Things I am Selling at The Third Monday Trade Days in March

Posted by on Mar 13, 2013 in Blog, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Here are a couple of items I will have in my booth this month at the Third Monday Trade Days in McKinney, TX. I’ve been busy curb-shopping, upcycling, cutting, sanding, painting and creating. I hope I can make it all fit into my booth! This month, I have: coffee tables, kitchen & dining tables, school chair, newly upholstered chairs, pillows, frames, framed potato sacks, pallet...
read more

Diy – How to Give Yourself a Haircut

Posted by on Feb 7, 2013 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Is it a good idea to cut your hair yourself? Absolutely yes! Who needs a hairdresser when you have scissors, a mirror and a sink? It’s not the first time I have given myself a haircut and it’s never been so bad that I needed a big hat or decided to shave the remaining hair. So maybe you can learn something here. Step one: Wash your hair Step two: brush your hair and get sharp...
read more

Taking Down our Christmas Decoration

Posted by on Jan 10, 2013 in Green Stuff, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments So sad, another christmas is over! Yesterday, I took everything down and stored it in our attic for our next christmas which will be in Portland!! Leaving Texas in October for good, woohoo. So I had to think what should go into the boxes and what I can donate or put on the curb. I decided that all the reds needed to go. When I was little, bright red was my favorite color (my first bike was dark...
read more

Christmas Star Ornaments from Scrap Fabric

Posted by on Dec 13, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Two months in Germany, taking care of my Dad who was in hospital with brain surgery! Between hospital visits, I helped my Mom getting work done in their house and she asked me if she should get rid of their sofa but I suggested that I could re-upholster it for them, so we went to look for fabric… Which was a trip itself already. We went to IKEA on a rainy Saturday morning when fall break...
read more

How to Make Your Own Deodorant (From “The Bust DIY Guide to Life”)

Posted by on Sep 25, 2012 in Blog, Green Stuff | 2 comments After a one week vacation (we went to visit Portland!!), back and ready to roll my business again!! We went back to check out the area closely and to find the right neighborhood, in case you wondered, yes, we’ll be moving there next year. That’s the reason we went to visit again.. So we didn’t travel much this time -only one trip along Columbia River on our 4th wedding...
read more

Aquaponics Project in our Backyard – Fish & Veggies!

Posted by on Sep 7, 2012 in Blog, Food, Green Stuff | 1 comment It was my husband’s idea to start with aquaponics in our backyard. What a great idea!! I had no idea what it was and when he explained to me, I was hooked. We have raised vegetable beds, but with the heat, most of my plants stop growing after June, so my harvesting time is usually over by then. But with this concept, we could have fish AND veggies all year round in our backyard. This is...
read more

Street Shopping & Dumpster Diving

Posted by on Aug 1, 2012 in Blog, Green Stuff, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments It’s funny what kind of things find me when I go street shopping! There are days when I look up the trash days in areas and then I just drive around, on other days, I am on my way to the grocery store or my chiropractor and I pass these. Or I get calls like: hey, in my neighborhood there’s a pile of < insert item >, why don’t you come by and have a look before it’s gone....
read more

How to Build Rustic Wood Frames

Posted by on Jul 31, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Here’s some more projects I do with all the deck and fence wood I gather from the street. I think it’s one of my best-sellers: rustic picture frames. Some of my piled wood inside my garage, waiting to be transformed or upcycled: I just cut 4 pieces with each 2 sides the same length at a 45º angle, then I glue them together and staple them on both sides: A coat of white paint (I get...
read more

Easy Ways to Save Water

Posted by on Jul 7, 2012 in Blog, Green Stuff | 0 comments The easiest way to save water is not to use any (says the person who consists of 90% water!!). Ok, there are many ways like - brush your teeth or shave without the water running - fill the washing machine and use the minimum amount of water Or, catch the rain water for watering (I have buckets to catch the water from the gutters). But be careful! Did you know that there are states in the US...
read more

Rocking Chair Fix my Style

Posted by on Jun 28, 2012 in Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments So here, I found a rocking chair at the curb -in fact I found parts that may have been a rocking chair. I still picked it up, you never know, one day I might use it or may need the wood for something. The back- and armrest was already used for a bench that I built, but the feet, what am I going to make with those? Some of my material sits in my garage for quite a while until I have an idea what...
read more

What to Make with a Million Peaches

Posted by on Jun 21, 2012 in Blog, Food | 1 comment Ever since I am pruning our peach tree in the backyard regularly, we get more and more peaches every year. There are so many that the branches are already breaking. I hear the tree sighing “thank you” every time I pick some and when I relief its arms from the weight. Yesterday, I picked a large banana box full of peaches and I could pick another ten cases, that’s how many there...
read more

We Don’t Need Earth Day

Posted by on Apr 18, 2012 in Blog, Green Stuff | 1 comment Earth day is coming up this weekend and I actually couldn’t care less about it. Do we really need a theme or a specific day to celebrate earth? Common sense please! While on the one hand, it’s nice to raise some awareness to stop malicious destruction of our planet. Because it seems like the majority hasn’t heard how we (the ones on top of the food chain) kill our own and only...
read more

How to Save Money on Art Equipment

Posted by on Mar 28, 2012 in Blog, Green Stuff, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Some of you know that all my artwork is painted on all kinds of recycled materials and I am proving that it is not necessary to buy all this expensive equipment to make high quality art. Who says that you have to use artist linen from the art store? Who says that frames have to be built professionally and how does that look like? I paint with oil and I paint on anything I find. All I need to...
read more

About Suburbia, My Undies & Saving Money

Posted by on Feb 29, 2012 in Blog, Green Stuff, Living & Design | 11 comments It’s this season again and my laundry can’t wait to smell the fresh spring air! If there’s one thing I really like about Texas, then it’s the short winters and the free clothes’ dryer. Even though we live in suburbia (which I can’t stand, I think I’ve said it before?! Counting the days to leave…) and there’s a homeowners’ association...
read more

How to Prepare For A Garage Sale

Posted by on Jan 28, 2012 in Blog, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 6 comments Today, I had my very first garage sale and here I am giving you tips how to prepare one! It was a great success, so I guess I must have done something right and why not pass on my suggestions? 1– First you have to check if you need a permit for your area (or if you are allowed to have one). 2– Set a date, preferably on a weekend (I read somewhere that the beginning of a month is...
read more

Stylish Winter Decoration On A Budget

Posted by on Nov 14, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 6 comments When it comes to decorating the house, I am always in favor of change! I usually change the decoration every couple of weeks, rearrange furniture, artwork and just love to move things around. And sometimes, I do a little too much and the house looks a little cluttered with all the pretty things I like to put on display. Then I know it’s time to get started again and clean up, remove some...
read more

Upcycling Project: Upholstering a Garage Sale Find

Posted by on Nov 11, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 14 comments My latest garage sale find: a new chair for my studio. Well, not new but used -kind of new for me. My friend Elisabeth had a garage sale and while I decided to come by and give her some support, I immediately fell in love with this chair. I tried it on (sat in it) and it was so comfy that I had to have it. The office chair I have been using almost fell apart and I needed three pillows to not hit...
read more

How To Stretch Artists’ Canvas

Posted by on Jul 3, 2011 in Art, Blog, Green Stuff, Upcycling & DIY | 4 comments Before you start stretching canvas on a frame, you have to have a frame of course! Here’s a link to how I build my own frames. I usually use recycled wood from construction sites or other places (wherever I find leftovers..). The fabric I use is also recycled, any fabric I can find. The art supply industry makes us believe that only their expensive canvas should be used for oil paintings....
read more

How to Make Your Guest Room Inviting

Posted by on Jun 28, 2011 in Blog, Living & Design | 17 comments After I have renovated our bedroom, it was time to have a look at our guest room. It’s quite a dark place because it has only one window to the North, so when I painted it first, I used a bright yellow to lighten it up a bit. The furniture I used in there ranged from dark to light wood. And above all, I mostly used it to store stuff that I don’t use much or not at all -ok, I threw my...
read more

How To Choose Artwork For A Bedroom

Posted by on Jun 24, 2011 in Blog, Living & Design | 10 comments Last week, I decided to give our bedroom a make-over. Here are some pictures how it looks like now: My husband chose the wall color long time before I moved in and even though I like brighter colors better, I thought it was a calming and nice choice for a bedroom. So, I decided to keep it and not repaint it. I chose to put only few artwork into the room because it’s the place where I get...
read more

How to Ship Large Stretched Paintings

Posted by on May 4, 2011 in Art, Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 4 comments Things you’ll need: - thin fiberboard (you can get those at home improvement stores) - table saw - plastic film - bubble wrap - package tape - large cardboard box (I keep the ones that I get from shipped items or I ask places like World Market if I can take some of their boxes they throw away anyways) - razor blade knife - patience and time! 1 ) Measure length, width and depth of painting,...
read more

My Latest Paintings Made From Pigments

Posted by on Apr 11, 2011 in Art, Blog | 4 comments So I started experimenting with color pigments and making my own oil paint. Here are two paintings from my newly mixed colors (pigments and linseed oil) and I am quite satisfied with the results. I was able to make some thick paint but also make it runny -notice the splashes. The colors are easy to use and mix. What I discovered though is that you should not keep the paint longer than 5 days....
read more

How To Make Oil Paint From Pigments

Posted by on Apr 3, 2011 in Blog, Green Stuff, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments I use natural pigments from EarthPigments. Their variety is really nice and all pigments are non-toxic. On their website, they offer a lot of recipes for making artists’ paint, colored cement and any other paint for your home projects. For making oil paint you’ll need: 1. linseed oil 2. pigments 1. To start with, use very little of the pigment powder and make a well in the middle 2....
read more

How & Why To Use Pigments For Any Paint Project

Posted by on Mar 28, 2011 in Art, Blog, Green Stuff, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Today, I did my oil paint inventory and decided to order my color online. While I always love to support my local art store here in the Dallas area, I decided to study a little more about pigments which my store does not carry. You don’t have to be an artist to use paint, every one of us has used paint for inside and out house projects, walls, furniture, etc. But do you know the...
read more

Marketing: Design Your Business Card

Posted by on Mar 7, 2011 in Blog | 2 comments Having business cards for your business is vital. Most people aren’t even aware that you can use them as a part of your marketing strategy. It should deliver a message of what your business represents, what you do and most importantly that people still remember who you are when they come across your business card months later. I have made many mistakes when I went out there networking but...
read more