Monthly Archives: May 2012

Irish Heritage

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Last week was…. interesting.

There were several bumps in the road and there is lots I want to share.  But I haven’t been able to write.  I’ve been processing what to say.

I guess I should start by telling you that my grandmother passed away. I got the call from my Aunt who was the primary caregiver for her.  My Grandma Betty was 83 years old and was slowly being over taken with dementia.  It wasn’t unexpected, but it was still hard in that she has always been an incredibly strong, Irish Catholic woman with a sharp mind. And dementia unmercifully strips all of that away.

The reason that I share all of this here is… well, it’s not that we had a warm and fuzzy relationship.  She wasn’t the kind of grandma that baked cookies with me and let me cuddle in her lap and read books together.  But I knew that she was there and supportive and she was incredibly proud of me (and now my family).  But I tell you this because she is one of the influences for me in writing this blog.

For decades my grandmother was an antiques dealer with her own shop and she travelled all around the Los Angeles area (and beyond) doing road shows.  She was a walking encyclopedia on a variety of things and if there was something she didn’t know, she knew EXACTLY who would.

Part of my joy in learning about the background of a piece of furniture or home accent comes from her and growing up listening to story after story about anything under the sun. With a twinkle in her eye, she could tell you about the history of a piece and why it was significant… or not.  She could quickly assess the value of something and more importantly (for an antiques dealer, anyway) she could easily spot if someone was trying to screw her in a negotiation.  She was strong and direct and called em’ like she saw them.

On her last visit to Portland, we had talked about my passion for sewing for the home and refurbishing furniture.  And on one of her outings, she picked up this upholstery book for me.

It’s well out of date and it meant the world that she would be so encouraging.  It’s actually pretty informative too!

So… in the next few weeks, I get to return home to LA for funeral services and to see family.  And even though it’s for a sad occasion, I can honestly tell you that I can’t wait to go.  I can’t wait to go home, to where I grew up, to see people that have known me forever, to laugh, to cry and to share stories.  History is important and our stories are a part of who we are.  I don’t have a tenth of the knowledge that my grandmother had, but I’m learning. And I hope that I can honor those stories that I learn along the way thru my writing.

And thanks for taking the time to read and to share.  I’m so blessed by you!

Project Notes: Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend

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Last week I found myself with a few extra minutes and so I dropped into our local Marshall’s.  There are a few things that I am currently on the hunt for, but when I saw this pillow I knew I had to get it.  It’s a little cutesy, but it was just too perfect to pass up.

Awesome, right?!  I really like the saying and it’s the right colors for our home.

But then I got it home, added it to the window seat and I’m kinda feeling like the blue pillows are looking out of place now.

They’re a transplant from the family room so back they’ll go.

And off to JoAnn’s I went.  I was looking for a new chocolate colored fabric for 20″ pillow forms that I already have.  This is what I found.

I like that the diamond design repeats the pattern in the window seat cushions.

Adding new pillows is one of the easiest updates to do.  I cut 4 – 20″ squares, paying close attention to capture the pattern exactly the same in each square.  Pattern matching is important to creating a quality look and especially so with a design like this.  If the pattern is off, your eye will catch it immediately.

I then pinned the fabric (right sides together) and stitched the perimeter leaving a 8″ gap to wrestle the form into the cover.  Also, before turning my new covers right-side out and adding the pillow forms, I snipped the corners to keep them from getting bulky.

Once the forms are inserted into the pillow covers, it’s just a matter of whip stitching them closed.

I was really happy with how these came out and even more so when I added them to the window seat.

I know it’s a small difference, but it was an easy change to make and I like the continuity in the final look.

Also, because I made sure to line up the pattern when I was cutting the fabric, the seams came out nicely too.

And the absolute best part is finishing a project and getting these pillow forms out of our guest room closet.  Yay for less clutter and better design!

Update:  I am linking up this post to “Organize & Decorate Everything”.  Leanne has a ton of great contributors that share their projects in her Link Party.  To see be inspired, check it out here.

SupaFresh!

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I’m a huge fan of Design*Sponge, so when I was setting up my Tweeter account I was sure to follow Grace Bonney and her team.  One night not too long after, I was intrigued by a retweet of theirs.  It originated from @SupaFreshYFarm… they were selling 800 t-shirts and wanted to know if Design*Sponge could help them out.  Curious, I clicked on the link and was taken to a Kickstarter page for a youth farm in my own backyard.

If you aren’t familiar with Kickstarter, it is a site that helps people raise funds for creative endeavors.  If you have a project and need investment capital, Kickstarter can help you raise it.  You give a detailed purposal of what you are needing funding for and offer up incentives for others to contribute to.  Interested parties can go on your page and make a pledge toward your project.  If you don’t reach your funding goal, no money is exchanged.  If you do, the money is sent and your contributors receive whatever it is that they “purchased” based on their pledge.  Win-win.  If you haven’t checked Kickstarter out before, it’s a pretty cool site.

Anyhow, Supa Fresh Youth Farm is a part of the alternative education program in our local school district.  The students involved with the farm have worked to clear away land and started growing greens and flowers to then be sold at the local farmer’s market.  The kids are getting an amazing opportunity to learn about growing plants (something I know very little about), nutrition, and entrepreneurship.

When I heard about the program, I immediately pledged for a tee and then contacted the director, Mia Bartlett.  She explained that due to state budget cuts, their program was going to be limited on the summer internships that they would be providing.  The sale of the tee’s would offset some of those cuts and help them provide additional opportunities for the students.  I can’t even fully express how awesome this is.  Seeing these kids come up with such a creative way to keep a program going that they are passionate about is so inspiring!

And the creativity doesn’t stop there.  I had the chance this week to tour the farm when I picked up my tee (their Kickstarter Project was fully funded!) and it was amazing!

There are beautiful beds throughout the farm.

And nothing is wasted.  If branches need to be pruned, they find a new use for them.

Found objects get new purpose too.

Original art has been created and can be spotted throughout the farm.

I even learned about a new way to plant tomatoes: in alfalfa bales.  It helps with the crop and then the bales break open for ground cover at the end of the the season.

A couple of my absolute favorite sitings were the old farm equipment…

…and this Spiral Herb Garden.

I also got to meet Dixie.  She is the sweetest pup and I was told that the students love her! I’d guess the feeling is pretty mutual.

It was a beautiful Oregon day and a great place to just be.  And as for my shirt… the tee was designed by one of the students and I love it!

For those in the Tigard/Tualatin area, the Supa Fresh Youth Farm is kicking off their 3rd summer beginning June 15th at the Tualatin Farmer’s Market.  They will also be participating in the Tigard/Tualatin Schools Foundation Garden Tour & Art Show June 16th.  And I also heard that they just dropped off a bunch of shirts at Whole Foods in Tigard.

All great ways to support an amazing organization!

Lounge Storage – A Work in Progress

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When we emptied Tyson’s studio to paint last fall, we made it a point to not bring back in anything that wasn’t going to be a permanent part of the space.  We got rid of a ton of stuff including an extra desk and a changing table that had doubled as a cabinet in the closet. This was our absolute last baby item that we had repurposed once the kids out grew it.  We were being resourceful and it served a function.  And I wish I could tell you we had painted it all cool and it was this really hip piece, but sadly it was a changing table stuck in a closet.

Needless to say, with the desk and changing table gone, Tyson is in serious need of storage.  And we have the perfect spot for a built-in that would provide just that. Over the last two weeks we have been hard at work finishing out our last wall and I can’t wait to share the progress we’ve made.

I mentioned here that the lower wall had been damaged when we removed the garage door openers so we had already done some prep.

Before:

We started with panelling the entire area.

Tyson then built a case for the lower wall.

Before I get to the remaining photos, I need to give credit where credit is due.  During installation and painting, Tyson and I both were taking photos to capture the process.  At one point, Tyson suggested that I stand and take photos in the same spot like he was doing.  My response was something like “Don’t worry… I’ve got this.”  Yeah… guess who’s photos I’m using?

Tyson’s Awesome Time Lapse Photos:

To give you an idea of the actual enormity of this built-in, it spans 12 feet across and it’s 7 feet tall.  It has been designed so that the upper, center cubby can hold a computer monitor and the lower bookcase is a great height and depth for a standing work station. Tyson works long hours and the flexibility to be able to sit at his desk or stand here will be a major benefit.

Side By Side Before & After:

Although the major construction is done, it’s obviously not quite finished.  We now need to wait several weeks for the custom doors and counter top that we are ordering to arrive. But I couldn’t wait any longer to give you an update of where we were at.  It was a little scary applying that first coat of paint to the white surface, but we are really happy with the results.  And I’m beyond excited to have it this far as the built-in was the last big room element to Tyson’s studio that we needed to tackle.  We still have some furniture and decor to install before we can get to the final room reveal, but this is a massive step closer to sharing all of that with you.

And a huge thank you to Tyson for brilliantly capturing the process.  Someone’s genius is showing!