bricolagelife

step away from the computer

i think i might.  

enjoy your holiday weekend!

{thank you gretchen for the link from the happiness project!  i think that was the most visitors i've had - ever!}

this is (a handmade PIF*) announcement

*a pay it forward craft exchange...

i remember the first time i received a comment from angelique.  it sticks in my mind because it was only the third or fourth time i had heard from someone i didn't actually know personally.  and the place she lives is so exotic and distant from my home i had to google it to find it on the map (i'm more than a little geographically-challenged).  noumea.  a tropical island paradise.  over the next two years we virtually visited each other and left encouraging comments off and on.  one day she posted a pif and i just had to sign up.  my wonderful package of handmade goodness (and chocolates!) arrived today!  thank you so much, angelique!

now pifs have been making their way round and round the world for several years but this was my first time to participate.  this is how it works:  

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment here requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

don't be shy...

{at bedtime on the date of this posting there is still one spot available - just leave a comment below}

the pif is full!  thanks so much

shop update: delicate silks and curious glass

stocking the shelves of daisy chain vintage this week:

these delicate silk souvenir scarves from the fifties have retained their brilliant colors and i think they would look amazing professionally pressed and framed under glass.

i find these perfect little glass umbrellas very curious indeed.  i'm guessing they were made in italy and perhaps were intended to elegantly skewer an olive or cherry and hook over the rim of a cocktail glass... but i've never been completely sure.  if you have any ideas, i would love to hear them!

all on their way into the shop.

change in the weather

the muggy heat wave let go it's grasp late saturday night. on sunday i turned off all the whirring fans and the low rumbling window air conditioner and opened every window wide.  the city sounds so hushed in comparison.  the breezes blew and the curtains lifted and fell.  a few loose scraps of paper on my desk caught by the wind, fluttered to the floor.  the tidying up didn't seem such a chore now.  i cleaned up happily without a single sound from an electronic device.

i even made time for a little more sewing with my coffee.  stitching quietly, by hand.

shop update tomorrow!

not exactly mending

it's just a few things, really.  tops i keep pulling from the drawer or the closet to wear that day... and then put back.  over and over.  one with the scoop that's a little too low for comfort.  one with the shoulder that likes to slide off and expose a bra strap.  one with the cap sleeves that stick straight out, looking like a pointy space suit.  

with just a tuck here or a gathered neckline there, i think, i could wear this.  or that.  my husband likes to tease me about my "mending pile" but i never have time for the alterations and the mending when i'm getting ready to walk out the door.  and i only seem to think about these sewing projects in those moments.  so i hang it up or stuff it back in the drawer.  until today.  

thanks to the magic of elastic sewing thread, a needle and a little imagination, i now have three more wearable summer tops than i had yesterday.  it's amazing what you can accomplish when you really should be cleaning the apartment.

nice finds : white ceramics

i love my little porcelain pod by d terry designs.  the pure white of the glaze, the surprising weight of it in my hand, the texture that makes me want to pick it up every time i pass by and see it on the table.  

being a fan of both matte and glossy white ceramics i have also fallen for the work of white forest pottery, mrh studio and wapa.  and i remain a devotee of the clean and simple swedish classics from hoganas keramik (at the sweden shop).

more nice finds in white here.

and here.

and here.

and here!

cheap date: cocktails and snacks at home

before.

after.

being short on cash doesn't mean we have to give up on fun.

don't get me wrong, bars and restaurants are very fine places to meet and hang out with friends.  but at home i can choose the music (and hear it), sit in a comfy chair (as long as i like) and afford the drinks.  last night i raided the fridge and served up chilled grapes and apples, soft brie, crisp wasa and sweet sesame honey sticks. colby brought a big pink bowl of bright cherries and i mixed her very first (and second) gin and tonic.  we talked for hours without ever having to shout over the crowd to be heard.  for us it was the perfect cocktail party.

happy friday!

making stuff : papier mache boxes

still in progress.

formed over boxes and one small bowl from paper (including pages from the volcano lover by susan sontag), glue and water.

made while watching this.  (what she's up to now)

dried while watching this pretty little fable.

and this wild ride.

see what i see: flowers dead and alive

 

having fresh flowers at home is a treat, something natural and simply beautiful to brighten up a room. i love that.  but as they decay, shed their petals and slowly dry they become somehow more intensely beautiful in unexpected ways.  if i observe the transformations closely there is a new delight every day. and the pleasure lasts so much longer than the few days of perfection in the initial bouquet.  weeks and weeks, actually.  it gets more and more difficult to throw them away.

shop update: beanie hat and travel case

stocking the shelves this week at daisy chain vintage:

sweet navy straw beanie hat from the 1930s.  can be worn snug on the head as is or embellished with your own favorite trimmings or stitched to a brim to make a shady hat.  so darn cute!

  

zip up vinyl travel case for hats or wigs from the 60s.  this is a good looking container for storing lots of other things if you don't happen to have a collection of hats and wigs lying around.  so cool - and made in chicago, too.

the shop has been so busy this week i've had a big smile on my face every day - thanks so much!  i'm on my way back to the post office today with more orders. 

here are a few more amazing images of mid-century advertising designs from the book color in advertising (also in the shop)...

i love this one where katharine hepburn looks like frankenstein!

happy monday!