Swoon

Finders Tweakers

2011-05-22T21:17:00.016-04:00

It never fails. Every time I set off on a thrifting trip, I start the day with a skip in my step because I just know I'm going to find everything I'm looking for, and it will all cost, like, a dollar, and I will have so much fun sprucing my findings, and then everyone will lavish me with oohs and aahs because I am the most amazing thrift sore decorator that ever did live.

I don't know where I get these notions. I never find what I'm looking for, things almost always cost more than I think they should, and I am only a so-so thrift store decorator.

Nevertheless, on Saturday morning I set out, giant cafe latte in hand and that little skip in my step, to find whatever there was to find and a few specifics:

1- Two frames to begin my "hooked" project

2- Something large and sculptural for the top of my bookshelf

3- Louis chair for my god-awful bedroom (if I was lucky)

So it is not surprising that after six stores I dragged my tired self home with absofreakinlutely nothing. I know. It's sad.

But it's OK! I persevered and sneaked in a trip to TJ Maxx on Sunday. I didn't find anything on my list, of course, but I did find some other goodies:

BUDDHA BOOKEND - $7

The plan: Maybe I'll saw him off of the base and gold leaf or paint him a bold blue. Or maybe I will find peace with Mr. Buddha Bookend and just leave him be.

What he could be:

LACQUER BOX - $9
The plan: As soon a I saw this I imagined a copy cat west elm jewelry box

What it could be (in a hundred years when I finally find some sort of metal greek key applique)...

NESTING TRAYS - $5 and $4!
The plan: I know... these are the most hideous things ever. I hate map motifs, but I LOVE lacquer trays, and these have a fabulous shape. I think whatever I do will involve some gold, black, and white paint because these babies are gonna live on my entry table.

What they could be (so many possibilities!)...

kolektorbali.tumblr.com
westelm.com
bp1.blogger.com
westelm.com
store03.prostores.com

Return of Venus

2011-05-19T10:11:00.003-04:00

My jaw dropped when I saw the first page of the new Lonny issue. If you've been following Swoon, you'll know why...

My waning inspiration to complete my copy-cat Venus in Yellow has been unearthed! I haven't figured out who this artist is yet, but I wonder if he/she was inspired by Hanseggar's Venus as well. The mood of these pieces is a little dark for me, but I do love them. I hope this knocks me off my lazy horse this weekend so I can get crackin on this project. We'll see.

Make it purrrr

2011-05-17T10:04:00.004-04:00

To Do:

1) Find a chair. Any ol' chair.
2) Find a furry throw. Any ol' furry throw.
3) Throw that throw over that chair.
4) Pretend like it was all my idea.

Of course, it wasn't...

designspongeonline.com
theartofdoingstuff.com
joannagoddard.blogspot.com
decor8blog.com
thedecorista.tumblr.com

How to love (and lose) a louis chair

2011-05-10T17:14:00.034-04:00

One of my many obsessions at the moment is with Louis chairs. What started this fixation? The moment I found a listing on craigslist for a PERFECT specimen to paint and reupholster for only $25!! Well, the interest started there, but the obsession didn’t hit until I lost it to someone else.

Yes, I called about it first thing in the morning, but instead of jumping out of my chair and into my truck at that very moment, I decided to wait until I got off work that afternoon. I was so excited about it all day, imagining the color I would paint it… the fabric I would cover it in… how I would magically turn into a princess every time I sat in it. But my swoonings were soon squashed when I called the seller to tell her I was on my way and she said with a forced sweetness, “oh honey, someone just picked it up!”

So I went home, head hanging low, with an emptiness inside that only a fellow buy-something-for-nothing-and-turn-it-into-something-amazing-nut could understand.

Since then I have somehow made it through each day, but I have not forgotten. No, I am now in full-blown cheap Louis chair search mode. Come hell or high water I will find her, but until then, let’s dream together…

...Sigh...

Awe... this one looks just like my craigslist loss:

and so do these...

Ok, I'm gonna go eat some ice cream now. Sitting on my floor. Ugh.

Sources:
roost
justinetaylor
etsy
anthropologie
simplifiedbee
lavishbymattandjon

A glittery, girly tablescape for, like, no money

2011-05-09T20:35:00.008-04:00

I had a gorgeous group of mommies over for Mother's Day dinner on Sunday, and I wanted to pretty things up a bit. This tablescape is obnoxiously girly, and I love it! I had no money to spare, so I had to get creative. This whole thing set us back about 12 bucks.

First I started with the runner. I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby for $4 a yard. And since I'd sooner die than sew something, I used some left over iron-on hemming tape from a pack of ikea curtains. It took me about 15 minutes to do this, but it woulda taken me a lot longer if I was working with fabric that doesn't have a repeating pattern to cut by. If I had to measure and pin the folds, I would have given up from the start. I'm impatient like that.

Next, I needed a centerpiece. Luckily, my super hot mom is also a super awesome florist. I picked up a few pretties she had left over from Mom's Day deliveries and came up with this using a tray and some bud vases from around the house:

And these placemats are nothing more than some glittery cardstock I had in my craft closet. There are a few drops of wine on them now, but it won't stop me from making something else out of them later!

And one lesson you learn from having a gay uncle is that a place setting is never complete without a gift. So Rosa Leigh and I got to making some cute necklaces for these Mommies. Who knew some cheap hemp and alphabet beads could be so chic?

The most fun part was making these pillow boxes out of that yummy cardstock. I'll post a tutorial on that soon. That cute ribbon is from Hobby Lobby too!

Now that I see it all in one post, I'm thinking it looks like this took me forever. Seriously, I did all this in a total of maybe 2 hours, and this is happy work I tell ya!

Hooked!

2011-05-08T21:15:00.002-04:00

Oh. My. God. I feel empty inside because these are not hanging in my entryway right now! You can bet I'm not gonna spend $65 each on em though. But just you wait. Let me get my tool belt...

By the way, I don't really have a tool belt. It's a tool box. Well, it's more of a tool tupperware container. I gotta work on that.

Source: Thinkofthe.com

Pining for Pinterest: Send a girl an invitation!

2011-05-05T15:53:00.004-04:00

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for an invitation to pinterest, and nothing! Do you have an invitation???? You'd be amazed what I'm willing to do for one. Ok, not really. But seriously, please email it to swoonobsessed@gmail.com. Then your good deed will be deeded for the day! Grazie!

DIY: How to make a fabulous memo board

2011-05-04T20:28:00.003-04:00

Remember this post about Rosa Leigh's room in progress? Well, I accomplished two out of four items on my to-do list. I know. Wow. So here is the picture of her memo board before I finished it:

And here it is now!

As you can see, I finally finished the ribbon and painted a frame around it on the wall. Cute huh? Here is how I made this thing outta scrap wood, faux leather, and some fabulous fixins (cost me about $20):

Materials:
-Margarita on the rocks (first thing's first)
-Piece of plywood or mdf cut to size
-Enough yardage of fabric to cover the front and overlap by at least a few inches on each side. (I used faux white leather from Joannes)
-Batting (I used pretty thin batting from Joannes. I didn't want it to be too tufted looking. Up to you)
-Upholstery tacks (got those from Joannes too, but available at any home improvement or craft store)
-Staple gun and lots of staples
-Hammer and needle-nose pliers
-Ribbon (you can do some fancy math to figure out how much you need or just wing it like I did)
-Picture hanging hardware

1) Lay the batting on the floor and center the wood on top of it.
2) Cut the batting evenly on each side to make it at least 3 inches larger than the wood.
3) Wrap the edges of the batting around the edges of the wood and staple. Don't pull too tight, and you don't need a ton of staples yet.
4) Repeat step one through four with the fabric. Use more staples on this layer, and don't forget to not pull too tight. If you do, you'll make it wrinkle on the front.
5) If you are a patient perfectionist, measure and mark even intervals around the frame so you know where to place your ribbon. I am impatient and lazy, so I eyeballed it.
6) Start wrapping your ribbons and securing with one staple at each end on the back. Finish all parallel pieces in one direction first, then do the other direction.
7) Hammer the upholstery tacks in at each intersection. This was so frustrating at first until it dawned on me to use the pliers to help hold the tack in place while I hammered.Then it was super easy and kinda fun - my favorite step!
8) Finish the back by trimming the ribbons and installing your picture hanging hardware.
9) Hang it, girl! (or boy!)

venus in yellow

2011-05-02T14:23:00.004-04:00

I cannot stop thinking about this painting by John Hansegger. I want to make my own. In fact, I've already started planning the piece. I'm going to do a HUGE portrait of one of my favorite sculptures, Pauline Bonaparte. You can read all about her here.

My problem (yes, I always have a problem) is that it's very hard to contain myself when figure drawing. I tend to go crazy with detail. Here is the first study I did last night. See what I mean? I'm pretty darn proud of those pillows though.

So I knew I had to chill out. Here is my second study. I'm getting the hang of it.

My other problem is I don't really know how to achieve the look of Hanseggar's painting. It says it's in oil, but I'm not sure how he penciled over the paint. I'll have to play a little this weekend. If you have any ideas, please post a comment! Looks like it will be a while before I'm done, but hopefully it'll be worth it. Imagine her in an ornate gilded frame! So sexy!

Sources:
Valerie Goodman Gallery
Borghese Gallery

Connelly Anomaly

2011-05-01T23:39:00.005-04:00

I have a few Jennifer's on the brain tonight. But this is one I'm thinking of as I listen to David Bowie. If I was a man, this is who I'd be dreamin about. I think I'm gonna go pencil in my eyebrows now.

Tomatoes and Cucumbers

2011-04-30T22:48:00.009-04:00

My husband is a veggie head. That's not to say that he loves to eat vegetables. Really, he just loves to grow them. And I gotta say, he's good at it. The above photo is only a small picking from last year's harvest. Problem is, though they produce a lot of goodies, his gardens themselves aren't pretty to look at, and we have many love spats about this each year. Crooked, makeshift fences, erratic "latices" of string, overgrown borders of weeds... seriously. Of course, the ONLY place he says the sun is "just right" for his ugly garden is in the middle of my back yard - the direct focal point of my outdoor and indoor living space (from all living and dining room windows).

Now, I love that Josh is the kinda man that doesn't understand what makes something pretty. But c'mon! See what I mean? This is last year: (don't miss the beer bottle in the pot)

Alas! Josh has finally succumbed to my demands for a prettier garden. I told him I will not eat a single tomato until he builds me a pretty garden to look at. And the boy loves to feed me. So look what he did. I'm so proud!

And look at these cool tomato cages he built out of the left over wire fencing. Grow, babies, grow!

We joke that now that the garden is pretty, nothing will grow. I'm hoping this isn't true. I'll keep you abreast on the progress. And those of you who know me will hopefully be nourished from the bounty soon!

A definite maybe

2011-04-28T21:47:00.001-04:00

Just ran across this photo on Design Sponge. You know what I'm thinking don't you? These gorgeous wall panels may be exactly what my ugly bedroom needs! What do you think? Should I fill the huge frames with a darker shade of aqua, a crisp white, or maybe a fabulous damask wallpaper... say, something like THIS:

We'll see. First step is convincing Joshua to do it. I'll keep ya posted (pardon the pun).

Lamp Love

2011-04-26T21:15:00.006-04:00

My friend, Karen, and I felt so sorry for this vase on the clearance rack at Stein Mart... so bad that we rescued it and turned it into a fabulous lamp!

Before:

After!

The vase was only $13, and the whole lamp ended up costing around $35! This was a fun project, and this is how you can do it...

1) Gather materials (see photo below): vase, spray paint, lamp kit (bought at goodwill for $6!), fabric, ribbon, wood thingies with holes to cap off mouth of vase (got these at Joannes), drill with diamond bit (Lowes).

2) Unless your vase is wood (which would be weird) use a diamond bit to drill a hole in lower side of vase. We got ours from Lowes for $15. Diamond bits work on tile, glass, ceramic, and probably surgical steal.

3) Spray paint vase. I regretted not using a primer spray first because it took nearly 500 coats to cover the design. #1 spray painting rule: do many super-light coats to keep from dripping. It's tedious but worth it. Grab a margarita and make an evening out of it.

4) Cover lamp shade with fabric and grosgrain ribbon to trim. We bought a self-stick shade from Joannes. They are cheap (this one was $8) and super easy to stick fabric or paper to. You could also use spray adhesive on a regular shade.

5) Assemble lamp kit parts. You can easily find lamp kits and parts at home improvement stores. We stopped by Goodwill to look for cheap lamps to disembody and use parts from (they have like $3 lamps that are great for this), but they just happened to have an unopened lamp kit for $6. That's just crazy luck. We added the wooden piece (available at craft stores - anything with a hole will work) to the assembly to act as a cap on the mouth of the vase (see picture of assembly below).

6) Glue the wooden piece to the mouth of the vase and install shade. I used Liquid Nails from Lowes.

7) Turn that baby on and do a super cool victory dance.

This is Joshua's 'oh man I hope I don't break this thing' look:

The very sad ending to this story is that I built this for Karen's master bedroom that I am helping her revive. I am heartbroken to deliver it to her tomorrow because it looks so happy in my nook. But I know it is best, for it will be even happier in her newly fabulous boudoir. I'll be posting about that project soon. At least I'll always have the memories...

Tiny house. Tiny budget. Great memories.

2011-04-21T23:35:00.004-04:00

Ok, this is ridiculous. My desktop is so full of miscellaneous files and photos that my pretty zen garden wallpaper is almost completely covered. That's not very feng shui. So I vowed to clean this shit up while Josh watches some boring documentary on Jesse James.

But I'm already distracted.

I ran across some pics of the cute little cottage we owned before our current home, and I had to share. I adored this home. I remember WAY back when Josh and I were in our late teens, driving around for no reason at all other than having nothing better to do (miss those days), we would drive by this house all the time. Every time I saw it I'd say, "one day I want to live in that house." A serendipitous 8 years later, we were signing the papers.

We had like no money. And the house was so freaking small, less than 1000 sq ft, which drove me insane at times. But it was much loved. Oh the time and creative energy we burned within that half an acre. And oh yeah, we brought home our first baby there too.

Painted every possible surface, including the cabinets; tiled the floor; installed wainscoting (that was a crazy week)...

More wainscoting...

Panel trim around tv; painted everything. First major purchase of my adulthood: that rug.

Our cute little office. I painted that old upholstered chair, fabric and all. That's an Oma pillow. I miss her.

Damn cute bathroom!

And Rosa Leigh's first bedroom. Awe! I'm still so proud of that side-table makeover. And the wall shelf makeover. And the dresser makeover. Man I was a busy pregnant lady!

Wish I could find a summer picture. We built those cedar shutters. It's hard to tell from the picture, but they have cute star cut-outs.

And here is a painting I did of the house for Rosa Leigh. I hope she keeps it forever.

Prom Queen

2011-04-18T17:20:00.003-04:00

I was eating my lunch in the break room the other day and overheard a coworker describing her daughter's prom dress. It sounded pretty, but she ended the description with, "and ya know you can't get a dress under $500." I nearly choked on my tuna salad.

I'm way too old to be going to a prom, except as a chaperon, but this outrageous statement inspired in me a little daydreaming and the urge to find a fabulous prom get-up for way under $500...

This dress SCREAMS for a bold bib necklace. That led to the Egyptian, snakey flare in the bracelet and shoes.

Dress: Modcloth.com $198

Shoes: Endless.com $65

Necklace: Ebay $15

Clutch: Endless.com $35

Bracelet: Forever 21 $6

Total: $319!

And I couldn't resist posting this Betsey Johnson dress from Modcloth. It's kinda pricey at $398, but you wouldn't need many accessories with this one. Just a pair of hot pink satin pumps and a hot pink wrist corsage. Fun fun fun!

Swooning for you

2011-04-14T21:43:00.003-04:00

My first look at Gucci's AMAZING new spring line was on the back of Katy Perry via my Elle Magazine cover last month. The moment I laid eyes on those incredible jewel toned silks and gold tassels I was in loooove.

It is sadly unfortunate, however, that you will not find me on fifth avenue picking up this ensemble any time soon. So I've been looking for some more accessible (and probably wearable) looks. And for those of you who are now swooning over anything color-block, thanks to Gucci, here are a few of my finds.

Top: Gap ($50)
Pants: Talbots ($70)
Belt: Michael Kors from Bluefly.com ($23)

Now this dress from Target ($28) isn't that great, but imagine it cinched at the waist with this fabulous belt from Asos.com ($22)

And check out this great video from stylist.com on how to wear the color blocking trend.

Now I just need to find a royal purple blazer to go with that first outfit. *yawn* I'll look tomorrow. Goodnight!

Screw it!

2011-04-13T19:50:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I just sit in my bedroom and stare at the walls wondering…

What the HELL was I thinking?

I’ve been obsessing over this room and how to FIX it for 2 months now. I’m about ready to drown my frustrations in vodka martinis and Lays potato chips, which is never a good thing. So before I drive myself absolutely insane over this, I have decided to for-get-IT! At least for now.

This weekend I intend to head back over to Rosa Leigh’s room for some fun finishing touches to her walls. 2 reasons:

1: Thanks to Uncle Sam, this month's budget is busted. So I need to do something free.

2: I love working in this room… it makes me feel like a little girl again. Pink and Aqua make great medicine!

So here is what we have so far:

And here is what I’m planning:

-Finish her photo board (ran out of ribbon)

-Paint a cute frame on the wall around it

-Paint the bookshelf from the playroom and move it in (I think)

-Hang pictures with maybe some cute mural above the bookshelf.

You will see a post of the results next week. God willing.

Goody: Happy Chic!

2011-04-12T18:10:00.003-04:00

I got my new Jonathan Adler book in from Amazon today. Woo hoo! This is the second of his "Happy Chic" books that I have, and I can't wait to dive in. I'm going to try my best to not even crack it until Rosa goes to bed on Friday night, and the house is quiet, and I have a fresh martini in hand. Mmmm. These are the little things that get me through the week.

I wonder what Jonathan would say about my master bedroom redo gone wrong. Ugh. I'm mortified at the thought.

Latest Painting: Hello Yellow

2011-04-12T15:02:00.000-04:00

My latest painting was for my entryway. I wanted something super clean and graphic and, well, welcoming. So this is what I ended up with. I wasn't sure if my average visitor would like it, but this painting has gotten much love thus far. So I thought I'd post it for those of you who haven't visited lately.
I got the idea from a split-second glimpse of a Chanel logo I saw in the background of some video I saw while mindlessly surfing the Internet. I wish I could tell you where to find that, but I've since searched EVERYWHERE for it to no avail. I might have actually dreamed it. Who knows. The logo was encircled with a band of black dots, and that was the seed for this idea. But the thought of free-handing all those dots made me wanna forget the whole thing and take a nap instead, so I started by designing the layout on my computer using Illustrator... here is digital the image:

I borrowed an old-school projector from our tech dept at work for a weekend. I've always heard of crafty girls using these things for DIY murals, so I thought I'd give it a try. After painting the yellow block onto my giant canvas, I projected the image from my computer onto it and started tracing the dots with a pencil. It took me about two and a half vodka martinis to finish. And that's why the rightmost dots are a little wonky. But who cares.

Then, using a black Sharpie oil paint pen (available at most art supply stores and on Amazon) I filled the dots in. That was on night two. I had to be sober for that step. Then I free-handed the rest.
This painting was surprisingly fun to create. I think the repetitive precision was somewhat therapeutic for me at a time when my world had gotten pretty inexact. It was definitely a huge leap from the painting I did just before that, which you can see on the opposite wall here. By the way, imagine "Hello" sunken in a nice glossy white frame. If you like that idea, please send cash.

A goody

2011-04-12T05:00:00.005-04:00

I Had to grab a few things at Sephora today, and I picked up something I can't live without. I used to forgo eyeshadow because my lids are on the oily side, and within hours the stuff would slide right off. I also love wearing lots of seriously black eyeliner (probably too much), and I used to have to touch it up all the time. Otherwise it would form black blobs in the corners of my eyes and leave semicircular frowns on my eyelids. Not pretty. That is until I discovered this stuff. It's one of my two MUST HAVES for every day (the other being mascara).

It's called Shadow Primer Potion, by Urban Decay, and you have to forgive the cheesy packaging. It's around $18 a tube, but the last time I bought it was in December, so it lasts me about 4 months. And I seriously use it every day. Just put a thin swipe of this on each lid before applying your eye makeup, and voila! Anything you put on your eyes sticks like glue and stays put until you wash it off. Trust me. This stuff holds on through my sweaty, hour-long sessions at the gym. Just don't put too much on or you won't be able to blend your colors well.

It now comes in different colors that are apparently supposed to enhance your sheer shadows, but I never tried those. I have always used the original, colorless stuff in the purple tube. Let me know if you try the other and how it goes.

I know it sound like someone's paying me to write this. I wish they would!

A Moment's Swoon

2011-04-11T15:10:00.004-04:00

My idea of heaven involves many beautiful lamps, and I've stumbled upon it here on earth! Check out these adorable giclee print shades. These are just a few of the huge collection at Lamps Plus.

You can even design your own shade. Here is one I designed while just playing around. Isn't she a beaut!

I Heart Yellow

2011-04-10T15:38:00.010-04:00

I am finally inspired to get off my butt and paint something. And today, that something is a chair. While sitting on the couch in my sweaty gym clothes, surfing blogs, I stumbled upon this from Nuestra Vida Dolce:

Now I know this is not everyone's cup of tea, but it couldn't be more my flavor. This yellow is haunting my dreams at the moment. My fave catalogs, mags, and blogs are flooded with saturated, lemony hues, and it's makin me happy.

So here's the plan. I have this folding black chair left over from one of my mom's events (she's an amazing floral/event designer).

The paint is chipping on it, and I'm sure she won't mind if I paint it (she won't know till it's done anyway). I'm thinking of putting it in my living room next to my antique... uh, I don't know what you call this piece, but I use it as a pseudo office desk. Then I'm going to recover the black cushion with some chic black and white fabric.

So here it is. I wasn't sure at first about the color. It's brighter than I wanted, but I think it's growing on me. And the black and white cushion was just too much. I like the plain black. I know this is a terrible photo. I'll try to take a better one and post tonight.

I have to add some glossy white knobs to the "desk," and imagine the black and white blanket I used as a rug in the picture is a faux zebra rug like this one (my next purchase). This one is from an ebay store, Shine Rugs.

Bedroom Gone Wrong

2011-04-08T15:33:00.000-04:00

Although I have yet to “finish” any other room thus far in my crazy house, I decided to begin work on decorating our master bedroom right after Christmas. I think I was just too jealous of Rosa’s fabulous big-girl room. Three full months later, and maybe halfway through, I’m already swooning over ideas for the playroom. Dammit I need to focus. So instead of posting about the playroom wall project I’m dying to tell you about, I’m gonna post about the frustrating state of my marital bed (a weird term I’ve grown to love from my recent John Rosemond reads).

It took me a long time to decide what direction to go with this room. I wanted an oxymoronic scheme that was both bright and cheery and dark and sexy. I finally found my inspiration while on a romantic getaway with Josh in Asheville, NC. The b&b we stayed at was luckily managed by a gamut of gay men, and there were many home décor mags on site. While thumbing through a House Beautiful issue, I discovered THE perfect boudoir. I don’t know if I was high on the claw-foot antiquity of the b&b or the ornate gorgeousness of the Biltmore Mansion we had toured that morning, but I fell head over heels with this:

Oh yes, the bright blue-green walls with those sexy red curtains just hit me right in the spot. So I began my reno as soon as we returned home. First I hurried over to Benjamin Moore to get the exact color the article suggested, Blue Diamond, but in person the swatch looked way too bright. After testing a few sample pots on the wall, I ended up going with Forget Me Not

Next, I needed the perfect red curtains. I scoured the Internet for red velvet ones, but everything I found was either too porn-set or too darn expensive (oh how I woulda loved to order PB velvet drapes, but whatever. I’m poor). I finally found these blackout drapes from Overstock.com and couldn’t resist. They were the perfect price, length, and color, and they had amazing reviews.
So here is where I’m at so far. Ugh:

I know it's not that bad, but I hate it. One major problem is the mirror. It’s a FABULOUS mirror that my mom gave me many years back as a birthday present, but it’s just not working. It’s too round, too silvery, and too… I don’t know. Anyway, it’s gotta go.

The whole thing is too much bright-and-cheery and not enough swank. Maybe I need to French it up a bit. I’m dying to try an ornate, gilt mantel mirror, echoing the headboard in the mag feature. I’ve been searching ebay, and I really want to get this, but I can’t afford it.

In my wildest dreams I'd get this thing and gold leaf it in a hurry, but It’s listed for $495. Aint happnin. Maybe I need to support my local antique shops and get off of my butt to go shopping instead of surfing websites. I'm hoping to find something that may need some gold leafing. I’ve been dying to gild something! Rosa is too wiggly and Josh is too resistant. A mirror’s the next best thing. Stay tuned.

Feeeel the inspiration.

2011-04-07T15:24:00.000-04:00

From This:

To this:

I could only ever hope to be as clever as Jenny Komenda, who writes one of my favorite blogs, Little Green Notebook. Here is another one of her amazing re-creations. And she's even so kind as to tell you how she did it. I love you, Jenny. Please send me one of those cabinets. Just one. I don't ask for much.

Cloudy With a Chance of Glitter

2011-04-06T15:16:00.001-04:00

I am in love with this Holly Fulton dress featured in one of my back issues of Lucky Magazine. I could never hope to bask in the sparkle of this shimmery getup, for it costs, um, two thousand some odd dollars. Buuuut how awesome would this design be painted on something! I don't know, maybe a flee market chest of drawers in the bathroom or a plank of wood on the wall with glossy grain filling the background. I'll get to it one day. No really, I will.

More cloudy digs *sigh*: