Organization, Baby Steps

Our kitchen cabinets are the original to the house, steel mid-Century GE space age things. We have a dream of having the painted at a car place, but not the funds, so they're rusty and imperfect and perfectly suited for the aesthetic of the rest of our home.

Anyway, a few days ago I was unloading the dishwasher for the bazillionth time (really probably the 3rd time that day...how?! why?!) and decided we needed a better system for the utensils.

As with 90% of the population I vowed not to be more frugal this year, so naturally Charlie needed to make a a custom sorter for the drawer, right? The old and icky contact paper needed to go, too, so I thought a nice piece of fabric doubled over would be a better alternative (after all, it could be washed when the time comes). I measured the drawer, marked the size on the fabric and quickly serged the edges together to make it into a large mat.

Not too shabby for a quick project that didn't cost an extra dime to make, huh?

New product shots

When there's work to be done and 2 kids who both want attention, you have to figure out the simplest (yet somewhat elegant) solution. This is what I came up with:

Product shots using our neighbor's aged wood siding for a rustic back drop.

Feeling the farmhouse vibe? When things (if things?) calm down again, I can do some styled shots, but in the meantime, I'm diggin' these. A big ol' thanks to the Hubs for taking such pretty photos!

More KTSD

Still making progress despite 6 inches of snow (no quick trips to the hardware store) and my week down with the stomach flu (C on full-time kid duty). The image just below was the plan. Then we realized a slide-in or drop-in stove would double or triple the cost of what was already in-the-distant-future stove. THEN... the snow melted and C schlepped the kids across town to Ikea, only to find out the oak butcher block counters we were counting on have been discontinued.

So I guess we can just nix that mock up. We're thinking of doing polished concrete instead, but adding another DIY to the to-do list, 2 young and energetic kids (meaning there's only 1 person who can work on the overhaul at a time), and the house being in shambles...Let's just say I'm not so sure about that.

A few more garden critters

We're finding a lot of critters in the few minutes we spend outside each week. It's so hot I have a hard time motivating Mabel to play out there and should admit that I'm pretty happy to sink into the couch for a while each afternoon, too.

We found another batch of swallowtail caterpillars, both of which are now chrysalis. Saturday night I made a sorrel tart. The sorrel, straight from the garden to the kitchen, had lots and lots of little snails which I collected in a jar. I told M we weren't going to keep them, but they're still in the jar on her work table (aka the den coffee table). I'm thinking we could become Matthews, NC's first escargot farmers.  

A Big Shop Announcement

I've been debating over whether I want to reopen the shop, deciding how to balance all of my interests without falling prey to the need to constantly update the shop and maintain competitiveness of mainstream consumerism. (Anyone else feel like etsy no longer sets an independent pace but pushes shop keepers to stay ahead of the retail curve?) I don't have the drive to make items based on holiday themes, nor do I have the time.

All rants aside, when the shop reopens, I'm going to have a different structure and a different process: I will just offer 1 print at a time in very limited editions. The paper, the size and the time of availability will vary, but my goal is to have a new design every 2 months. If an edition doesn't sell out, I'll still pull it from the shop.

It's a way for me to keep pushing myself, stay outside that retail rush, and feel passionate about my product.

This print is nearly finished, and will be the first available in a 16 x 22" poster as an edition of 10 ($75). Smaller prints (8 x 10", edition of 20, $30) will be available through the fine retailers that carry Wolfie and the Sneak wares.