fabric wall hanging kits

last night i was going through some of my old magazines for inpspiration and i ended up coming to an old domino magazine. (by the way, i'm so sad that domino folded this year. it was my absolute favorite magazine. they always had the most beautiful photographs of homes. it's only been a few months since they quit distributing it and i'm missing it already.) i came to an old issue from 2007 and had forgotten that this issue has one of my favorite pieces of art. i thought i'd share it with you. it's from textile art and it's called iso satakieli kit. one of the reasons i love it so much is that it's such a statement piece but it has a very inexpensive pricetag. only $100 and it's 42" x 54". you get so much for your money.

domino, november 2007 issue

iso satakieli

textile art also has lots of other cool pieces of art. some pieces are ready made and some you buy as a kit and then you put it together. i'm sure you could also take it to your local art shop to have it put together if you don't feel confident enought to do it yourself. they also sell fabric by the yard. here are a few of my favorite stretched fabric art pieces.

juhannustaika

kuiskaaja

reheva kasvi

kierto

kaiku

first blog

so...today is my first official day of blogging. i've never kept journals or blogged before so this is going to be a new and exciting experience. i'm an interior designer and have been working for a hotel owner/operator for the last year and a half. before working in the hospitality industry i designed model homes and also did residential design. recently i've really gotten into reading blogs, so i thought why not start one for myself so that i can share design tips and tid-bits and also so i can talk about this new journey that i'm embarking on. i'm toying with opening my own company again and expanding to the huntsville area. huntsville is where my mom lives, and it would be very easy for me to pick up clients there. it's only 3 hours and 15 minutes away from atlanta. huntsville hasn't been hit as hard as atlanta has by the recession and i really love the city. it reminds me a lot of johnson city, tn, which is where i went to college. i know this is probably not the best time to try to start a new company but i feel like i have so much to offer to clients. i had transitioned into hospitality design from residential design a little over a year and a half ago when i started working for lodgian. although i love hospitality design, i've really missed the limitless creativity that comes with residential design. here are some of the residentail projects i've worked on in the past.

Roses and Huckleberries

What could be more lovely than roses and huckleberries? These huckleberries are wild, handpicked on the lower slopes of beautiful Mt. Adams. I got them at our local health food store.

The only thing sweeter than wild huckleberries are wild huckleberries that you've picked yourself. We haven't picked huckleberries for a few summers now but it's so much fun to go off on a hike through the woods with a pail in hand.

I've washed them and have them sitting out on the kitchen counter to nibble on. They're so good for you, just as powerful as the blueberry with its rich antioxidants. It is my goal this summer to enjoy each fruit and vegetable that comes into season. It's something I crave all winter long and so I want to be sure to embrace it while it lasts.

Aren't they beautiful?

The House is Still

The house is still. It's another warm morning to what is supposed to be another hot summer day.

Windows are closed. Dog is quiet. Fans are blowing. It kind of feels like nap time.

Outside I have some sprinklers going. Watching the circular flight of water seems to cool me. Yesterday evening, still waiting for the heat to subside, I suggested to hubby that we spray each other down with the garden hose.

We turned the hose on Lucy instead. She was much obliged.

Lovely Things

Look for a lovely thing
and you will find it. Sara Teasdale

I love landscape oil paintings. It's what I'm always looking for when wandering through antique stores. I actually majored in Music and Art in college. I never did become an artist or a musician though. Instead, I began a career path in historic and environmental preservation, which to me is kind of the same thing. Like the arts, it's a passion for beauty in its most soulful, natural and creative forms.

I found this landscape painting a few weeks ago. It was exactly what I was looking for. Something lovely. I love those pink blue skies.

My little painting cost only $20. It comes without a frame and there are a few scratches here and there. But for me, the heart of whomever created this painting is very much still in tact. And that's what makes it so lovely.

The Picket Fence

We are hoping to finish our picket fence this weekend. Building this picket fence has been more time consuming than we realized - like everything else. This is hubby cutting some spacers so that the pickets line up evenly.



Hubby is building us a beautiful fence ; ) Hopefully we'll have pictures by the end of the weekend!

My Blooming Orchid

One of my orchids is reblooming and it makes me very happy. After months of tender loving care, it is so rewarding to see one burst into blossoms. This happy occasion is in part thanks to the 'Orchid Lady' in town. She holds orchid workshops at our local nursery throughout the year.

I attended one of her workshops this past spring and learned a lot of the usual things such as the right light, frequent watering and the importance of fertilizer. But by far the best advice the Orchid Lady gave me was to talk to my orchids. She said that orchids are women and like all women, they thrive on conversation.

As you can imagine I was thrilled with this assignment as I was already in full blown conversation with dogs, horses, alpacas, birds and all non-biting insects. This would be for sure the easiest part of caring for my orchids.

And so began the conversations with our orchids. Our dog Lucy is no longer startled by salutations not directed towards her, nor is hubby the least bit surprised that I have yet to run out of anything to say. And so our orchids continue to blossom...