The Modern Marigold

little things

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:52:00 +0000

We've been in this house for 3 months now, and despite zillions of pins on the home dec front

(and that's not even the room-specific pins!),

I keep resisting any/all decorating urges, usually along these lines:

it's just going to get drywall dust all over it.

we're painting this wall soon anyway.

but this wallpaper is coming out eventually.

ENOUGH ALREADY.

Yesterday I finally did what I should have done the day we moved in -- put up a few buntings, propped up a few favorite Katie Daisies, dug out the globe, and said ahhh.

The little things really do make a difference. Now if we can just get those baseboards in...

blimey, it's lemony and limey!

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:31:00 +0000

I have had a big thing for citrus lately. That bright, tart-sweet loveliness that fills your mouth and your memory with warmer days. This winter has been unbelievably mild around these parts, but I am starting to itch a little bit for some bare feet in the grass, know what I mean?

Two recipes I've been loving this week: lemon poppy seed muffins and lime marmalade.

Now that I think of it, I haven't tried eating them together. Time to remedy that?

Some notes on both...

I never use tin liners for muffins, but in this case I should have. They are pretty delicate. I made a couple of changes to the recipe -- I rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar before creaming {gives the zest extra flavor mileage}, and then at the end, I poked lots of holes into each muffin top with a fork before applying the glaze with a pastry brush. That way the glaze gets really deep into the muffin {yum}.

The marmalade was a total impulse thing {hmm, it's 3 pm, let's can!}. The last time I made this was in like 2005 in Ramona's little basement apartment that we rented FOR FREE. Those were the days. You can eat it on muffins or scones or whatever, but we eat it almost exclusively on corn muffins {you seriously will not find a better recipe than this one; your grandma is really nice, but this kicks her cornbread's trash} when we're having chili or taco soup.

Muffin time for this mama. Again.

do. good quilt ::for rachel::

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Yahoo! Rachel's got her quilt! So I finally get to share this block. {yay!}
And seriously, the finished quilt is amazing. Go check it out. Stat.
Rachel is amazing, and I am so happy that someone had the idea of giving something back to her.
I have since stepped out of the do. Good Stitches bee, purely to simplify the different demands currently on my plate. All the same -- thank you, Rachel, for working so incredibly hard to give us all the chance to make a difference!

the light in their eyes

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:10:00 +0000

This Sunday I got a special treat -- at church I got to hang out with the Young Women (ages 12-18) for part of the meeting. Their spirits are so refreshing and beautiful. There is so much light in their eyes.

We shared in the total joy of one of my favorite very messages to women, and now it's time to pass it on.

Print it up, pass it out, hang it up!

{They're the perfect size to stick in your scriptures. Just sayin.}

{click on either image for a bigger, better, more printable version.}

Happy Monday + happy new week -- it's gonna be a good one, I can feel it.

art journal: recent pages

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

{wanting to dive into mandalas but feeling indimidated. tons of inspiration here.}

{heart of romaine printed with acrylic over watercolor.}

{silver gelly over acrylic. practicing blending blue + red into purple.}

{recipe via eating for england. the best lunch!}

{mod podge is my very favorite adhesive/sealer/transfer medium/all-powerful magic spell so far.}

So loving this art journaling.

I feel a little bit freer every time, and I find myself expressing thoughts and feelings that for some reason, I never would have written down in a traditional journal.

Especially when it comes to babies and things.

{august, y'all.}

gimp girl tutorial: rounded photo corners

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Happy Thursday, lovely Marigoldlets!

Here's a simple way to add vintage flair to your photos: round the corners.

Takes less than 30 seconds, once you get the gist.

Ready, go.

{new to gimp? it's like photoshop, only free. start here and here.}

First, open an image using Gimp.

Next, Select > Rounded Rectangle.

The Rounded Rectangle dialogue box will appear.

You can play with the radius percentage {how curvy your curve will be}.

I set mine to 25%.

After hitting OK, you'll notice that part of your image {the larger part} is selected.

We want to get rid of those tiny triangles in the corners, so we'll invert the selection.

So, Select > Invert.

Edit > Clear and say goodbye to those triangles.

Now Select > None...

...now you're ready to add some deco tape and call it a day.

{you know the only reason I do this is to subject you to otherwise irrelevant but crazy cute pictures of my offspring... right?}

valentine's with the kidlets: graphing conversation hearts

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:25:00 +0000

Little-known fact:

I am the {extremely} math-challenged daughter of a professional {and extremely gifted} math teacher.

So I think my mom will be very excited to see me {me!} teaching my offspring to graph stuff at such a tender age.

Lizzy jumped on it and rocked the graphing. Maren, well, takes more after me.

Once the graphing was done, there was that terrible yearly disappointment when you eat that first conversation heart and you remember how horrible they really taste...

26 praises

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:17:00 +0000

{ink and watercolor}

I loved Daisy Yellow's creative experiment earlier this month:

pick a word, any word, and write it 25 different ways.

I picked my word for the year {praise}.

To be honest, I wasn't feeling very praise-full at the time,

and began with a grudging heart.

But the challenge was too much to pass up, and after getting over the hump of praise 15 or so,

I suddenly saw how many ways there are to see praise.

Everywhere! Everything!

Suddenly the least object or idea was a potential subject of praise.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name..."

{psalm 92:1}

dancing days

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:17:00 +0000

These girls are about 45% dress-up, 25% dancing, 25% coloring, and 5% chasing the cat.

I like the view from here.

Most-requested dancing tunes: Kingdom Dance from the Tangled soundtrack, the overture from Le Nozze di Figaro, The Nutcracker Suite (aka "Clara music"), God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by the MoTab, and Almost There from the Princess and the Frog soundtrack.

{We have been listening to God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen every. single. day. since. July.}

Happy Friday, friends. We're looking forward to pizza night, windowsill painting, drywall finishing, church going, and some good ole r&r. Amazing weekend ahead, yes?

valentine's merrymaking

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:28:00 +0000

I promised myself that this year I'd be better about decorating for the smaller holidays.

I've made 4 garlands {and a bloggy banner! click over, Google Reader peeps!} for Valentine's Day so far, and you know what?

It makes the holiday so much more exciting to have cute little decorations up.

The girls are so excited about Valentine's Day, even though they don't really know what it's all about,

except they think that "Mommy, can we get these blueberries for Valentine's Day??" might just work.

{it didn't.}

So it's time to seize the day and craft it up, right? What am I missing?

Valentine's Day votives via Homemade Serenity

Valentine's Day embroidery hoops via Mod Podge Rocks!

Valentine's Rice Krispie Treats via Babies, Paper and Song

Love {Yarn} Letters via My Sister's Suitcase

Valentine's Printable via Lolly Jane Boutique

Yarn Wreath via Me Oh My

Kid's Valentine's Menu via E is for Explore

Fabric Valentine's Heart Garland via How About Orange

I have the tissue all cut up to make those votives but just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. And I am totally stealing that entire V-day menu... the girls are going to flip.

whatever the weather...

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:58:00 +0000

Remember, dear ones, that it is always better to look up.

I hope you find some peace tucked away in your sabbath day, whomever and wherever you might be.

process: gesso and glitter

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

All this discovering and experimenting with new forms and mediums and ideas is so idiotically exciting.

speedball? gesso? india ink? brayer? huh??

Every time I hear about some new thing my heart beats a little faster, like the wind that
speaks to Vianne "of towns yet to be visited, friends in need yet to be discovered, battles yet to be fought..."
only about art supplies.
Ok bad comparison.

I did make a fabulous discovery regarding glitter that I hope to translate into a tutorial very soon.

eat her up

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:08:00 +0000

I always want to remember her this way.

This one's giving us a run for our money, she is.

But oh. Those moments of transcendent sweetness

just about make it all the hard parts melt away.

Just about.

god moving

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:39:00 +0000

I have been totally smitten this last little while with art journaling.
It is hard to move past -- there's no rules -- anything goes --
but I am starting to wrap my mind around it.
I love experimenting with different mediums that I don't properly "know" how to use
{i always wanted to go to art school}
-- tearing, pasting, painting, smudging --
and the freedom that color and dimension and no-lines-to-write-on bring.
Daisy Yellow is a blog that has been helpful in many ways --
supply suggestions, prompts, ways to get past blank-page panic.
Most of my pages so far have been pretty, well, personal, but one night I did this page
and felt such a sense of calm and peace while I drew and colored and meditated on those beautiful words.
What about you? Do you want to try it?

drywall vs. decor

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:57:00 +0000

We decided to do all our drywall ourselves, and we're glad we did. I think.

But it really is a pain in the butt.

Drywall or no drywall, I am undeterred.

Hence the V-Day banner, adapted from the ever-lovely Danielle and her recent DIY post.

{how did I forget how awesome glue guns are??}

It ain't pretty (the drywall, that is), but it's prettier than nothin'.

book delicious: my favorite reads from 2011

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:22:00 +0000

{i've been here!!}

Though the rest of the world may quit with paper and glue altogether, I think I will take my books to my grave.
We had a Kindle for a little while but just couldn't get into it and ended up selling it off.

Looking for a good book to sink your teeth into? Here are my favorite reads from 2011.
Chip in with your favorites (recent or not) in the comments!

what i didn't buy (and what i did)

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

So many amazing finds at Old Jail Antiques last weekend! It's housed in the old city jail -- vendors can rent jail cells -- which is part creepy, part cool. I normally don't get bent out of shape about what our budget will/won't allow, but I gotta tell you, I so wish I could have brought every one of those pretties home with me.

I did get to bring one of the pretties home, though -- check out that chalkboard! It's double-sided, one green, one black, with the alphabet on each side. I'm not sure yet where it will end up, but I triple puffy-heart it.

low-tech diy valentine's day garlands

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

pinking shears + pink and red felt + candy-striped yarn

and

sparkly pom poms + sparkly eyelash yarn.

best constructed while freaking out over downton abbey.

layer over paint samples and bare drywall for best effects.

{my man says the sparkly one reminds him of dr. seuss.}

away

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

My amazing, sweet, generous, understanding man sent me on a little mini-vacation for part of the weekend. I left in the middle of a giant snowstorm, got lost a couple of times, but settled into my {amazing} room at the Sarah Beth guest house with nary a qualm about being, well, cooped up. You know, by myself.

It was my first time ever way from my little ones overnight. I thought of them -- I called them to hear their little voices and to say goodnight -- and I was so happy to see them the next day -- but let's just say that I wasn't shedding any tears. I painted, wrote, watched HGTV/Food Network {we don't have tv at home so that was, like, epic}, listened to old favorite tunes, wandered the house with camera in hand, drank tea, and ate pastries.

It was perfect.

my word for 2012: praise

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Part of me wants to hold back on this post --

wait, can I really do this?

what if I mess it up? and everyone knows it?

So let me take a deep breath and tell you that my word for 2012 is praise.

Other contenders? present. grateful. joy.

But really -- what good thing is there that is not encompassed in the act of praise?

If I can find reason to praise God in every moment of every day,

will that not increase my gratitude and joy? will that not keep me in the present moment?

Anticipating a year of praise gives me a wonderful feeling, like

toes at the edge of the ocean, like bike-ride hair flying on a warm summer day,

like the sun on my face and joy in my heart.

{download the printable}

I hope you will join me in choosing your own word, if you feel like it.

Don't worry about reinventing the wheel.

{Danielle, who is already such a beautiful woman of praise, chose praise for her word last year...}

Just choose the word that tastes good.

So without any particular plan, I hope you will let me share with you what I learn this year along my bumbling, meandering way on the path of praise. My faith throughout my life has mostly been a quiet sort of conviction. internal. While praise is something I've always equated with voice. exuberance. outwardness. And I think that praise can be those things -- but I also think that praise can be very much a combination of the two -- inward exuberance and delicious, soul-filling zeal, sometimes spoken, sometimes sung, but perhaps most often felt.

I'm excited to find out.

world peace: nutella hot chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:22:00 +0000

This is my newest favorite late-night trick:

Cheap hot chocolate mix with a giant spoonful of Nutella mixed in.

It will bring peace to the entire world, I am certain.

My life has felt like one giant crash-landing lately. I am grasping at straws of normalcy to keep from losing my mind at all the change and craziness and chaos. And then I read about what life is like in other places and realize what a jerk I am for complaining at all.

So: one day at a time.

I've picked a word for the year and am so excited to share my journey with you. That one little word is already sending me in some beautiful + unexpected directions. More soon!

refinishing our floors

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:49:00 +0000

The floors are done, hip hooray!

We ripped out that shag and were thrilled to find a beautiful birch wood floor that may or may not be original to the house (1876). It took a solid week to pull out the decades'-worth of carpet staples and even longer to sand off the stubborn varnish that a previous occupant had applied around their area rugs. Once we got down to bare wood, we sponged on a whole lot of wood conditioner, stained with a nice dark hue (Minwax Jacobean), and sealed with a couple of coats of poly. We plan to add a couple more coats in summertime, but 2 days in a hotel right before Christmas was, well, plenty.

Now we're on to drywall, trim, and (finally!) paaaaaaint.

christmas day in the morning

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:38:00 +0000

It was good. It was low-key. It was lovely. Santa brought a black cat named Mischief and the girls just about flipped their wigs. Richard had them close their eyes when he went to get it, and when he came back Maren accidentally peeked and couldn't contain herself -- "a CAAAT?!??!" They love that cat and she loves them.

Church was wonderful -- makes me wish Christmas were on a Sunday every year. There were beautiful thoughts and testimonies of the Savior, and wonderful music too. And just being together with our ward family, so many beloved friends, on such a special day, even for just an hour, was so wonderful.

My friends Bryn, Martha, and I sang, too. Want to hear? We recorded this a few days beforehand. Switching up the tune was Bryn's ingenious idea. And can I just say that I really really want to play the gee-tar like Martha someday.

Merry Christmas, friends! I hope yours was a merry one, filled with hope and peace!

joyful noise

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Christmas came early, WOOHOO!

For some reason I don't really blog about piano,

but it is a big and happy part of my life.

And thanks to my amazing, generous, wonderful man, I finally have my very own.

(((ahhh!!)))

It's nothin fancy, but believe me, it's been here 5 hours

and has already brought so much joy.

It's wedged in the kitchen between the bathroom and the pantry

until we start/finish drywalling the dining room next week.

Classy.

Christmasey posts and home improvement updates coming soon, mkay?

{hope your merrymaking has been beautiful!}

once you pop

noreply@blogger.com (amanda) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:33:00 +0000

Our dining room had some really awful white wallpaper going on.

The other day I pulled off a piece...

and kept pulling...

and pretty soon the room looked like this.

5 layers and 12 decades' worth of wallpaper.

{you know I would have kept that retro rose wallpaper if only there was a way...}