Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

Kitty Photo Friday

Happy weekend everyone! Hang loose.

A rind is a terrible thing to waste

Earlier this week I was seriously lusting over Gayla's new, salvaged wood compost bin. I know, I know, whatever, I've got compost issues. Then Michael of Tinymeat showed off his new bin and the envy became absolutely uncontrollable. Meat Michael. He Tumblrs, he makes lots of cool wallets, and he makes a mean compost bin. Well, not mean like grr, but mean like whoa. I mean like total bin envy.

Binvy: a term I first used for G's bin and moments later, when pics of this one showed up in my flickr stream, I was feeling very self aware of my own compost bins. Wire, plastic; mine do function, but they sure aren't pretty.

I present to you Exhibit A, Michael's bin:

And check out the clever handwriting on top:

"A rind is a terrible thing to waste." So true my composting friend, so true.

So the deets on such a bin? They followed the directions by Seattle Tilth. It's 3 x 9 feet, divided for turning and containing compost at different stages, made with cedar, and features removable slats on the front for removing the finished compost. Beautiful, functional. What a bin, what a bin, what a mighty fine bin.

Spring is a great time to start composting if you don't already do it. Need a little reminder on how to compost? I gotcha covered right here.  Happy days of dirt makin' friends!

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise.  When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

Oh, snap

Sorry for my abscense over here for the past couple days. I've been a busy-busy little worker-bee and it's amazing how much more you can get done in a day without blogging, huh? haha! who knew?! ;)

In all reality, I kinda snapped this weekend. (or perhaps it could best be described as a tear filled implosion onto the mister's shoulder) So, in an effort to a) give myself some time to catch-up on work and b) try not to jab a Le Pen into my eye, I decided I needed a relaxed week of posting over here. Ok, maybe two. Or maybe more, until I can catch up with stuff and center myself again, mmkay?

Ooh, just saying that makes me feel about a million times lighter. Ahhhhhh, can you feel that space and time opening up? Yeaaahhh, I can! 

I'll still be posting, of course- just maybe only when I have something to say or really cool to share? (imagine that!) Instead of requiring myself to muster up a post every single day, even when I'm not feeling it, even when I'm hurried, even when I could be spending that time so much more wisely by I dunno, meeting deadlines or something!

I'm really feeling some transitional pains shifting from full time blogger, to full time Mojo Maker (I just decided that's my new job title) and it's all happened quite a lot faster than I ever expected it to! But it's time I take the reins and control this awesome beast instead of just trying to hang on for the ride.

I need to shift my priorities a bit and I know you guys understand. I need to remember that this blog is not my job any longer, but a complement to it, an extension of it. And I really need to give myself the space to figure out exactly how I want to use this blog to better benefit us both, yes you + me. (there's also some serious re-branding that needs to go on- I'm working on that too!)

So, while it may be a little quieter around here while I'm figuring things out, in between posts you can always find me on twitter. I've also be snap snapping away over on Instagram lately- that's what I took all the photos above with! Seems my non-work life pretty much revolves around food, flowers and cats- sounds about right. Are you on Instagram too? Find me as "missmodish", let's be friends!

Eco-Friendly Find: creatorB

I was just logging into Etsy to grab some images from a shop I'd "hearted" earlier today, when a picture of this mobile on the front page stopped me short. So long, whatever it was I was going to write about... hello, tiny paper houses.

I'm in love. It's beautiful, simple art that is also low-impact. Just paper and string, it has a big presence—I'm sure it looks amazing in person—and at the end of its life, this lovely object can simply be placed in the recycling bin. Hooray for simplicity. And for tiny paper houses.

Liz Grotyohann is a co-founder of cosa verde, a marketplace for handmade, environmentally-conscious goods.

Portraits of Intriguing People

{all photos are autochromes from the George Eastman House circa 1910-1920s! Linked to thier individual pages}

I've been stubmling upon lots of incredible vintage portraits lately so this may become a semi-regular column. I just love looking at old photos of people, imagining their stories and what their lives were like...and all of these people above sure look like they have some stories to tell! And the colors are killing me, so gorgeous! It's amazing to see photos this old in full color, they look modern almost!

I would like to steal the peach silk dress and necklaces off that girl in the throne (3rd photo down) and I think the lady in the greenhouse (just above) seems like a woman after my own flower-loving heart. I love looking at all of these tho, truly- it's so easy to start creating stories from them all. Which photo intrigues you the most?

Kitty Photo Friday

Let me see that Poolie roll!

Happy SUNNY SUNNY Friday from Portland! Is that a heaving sigh of relief I hear? Aaahhhh....

Filed Under Great Gardening Idea

This year the theme for Earth Day (from the Earth Day Network) is "A Billion Acts of Green." I don't suppose they're talking about money or jealousy, either. If you're looking for your own act of green, I've got a few suggestions for you: compost, reuse materials as much as often, and don't think, just plant!

I love the idea of making a modern planter out of an old file cabinet. I think the first time I saw it was back in '09 on Design*Sponge. Amy Pennington has revisited the idea in Apartment Gardening and my motivation to actually make one is that much stronger. Of course, the incredible illustrations by the always-awesome Kate Bingaman Burt make the instructions that much easier to follow.

 

Here are the instructions from the book in full and here's how BaldManMod did it (as seen on Design*Sponge).

Are you getting your green on this Earth Day? Any plans include plants? Tell me what you're getting into!

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

Amy Peters' Studio

Amy Peters has been making custom message jewelry for over 15 years that is "inscribed with hopes, dreams and absolute truths" And just in time for Mama's Day, Amy's offering Modish readers 20% off with the code "Modish20" thru April 30th. Thanks for supporting Modish, Amy! {MAIN SHOP} {ETSY SHOP}

I wanna go...

...where the sea meets the sand, where the weather is warm and the sun shines bright. A place where I can wear rainbow espadrilles, a gorgeous gauzy dress and a straw sunhat endlessly. A place where the fanciest thing I need to bring might be a pretty tulle bathing suit...

{dress by lemlem, via greedy girl; shoes at Le Train Bleu, via Honey Kennedy; swimsuit jcrew, via this is glamorous; hat from a wild tonic vintage : all photos from Bibliotheque de Toulouse & linked to souce pages, from 1891}

make/do: For Mom

For my mom's birthday a couple weeks ago, I made her a little painting of home- home where I grew up surrounded with sagebrush and pinetrees, nestled beneath the big mountains under a wide desert sky. It's home still for my mom & dad and I thought it'd be nice for her to have a little something for her desk at work to remind her of home, and of me!

Whatcha been making/doing lately??

Eco-Friendly Find: Appalachian Joinery

Like Jena, I have been taking advantage of the Portland sun (when it does deign to come out) to do a bit of dabbling in the garden. This is my first year with some space of my own, and I have veggies on the mind. I know harvest time is a good ways away, but what better way to serve up all the deliciousness that I've got planned than one of these sustainably harvested boards from Appalachian Joinery?

The wood for the boards is sustainably harvested or slavaged, and each piece has a lovely organic shape—with the natural edges remaining from the way the board was sawed. I love that the product descriptions tell the story of the tree that each board came from. And those photos modeling the wares with some aesthetically arranged veggies? Well, let's just say I am anxious to get back to the garden to ensure I'll soon be doing some arranging myself!

Liz Grotyohann is a co-founder of cosa verde, a marketplace for handmade, environmentally-conscious goods.

Take a Walk With Me

On a still kind of chilly but tyring to be spring-like afternoon...

Kitty Photo Friday (& one of those days...)

Sunshine kitties!

Phew! I'm glad this week is swiftly coming to a close as it was a doozy. & now I'm having one of those days...a day where I'm doubting myself and my path, a day where I'm feeling too stressed out and overwhelmed and mad at myself for always letting that happen, a day when I wish I could just curl up with the kitties and nap all afternoon. But it's only a day. One that I know will pass. And tomorrow, there's the weekend. Ah, glorious glorious weekend.

Hope you have a good one, friends!

Grab the Robot by the Gardening Hand

Ready to start a garden but feel like you don't know where to start? Sprout Robot to the rescue. You do the tiniest bit of work (like tell them where you live, what's your email. . .) then they set up lists of what to plant and when to do it.

When it's time to start something by seed you just click on instructions for a visual how-to. Plus they send out email reminders when it's time to start new crops just to make sure you don't forget. Still not easy enough? Join Sprout Robot Plus and they'll send your seeds right to your door.

Sprout Robot practically holds your hand through the whole process. It's kind of like having a gardening robot boyfriend. Suddenly I have the crazy urge to put on some Devo and go outside and dig. Happy gardening, friends!

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

The Cat's Meow

:: image source

Making me purr this week...

This stylin chambray dress by Dear Creatures- I love the cut, it seems like it'd be so comfy & I bet super cute with tights! Over at Ruche.

Speaking of cute tights... from Happy Socks

This great photo from sweet 14 year old Norwegian girl, Erle.

These stunning lavastone boards by made a mano {via konfetti!}

These pretty pretty "watercolor" pillows by Hettle {via Poppytalk Handmade}

My dream fridge and range, perfect for our little 50's kitchen- from Northstar {via Mrs. Lillien!}

This beautifully styled and insanely delicious looking cake, by Nikole of Herriott Grace {photo by John Cullen, props by Martine Blackhurst & Nikole}

These paintings are just far too beautiful, by Todd Hunter {via Creature Comforts}

And this "soft blond garden" made up of dried and preserved blooms. I just want to reach out and touch it and I love those muted colors- that's strange for me, haha! By Flores del Sol. Would make a good Mom's Day present!

make/do: spring color pops!

Man oh man I have been aching for a day out in the garden and finally yesterday, the clouds opened up, the sky shone blue and there was sun sun SUN! Despite all the work I have to do, I couldn't resist spending some time outside in the ever-rare sunny afternoon. I spent a couple hours stress-releasing dirt-digging and sun-soaking, planting ranunculus and pansies, and now there's color in my little garden again, yay!

Have you gotten any time in the dirt yet this year? Take a break to do something creative just for fun this week? Do share!

I Scream, You Scream

My make/do post will be up Wednesday this week instead, and if this gorgeous sunshine continues today, it'll be of the digging in the dirt variety!

For now, I think the double decker ice-cream cone I had before bed last night (Three Twins' Mocha Difference + Ben & Jerry's new Red Velvet- woah!) was haunting my dreams, cause I woke up hungry for more! I scream, you scream, we all love ice cream! Even for breakfast? Hmm...

source:: Nationaal Archeif

source:: John McNab

source:: Nationaal Archief

source:: New York Public Library

source:: Cross Duck

source:: Yvonne Thompson

source:: Claremont College Library

source:: Library of Congress

source:: chuckp

source:: US National Archives

source:: JC Burns

source:: Ed Yourdan

source:: Banksider

What's your favorite ice-cream flavor? Cone, spoon or ice-cream sandwich?

It's Monday

It's Monday, and I have three things to say:

1. This is my new desktop background and it makes me very happy (via Miss Moss & her awesome playlist this morn)

2. I want to stay in bed all day, all day, all day... (press play!) ala The Concretes, a cute Swedish band I just discovered that's making my Monday a little more tolerable.

3. And, woah! I just saw a little Ruby Crowned Kinglet (yes, I had to look that up) right outside my window hopping around on a bush. It was so tiny and awesome! It flew before I could catch a pic, but it looks like this-

:: source, from UVM

:: source, by Walter Ammann

What's you Monday morning been like so far? Hope you all have a good one!

Kitty Photo Friday

{A trio of cuddling kitties- a rare, but oh so cherished sight}

The sun's out! And it's Friday! And if I didn't have so much work to do I'd be really estastic about both of those things! No no, I'm still happy regardless. But I think I may have to take my laptop outside to work today cause it's the first day I've seen so nice um, all year so far. I'm certianly motivated to get things done quickly tho so that I might have a little afternoon playtime in the garden. We'll see!

Hope you have a fantastic weekend, my friends!

Heather Smith Jones: From hand to earth to paper

Artists have been inspired by gardens for eons, right? Well, the amazing artists we see on etsy and flickr are no different. I've been a fan of Heather Smith Jones work for years and I'm continually amazed by both the passion and peacefulness she conveys in her work. Those same qualities are conveyed in her garden. We recently chatted about the connection she has with her garden. {In case you're wondering, my questions to Heather are in italics.}

One plant I find really striking is the okra plant. As a member of the hollyhock family, it has lovely
buttery blooms that produce an interesting shaped vegetable. They grow very fast so we will cut
fresh okra almost nightly for supper in the summer. Inside the pod is a beautiful star pattern that I
have even used for printing in my work.

Do you have a season that most inspires you? Spring. I like looking for new seedlings popping up in the garden, tree blooms, bulbs, even examining the leaf shapes of little weeds. They are fun to draw.

But sometimes I think whatever season we are in is the most inspiring.

Does working with nature influence your artwork? Definitely. For one project in particular in my book "Water Paper Paint, Exploring Creativity with Watercolor and Mixed Media" I used a couple of tulip bulbs that we dug up as source material for the project "Botanical Painting: Drawing from Nature". In my works on paper I often begin with drawing and by looking at something closely that I have gathered from the garden. There is so much information in small things.

Thank you for sharing your garden and your art Heather! Be sure to check out Heather's gallery shop and etsy shop. It's also worth mentioning, the photos are the artist's own. Aren't they works of art in themselves?

Can't you practically feel the connection drawn from the garden soil to her artwork? How about you, dear readers? Do you find creative renewal in the garden? How does it influence the things you make?

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.