garden trellis

A few weeks ago I mentioned, in my column for The Leaf Chronicle, the fact that I had assembled a pyramid-shaped garden trellis using some inexpensive, pre-made trellises.

Here’s how you can make one, too.

You will need:

Three rose trellises

one 8” terra cotta pot

plastic tie straps

shovel

a good friend, flown in from Norway and her adorable daughter

vine seeds and water

First, ask your friend to hold the first two trellises in position, while she is also attempting to explain to her 3 1/2 year old why she must wait to attach the plastic tie straps.

Quickly mark position for the points of contact  for each of the trellises in order to “plant” the ends in the ground.  This will give the structure additional stability when it “runs into” your 90 lb dog.

 

Once you are sure you’ve got the three pieces positioned correctly (check to ensure it relatively level—I used a brick to level this one), then pack the dirt around the points of contact.

You can then turn the three-year-old loose with the strip ties.

I also used basic “L” shaped stakes to add a little more stability.

Plant seeds and enlist the help of someone interested in topping-off your efforts with a little water.

Add an inverted flower pot to the peak of the pyramid.

I have a finial for the top, but wanted to make sure the contraption would withstand the typical elements of the area before I topped it.  (I think the storms tonight will give me the opportunity to find my answer.)

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for your indulgence,

You Can Tell a Book by Its Cover

. . . or lack thereof.
I love decorating with books.  Books are something many of us have—some of us have them in abundance.  Which makes them an easy “go to” for our decorating needs.
I’ve helped a few clients redecorate their home and often the simplest changes I make include repositioning the books on their bookcases or end tables.  I am usually met with comments like, “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”
I am especially fond of using vintage books to add interest and history to your decorating schemes.
Here are a few tips for using vintage books in your décor.
You  can use books elevate something small, like this postcard, to a level of importance.  (The green ribbon draws attention to the greens of the postcard.)
 
This would make a lovely display on a nightstand—a bedside carafe and small bird’s nest set atop a stack of vintage volumes is intriguing.


I also like removing the worn covers of some books.  I usually only do this when the binding has already been torn or become very loose.  I check for indicators of value—such as first editions—but readily admit I don’t know what I’m looking for most times.


I like the neutral appearance of a stack of naked books.  They will compliment a display without taking it over.
I will usually leave the cover or title page, but often it’s worth looking further and removing a few more pages for a more poignant commentary . . . 


I love finding books with handwritten notes in them.  This one simply tells us to whom the book once belonged, but often you will find notes from the giver to the recipient when the book was presented as a special, thoughtful gift.


And then there is the most basic of book displays.  I am not sure why I find these vintage books so fascinating, but I do.  I cannot pass-up a display of books.  Sometimes I buy them by the lot and don’t have the chance to peruse them until they’ve been on display in the shop.



I’ve also been known to use books to create other items, such as this Pages and Ribbons Garland:

(In fact, we’ve got another workshop scheduled so you can make one, too!  Check-out our Artful Origins blog page for details about this class and more.)
Recently, I’ve started altering books in other ways; it’s referred to “page folding.”  Here’s a quick tutorial to get you started:


Find the approximate center of the book (I usually see how many pages are in the book and divide by two—the answer is the approximate center.)  Fold six pages in half—I usually fold in pairs, folding toward each other—create a good crease.  These are your “center folds.”

Leave two flat pages before folding the next group of six pages to the left of your flat pages; then, leaving two flat pages again, fold six pages to the right.   Continue, alternating left then right of the original “center folds.”

Once you’ve folded nine or so sets of six pages—fold the pairs of two flat pages toward each other, WITHOUT creating a crease.  Just leave them kind of “bowed.”

Here is the finished product:

You can use it as an objet d’art or you can display items between the pages—photos, postcards, greeting cards, love notes!

If you need some more inspiration, you might visit You Tube for video instruction. (I would have videoed my tutorial, but that would have taken another month or so . . . I’m so techy!)  When you get to You Tube, type in the search “book page folding;” that will yield good results.
This is a very basic technique, but there are many other ways to fold pages that yield very fanciful results.  This “level” of page folding is a relaxing project that can be done in front of the TV.

Haven't linked with Debra at Common Ground in a while, but I think this one is "link worthy" so . . . be sure to visit!

be inspired

  
Thanks for your indulgence,

Holiday Windows—such as they are . . .

Okay, I’ll be the first one to admit it . . . these windows did not receive my best efforts, but they still make me smile.
The hops garland is my favorite element—no matter when or where I use it!  The plate rack was constructed by my friend—the design was copied from a German antique I brought home 9 years ago.  The rest of the design came together based on those two elements.

The far end of the window shows an outdoor scene.  the swing is constant and I love it as my focal point.

One of my favorite new decorative accents is this book page garland.  (I think we are offering a workshop to learn how to make on in January.  Check the Artful origins facebook page for new workshops.)
I was inspired to offer the Johnson Brothers “friendly village” by the plate rack—the colors of the annie sloan Chalk Paint™ I used—country grey, old violet and old white—almost asked to display Friendly Village.

A Christmas tree offering a nice mix of ornaments and a cowboy hat topper.

One of best sellers . . . this iron double lantern will see you from Christmas, through New Years and so on.  Decorate it for the season and make a quick and easy impact.

Several items to love here . . . the french wire basket, the wine glasses and a flower pot turned wine cooler.

A holiday cowgirl.


“Merry Christmas”—vintage style!  (Only $185 for the set!)

A new pattern of our quilt, Rustica.

love the pattern on this tablecloth—it’s actually about 72” long.  I decided to feature our brie baker, and our hot chocolate packets.
Note the tobacco basket—still love ‘em!
Thanks for your indulgence!

A self check of resolutions

[This was my article for the Leaf Chronicle, published on Jan 7th.  I’ve had a few things going on, but I think I can catch-up.  (Yes—I realize I am ALWAYS saying that!)]

It’s 2012 and life is good. I’m still working on resolutions or, as I like to refer to them, “ideas that sounded good at the time.”

Every year I say, I’m not making any resolutions. Then I hear everyone ticking theirs’ off and I start feeling left out, then feel compelled to blurt-out something, which snowballs into a list of things that sound ridiculous and unachievable as I’m saying them. Then, for good measure, I go and post them on my blog! (Great idea—tell everyone how you plan to fail.)

This concept prompted me to go look at my blog post for the new year of 2011. Just to check myself. Last year, I sub-divided my list (or “goals” as I called them) into household, Hodgepodge and personal goals. Here’s how I measured up:

Household goal #1 was to finish my bedroom and I would say I’m satisfied, but there is some tweaking yet to be done.

(The mirrors and frame replaced the old doors that once served as our headboard—too much smoke damage to keep them after the fire.  New linen curtains replaced the burlap curtains I had made—burlap, by-the-by is apparently highly flammable!)

#2 was to finish claiming my creative space . . . umm , next!

#3 my goal of new appliances was admittedly lofty—I even said so in the original documentation. I have decided to let go of the marble countertops and have decided on butcher block counters, I’ve got about 10 LF already and need to acquire about 8 LF more, but that was progress. No progress on the appliance home front, unless you count the new four-slot toaster I got from the kids for Christmas. No new gas range (#6 on my list), but hope springs eternal with 2012.

(The butcher block already in my possession.)

(My kitchen as it looks now—notice how my white appliances blend seamlessly with my black cabinets . . .N O T!)

#4, Hurrah! Success! Hannah’s room is painted—she did it herself! (Cost a great deal in paint brushes and rollers, but worth it!) I even found new curtains that met with her approval and mine. (I think we get extra points for this one!)

(Hannah’s room—didn’t warn her I was taking this, so I decided not to include her unmade bed; her quilt was the inspiration for the colors.)

#5, I’ve bought the fabric for the new living room curtains AND I just found the number for a seamstress I think I’ll call (another one to migrate to the 2012 list).

Hodgepodge goal numero uno and only was to do what it takes to make my shop a success . . . a work in progress. This is a great opportunity, however, to thank my family—especially my husband—for their continued support of my dream. (Whenever I read something like that on someone else’s blog, I usually think, “Yeah, yeah—kiss up!” but I am very sincere.)

For my personal goals: 1.  see my goal for hodgepodge  ( I take it very personally.); 2.  to be the wife my husband deserves; 3.  to be the mom my kids deserve; 4.  to be the daughter my parents deserve; 5.  to be the sister my sisters deserve; 6.  to be the friend my friends deserve; 7.  to be the faithful servant my God deserves. (Not necessarily in that order.) Not really sure how to measure my success—you could check with my targets—but I’m sure they will all carry-over into 2012, too.

You’ll have to check my blog for list of ideas that sound good for 2012.

Thanks for your indulgence!

January 1, 2012

(My Leaf Chronicle article for January 1st.)
Happy New Year! I’ll tell you, I for one am happy to see 2011 in the rearview mirror. We have some great memories and I’ve had a lot of successes this year, but the bad stuff was really, really bad and it’s taking some time to work through it. Of course, we started out 2010 with a house fire, so I better go back and read my article from Jan 1, 2010—I may be asking for trouble!
I am sure many of you have already taken down your decorations and have no remnants of Christmas in your home. That is not the case at my house. I am still enjoying our decorations. Frankly, I didn’t get to see them much, so I need to leave them in place a while longer. I generally leave my staircase and mantel décor up well into January (which is why I had to replace it after the fire—hmm, you’d think I’d learn).
Each year I make an effort to weed-out some of the stuff we haven’t used in recent years to make room for the inevitable additions we’ve acquired. I always think I’ll have plenty of time, once I make it through the holidays; while January is a slower month for retailers, somehow or another, my free time is at a premium. I will get it done, though, the same way I decorated—I will un-decorate in small doses.
The challenge is keeping the house feeling cozy and inviting. It seems that once the tree and garlands are gone, it feels a little cold to me. I try to leave a few winter touches throughout the house. I leave my winter pictures propped or hung in various rooms. I leave extra blankets and throws tossed on the furniture—even in the kitchen (we’ve got an old, breezy—no I didn’t mean to say ”drafty”—house). The chairs near the fireplaces are generally the first ones claimed in any of our rooms. I also enjoy leaving snowmen, snowflakes and icicles on display through the winter months. My crystal snowflakes—an extravagant purchase during our first tour in Germany—need to be added to my kitchen window where they can catch the light of our gorgeous winter sunsets.
I generally exchange out my lush Christmas wreath for my very simple, plain grapevine wreath. This year, however I plan to add some branches which have a snowy look, as well as some silver feathers and a snowy nest. I think I’m not ready for a stark winter look just yet—heck, didn’t I just get the house decorated for Christmas? I’ll post a picture on my blog when I have it up.

(Seems I got the wreath done before I posted the article—hard to juggle it all, isn’t it?)
One of my favorite new ideas was borrowed from a friend who found my blog—then found my shop! (I am referring to Auny Bliss—find her blog here.)  She has been collecting vintage pictures of children in their snow attire. She displays them in frames, but I’m going to display mine on a garland on a fireplace, as I do not have enough surfaces to display our family photos, let alone those of children I’ve never met.

(I’ve decided to make the winter garland I’ve mentioned here during our Winter Spectacular crafting event on February 18th.  You can sign-up for a full day of crafting or choose your activity.  More info to come in a day or two—just go ahead and mark it on your calendar!)
I hope your house and heart are warm as we welcome 2012!
Thanks for your indulgence,

Arranging Furniture While Hanging Decorations

(This was my article for Dec 18th—getting there, getting there!)

Well, I’m at about 70% completion with my decorating efforts at the house. By the time you read this, I have to be done, because I will have company coming to the house in the evening. (The great motivator—company is coming!)

I have been diligently working each evening after I get home from work; trying to slip in a few minutes each morning before I leave for the shop, too. Why is it, at times like these, when there is so much to be done, do I decide to make things more complicated and confused?

“Such as . . .?” you may ask. Well, I’ll tell you. Such as reconfiguring the furniture lay-out in the living room. Not necessary, but I had a bee in my bonnet, so now the sofa is facing the fireplace, not the TV. I also put away my computer table. I had purchased one of those old typewriter tables on casters, thinking it was a great idea to use it for my laptop—I could just roll it to the side when I wasn’t using it. The problem was, I never rolled it to the side, so there it sat in the middle of the living room. Not sure I love the new layout, but I think that’s the sofa, not the arrangement. I’ll wait to make my decision after all of the Christmas storage boxes are put away—hopefully when I get home from work tonight.

So while this created a little more work when I should have been adding ornaments to our tree, I may have come up with a solution to my room feeling a little off balance for so long. The sofa was too long for the space of the wall where we’ve had it since we moved here. A portion of the back was blocking a portion of the window on that wall. Now, the chair sits squarely in front of the window, which looks better—more balanced.

(The new layout—couldn’t find a “before,” for comparison, but I believe this works better.  That’s my nephew in the chair and the cooler is a football day allowance.)

Now that I think about it, I usually try different arrangements in the house during the holidays. Usually it’s out of necessity—we have to put the tree somewhere, right? But often, it’s just to try a new look. Sometimes it returns to pre-Christmas arrangements, but there have been a few successes which we’ve permanently adopted.

Unlike me, you’ve probably already made all of your adjustments and tried the new arrangements, but if not, you might consider a different layout for the holidays. Make a cozy conversation corner with two chairs and a table. Change the “U” shape of your furniture arrangement to face the tree or the fireplace, rather than the TV. Try something new over your mantle—several vintage mirrors arranged so they’re leaning against the wall and each other. You can enlarge some family photos—perhaps taken in the snow—print them in black & white, then have them mounted to foam core for an inexpensive eye catching focal point. Either of those arrangements will carry you into the New Year, too!

If you’re looking to add a few final touches to your décor, try adding garland and bows. When in doubt, that inexpensive wired pine garland is my go-to decorative touch. It’s on top of our kitchen cabinets, intertwined in our chandeliers and draped around the tops of wardrobes. The bows add an “I thought of everything” touch to the house, as well. Tie bows—big ones, don’t skimp—around anything needing a little boost. Put them in your house plants; tie them around candles and the dog’s collar.

(This is the regular, everyday arrangement atop our German wardrobe—all I did was add some garland—tah dah . . . Christmas!)

(Same thing here in the kitchen—a little pine garland mixed with a white berry garland.)

I have one last inexpensive tip for the dining room. You can put a festive bow on your dining chairs by using 2 – 3 yards or tulle. Two yards will yield a nice square knot on the back of your chair; three yards will allow for a bow. If you don’t know how to tie a pretty, simple bow—google it. In either case, you can accent it with a sprig of holly, pine or rosemary from the garden.

I hope you’ve found enough time to do everything you wanted to do for your holiday decorating. Rest assured the day will come and all will be fine—even if you didn’t get the guest room painted.

Here are a few shots of the décor around our our house.  These were take after the fact—January 1st to be exact, so they’re looking a little rough for wear.  be kind!

One last picture, that dining room tablecloth I mentioned a while ago—the one that I was going “to make or pay someone to make it for me.”  Well, I ended up paying and it was well worth it!  Thanks to Vicki Aebischer for her skilled sewing and sense of adventure, I have my beautiful new tablecloth!

One more post before I can post the one that was published in the LC today.  The light is at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for your indulgence!