Where Have I Been???

I have been setting up a website and a selling site for my handmade jewelry and clay sculptures. (Yes, and still stripping wallpaper!) See my work at http://www.wjsculpture.etsy.com/. This week I will be splitting that site into two to include http://www.wjjewelry.etsy.com/ (not active yet). I read from the success stories on etsy that that is the thing to do. Will give it a try. I will be adding several new lines of jewelry, so keep an eye on the site. http://www.wjsculpture.etsy.com/ will have a link to the jewelry site, so you'll always be able to find me. PS Please feel free to share this info with all of your jewelry loving friends and family (unless you are buying them a Christmas gift from the site and want to keep it a secret until after THE day).

1940's Beauty!

For my birthday this year, my grandsons gave me a digital scrapbooking course by Jessica Sprague. That was August; this is September, almost October. I am finally getting a chance to try it out. Hence, my first effort. I hope you enjoy it.

Excited about Neutral

I have discovered the wonder of neutrals. I was raised in a household of neutral, singular. Everything was beige, medium beige. That is redundant. My mom said, "Beige goes with everything". The truth is beige goes with nothing on its own. Today we have so many shades and tones of browns that it is really a rainbow of neutrals. The tricky part is varying the values (lights and darks) for dramatic impact. The same idea applies to any color(s).

When I married, we lived in military housing, or in homes we knew would be sold soon, so again, everything was either beige or white. So, when we bought this house 17 years ago, I wallpapered, painted red, went crazy. Now, as we are thinking of selling in the not too distant future, I am revisiting the neutrals with punches of color. Very fun! I still get my red. YAY!

This photo shows the next step in neutralizing - the bright teal loveseat with cocoa brown slip cover. No worries, the wingback will get an oatmeal slip cover and the wall will be Latte! Yummy!

Red, Red, Red

It is true that Spring has passed when red was all around and, for me, the new sign of Spring. Red has stayed lodged in the favorite color spot of my brain, however. My newly decorated and updated kitchen will be totally neutral, so it needs a splash of color here and there to make it exciting and fun! Hence, the collection of red accessories you see here. I really did not want all of the typical appliances turned colors nor did I want the country red apple collection. But, I could not resist the Paula Dean food scale. It is dynamite. Cute, sort of antique looking, but anything but traditional for a food scale. I am finding that combining traditional with contemporary is a challenge, but one I am enjoying. Now that is Delicious Design!

How Many Layers to Builder idiocy?

We are doing lots of work on our house. When we moved in 16 years ago, we wallpapered over wallpaper. Obviously we were not the first. Now that we want to paint and the wallpaper is too textured to paint over, stripping is necessary. Four layers later and we find that the brilliant builder put the first layer right on top of the wallboard, not even skimming it first. Now we have to patch, repair, and skim before we can paint. But the results will be fantastic. This is the room that will get the glass tile border and backsplash. Can't wait!

First signs of Autumn

As we ventured out to do the weekly grocery shopping, I noticed a distinct change in the air - cooler, breezy, overcast. Then upon returning I found this jewel in the driveway, untouched. We have huge oaks in the yard and always have zillions of acorns fall (at least it seems like it). Usually they get crushed under the car tires, but the new driveway can't be driven on yet, so this cluster remained untouched. Green and tender, it marks the first signs of Autumn in our southern corner of the world. I can't wait for more. Happy Autumn!

Funky Chicken Peacock!

Now, you might wonder why I would call a peacock "Funky Chicken". I am so glad you asked! You see, there is this wonderful art gallery back in the woods just a couple of miles from our favorite waterfall in the mountains of North Georgia, Amicalola Falls. Of course, the gallery is called the Funky Chicken Gallery. Not only do they have fabulous art, but also a yard full of animals, from chickens to peacocks to horses. This particular fellow has shed his fantastic tail feathers for the year, but still stuts around to impress the 3 females with their drab brown coloring and no tail feathers, poor things.