Estate Sale Heaven

I usually don't like to visit estate sales. The few I've been to just gave me a weird feeling, and I didn't see a single thing that looked interesting. I can't seem to get it out of my mind that someone died. That is why when I saw a big neon sign for an estate sale I passed right by. My friend said, "Let's go check it out, you never know what you might find!" So we looped back around. Holy moley, it blew all of my past bad estate sale experiences away! We got there on the last day, but there were still plenty of treasures, and because it was the last day there was a free pile! The best part (yes, even better than 1920's National Geographics), was that nobody died. An elderly woman decided to sell everything- all her stuff, her house. I didn't find out why she'd made that decision, but my imagination is coming up with all sorts of adventures for her. Maybe she is travelling the world, or joining the circus (or both!).
Here are some of my favorite things I picked up:
These are both probably a handmade. Did you make loop rugs as a kid? I did. I can't decide if I'm going to hang them on the wall or keep it on the floor.
All these plates were freeeeeeee!

2 hot pink flowers

I just finished posting a new bunny card on etsy! I just love this one. I almost kept it. Hopefully someone will love it as much as I do! Do any of you run into the dilema of what to keep vs what to sell? How do you get past it?
(you can find my etsy store at www.reloveprojects.etsy.com)

Paws for a good cause

I just finished listing this Paw Card on Etsy. 10% of the purchase price of all paw cards will be donated to Rescue Rehab Home! RRH is such a great non-profit. They provide care for injured, neglected, abandoned, and mistreated dogs. Some of the stories are so sad...Like Gypsy, who was found in a dumpster barely alive. The good news is that RRH got involved and gave Gypsy the care he needed! Now he is in a loving home, healthy and happy. I know from experience and working directly with a few of the the dogs that RRH is very worthy of all donations and volunteers. Whatever anybody can do directly benefits the DOGS. I'm always weary donating to any cause because I just don't know where the money is going. I saw firsthand how RRH improved all the dogs' situations- and how much time, effort, and support goes into making these dogs' lives better.
More ReLove Projects Paw Cards coming soon! If you decide to help support RRH in any way I'd love to hear about it!

Etsy Tuesday!

This week I am so exited to share more Etsy artists that use recycled materials. If any of you missed it last week, I find these items on Etsy by searching for 'handmade' and 'recycled'. It is wonderful and daunting that my last search pulled up 4217 pages, and the page I counted had 22 listings... Which equals A LOT of recycled items. I waded through and found what I think are some very special and creative recycled goods! Enjoy! (ps- you can go to the Etsy listing by clicking on the pink words. If you decide to purchase from any of these artists due to this blog I would love to know!)

This mouse by Marjji is just so cute. Some of them are meant to be cat toys, but I doubt I would let my cat get its claws into something this adorable!





Celeste Earrings by AntiGenre. These are made with recycled sterling silver. These would be great to wear on a date night!
I just love the smell of old books. And I love the covers on them! Some of them are just so bizarre and have nothing to do with the story at all. The stories themselves usually don't live up to the covers- which is why I was so happy when I came across this:Write a new story journal , in the beyondthebook Etsy shop. There are blank (recycled) pages inside these funky covers. So fun!

Arting Ideas

This week I really want to get my artwork started- the same art that I didn't start last week! Usually starting is the most difficult part- once I know my idea and jump in I work away sacrificing sleep, food, breaks, and other human necessities.

I've been saving art ideas off all sorts of different sites for some time now. I've just been right-clicking them willy-nilly and can't give proper credit to anybody. If I use your photo let me know! I'd love to tell the world how inspiring you are.

Friday Fess Up

Here we are already, at the end of another week (and the start of the weekend!). This week was a big one for ReLove Projects. If any of you tuned in on Monday you'll know that I created a lofty list of goals for myself and a promise to show you pictures of my studio today. I am sooooo happy I committed to that- it made me really stick to my 20 minutes + of organizing every day!
I didn't achieve everything on my list, but that wasn't really the point. I knew starting off that it wasn't realistic but that if I got through part of it that would be a huge accomplishment.
Now comes my full, detailed, itemized confession:
Goal number:
1)Clean/ organize studio at least 20 minutes a day
I did this! I sacrificed some of the other things on my list to clean and organize, but now that it's done I'll be able to do so many things so easily. I took photos of every angle and section, because I cleaned it all! I am very proud of myself, and wanted to show off a little. Unfortunately I didn't finish until after the sun went down, so the lighting isn't the best.

2) Finish the 12 cards I started

So close. I'm so close to finishing these that it's frustrating. My sewing machine was acting up and I gave it a break and never got back to it. But I'm closer anyway :).

3) Finish 2 of the 4 commissioned pieces
Hurrah! I'm so pleased with how they turned out. Hopefully my client will be too!

4) Blog every day
Yep, as evidenced here (Monday), here (Tuesday), here (Wednesday), and here (Thursday), and HERE!

5) Create something just because
Again, this one was on the back burner behind cleaning my studio. But again, now I can make stuff for fun so much easier now that I have an organized space to do it in!

6) Start my empty artwork
Unfortunately, I didn't even take them off the wall. They are still hanging up, still blank and primer-white as ever.

So that is all the nitty gritty. I hope you enjoyed this week, I know I did. Thanks so much for helping to keep me on track!

Hippie Christmas

I'm not sure if I've written about Hippie Christmas before, so I apologize in advance if I'm repeating myself. It's worth repeating! It is a holiday for recyclers, reusers, dumpster divers, and well, hippies. We met a few when we were out "celebrating"! Urban Dictionary defines Hippie Christmas as: The day following move-out day, in areas where most leases expire simultaneously, during which the curb is a treasure trove of discarded items.
I'm pretty loose with the term. If I find anything for free I consider it a Hippie Christmas present.

Boulder is a college town, so the findings are especially great here. Everything imaginable can be found- electronics, furniture, dishes, clothes, sports gear, school supplies... One of the aforementioned hippies bragged about finding packaged food, but I that's where I draw the line.
The first year I really got into it I couldn't believe all the things that the students were just throwing away. It made me angry, really angry, that it was going to such waste. But as I rifled through sets of dishes, skis, hampers full of clothes, and saw that there were about 5 other people at that one spot also picking up salvageable things, I realized that hardly any of it actually makes it to the landfill. Some people take Hippie Christmas very seriously and have strategic maps to hit all the sweet spots. I still get angry at the laziness- how hard is it to call a local charity to pick up your items?! But I also do enjoy finding free stuff in an alley.
This year we found a few treasures including 2 fans (one was set up in my sauna/studio window last night and felt like heaven), a garden shovel, a folding chair, a lamp (with an energy efficient bulb in it!), and a sombrero. My very favorite Hippie Christmas gift is this:

It was sitting by the side of the road with a 'FREE' sign- what a beautiful thing, those 'FREE' signs. If I lived in a more populated area I'd put free stuff outside all the time, just for fun. In Telluride they actually have a free box. One of my dreams is to create something like this in Boulder. Anyway, back to my pram! Thank you, sweet husband, for hitting the brakes then getting all turned around on Boulder's one-way streets so that we could navigate back to pick up this treasure! I'm thinking it'll make a great display for baby items when I sell them (and, ahem, after I make them). Do you have any ideas for what I could use it for?

Happy Hippie Christmas to you and yours! I hope it is an abundant season for everybody.

*I haven't forgotten about the giveaway I promised. Check in tomorrow to find out the details!

Tumblr

Have you heard of Tumblr? It sort of reminds me of Twitter, but with pictures. It's really fun to get lost! These are some of my favorites (so far).


Just be spLendid. A mixed bag of quotes and photos. Very uplifting and inspirational.


Home Sweet Home. I want to save almost every picture! So many great rooms and houses, all chosen in great taste and style.


Maluna. These are some of the best treehouses I've ever seen!

Tuesday Etsy Finds

I just love Etsy. I love checking the new treasuries, I love seeing what other artists are doing, I love being able to sell my work online, and I love all the inspiration. I would love to spend all my money on Etsy! Here are some great things I found by entering the word 'recycled' in the search box. REKAP makes these great hooks from using 100% post-consumer bottle caps. I love how modern and fun a bunch of them hanging on the wall look. And they're very affordable. I have this purple one coming my way!

William Dohman makes these adorable wood robots and whales from reclaimed wood.

And 'hunchblocks', reclaimed wood signs, gorgeous prints, photographs... This guy is a creative dynamo! I'll take one of each, please.

MissMosh created Summers Bounty Pillow II using recycled t shirts for all of the beautiful flowers added on. I love the bursts of color on the gray. And I love what she had to say about it (below the photo):

"I don't believe that art is purely aesthetic and should remain relegated to walls and shelves. It should come from all corners of a home, participating in life and infusing itself into the everyday -to be truly enjoyed and truly absorbed! Summers bounty II is the epitome of functional art, lovingly handcrafted layer after layer over many hours. A joyous riot of color representing all that summer has to offer; a bounty of roses, peonies, sweet peas, ruffles of foliage, and strewn about leaves. In colors of bright pink, peach, white, yellow, off-white, and foliage in blues and greens."

Next up is studio K aka Kailey Hawthorn. She hand painted a recycled record and turned it into this clock! It reminds me of all the vintage fabrics I work with. So cool.

And finally, a link that has nothing to do with Etsy but everything to do with recycling-
http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/. If you ever wondered how you can recycle or reuse anything, check this site out.

Thanks for visiting, and be sure to check in next Tuesday for more recycled Etsy goods!

*If you have any ideas of artists I should feature let me know reloveprojects@yahoo.com.

Goal Week

Hi! Happy Monday! Usually, it would be a busy day for me (and many), getting back into the grind of things. My typical weekday usually includes a lot of juggling between my various jobs and daughter and husband and home and I just never quite have enough time for ReLove Projects. However, this week is different. This week I get to focus almost entirely on my home, my art, & my projects. I've learned from experience that the more I have to do the more I actually get done. For example, if I have a list of 10 things to do versus a list of two things to do, the ten list will get about eight things knocked off, and the two list gets lost in the shuffle of all my distractions. It doesn't make sense, I know. It seems like if there are fewer things they are easier to do and take less time... Another thing I've learned is that if I don't somehow hold myself accountable then I totally lack self-discipline. What can I say? I'm weak! I know! And now you know too! So here is my solution to that: I'm going to share much of my to-do list with you.

Anne's To-Do for the week of August 3
1) Clean my studio a little bit every day (by "a little bit" I mean at least 20 minutes of focused organizing). On Friday I'm going to take a picture of it to share with you. Feel free to bust me if it still looks like a pack of raccoons went on a rampage!
2) Finish my twelve new cards that I started last week.
3) Finish two of the four pieces I was commissioned to do, and at least get started on the other two. (I'm really exited to create these. They're like my cards, only bigger. They are for two little girls and will be ocean themed.)
4) Blog every day. Yes! Every day! I have so much I've been wanting to share- other blogs, etsy finds, project ideas, and new work. Oh yes, and a giveaway!
5) Create something just because. I don't want to get lost in the world of not loving what I do. Sometimes I think I get so sucked into being productive and supporting myself that I forget that the real reason that I create things is simply because I love it.
6) Get started on my new art. This is what it looks like right now:


When I find a scrap piece of wood I paint it with primer and hang it up. Then I wait for inspiration and time.

Well, with this big list I need to get cracking! See you tomorrow!

PS- I only shared the To-Do's on my creative-ish list. I figured you weren't interested in my cleaning the toilet and calling the accountant! I didn't want you to think I was a slacker with only 5 things :).