4.23.12 ... mission beach . a fresh start .

we've been painting the new shop spcae in preparation for ev setting up. 

scout is documenting it in pictures. 

this is just one that i especially love. 

to see more photos and read about our journey please visit our facebook page and like it!

  https://www.facebook.com/MissionBeachWoodworks

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

Posted via email from just joon

4.22.11 ... happy earth day to all and a napkin upcycle project

have you ever gone to the sound of music sing-a-long movie? well, i was working one and it is pretty hilarious. anyway, everyone gets a little brown paper lunch sack and inside there are things that go along with the film and when that part of the movie comes on everyone is supposed to use the whatever and cause an excited cheering ruckus. the little square here (you were to bring it out and wave it about when maria discovers the drapes can be made into plainclothes) that i used as an applique on my recycled dinner napkin is one of hundreds that we found all over the floor when we were cleaning up after the show. another usher and i were crazed that they were going to be thrown into the trash so we gathered them all up and i took them home with me. they are perfectly beautiful little brand new squares of 100 % cotton. there are a few different designs. this napkin is made from one large napkin. i have four of them and a year or so ago i got a brainstorm. who needs such a giant napkin? we can have four for each one and still have plenty of cloth. so i cut one into quarters and i finished the two raw edges and put a strip applique on each one and they are cute as all get out and work great.

all this time i've had the other three original large napkins just waiting for their transformation. today i was busy with many activities, one of which i will share with you (below), and i glanced at my clock and - holy cow- it was after 5 already. so i cut four out of one and completed one. i did not want to set up my ironing board so i just used my fingers and pins to set the new edges. isn't this pretty? wouldn't it be a sin if these were all thrown away and in a landfill right now? i don't even want to think about all the shows where my friend and i were not the house helpers and these are ditched. sigh.

i had too many empty bobbins and i had to break down and whip up a new batch. this i did and that egged me on (that's an easter pun, folks) to do a sewing project today. i did some mending before i made the napkin. all in all i guess it's been a pretty good day. hope yours was, too.

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

Posted via email from just joon

There Is No Try. Only DO.

This is a short & sweet message.
The images say more than I can.
I did need to update you all on PRoJeCT SNoWFLaKe.
Scout & I have picked up 191 pieces of litter so far.
We're going back out on a litter hunt this weekend.
Update next week.

PLEASE read all about PRoJeCT SNoWFLaKe
in my previous post below.

I'd love for you to join me.
Even if it's just ONCE.
ONCE counts.

It's true.

Have beautiful, peaceful EARTH DAY
my Earthling friends.

ox
joon

PS. If you joined us please return
and share your story with a comment.

Wherever You GO, There You Are...

Be the Change...

A Fitting Earth Day Project

Here's another recycling solution story.
Two challenges. $1.25 and some ingenuity.
Our tale begins where we always leave off ...
with my hypersensitivity to my environment
and my little brain in overdrive.

It's just not me.

Imagine, if you will, one older mailbox.
Serviceable. Intact. A Little Small for Magazines.
No excuse to replace it.
But I'd rather be greeted back home
to MY home.

On Christmas day, courtesy of our Bear,
we received 3 wonderful magazine subscriptions.
{pretty exciting. It's been years.}
They just started arriving last month.
I did not like that they were folded in half
and crammed into this box.
Now I had another challenge.
So, I asked Evan to help me imagine a simple, thrifty solution.

Inspired by Zuda's handmade boxes,
I was going to construct a cardboard holder.
Easier said than done.
Not being as gifted as her,
this plan remained in the
mulling stages for a few weeks.




Destiny is a Happy Mystery

Then I misplaced my sunglasses.
When I went back to a thrift store to see if I'd left them
on their counter, I came away empty handed.
But as I was walking out
I spied this wire basket for .99.
I was thrilled.
A plan was forming.

Life is like a box of chocolates

A few days later, we walked to the new Walgreens
to buy one of Evan's birthday presents.

On the way home, we stopped by another thrift store
where I spied
this discarded & unlikely to find a home
{it was filled with crayon art}
perfect~for~my~recycled~art
vintage Little Golden Book for 25 cents.

I love cars, tucks, trains, planes & the 1950s era illustrations.
I did not connect the serendipity of
finding this book with
its use for my simmering project.

The trimmed piece

A few days later, I was de-cluttering my growing stash.
I flipped through this book and found this fabulous page.
Just the right size, too.

And can you believe the text?

My stamp collection

I decided to dress up the Magazine Rack Label Space
with a stamp ~ mail collage on
a coordinating piece of the same
safety envelope I used to frame the
mailbox illustration.

A True Mail Collage

Here it is before I laminated it.
It is setting on the reverse of the
mailbox piece.

I had only one TeXaS stamp.

Love it.

My Personalized Mail Center

I laminated both pieces and attached them
using simple rolled scotch tape.
Both the mailbox art and the
magazine rack can follow us
wherever we go
leaving no damage behind.
What will I do with them next?
We shall see.

ox joon

ps. My mailman told me this just gave him the biggest smile.
Putting a little bit of yourself out into the world
can make more of a difference
than you might think.