One woman's quest to salvage the world's castoffs, lock, stock and bauble
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.... ... by which I mean, in August of 2014, in Milwaukee .... ... my son and his girlfriend moved into their first apartment together and decided to decorate it in a movie theater theme. I made the Now Showing sign for them that I blogged about earlier. …
With Hollywood abuzz about the Oscars next week, I thought this would be the perfect time to show off the Now Showing sign I made (with a little help from my husband). The sign was actually a gift for our cinephile son who was moving into his first apartment and wanted to decorate it in …
Continue reading "Now showing: The making of a movie theater sign"
I've always wanted a vintage typesetter's tray. The trouble is, the ones I've seen for sale have been on the large side, and the walls in my house don't have any large-sized spots left to fill. So until I can persuade my husband to buy a bigger house or to build another wall in our …
My sewing skills can best be described as "rudimentary." If you want proof, just ask my long-suffering childhood 4-H sewing leader/mother. She tried her best to pass her seamstressy superpowers on to me with very limited success. Nevertheless, I decided to blow the dust off of my hand-me-down sewing machine recently to make new cases …
Continue reading "Making easy stenciled envelope pillows from canvas drop cloth"
I love typography. Not all typography, mind you. I am a firm believer that the world would be a better place without Brush Script or Cooper Black or a lot of those weird gimmicky fonts. (I'm looking at you, Hobo and Papyrus.) But, for the most part, I can (and do) stare at type all …
Meet Roger, the robot with a heart of gold. Or silver. I made Roger a couple years ago. He's got a lot of personality. He hangs out on my desk all day. But lately, I think the old guy's been feeling a little off. Like he's empty inside. Clearly, he's lonely. So I decided to …
As a chronic collector (and the owner of an ever-expanding number of vintage baubles), I always have an eye out at thrift stores for old jewelry boxes like these to house my precious non-precious gems: The good news is: There are tons of old jewelry boxes out there. The bad news is: Even the most …
Continue reading "Makeover | Covering jewelry boxes with vintage gingham wallpaper"
This was my birthday present from my husband last year: No, not the cat. The wall. We've actually owned the wall (and the house that it's attached to) for 20 years. But the planks -- and the installation of them -- were my husband's gift. There's a reason I've been married to the man for …
Continue reading "Collecting | Black-and-white art for a gallery wall"
I have a small collection of little log cabins. Or a little collection of small log cabins. Two of the buildings are incense burners, and the third is a Christmas ornament. They're not particularly old or valuable, which makes them very easy to find and collect. I see cabins like these at thrift stores all …
I added two new (to me) pieces to my vintage suitcase collection. (Or at least two new cases, as the top one in the photo above is really just a wooden box with a handle.) The suitcase is genuine leather, with contrasting white stitching and beautifully tarnished brass hardware. And the inside is just as …