Weekend Project = Chair #3 (Continued)

Going out on Saturday night is for chumps! Ya hear! This week I finally got around to painting Chair #3, and today I picked out some fabric and got busy upholstering the seat back which took me into the wee hours. After a few attempts at duplicating the tufted look (and slicing my finger open with an X-Acto knife) I decided a single button on the seat back was a simpler and more modern approach. I'm actually really happy with the way it turned out! Sooo I'm done for the night...I wish someone would make me something to eat...my fingers hurt! I'll tackle the seat tomorrow after some sleep and gym and other good stuff. Night!

Etsy Artist Shout Out = TushTush

 

Ran



vintage lady / print



I've been a long-time fan of TushTush. This amazing shop is run by Tali, a freelance illustrator living in Tel-Aviv. I purchased one of her original acrylic paintings a while ago, and I'm so in love with it I find myself constantly checking back to see what she's painting. She also does custom paintings of photographs that would make amazing Christmas gifts...just an idea for anyone looking for gift ideas :)

Sea / print

City Streets/print

Time for a New Camera!?

Now that I finally own (and love) my new digital Canon G11, I am still really wanting to invest in an SLR. I could have bought a low-end digital SLR for the same cost as my point-and-shoot G11 but decided the smaller size of the G11 and video capabilities ultimately made it a better first-time camera purchase. I wanted something I could easily carry so that I wouldn't ever have an excuse to leave my camera at home. I love my G11, but now I'm still aching for an SLR...and instead of considering a budget busting D-SLR what I REALLY want is a vintage film SLR. I've been doing some research and the Canon 35mm AE-1 seems to be a good choice. More than five million were sold back in the 1970-1980s so there are a lot that are hanging around pawn shops, goodwill and reasonably priced online. I'm sure there are some other great options as well...I plan on buying one soon and giving film a try! 

Weekend Project = Chair #3 (Continued)

Today I tackled the back of Chair #3. Taking off both sides took about 4 hours, but at least this time I avoided blisters by remembering to wear gloves (but not before puncturing my hand with a rogue staple). Meh...lessons learned. I kept the fabric as intact as possible so I can use it for a pattern for cutting the new upholstery. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to try to duplicate the tufted look, or if I will opt for something simpler. After I got all the staples out I sanded the whole chair. Tomorrow I will do some more sanding and crack filling, and then get started on painting. 

Dreaming of sleep and white walls



source



source

source

I've had a cough all week..probably the result of too much fun and not enough sleeping this past weekend. I finally caved and took some Nyquil around 2am last night so my alarm in the morning seemed like some sort of bad joke. In my groggy haze today I came across emmas designblogg, and am loving the crisp all-white Norwegian look. Those Swedes really know how to do it. It's all so clean and peaceful. Makes me want to crawl into bed...right...about...now.

source

Weekend Adventure = Kenter Trail

When I wasn't in character this weekend, I was enjoying the AMAZING weather we have been having. Seriously, it's summer in fall and summer was winter and really it's all very confusing. If you live in LA you learn to be quick on your toes and just take advantage of the clear days as they come. We hit up Kenter Trail in Brentwood on Saturday. This hike is my favorite because it takes you up to a beautiful tree with a bench under it where you can just sit and enjoy the view of the west side, and even downtown LA on a clear day like Saturday. It's quiet and peaceful. The bench has a placard that reads "In Loving Memory of Tony". I don't know who Tony was, but he must have been for a pretty great guy.

The Adventures of Terry and Sheryl - Halloween Recap

In the true spirit of the holiday I spent the majority of it in costume pretending to be A) Terry and B) Sheryl. You see, Terry is a gas station attendant. He wears a shirt with his name on it and an ugly trucker hat. He's what some call white trash, and he loves booze and cigarettes and cussing like a sailor. Sheryl is not so different except that she's a lady, a lady with a rather large mustache and a number of tattoos. When she's not riding her hog you can find her drinking beer through a straw. Terry likes to talk a lot of shit but Sheryl has probably murdered some people.

Gotta love Halloween, man. Good times. I wish I would have stayed on top of posting, but I seriously love Halloween and couldn't focus on anything all week and weekend.

Earlier in the week I hosted a pumpkin carving party that produced a lot of awesome new age jack-o-lanterns. I baked half of the left over pumpkin seeds on Saturday for when everyone arrived for a night on the town. They fill up the house up with the most amazing smell ever, and go great with beer. I baked the second half on Sunday and brought them to work (recipe below).

Pumpkin Seed Recipe:

1 1/2 cup of seeds

2 tbsp of melted butter

garlic powder

seasoning salt

salt

Mix together in a bowl and spread on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-50 mins at 300 degrees until golden brown. Stir once at about the halfway mark so the seeds on the outer edge don't burn.

Enjoy!