Bless this House: Entertainment Center

I love rearranging furniture. It breathes a whole new life into a room and costs nothing! Now, if you're thinking, "I would, but I just don't think my furniture would fit or look good any other way..." Cut the crap, sister. I have spent the entirety of my adult life in minuscule NYC apartments, and I have a TON of stuff. And I still rearrange on the reg. Even when I think there's no other way, I push some things around, and BAM! Who knew?

The point is, the last time we rearranged, we took things to a whole new level. It literally blew my mind how great the new arrangement was and how not possible I thought it was when we started. One product of that rearrangement was the Entertainment Center.

It isn't an entertainment center the way you might think of one. It's more like a quick and dirty, rental apartment solution to the ugly electronics we can't live without.

We just clustered them all together! Why didn't we think of it sooner??? With the aid of nothing but a little bitty end table and a simple shelf, we transformed what used to be a smattering of small eyesores into one larger, more acceptable piece of "furniture". That typewriter really did a lot. I couldn't stand the sight of that cheap, ugly keyboard until it was paired with a lovelier set of keys.

With love,

Bless this House: Color Palette

I have a color obsession that I just can't seem to break from.

I tore this image out of a fashion magazine and pasted it into my inspiration book back in 2006, while still living in the college dorms at Pratt. There was something so irresistible about it, I kept coming back to it.

Those paint chips are from my first apartment. Without consciously connecting my color choices to this image, I chose them precisely, only realizing after all was done and painted that the dress had inspired it all.

Ralph Lauren Beach Yellow and Behr Wet Coral

The living room an incredible shade that balances on the precipice of warm gold and chartreuse, the kitchen teetering between coral and salmon.


Then, in my current apartment, after a lengthy back and forth with my roommates, we finally agreed on a color for the communal space.

Behr Mesa Sunrise

Look familiar?

It's close, but ever-so-slightly muted. It feels a little more warm, a little less brilliant. Comforting.



And then I painted my bedroom. I swear it's a different color...

Behr Fervent Brass

Also less bright then its predecessor, a little mustardy. It has a classy, European study kind of feel.



And of course, we just ordered Real Milk Paint in Yellow Ochre for our bedroom in Northampton. And I'll admit, I've got my eye on their Butternut Squash, but we did choose Moss Green for the living room. Branching out, I am!

With love,

Autumn Leaves, Pressed and Pretty

Upon the coming threats of Hurricane Sandy last Sunday, I made the last minute decision to hop in my boyfriend's truck and hitch a ride up to Northampton, Massachusetts with him. Given the devastation to New York City public transportation, I ended up with a week-long Western Mass vacation! And coming from my cement jungle, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful autumn foliage. Walking the path between my boyfriend's home and downtown Northampton, picking up colorful leaves was just about impossible to resist.

What to do with them? Press them, of course! Fast and beautiful art.

Place your leaves neatly between the pages of a book.

Close up your book and put it at the bottom of a pile of books. The heavier the better! Leave them there for a few days to get good and flat.

Now brush a healthy coat of Mod Podge (or similar glue/sealer) on your paper, underneath where you will place the leaf.

Quickly! Before it dries! Place your leaf where you'd like it on the page and seal it with a full coat of Mod Podge. For a consistent finish, coat the entire surface of the page.

Give your leaf another coat or two, until it is satisfactorily glued to the page.

After they're dry, put them back under that pile of books for a few days if your paper curled from the glue. And once I get home to my calligraphy pens, I think I might label my leaves in pretty cursive for a little extra something.



I picked up this beauty today, so it's not ready quite ready for gluing. But I'm excited about it! I love the contrast of all those itty bitty leaves to my large, singular leaves. And that it will run off the page at the edges. A bit unexpected, I think.

Frame, or just hang up with push pins or binder clips for some beautiful fall wall art! I'll post pictures once I get mine finished and hanging.

With love,

Click here to see the finished product...

For more on pressing, check out last spring's flower pressing post...

Classes at Kill Devil Hill

CLASS IS IN SESSION!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25TH 6PM-8PM

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER  30TH 5PM-7PM

*SPACE IS LIMITED, SO SIGN UP TODAY!*

*CALL : 347.534.3088

OR 

*EMAIL : killdevilhill@gmail.com

September Classes

I'm back from my annual summer getaway and feeling refreshed and better than ever.

I have three upcoming tailoring classes scheduled, and more to come!

Thursday, September 13th from 6:30-8PM at the Brooklyn Brainery

515 Court St, Gowanus, Brooklyn

Sunday, September 16th from 6PM-8PM at Kill Devil Hill

and 

Tuesday, September 18th from 6PM-8PM at Kill Devil Hill

170 Franklin St, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

To register for classes at Kill Devil Hill, call (347) 534 - 3088.

Community Tailoring Classes

The response to my classes at the Brooklyn Brainery have been so overwhelming! Thus, I'm very excited to announce my upcoming plans to teach community tailoring classes. I hope to launch the first class in late August (after I return from my annual month-long retreat to the Berkshires) at a Brooklyn coffee shop, TBD. 


These will be casual, open classes. Everyone can walk away with something useful, whether or not you have a sewing machine at home and no matter your level of experience. Beginners can come for an introductory crash course; the more advanced can come for individualized advice on altering specific garments. Bring your ill-fitting clothes, and I'll provide the rest. Cost is pay-what-you-wish, suggested donation $20.


Subscribe via email with the form in the right sidebar if you'd like to be notified about upcoming classes.








Cheers!

Melody

Just When You Thought You Had to Throw Them Away...

For over a month now I've been working at family-owned Greenpoint general store, Kill Devil Hill. We sell an assorted collection of antiques, gifts, house-made candles and soaps, products from other local artisans, custom-made aprons and denim repairs (among other things).


It had never occurred to me before I started at Kill Devil Hill that a tear in a pair of jeans was reparable (apart from, perhaps, with an unsightly patch). But oh how wrong I was! If you have a pair of jeans that are full of holes (or just inappropriate thanks to one inopportune crotch hole), but you just can't bear to part with them, you are not alone. As it turns out, we Americans really love our jeans. Bring them on by the shop -- 170 Franklin St @ Java -- and we will mend your holes!


This new-found knowledge, of course, inspired me to dig out some of my old trash-bound jeans and fix them up.

Sad jeans...

Happy jeans!

Close-up jeans...
mended hole on left,  original denim on right

Never give up!




Melody