Favorite Things Continued

So here are the first photos of our room. It is not totally set up but this is a fine beginning as far as I am concerned. Here are more of my favorite things & their stories...

My Song & Dance Princess Framed Art Piece. You can see close up photos of this self portrait in my flying housewife listing HERE. This has been in every bedroom ~ all 13 ~ since I brought it home from my classroom. I made this collage in a matter of minutes as an example for my students for our Friday Funday Project. It was based on the book Song & Dance Man. It's holding up exceptionally well considering its construction materials & journeys.

My white rocker ~ I found this at a thrift store for $12. I thought that was a bit pricey. :) The seat needed re-caning. Evan brought it to a woman who quoted us a price of $96 or so. He tried not to laugh ~ not at her, mind you, but because he knew what my reaction would be. Years later, he bought the materials, taught himself and did it for me. It's perfect!

Of course the handmade bookcase and some of our book collection, including our precious journals. And there's more...

How groovy is this Abe Lincoln framed poster from the 1960s? This is an original and I found it a few years ago in Northampton, MA. I adore Abe and, let's be frank, a paisley hat? Does it get any better? I think not. Also here: my George & Martha hippos (Pittsburgh), my kitty cat clock (San Francisco), my $4 vintage glass lamp with my just acquired in Arlington pre-move, $4 mid-century shade, German hotel ashtray, one of my collection of sterling crosses, vintage beaded coin purse, a funky painted tile & the ever hilarious, What's Up Doc? video.

I also spy my square deck of cards in my square Westinghouse glass case, the 30+ year old Miniature Sendak Nutshell Library, one of my lovely new candles from Shelley, my Edward Gorey special edition from Jon Cody, and my Italian leather ~ brought back from Italy ~ art journals from Dusty.

You can always find new treasures and here is my most recent favorite thing, my vintage rolling table for my adorable and much revered old school kitchen sized TV with built in VCR. May it live forever. And now we can roll Dave that much closer at the end of a long day. And, on that cheery note, I end this edition of favorite things. More to come soon on this blog station. :)

PS. I update my flickr page often. To view more of my favorite things, family photos & new creations, click on the photo slide show above.

Favorite Things...from the past. Snoopy & Woodstock

A good friend and I were talking about our favorite vintage Snoopy treasures and I had just unearthed this in my settling in process. I love hearing about and seeing people's favorite things. I will be sharing more on a regular basis. Up next...a snippet of our decor, expanding on this tiny window...with some more of my all time favorite things.

Do you have a favorite Snoopy, Woodstock or Peanuts vintage keepsake? Or a super funky earring holder from days gone by? Let us know! And, if you post a photo somewhere, all the better. Don't forget to leave the link here.
ox joon

Sundays Are Looking So Fine

Oh yes they are!

Love is better the second time around.

Yeah. I think I'll keep him.

~ Flannel Day ~

The Traditional Holiday Begins...

Thanks to Jon Cody, who made his own gorgeous bagels and sent us a glorious photo and the recipe, look how we celebrated the First Ever Flannel Day! Evan outdid himself. The only thing better is when Jon Cody, Val and Dusty come in February and we make another batch all together! I love that I have a 25 year old son who teaches himself how to make bagels. His can be seen HERE. Until next time... ox joon

PS. Oh, I invented Flannel Day today and it will be an annual holiday falling on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Such fun! Wear flannel. Get cozy (in flannel). Eat comfort foods (in flannel). Be a homebody (in flannel). Shop from home (in flannel). Bake (in flannel). Read (in flannel). Build a fire (in flannel). Watch a favorite movie (in flannel). Watch a cheesy holiday classic (in flannel). Your turn...add some Flannel Day Favs for us in the comments section. Go Flannel!

Sunday Drive...

...and look what I spied. We had to turn around to get back to this wonderful place. What a find. Can't wait to spend many more pleasant and delicious lunches here after future Sunday drives. Wishing you all the same. Happy Fall!

Hooray for the U.S.A.

I curated this Etsy treasury Monday evening. You can visit it HERE until Thursday afternoon.
Learn more about our Etsy Team: BBEST.

A New Project ~ Handmade Oven Mitts ~ Earth Friendly, Naturally!

I saw an article about these on Craft Daily and had to try them. We need hot mitts. But first ... Dusty's 28th BiRtHDaY! The geckos are from a favorite pair of his Hawaiian style shorts when he was very young in the 1980s. I started with these and designed the other fabrics around them.

The lining is an old hospital gown from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Although Dust never wore this one, he was in the hospital a number of times as a tot ... including one ER visit for a cougar attack, but that's another story ... so I felt this was another appropriate memento fabric. Scout did have her tonsils out at DHMC. I did not pilfer the gown. I bought it from a community action thrift store.

The remaining fabrics are from my theater muslin stash leftovers and a beautiful de-stash from a truly gifted quilter friend of Jon Cody & Val's. Speaking of Val, her BiRtHDaY is just 3 days after Dusty's so I made her some mitts, too. They celebrate their brand new and first ever kitty, Mr. Boo Radley. You can see those mitts on the right hand side of this page in the flickr slideshow and access my flickr there if you'd like to see my comments on those fabric choices.

My next pair are ... finally ... for us! I found some United States Fabric I am crazy-going-nuts over and HAD to have it. Can't wait to settle into our new home and start sewing. Will share those another time ~ hopefully soon. Thanks for stopping by and viewing my green art with heart. What upcycled project have you made lately? ox joon

A Little Bit Different Style Upcycled Tee Carry~All Tote

This is my first upcycled T shirt Carry~All. I made it for a wonderful friend as a surprise gift. I can't wait until she receives it. It's all ready for the postman. :) But first...

I started by adding a liner {wrong sides together} because the T shirt was quite thin. Oh, yes, I should say here that it was beyond the clothing life stage. The liner is also a former blouse. If you know me even the teeniest little bit, you know they came from thrift stores. This is {at least} their third life.

I wanted this bag to have my own signature style, which I call
Thread Tramp Art ~ with heart :). Here you can see the pinked edges being basted before the next step ~ simply turning them under & leaving them raw.

Just for kicks, I turned one edge the opposite way. I added marbled fabric strips to the straps for 3 reasons: style, durability & added length. A handy key clip extension piece is attached along one seam. It flops inside or out at will!

Inside design is as much fun as outside. The little gecko is from my boys' favorite pair of shorts. They date back to 1980 -ish. Still going strong.

I sewed up the side and bottom. Added the straps and here is the finished creation. As my lovely friend, Pearl, says: TADA!

I love it and I hope my friend will too. Maybe I will make another one. Well, what would you do if your mother asked you? :) {Seuss quotes, anyone?}

How To: Moving IN Austin: First Things First

Blue Bell Ice Cream and T Bone Steaks ($ 3.49 lb.). Let's get serious, shall we? I always have my priorities straight. This is how it is done, my friends. Everything else is just details.

The rewards are high stakes.
One Scuppernut & Besos. Love.

ciao 'til next time...

Reunion with Dan and Joe in Swoope VA

Dan,Joon,Evan, Scout & Joseph
Originally uploaded by joonbeam

Our trip has begun with a rocky start and pebbles along the way but there are gems, too, as you can see here. We visited with Dan and Joseph yesterday afternoon. We had not seen them in 14 years. Scout was an infant, Dan was 14 and Joseph was 10. We are in Harrisonburg, VA and leave this morning for places unknown in TN! We will get to meet Dena, my etsy BBEST friend! More photos tomorrow.

Our furry babies are all doing well despite the chaos and illnesses and car sickness. OY! They are so adaptable and absolutely no trouble at all here in the hotel. They must be an adventurous lot! I can only hope they will continue to roll merrily along over these next four days. ciao for now!

Unless you are a Man WARNING! ... Revealed

Well, here we have a sample of my silverware collection. These beauties and funky vintage airline spoons, forks and knives are what we use every day. I'm hard pressed to choose a favorite and love having an eclectic array to choose from depending on my meal and my mood. There are many more and I am constantly on the lookout. Below is a close up. You can see the lovely and groovy design elements that attract me to this table setting style.




And now ~~~ The story revealed. What was in the: WARNING! Do not open unless you are a man' Pottery Barn box? Here it is: Evan's silverware! Kristoffer recalled hearing Evan joke about the lightweight feminine silverware he dines with each day and surprised us all on Christmas morning a few years ago with this gift for Evan only ...the ultimate 'MAN' cutlery. Steak and potatoes anyone? :)




Please give three rousing cheers for Scout, who so kindly polished every piece you see in these photos (go Crest toothpaste) for her dear old MoM. Thank you, Scout! Hope you all enjoyed the guessing game. We certainly did. Thanks so much for all your fine submissions. I'd love to know your favorite piece(s) here. So please feel free to post a comment. I'll be back soon with more groovy things I've found while packing for the great Austin Road Trip! Countdown is almost here! We should be leaving on August 15th! Tempus Fugit. ciao for now.

PS. More photos uploaded to my FLICKR page. If you are a silverware lover like me, come take a peek.

PPS. My flying housewife shop is on hiatus for August but joonbeam remains open with a Cricket Meow SALE section from now until ??? Mention 'MAN FORK' in the message to seller space and I will take an addition 10% off your order ~ this includes the entire shop; excludes shipping. I will stay open as long as I can until we leave. Watch my shop announcement for hiatus date at which point this sale has ended. Thank you friends!

Finding Neverland

This week I came across another small treasure. I love this vintage souvenir bracelet from the Mohawk Trail. I love the Mohawk Trail. We took a small detour so we could chance upon it once a few years ago. We haven't been on the entire route and I wish we would have had that opportunity. It was so beautiful. At the time, the last Howard Johnson's Restaurant was at a point on the Trail. I found this treasure a few years later, in the $1 BOX at a booth in Brimfield. The ladies who own this booth were always so sweet to Scout and would insist on her choosing something for free from that box. So, while she was rooting through for her treasure, I passed the time looking, too, and spied this. It's one of my favorite things. And for $1. There you have it.



I would love to know more about this little bracelet. How old is it? Who made it and how? How much did it sell for when it was new? Who has owned it?



I used another favorite find of mine as a backdrop for this piece. Well, not counting the Scrabble Board, which is, of course, indispensable. The part you can see here is a house roof and tree top. It's a peg board with a happy papa gnome toting his little scuppernut gnome in a wagon to his gingerbreadish house. It has red pegs. The teeny gold paper label is still on the back and reads Made in Romania. That's not something I see everyday. In fact, I think that may be the only time I've ever seen that. I was about to give it up but then I thought of a wonderful use for it ~ as part of my display when I start Holiday Arts & Craft Fairing in the Fall. Whew! That was a close one!

Next Sunday I show & tell the answer to last Sunday's guessing game. Guess if you haven't, and stay tuned. If you have ever been on the Mohawk Trail or know anything about the bracelet please leave your comment. Be sure to stop by my joonbeam shop to see what other treasures I've come upon this week. Thanks, friends. From below my towering stacks of Rubbermaid Tubs, I bid you adieu for now... I'll be back with more treasures soon.

Visions of Moving ... History Revealed

So, you all know we're moving. And sorting, purging and packing have begun in earnest. But the things you find! The places you'll go! And all within the confines of your own four walls.

I have had this little antique medicine bottle for a long time. It had OLD green sequins, still with thread remnants, inside. As I was making the 256,897th 'stay or go' decision, (and who really knows how 99% of these are determined, really, but that's another story) and ridding this cutie of its contents (because I am not in a sequin-y mood at this point, but, come on, the bottle is irresistible) I happened to look at it in a new light.

A little pause: check my etsy joonbeam shop frequently over the next two weeks because I am finding some very cool things and listing them there. Returning...

... And I can't believe I never read the label before. It's fascinating. Boomer Drugs is the Pharmacy. Rx # 15608 contained capsules for one 'Master Shannon' to be taken by mouth or (the other end). {Now how adaptable is this?} And here's the best part: for restlessness. I'm serious.

There is no date. No doctor's first name. No Pharmacist's name at all. No safety cap. And it's glass!

I googled and found a Boomer Pharmacy in Vancouver, BC, Canada that had relocated a few years ago. No idea if it is the same one. I would love to know more, especially the era. If it is from there, I have no clue how it found its way to me. The closest I've been is Oregon although I have no recollection of when or where I acquired this. But I've always loved it. And now I love it even more. And it's so nice and small I can feel absolutely guilt free about bringing it along!

The other thing I found was this box. I use it now to store future art collage goodies. It has scrabble tiles, vintage typewriter keys, colored wooden beads, broken jewelry, antique one of a kind pretties... but before I tell you its history, I thought it would be fun to see what your guess about the WARNING! is.

One all important hint: It is totally G rated and family friendly. Let's keep our minds in that neighborhood. Please leave your guess in the post comments and I'll tell the true story - and I think it is well worth the return visit - on Sunday, August 3rd. Meanwhile, I'll just be here packing and finding more trash and treasures and redefining the two on a moment-to-moment basis! ox joon

WALL-E

We LOVED WALL-E. It's Brilliant. Genius. Delightful. Beautiful. Poetic. Engaging. Entertaining. Sweet. Moving. Funny. Endearing. Timely. Unique. That it's a labor of love shines through every second. And Everybody can see it.

Run. Don't Walk. If only every film was this wonderful.

We saw it yesterday morning at 10:30 AM! That was a first for all of us. It was fabulous. Quiet. Peaceful. Nice group of people in the mostly empty theater with us. Just a pleasant experience. And I do not go to the movies. It was so perfect to us that Jon Cody, Val and Dusty said YES! We were really surprised. Serendipity never had it this good. What a welcome respite from the week I've had. Dust brought along an extra helmet so Scoutie could have a scooter ride between the movie theater and Baja Betty's (for lunch) and then on to Jon Cody's. Good Times. Noodle Salad.

Go see WALL-E. Tell me what you think. ciao! joon



P.S. I want John Lasseter to come over for dinner. Are you out there, John? I think we are twins separated at birth. Then I read you have a twin. So, OK, maybe we were triplets then. We have a cosmic connection. I'll tell you all about it over dinner. There's homemade cheesecake in it for you, too.

A little flying housewife post

I made this UTZ bag upcycled pocket for a new pen pal friend I met via my flying housewife etsy shop. Yes, some people write back to me! How fun is that? This pen pal inspired me to make this funky new creation. By now, you all know how much I LOVE to recycle and turn trash into functional art. But, guess what? There are more where I come from! Heavens to Murgatroid, can you imagine? It's so true. I would not lie to you. I had been looking at this potato chip bag for a while. I mean, look at that retro gal and the lime green base color? Irresistible. This sprang into my head and flew out on the wind across the miles. I wonder what she thinks of it? Well...what would YOU if it arrived in your mailbox? ox joon



PS. These are regional potato chips. Delicious. Support local products. Buy handmade! Be groovy! I hope this project inspires you to upcycle something from one of your local producers. If so, please let me know. I'd love to see it! Because environment is everything.

Create-a-Day Contest Prize

Create-a-Day Contest Prize
Originally uploaded by sheiladilling

I'm a winner! My wonderful CAD friend, Sheasy, had a contest . Count how many unripened cherry tomatoes were in her beautiful photo. I guessed 32 and won! Woo hoo! And look what I won! I can't wait to receive my package. This is so ME. And look at the adorable felt tomato. That's one of her creations. She sells the grooviest felted handcrafted works of art in her etsy shop, SHEASY.

Now, if only I could have shared those lovely ripened tomatoes with Sheasy! My list of etsy friends continues to grow and my list of favorite etsy friends does too. Gee, I wonder why? :) Anyway...Sheasy is one of favorite etsy friends. I love her like etsy.

Tribute To My Favorite Dad

When I met Evan he was a 27 year old bachelor who, he later told me, intended to remain so. Fast forward a few months. I was 35 and had Kristoffer, 15, Dustin, 11, and Jon Cody, 7. I was in a hard place in my life. For whatever reason, Evan saw through every irrational aspect of rushing headlong into a lifelong commitment with us and our lives changed dramatically and forever for the better. I am not exaggerating when I say instant family. Evan loves to tell Scout her mom and dad are still on their first date. July 22nd we'll celebrate the 16 year old date.

We married in August, 1993. The photo above is our 1994 Holiday Greeting photo. Scout was 6 months old. It's hard to believe that the boys are grown and off on their own. Scout just turned 14 last week. We are grandparents. Kristoffer & Beckett Scuppernut are in Austin. We'll be moving there soon. Dustin, Jon Cody & Val will be with us today as we head to Ipswich to the world famous Clam Box.



Evan was a breath of fresh air that lifted us up. He's impulsive and fun loving, self sacrificing and responsible. A best friend and a great father. I don't know where I'd be today if he hadn't walked into our lives. I don't even want to imagine. Did I mention he's a good sport, too?

Happy Father's Day, Ev!
ox
Joonie, Bear, Dust, Bode & Scoutie
Mister Jones (Chip), Besos, Cricket & Ginny