dog wash.   And thanks Dad for the great time saving spring cleaning tip.  Next week, we will explore how my overachieving cousin Megan does her deep speedy spring cleaning!

Happy Friday ..... Go wash your car!!   Visit  www.rodsndogs.com  for valuable coupons and directions. 

Happy Valentines Weekend!

“ ... but, remember I said, when I get old I want to learn to HAND quilt,” quarreled my mom.

Her long time friend, neighbor and connoisseur of fine crafts urged on ....

"But we are old, and  I found someone who teaches the old Appalachian way of hand quilting,   it is a woman to woman art learned only by passing it down through word of mouth and you're going to love it!"

After a little more convincing, off they went down the Bitterroot to the land of the Stevensville Promise Stitchers ... and that is how it started.  That is how my family lost mom to her quilting addiction.

Through her newfound love, she found a common interest of women who LOVE color, textiles, creativity, and I think, most of all, the long lost art of making time, once a week to gather.  

These are the ladies who still celebrate birthdays with cake and tea, They get together to cackle and cluck, share patterns and patches, talk about their week, their kids, their diets, late breaking news and to celebrate each others pretty quilts.

What quilts?  Outside of their secret circle, these gems are rarely seen.  They aren’t flaunted at shows, photographed for magazines, or sold in stores. They get used for ... quilts!  They stay as secret, as sweet and as un-assuming as their gentle creators.  Until now!   I acquired (don't ask) one of their treasures to share with you just in time for Valentines Day.  I want to introduce this little promise stitch pillow.  It is stitched with ladder patches, a heart applique and finger patches.  

Here it is  --- ever so sweet and one of a kind!  (the colors really are much more vivid than my camera can capture.

January Projects!

Here we are, mid January and this morning I finally had my epiphany regarding what we do in January.

This is the month for organizing and planning ahead!   Not a real favorite for the procrastinators among us - but none the less, planning, organizing and spiffy-ing up for the upcoming year is really what January is all about.

My calendar is all up to date with birthdays properly noted, my closets are cleaned out with all the outfits I’ve “outgrown” being distributed to their proper charities - which leaves me free to move on to the more advanced stages of organizing and planning - painting things and rearranging the furniture.

In regards to painting things ... I’ve asked my assistant, Duncan, to demonstrate for us how the simple act of changing the color of a piece of furniture can change it’s whole personality.

Here is an end table in green.

Here is the same end table in black.  It's kind of astonishing what a difference it makes, isn't it?  Much richer I think.

If painting isn't your thing, try switching up the furniture a bit.  I don't know why, but I always look forward to re-arrange the furniture day.  I guess it's probably because as a kid we would go through this drill about every other month and it was always fun to watch the family bump into stuff and stub our toes as we learned to re-negotiate our route through the living room.  Regardless, re-arranging is a great way to change things up  and give you a new perspective on life - or at least on your living room.

Finally, if none of these fun January activities appeal to you - I have one more suggestion.  Commit to having a green year and start with a smart, roomy new shopping tote from Echo!   Duncan just loves his and has decided to use it for all the stuff he used to haul around in plastic garbage bags.  Well --- almost all the stuff ..  he still takes his plastic garbage bags with us on our walks because the Echo bags are far too nice for that. 

January Inspiration!

Every January, I want to start off the new year fresh and perfect.  For some reason - this year, my need for fresh and perfect has me paralyzed.   I’ve been wandering around my shop trying to take down the Christmas decorations and find something interesting to put together for this long gray month.  A fresh, perfect, inspirational January decorating theme is what I crave.  

I pop a couple of crunchy dried out pine needles in my mouth, pretending they taste like Rosemary and convincing myself they are a yummy addition to my fresh new January diet plan .... but still ... nothing.

Sure enough - I’m starting off my new year .... un-inspired.

I stare at my computer and consult with Facebook, trying to decide if it’s just me, or if  everyone is experiencing the same creative standstill and just like that - up pops my overachieving cousin Megan.  Megan is the one who had Halloween completed in July, Christmas packages were wrapped in September and she is currently working on Easter.  “Snap out of it”, she proclaims.  Just start!!

For anyone else out there who might be looking for some direction, here are some easy - do it yourself ideas from Megan (an accomplished re-purposer) that might help you jump start your creative juices for a fresh, decorative and  purposeful 2011!

An old milk can, Her daughter Sophie's red scarf, last year's snow flake lights and sticks from their tree make up this January centerpiece.  BTW - Megan tells me that the bench belongs to our Grandmother Esther- who turns 95 TODAY!  Here's to Grandma -  an original thrifter before thrifting was cool!

Megan's new "crafty room" .  She started this (transform a corner of the basement) project yesterday, so she'll keep us posted as she moves along. 

Ever wonder how to marry a kind of ordinary clock and an old picture frame ... here you go.

And finally ... an old window re-purposes into a message center for her four kids.

Thanks Megan ... I think I'll go paint something red now!   And here's my contribution - for anyone wondering how to re-purpose all those dried up pine needles from your tree ... try them in soup!

Happy 2011!!

Happy Friday!  Wow, what a week of Christmas shopping it has been!  I’m happy to report that second hand gifts are coming of age and even seem to be quite trendy this year.

To join in the holiday shopping fun, Duncan asked if he could invite his friend Tim over to help us announce that our holiday magazine stand give away was a success.  Someone's sister is going to be very happy this year, but right now - it is a secret who?  Thank you everyone for coming in on Friday and submitting your special person for this prize! 

Funny, the announcement became kind of secondary compared to the day that Duncan and Tim had just deciding how to best make this announcement.  Here is kind of how it went.

Here’s Tim --- Arriving at the shop and admiring our nice rustic Montana rockers.

Tim liked my scarf, so he asked to wear it for the big announcement (note:  the magazine stand is behind Tim -- it really didn't get much show).

Duncan got jealous and decided that if Tim was going to wear the scarf for the announcement, he didn’t really want to be part of it.

Since it's the holidays, they compromised and Duncan got to wear the scarf which made him happy again, so he showed Tim around the store for some holiday shopping.

Duncan showed Tim how sometimes, (and only sometimes - like when he is modeling), he gets to sit on the furniture - like this new Mitchell Gold sofa.

The End!   I got tired of both of 'em - so kicked them out and told them they should do the rest of their shopping in pet stores!

If you still have some holiday shopping left in you --- stop by and see our fine selection of unique, fun and one of kind gift items.  But whatever you do --- don't ask to borrow my scarf!!