Revitalized and reinvented

Don't you love finding cash in your pockets while doing laundry?  I had a similar sensation this weekend, while nesting I found these lovely linens from Studio3, never used, and completely forgotten.  Talk about a cheap thrill!

"Revitalized and reinvented." Each piece is an upcycled vintage linen with a new silkscreen print.   Much like these linens, I am starting to feel like our little bit of cabinet space is starting to serve us better.

Heart on a string

I was contacted last week by the lovely Houston Smilebooth crew to create a custom Valentine backdrop for a Menil mixer, called Menil by Moonlight.  So I whipped up some heart garland, using my favorite bingo paper + color aid + baker's twine.  The color palette we chose is so very J.Crew Spring.  I love it.  

How was your Valentine?  Mine was splendidly low key.

Deck the Halls Reveal, Part II

I am a pretty sentimental person, saving Christmas cards for years, storing them away in zip-lock bags.  In the spirit of my upcycle decorating, I was inspired to create festive bunting (after I spied this on Martha's site.)   Merry Christmas to you and yours!  

I have to say it was much easier than the pom-poms...once my template was created I just traced and saved the portions of the front, back, and inside of the cards.  Created a layout and strung on string that was lying around.  Ta-daaa!  

I hope you are having a wonderful time with those near and dear!

Deck the Halls

I love decorating for the holidays and this year is going to be a pinnacle year.  This season is so special because we will be spending the entire holiday in Houston with all my family arriving from the east and west. With five of us living in four states, it has been over six years since we were all together for Christmas.  So this year I am gathering inspiration for over the top holiday decor from garlands galore, to pretty packages, to anything fabulously felt, and even chalkboard inspiration (last year's design was a huge hit).  I know that this year will be as magical as I have conjured it up to be in my head....like the magic of childhood. Now if I could just find some elves to help me get it all done!

All images via my Deck the Halls board on Pinterest {click for even more!}  Do you pinterest? I find that it is an amazing way to catalogue inspirations and highly recommend it!

Strike My Fancy

I adore these apothecary matchstick bottles!  The vintage bottles were collected and then repurposed as match holders.  The bottoms are hand etched bottoms so that you can strike away.   Can you ever have too many apothecary bottles OR matches?  Genius!  These would make great stocking stuffers or hostess gifts...hint, hint.

all images via MagPie & Rye

Make Cold Rooms Cozy

So if you have been around here a while you know that I am a fan of yarn bombing, and recently I have been really inspired by a plethora of knit/crochet home decor.  As the mercury is dropping I wish I had a real fireplace and one of these to add a layer of coziness...

We talked a while ago about Patricia Urquiola's Manga Rugs.  This season the rugs have been transformed into three dimensions to form the aptly named Mangas Puf.  My favorite is the baby one with that lovely white texture, the pale pink pattern, the heathered charcoal, and the deep autumn gold.

images via gan-rugs.com

I also love these stools which give lovely little pops of texture and pattern, Wood & Wool Stools.  The frames are made from recycled wood complete with yesterday's paint.  The crochet top is also a slipcover, so I dare say that in the warmer months you could remove them for a good cleaning and store. I am not sure which aspect to love more: the upcycled wood or the vibrant crochet patterns. 

via Lloso, images via

Heavenly Stairway

Another Stuart Haygarth favorite.  I would love to ascend these stairs. Loving the colors of the frames creating stripes or chevrons depending on your vantage point.  Genius!  Makes me wish that I had used color in my art boxes.  Maybe next time.

images by Stuart Haygarth via

via

The Tie That Binds

I am so stealing inspired by this idea [it might be straight up plagarism by the time I am done with it.]  I would buy one of these ASAP if it wasn't for the fact that my dad has an incredible collection of used ties from his long career in menswear.  Maybe I can request a COM [customers' own material] and send them into Turn Left Here.
So dad....all I want for Christmas is for you to box up your threadbare old ties and ship them down to Houston (remember that Zegna and Isaia are my favorite).

Image via Turn Left Here Etsy Shop

See isn't Dad precious!

"Pure Beauty" John Baldessari

Quite a character Mr. Baldessari is.  Last year I was lucky to catch the PBS Art 21: Systems episode featuring Baldessari and I was immediately intrigued by his work.  I love the way that his pieces hold my interest and gaze for quite a while as I try to piece the imagery together.  I love his ability to obscure bland regions of a photograph and give them much more meaning.  {This humorously makes me think of all the times I wanted to pull out old photographs and place circle stickers over the heads of ex-boyfriends or randoms who stick their mugs in our pictures.}  
To promote John Baldessari: Pure Beauty the traveling retrospective of his work, 1st Dibs has an Introspective of his work and the curating process with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Tate Modern, written by Marlena Donahue it is certainly a must read.

"...Baldessari's deadpan visual juxtapositions equate images with words and illuminate, confound, and challenge meaning. He upends commonly held expectations of how images function, often by drawing the viewer's attention to minor details, absences, or the spaces between things. By placing colorful dots over faces, obscuring portions of scenes, or juxtaposing stock photographs with quixotic phrases, he injects humor and dissonance into vernacular imagery." -Artist Biography excerpt taken from Art:21

Here is a short excerpt of the Art:21 Systems episode, which hopefully you can catch re-broadcast on PBS.  In this clip he describes how he upcycles old photos and imagery into his art:

{All images via 1st Dibs.  Video via Art 21.}

Upcycle Ottoman

For 24hours about six months ago, I was on a mad hunt to find old burlap sacks to recover my tackboard.  Ultimately I just kept the silly polkadot fabric and covered every inch of the boards with images from my inspiration file.   [I know, I know...not quite what you would call dedication.]  So imagine my delight to discover the Upcycle Ottomon!!! Not only is upcycle one of my favorite words but these ottomans have some serious character, look at how fabulous all those different fonts and logos are.  Made from repurposed fair-trade coffee bags, each ottoman is unique and part of the limited edition collection.  I think I need a pair at the foot of my bed...

[via Interior Design June 2010]

Upgrade

Love this collection by Tomas Kral in which industrial bottles are upgraded with the traditional methods of cut crystal and gold leaf beautifully joining together the industrial and craft!

{via mocoloco}