Gotta Make Something Soon.

I saw this diy on Design*Sponge the other day and it really got my creative spark going.  I like the map idea, but how cool would it be if your shoved the slats together first and painted an original work of art like a neat portrait or landscape before your separated it slightly.

Via Design*Sponge.

Or even better, get a print of one of your favorite works of art blown up extra large and paste it to the boards before separating them.  I think my photograph "Holding" would be a great candidate for a slatted format.  You'd still see the image, but it would be slightly abstracted.  

"Holding" by Me.

An old advertisement would look nifty segmented like that too.  Such as this label from LABELSTONE on Etsy.

Bronco Buster Crate Label via LABELSTONE on Etsy.

Craigslist Cravings: Kitchen Sink.

Via Beech Grove Craigslist.

This beauty is almost exactly what I'm looking for.  I want the double drain-boards, but I'd really like a double sink as well.  For $75 OBO, though I may be persuaded to stick with a single sink.  

An Artist to Swoon Over: Nancy Ramirez.

I don't know if it's just because I'm an artist, or a visual person, or what, but I can tell immediately if I like a piece of art or not.  It's a split second judgement, and one I've found to be completely out of my control.  I'll either be attracted to it, or it won't catch my eye at all.  Nancy's work is definitely in the first category.  She has a shop, {COZAMIA}, and if you don't already know about it, then your welcome in advance.

Blossom Trellis

Such vibrant colors and eye catching patterns make me go weak in the knees.  That is probably a surprise to some because I usually work in muted tones or even black and white.  I admire what I'm not, I guess is the best way to look at it.  My favorites (they all are fantastic), seem to have strong turquoise and pink tendencies.

Electric Garden (Turquoise)

 I came across her work a few months ago, my first contact being with the "Wild Herringbone in Pink," and audibly said "Oooh."  Then I went to her shop and that was followed by much more "oohs and ahhs."  

Brittle Stars Raspberry

 I am impressed with the variation in her work.  I always seem to get stuck in "rural-themed" or "historical-themed" collections.  Her work does have a somewhat collective color scheme, which is great because you can buy up all her work and have a cohesive grouping even if they don't have the same subject matter.

Color Migration Blue

 Over at {COZAMIA} she's holding a giveaway until December 4, which I'm very un-secretly hoping to win.  I want a huge print (I'm leaning toward the "Night Peonies" in  blue below or the Blossom Trellis which is the first image), in order to hang it up on our soon to be walls after the drywaller comes through in a couple months.

Night Peonies (Blue)

Now I'm telling you about the giveaway because I'm truly a good person (and I do hope all of you enter), but I may be a bit saddened if you are the person that happens to be the winner instead of me.  I'm only human.  If you feel so inclined you can always enter and then send the print my way.  I would do quite the little happy dance for that.

Wild Herringbone in Pink

So, this big long ramble is just to give you a little heads up about a great artist that you should know about.  She has a facebook page, and a blog too if you feel so inclined as to check her out further (and I hope you do).  Good luck if you enter the giveaway, and I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do.

Craigslist Cravings.

This set of caneback chairs was for sale in Terre Haute, but I didn't contact the lady first, so I lost out on them. I loved the lines of the legs and thought they'd look awesome redone to match my someday reclaimed wood dining table. I was pretty bummed, but then I came across another set.They are very similar to the above set, but the lines aren't as nice. They are a bit simpler, but the basic style is there. I'm supposed to go down and pick them up Saturday evening. The second set also comes with a dining table, which we really don't need, but I think we can make it into something neat.

What are your thoughts?

Craigslist Cravings.

A dresser in Ellettsville for $75. I like its lines. It would look great in my closet. It's fun to window shop, but I hope when it comes down to buying furniture for our house I'll be able to find all this great stuff again.

Craigslist Cravings.

A nifty little secretary desk/hutch for sale in Bloomington for $100. If only I had money to spend, this would already be in the back of my truck heading for my house.

Some Apartment Therapy Love.

If you haven't ever ventured over to Apartment Therapy, you've been missing so many greatthings I can't even begin to tell you. Quit reading this post immediately, click the link, ogle the wonderfulness for the rest of the day, and come back to read my blog tomorrow...that is, if you've stopped reading Apartment Therapy. They've got the main design blog, but also have a special food section (Kitchn), kids design section (Ohdeedoh), a green living section (Re-Nest), and a technology section (Unplggd).

Just wanted to show you a couple finds from this morning.

From Ohdeedoh is this neat observatory idea.

This image was for the leather headboard, but just look at that wallpaper...sigh.

So, yeah.

On a different note entirely, I moved the bucklings and their momma out of the birthing stall and into a stall where they can go in and out to the pasture. I thought the younger doeling would get along with them, but she was being a bit too rough, so she got relocated to the dog pen at the barn (the weeds were growing up in there anyway). The still-pregnant nanny got relocated to the birthing stall (I hope that puts her in the mood to push out some kids), so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

I've been having quite the entourage with me while I feed anymore (an almost two year old little girl, a ten year old stock dog, three or four barn cats, my mother-in-law's two geriatric mutts, a handful of hens hoping for some of the horses leftover grain, and the new puppy). Joe did a great job this morning keeping the puppy back so I could move my mare from her lot at the barn out to the east pasture. It was a win-win for me because it kept both of them out of harm's way. I just don't trust the mare very well. She proved my point this morning when she threw her head up and swung her back in around all willy-nilly when I pulled her from the lot. Then when I turned her loose at the pasture she proceeded to buck and kick all the way over the hill. She can really be obnoxious some days.

One of my best friends is coming to see me today for a belated birthday visit, so today is going to be GREAT!

Ooops. Aparently I was in such a hurry to get stuff done before my friend arrived I completely forgot to post links. It's fixed now. Enjoy.

Vintage Furniture = Love.

I love Apartment Therapy. My favorite read is their "Scavenger Roundup" which is their picks from various Craiglist Ads from across the country. These are my favorites that I've seen today.

Sexy Little Red Leather Chair.

With Sexy Leather Couch...I love the tufting, and the rolled arms...sigh.

This lounge-y metal chair is begging me to find one like it.

The lines are so spiffy.

Look how great they look as a pair.

I'm hoping to make our house masculine, like a professor's study who plays rock and roll on the weekends. I do believe that falls into the eclectic category. Let's just hope I can find furniture like these beauties for a steal when I can finally decorate. I'm itching to make this house into the home I envision it to be.

PS--Earlier my dog and I had to chase a groundhog out of my mother-in-law's house. Picture it and you may chuckle a bit, but believe me it was quite the adventure. Never know what my day may hold. Let's hope the storms later keep under control.

Craigslist Cravings: Thomasville Chair.

Granted, it may be hideous when you see it in person, but I really like the way it looks. I even like the stripe colors. They are asking $150 which I imagine it's worth, although I'd much rather pay less than $100. I'm sure one will cross my path someday that is similar to this and I can nab it for less. Here's the link if you're interested.

An Idea for Joe's Room...Someday.

Joe really likes the rabbits here on the farm. Especially all the babies we've got at the moment. They come right to her and they enjoy being loved on. When she actually gets a room (she's the midst of the house renovation too), then I think this little rabbit mobile would be rather cute. The rabbits are shaped from clay, so I imagine I could make something similar.

Via Odeedoh on Apartment Therapy.

Which is a great place for kid-room inspiration by the way.

Craigslist Cravings: Nightstands.

These nightstands were on Bloomington's Craigslist for $50 for the set. I think they could be really stunning refinished. Soon enough I'll be able to jump on these finds and put them in my freshly renovated home!

Craigslist Cravings: Emerson Junior Fan

A vintage fan for twenty-eight bucks. Quite the decorative piece for a guest bedroom I'd think. Found in the Evansville, Indiana postings. Here.

Proposed Projects.

USDA

joeseppi.etsy.com

joeseppi.etsy.com

joeseppi.etsy.com

USDA

USDA

USDA

I'd like to do some design work. Something creative. Thanks to a very dear professor I had in college (Prof. Pravin Sevak), I enjoyed design class a lot, but I haven't had a chance to do much since I graduated. I'd like to do a group of posters advocating my beliefs of growing your own food and such, but make them look like propaganda posters. I googled "Victory Garden Posters" and found a lot of great examples. There was even an artist who created his own art project posing as revitalized victory garden campaign posters (which are available on etsy). Otherwise the images above are all from World War II's campaign. I'd like to just play with some designs and perhaps make them into full size posters for my daughter's room or even the kitchen. Aren't they neat?

More Apartment Therapy Love.

I'm going to have the hubby make me some of these bookshelves in our library someday. Via Apartment Therapy~Jeremy's Endless Energy and Resourcefulness. I like the industrial modern look of them.

Apartment Therapy Love.

Looking at the house tours on Apartment Therapy is a wonderful way to waste a bit of time. I'm really liking the cabinet above. It was in this tour.

Stormy Morning.

Yesterday was quite a morning for weather. The wind blew so hard and then the sky turned black and we had a quick storm with lots of rain. You want to know the best part about the storm? I'm proud to announce our house didn't have any indoor waterfalls for the first time in my five years living here! My old farmhouse is just about solid, and that makes me really happy. My husband is taking off the rest of the week from work to finish putting on siding, and then we get to focus on the inside. So maybe by this time next year I might have ceilings, walls, and a floor besides the subfloor (crazy thought I know). Yesterday was one of those creepy-sky mornings. Very ominous.

Anyway, with the non-drippy house, I got to daydreaming about having company over for big dinner parties and such. I don't want a single set of matching dishes though. I'm looking forward to building a collection of cookware and place settings from various auctions and on my gallivants. I got to looking at some of the vintage pieces for sale on Etsy and it made me want to start my collection now something fierce. Harvest. Vintage Pyrex 402 Bowl from Kultur

Spring Blossom. Vintage Crazy Daisy Pyrex 402 Mixing Bowl from Kultur

Shabby Chic Daisies from TheWeeShelf
Vintage Brown Floral Dessert Plates from Dulcet
Flowering Fall. Vintage Stoneware Dinner Plate from Kultur
Dogwood Blossoms Vintage Plates from Dulcet 4 Anchor Hocking Footed Sundae Glasses from StickyDaisy

I found so many neat plates, glasses, and bowls just in the vintage section (not counting the thrown pottery in the handmade section). I was drooling pretty hard, but didn't buy anything...yet. I definitely marked lots down as favorites to use as reference someday. What do you think?

Neat House Tour

One of my secret pleasures is Apartment Therapy because I love looking at the house tours. One in particular that was recently sent to me in an email was Sarah and Hillary's Maximalist Loft via Apartment Therapy Boston

I really like the artwork on the wall, I think I shall try for something similar to that with blues, grays and whites instead of the browns and perhaps a different silhouette instead of the geese.

I am also really liking the giant wooden mustache on the easel. I think that would look amazing hung on the wall--quirky and subtle.

At any rate, there are a lot more great images from the house tour through the link above. This is just what caught my eye, so I suggest you head over to Apartment Therapy and look around for yourself.

We're Having a GIRL!!

My wishes came true. We're having a little girl (as per the ultrasound technician's guess anyway). I'm really excited. I've been so busy just trying to keep up with this house and normal stuff (you get tired so easy, who knew), that my blogging and business endeavor's have been hurt a bit.


Just a quick thought on some plans for the nursery. We're going to be putting barnwood on one wall of the room for sure.

I want some kind of unique, industrial type, lighting--like this one from pottery barn kids, I believe. Plenty of art, old photographs, and shelves on the walls for nature finds. I want the paint on the walls to look old--so I think I'll either paint the walls a light turquoise and then put some dark turquoise in the corners and leech them out into the room to give it an aged effect, or try to mimic this:
A turquoise color with a light brown aging somehow. I think this came from Ann Wood's blog. Otherwise I just want a room that is enfused with Science, History, Agriculture, Art, Nature, and Heroes and Heroines. A kid's room where they can dream. We'll see what we end up with.

Bad Weather + Old House = Tears of Frustration.

This is my house as it is this moment.

The wind has been howling ALL night and day today, add to that the fact that it's been raining like crazy and we've got a mess. The south side of our house only has the original board siding on it, so water comes in and drips and soaks and ruins things that I'd rather it not. I've gotta just keep telling myself that someday it won't be like this and that someday my house will be solid and repaired and decorated. So in order to salve my frustration I've been looking at Better Homes and Gardens Website. They send design emails to my inbox and when I'm bored I always seem to go over there and drool at the wonderful design possibilities. Take this one for example:

The furniture is unique and it kind of looks rustic, but at the same time looks uppity and chic.
Or this one:

Which is actually too elegant and chic for me, but I really enjoy the chairs at the end of the bed.

Then the color scheme suggested here works well: lime green and blue--although I prefer a different shade of blue and lime green.

That's just a few of the thoughts that go through my head as I pour through the slide shows. Perhaps someday I'll be showcases my rooms to inspire you guys. Although I can guarantee that it will look nothing like the above images because all of my furnishings and decor will be coming from junk heaps, auction barns, and garage sales, but it will match my personality which is all that matters to me.