An Eye For Detail

MORE BUTTER BUTTER!

As you will remember, I had been on the hunt for just the right butter dish...yes, I know, sounds trivial and really kind of dorky, right? But you would be surprised at how many people understood exactly my predicament!

Having found this gorgeous dish a week ago, I then had to find just the right handle, or ring, or ....something... to lift up the lid.

 

Off I went to said bead show, thinking maybe, just maybe I'll find a bead, or whatever, to use as a handle. My friend and I searched (well, I searched; she was there to seriously buy beads for jewelry..). After walking many aisles (no, no this was not a hardship!) I spied these "roses" in a box:

Dumb me: I thought they would cut the string of beads and you could buy just one...No, you get all six beads. For $20? Not bad; I'll find some use for the others. What I liked was the fairly flat surface on the bottom: all the better to glue down. But which color? Black with the red? Orange? No, the turquoise was per....fect!

Here is the glue I used: thanks to everyone for your suggestions. This is what we had in the house, and it worked!

After sanding the bottom a bit, here it is awaiting glueing:

After drying overnight....ta da... I tested it!

   

I am very happy to report that it WORKS! It feels very secure and looks (I mean, really, just WHAT is important?) fabulous on the counter. Life should be so easy, right?  

P.S. If anyone wants one of these beads, just let me know and it's yours!

THE BLUES II and more

    So you know:  I am ALWAYS on the lookout for stories, and follow-ups to stories!

I went to a bead show on Saturday, with my friend Roberta who makes the MOST gorgeous jewelry. She was there to buy, and I was...well, just there. But of course, always taking pictures, and knowing I was doing the B L U E story today, I couldn't resist adding these to the story.

Have  you ever been to a bead show? It's great; the colors and textures are unbelievable! The only downside with this show was that I arrived, took out my camera, and realized I had NO MEMORY CARD in it! I knew that would happen some day.... I had downloaded pictures just that morning and forgot to put the card back in the camera. But there is always the trusty IPhone! These really aren't bad, considering that is all I had: 

      

 

ANGELA ADAMS SAILCLOTH TOTES

In an earlier story I told you about Seabags of Portland, Maine. 

They have just partnered with Angela Adams to bring you some very cute, very functional tote bags made from the Seabags' trademark fabric of recycled sails.

  

Another great made-in-the-USA product!.
  

TRENDY MONDAY: FELT

What is it with felt? Where in the world did this trend/craft/fabric/style come from? We all know some kind of felt: you know, those little round pads you put under chair feet, or the bright color swatch squares you find at the craft store for your Christmas projects, or maybe a hat for your child. Well, felt, and felting has evolved into a high end product.

The Cooper-Hewitt Museum hosted the exhibit "Fashioning Felt" in 2009 and here is the short introduction video:

Felt making is one of, if not the, oldest ways of making fabric: nearly 8000 years old. Felt is "having a renaissance in high end design and architecture as well as in crafts" says Susan Brown from the Cooper-Hewitt.

I found several YouTube videos about felt which come from this Cooper Hewitt exhibit. 

First is Martha Stewart: stay with it... it gets fascinating toward the end showing Susan Arnold making and assembling the yurt that was on site at the exhibit.

Another video, which is long, is a talk by Claudy Jongstra and Kathryn Walter discussing their use of felt.

Kathryn Walter operates FELT Studio in Toronto. Kathryn has done installations around the world, such as the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto:

 

these bags which were part of give-away in a membership drive:

 

And these felt quilts made from remnants:

 

Here is our TREND BOARD with some great, fun FELT products:

 

Some more great felt products for sale: (click on the image to go to the site)

 

 

 

 

 

You can order these products from a Pantone selction!

 

MADE IN THE U.S.A.: VERMONT AND CALIFORNIA

From Klinefelter Studio comes this great wrist band collection. The bands close with snaps and are fully adjustable. 

But most importantly:  they are made in the USA (in Burlington, Vermont)

 

The Mesh Collection:

 

From the Thai Collection:

 

Klinefelter Studios will be exhibiting at the NY Gift Show in the Handmade Section, Booth 354.

Travel out to California and we find ARCHIVAL DECOR

The prints are screen printed on hemp with a cotton velvet backing. They are just....different!  Striking, sophisticated and contemporary. Another made-in-the-USA-product.

 

 

Archival Decor will be showing at the New York Gift Show at Pier 94/At Home Booth 42029.
   
 
 
 

 

GAINING GROUND: PART 2

If you remember, I did a post on a farm project in Concord, Mass.(Dec. 11, 2009) called Gaining Ground. I just received their new cookbook for Christmas and am busy planning which recipes to try first!

This is a beautiful book! and can be purchased through Gaining Ground. Everything in here is, I am betting, just as good as this picture! The design of the book: the layout, the type, the organization, the sidebar information, and of course the recipes are all superb. Scroll down to see what I made today....

  This is what I wanted to try first. We just finished our first servings, and yes, it is very very good...

There's a Chocolate Bread Pudding I think I'll make to take to a New Year's Day annual party....

CHRISTMAS CRAFT PROJECT: FINALS

You saw all my assembled goodies yesterday and here are the results!

Hey, this was fun! Very time consuming, but fun. Now, I am not really a craft person... I get too impatient for all the steps involved. I want RESULTS and I want them right away. I tend to cut corners! I make do where others would delve deeper! No matter: I DID get results that I am actually happy with!

I used, among other things: glitter stickers, stamps both handmade and purchased, ribbon, old documents torn up, various textured papers (also torn), pinking scissors, Valspar spray paint, Krylon spray adhesive, tubes of acrylic paint, silver and gold inks..... I think that's about it.

Here's the "collection", finished this evening:

This one was especially fun, with torn documents and glue. I found that working with small gift bags was a great way to experiment and I could do different designs on front and back. Here I first sprayed metallic silver, lightly, all over the bag and handles, then started glueing.

I love this one with the flimsy green straw kind of paper glued down, then some red stars stamped. I did this one to fit the box.

Below you can see how I've used those wooden stamp blocks found at Brimfield. This worked well using acrylics; just had to lay out a huge section of white paper and keep it flat!

  

I made this bag specifically for the Pantone mug I am giving to a designer friend.

 

Finally, here are more presents, assorted, that are in my ever growing pile!

 

You can see on these two the spray painted silver and copper, then stamped stars.

I love these colors below:

CRAFTED IN THE U.S.A.

More on Holiday gifts, and these all made in the United States! I came across this site, and these products, just the other day. Hand crafted in Maine:  Seabags. 

They actually cut up old sails (!) and sew them into bags.. what a wonderful re-use, no? The design of the bags is actually inspired by the sail itself (no,not all sails are created equal!), each bag has a design imprinted, and all have rope handles. I also like that this company works with several local non-profits such as the Maine Cancer Foundation and the Maine Correctional Institute for Women. They want to "make an impact locally and globally."

Take a look also at their blog entry for Dec. 7. 2009 for a wonderful report from an intern who worked there recently. Very nice writing!

Here is a sail all laid out and ready to cut:

 
   

 

Another local, hand crafted product comes from artist and designer Shaari Horowitz: 

Shaari designs and sells her products both from her studio/website and at high end craft shows (NorthEast and MidAtlantic). See the website for her upcoming schedule of shows, or you can contact her directly from the website.  You can purchase one of her "stock" designs (hardly stock!: each one is individual and very very unique..) or she is happy to work on a made-to-order basis. 

To view a short video of Shaari at work in her studio, explaining HOW she works, click here. As you will see, I have been to Shaari's studio in northwestern Connecticut. It was a journey into the wonderful world of classic handpainting. No hurrying here; no computers here: it's the REAL thing and Shaari does it beautifully. And, in addition to her studio upstairs I was treated to a glimpse of the gorgeous work of her husband, Alistair Jones, wood worker extraordinaire. So, for all you interior designers out there, keep them in mind! 

 

 

 
 
  
 

 
 

GAINING GROUND: HARVEST FROM THE FARM

To step away from all the holiday hoopla, just for a moment, let's focus on another local, hand crafted subject: food. This time it is the planning, planting, growing, tending, harvesting and ultimately, the giving, of food.

Gaining Ground farm is in Concord, Mass. and was recently visited by Alice Waters. This farm is very, very unusual, and is very successful...with five employees and hundreds of volunteers, it grows AND gives away all its food. The farm's mission is "to provide free fresh fruits and vegetables to those who can least afford them."

To find out more about the farm and Alice Waters' visit, click here...

 
 

Now, to be totally up front about this story, I have to tell you: my brother is the Treasurer of said organization and has worked the farm, in many and various capacities, for many years. He is truly one of its biggest fans and supporters! Here are just a few of his pictures of the farm and activities there:

Here is a picture, from their website, of the main site with garden:

A young volunteer:

"The Pavillion":

 

View in the autumn:

STATIONERY GIFTS: MORE HANDCRAFTED

It's that time of year, once again, when you really MUST think about what in the world you are going to give... whoever it is on your list! Yes, there are people for whom only the most specific present will do: you know, and they know, exactly what they want. But..... there are others for whom it is a little more difficult to choose and buy. But of course, I think, that's half the fun!  Oh the catalogs that arrive at our house: the usual suspects, of course, but then.... like a gift itself, one day you come home and there, in the pile, is a new, never before seen catalog! Heaven! I savor each and every one, just as my husband bemoans each and every one. But no, he does not DARE throw them away!!! (thank goodness) 

Does anyone else out there feel this way? Do you actually enjoy getting these soon-to-be-recycled catalogs? I'm always torn as to whether to cut out a page, or an item, if it's something I want to file for my work. I guess I actually prefer to keep the catalog/magazine intact... and, if I am REALLY organized, I might get stickies to mark pages.

But then again, those stacks really add up! So, back we go to tearing and cutting up and filing, and hoping that wonderful piece of inspiration isn't falling into a black hole.

This is all a very long lead in to this present idea I saw yesterday on Etsy! It's one of those general category kind of gifts... which is apt to become an "oh, I need one of these for myself too...." gifts! And, I think I really DO need one (or more) of these!

How about this from lettergirl press: wonderful hand made stamp pads! They are self-inking; the type and the embellishments all look so handmade and original...

A perfect present... and buy one for yourself too...

 

 

 

After looking at these, I started searching for other stamp/letter/engraving ideas; something different...and came upon this idea: hand made stamps...the post office, official-use kind.These are called Letterpress Custom Postage stamps. I had no idea you could design your own stamps and actually use them!

And yet another great idea:  From PSA Essentials : "Peel And Stick Stamps". Here you choose and order the die-cut stamp body, the address on the outside of the final stamp. Then, you can interchange the image on the inside. You can get the Holiday series, or switch to "Cupcake" or "Love" or any in their listing.

Here's the "Holiday" series: