Filed under: Uncategorized
I moved into a new apartment over the weekend, and am now in serious nesting/decorating mode! Here are just a few of the zillions of fantastic items for your house that you can find on Etsy.
I saw Liza Rietz’s work for the first time last week, when one of her stunning dresses was on the front page of Etsy. Liza has been designing clothes in Portland, OR for about ten years, and creates two small collections each year. In addition to her Etsy shop, you can also find her work at her store in Portland, as well as in high-end stores in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
I am now officially saving my Etsy money to buy a dress from Liza! They are just my style – sophisticated, classic and sleek. In the meantime, I may have to satistfy my craving by getting one of her fantastic cloche’s.
Filed under: Before and (Cr)after | Tags: before and after, chair, diy, home office
This was a quick and dirty makeover that I did in about 2 hours while watching An American Haunting (which was rubbish, by the way). I bought the Rickard Office Chair from IKEA in Atlanta a few years ago. Purchased primarily because it was cheap and pink, I didn’t realize until I got it home that it had little to no padding, rendering it WILDLY uncomfortable. Since I don’t use the chair for long periods of time very often, I just lived with it.
One day I was wasting a lunch break at Premier Fabrics in Germantown, my favorite home decor fabric store. I found this great black and white print, and decided that it was time to do something about that uncomfortable chair. It was a super simple project. The chair came apart really easily, and I didn’t even remove the pink cover before adding additional padding and the pretty new fabric. A few well placed staples and under $10 in supplies, and this chair is now far more comfortable (and way cuter)!
Filed under: Uncategorized
According to this quiz at stylishhome.com, I am “California Country,” and share my design style with Sandra Bullock, Harrison Ford and Jeff Bridges (The Dude? Awesome!).
“Cozy… not oversized – a hand crafted gem… Blown away by the handcrafted nature of art… A sense of rolling hills and vineyards surround this table… Pre-war, upper east side attitude…”
Pretty accurate, I think! What’s your style?
Filed under: Etsy Favorites
If your guy doesn’t like beer or the Beatles… well, I just can’t help you.
This comes from the “not that there was anything wrong with it before, but I got bored” files. I inherited this patio furniture from my parents when they upgraded to a new wrought iron set a few years ago. While browsing at Lowes, I discovered Valspar “Mediterranean” spray paint and just had to find SOMETHING to do with it.
First I took the table apart (no small task… there were a lot of screws in that sucker!!). Then I cleaned it thoroughly and spray painted the white frame with the aformentioned Mediterranean paint. Next I cut a piece of vinyl tablecloth fabric that I found at Hancock’s to size and used a spray adhesive to attach it to the table top. Finally, I put it all back together, and voila! New and pretty!
Filed under: Inspiration
While browsing through the newest posts on the Craft magazine blog last week, I discovered thing-a-day.com, a “yearly creative sprint where, every year in February, participants commit to creating one new thing a day.” Registration begins today for the sprint, and participants are encouraged to post each day’s creation, be it art, music, food, etc., on the collective blog.
As I am moving into a new apartment next week, this could not come at a better time for me. My mind has been racing for weeks with ideas for my new place, and I’m hoping that this community can keep me motivated. I plan to post daily on the collective blog, as well as weekly recaps here on my own blog.
Time to break out of that post-holiday winter slump and get those creative juices flowing again!
A few ideas. Because hearts and candy and teddy bears aren’t for everyone.
Some artists’ work inspires me to create. I’ll look at it and want to grab my brushes and start painting, or my camera and start shooting. Lori Nix’s work just flat-out makes me want to be more creative. A photographer originally from rural Kansas, Nix creates intricate dioramas and then lights and photographs them. While most photographers document the real world, this artist instead creates completely unique worlds from scratch, allowing her to bring whimsy and surrealism to an often stark, realistic medium. Each piece can take up to seven months to create and photograph, and that dedication and attention to detail is evident in each piece.
I have a morbid fascination with post-apocalyptic imagery. Nix’s current collection, titled “The City,” consists of her interpretation of New York in the years following an apocalyptic event that left the city abandoned. This image of the library, filled with decaying books, crumbling walls and encroaching nature, is hauntingly beautiful.
Library - 2007
Bounty comes from an earlier collection of Nix’s work, “Lost.” I love how the placid scene above the water belies the teeming life and history of death below.
Bounty - 2004
Elysium Fields is part of the “Some Other Place” collection. The detail Nix put into this scene, from the cloudy sky to the tiny orange cones, is awe-inspiring.
Elysium Fields - 2001
OrangeistheSun is the Etsy shop of Jennifer in Houston, TX. Jennifer uses a mix of textile, leather and metal to create “a perfect balance between feminine, tribal, bohemian and ethnic.” I love the use of vintage buttons and antiqued brass chains in combination with brightly colored threads. The contrast between new and vintage materials helps her create really interesting statement pieces that still look simple enough to wear everyday.
Best of all, her pieces are all very reasonably priced, which is great considering how awesome they will look layered. Can’t wait to get a few!
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