Vintage Linen Tea Towel Pillow

A few months ago, I found a vintage linen tea towel at my favorite local thrift shop for 50 cents. I liked the simple brown and cream toile-esque images,and I thought it had kind of a Ballard Designs feel. It's a travel souvenir towel from a place in Kansas called Lindsborg, also known as "Little Sweden". It sits on a bench in my foyer, awaiting the day when a Swede will walk through the door, point to the pillow, and exclaim, "Ah herregud! Lindsborg!" Which I think is Swedish for, "Oh my goodness, Lindsborg!" but which might really mean, "What kind of fool makes a Lindsborg pillow?"

Turning the towel into a pillow was a snap--if you've got a sewing machine and can sew a straight line, you can make one too. Experiment a bit to find the optimal square for the pillow face, (I chose to leave off the "Lindsborg" logo) and use a complementary fabric as backing. A recent cruise on Ebay using the search terms "vintage linen souvenir tea towel" revealed lots of neat tea-towel-to-pillow conversion possibilities, including a Savannah towel in navy and white, some cool London railway maps, and a map of Paris.

Just another little reminder that "decorator fabric" doesn't have to be purchased on a bolt from the fabric shop!

This post has been linked to Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style.

Almost-Free Gardening--5 Great Tips

I have always loved gardens and gardening, but I'm an intermittent gardener. Like a chronic dieter who's an expert on nutrition and exercise and yet fails to lose weight, I have an uncanny ability to retain everything that I have ever read or heard about gardening--yet in the summer, when the mosquitoes start buzzing, the snakes start slithering, and the heat index tops 100 degrees, I wimp out, rush inside, and leave my garden to fend for itself.

Here are five tips I have learned in recent years that have made my laissez-faire gardening approach a bit more affordable:
1. Basil Will Root in Water
Did you know that basil will root if you place it in a glass of water on a windowsill? I learned this tip from The Tidy Brown Wren a few summers ago. This is a great way to keep fresh basil at hand through the winter (and through the summer too, if you don't want to schlep out to the garden for a few leaves). I have even successfully transitioned these plants to potting soil indoors. Just be careful when it's time to transplant these little plants outdoors--they require a very gradual transition.

2. Green Onions Will Grow From Grocery Store Roots
Here's another tip that even my seasoned gardener friends didn't know: The white portion and roots of store-bought green onions can be planted in soil and will continue to grow and regenerate green, edible shoots. (When you plant them, be sure to leave a little green above ground for photosynthesis.) I was thrilled to learn about this, as I have a bad habit of buying green onions, using one or two, and letting the rest rot in the fridge. This way, I can just snip a few green shoots with scissors whenever a recipe calls for them. They grow quickly, ensuring a long summer of pasta salad...and onion breath!

3. Tomatoes Can Be Frozen Whole
This tip may or may not save you money, but it will definitely save your sanity...and your hands. If you grow tomatoes, you have probably had the experience of cooking all day (and burning your fingers with tomato juice) only to produce 3 lousy jars of tomato sauce. Take heart! There is a much easier way to save surplus tomatoes. Gently wash and dry the tomatoes, cut off the stem end, and put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once they are frozen, transfer them to a Ziploc freezer bag. The best part? For use in recipes, just rinse a frozen tomato under hot water and the skin will slide right off in your hand! Revolutionary, I tell you!

As a side note, the watermelon in the photo above was also grown in our garden. Watermelons are easy to grow from last year's seeds...if you live in North Carolina!

4.Marigolds Are Ridiculously Easy to Grow From Last Year's Seeds
[Edited fall 2012 to link to my new how-to post]
Seed saving sounds like something that only die-hard plant propagators do, but I'm here to tell you that it is absurdly easy.  You can find instructions on my other post here.  Or, if you're even lazier than this, wait for last year's dropped seeds to pop up on their own as seedlings and transplant those microscopic marigolds to optimal locations.

5. Hydrangeas Can Be Propagated Without Rooting Hormone
The hydrangeas above are from my garden, though this picture is from last year--this year we have lush leaves and no blossoms, thanks to a frost. I learned how to propagate them from Manuela at A Cultivated Nest. If you have never visited her blog, you're in for a treat!

Happy (Cheap) Gardening!

Reverse Psychology--A Fun Fabric Tip

Here's a quick and easy way to think outside of the box when you're working with fabric in your home: check to see whether your fabric is "reversible". The dragonflies in the frames above were made from two squares cut from the same piece of fabric. The first is the front side of the fabric, and the second is the reverse (or back) side of the same fabric.

I was introduced to this concept years ago when I read Rachel Ashwell's books. Ashwell, founder of "Shabby Chic" style, advocated using the back side of cotton fabrics (chintzes, for example) for projects such as pillows to create a soft, worn, vintage look. Here is an example of this concept in action. This photo shows the front of a bold Ralph Lauren fabric (this is a sheet)--the second photo is the back side of the same fabric:


Not all fabrics are limber enough to accomplish these acrobatic feats, but this is a good tip to keep in mind when you are refreshing a room on a budget and trying to work with what you already have. Remember also to think like a Martian. Whether you're looking at curtains, sheets, or a tablecloth, it's all just fabric in the end--fabric that can potentially be transformed into something else!

"My Really Favorite Room"--The Importance of Empty Space

This morning, I decided to move the glider chair out of my two and a half year old daughter's room. With the recent addition of her first dollhouse, the room was starting to feel crowded, and I wanted to give her more space to play. Lately we've been reading bedtime stories on her "big girl" bed, so we haven't needed the chair as much as we used to.

I wasn't sure how my daughter might react to this change--after all, that glider was the site of lots of snuggles, songs, and stories, not to mention the 3 am (and 4 am, and 5 am) nursing sessions from her baby days. I felt a little wistful as I heaved the glider through the door, and I mentally prepared to comfort her if she expressed any sadness.

So I was more than a little surprised--though maybe I shouldn't have been-- when I returned to her room after carrying out the chair and found her twirling in the middle of the carpet, her little pink purse full of LEGO people practically flying off of her arm as she spun. She was belting out a song that she made up as she went along:

"It my favorite room! It my lovely room! My really favorite room! I like my roooom!"

She has never offered any opinion about her bedroom before (in spite of all of the pretty, color-coordinated touches that resulted from my overzealous nesting phase during my pregnancy), so I asked her about her song. She explained that she was happy because she had more space to play.

I looked at the corner by the window where the chair had been and where the dollhouse now stood. The dollhouse, a pastel, plastic, 3 story structure made by Fisher Price, is not attractive in and of itself--particularly since we lost the toilet and now use a hinged spice jar lid in its place-- but sitting in front of the window on its little fabric-draped decorator table, with lots of sunlight and empty space around it, it looked pretty. Or maybe more accurately, the space around it looked pretty; the absence-of-chair looked pretty. The potential-for-play looked pretty. Lovely even.
My daughter's reaction to this change reminded me of two things:

1. How sensitive human beings are to changes in our environments (children in particular), and how a simple change can truly shift the "energy" of a space. Forgive me if my California roots are showing, but it's the truth.

2. The power of "subtraction" in redesign. Sometimes removing one element from a room can make such a positive difference. As Lauri Ward says, we need to give the eye a place to "rest" in each room. Subtraction is one of the easiest--and most affordable--ways to change a space. After all, even in the worst economic times when many can't afford to buy something new, anyone can afford to remove something! And, as my daughter pointed out, it's not about losing "stuff" as much as it's about gaining space...for living!

Have you subtracted anything in your home lately? Do tell!

Our Light Fixture Fruit Bowl, or, How To Think Like a Martian

We've recently completed some kitchen upgrades in our home. One old element that I was thrilled to vote off of the island was this dated, mammary-esque light fixture. (The popcorn ceilings are gone now too. Hooray!)

As my husband teetered on a ladder in our kitchen disassembling the old light fixture, I was itching to toss it out. But when he handed me the glass shade, I couldn't help but notice a few endearing qualities about it that I had missed when it had hung above my head in the kitchen, taunting me with its sheer 1987ness:

1. It was made of thick, heavy, frosted glass.

2. The edge along the top rim was smooth and finished.

3. It was deeper than any of the mixing bowls in my kitchen cupboards.

4. It had a flat spot near the hole in the bottom, which suggested that it wouldn't roll to one side or the other if I were to place it on a flat surface.

5. It appeared to be capable of corralling fruit, and, as fate would have it, I needed a fruit bowl.

I rinsed it out, filled it with fruit, stuck it on the counter, shrugged, and murmured, “Cool.” And that is how I came to own a light fixture fruit bowl.

I share this story because it illustrates a special kind of thinking that I use often in my interior redesign work. (For those of you who are not addicted to HGTV, interior redesign is a fancy term for redecorating using what you already have.) You might call it “creative thinking” or “divergent thinking”, but I like to call it, “thinking like a Martian”. If you can learn to think like a Martian, you will end up with a much more unique home.

So, how do you think like a Martian? You examine your possessions with fresh, Martian eyes. A Martian wouldn't use the term “end table” to describe an end table. A Martian would call it, “A 26 inch high object with a flat surface on top capable of balancing snorks and zeenies” (books and drinks). If you don't limit yourself to the label “end table”, you open up the possibility of using a stack of picnic baskets, a pile of suitcases, a dresser, or a bar stool to serve as an end table. Or you may, as one of my clients did, use an enormous flowerpot as an end table by fitting it with a round top!

With Martian thinking, you don't see shower curtains, pillowcases, tablecloths, sheets, cloth napkins, and blankets. Instead, you just see: fabric! Thanks to my tendency toward Martian thinking, I live in a house where pillowcases are made into curtains and curtains are made into pillowcases, coat hooks serve as curtain rod brackets, rusty metal burners from an old tobacco barn fill in as candle holders, costume jewelry dangles from the bathroom chandelier, and my most-beloved vases might be referred to by non-Martians as “juice glasses”.

What are some examples of Martian thinking in your home? Do tell!

This post has been linked to Tidy Mom.

Why I Love Little Vases--And Why You Should Too!

You may have heard decorators say that using a few larger accessories will create more visual impact and a less cluttered appearance than using lots of little, tiny accessories. While I agree with this rule in general (though I've found that there are approximately 872.5 exceptions to every decorating rule), I do have a special place in my heart for little, tiny vases. There are two reasons why I love little vases, and why you should too:

1. The first reason--and the one that is most relevant in the gardening "off-season"--is that smaller vases come in handy for extending the "life" of cut flowers from the florist. Here is a great "before and after" example:

I received a cheerful bouquet as a gift. Just one week later, the once-perky arrangement looked downright frumpy. (Admittedly the murky water didn't help any.)

My favorite solution? Discard the frumpified blooms, trim the stems of the salvageable blossoms, and create a new, smaller arrangement in a little vase:

You can keep doing this--cutting the stems and creating ever-smaller arrangements--until you end up with a single bloom in a bud vase.


2. If you have a garden--or even just a few pots of annuals on a balcony--little vases are a must-have item to keep in your decorating "arsenal". As a gardener, I love bringing cut flowers inside and passing along little nosegays to friends and neighbors. Little vases allow me to incorporate the humbler--hardier-- flowers and herbs that survive in my garden in spite of my benign neglect. My fresh bouquets tend to include flowers that most people wouldn't even consider to be "cutting flowers": shorter-stemmed varieties of marigolds and zinnias, lavender, azaleas, miniature roses, nasturtiums, verbena, lantana, and even the spiky purple flowers from the butterfly bush and the little white blooms of basil that has gone to seed.



If your vase collection is limited to larger vases designed to hold big, showy arrangements from the florist, you're missing lots of tiny opportunities to bring nature's beauty indoors. Incidentally, I use the term "vase" loosely. Even though I own some pretty Waterford crystal vases that I received as gifts, I also get lots of use from the other "vases" in my collection: little spice jars, juice glasses (as seen in the "after" photo at the top of this post), jam and jelly jars, mason jars, and even "topless" salt and pepper shakers (ooh, the scandal)! With spring knocking on our door, this is a great time to start rescuing little jars and bottles from the recycling bin and putting them to use!


You may be wondering where to put all of these lovely little-vase bouquets. I find that nosegays are right at home beside the kitchen sink, next to the bathroom or powder room sink, or next to the clock on a nightstand. Their smaller scale also makes them well-suited for the breakfast table, where no one has to struggle to talk over or around them. I wouldn't recommend attempting to use them on a fireplace mantel, as they'll be lost up there...unless you happen to own a miniature fireplace!

I'll leave you with a tiny vase link. White Forest Pottery on Etsy sells these tiny wildflower vases for $10 apiece. I think that they look pretty en masse, and as the mother of a toddler-botanist, I was charmed by the fact that this Etsy seller pointed out that these little vases are great for displaying childrens' "prized dandelions".

Happy almost-spring!

This post has been linked to Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at The Stories of A to Z.

A January Mantel

Happy New Year! I hope that your year is off to a great start! If Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty are still languishing in your living room, it's time to pack 'em up and give your room a fresh start for the new year. I wanted to share a few photos of my January mantelscape--maybe they will inspire you to try something new this year!

On the left side of the mantel, I filled a pair of tall, glass vases with aqua and pearly white Christmas balls to add a little snowball-inspired shimmer. For the right side of the mantel, I was plumb out of tall, wide, glass vases, so I had to improvise a little. In the spirit of use-what-you-have decorating, I propped the balls on a tall bud vase, a few wine glasses of different heights, and a silver tumbler. I like the cascading effect--it reminds me of champagne bubbles. Large, framed numbers in fun fonts, a black barn star, a silver cookie tin, and a tiny framed silhouette of ice skaters complete the arrangement.

To help with my Christmas light withdrawal, I twined a string of white lights through the whole shebang. Here's how the mantel looks at night:


Happy New Year! I'd love to hear how you decorate for winter after the holidays!

5 Minutes to Festive--Frame a Gift Bag!

A store called Carolina Pottery opened in my town not long ago, and I stopped in to have a look around. Carolina Pottery is a Southern chain of stores selling home decor items, furniture, housewares, wicker sets, craft and floral supplies, and holiday goods--but, oddly enough, very little actual pottery that I could see. I spotted some fun,vintage style gift bags and thought to myself, "Those are pretty enough to hang on the wall!" One look at the price tag clinched the deal.

To frame the gift bags, I just removed the ribbon handles and popped the bags into frames with the folded side down. Being the uber practical person that I am, I untied the knots in the handles rather than cutting them, just in case I ever want to use the gift bags as...gift bags!

For an investment of $1.98 and ten minutes of my time, I have some fun holiday art. This simple idea can be adapted to a number of holidays and occasions. Keep it in mind if you need last-minute decorations for a holiday party, birthday party, bridal shower, or baby shower in the future!

If you have an appetite for more framing irreverence, you might enjoy this post that I wrote about framing silk greenery.

My Alternative Home Decor Database offers examples of more wild things--from framed doilies to wall-mounted oars--that can pass as art!

This post has been linked to Tatertots and Jello. Stop by for loads of crafty inspiration!