my favorite salvage yard – s.b. cox

This weekend I went to one of my happiest places – the salvage yard. So much cool old stuff just waiting to be re-used. I find the salvage yard super inspiring and I love to just wander around. My favorite RVA salvage yard is S.B. Cox. They might not have as big a selection as Caravati’s but it has a much more laid back feel and most importantly – it’s cheaper. Now you will have to be willing to do a little digging. And nothing is priced, so you have to ask – but that means they are ready to negotiate. I hate to haggle but I actually find it kind of fun at S.B. Cox. Several negotiations have ended in a coin toss which is just so fun! So if you are looking for some old stuff to add character to your home – check them out. They have a huge door selection – we have replaced two doors in our house there.

Places you should shop – Vintage Jo

You probably wouldn’t be able to imagine all the treasures waiting for you looking at the outside of Vintage Jo. This super cute little log cabin houses tons of vintage furniture, vintage signs and advertising, as well as original art work from many local artists (myself included!)

You should go check them out. They are located at 5420 Mechanicsville TPKE, Mechanicsville, VA 23111. They are open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday from 12 pm – 5 pm.

You can also find out more about them on their Facebook page.

*All photos were taken by Vintage Jo.

make me pretty – re-cover your own lampshade

People – You need to be making your own lampshades! It is super easy, pretty quick and makes such a huge impact. You can have a totally unique lampshade, in whatever fabric you love, in about 30 minutes.

Check it out. First I was going to re-cover this lampshade. This Ikea lamp is in my living room. I love the lamp but the lampshade doesn’t really go with my gray, green, blue color scheme. But I actually really like the lampshade so I decided to use it somewhere else in the house.

I bought this new lampshade at Target for less than $4 on clearance to go with my living room lamp.

The first step is to strip the lamp shade of its original fabric. Just find the seam and start slowly pulling. Be careful not to bend the plastic of your shade. (PS – If you buy a beige or white shade, you can skip this step and just put your fabric over the original fabric.)

Next, I like to make a little pattern for my shade. Unless, you are using a drum shaped shade, I highly recommend this. You will see that the pattern ends up being a kind of half circle because the shade is skinnier at the top. I use one of those rolls of paper you find in the kids art section of Ikea – but you could use an opened up grocery store bag.

Start your pattern at the seam of the lampshade and roll the shad along the paper as you draw a line on the edge. Then go back and do the other side.

Next, use your pattern to cut out your fabric. Remember to leave a little extra fabric at the top and the bottom so you have something to fold over the lampshade.

When you are choosing your fabric, think about how much light will show through. You probably don’t want to use a super thick fabric but that is up to you.

I use to use Super 77 Spray Mount to put the fabric on my shade. This works great but you really don’t want to breath this stuff in and you have to go outside and work super fast – because it dries quickly. Lately, I have been using Mod Podge. Because I use it for everything else and because with Emerson (only 8 months old) around, it’s easier to just stay inside and paint it on. I work on little patches. I wouldn’t try to glue the whole thing down at once.

To finish the end, I use a thicker craft glue (I love Aleene’s – I have been using this stuff since I was a kid and it is the best!) Fold the end over and glue it and then use the craft glue to attach the finished end to the shade.

The last step is to fold the top and bottom ends over the wire of the lampshade. You have two options here: 1. You can cut the fabric so there is just enough to fold over so you won’t really see the rough end of the fabric or 2. You can not worry too much about the end of the fabric and just cover it with ribbon or edging when you are done.

So, I did this whole project while juggling my two kids, so I know you can do it too! Get to it and then tell me about it!

Here is my finished project:

And all lit up!

what is art?

What do you consider to be art? I struggle with this question all the time. I consider my furniture creations art but to someone else, it might just be used furniture. Can functional things be art? In college, when I took ceramic classes, they were listed under “crafts” in the course listings. Was that because we were making functional pieces, or because of the medium?

When it comes to art for my home, I try to think outside of the box. I love fine art but most of it is not really in my budget, so I try to get creative.

One of my favorite tricks is plates. I snagged these cutie mini’s on clearance at
Anthropologie. It is super easy to fasten hangers on the back with some gorilla glue.

The total for this new “art” was about $12.

Another favorite place to try and find unique things for my house is the salvage yard. There are so many cool treasures there!

I found this old piece of iron work at S.B. Cox Salvage yard, here in Richmond. When I brought it up to the front to ask the price I think they thought I was crazy but it looks great in my dining room, and cost less than $5!

So, if you ever have read my blog before you will know that I am kind of obsessed with fabric! So why not use some beautiful fabric as art in your home? The best part about this idea is it’s really easy to swap out when you get bored.

I found this cute piece of vintage kids fabric stretched over a frame at the thrift store for $5. I had it in my studio space for years but was starting to get tired of it. So I moved it up to the living room, bought a yard of cool font fabric I have been yearning for and stapled it over the frame. I left the animal fabric under it just in case I ever want to use it again.

When I showed it to my husband he said “cool. let’s change it up every couple months.” Great idea (and another excuse to buy cool fabric, yes!)

If you can’t find a used canvas frame you can always buy a new one at a craft store – but they are pretty expensive. Another trick: go to the thrift store and find a cheap wood frame. I got this one for $4.

Just remove the art work, recycle the glass and staple the fabric around the frame. I bought a yard of solar system fabric for my little man and stapled it around this frame – new art for his room for less than $15!

So those are some of my favorite non-traditional “art” ideas for you. Do you have any for me? Leave me a comment and tell me all about it!

my top 7 favorite places to buy cool fabric

Gray and gold chairs by 1canoe2 available at spoonflower

1. ufab – If you live in Richmond or Charlottesville you are seriously lucky because you get to shop at this awesome fabric store. I am extra lucky because I can walk to the Richmond location from my house! This is my go-to spot for upholstery weight fabric. Their fabric is seriously discounted – I often pay $10 or $12 a yard, although I occasionally fall in love with a $20 a yard piece. But still – what great prices and they have really cool stuff, and lots of it!

2. Quilting Adventures – This is my go-to spot for lightweight fabric. They carry a lot of my favorite fabric designers (that’s a future blog post!) and they have tons of fat quarters which are perfect for small projects. The staff is super helpful (they have even offered to hold my baby!) and they have a wide variety of sewing classes.

3. Etsy – There is so much fabric on Etsy you could spend years looking at it all! When you search, make sure you click “supplies” instead of “handmade” and you will have better luck. Try searching by colors, styles, fabric weight or fabric designer. A couple of my favorite sellers are imagine fabrics, cherry lane textiles and the fabric store.
4. spoonflower – Design and print your own fabrics! That’s all I need to say, right? The possibilities are endless. They also offer tons of already designed, super cute, supper unique fabrics.

5. umbrella prints – Umbrella prints also has an Etsy shop but they deserve their own spot on my list because their hand screen printed fabrics are amazing. I used their elephant fabric on this kids table and chairs and I am still in love with it!

6. purlsoho – This website is a great resource for all things crafty, including fabric. They carry tons of super cool fabric designers.

7. thrift stores – Don’t forget thrift stores and yard sales, especially if you are looking for vintage. Not only can you find fabric yardage but think outside the box – I once used a skirt to re-cover a chair cushion!

Do you have your own favorite fabric stores? Tell me about them in the comments section and I will update this post with a readers favorites section!

there’s a new craft store in town!

Welcome to the Hobby Lobby! Part kitschy nick-nack hell part crafty heaven. This store has something for everyone. I was amazed by the aisles and aisles of craft supplies – there were three aisles just for stickers! And they carry pretty obscure supplies that usually require a trip to specialty store – soap stone carving, anyone? They also had stained glass supplies and doll house kits and furniture! You can find everything you would expect from your average craft store – fake flowers, scrapbooking stuff and paints. But they also have fabric, drawer pulls, and home decor.

I am excited because it is a one stop shop for me. I can pick up paint, fabric, drawer pulls and mod podge all in one spot and it’s across the street from Trader Joe’s. Short Pump here I come.

There prices seemed pretty reasonable, not fantastic, but the sale prices were awesome! The day I went all drawer pulls were 50% off. And most of their fabrics were 30% off. I got a yard of fabric for under $5 – love it!

cute ribbon - $1 each!

The home decor section was not really my style but the yard ornament aisle gave me a good laugh. If you are into gnomes, frogs or turtles this is your store!

The Hobby Lobby also has an excellent selection of “man crafts” – model cars, science experiments and army men. I was happy I didn’t have Jasper with me because they have a million things that a toddler, or any age kid, would love. Glittery paper, plastic animals and coloring books.

So if you are at all crafty – I recommend you go check it out. But don’t go on Sunday because they are closed!

Hobby Lobby is located at 11280 West Broad Street, Glen Allen, VA 23060.

get a behind the scenes look at darling octopus decor

The Richmond Times Dispatch put together a short video about darling octopus decor. It is only 90 seconds long but you will get to see my studio space and a lot of my work.

salvage yard heaven

Last weekend I got to go to one of my favorite places – the salvage yard. It’s got all of the things I love: 1. old things 2. piles of stuff i have to sift through to find the treasure 3. tons of inspiration. From the moment I heard of this salvage yard in Mechanicsville I was re-arranging my schedule to make a trip out there. Luckily, my friend @meghan_e was up for the adventure!

Governor’s Antiques did not disappoint. I was expecting the old front doors, and metal railings, and piles of claw-foot tubs. I had no idea there would be an indoor warehouse with case after case of beautiful, and sparkling things that I wanted to take home with me.

Governor’s has over 20,000 square feet of antiques and collectibles and over 1,000,000 items for sale. It is all a little overwhelming!

Good thing Jasper didn’t come with me. He would have gone nuts for all the old toys – trains, cars, trucks and planes – his favorites!

These stools where my absolute favorite thing I saw that day. That color green with the wood and the shape is so cool. I couldn’t even bring myself to ask how much they cost – I wanted them all so bad!

I want to label everything in my house with a brass plaque now!

@meghan_e fell in love with this chandelier. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. It was a huge orb of glitter and color!

My one complaint with Governor’s was the prices – holy cow! You know I’m a bargain hunter and there are no deals here. But not only that – the prices are really high. The only thing I can imagine is that they price everything so high because they know you are going to try and talk them down. It was worth the trip – very inspiring, but if I’m going to shop I am going to go to S.B. Cox. Ya, it’s not very organized. You have to dig through stuff and you might get a little dusty but their prices are fair and I’ve had negotiations end there with a coin toss – which is fun!

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