Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1583 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Trying to Capture the Light

November 17, 2011 at 9:01 am by Claudia

Early evening – and it gets dark so early these days – and I thought I would experiment with the camera. No flash, of course. Just playing with the settings on my camera. Since it is what is called a bridge camera, there is only so much I can do. I think.

Lit by lamps and the ever-present glow from my laptop. The colors become muted in the photos. My eye sees the scene one way, the camera sees it very differently.

Riley’s sleeping in the den. He has no idea I’m taking his picture. Scout’s red toy is on the bench.

She looks pissed off. Is there anything wrong, your highness?

There’s something about a house in the evening. When I lived in Philadelphia and Boston, I would walk for blocks and blocks in the evening. Brownstones, row houses, apartments – all of them lit by lamps, offering a tantalizing peek into the interior. Just a quick glimpse of a corner or two – a snapshot of the world inside that particular home.

I love taking pictures. I love photography. Normally, I wouldn’t post these but I’m experimenting, trying to capture what my eyes see. It’s a challenge.

Before I forget, I want to share a couple of cute things I got in the dollar bin at Michael’s. I bought them just the other day, so I think they might be available in your neck of the woods, as well.

This is a little notebook that I keep on the table next to my blogging chair where I’m very comfortable, indeed. I’m using it to jot down ideas for blog posts.

These drawer pulls were a dollar and change. I bought 4 of them. I have no use for them at the moment, but I will. They look like porcelain. Love them.

I think I’ve contacted everyone personally, but if you’re here for Reality Shot Thursday, I regret to say it is no more. Last week someone posted a very suspicious link which I deleted. Luckily I caught it right away but that was because I was home that day. I don’t want anything on this blog that would be offensive or harmful in any way. Since the title of my meme was Reality Shot, it may have been found by spammers or those with bad intentions. I refuse to give them a platform of any kind.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated. I had fun; I hope you did, as well.

Here’s hoping the sun comes out today! It’s been a rainy week.

The Painting

November 16, 2011 at 9:38 am by Claudia

Do you have some special something you’d grab if there was, God forbid, a fire or flood in your home? I have several. Heaven knows if I’d be together enough to think of any of them in a moment of panic. But I do know that I would be yanking this off the wall:

For those of you who are newer readers of this blog, a couple of years ago I was working in San Diego for an extended period of six months. I often visited my favorite shop: Vignettes. This painting was hanging behind the counter. I’d seen it for the first time the year before and I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Over the course of several months, I visited it; rather like paying homage at a shrine. I’d stand there, pretending to look at something else, while I was really stealing glances at the painting. Eventually, when I realized how transparent I was, I started talking about it to Lori, the owner of Vignettes. The price was more than I had ever paid for a piece of art. It really wasn’t all that much, just a lot for us. Our modest income forces us to be extremely frugal.

Lori called the dealer, who was willing to give me a bit of a discount. She wrote down the price on a business card. I still have it.

Still, I couldn’t imagine actually buying it.

But I loved this cherub painting that had come to Vignettes all the way from France. Sometimes we see something that touches us deep in our core and no amount of rational thinking will change the fact that we are in love – in love with something that brings us joy. You know that feeling? Well, I had it.

Eventually, I took a picture of it. I had it on my computer desktop. I pondered. I was afraid to tell Don of my need for this piece. Would he scoff? Would he not get it?

I finally emailed the photo to him. And then, fairly sure that he wasn’t a fan of cherubs, I haltingly tried to explain my passion for these cherubs. And my love for the pale aqua of the frame. And the price.

After being away from my family and home for 6 months, perhaps I felt I deserved a treat. Bless his heart, he understood.

Sigh of relief. Still not absolutely sure I would buy it, I trotted off to Vignettes. There it was. No one had stolen it away from me. Then Lori saw me and said that she had been thinking of me, especially since a customer had come to the shop, bought the painting and was having it wrapped up when, at the last minute, he changed his mind. She said all she could think about as the painting was taken down off the wall was how upset I would be.

That did it. The universe was telling me to buy it. I wouldn’t be so lucky a second time.

It hangs in our bedroom. It’s inspired the choice of the pale aqua coverlet on the bed.

Which brings me to our bedroom. The bedroom needs work. We have several pieces of furniture that need to be painted. That’s a project I want to tackle soon. I’d like to try chalk paint but it’s so darned expensive. Anyway, I want the color to be inspired by the colors of this painting. I’d love any suggestions you might have, especially from those of you who have used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. If I use it, I can only afford one color, so it has to be the right choice.

Any ideas?

Defending the Small House #1

November 15, 2011 at 8:00 am by Claudia

{Living Big in 1200 Square Feet.}

Week 1: Frugal Storage for Crafts

Brenda and I are starting our new series, Defending the Small House, today. We’re really excited to share our ideas with you and to hear your ideas. We are starting the series with craft storage. Brenda recently moved and has fixed up her office/craft space and I have found my own solutions to the problem of storage. Here goes!

As many of you know, there are two of us living here. My husband needs his studio space, which is in the guest room/studio/office. I need my space, as well. So I made the upstairs landing and hallway my creative space. Why not? The hallway was pretty boring as it was and now it is fun, filled with creative energy and both my husband and I love it.

This is the view at the top of the stairs (you can see the newel post in the lower left hand corner.) There is a little niche under the slanted ceiling and that is where I tucked my sewing machine table. It fit perfectly, which I took as a sign from the heavens to go ahead with my wacky idea. I made that skirt out of an old Shabby Chic shower curtain. I pulled it from my fabric stash so the cost was $0. Storage tip #1: Go under. That skirt looks sweet, but it also hides a lot of things that I need but don’t necessarily want out on display. If something is unsightly, mask it with a skirt and then use that area for storage.

The white shelf unit behind the sewing table was something I found in our shed and repainted. Now it functions as a handy place to store sewing notions.

I collect pottery, so I have a lot of it scattered around the house, which leads me to Storage Tip #2: Use what you have on hand. Shop your house. Pottery and china are not only attractive but can provide valuable storage space. You may not have lots of storage space, but some cheerful pieces of pottery that hold buttons or beads or paint brushes may just do the trick. This piece holds fabric for whatever project I’m working on at the moment.

This little creamer with my initials on it (that was a find!) holds fabric markers, paintbrushes, and seam rippers.

This mug holds my measuring tapes.

This piece of Roseville pottery holds vintage seam binding.

My craft and decorating books are in this bookcase that I bought for $30. Frugal. That vintage sewing basket also stores supplies.

Here’s the view as you turn the corner in the hallway. I bought this cabinet for $75 through an ad on Craig’s List. Storage Tip #3: Buy vintage, buy used. Not only will you get a great deal, you’ll often find something with much more personality than anything you would buy new. This cabinet, with its sort of deco-looking handles is wonderfully funky and I certainly wouldn’t have found anything like it in a furniture store.

Back to that bookshelf: I tried and tried to find a used bookshelf that would fit in my tiny space. It was a fruitless search. When I found this new one, I could justify it because it was so inexpensive.

The cabinet is not too deep, has shelves behind glass (for display,) shelves behind cupboard doors and a drawer. I don’t know what I did without it. It provides valuable storage for this tiny space.

None of these jars cost more than a few dollars and they hold trims, thread, ribbons, buttons and embroidery floss. Storage Tip #4: Use Glass Jars for Storage. You can see what you have and they’re pretty to look at.

When it’s time to embroider, for example, I just pull out this jar and take it with me to my chair.

I already had the vintage glove boxes, which also provide storage.

Back to ‘Use what you have’ – this set of vintage Chinese nesting baskets is something I’ve had hanging around for years. I spray painted it white and now it’s in the studio holding fat quarters, trims and patterns. Because the baskets nest, I can get a lot into a tiny area.

Storage Tip #5 – Think Up. I use the top of the cabinet to display things. One of those things is a wire basket that holds trims. I also use the wall space next to the cabinet.

Hanging on the wall is this vintage feedsack shoe bag. Each pocket holds lots of supplies. It’s pretty and useful. Next to the feedsack is my mini design wall.

See? There it is, to the right. Before I got the cabinet, this whole wall was a design wall. When the cabinet came into the studio, I decided to get rid of most of it, but this one section has remained. It reaches the ceiling, so there’s a lot of design space available. Right now, since I’m not working on a quilt, it displays my embroidery projects and my mom’s baby dress. But the minute I need it, it will be available for design work.

Storage Tip #6: Have fun – add something whimsical (but useful) to your space. I treated myself to Letitia last year. She was found on eBay for $75. Since it was birthday money, the cost to me was $0. Her presence adds a lot to the studio and she also serves as a display for all sorts of things. Last year, she modeled some of my crocheted scarves for my readers. Beautifully, I might add.

Nothing in this space cost more than $75. (I’m not counting the sewing machine which I’ve had for years.) Most of it I already had on hand. By the way, my supplies are not all neatly contained in the studio. I have a closet in the guest room where I store fabric, yarn, and my ‘real job’ work supplies. I work on my dollhouse in a corner of the den. I sometimes need more space and spread things out on the kitchen table. But everything has a place and when I’m finished for the day, it all goes back.

Maybe these ideas will serve as a bit of inspiration. You can create a space for crafts and craft storage in a tiny space.

We’re hoping you’ll give us ideas for future posts. Share your thoughts and your solutions with us.

Stop by and visit Brenda, who lives with her 2 little dogs in 1010 square feet in Tulsa. She has some wonderful ideas to share with you.

Trying to Capture the Light

The Painting

Defending the Small House #1

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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