minneapolis meet up

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of lunching and meeting with Renee of NostalgicSummer at the Longfellow Grill.  Renee grabbed a table and in no time we were involved in talk about our craft, shops, networking, and personal stories.  Renee comes from a background in merchandising and print buyer and I from graphic design.  She was encouraged to start making and SELLING some the beautiful jewelry that she repurposes from vintage bits and pieces, religious icons and local tokens.

I love these earrings made with bus tokens!

Renee also makes

unique pendants using the images from her father's antique matchbook collection.

By the time we ordered lunch, we had covered a lot of territory!  Not surprisingly, both of our shop avitars or banners feature a photo of our mothers.  Renee's mom, Gertie and my mom Ione are still going strong...both in their nineties.  We decided that their enduring positive attitudes were even more inspiring to us than their creative talents.
We also discovered that our client base is mainly, east coast, west coat, Texas and Australia!

We then got down to the business of signing our Vestiesteam traveling atlas that houses the team trophy.  Word has it that it is scheduled to be sent to Florida, then Tahoe and maybe the UK!

Renee presented me with a handmade bookmark, and I gave her a little vintage mirror that she was happy to have to use in her boutique sales.  She has been experiencing some great success at local shows.  And she was able to give me some great feedback on a handmade vintage item that I will be introducing in my shop soon...teaser...

Longfellow Grill on the Mississippi

the last time I saw Paris

I curated this treasury last week to honor some vestiesteam members' shops.
There is an item in this treasury that is part of a bigger team promotion.  See if you can find the little bit of Paris you can win!

My daughter, Caroline and I had our first and only visit to Paris in May of 2006.  The weather, the fourth floor flat that we rented for one week near the Bastille and La Marais did not disappoint.  The city and the people were enchanting.

 

It seems like a dream...

I wanted to use several of CabArtVintage's authentic French treasures in my treasury.

The trinket tray I will have for my own!

gorgeous 1920's french bride magazine cover

tour eifflel tray by CabArtVintage

you need to love the fit

pink dreamer by BellaTotsJewelry on etsy

Dreams are mysterious.  Most times, mine confound me.  They can weave and deceive the dreamer down a path of confusion.  This morning I had one of those brief, brilliant dreams that stays with you after waking.

dream: I am sitting with a friend and her ex-husband at their dining table.  My friend is animatedly talking about this wonderful new house that a real estate agent has found for them to move in to as they have been working to reconcile for a couple of weeks.

(In conscious, wakeful life my friend has undergone a contentious separation and divorce that included stalking, restraining orders and the fracturing of many family relationships.  She has worked hard for the last three years to rebuild her finances and her life.  She has also met a man that is a kind companion.)

Her ex offers a hat that he has made as a peace offering to me.  It is an over-sized, knit hat that looks ridiculous.  It is the wrong color... I cannot wear pink.  I look like the Muppets Swedish Chef in a disaster of pepto bismol pink.  I stand looking at myself in the mirror, jaw dropped, while the two of them wait for my approval.

Valentine's Day is the day of my friend's wedding anniversary.  She is also getting ready for a two week vacation with her new beau.  There is no possibility in my mind, that she would consider a reconciliation with her ex.  I will entertain any comments that unravel the mystery for me.

I also want to thank the etsy contributors above... I love pink, just not on me.

baby beanie with large flower by BellaTotsJewelry

j'etaime beret by mutthoni

pink puff dread beanie by karlimiller

slouch beanie by GlamourDamaged

herman miller on the half shell

My best find of the month!

These discarded seats were abandoned at one of my favorite haunts.

They cleaned up beautifully and are in the shop.

 

above image from the official website of hermanmiller.com

Research helped me id the color griege (GR)

I guess that is a pretty good indication of the color of my studio/bedroom wall.

There are many sites that offer replacement legs and the shock mounts that must be replaced in order to get a non-wobble to the seating...here's a great little how to video.

pretty garbage

We try to compost most of our food waste.  Vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters.
When I made a fried egg with cilantro on a bagel for breakfast, I was just getting ready to toss it but the shell halves were perfectly perched for a quick photo.

Being January in Minnesota, you would think it would be a chore hiking that five gallon pail out to the garden every few days.  With the temps at record highs of 52 degrees and no snow cover that has not been the case.  I found these "biodegradable plastic bags" biobags at my local co-op which sounds like a good idea in the warmer months, when you want the waste to "breathe".

before and after

Many of my vintage teammies have sung the praises of picnik.com for many months.  I reluctantly checked out the site a couple of days ago.  I always figured my rather obsolete iPhoto program was sufficient for the exposure and cropping that I needed, though I was frustrated by the minimal retouching capabilities.  And I have resisted learning PhotoShop.

I'm a convert!  Super user friendly program!
For free, I experimented with some controlled focus and airbrushing tools.  The site displays the premium tools to entice and for about 19 dollars I upgraded to a six month membership to be able to use them and the storage capabilities.  Here are a few before and afters.

This vintage Orrefors crystal in now in the shop.  The image has been recropped, brightened.  I used the soft focus tool to bring the center of the shot more into focus.  The blemish remover kissed those two little pinholes in the wall good-bye.  The folds in the napkin were softened with the airbrush tool.

 I loved how this wonderful cedar wood tree sculpture was mimicked by the glass containers behind it.  But the hard, west light was playing peek-a-boo through the pattern in the window shades in the upper left corner.  I experimented with the clone tool to minimize it.

I brightened the shot overall.

Lots of fun here.  I shot these sweet little onyx animal carvings as a group on my surface.
 Often a reference is needed for size so I also shot them in my hand.  

I used the soft focus again and a few wrinkle reducers.  The bad stuff in the lower corners were cloned out (still workin' this one)  

Then I tried the 1960's color filter for a warmer look and a subtle zoom effect.  Lastly I used the holga border effect and saved it in picnik's before and after.  

I took a break from the computer, took a nice walk.  Richard came in from working outside, placed his hat and tools on the counter.  The little donkey went flying, its two feet severed when it hit the ceramic tile.  I was tempted to throw the shrimp pasta after it.  I may try to repair him, but the exercise in retouching has been of more value than the object.  

The Orrefors is safely put away.

Bug rocks the field

Chris Monter photo credit

My niece Maria aka Bug, three time girl's cross country champion, continues to make strides toward her goals.  She qualifies for the footlocker invitational early December.