Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Killing Birds With One Stone - Spring Cleaning Party

Attic Gal Alysa says:

My garage has been a mess for months. I have been planning to have a garage sale since January but with no weekends open until March, it wasn't happening. Instead, my garage was quickly becoming a hazard zone. There was a small path that led from the front of the garage door to the door to the house. It was embarrssing to open my garage door for the world to see and I worried about someone getting hurt while trying to get from point A to point B.

I scheduled a weekend to have our garage sale and clean the garage at the same time. This happened last weeked. If you are like me, I like to accomplish a lot of different projects at the same time. Let's see all the "birds" I "killed" with my one "stone."

The sale started on Friday - a slower day for most garage sales so I knew the garage could get cleaned out a bit more plus most of my children would be in school so I could accomplish more. It turned out to be the most fun day as a bunch of friends stopped. Impromptu party! (Bird #1)

My dear friends Helene (seated with baby) and Anna helped me clean out the garage while the garage sale was going on. (Bird #2) When cleaning, if you can, involve a good friend who will be open and honest with you about what to keep and what not to keep. Since we don't have a basement, the garage houses a lot. Should I keep these bolts of fabric? Should I keep all these stamps the children hardly ever use? What about these family heirlooms? What about clothes the children will grow into? etc. It's nice to have other brains and perspectives. I cleared out a lot and we kept adding it to the sale.

Okay, these are some obvious "birds," here are some other ones:

Made roughly $500 from all the goodies (Bird #3)
Sent all the leftovers to charity (Bird #4)
The children played and played outside with neighborhood friends ALL day on Saturday.
(Bird #5)
Chatted and built relationships with neighbors that stopped by for a visit. (Bird #6)
Painted a bird (see earlier post). (Bird #7)
Ended up with a clean garage (Bird #8)

After filling two recycling bins (the big ones), two garbage cans (again, the big ones), and working until 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, I have a completely clean garage. OOoh - it feels so good. I'm not an embarrasment to the neighborhood anymore. I have the epoxy flooring so I washed down the floor with a hose and cleaner. I think I can eat off of it now.

Do you have artwork that you want to keep but just don't know where it will go in your house? Why not the garage? We spend time in there. Why can't we enjoy a bit of pretty there? Plus, the Paul Frank monkey just makes me smile. Julius is so cute!
I love baskets, trays, and containers. I'm in constant need of them as I cart items to and from school, church, or someone's house. Rather than hanging clothes in the garage, I decided to use this space to place random "carrying" objects. I may not be nice and neat but it is easily accessed.

I enjoy doing Ebay when I have an hour here or there. I grouped items I could sell in an hours time within these plastic boxes and numbered them. So when I have an hour, I pull the #1 box and work on it until it is done and then another time pull out the #2, etc.

Boy, I'm looking happy to have a garage sale :) Check behind me and you get an idea how bad the workbench looked before as well as up above. Ugh.

Work bench is finally clean!
Bats, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, etc are all housed in a big basket. Lots of portable tables are housed next to a bookshelf that holds craft supplies for children.

The best part - my Goob Mobile is parked in the garage before it turns 120 degrees. Yeah!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Spring Cleaning Party March 31



Be sure to check back as we are joining the Spring Cleaning Party on March 31.

Transformation

Attic Gal Alysa says:

Don't you love transforming things especially when it is easy? While I was busy having my garage sale, Rachelle hit the garage sale trail and found me this bird to go with my new birdie shower curtain. Wasn't exactly my taste but we saw beyond the exterior to the inner beautiful bird that wanted to emerge. "Set me free of my ugliness, tweet, tweet!"




I grabbed a can of spray paint that I already had in my garage and transformed the little birdie.
I took a few minutes from my garage sale to paint it, let it dry, went back and did another coat while the sale was slow, let it dry and then finished with one more coat. Spray paint is my new best friend. What can you transform with a can of spray and five minutes of your busy life? Let us know.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Favorite Things - A Giveaway

Attic Gal Rachelle says:

Relief Society, our church's woman's organization was having a party, and the theme was "Favorite Things."  We were supposed to bring a wrapped gift that represented one of our favorite things.  Well, I have a LOT of favorite things.  I didn't even know where to start.

Here is what I came up with...


* I love, love, love milk glass!  I have hundreds of pieces, all garage sale finds, and all so pretty together. (I'll show you my collection at another time. Promise.)

* I love stamping!  

* I love my Big Shot die cut/embossing machine from Stampin' Up!  Everything, except for the bird was popped out of my Big Shot.  So easy.

* I love birds.

*I love ribbon.

*I love springtime... and pastels... and Cheer too- Why not?

And even the wrapping was one of my favorite things:


* I love toile! But you might have already guessed that.

My sweet friend, and brand new mom, Kendall, won my gift.  I hope she enjoys it.


Speaking of favorite things...



* I love flowers, and this time of year, I especially love tulips.

* I also love my new camera.

So when last year's tulips popped up out of the ground to welcome spring, I couldn't help but snap a few shots.


The tulips were a bit unexpected because I thought it didn't get cold enough here for the tulip bulbs to do their thing.  I guess it does.  A happy surprise.

* I love happy surprises!



I feel inspired.  I think I want to paint this flower.

* I love to watercolor!

I'll show you when I'm done, OK?

Oops.  Now I'm committed.  Its been a long time since I picked up a paintbrush, but I will do it this time.



P.S.:

* I love comments!

* I love giveaways.

And since I had such a great garage sale morning, and found another milk glass plate just like the one above, I have decided to make another one and give it away to an attic digger who leaves a comment and  shares their favorite things with us.  How 'bout that?  Leave a comment, tell us few of your favorite things, then check back on April 1st and see if you won.

So, what "favorite things" would you put in your gift bag?



Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A Little Birdie Told Me...

Attic Gal Rachelle says:

A little birdie told me that spring is here (That little birdie is the mocking bird that belts out his own rendition of car alarms outside my bedroom window - all night long!  Really.)
And springtime always gets my nesting instinct flaring, so this year I put that nesting instinct to good use with what else?  Nests, eggs, and little birdies.

I went on the search for pretties at my favorite stores and around my house and yard, piled it all on the table, then started to fiddle around to see what worked where.

My milk glass cake plates are usually stacked on the dining table, but this time I decided to separate them and top them with bell jars and cake domes that I had around the house.

The rosemary trees I brought in from the backyard.  I like the height they add to the display.

I just love my little resin nest with the happy birdies.  I discovered them at Tai Pan Trading, which is absolutely my most favorite store ever!  It brings me to my happy place!  Scratch that.  It IS my happy place.  Tai Pan is basically a Home Depot for girls - it is the size of Home Depot, but it as all home decor, like your favorite home boutique on steroids.  And the displays are gorgeous!  You can't help but be inspired!  But unlike a fancy boutique, the prices are great!  The bad news is that there are only a few of them - a couple in Utah, and a new one here in So Cal.  Mine is over an hour's drive away, but SO WORTH the trip!  If you don't live in Utah or So Cal, I truly mourn for you.  I do.  But if you ever happen to be anywhere near a Tai Pan be sure to make your way over.  Give yourself a good three hours to really see it all, and make room in your vehicle.

Sorry, I didn't want to sound like an infomercial - but it really is that eye-poppingly fantastic.  I never get bored with that place, and there is always something new.

I also got the pretty little eggs that are in the nest at TPT, and the potted herbs.  TPT specializes in silk flowers, plants, and artificial fruits, etc, that look totally real.

I found the leggy apothecary jar with the eggs at HomeGoods - not nearly as fun as TPT, but close to home and therefore accessible for regular visits.  The little green wire nesty stand with the dome was also from TPT,  (Blow it up to see how stinkin' cute it is) as well as the little nest inside.


Under another dome is simply another pot of herbs and a few tiny pots and eggs.


I love this nest I found at TPT.  It has soft moss and feathers woven into it.  A little bird stands guard over  her eggs.  Tweet tweet.

The cake dome was just $4 at TPT.


Don't you just love this sweet little bird bath ($8), and the happy birdies ($3 ea.) that are enjoying themselves in it.  TPT finds too.

The Home sign with the little birdie was $5 at Marshall's.  I just love it!



Another aviary display in the corner of the living room, with my apothecary jars.  I love the bulb I found at TPT in the tall jar!  And look how the hanging nest I snatched up at TPT just fits in that big jar.  It looks like it is just floating in there.


The sweet quail eggs are also from TPT, and look darling in the rotund jar with the little nest I found for $0.49 at Marshall's.  I might just have to put a pixie in there.


A closer look at that hanging nest, and these delightful pudgy mossy tweeters, again TPT, $3 each!

Thanks for letting me you show you the a few eggs-citing finds around my nest.  It has been a real tweet!



Monday, March 23, 2009

Tour de Toile

Attic Gal Rachelle says:

I HEART Toile!  So when I saw that the Pretty Organizer was having a toile linking party today my heart skipped a beat.  If you love toile like I do, then head over to the Pretty Organized Palace to join the fun.  If you don't know what toile is, then pop over there and peruse around and you'll figure it out pretty quick.

toile-tuesday-confessions-of-toile.html.jpg

And if you are visiting Out of the Attic for the first time, Welcome to our Attic!  I am Attic Gal Rachelle, and my partner in creative crime is Attic Gal Alysa.  To find out a bit more about us click here.  We hope you have fun digging around up in our Attic.

Well toile lovin' ladies, have I got some toile for you!

When I started taking stock of the toile in my life, I realized that I have toile in EVERY ROOM in my house (except, obviously the boys' rooms.  But if I thought I could get away with it in a cowboy room, or nautical room, I certainly would!)

Ready for the Tour de Toile?  Lets begin.


The Nursery:
When I was pregnant with baby #6, I found this absolutely opulent cream crib set, starring this gorgeous black toile bed skirt, at a garage sale for $30!  I had visions of a baby girl nursery with pink walls, and black and cream toile EVERYWHERE!  So, even though I didn't find out the sex of my baby, I snatched it up anyway.  I found the crib for $10 at another garage sale, and spray painted it black.  All ready for baby.  So when the baby girl I was certain was coming turned out to be boy #6, did I toss the black toile? Not on your life!  That baby slept his babydom away  in that crib, surrounded by toile, and I believe he will be a better man for it! 

 Earlier this month he turned three and moved into a big boy bed.  I tossed the crib, but I'm keeping the toile crib set just in case... (oh, I hope my hubby doesn't read that!)

And what about that pink room of my dreams?  Keep reading!


The Bathroom:


In the guest bathroom I have a stack of blue toile hatboxes, filled with, what else? Toilet paper.  So if you every drop by for a visit, need to use the powder room, and find a bare roll, remember to look in the hatboxes, conveniently located next to the toilet.
Bold

The Dining Room:
More hat boxes, these ones red and cream toile, sit atop the china cabinet.

The huge table cloth is a reverse red toile that looks perfect with my collection of red transfer ware that I have collected over the years.


The Hallway:

I have an ancestor wall in the entry hallway, that includes three of these collage frames with gold toile mats.

Grandma and Grandpa look so becoming in toile, don't you think?


The Kitchen:
OK, so I really don't have anything in the kitchen that is toile since the decor revolves around my collection of vintage printed tablecloths (remind me to do a post on those sometime), but I do have this super cute apron that I found at Ross just last week for only $8!  I don't really think it is actually toile, but close enough, and so cute I had to post it anyway.  It makes me want to put on a string of pearls and meet my hubby at the door with a loaf of fresh baked bread and fried chicken (except I don't want to get grease anywhere near this darling apron...so no fried chicken unless I get another apron to cover up this apron.  Hmmm)

My Bedroom:

This is my corner of the world from whence I do all my blogging.  Of course I have to have toile here.  A Target clearance toile slipcover hides a tired old ladder back chair at my flip down top desk.


But no Tour de Toile would be complete without a peek into the sanctuary of femininity that pays homage to all things Toile de Jouy... the pink room!


The Pink Room:


Remember the girl room I envisioned for baby girl that never came?  Well, I did it anyway - just for ME!  It is my toile-licious craft room/studio and my favorite place on earth! (OK, I might like it more if it was located in a villa in Tuscany.  But its not, and I still love every inch of it!)  I won't show you all of it right now, just the toile-y stuff.


I made the curtains out of black toile fabric and trimmed it with black grosgrain ribbon...

then tied it back with big antique bone buttons.

I wanted to cover the window seat cushion in this striped fabric, but there wasn't quite enough fabric, so I sewed it into a sleeve with ribbon ties, then just tucked a piece of toile fabric on each end to cover the exposed upholstery foam.  I love the look.

I ditched the stupid sliding mirror doors on the closet, and made toile curtains instead.  They make the contents of the closet much more accessible.  All my fabric was found clearance, so the window fabric was different from the closet fabric, but since they are across the room from each other, nobody even notices.

A toile-ish clock.

Like my toile storage drawers?

The ribbon pull tabs on the drawers are labeled with homemade metal edged tags.
Wanna know how I made it?


I repurposed the small set of drawers I got at Ikea years ago, as you can see from the drawers on the top.  I didn't like the notches cut out of the tops of the drawer fronts, so I simply turned the drawers around and drilled holes for the ribbon pulls in the back sides.  Then painted everything black, and decoupaged on some toile wrapping paper I discovered serendipitously at the dollar store.

More drawers done the same way.


A toile frame.  It's OK.  That's the baby who is used be swathed in toile.


My inspiration board was an old frame I picked up for a buck at a garage sale.  I cut a piece of plywood backing, and with some batting, ribbon, upholstery tacks and a leftover piece of toile, I made a perfect place to display my pretties.

Romantic tolie band boxes, another garage sale find.


I also found this toile shade at a garage sale and trimmed it up with a little glitz and glam, just like I like it.



A stack of toile file folders make any office special.

Attic Gal Alysa gave me these Anna Griffith toile file folders.  Too pretty to file away, they sit out all the time.


For extra seating when the girlfriends come over to craft, I recovered the rotting fabric on these old folding card table chairs - toile on the seats, and pink brocade underneath.  I LOVE these chairs!  $3 for the pair!

Another chair for the room.  It was ugly and cheap, but with a little black spray paint and a little toile, it is now a throne fit for the Queen (that's me, by the way.)

Well, that's just a peak into my pink room.  I'll show you the whole room all in another post sometime, OK?

Oh, and being a stamper, I even have my share of toile stamps.  Stampin' Up had some great toile inspired stamps.  Unfortunately they have discontinued all of them, but if you can get a hold of 'Serendipity', 'Toile Blossems,' or 'Avian Toile', then you can stamp up all the toile you want.  Here is a linen photo album I stamped up years ago.


Just last night I was feeling inspired so I stamped this toile inspired wood clock, then trimmed it off with two kinds of grosgrain ribbon, an antique hand carved bone button, and a pearl.  I love the bird.  It gives a new meaning to "time flies."

And that completes Out of the Attic's Tour de Toile.  But all of this came out of Rachelle's Attic, you say.  What about Attic Gal Alysa?  The funny thing is as much as Alysa professes to love toile, she doesn't have a stitch of it in her house!  Alysa, girl, you better get over to the Pretty Organized Palace, because she's throwing quite a posh shindig (and I hear she has chocolate),  and start clicking on links until you get some inspiration.

Thanks for rummaging around in our decked out toile-licious attic today.  If you enjoyed yourself, please come back and dig around our attic again!

Happy toile-ing!