January Cure Re-cap, Week 2

As you may know, I’m participating in Apartment Therapy’s January Cure (#januarycure) to join a community of folks whipping their homes into shape throughout the first month of the new year. By signing up, I gain valuable tips for seeing my space in a new way, as well as assignments to complete each day that keep me focused on making progress. (Read the Week 1 re-cap here).

This was a rather introspective week, and I felt like I was visualizing more than actually doing, but as an accompaniment to my daily chores, these were certainly useful exercises.

Assignment 4: See a room from a new perspective

In this assignment, I was to sit in a place that I don’t normally sit and view a room from a new angle. While meditating thus, I took in what I could see around me and visualized what I wanted the space to look like. I sat in the office chair at Alex’s desk (which, admittedly, I sit in a lot), but instead of facing the computer monitor, I turned around to look at the office loft space. Yegads! Where did this mess come from? I want this space to look…not like this! I lasted five minutes before I realized that I already knew what needed to be done to get this space functional, much less decorated. So, before becoming too overwhelmed, I migrated outside to hang out with the dogs, and spent the balance of my 10-minute visualization time imagining the garden spaces for this year. That counts, right? To my credit, later that day I cleared off the desk and cleaned up all those boxes and miscellaneous debris you see on the floor; what a relief to see the carpet now!

Assignment 5: Select a project from Assignment 1’s list

Commitment time! I returned to the list I made at the beginning of this challenge–one that I would work on completing throughout this month. I chose to work on the dog’s area of the living room. Having two crates takes up a lot of room in a small house (thank goodness they’re not extra-large dogs!), and because the only viable space to put them is where they are now, when you walk in the front door of our house, their area is in your direct line of sight. Maybe that’s not so bad because your attention will be on greeting the black, fuzzy, over-eager, friendly creatures who are now vying for your coos of affection and evaluating you on your willingness to play/give belly rubs…right?

As the photo attempts to show, what you generally see when you walk in the front door is a fuzzy blue blanket (that clashes with the paint color) covered with leaves and dirt with Alex’s and my outside shoes strewn on top, and baskets which, despite their intended function, are overflowing with leashes, collars, and towels. Not to mention, our living room only has one artificial light source, so at night, that corner is particularly dark. With some input from my mom, we’re not sure that adding lighting to an area we don’t really want to draw attention to is the best answer… but that’s what I’m working with. I’ll be making small steps on this project throughout the month. Wish me luck!

Assignment 6: Choose a piece of artwork and frame it

See those two empty culprits in the upper right? How could you be so “artless?”

In this assignment, it’s assumed that many folks have art they’ve been meaning to frame strewn about the house. For me, it’s the opposite. I have several empty frames that are waiting to be filled with artwork. Five, to be exact. My goal is to fill the two empty, hand-painted frames on this gallery wall in our kitchen/dining area. I have until the 29th to select my art…

Assignment 7: Plan the after-party

To keep motivated in this challenge, the final “product” is a get-together of my choosing to revel in all the home accomplishments. I like this idea! What better way to celebrate changes made to improve a home than to invite people over to share it with you? It’s like a combination housewarming/vow renewal party! Unfortunately I haven’t decided on the format yet. It seemed natural to me to cook dinner and invite close friends over, but since that’s what I do quite often, I thought maybe I should mix it up a little. I’m tentatively leaning towards a “punch and Pinterest” party. Inviting a couple of girlfriends for some punch and afternoon snacks while we create something from a Pinterest tutorial for each guest to take home. Apartment Therapy encourages me to host the party at the beginning of February, shortly after my month of organizational triumph, but because of my work schedule, it will probably be more like the middle of February, so I figure I have a few days yet to mail invitations. I’ll keep you posted on the final plan and the invites which I’m hoping to make this weekend…

Assignment 8: Fresh flowers, clean the kitchen, cook a meal

Amazingly, my fresh flowers from last week are still going strong (another advantage of baby’s breath). I made sure to give them fresh water and rinse any crud off the stems every two days. But since I have to go to the store anyway, I’ll pick up a small bouquet and move the baby’s breath elsewhere to enjoy something new and fresh.

Our kitchen, for the most part, stays pretty clean, so I am going to concentrate my energies on decluttering the counter (again), cleaning out the fridge, and re-organizing one or two of the cabinets (pictured above, which, incidentally, is also on my project list from day 1). As for the meal, I definitely need something simple since I will be working this weekend, but I’m destined to find something delicious in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook that my brother gave me for Christmas (thanks, bro!). Tomato-glazed meatloaf with brown butter mashed potatoes just might do the trick…

It looks like I’ll have a few projects to follow-up with you all on next week! Have you joined the January Cure yet? How’s it going? Got any suggestions for the ideas I have on my plate here? Do tell!

The Green Cleaning Compendium

With all this talk about keeping a tidy house, it’s only fitting that I take a few moments to share with you the stuff I use to get the job done. Thanks to a few readers’ requests and encouragements, I present to you my green cleaning compendium in 3 segments: 1) why I switched from conventional products to “green” alternatives, 2) the “recipes” I use and how to use them, and 3) tips for getting started if you want to make the switch. Scroll to the section(s) that most interest(s) you, or read through the whole thing, but, you know, grab your popcorn.

From left to right: white vinegar, Dr. Bronner’s, baking soda, the magic shower sponge, and Dawn dish soap. As I like to later in this post, the EWG grades Dawn a D/F. Before you jump down our throats, when our wholesale club bottle is gone, we’re planning to switch to using Dr. Bronner’s in every case where you currently see that we use Dawn (see carpet stains, clothing stains, and tub).

Why I switched:

About the time that I read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and became more cognizant of what I was putting in my body, I took a sudden interest in the “stuff” that was around my body–on surfaces and in the air, and in particular, the stuff under the bathroom sink that made me gag when I cleaned with it, or that was covered in warnings about toxicity and eye washing stations. I knew there had to be a better way.

In college I took a part-time job at a locally-owned shop whose specialty was eco-friendly home, baby, and garden products. VOCs, sulfates, parabens, the meanings behind the numbers on plastic containers, and indoor air quality became part of my daily vocabulary. I asked the owner a lot of questions, hosted informational seminars, and did a lot of research on my own. I used my employee discount to try the products – especially the cleaning ones.

Then I went through a paranoid phase where I was convinced that even these eco-friendly cleaners existed to make money. They were trying to sell me something to make me feel good about myself for getting away from the very materialistic/conventional lifestyle I was trying to circumvent! Down with the man! Just kidding. Anyway, I began to embrace the DIY bug, and explored ways to make my own cleaners so that I wasn’t “paying” so much for the marketing and packaging that went into wrapping up my earth friendly substances. I felt annoyed that despite the claims of eco-friendliness on the bottle (and indeed, the ingredients were much safer than conventional chemicals), the fact remained that at some point in its lifetime, that very bottle was transported (likely by a truck (burning gasoline) (which comes from oil) across the country to get to me. Say whaa?

So I did what any savvy child of the tech generation would do: I googled DIY cleaning products. And do you know what came up time after time? Vinegar (a mild acid, read: disinfectant). Baking soda (absorbs odors and the most gentle abrasive there is). Lemon juice (another mild acid and bearer of lemony freshness scent).

Ah ha! I thought. We can eat this stuff. And it cleans! These were the kind of safe, healthy, more-with-less cleaning products I was looking for. The kind of stuff that grandma would have cleaned with. I have enough things that I want to accomplish in my day that standing wide-eyed in a grocery store aisle choosing among hundreds of types of cleaners (that vary more in the color/size/shape of the bottles than they do in actual ingredients) should not be a decision I have to make! Let’s keep it simple here!

I also stumbled across a book, Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen (authors of the Root Simple blog), and I must give them credit for their sagacious recommendations from which I have adapted many of my cleaning techniques.

And though my short-lived hippie days are largely over, I have found peace in cleaning our home safely and effectively without harsh chemicals. Read on to find out how…

The “recipes,” from A-Z (or T, since I didn’t have anything that started with Z)

Air freshener – Scoop some baking soda into a small container. Add 40-80 drops of your favorite essential oil. (Stronger scented oils can get by with as little as 10-20 drops). Secure some woven fabric over the container opening and place in a central location. This should last you about a month; give it a good shake every week or so. As the scent fades, save the baking soda for cleaning. A 4-oz. jelly jar works great for homemade air freshener. Secure the fabric using the band for the jar.

All-purpose cleaner (AKA 50/50 spray)- Do NOT use on granite or marble countertops. Fill a clean spray bottle half way with white vinegar. Fill the remainder with water. Give it a shake and spray where you need it, wiping clean with a rag. (Great for counters except marble or granite, sinks, stovetops, toilets, mirrors and windows, general spills). The vinegar smell will go away as the cleaner dries, but if you prefer scented cleaning products, here are three options: 1) after you peel an orange (or lemon or lime), stuff the peels into a jar. Add white vinegar, and let steep for at least a week, giving it a good shake each time you walk by. Use this citrus vinegar to make your spray. 2) Steep some fresh herbs in your vinegar in a similar manner. Try especially parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (you know, like the song). If you care about looks, you can even leave the herbs in the spray bottle once you make the solution. 3) Don’t have fresh herbs? Use a few drops of your favorite essential oils. FYI, tea tree and rosemary have antiseptic properties. Again, NOT for use on granite or marble.

Carpet stains – Admittedly, I’ve never cleaned a carpet stain the same way twice. Partly it depends on the type and severity of the stain. Partly it’s because I forget how I did it last time. If the stain is relatively fresh, clean it up with some vinegar. If it’s been in the carpet for a little while, try sprinkling generously with baking soda and scrubbing vigorously with a damp washcloth. If it’s really bad, follow the baking soda scrub with a paste made with baking soda, dish soap, and hydrogen peroxide. Pour onto the stain and scrub vigorously in all directions. Let dry, and vacuum up any residue. And if the stain is from your dog during potty-training or indoor territory-marking, douse generously with rubbing alcohol to prevent them from marking again.

Clothing stains – I use a mixture of 1 cup dish soap to 2 cups hydrogen peroxide. This is the perfect amount to pour back into those big brown hydrogen peroxide bottles (since hydrogen peroxide apparently doesn’t like exposure to light). Switch out the cap for a spray nozzle, and you’re set. Shake gently and spray directly on clothing/fabric stains before washing. Alex and I have a “dog blanket” on top of our duvet to protect it from muddy paws and use this stain remover to help lift out all the dirt; the blanket comes out clean every time.

Dishes – I have experimented with several eco-friendly dish soap options over the years. Even though lathering bubbles is not essential to clean dishes, I found that I liked having some bubbles so that I could tell when soap had disappeared from my sponge. That led me away from Earth Friendly Products’ Dish Soap (though it looks like they have some newer products now). Biokleen Dish Liquid was good and lasted a long time. I’ve also used Mrs. Meyer’s but found the bottle to be a little small for the price. These days I’ve been using Seventh Generation in Citrus Ginger scent, which I love. (But if you check the EWG report, even this eco-company’s product doesn’t score so hot. I’ll check in when we finish this bottle to let you know what we switch to).

Dishwasher – Okay, you caught me. Sorry to disappoint you here: I use Cascade detergent. The one in the 12-pound green box from the wholesale club. We run the dishwasher 1-2 times per week. The eco-friendly options only come in the small box around here, and I was getting new boxes faster than we ever finished Netflix-by-mail movies. So, I caved. This recipe for homemade detergent, however, looks promising, and I plan to give it a try once our box is empty.

Drain clogs – First, an anecdote. In another life, I was a swimmer. And when I was in high school, and still working on upping my “cool factor,” I wanted it to be my “trademark” to leave an appalling clump of my dark, long, curly hair on the walls of the shower where we vainly attempted to rid ourselves of the stink of chlorine. (In my defense, I only participated in this ritual in the facility that I hated – the one with the pool that was way too hot and whose poor ventilation meant you were sweating and crying as soon as you set foot in the building, the one with carpeting – CARPETING in the locker rooms which is just a terrible idea for a swim team). Suffice it to say, I sympathize with all you ladies with long, flowing locks. I know that you clean your hair out of the shower daily and still it seems to clog. Drain cleaner is probably the one conventional chemical cleaner that made me most uncomfortable, even in my pre-hippie days. Blame it on a cartoon on a Sesame Street episode about how much water is used when brushing your teeth – it had this poor fish whose pond was literally drying up while this kid left the water running brushing his teeth. (In fact, it was this one here!) All I saw when I poured Drain-clog-be-gone brand cleaner down the pipes was some poor fish choking to death. This is, of course, environmentalist propaganda not quite realistic, but the effect it had on me led to the quest for alternatives. I tried earth-friendly enzyme-based cleaners whose microbial organisms promised to eat away at the things that were clogging the drain – friendly decomposers, if you will. They did work, to some effect. But the fact of the matter is, I knew what was blocking the pipes, and I knew it wasn’t way down deep in the plumbing system. It was my hair. So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the most eco-friendly drain cleaner I know:

This is a wire hanger that I have disassembled such that it becomes one long piece of wire with a craggly hook at one end. I remove the drain cover in the bathtub (or sink, as sometimes hair mysteriously gathers there too) and gently poke the hanger into the drain to pull up clumps of hair in various states of moist decomposition. Okay I’ll leave the graphic details out of it, but if it does make you squeamish (and I won’t judge you if it does), you might want to wear gloves as you throw the hair clumps into the trashcan. With two people in our household, and my long, thick hair, I usually do this 2-3 times a year – whenever I notice that the drain isn’t draining smoothly. Now, I’m not a plumber, so I can’t tell you exactly what should or shouldn’t be down there, and (especially in older houses) you may have an actual plumbing predicament. So, prod gently with thy coat hanger, and if the problem persists, you might want to call in a professional. But remember Frank the Fish.

Dusting – Water. That’s all I use. Just a little bit. Just to be fancy, I add a couple drops of essential oil to enhance the dusting experience, but other than that, it’s just water. I squirt just enough onto a soft cloth to dampen it slightly, and then go to town. I do use a wool duster for things like fan blades, lampshades, blinds, and other nooks and crannies, but in general, that damp soft cloth will eat dust with the best of ’em.

Laundry – I started making my own laundry soap about a year ago. There are several variations of this that are popular on the internet, but my formula is 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, 1 bar shredded castille soap (we like Dr. Bronner’s in lavender or eucalyptus). Mix it all up, and add 1-2 tablespoons per load. Doesn’t seem like much, but it works. (And, FYI, our house is not yet equipped with an HE washer and this is still all I need). I almost always use cold water to wash, but I will let the warm water run just when I add the soap so that it will get all dissolved quickly. For synthetics, I do use a conventionally made eco-soap. I have found that manmade fabrics do better with manmade cleaners, but maybe that’s just me.

(Not pictured: bar of Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap)

Kitchen sink – I don’t know about you, but I found it unsettling to use the dish sponge to clean the kitchen sink. I mean, I see all the stuff that washes off my dirty dishes that inevitably leaves residues in the sink, and now I’m going to scrub them all into the sponge and wipe them around the surface of the sink? There might not be anything wrong with that, but I wanted a cleaning tactic with a bit more…heft to it. When the sink is wet, sprinkle it all over with baking soda – don’t be shy. Use a rag to scrub the baking soda all around, you’ll see some of those weird residues starting to come off. Rinse clean with warm water. Need to bleach it clean? Take a cut, used lemon and rub it all over the sink. Leave to sit for at least 30 minutes, then rinse clean with warm water. Toss the used lemon half into the garbage disposal, run it, and ahhh, lemony goodness. Plus a clean sink to boot!

Mopping – Our mop was decapitated in an unfortunate and accidental fit of rage a couple weeks ago, so it looks a little funny now and was camera shy. But this is the mop we use. It comes with a microfiber dusting cloth attachment, and a terrycloth wet mop attachment, both of which are machine washable. With the wet mop, we use a pre-mixed hardwood cleaning spray, which we spray directly onto the hardwood and scrub vigorously using the mop head. In the bathroom (which is tile), I use Biokleen’s Bac-Out Bathroom Cleaner, employing the same technique. I haven’t run out of either cleaning product yet, so I haven’t yet had the opportunity to experiment with homemade cleaners, though there are dozens of DIY alternatives out there.

Stovetop – I reviewed my stovetop cleaning technique in this post, but again, you’ll need baking soda and liquid castille soap. Sprinkle some of both directly on the surface, rub together to make a paste and scrub-a-dub. Rinse clean with a soft cloth and warm water.

Toilet bowl – Straight up white vinegar (not the diluted 50/50 spray). Pour into the bowl and scrub the edges and the bowl with a sturdy toilet brush. Take that, Mr. Clean!

Tub (abridged) – The best thing since sliced bread: cleaning the tub/shower while you’re already in it! Get one of those dishwashing sponges with the fillable tube handle. Fill it half way with white vinegar, half way with dish soap. Give the walls and floor (and the shower head, once in a while) a good wash down (and rinse any hair off the sponge when you’re done). Rinse the walls with a wet rag, or throw water on it, or don’t (the vinegar dilutes the soap so you shouldn’t get any weird streaks).

Tub (unabridged) – If you can’t remember the last time you cleaned your tub, you can’t cut straight to the abridged version. You’ve gotta get your deep-clean on. But just this one time, and then you’ll have smooth sailing, mmkay? Here’s what you do. 1) Wipe any hair out of the tub with a tissue or paper towel and discard. 2) Turn on the water and get the floor and walls wet. 3) Pour white vinegar into the tub and use your rag to wipe all the walls and floor. 4) Sprinkle baking soda generously over tub. Use a rag to scrub the baking soda into those weird stains, rings, molds, or whatever else you have in your tub. Your rag shouldn’t “stick” when you scrub it. If it does, keep scrubbing. 5) When you’re done, rinse down with warm water and breathe a sigh of relief. Bleach with a lemon half, if desired (see directions for kitchen sink, above). and 6) If your shower head has weird pink or green or white stuff around the holes where the water comes out, pour some white vinegar into a ziploc bag and use ribbon or string or anything to tie it around the shower head such that the discolored part is in direct contact with the vinegar. Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes.

Tips for switching over:

Now, unless you’re suddenly super freaked out and want to switch immediately, I suggest a gradual transition. After all, it won’t do much good to simply pour those conventional cleaners down the sink. So my first tip if you’d like to make the switch is to use up what you have first. As you do, then you can start making the replacements. If you aren’t sure where to start, make the 50/50 spray and add to your repertoire from there.

Second, when it comes to window/glass/mirror cleaning, the 50/50 spray will seem streaky at first, especially if 1) you have conventional cleaner residue on the surface or 2) you use fabric softener and your rag happens to have fabric softener residues on it.

Third, and this might be a matter of personal preference, but when you buy a spray bottle for your homemade cleaners, your life will be much easier if you make sure that the spray nozzle can “mist,” and not just spray in a piercing stream.

Save rags! If you have an old t-shirt that you don’t wear anymore, cut it up into washcloth-sized rags. If your washcloths are a bit ratty for the bathroom, retire them to the cleaning basket.

Re-purpose interesting containers to aid your cleaning endeavors. For example, I keep some vinegar in a plastic condiment squeeze bottle for easy, direct squirting into the toilet bowl or for targeting carpet stains. I keep one of those stainless steel cinnamon or cocoa or powdered sugar shakers filled with baking soda by the sink for easy access.

Finally, educate yourself about whether conventional cleaners are good enough to earn a place in your household. The Environmental Working Group has a very comprehensive list ranking cleaning products that can help you make smarter purchasing decisions if DIY cleaners aren’t in the cards for you. (Or read their list of the worst offenders here). Thanks to the miracle that is marketing, just because something calls itself “green,” doesn’t mean it is. But I also don’t think it’s healthy to drive yourself insane memorizing the list of chemicals the EWG condemns – let the experts do their jobs and use it to inform your decisions, not to control your life.

So there you have it. It is not my intention here to decry one method of cleaning over another. There are enough of an awful lot of products out there with incredible advertising budgets to confuse you about what is “right,” as it is. But if you dream of a home where you don’t have to be afraid that Fido or Junior will get into whatever is under the kitchen sink, and where cleaning day shouldn’t make the air quality in your home worse, or where you don’t have to think twice about whether you need to have an eyewash station installed, then maybe getting back to the basics and exploring simple, homemade cleaning solutions is worth the effort. It doesn’t hurt to give it a shot, right? At the very least, you’ll have an extra clean home. And if you are going to give it a try, I hope you find this a useful place to start.

What have I missed? What questions do you have? What green cleaning strategies will you adopt? Do tell.

And check out other useful homekeeping tips from this mini-series:

– Daily chores
– Food routines
– Once-monthly deep cleaning routines
– Apartment Therapy’s January Cure re-cap (Week 1, Week 2)

What to do with your OLD Christmas Cards (another Dream Green DIY collaboration!)

Well, we did it again. Carrie, from Dream Green DIY, and I got together for another collaborative project (read about our first one here)! This time, after I oggled over seeing Carrie’s beautiful home in person rather than just through the interwebs, and after she and her husband made delicious turkey paninis for our lunch, the mission was a holiday craft.

It all started back when Carrie wrote this post about making a bunting flag for her DIY wedding. I commented that her tutorial would be great to make with old Christmas cards. See?

The more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the idea. I always wondered what to do with Christmas cards once the holidays were over and it came time to take down all the decorations. I felt weird throwing them away recycling them, with the hand-written notes and carefully selected holiday designs, especially the photo ones. I visualized photos of our friends and family floating around in a landfill and some random stranger stumbling upon it 50 years from now like “who is this??” and the emotion-laden guilt that plagued me at the thought of that happening has found me with bags and bags of old Christmas cards stashed in places I can’t even remember but stumble upon at the most inopportune moment. Does that happen to you?

Anyway. Problem solved. I give you your newest holiday tradition.

How cute is that?!? Paper bunting flags made with old Christmas cards! If each year after the holidays you take the time (seriously, like, 15 minutes tops cuz that’s how long it took us) to make a banner, you’ll have a collection of card mementoes to put to use as decorations for next year. Over time, you’ll have festive banners all over the house. I’ll definitely be continuing this craft well into the foreseeable future. I can already hear my future self pulling things out of the decorations closet…”And here’s our 2011 banner…oh look at how little our second cousin was!…” etc.

Assembling it was easy enough: cut a template of the shape you want to use. Triangles are good. Position your template on each Christmas card so that you capture the essence of the card. Hot glue to a long length of butcher twine, about 1 inch apart. Leave some extra string on the ends so you can tie off as needed. (Click here for a more detailed tutorial).

We even did you the favor of hanging our creations in several places around Carrie’s house so you could get some ideas for where to hang yours! How about across a window treatment? Around an entryway table? On the tree? Or to jazz up a spacious wall?

I can’t help but smile when I see that one in the middle. That could be because Carrie’s husband, John, pointed out he felt like the wall was smiling a big toothy grin at him…betcha can’t not see it now, huh?

There’s just something about bunting flags that says “party!” to me. But if that’s too cutesey for you, or you don’t have the space for a bunting banner, but you still want to do something with your old cards, here are some more things we thought of:

– Take a picture of your photo cards using your phone and set it as the contact photo for the sender in your phone. I do this with my inlaws’ cards and update them each year. Every time they call on the phone, I see their Christmas card photo.

– Grab a few of those mini photo frame ornaments from your local craft store, cut your Christmas cards to fit, and hang your relatives on your tree.

– Or, if you don’t want to buy ornament frames, use the rings from canning jars to frame your cards and photos to hang on your tree, wreath, or elsewhere throughout your home.

Are we on a roll yet? (P.S. Hop over to Carrie’s blog here to read three more ideas and her rendition of the afternoon’s events!) Here’s where I hung my banner chez moi:

And when the holidays are over, we’ll just fold up the cards nicely and store until next year!

Thanks, Carrie, for another great home decorating success!

I hope you find inspiration from our project. Save a tree and cherish your Christmas greetings from year to year! Where will you hang your Christmas card bunting flags? What other great ideas do you have for repurposing old holiday cards? Do tell (and remember to check out Carrie’s post on the same topic here).

How Julia Child Ended Up in My Kitchen

Back when we installed the open shelving in our kitchen, I had an idea to pay tribute to Julia Child by including some artwork, or a photograph, or even a quote by that most beloved, gravelly-voiced American cook. I searched Etsy, allposters.com, and more looking for the perfect piece, but nothing really caught my eye. A shelf re-styling came and went, and still there was no Julia in my kitchen.

Recently, I’ve been working on a little gallery wall of sorts to bring visual interest to the otherwise blank wall above our chest freezer and in between our fridge and china cabinet. It all started when I bought this cow, my first piece of “real” art purchased for this house.

See how happy she looks? That’s because we still haven’t broken the news that she stands guard over our freezer full of…beef…Ironic, I know.

Today, Mrs. Cow is not so lonely, thanks to a bit of crafty ingenuity:

Clockwise from top left: cow painting from Etsy seller RozArt; handpainted frames and antique grater; menu chalkboard; handpainted frame with American Letterpress carrots; new Julia Child art!; handpainted frame with a photo of us eating at our wedding reception; menu from our anniversary dinner at The Catbird Seat

Though that canvas at the bottom right stood empty for a couple weeks, you can now see that I decided to paint a subtle silhouette of Julia Child. Finally, she has found a presence in my kitchen and I feel that my humble tribute has been made. Let me tell you how I, a self-proclaimed not-very-g0od-freehand-artist, made this art.

First, I hopped onto google and found a few “action” images of Madame Child that I liked. I even traced them on plain white paper to see which shape I liked best, since I knew I wouldn’t be relying on Julia’s facial expression in my finished piece.

This one was a bit violent in silhouette form:

This one seemed a bit too tame:

With this one I tried to add in the outline of her contagious smile, but it came out on par with a Halloween mask.

photo credit Paul Child

But this one was juuust right:

This one conveys domesticity and poise but also strength and power. I printed it out as big as I could on my computer paper, cut it out, and traced it onto my canvas.

I wanted to do a two-tone canvas so I also drew a horizon style line to give the image some dimension. Then I painted the background as close as I dared get to my outline with the clumsy foam brush, then switched to a finer paintbrush to cover up my pencil lines and fill in the details. To give more suggestions as to who this actually is, I freehanded her apron, towel, shirt collar and pearls, hairline, earrings, and “L’ecole des 3 gourmandes” button. I left the face blank though, to suggest the ways that Julia’s spirit and attitude towards food may speak to any of us – that anybody could look at the painting and capture that same joie de vivre.

So, here’s the gallery wall in its current state. I’m waiting on a couple more photographs for those top right frames. I might even outline Madame Child in a darker color so it’s a bit more clear from far away who she is. But overall I’m pleased with the way this freezer-to-ceiling display helps to fill an otherwise empty wall and create a more distinct divide – a transition area, shall we say – between the kitchen and the dining room. When you have an open floorplan (and a not huge space to begin with), you’ve gotta take advantage of things like wall space.

What do you think? Have you tried any silhouette art – your kids or pets, perhaps? Do tell.

P.S. Like the hand-painted frames you saw here? I’ll be selling frames like this on my Etsy shop very soon so you can grab some wall swagger for yourself or a friend.

Thanksgiving Re-cap + Holiday Preview

 

 

Some instagram shots of our Thanksgiving with friends (follow me on Instagram @jessalynf):
– the menu
– the appetizers are about as “traditional” as we went this year. Turkey meatloaf, cranberry shortbread, and sugar&spice pecans made the perfect accompaniment to our champagne toasts.
– serve-yourself buffet-style platters
– the centerpiece is 3 mini parfait glasses (the middle one is upside down with cranberries inside). I wanted something simple but still fall-themed, and low enough to be able to talk over.
– here’s my plate!
– but where’s dessert? yeah we ate that up before I took a picture.

Are you rushing around today in the post-Thanksgiving madness? Since the holiday came earlier than usual this year, you’ve got a few extra shopping days before the winter holidays, I suppose. But while you’re resting in between sales, or if you find yourself yearning to give something homemade and handcrafted this year, I humbly encourage you to swing by my Etsy shop, Highlands Homestead.

Photo courtesy of Jenni Gabriela (www.jennigabriela.com)

There, during my unofficial grand re-opening, you’ll find nourishing lip balms, shampoo soaps, and jam – all homemade, and all of which make great stocking stuffers! And, for the next two weeks, from now until December 7, as a thank you for reading my blog, use coupon code YUMJOY2012 at checkout for free shipping on your order (at this time I am only processing U.S. orders). Joy to the world and fa-la-la-la-la! Order now for the best selection and to take advantage of free shipping.

Thanks for your support! And happy holidays!

Easy Fall Decor

There, see? I’ve got mums and a pumpkin. I’ve now joined dozens of other families in my neighborhood who welcome fall with these classic and seasonal symbols of suburban homekeeping. Maybe by next week I’ll get around to giving those azalea bushes a haircut so you can actually see the front door…

Here are a couple ways that I have brought some of the sentiments of the season indoors:

 

Clockwise, from top left:

• I made a hand-stamped burlap table runner (using a cut apple painted with acrylic paint, the leaf is a rubber stamp, but you could use real leaves for a more authentic flair; more inspiration here) that adds a bit of bungalow style to our dinner table, while the candlestick trio adds a touch of macabre. I paid $1.79 for the burlap and used craft supplies from around the house for the rest. The candelabra is from TJMaxx a couple years ago.
• I replaced the usually vintage white candestick holders on the piano with dark wood to help the owl candle feel a bit spookier. I’m pretty sure I picked these up at TJMaxx a couple years ago. The owl candle was a gift, and permanently resides atop the piano, but he seems a little more somber with the dark wood candlesticks in the background, don’t you agree?
• On the fireplace mantle, bright orange owl candlestick holders sport contrasting purple candles and are flanked by amber-colored reflective drinking glasses. Also found all of this at TJMaxx several years ago. I have considered spray painting those candlesticks a glossy white, but for now I like the contrast between the orange and purple. Apparently purple has become a mainstream Halloween color?
• The other side of the fireplace mantle finds brown kraft paper with a hand drawn bat illustration and a hand lettered, seasonally appropriate exclamation, framed. I thought I was rather clever with this one. You see, those frames had been sitting on our mantle waiting for me to fill with photos – a task which I find laborious and therefore procrastinate on. Finally fed up with myself for neglecting them, I cut some kraft paper down to size (you could use paper bags), did some quick doodling (I’m no artist, trust me – that bat looked like some sort of submarine umbrella on my first try), and voila – instant decor. I may never put actual photos in those frames, in favor of swapping out the kraft paper with different designs or sentiments as the seasons change!

So there you have it. A few simple ways that I have brought the fall festivities indoors. How do you like to decorate for fall? Do you rely on DIY-ing your decor, or do you prefer to build your collection at all the post-season sales? Do tell.

In Which I Best the Pelmet Box

Last week I finally managed to make a window treatment for my only kitchen window. I’d been thinking about it for at least 3 months. My mom even came up to help me pick out the fabric. But don’t worry. This is a no-sew dealio. I can’t sew. Well, okay, that’s primarily because I don’t own a sewing machine. But let’s just say I was relieved to be the lone pupil in the Sewing 101 class I recently took at my neighborhood Jo-Ann Fabrics.

I was inspired by this post on Young House Love, which led me to this post at Little Green Notebook which, according to the blogosphere, is the mother of all “cheater” pelmet boxes. I studied the plans over and over, trying to work up the confidence to wrap foam core board in some amount of batting and fabric and, more importantly, affix it to the wall above my window without it looking  too…you know…homemade.

Our window has been a bit underdressed for some time. Like this:

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Not bad. Especially considering we started out with this:

Yikes! But now, we have this

Voila!

Now look. I’m not going to detail every process of making the curtain. There are plenty other tutorials out there that you might consult. But here’s a snapshot:

I did want to zoom in on one particular feature that the tutorial I was using did not seem to focus on: the hanging. I puzzled over the hanging of my finished piece for about a week. Finally, I located some fitty-eight cent L brackets at Home Depot. They were in the lumber section? Like for decking, maybe?

I measured and carefully screwed the brackets into the wall, such that one side of the bracket was flush with the wall, the other was perpendicular to it, thus providing a surface for the inside edges of the pelmet to connect with. Do you see?

And then I tried nearly every combination under the sun to get the darn thing to stay up.

Initially I was going to try screws, but then I remembered that I had used the fabric to cover every last inch of the foam board, so it probably would prove pretty difficult to connect. Even if I had remembered to leave some foam board exposed, there was still the problem of being able to reach up under the board to screw into the L bracket and still have room in the 2.25″ from the board to the wall to maneuver the screwdriver.

THEN I tried epoxy. Have you ever tried to glue something metal to something fabric using epoxy? I’ll save you the trouble. It doesn’t work too well.

THEN I tried to duct tape the darn thing to the brackets. (Don’t worry, Mom, the duct tape was on the inside). Even with Alex’s impromptu duct tape anchor idea, still no luck.

(By this point I was getting pretty frustrated and cursing the day I ever thought it would be a good idea to make this silly thing).

Finally, I went to sleep, thinking a good idea would come to me by morning. It hadn’t–I must not be getting good enough sleep these days–but Alex came home with a fresh bottle of superglue for me. With renewed effort, I placed a small piece of duct tape on the inside edge of the two outside pieces of the fabric – right in line with where it would be touching the L bracket. I still had duct tape on the brackets themselves from where I had tried idea #3. I held my breath – oh, wait, was it the epoxy that stank? – and put a line of superglue on the duct tape that was on the bracket. Then I pressed the duct tape on the inside of the fabric to the duct tape on the bracket. I even used some simple clamps to hold everything together overnight.

In the morning, I winced as I removed the clamps, but the glue held! Hallelujah!

Maybe some reader out there has a better idea than I, but in case you were wondering how to hang your handmade pelmet box, I hope my strategy gives you some tips. Or some non-tips, too.

I love that the fabric picks up some of the other colors in our kitchen, but without being too overpowering. I know big, bold patterns are pretty in right now, but I didn’t want to weigh down the kitchen any more than necessary. Just wanted my window to wear something simple–an easygoing shrift dress, if you will. Not a hair-teased, off-the-shoulder, oversized sweatshirt with stirrup leggings look, if you know what I mean. (And no, that wasn’t meant to be a jab at the 80s…)

What do you think? Have you ever tried to make a pelmet box? Did I miss an obvious pelmet-hanging trick? Do tell.