My little china girl

I love hand me downs. Especially when they are from my lovely, funny, grandmother. She has recently given me an incredible china set for 12. It traveled to me all the way from Brookings, South Dakota! Is has little pink delicate flowers, with an elegant silver lining. Needless to say, it is beautiful. It does have a few chips here and there, but that is just a reminder to me of all the fun dinner parties she must have had with those plates, bowls, tea cups, saucers, and gravy bowls.

Not to mention, who knew Lady Gaga would make tea cups cool again?

We'll eat you up we love you so

I had the pleasure of going to see "Where the Wild Things Are" last night. It is such a visually and emotionally striking movie. I loved every moment.

Thinking about this book made me reminisce about the days when going to the public library was SO much fun. I remember going to watch movies, special readings, art classes! Libraries are such a great resource to help keep excess books, magazines, newspapers, movies out of our landfills. As an adult (am I an adult?) I have decided to dedicate more time to libraries. Here is one with some really interesting architecture here in Atlanta.

And here are two other children's books I'll need to brush up on for movies coming out soon!

Trick or Treat!

It's Halloween time! Time to watch scaaaaary movies, pig out on candy, and just feel like a kid again. About 95% of my Halloween themed dvds are used. Probably because some of the best Halloween gems are the most misunderstood, and end up on the used shelves. Here are some of my used Halloween favorites...

It is so fun looking for used movies. There is something so exciting about finding a rare or favorite movie from the past. Just like getting a special prize in your cereal box! You can find "previously viewed" movies at your local Blockbuster, and most movie stores (like Spinstreet in Memphis) have a used movie section.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a preview from an 80's monster movie classic. Prepare to get your socks knocked off!

Oldies but Goodies

Most of my coolest pieces of furniture are from thrift stores. End tables and lamps are some of my favorites. They are so cheap, and are so easy to refinish. Below are two used end tables and lamps. Both lamps have new lamp shades, and the lamp on the right has a new coat of paint.

Here is a dresser that I am currently using as a tv stand / dvd storage unit. It is such a good sturdy piece of furniture, and not to mention totally hip! (Little Gizmo is also making her debut on this blog....lower right corner....doesn't she just look like a happy little pumpkin down there!)

And finally, a couple of photos showing an old round end table, and a treasure of an old frame above the bed. The frame is holding a blown up picture from a surfing magazine. It is a pic of quite a few surfers posing with the respective boards, class photo style. My husband loves it because he loves all things surfing and ocean.

Cowabunga Dude!

What's black and white and read all over?

I love the aesthetic of newspapers. I'll use that stuff any chance I get. Cards, wrapping paper, art! Here are a few examples of my newspaper art

Just get out some good old fashioned Mod Podge, and any old newspapers, and get to cutting and pasting! You can paint on top, or Mod Podge some photos like my ode to Audrey above.

I think this could also be a really hip way to do some family portraits. Just make a color copy enlargement of a fun photo at Kinko's. Don't do it on photo paper, just plain color copy paper is good, and apply to the top of your paper collage.

Beautimous

ReSpekt

Holy mackerel! I am so thrilled because I am going to see the one and only Regina Spektor tomorrow night at the Tabernacle downtown. The Tabernacle will probably be a whole other blog down the road because it is an adaptive reuse project of a church that has been turned into a live music venue. But first....Regina....

Regina Spektor was one of the very first albums I purchased on Itunes a couple of years ago. I know.....I was a little behind on the whole MP3 thing. Some people like to dog on Itunes, but I love it. Probably a little too much. It is way too stinkin' easy to throw money into the air, BUT one really good thing about it is there is no CD, plastic case, or little booklet thingy involved. All that stuff just takes up space and ends up in landfills anyway. So now that all of my music is on one handy dandy little ipod, what do I do with all this other stuff?

I could make some cutsie patootsie coasters out of the cds

I could make an interesting collage out of the little booklet thingys like this artist did

Or I could put photos or family pics in the plastic cases to make a reeeeeally cool inner changeable art piece

Oh the possibilities!

Cleanse your pallet

Need a cheap funky solution to that patio furniture, tv stand, day bed, you fill in the blank, piece of furniture that is missing in your life? How about shipping pallets!

I am LOVING this plate rack

Slap a pretty blue coat of paint (or whatever the color of the moment is), or leave it unfinished for that rustic look. I like the idea of putting casters on the bottom for a more mobile option.

This one from Apartment Therapy even used an old door as a head board. Double bonus!

Upcydown Baby!

My very first of all time in the history of my life kick off blog post! Woohoo! Get excited. Out of the ocean, no, UNIVERSE of blogs out there...why am I starting one? Because I have so much time on my hands? No. Because I am looking for fame and fortune? Not really. Because I think I am just way too funny and interesting?! Yes...I mean, no. I am starting this blog to open my own eyes to the interest, beauty, and potential in my surroundings. Of course money is tight for everyone, but to say I am searching for fun and new ways to "upcycle" because I don't have any money is kind off a kill joy. I am interested in upcycling because I love knowing I have something that is one of a kind, that has a past, and will (even in some teeeeeny tiny way) help reduce the amount of stuff that is put out into our planet.

Here is a pretty good explanation of "stuff" and how it effects our planet. The speaker, Annie Leonard throws out some really interesting facts, but gets a little too political at times for my liking. I like to think that the betterment of our environment transcends politics, and should be a common goal for all of us, no matter what our political views are. Or that might just be the inner hippie in me trying to reach out to everyone. Where are my hemp sandals?

http://www.storyofstuff.com/