Monday, July 28, 2008

a SpiCy jEweL FoR yoUr KiTcHeN





Does anyone else out there like to put furnishings that are destined for particular spaces in our homes, somewhere unexpected? A chaise lounge in the kitchen, perhaps…A beauty bar in the bedroom…a tool bench in the bathroom! I must say, it’s most fun and it will keep things interesting at su casa. My most recent furniture move has been a jewelry chest.
I’ve accumulated a few of them over the years, as gifts; one that was my grandma’s, etc. and using them for jewelry has never really excited me. They’ve always been this odd, skinny piece of furniture that never seemed to look right in the bedroom, no matter how I propped it, where I put it. It was always awkward digging around trying to find the jewelry, the necklace doors never shut because everything would always get stuck in the sides…it was just kind of an irritating piece of furniture, actually. But, being someone who always has to find an interesting use for anything and everything, I was determined to find a place and use for it that I loved. I put one in my workshop a couple of years ago and it works great for storing smaller things like rivets and hardware and ironically enough, all of my jewelry ‘making’ supplies, but I had another one I needed to find a home for and I must say, this tall lanky beauty is now working beautifully in the KITCHEN! It is the perfect spice chest! The side doors with the necklace hooks work great for hanging kitchen utensils and the drawers themselves offer plentiful storage. No one needs to be checking themselves out in the kitchen, so I removed the mirror and painted it up with chalkboard paint for a convenient way to keep track of our shopping needs. This piece of furniture is now much more appreciated and used cheerfully!
Try it, You'll Like it!
Cheers!
michele.

Friday, July 25, 2008

sHouTs tO oUr YoYo mAN aS He hITs thE roAd

Do YOU yoyo? Dave from our office does...BigTime! And, he's making his way to the world and international yoyo contests over the next couple of weeks, so if you're 'east of the mississippi', into yoyo-in' and all that world has to offer, look for them on the road, hooking up with the greatest yoyo-ers of all time, schleppin' their line of SAVEDETH goodies, and documenting their crazy shenanigans the entire way. You can check out their blog for the schedule.

(I, for some reason, seem to suck at yoyo-ing, but my creative wheels are turning for other uses for that YoYo...sorry Dave, but I'm probably going to have to take a few of them apart!)

Cheers to yoyo's and road trips! (check out Dave and his yoyo below)
michele.

Monday, July 21, 2008

baRneS & NoBLe






Good times were had by all on Saturday at Barnes & Noble. Met great people, shared project tips, gave away some stuff and sold some DVD’s - can’t ask for much more than that when you’re out and about! Thanks to all who stopped by. We look forward to doing more!

Cheers!
michele.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

kJjY aNd BaRneS & nObLe






I love doing radio interviews with people who you have really good banter with and my friends over at KJJY are just those people! A huge thanks to Eddie, Big John and Kourtney for letting me come visit and chat about what’s going on in our creative world these days! My days with Eddie and Big John go way (well, not too “way” or that would make us sound old, wouldn’t it?!) back to my FOX Kids Club days with KDSM and they are always gracious with their time and supportive of all that we have going on. (And, I’m sure that it doesn’t hurt that I always show up bearing gifts!) I set them up with new cuff bracelets that tout ‘listen up’ and some of the Jewelry DVD’s to give away, so hopefully they’ll wear them proudly and be inspired to make a few of their own.
We’ll be doing a similar song and dance this Saturday (July 19th from 1-3pm) at Barnes and Noble (university avenue, west des moines). I’m going to set up shop there for a couple of hours and demo some of the stuff from our DVD series and give away original pieces of work. I love to share ideas, and it’s fun getting to know all of the other creative souls out there, so if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by!

Good people always make for good times! Give those folks over at KJJY a listen when you get the chance. Hatfield and McCoy in the mornings is a fabulous start to any day!

Cheers!
Michele.

Monday, July 14, 2008

tHe PaiNt FoLLieS

I tossed, I dripped, I squeegeed, I spilled, I sprayed, I spread, I poured. I have had SO MUCH FUN with PAINT these past few weeks! There’s something very exhilarating about moving paint around freely and without restraint. I made many messes, I experimented and embraced all the random occurrences, and I totally ignored my inner critic. The focus was to just have fun manipulating and moving different paint products around on anything and everything. The colors, the textures, the unexpected combinations that occurred were liberating and refreshing. It’s a feeling that I hope gets spread from one creative soul to another through our new mBcTc W. PaInT DVD set to be released late this summer. Expressing your creative side matters and painting is a colorful way to start.

Cheers!
michele.


Wednesday, July 2, 2008

FoR tHe sAke Of a vaNitY

It probably comes as no surprise that a mainstream retail store is NOT the first place I turn to when I have a home furnishing need. Nope, I pretty much either look around and try to utilize something I already have or I head to quirky, out of the way junk, salvage or thrift stores. It’s way more fun to see what I can come up with on my own imaginative whim. My latest need has been a bathroom vanity, three to be exact. Two for our master bath (I’m tired of always having to wait to brush my teeth, and I never seem to be able to get there first, so it’s time for me to set up my own sink action in the corner) and one for my daughter’s bathroom. I knew I wanted to use vessel sinks, so that pretty much opened up all sorts of possibilities for what I could use for the bottom half! I already had the sink for my daughter’s bathroom, and I had initially thought we would just build some sort of a base for it, but for some reason, this ratty orange desk I have here in the studio seemed to be the first thing that came to mind. (You know those yard sale freebies you always see sittin’ by the curb?!...well, that’s exactly where this baby came from – my aunt’s picked it up a few years back for me and I’ve been using it as a prop for some of our studio shoots.) I just needed to be sure the top was large enough for the sink, and luckily it was. All we needed to do was add a couple of slats to the back, drill holes for the fixtures and plumbing and we had ourselves a vanity! I cleaned it up and gave it a couple coats of shellac and the weathered orange patina really came to life! (I swear, shellac makes everything look better!) Next up, our bathroom. I wasn’t sure if I wanted our vanities to match or be completely different, or what. And, one day when were picking up a few things at the architectural salvage store, we spotted this awesome tool bench that had been in some school’s shop class. It was double sided, and had one of those really old style vises on both sides. (A great place to hang towels!) We could cut it in half and have plenty of width to accommodate our bowl sinks. We had it here at the studio while we were finishing up the tile work, and ended up using it as a tool bench for some of our shoots. It really is a great bench to work on, and I was starting to have second thoughts about cutting it in half. But, I did get to enjoy using it as a bench for a short while, so those doubts went as fast as they came, and we went ahead and sliced her up! We had to add a piece of wood to the back, and cut out portions of the drawer to accommodate the plumbing, but they work beautifully! Vanities are so easy to rig up this way, and you end up with some really unique looks. Try it, you'll like it! (And having my very own, - no waiting, no one else’s mess - sink is just as great as I imagined it would be!)

cheers!
michele.