Monday, October 31, 2011

PEAR COZY'S ARE HERE!!!



Just added to the shop!!!
I know yall have been loving your Apple Cozys!
So we decided to up our game and develop a pattern for Pear Cozy's which are now available in

There are 3 great aspects about fruit cozys.
1. They keep the bumps and yucks off your fruit if you are throwing them in a sack for lunch
2. They actually keep your fruit fresh longer if you wrap them up as soon as you get your fruit home
3. They just make life a little more fun!


As of now our pear cozys are made to order, which is good for yall because you can specify any color and any button!  We're working hard to make a surplus, so that we can ship immediately but for now its an estimated week to 2 weeks to ship.

So head over to the shop and pick yours out now!  Or if you are local to the Seattle area, just send me a message and we can make a personal arrangement!



"Beep Beep!" from The Little Road!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

THE PANTRY GETS A NEW HOME!

I've mentioned before in past posts that I've been strategiesing to move the pantry into open shelving in the dining room, thus leaving my walk in pantry to be converted into a walk in closet.  As much as Curt and I love living at casa del playa, it is after all a 750 square foot condo, and the space dedicated as the master closet, is well, not so master!  So the vision of this project was to make the pantry a more accessible, grab and cook kind of deal, along with creating a glorious walk in closet space in the hallway just outside our bedroom door.  YAY!
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And guess what!  I'm going to give you the whole tutorial!
Ready?
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First off, I wanted my shelves to look more industrial.  I first contemplated on making a huge rolling shelve unit made from gorgeous knotty wood, aluminum piping and metal plumbing attachments...  It would have been really cool, but in the long run between the astronomical price to build it and all the strange quirky problems that would arise from taking on such a project.... I decided to scale down a bit.  But!!  I kept the idea of having some gorgeous knotty wood, and purchased some inexpensive wall mounting brackets that though simple, I felt still had a modern industrial feel to them.


I purchased some very inexpensive pressurized 2x10 knotty pine from home depot for $8 a board.  They came 10 feet long, but Home Depot will cut your wood down for you free of charge.  Less work for me!  Woohoo!


Now comes the hard work.  I sanded down each board to eliminate nicks in the wood, branding stamps, and indents where the wood has been pressed.  I dug through the bin of boards at Home Depot to fish out the ones with minimal scaring, but getting a perfect board is virtually impossible.  I didn't mind to much, nicks and bruises go along with my industrial theme, and I just sanded them till they were smooth and not splintery.  Scares give the wood character.
Don't judge me for killing all my plants in the picture :O)
Developing my green thumb is something I'm still working at.



After I sanded down all my boards, I started staining.  I used an oil based interior stain by Miniwax called Ipswitch Pine.  It has a deep golden hue and it turned most of the knots in the wood a dark black.  So pretty.
Miniwax drys super fast which makes getting the job done a lot quicker.



Staining is a super simple process.  Just brush on your first coat, wait 15 minutes and then wipe it off with a clean rag.  I did two coats of stain on my boards.  I wanted that beautiful color to POP!
Note:  Since this stain is oil based, you will need turpentine to be able to clean and save your brushes.  I killed a nice brush before I realized.



See how pretty those knots turned out!
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After the stain dried, I put 2 coats of fast drying Polyurethane on the boards, which made them supper shiny!  It will also help protect the boards from stains and scratches.


Next I just installed the boards on the wall and voila!  I have an awesome, beautiful open shelving unit for my pantry!  Now to fill up those shelves!!!


"Beep Beep" from The Little Road!

Monday, October 17, 2011

WHAT THE WATER GAVE ME


I've had a devout love affair with Frida Kahlo for many many years now.
I love her so much as a woman as well as an artist.
She lived a life of countless obstacles and died very young, still she lived a passioned and beautiful life.
Her paintings to me, represent the sweet details of life, the intensity of human perspective, and the mysticism we all feel about our own mortality.
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I respect her honesty.


So for today's Music Monday, I wanted to feature a newer song by Florance and The Machine, that I recently found out was inspired by a painting by Frida Kahlo.


"What The Water Gave Me"
A painting that was created shortly after Frida's experience of miscarrying her almost full term baby, and after her husband Diego Rivera's total embarrassment of having his own fresco mural knocked down and destroyed in the RCA building at Rockefeller Square for depicting Communist figures.


The point that this painting inspires todays pop culture proves to me that Art and Music really are a significant part of our cultural and historical heritage.
Each of her paintings has changed the world in some way.
It's amazing what one little person can do,
and we doubt our impact every day.