Getting the DIY on...

Charlie (in all of her two-year-old wonder) collected these shells on a 7 am walk along the beach.

We told her that she would get a surprise. She thought it would be be something electronic.

(How happy we were to discover that kids can still enjoy the free things in life)!

DIY:

Collect shells.

Paint insides gold.

Drill hole.

String twine.

Tie off end.

Instantly happy child.

& Here is a little behind-the-scenes of some prep for an upcoming editorial shoot:

(oil based paint markers on fall leaves & dipping of pine cones.)

Two things I have always wanted to do but never found the time.

(Thank god for rainy island days & a nearby Michael's craft store)

thoughtful design + gifts

Happy Friday!
I was looking for a good gift the other day and came across some fun idea's that I wanted to share with you.
No matter if you need a gift for wedding guests, mothers day, birthdays, holidays or thank you's, it can be hard to know exactly what to get for someone and to stay within a budget.
These are thoughtful little treasures that anyone can put together.

Quick bread in a bottle: Beautiful and yummy.

Potted succulents: We have seen this a lot but what makes it unique and special are all the different vessel idea's out there. I love this one. Take an old vintage tin and coffee cans and bring it back to life with a little succulent garden.

Local Honey: Nothing is tastier then local honey. It is a gift that keeps on giving until the last drop.

local coffee: There are artisan coffee roasters popping up everywhere and boy is their coffee delicious. Wrap some up in a well designed package and you have an excellent and perky gift.

Charlie's first resume line: centerfold.

...it just hit the shelves this week.

a 10 page feature in flea market style magazine

a ton of work.

but also a ton of fun.

for this 10 page feature, the projects were PAINT BY NUMBER diys.

and charlie 

thanks to those who helped:

christine carter @ busy beaver buttons (pillow project)

emily monroe @ etsy (necklace)

sage reed (paint by number backdrop)

bob coscarelli (photography)

thewintersessions (apron)

erin sullivan & bill sargent  ( who helped pull this all together!)

some snaps:

8 new wandawega films posted on youtube

how- to films. DIY films. behind the scenes films.

...as part of the new year's resolution of getting organized-
we finally got around to updating the film channels with all of the trouble we got into in the past year-

stuff like:

* bobcat + outhouse = moving day
* behind the scenes - saving a building
* DIFFA camp film
* Styleseek retreat film
*  DIY cocktail for Glossed & found
*  DIY dessert how to for G&F
*  DIY apple + arrow project for for G & F
*  Frankie in the pictures

CHECK IT OUT HERE

A painted rug.

Sometimes I get fun little projects to do at work. Instead of carpeting our conference room, we painted a rug on it!

I commissioned Jeff Zimmerman to mimic a vintage rug that I found online.

Jeff projected the design onto massive sheets, pounced it out (perforating the paper) then transfered it onto the floor with chalk, traced it out, and THEN painted it (actually, I'm making this sound much easier than it was--it took a week from start to finish).

Here are some snaps:

Stay tuned for the rest of the room...coming soon.

submission to HOARDERS.

Our basement is a hellhole. Really and truly...an episode of Hoarders without exaggeration.

It's that dark space that we try to hide when folks come over. We deny that it's there but they always find it. So, last weekend after nearly a decade of failing to avoid the ugly truth, we put on gloves and hip-waders and literally dug ourselves out. Out of the mind-numbing culmination of 80 years of old trash that consumed our basement: skeletal mice, canisters of hardened cleaners from the Hoover administration...really, too painful to get into much detail here.

The good news? There is a plan!

Inspired by the parred-down simplicity of the staff kitchen in Downton Abbey, the linen room in the White House...oh, wait--our ceiling is only 6'5"...but we can dream.

Wait, back to the gutting: We filled two trailers--brimming to the top. Six city-sized trashbins. Mounds and mounds sent off to donation.

It was truly therapeutic. Except for the back muscles still hurting.

Here is some inspiration for the planned space which is to be a pantry / prep kitchen / kitchen textiles room. It'll have have a sink, fridge, some counterspace...and--be still my heart!--hopefully (God and Craigslist willing), an antique butcher block.

Above: the linen room in the White House, with its long industrial shelves, wood floor and white walls.

CEILING concept: exposed beams painted white.

SHELVING concept: basic wood on Wainscoting walls.

FLOORING concept: slate gray epoxy with vintage area floor covering on top.

PALETTE: white, gray, and weathered wood. 

Oh, the sketching, re-sketching and re-sketching had begun...

Then came the harsh realization that moving plumbing pipes, gas lines and heating ductwork is cost prohibitive to building the space out.

And so the room got smaller...and smaller. And, well, now its 13x10. But still respectible for an extension pantry / prep kitchen!

THIS is the moodboard for the new space, including wainscotting, cast iron and safety lighting. There'll be a place to stash my hoard of vintage dishes and antique restaurant cookware--finally!

HERE ARE SHOTS OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW vs. WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN MY HEAD (check back in a month to see how close we got for our Found Free & Flea budget...):

BEHIND THE SCENES at the G&F cocktail party

For the holidays we put together a fun shoot for Graham Kostic at Glossed and Found - check out the post HERE!

Special thanks especially to our friends who helped:

Matt Gore

Rubani Shaw

William Golden

Eleanor Koh

Love you guys!