The original Just Do It

Last Saturday, a little group of us took a trip to the Art Institute (apparently everyone else had the same idea; the place was packed). I was most excited to check out the new modern wing and Apostles of Beauty.



On the way to all that, however, we stopped by a little set of rooms that houses a retrospective of James Castle, a largely untrained, deaf artist from rural Idaho. Castle never learned sign language or lip reading, so his art was his primary means of communication.

His work is wonderful in its own right. I'm in love with how pieces that are so rustic can depict such futuristic and wildly imaginative scenes. But there's something else extra special about Castle.

The museum has more than 200 pieces of his work on display. Castle worked with all sorts of found materials--food cartons, old letters, envelopes--and a combination of soot and spit and natural dye as mediums. Not only was he resourceful, the materials and sheer number of pieces made it seem as if he couldn't not make art.

Like he was absolutely compelled to create.



I can think of so many times I put off projects because I don't have the right stuff--I need another canvas or I don't like the fabric I have on hand or I should buy fancier paper. But this guy didn't stop. Couldn't stop. It was so wonderful to see all of his work preserved. So I'm using his perseverance to inspire me to stop stalling and hemming and hawing and just get on with it already.



Thanks for the new year push, James!

All the girls walk by dressed up for each other

Jessica at What I Wore (and fellow Hoosier) is doing such a creative job coming up with fun character-based Halloween costumes sourced from her own closet (having an amazing wardrobe helps immensely). So far, she's shown how to whip up a Little Edie Beale, George Washington, Karl Lagerfeld and omg Frida Kahlo.


I'll tell you my best costume if you tell me yours.

Peanut butter and jelly

I'm having one of those days where I feel like I'm going to absolutely DIE if I don't get to a hardware store soon. I need paint rollers and sponge brushes and paint thinner and smaller staples for the staple gun and picture hangers and clay pots. It's driving me insane!


Also driving me insane (in a good way) is that you can buy Julia Rothman wallpaper by the yard at Hygge & West, making it affordable for me to THINK about owning a bit of her art on a roll.

I'm still on my geometric kick, so naturally I'm trying to figure out a way to use a yard of this stuff. So far, I'm coming up empty.

Maybe this book would have the perfect solution. Think it's available at ACE?

I need to start a project soon, or the cats are going to be running around in sweaters made from old holey socks and leftover buttons.

Hmm. On second thought...

Adulthood: Signed, sealed, delivered

Over the last few months, I've been trying to act more like a grown up by making the bed every morning. And I've been pretty damn good at it! Even on those days (most days) when I'd rather crawl back in it, I suck it up and fold down the sheets and fluff up the throw pillows like a real person who would never think of eating Doritos for breakfast just a few moments later.


In true spoiled baby fashion, I think this behavior deserves a reward.

Why not personalized note cards and other jazz?

(Uh, Jake Ryan as in Jake Ryan? Yes, please I'd like your address. And yes, so what if I have a thing for sweater vests?)

I can't think of a better way to say "Self, here's a nice little token of appreciation for all you do to make your bedroom look less like the snarled aftermath of a tornado. Now go forward and keep being appreciative and mature. Correspond. Say hi! Or thanks even!"


It totally helps that these note cards and mailing labels and address stamps are completely adorbs.


Some of them aren't too fancy ladystyle either. Maybe I'll do the really adult thing and buy some for Marc. I think he feels weird when I make him use my ladybug stationary to write his dad a thank you note for all of the manly computer-y and tool gifts he sends.

Quick links

Today, I'm atoning for the consumer glut of last Friday's post with some tutorials and project ideas.

Cute little purse sewing pattern.

Turning salvaged drawers into modular storage.

Vintage handkerchief save the dates (or party invitations, greeting cards, etc.)

Embroider a map with places you've been.

Enlarging text book copy for wall art.

Tufted headboard.

Fabric-covered switch plates.

Be warned. It's about to get extra girly up in here...

Flower arrangement and centerpiece ideas (it says for Valentine's Day, but I think it applies any ol time).

Fancy paper flowers.

Framed paper butterflies.

*I'll try to find a unicorn project to add in here at a later date so we'll have the Mariah Carey trifecta going on.*

And, of course, a kickass source for all of your project needs.

On Sundays I worship at the house of Craigslist

In other news, I recently found out what kind of people food my cat Harvey likes.

Hard-boiled egg yolk!

He's also already putting in lots of time on the Kofod Larsen rocker I bought yesterday (for a freaking song!).


Bonus: My mom has given me some great, simple white canvas I can use to recover the seat.

Black poodle curls may suit Harvey just fine, but they're just not my cup of tea.

*Speaking of breakfasts of champions, I had a drink at Kurt Vonnegut's favorite bar over the weekend. Such a cool, homey place. And just when I was beginning to lament the lack of good dive neighborhood/corner bars in Indianapolis.*

Quick clicks

Interesting things I've run across somewhat lately:

Get yourself some pin curls (this makes me want to grow out my hair so badly).

Make a charming little cabinet from an old suitcase.

A pretty awesome sailboat paperweight.

Hunt for your local government surplus auction.

Want Michel Gondry to draw your portrait?

Adorable Lizzie Allen wallpaper.

Pretty fabric place mats and coasters.

Decorative packing tape (look for it on your Christmas present this winter!).

The kid with the best dorm room (and minibar) ever.

Eraserhead

Lately I’ve been obsessed with chalkboard paint. In my head, I tried it out on the fireplace surround, kitchen backsplash, front door, boyfriend…but none of it was quite right.

(Image via Apartment Therapy. Ahh, chalkboards and calendars. Kill me now.)

In an uncharacteristic display of patience, I didn’t go running after the cats with a roller full of black paint. Instead, I greedily snatched up some of my favorite uses of chalkboard paint in Flickr, which you can see in the chalkboard dust, chalkboard walls and chalk boards groups.

As of yesterday, I couldn’t stand it any longer. About six months ago, Marc found some great old windows in an alley. So all this time, I’ve been wondering what to do with the windows. At the same time, I’ve been wondering what I had that could do with me slapping a coat (or 10) of chalkboard paint on it.

Synergy, people. Windows, meet paint.

Here are the windows before in my lovely “back yard” area:

It’s a lovely space. Full of weeds, old bags and condom wrappers. What fun it is to spend time back there!

During...

Ovbs I’m not done yet, but I wanted to write about them anyway (see above for my lack of patience). These need at least another coat and to be hung in all their glory on my living room wall.

I’m so excited about these guys. I hope to have some great final after pictures for you soon!

OMG. Shoes.

A sweet girl I work with totally made my day by sending me a filled out Akira smart card (each time you spend $60, you get a sticker. Five stickers get you a $30-dollar credit, so this was quite the investment). A former Chicagoan, she lives in New York and is now moving to India, so she has no use for it. Using the card, I got these cuties:
Ah, love them! And, shockingly enough, I don’t think I have any brown sandals. So these fit the rare shoe void in my life.
In other related shoe news, Love Maegan has this Christian Louboutin petal sandal diy:
Impressive, no? Does anyone want to get together a try to whip these up?

Mobile home

Can I please have one of these to hang in my kitchen...way, way high up where the cats can't get to it?


Reasonably priced and available from Konrad's.

Also an option (but maybe not for me specifically, given my performance with painting this weekend...and week) is making your own Calder mobile. There's a shout out for the IMA on that page, too. Woot!

Humanizing the vacuum

So, let's see. What happened last week? Here are some pictures of questionable quality to show you:

1. Got the new table set up in the dining room on Monday. Poor, sad table with no chairs.


2. On Tuesday, I got a haircut. Here is the back:


Just to spice it up, here is the front view on another day. Sorry about the self portraiture. I get all akward when someone else takes my picture for no reason. It's also just emo enough for my Myspace.


3. On Wednesday, my pretty shoes arrived:


4. I have no recollection of Thursday.

Oh, that's right, I accidentally sent a picture of a deep v-neck t-shirt clad Jake Gyllenhaall astride horse to my boyfriend's aunt, whom I've never met. I wish I were kidding.

Also: I went to the Violet Hour and spent a bajillion dollars on delicious drinks. Sorry, no photos of that.

5. On Friday, Marc and I showed our love for 'merica by posing in front of a giant flag...and then getting yelled at for parking (for, like, one minute!) in a private lot. USA! USA!


You can tell how excited he is about being number one and putting a boot in y'alls asses (cause that's the American way....actually the American way is probably better represented by my consumerrific Thursday night activities):


6. Saturday. Bought more stuff! Oh, dining room table, you will be lonely no more. For I went all the way out to Hinsdale for these lovely fiberglass chairs.

Oh. They're to short for you? I see. No, no...I understand.

Right now, the spurned chairs live in the kitchen nook. Will they stay? Who knows! It's wild over here!

More Saturday stuff: the pool, Salvation Army, making jorts (PLEASE click on that link. It's a wonder.) for Marc (which he did wear out to the Hideout that night. What a champ.), the Map Room, where Marc and I met Renee to drink beers poured in glasses that physically resemble the two of us:

Just imagine little cutoffs on the tall, skinny one.

I also had my first taste of a Tom Collins. Gin at its best!

7. On the seventh day, the Lord rested, but I sanded and spray painted a chair frame (and my foot...and my hand):

(please, please ignore the dusty floor...)

This, incidentally, is the frame for the chair i reupholstered. Since I'm a dummy, I didn't take a before picture, but I will tell you the chair's old vinyl indoor/outdoor blue flowered fabric looked like something that old lady in Mama's Family would wear. And I like things granny, so that's saying a lot. Here it is with the bottom attached:

(again with the dust! we're MOVING, ok? well, in two months. but still)

The whole chair (the back will actually sit higher so there's a gap between the top and bottom, but I haven't screwed that in yet. I'm thinking about ripping the whole thing apart and adding piping):

I am in love with this fabric

So I go visit it at Purl Soho every day.

Since you guys are such great advice givers, here's another one for you. How do you think the above fabric would look on a couple of chairs like this one?

Sew exciting

Sorry about the crap post title, but I made a pillow! With a zipper.

This was my first time even touching a sewing machine, so I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

Zipper detail:


This was about a month ago (as I said, I've never been on the ball time-wise) and since then I reupholstered an elliptical chair. I need to refinish the iron frame and reattach the cushions but there will be photos sometime this summer!

P.S. Do like I did and take a class at the Needle Shop. Rachel is great.