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Monday Boost

9/29/2014

This past weekend was so busy, but very fun! We volunteered for the Concours D'Elegance with our friends. We got to ride in the driving tour, see a beautiful property with gardens and ogle some of the most incredible classic vehicles:

Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.
-E.B. White

This was a 1936 Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic Coupe in the gorgeous light of the sunset on Saturday evening. We had a wonderful time with friends, martinis, motorcars and music. I hope you all enjoyed the weather this weekend and have been refreshed for the week ahead!

Cheers!
M J

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Plant Stand to Magazine Table - Studio Progress

9/26/2014

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In the Studio, there is a short bit of wall between the door and the closet. It just felt like it needed something other than the enormous elliptical to anchor that side of the room. I've had an old wood plant stand sitting in the attic for years and thought it might make a nice compact magazine table. I picked up a metal mesh paper holder and file holder at Target, spray painted them and the plant stand gold and put them together with some small nails and staples. Here is the result:

I like the industrial look of it and for the price ($15), you can't beat it! I searched online and found something very similar for $40. I accessorized it with some thrift store finds (the books and elephant) and made some pom-pom "flowers" for a vase I already had on hand.

Here it is on that little strip of wall...

It fits there perfectly and holds current magazines which my friend and I swap each month. Do you share your magazines with a friend? We each have a different subscription, so swapping means we get to see both mags without paying for both! It works out quite well.
I hope your week has been wonderful and you are looking forward to the weekend!
We are off to a classic car show to volunteer and enjoy time with friends. Can't wait for the gala dinner!
Happy Friday!!

Cheers!
M J

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Monday Boost

9/22/2014

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Happy Monday everyone! Hubby and I finished the flooring with plenty of time to enjoy a Saturday night out and to visit my parents on Sunday. Here is a pic of the parental units with the 2nd project I created for my Dad:

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
- J.M. Barrie

Dad loved that sign! They are now raising chickens and have lots of wildlife on their little 5 acres. I have in my possession 3 dozen eggs to attest to the fruitfulness of the Sanctuary! ;-) The sign is a scrap of an old table which I painted and cut adhesive vinyl with my Silhouette for the lettering and swirlies. I think it turned out quite nicely! Dad wasn't expecting something so big! Oh, and he loved the little weaving I did for him as well...

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are prepared to meet the new week with positivity!

Cheers!
M J

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New Flooring - Studio Progress

9/21/2014

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The floor is complete in the studio! It looks great and Hubby and I can actually move today..

This is Ashland vinyl plank, loose lay flooring from Karndean. No click-lock, no gluing joints, no nailing, no stapling, no power tools needed. You don't realize how much time you waste running outside to cut pieces until you only need a razor knife for your cuts! Awesome.

Ok, now for the low-down on the process. The ugly pink carpet came up easily and the subfloor was not as bad as we were expecting, however - So. Many. Staples. Urgh. We pried and pulled staples from 2 previous incarnations of carpet padding. The first course of planks was to be against one wall of the room, but what wall in any house is ever straight?? None. Period. Soooooo, Karndean recommends using a "tackifier" for the first row, let it dry then continue laying the floor. I looked at Hubby and said, "What the hell is "tackifier"??". Needless to say, 2 hours later, we had some gooey, solvent-free "tackifier" to fix the first course of planks. After that issue was overcome, we ate lunch and waited the recommended drying time before continuing. Hands down the easiest flooring we have ever installed, and we have installed thousands of square feet of laminate and vinyl flooring in our day... This process took considerably less time and we were done in less than 2 days! (Raven's litter box was only relocated shortly. You will be happy to know he has his private kitty toilet back! Ha!)

Here is a bonus pic of the new flooring next to the ugly pink nightmare:

So pretty and modern, so clean and warm, so waterproof and hairball-proof! Oh, and everything doesn't stick to it like velcro (I'm looking at you ugly pink nightmare...). Can you tell I hated that carpet?? ;-) Next up is the living room and hallway. A LOT more square footage than the studio, but we now have a better idea of what is involved with this flooring. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Cheers!
M J

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Masculine Weaving

9/18/2014

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So, my Dad's birthday is coming up here very quickly and what do you get the man that literally has everything?? I struggle with this issue every Father's Day, Birthday and Christmas. Since I've been experimenting with weaving lately, I decided to make him a little something for his bedroom. He loves Native American arts and crafts,
so I went with that theme:

The red is much more of a rich, blood red in real life than in the picture above. This was my first time trying a diamond pattern and it really wasn't that hard! I raided my leather working stash and found some leather lacing and southwest beads to add as well. Here's hoping he likes it!

I still have one more project to finish today for his birthday, then it will be time to tear up the carpet in the studio! Hubby cannot wait to see what is lurking under that thick carpet padding. He has a really bad feeling that the subfloor will need some serious leveling in a few spots. Joy! ;-) I am not worried. We learned a lot renovating our first house inside-out. Someday I will share with you some of the major renovation projects we tackled there. That house only took 13 years to complete... Then we promptly sold it! Ha!

I hope you are all having a great week so far!

Cheers!
M J

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Monday Boost

9/15/2014

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The weather this weekend was so refreshingly cool! Hubby and I had a chance to have a great time with friends and enjoy the Eastern Shore, including some yummy seafood...

As we enjoyed the cool breeze, the sun was setting over the harbor and I was able to capture those glowing moments...

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
-Robert Brault

Remember to enjoy the moments that make this life worth living. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves how short life can be and make that conscious effort to live every day to its fullest. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are ready to tackle the week ahead!

Cheers!
M J

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A Place to be Creative - Studio Progress

9/11/2014

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The studio is almost complete! We got word today that our flooring will be ready to pick up this weekend. Yay! Here come the sore back and knees from laying floor for hours, but hey, it will be worth it. At least it's a small room! Below are a few pictures of the studio progress:

This room is VERY multipurpose. Please note the ENORMOUS elliptical (not easy to overlook) and the kitty convenience opening in the bifold doors (completely necessary for the privacy of the King of the abode, Raven).

It was fun to use what we already had after accumulating A LOT over the last 20 plus years together. Of course, I also scored some fun new items at the thrift shop, painted some new art for the room and sewed some new pillow covers from pretty Ikea fabric.

The room is still in flux and will most likely continue to be as I hone our collections. The goal of the studio was for it to be a place to display some of our favorite collections/items and to give me a space to be creative again. It has been a wonderful project that I am grateful for at this time in my life. A bit of distraction was needed, if you know what I mean... Oh, and Raven LOVES his new private kitty toilet. You can see how excited he is...

Yup, he's bursting with feline glee... What a card...
I can't wait to tear out the carpet and get the flooring done. Raven is not looking forward to it - his box will be temporarily relocated to our bathroom. He hates sharing. ;-) Until next time!

Cheers!
M J

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Monday Boost

9/8/2014

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What a glorious weekend we had on the Eastern Shore of Maryland!

If we have never been amazed by the very fact that we exist, we are squandering the greatest fact of all.
-Will Durant
I feel so lucky to live where I do now. The daily beauty that surrounds me is incredible! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Cheers!
M J

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Welcome & Weaving...

9/6/2014

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Hello out there! I am very new at this, so please excuse the clumsy attempts at blogging until I get myself up to speed. We have recently redecorated a room in our home to serve as a dedicated office, craft and exercise room, or, as I've been calling it, "The Studio". Sounds pretty legit, no? Haha... (Will post pics soon!) Anywho, in this new, wonderful studio, I have been granted the space to be creative again and the juices have been flowing! My new obsession is hand weaving on a little loom my husband helped me make:

Yes people, that is a Hechinger paint stir stick being used as a shed stick… (I am thoroughly dating myself, sigh… That store went bankrupt in 1999!! LOL! But I digress...) We happened to have the perfect size piece of plywood in our scrap wood pile and an entire box of white aluminum nails – Voila! Instant loom! I even added 4 feet to the bottom with some E6000 glue. I found some crochet hooks and a tapestry needle in my sewing supplies and I was set to start weaving!

After a disappointing trip to the retail store for yarn, I happened upon a large bag of wool yarn at my local thrift shop. Score! My first attempt at a weaving was made with bits and pieces of yarn, string and ribbon I had lying around the house. It was pretty enough to gift to my Auntie when she visited me last weekend. She loved it!

After all: Happiness adds and multiplies, as we divide it with others. – A. Nielsen.

Well, I spent a few hours this week working on weaving number 2, and here she is, all purdy and new:

I had fun sharing this new little adventure with everyone - - anyone - - ? I suppose we'll see how this goes! (Hhhmmmm, may also be time for a new camera...) Thanks for checking in!! Have a wonderful weekend!!

Cheers!
M J

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Monday Boost

Plant Stand to Magazine Table - Studio Progress

Monday Boost

New Flooring - Studio Progress

Masculine Weaving

Monday Boost

A Place to be Creative - Studio Progress

Monday Boost

Welcome & Weaving...

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