Found

Spotted, while I was out and about, at the curb, walking with Buster. They were a dirty mess, but cleaned up without too much effort. There are 19 of them, but I didn't have the space to hang all. This might be a temporary installation, as I think I'll tire of them in my entry way. Perhaps they spelled out "restaurant", but if that the case, I'm missing the additional "r." I hung them randomly as I wasn't feeling particularly clever at the time. They're kind of fun and different.

Staycation

I'm taking some time off from work, but since I have a thousand and one things to keep me occupied at home, I'm not going anywhere. I decided to treat myself to some total non-essentials as a consolation prize for staying put. My reward:

This is a Michelle Armas print on canvas that I've been coveting. It's available at Urban Outfitters. I was able to stack a couple of promotion codes during the online ordering process that knocked the price down to $54.39. Pretty resourceful, heh? The picture is in transit and should arrive on my porch on Tuesday. It's so different than any other artwork that I already have, which is a good thing.

Also:

Mary Randolph Carter's new book. Borders sent me an email with a 40% off coupon, thus easing the blow to my checking account.

I spent a couple of hours reading my new book last night and plan on spending some more time with it throughout my staycation.

Of course there are other acquisitions that I've made in the nearly two months since I last posted. For these things I have no justification in getting. However, I have been mostly thrifty in my pursuits. I will try to get back on track with blogging and share what I've been up to.

Rugs

If you're looking for a nice area rug that won't cost an arm and a leg check out Lowe's. They always have these bound Mohawk carpet remnants at great prices. I have purchased a multitude of these rugs over the years. They are durable and can be cleaned with a carpet cleaner.  I picked up this 6' x 8' last night. They had a couple of nice 8' x 12's that could have worked as well. The selection varies, so you may have to wait to find a good fit for your decor. Or you have the option of visiting all of the local stores to see what's available.

Zinio

I'll admit that I've become a digital magazine convert. Thus far I've subscribed to the digital versions of Elle Decor, House Beautiful, and Country Living. I've purchased individual digital issues of a Living Etc and Martha Stewart Living, and plan to add them to my subscription list soon.

If I subscribed to the traditional paper issues, eventually I would be overwhelmed by the clutter and the magazines would be handed off to family and friends. Not that there's anything wrong with passing your magazines down the line, but  sometimes it's hard to let go of all that inspiration. Now I can access all the past issues of my magazines sans the storage dilemma. I'm finding that the benefits of digital print media outweigh the cons. Actually, I'm not sure that I can report any negatives.

If you're on the fence when it comes to paper vs. cyber, here's your chance to try digital without obligation: The Read Green Initiative. I know this isn't the first time I've blogged about this, but now that I've had a few months worth of experience with digital magazine subscriptions, I can honestly say I'm hooked. And if you're wondering, I'm in no way affiliated with Zinio or any other subscription service.

Try it. You won't be sorry.

Project

This project started out as a 4' x 8' piece of maple veneered plywood that I picked up today at Home Depot. I had the sales person assisting me rip the sheet into two 2' x 8' boards so it would be more manageable to transport. With a loose plan already in place, I knew that I could work with the dimensions of the cut board.

The piece is assembled, but it needs finishing. Stay tuned for the reveal.

More Art

At Tuesday Morning I found this picture and three others from the same series by this artist. I love the prints, hate the frames. Or more accurately, I hate the antiqued border on the inside of the frame. The cheap-o pressed board frames I can sorta live with. Fearing they would be gone if I didn't snag them, I bought them knowing that I might be returning them. Generally, I end up regretting purchasing framed massed produced art. However, I do love this artwork. The pictures were $30 apiece, and at a little over 20" square they are sizable and would make a statement on my wall. I would have to fix the hideously tacky antique border if I kept them. And I have no business spending $120 and some change on artwork right now. I will have to figure out where the money is going to come from if I am to keep them. I'm leaning toward returning them. Some days I hate having a conscience.
 

Folk Art

Found at the Salvation Army Store on Wednesday. My pictures are poor, so they don't do the piece justice. I haven't decided where I'm going to put it, but I love it.

The Painted Table

Painted in Rustoleum White Satin oil paint. I know a lot of people would say that painting a solid cherry table is a sin. I guess that makes me a sinner, and a happy one at that because I love it. The table has a home in my sewing room.

I never did post pictures of my office/sewing room after I made the switch. There were several things I knew that needed to be changed so it seemed pointless to put pictures up. Now the room is closer to being picture worthy. I will try to post something by the weekend.

Adventures In Slipcovering

While I was out and about yesterday I stopped by Lowe's to check out the color selection of Rustoleum oil paints. On the other side of the paint isle I spotted drop cloths. Figuring the price was right for the yardage, I bought the largest available drop cloth at 12' x 15'. I have a drop cloth that I bought over a year ago at Big Lots. The Big Lots cloth is considerably smaller, too small to cover a sofa, but made with a much better grade of canvas. If fact it's woven so tightly and smoothly that it could be stretched and painted. I've not been lucky enough to encounter these drop cloths on the few occasions that I've returned to Big Lots. The Lowe's cloth is of very poor quality, rough, nubby, and horribly linty. It was pieced together from three separate lengths of canvas as well. Not really what I was aiming for, but not totally unexpected. I was willing to try and work with the yardage. I washed the Lowe's cloth hoping, with the sizing gone and some shrinkage, the fabric might lend itself to a slipcover. Washing didn't improve it as I'd hoped. You can see in one of the images above a fraction of the lint that collected on my floor. This came off of the fabric after washing it. I'm returning the drop cloth to Lowe's. The poor quality could not be overlooked. All was not lost though, as I had a chance to practice draping the massive piece of fabric.

My plan is to construct a loose cover with twill ties. Unfortunately the book that I'm using as a guide, The Sewing Bible: Slipcovers, is more than a little ambiguous. I'm finding that how-to books with the word "bible" in the title are usually lacking details. With my confidence waning after trying to make sense of the book's instructions, I headed over to Hobby Lobby. I knew that they were having a .99 Simplicity pattern sale, and I knew that there was a Simplicity pattern that gave sewing instructions for casual slipcovers. Armed with book and pattern, I went about the business of draping. My reference materials take different approaches, so I just kept at it until I was close to satisfied with how things looked. I'm am now feeling surer of my ability to conquer the slipcover. Eventually the right fabric will find me.

Good Wood

First of all, please try to overlook the horrible (for so many reasons) pictures. Yes, thats my Bath and Bodyworks Sensual Body Lotion, and my flashlight/intruder skull smasher. All in the same picture. Nice. We won't even go into the dirt on the floor, or the rogue thread hanging from my (once again) unmade bed, or my month old pedicure. Golly, why is it that my blog gets no recognition??? Whew, glad I got that out of my system. On to the nitty gritty!

I found the slatted table at Goodwill. I made a round late yesterday and spotted the piece. Left, mulled over it, losing some sleep in the process, and returned for the kill this morning. Half price furniture at Goodwill today, yes-sir-ee. It's a low table at 13 1/2" high. Good for my bedside. I may paint it. It's heavy for its size, and sturdy. I can't help but wonder if it performed some other function in a past life. Like maybe it had a cushion on top and was used as a ottoman?

The stool is a Salvation Army find. I spotted it last week when I scored the table and chairs. It was still there for half-price Wednesday. A sign, I say.  It's heavy too, and measures just short of 16" high. I will definitely paint the stool in a bright and cheerful color.

Meanwhile, my house looks like a disaster. When will the insanity end?