New adventures, hopeful beginnings.

Progress in the remix challenge!

The journey to de-cluttering and sprucing up a room begins with small steps: New drapes! What do you think?

The yellow damask and blue/green tapestry has been in my fabric stash for a couple of years, and the color scheme fits really well with the olive-green wall/ceiling color in the room. I have my brother to thank for the fabric, he found it in a thrift shop (along with some other gorgeous yardage) and bought the whole lot. There was just enough of these two pieces to make four tab-top drapery panels. The cording is leftover from a previous project, and the fringe is actually the selvage from the blue/green fabric.

You may notice that the new curtain pictures don’t let you see the rest of the room. That’s because I, um, haven’t actually moved anything out yet. Next task: Tackle the pile of boxes in the corner.

The shop is open!

 

 

After a brief post-festival hiatus, the shop is online again!

 

 

The shop list is still growing, though, and over the course of the next week I’ll be adding more items:

• More garlands (festive banners in different colors and prints),
• Lots of new pillows (two words: vintage roosters!),
• And of course, many more Market Totes, continuing the partnership with Foodlink to help end hunger.

Ooh! Stay tuned!

The kindness of neighbors

My neighbor went to a farm market today and bought several pounds of peaches, which she used to make two beautiful and delicious pies from scratch. When they were ready, she took a slice to each of the surrounding houses.  The reason?  ”I just wanted to share it.”

Thank you, neighbor.

Humble sources

A scrap of fabric.

Tiny glass beads.

A strand of embroidery floss.

Our creative expression is often fueled by the simplest of materials.

Whatever happened to the library remix challenge?

Last December I gave myself a challenge to re-organize the library using only items I already had in the house. The library is a spare bedroom that serves as a guest room, office and library — but it had gotten quite sad-looking.  It had gone from being a cozy, serene space to a cluttered storage area for things I was clearing out of the house but had not yet donated.

So in December I posted two pictures of the room and made a grand announcement of my new project. Fast-forward nine months later, and… it looks about the same.

But now (cue the dramatic music) all that is about to change: I hereby re-accept the library remix challenge! The only rule I had still applies: Nothing can be purchased to do it. All materials have to be items that are already in the house. If you are like me, those creative gears get cranking when your project is a thrifty one!

Among this list of to-dos: Slipcover the sofa and ottoman, re-cover the office chair, sew new curtains, and a few other spruce-ups. Thank goodness the rule is no purchases, that means no painting.

Mid-Summer Happy

Floppy hydrangeas.

A jar of buttons.

Fragrant nectarines.

A good friend.