d.Sharp Journal

How did this happen?

How do I end up with so much stuff? How is it that I have a garage sale once a year and seem to still have things for the next sale that have been around for ages. How can those folks with the pretty houses in Dwell magazine have only like 5 things distributed over all of the horizontal surfaces in one room? How?

I have been busy preparing for our garage sale tomorrow. If you live in town, come visit our humble hovel home. {C, by the way, insists on telling nearly every stranger that our house is missing paint, which is better than when he would also add that it is 'rickety' - this is due to all of the This Old House he watches.} Email me if you need the address.

I can only hope that, come Sunday, we have lightened our load. Have a great weekend!

Best,

Denise

Oh snap!

The Senate Finance Committee, in its fourth day of deliberations over the health care bill - Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), defending an amendment he'd proposed that struck language from the bill defining which benefits employers are required to cover -- in this case, basic maternity care.

As one YouTube commenter said, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) delivered the Congressional Yo Mama.

wired

Some very nimble hands belonging to Ines Schwotzer make some seriously interesting, sculptural pieces.

Bestow

True confession - I don't really sew. I am sure I would like it, if I knew what I was doing. I do, however, love fabric and end up at the fabric store quite often as I am pretty good at coming up with projects that require fabric but avoid a needle and thread.

Whatever the method, we all end up with fabric scraps too big to throw out and too small for a larger project. Use a little of that scrap and a paper box heading to the recycling bin for this gift box project.  Any small product packaging/box can work, here I used the box from my glue dots once they were gone. Unfold and flatten the package - if it has a glued seam, flatten as much as you can but leave the seam glued - and apply double sided adhesive to each panel/side of the box. Burnish the tape with a bone folder to be sure the adhesive will transfer to the box. Remove a portion of the tape lining and burnish fabric to adhesive with bone folder, working from the top down. Cut excess fabric and brush a thin line of glue on all of the edges to keep fabric from unraveling and let dry. Ready to reassemble box - here I used some left over embroidery thread instead of ribbon to finish.

Shines on everyone.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Jamie Rugh, she's a kick and as creative as they come. So it's no surprise that her and her husband have set to work raising awareness, promoting acceptance and doing good in a visual, creative way. The Rugh Family Workshop has a series of posters focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorders, with a donation benefiting a charity with each sale. As I am sure you know, the prevelance of  Austim Spectrum Disorders in children has increased dramatically in the last two decades, we are all effected in some way. More here - thank you!

Decorating with things you love.

Collector's Style. Many of the interiors are too kitschy, antique-y, collector-y {nice adjectives, hu?} for me, but there are a few pics I love. These first two are of a local couple's home I have known for quite a while - back in the day of selling found objects. Both of these guys have an amazing eye and are always collecting the next thing before it becomes popular.

 

I also love some of the objects others share in the book. This folk art button suit makes me smile.

 

 

chiffon type

Ga-ga-gorgeous type by Tania Alvarez - sheer and fluttery.

 

Found via Play Me Design

Remembering

Thoughts today for the surviving victims and families that lost loved ones and a greater, more keen sense of all that there is to be grateful for.

Lilliputian line

Slinkachu, the brilliant one behind the Little People and Inner City Snail projects I mentioned here, recently created 5 installations in Grottaglie, Italy for the Fame Festival.

Love!

 

 

 

More wonder to be had here, his book here.

About last night

Still shaking my head.

Post apology to the President, you post a YouTube video claiming you are being attacked? Nonsense on stilts. {Oh, and you lie.}

from wreck to ravishing

Lots of rooms decorated with incredible, one of a kind vintage pieces and bold gestures. Downtown Chic details the renovation and building of the authors' properties - all while raising 7 kids under the age of 13. {that last part - hard to fathom}

 

 

gorgeous trophies

Stunning wood sculptures by AJ Fosik - inspired by his use of color.

 

M's movie review

A few weeks back, we took M to see the new H. Potter movie. Our rule with that series has been that after he reads the book he can see the movie. Sitting next to me during the film, he certainly seemed to enjoy it. This, however, was his movie review for his aunt:

I had no idea that the movie was burdening his heart and soul. Perhaps M dabbles in hyperbole?

 

It's Friday

I hope you enjoy your weekend very close to someone you love.

via ffffound

a zoo out there

We had a nice time yesterday at the zoo*. The polar bear was very entertaining.  He fetched his drum from the water and rolled it up next to the rock, he would bounce a bit on it with his front paws and then wait for the dent to pop back to normal.

 

{Bird mural in the bathroom}

We always end our visit with a ride on the train, I remember loving it as a kid. In summer it takes the long route out of the zoo and into the forest above the city.

* my kids didn't start bickering until we hit the grocery store afterward - a small victory!

family/living

I went to an insanely great book sale last month, poor M was with me.Three hour tour. Anyhow, I found Family Living - I like Debi Treloar's work.

 

Spectrum garland

Will be adding this colorful garland to my shops, here and here. These British stamps of the Queen are issued in a load of colors, perfect for stringing up the whole spectrum.

Will also be adding DIY kits of stamp garlands.

Legos+Lense

 

 

 

Mike Stimpson recreates iconic photographs with Legos. So much nicer than stepping on a handful of pointy ones your child has strewn about.

Automated Pollock Painter

 

We had our annual block party this weekend. We have one neighbor, bless her heart, that manages to organize it and organize us so that we all have a good time. G and I made a paint machine for the kids on the street to play with. To make it, we cut the bottom off of a plastic bottle and punched a nail hole in the plastic top. It is inverted into a paper cup with a hole in the bottom for the neck  of the bottle. We punched holes in the sides of the bottle and cup and laced string through them, knotting the ends of the string together so that the cup hangs about 8 inches down. From the arm clamped to the ladder, we hung a single string with an S hook at the end and then hung the cup from that.

The kids would block the hole in the bottom with their finger as they poured in the color of paint {which was watered down tempera}, then swing or twirl the string to see what happens. Some of us adults had fun with it too.

* we got a big stack of large sheets of paper at Scrap, our favorite place to pick up art and craft supplies that can be reused or repurposed rather than hit the landfill. They have a list of similar community reuse centers in other cities here.

what the?

an advertisement from the back of a 1970's magazine.

makes cents/sense

I love flea markets and thrift stores,

garage and estate sales,

taco carts,

block parties,

my art collection by the boys,

a good cup of plain old coffee,

time with friends and family,

the library,

people watching,

scratch cooking,

the dandelion bouquets C always picks for me,

kissing my husband,

creating wrinkles {smiling} instead of trying to erase them {expensive creams},

25 cent cups of lemonade from a little one's stand,

making something out of 'nothing',

and hugs from my kids- better than any massage at a spa.

***********************************************

What are some of your cheap thrills and recession proof joys?

this guy knows his way around a pair of scissors

Tokyo art student, Wataru Itou, worked on this phenomenal paper castle over four years - complete with electrical lights and a working train made of paper. DED-I-CATION. Incredible. {via tokyobling}

 

counting the days

A salami advent calender. Some kind soul in Germany is thinking of my husband. {i love lovely package}

Derby day

One of our favorite summer pastimes is the annual Soapbox Derby on Mt. Tabor. {more on it from last year} This past Saturday we saw a beautiful view of the city

a Fred Flinstone mobile

a keg car

 

and a mouse and trap

We had a great time watching the derby with Nana and Grampa {thanks for the great pictures!}

The boy's favorite car was made out of legos

and we all liked the birds in the nest

and the headhunters

 

Those last three pictures are from S. Churchill's flickr photostream, more great shots here.

Thanks to all of those creative daredevils who never fail to make a great Saturday in Portland.

full spectrum

Absolutely love this Pantone swatch rainbow - so pretty to look at,  who needs the pot of gold?

See it all here.

colorplay

Remember Candyland? In honor of its 60th birthday, Lombard Street in San Fran. was given a colorful coating.

 

{via Flavorwire}

Diagnosis:

Town Hall Face : An unsightly condition caused by unsanitary health-care politics. Apparently its sufferers can be on both sides of the health care debate.

Newsweek has a slide show of victims of this condition. Some of the captions:

Even the most delicate floral-print blouses cannot offset the startling effect of Town Hall Face

A couple succumbs to a mutated version of the malady - Get Me Out of Here Face

In rare cases, Town Hall Face can morph into Dick Cheney Face

Slideshow here.

Time to debark

I haven't written about any of my medical issues here, it is complex and ongoing. Anyway, I went to a dietitian and nutritionist a while back and was giving a specific plan in regards to daily diet. I eat healthy food for the most part, no junk, but need to strictly limit carbs. So I left that appointment and proceeded to embark on a months long Farewell Tour Of Food. Bon Voyage! In those months bidding adieu to {um, eating}those beloved foods for the, sniff, last time. {not really, but my sweet tooth is dramatic}I ate worse than ever.

***********

A long while back I heard about 43 things - an online community where people list personal goals, connect with others that have common goals  and encourage each other.
I think it is a really great idea and have been mulling over a way to connect with a few people in a similar way - to commit to a short term goal, pair up with 2 or 3 people who have also set goals, and upon accomplishment of the goal trade out a small token of success to one another.

***********

My goal is to hit the gym a min. of 3 X per week and record my food { I use this, which I like} 7 days per week for one month.

If you have a short term, measurable goal that you want to commit to and partner up, let me know. It doesn't have to be health related. Leave a comment or email me privately. Perhaps there are enough people to get a few pods of 2 or 3 people together. Like I said, I have just been mulling the idea over, I don't have any firm plan - so any suggestions of what you would like/ think would be helpful. I am thinking at the end of the month commitment, we would send out a small token, {$ limit or handmade?} to the one or two we have partnered with. What do you think?

***********

I look forward to hearing from people. If not, maybe I will stuff a piggy bank with a few bills after each successful week and then hit the candy shop. {kidding}

***********

Post Edit 9/4- so we have a group of seven and we are starting out tomorrow. I will let you know how it's going for me!

First Adventure

My work on repainting the bathroom {it is going slooooow} and our anniversary this weekend has me thinking back to the years before our wedding. Having kids has been and is a great adventure, but our first adventure was our first house.

Moving back to Portland {yikes, that was 16 years ago - how can time go by so fast?}for G to go to graduate school, we ended up buying a 1906 house. It made our hearts beat fast the moment we walked in, there was so much potential. It is laughable how little we knew about buying a house/real estate - we were just lucky. The house couldn't be mortgaged or even insured due to its condition, we had to pay cash. {That same year, a family member bought a used car for a little bit more than we paid, although it was a REALLY NICE used car.}I quit the job I disliked and worked full time on the house, G had classes as well as so much to accomplish on the house.

Home Sweet Home

{more after the jump}

Thirteen.

Yesterday we celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary. {We celebrate two anniversaries.}

I feel so fortunate for this marriage, for my husband. I look forward to many more years together.

I made him this paper candy container to make his escape more difficult. {ha.}