Love at the county fair

Nothing if not a disco pirate, living the arrgh life with power tools

When you look at this living room, you don't assume I live in rural Nebraska, do you? Now that you know that, you assume my neighbors assume the worst. You'd be correct. There's one fucking good thing about Nebraska though, and it's all I can think of: I'm completely free of distractions. 80 hours spent on a coffee table and 80 more spent rhinestoning a vintage Mexican restaurant pirate ship? Good. Gives me something to do.

I'm debating reupholstering that gigantor Chesterfield-esque sectional. What do you think? I think part of it should be a crisp white canvas duck material, and the rest maybe a patch work of different stuff I have... 50s curtain fabric, a gold sequined material, maybe even cut apart some thrift store fur coats and add them in. What do you think? Everyone's telling me to leave it, because reupholstery work like this is so damn daunting, but what the hell. What's life for if not to run into a difficult project a little bit fearlessly, right?

Ehl Ohh Vee Eeeeks!!! I l.o.v.e. it!

I loves me some Vegas decoratin. When I came across this gem, I wasn't so intrigued by the house (there aren't tons of interesting houses there architecturally, except maybe for the Scotch 80s and some of the homes on/near Alta), but the decor! It's like someone stole pictures from my brain of the perfect kitsch and married it all into one place. See for yourself. More photos after the break!

Constant state of remodel

Living room remodel and a couple of found pics of a tutu in the light behind my granny's wicker headboard. I'm just living inside this project right now... every piece wants to be perfect. I need about 40 more uninterrupted hours to rhinestone my pirate ship, finish sewing curtains, painting furniture and curtain rods, and oh... reupholstering my new chesterfield sectional... I might need more than 40 hours for that project...

Arrrg, get me some friggin' Ikea...

Do you know that I live farther from an Ikea store than most Canadians? Yep, true, dead center betwixt the one in Chicago and the one in Dallas. Either is a 14 hour trip. Sure, mapquest says Chicago's 4 hours closer, but when you get up there the traffic makes up for it quick. So I'm reduced to occasionally finding something (like the rug shown) worth paying an ebayer extra to run out to the store and ship to me. I would like to go to an actual store at some point... I have such big dreams! Anyway, what does a person do out here, in an Ikea-less village, and four restaurants and one stoplight, 60 miles from a McDonald's? Well, we bedazzle vintage Mexican restaurant decor, that's what. I took this crazy big (heavy, too) pirate ship and spraypainted it white before getting a hot glue burn (or a thousand) putting these little stones on it. Did I mention I ran out of them, and had to drive 3 hours to a Hobby Lobby? The pirate ship is far from done, and I'm thinking maybe it needs some kind of light pointed at it for a disco ball effect. Meh, I don't know. I'll post more pics when she's done.

Boring ass tan...

My living room was two shades of boring ass tan. Now it's Dutch Boy Ultra White.... or just "unmixed paint" as some would call it. But I sure did find a beautiful bright chartreuse for the window ledges.  After upcycling a vintage oval mirror into a chalk clock, this room's on its way.

Before and...

I came across this little gem today in my mom's family album. That's my ma on the right there, with the rockabilly haircut and dress, sitting with my Aunt Paula, Aunt Marlyn, Uncle Tom and a mystery girl, there in the pinkish dress. How FABULOUS are those curtains, the French Bulldog, my uncle's suspenders and my aunt's dress (far left)? This is one of my favorites.

On the left is the original scan; the photo was hot pink! I scanned it and took it into photoshop, but I think I'm going to stick with the original... the colors may be whack, but I'm a lover of original flaws. . . everything takes me back to the Velveteen Rabbit. And I could go on a tirade about "people and things earning their scars" and the glory of getting "loved up til your eyes pop out and your fur gets worn," but I'll save it for another day. For now, I'll just say that the vintage actions for photoshop are great, but I'll always have a deep affinity for film.

Which edit do you like better?

Valentines

This week I'm busy photographing Valentines! How adorable is 6 month old Murphy?

A girl and her Ted.

My niece Ainsley just turned one and for her birthday she got this huge furry tan bear. It was instantly named 'Ted' for the movie-bear it resembles. Ainsley and Ted have been pretty inseparable since meeting, and every time she sees him she jumps on him and cuddles him. This summer I'm thinking I need to do a whole series of Ainsley and Ted hanging out together, possibly the bear doing naughty things around the house he 'blames' on Ainsley... haha.

Dining room evolution

Here's the house when I first moved in, just bare, sticky floors in the kitchen and dining room where golden carpet had reigned for 30 or so years. When I got here I was totally broke, so I found some carpet sample tiles at the local furniture store on the cheap and cut each to fit a square tile pattern... this took nearly 80 hours (shown below), but fate didn't have it in its plans I guess, because all that work got destroyed in a small accident (I'll say no more to protect the innocent), and eventually I just replaced the hard-won tile job with a simple tan carpet.



And below is the most recent dining room incarnation. It's definitely a little more traditional than Panton chairs and a 50s chrome table, but I was able to keep it funky by painting the cabinets and lining the interiors with reclaimed lumber. Inside each are mostly thrift store finds, a rolling pin hanging rack I made, and two antique windows a contractor friend was replacing and let me have. Above, the 'Egg Room' sign was formerly a part of my parents' horse barn, which was for years a chicken hatchery before we moved in.

Chenille curtain upcycle

 I've been upcycling chenille bedspreads into curtains, and a Victorian ceramic cookie jar into a vase (simply spray painted white).



...and taking some photos around the house, working my styling skills. I made the tufted headboard above with curtains that came with my home when I bought it, some diy covered buttons, a scrap of dense foam and a piece of plywood. Pillows are upcycled from vintage quilts, dresses, doilies, men's western snap button shirts and vintage ties.