6.30.11 ... decorated box for loved ones

today i helped scout rearrange her room so her new antique chest could find its spot. i also had sign language class and i had a number of other creative pursuits including some beginnings that i do not have photos of yet so today i am excited to share with you a little box i designed last friday but couldn't post until tonight so as not to spoil the surprise. scout made the adorable shrinky dink caricatures. they went inside the box. you can see her post about her room tonight and the shrinky dinks tomorrow night on her blog: defying-explanation.tumblr.com meanwhile...

... it all started with this boston breakfast bit i saw in an old cookbook. i have saved it for a while, not sure what i would with it but knowing i had to use it. how hilariously adorable is it? quite. then this idea sprang into my head and i decided to go with a map theme.

we're in austin so i put that inside with a heart.

they're in boston so the bottom has that map section. you can see the heart in the first photo of this post.

one side of the top is covered in row buildings (popular architectural boston feature) from a recycled children's book.

ditto the other side.

and here's the inside of the lid.

and, lastly, i hand folded and cut the paper nest confetti from tissue paper i have. i also threw in some of my miniature hearts. it was great fun collaborating with scout. i think we will do this kind of project again some time. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.29.11 ... photographing items for etsy

today i spent a lot of time photographing different items with different backgrounds. i took close to 200 but here are a few i messed around with and i had some fun and success.

i love my hawaiian tray. that stays. i love the bell, too, but it is going into my shop. i have two others. all adorable.

do you know anyone who collects bells? i bet they are some truly neat people. i would love to meet some. great hobby.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.28.11 ... button, button, who's got the button?

oh, boy do i! i was sorting through my two newest button acquisitions the past few days and i finished up this morning. my wonderful sister sent me some, which you can see inside this little tin - also sent by her. thanks, ghoulie.

these are from fred. a lovely woman shopper overheard scout and i talking about sewing items as we hunted and she said she'd just seen a bag of buttons and led us right to it. these are the buttons i am keeping. there are many more i will be listing in my vintage shop.

it's hard to pick favorites but the glass buttons might be my favorites from that batch.

some miniature favs.

i love this clipped flower. i had to place this lid on it to get it to lay flat but love the photo. time for dave so i must bid you adieu. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.27.11 ... we love love love love our doctor

...scout had her check up today. our beyond fantastic doctor uses the word absolutely and we love the way she says it. so i made this treasury tonight. it was inspired by her. you can see it here.  she is absolutely one of the best reasons to live in austin. we are so very lucky. i hope you all have a doctor you love, too. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.26.11 ... scout in her old soul apron

i found this apron at fred a few weeks ago and scout is the first one to try it out. it's handmade, old and awesome.

it was scout's night to make dinner and we read about a nifty dinner idea - suggested combinations - in a really old local cookbook earlier this morning and she was excited to try this one: omelet, hash browns and stewed tomatoes. because, after all, she is an omelet master.

the cookbook had a forward which was a hilarious historical tale told by a man who lived it in 1858. he was a real character for sure. i read it aloud to ev and scoutie. a great way to start the day off with some stupefied chuckles.

maybe scout is remembering the story.

it has been a good day. we met some nifty people this morning and had a few adventures while we left ev to himself for a rare few hours of peace and quiet. ok, except for the part where we called him up about 5 minutes after we left the house wondering why we were almost downtown and that didn't seem right at all. (it wasn't.) but he got us on track post haste. and all was peaceful in the glen. 

the omelet dinner was a . maze . ing you might want to try it. we had fresh spinach and cheese omelets and country fried potatoes and put the stewed tomatoes on top of our omelets. it was delish. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.25.11 ... ginny and scout

today while i was doing the dishes i received a text. it was from scout who was in her room. she said i needed to come see the cat quickly. so i went and this is what i found. i had to take photos and use them for today's creation. how cute is this? that ginny has changed so much since cricket died.

she never did anything like this until now.

a little while later i saw this even more hilarious scene. she is killing me. i had a really nice day today. i hope you can say the same.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.24.11 ... beagle bookmark

i saw this on my art table while i was attempting to clear it off for some sewing. i never did get around to the sewing but i did a lot of useful organizing and i made this little bookmark. i never heard of dogopoly but apparently it exists. i nabbed this card from a fred visit last week. can't resist my beagle.

i know this will make me smile when i use it.

this is a vintage package preparation. i rolled up a little brightly colored 1960s fabric scrap and tied a little string around it and tossed a handful of my miniature hearts inside before wrapping it all up in pretty tissue paper and stickers.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.23.11 ... my new backdrop

my darling husband has been carting an antique fence section through our multitudinous moves for many years now. i always said 'it is so perfect for something. i just don't know what yet.' and here it is. i have been thinking about making a backdrop for my vintage shop and now i have one. it's a fold up deal with a base. this way i can set it up where ever the light is best or even outside. first, ev cut the fence to size and then i painted it because it had an awful dried blood red paint on it. i painted a few coats of the base color - a creamy vanilla white - to cover the red really well. then i added the pale blue.

this is my nifty keep your paint can and your painter happy idea. i protected the can seal by placing tape over the ridge so that it wouldn't fill up with paint.

then, when you are done --- you simply pull the tape off and discard it. and you have a lovely, clean paint can top as you see in the first photo of today's post. that is the can after i had painted. and it is now sealed back up perfectly. and neatly. and happily. like magic but really just sharp thinking.

hers is one photo i took using my new backdrop. if you'd like to see a few more please visit my joonE shop: www.joonE.etsy.com i like the way it turned out. for a first time idea it is fine by me. today i went to my second sign language class. it is fun but i can't share photos so i have these which i owed you for a few days anyway. hope you enjoyed today's post.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.22.11 ... mr. chippy and ginny gins

this is my baby boy, chippy. he is always near by me wherever i work or rest.

you saw besos on my chair a few days ago. now you see ginny on my art table. and you may be wondering how i ever get a thing accomplished. when you figure it out please tell me because i live in awe of myself every day. i am too tired to show you yesterday's big project, but it is coming. really. i will get to work on my post earlier tomorrow. for today you have my furry spuds and a glimpse into my creative life. 

ps. as i type this, ginny is about one foot away from me on the coffee table facing me, dozing. i couldn't write my post earlier because she was on my lap. insistently so. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.21.11 ... busy day and excitement

i finished a big project today and i will share that soon but before i started it, i had a package to get out and this is what i made for it. and, guess what? today i went swimming for the first time in we can't remember how long. maybe 12 years, but i haven't gone swimming in an outdoor pool on a hot summer day in 20 years. that much i do know. it was wonderful. it is one of my favorite things to do and i miss it. so, hopefully, i will get to take advantage of this opportunity more often this summer.

at the time i made this early this morning, i thought this was going to be my one creation. little did i know. stay tuned for more....

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.20.11 ... good luck blue rabbit's foot returns

scout's blue rabbit foot from the 1960s has been in absentia for weeks now and she has been fairly obsessed with its disappearance. we knew it had to be in the house somewhere. but you know how second guesses just sneak in and hit good old common sense in the knee cap. and so the fretting commenced. and took up residence. moved right in.

this morning ev was looking for something he needed for today's gig and lo and behold, instead, he spied the foot de la rabbit back in a closet corner. i suspected besos all along and i was 100% correct. we'd looked under the couch, piano - even the fridge! but i guess we missed that closet corner. well, scout was still asleep - truth be told i was barely awake myself - so i decided to surprise her and when she came out i started her tea and my second cup of java. i attached the surprise to her ziggy mug. and casually strolled in to the living room with it.

triumph. and peace at last. she won't lose that lucky foot again. i guarantee it. it is now safely on her purse strap. out of kitty reach. this is going to be our lucky week. good things are happening already. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.19.11 ... goofing around on father's day - twilight time

today i organized our newest fred finds and it took most of the day.  ev found a wonderful old knitting basket filled with everything you could ever want or need for your knitting fix.  while we were outside roasting marshmallows for his and scout's s'mores dessert i played around with the arrangement i'd made and the low lighting factor.  these are my favorite shots.

i like the blurry effect.

here i like the reflection of the white christmas lights.

love these colors and the fire spot in the background.

here's ev making me the perfect marshmallow.  i take mine neat.  how was your father's day?  happy i do hope.  

sweet dreams, everyone.  thanks for stopping by.   until tomorrow.  happiness to you. from me. with heart.   

ox joon

i just discovered that this did not post last night.  i don't know why so if it posts again at a later date, i apologize and will fix it then.  this is the first time that has happened since i began - i sure hope this doesn't happen again.  how odd.

6.18.11 ... besos, my shadow kitty

i didn't have time to snap any photos of what i worked on today but i have these from a few days ago and had to share them with you all. this is one of our kitties, besos. her name is kisses in spanish. she loves to be right next to me when i am working. she spends a lot of time on my shoulders. but here she is, relaxing just inches from me on my 'good things' book which i was jotting in just moments before!

how adorable is this?

now this is too much because this is my chair - you may recall i recovered it earlier this year and posted about it here - and she takes over the second i stand up to get something across the room. and what do i do? i come back and finish up my project standing up. !!! we have one nutty household. today was a truly nice day. i hope you can say the same. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.17.11 ... reclaimed texas state puzzle piece magnet

i was sorting through my fred finds today and couldn't resist turning this puzzle piece into a magnet for our fridge.

isn't it a hoot? and, look - austin! woo hoo.

charlie brown says "that's pretty good." even johnny deep is happy. everyone needs one of these, don't you agree?

ps. the grapefruits here are usually amazing i will say. sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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