free + flea

unwrapping the holidays: alt-gifts, d-i-y wrap and……… cool blogs

Ellen Silverman

Ellen Silverman

If you start with the idea that the holidays are about really giving a part of yourself rather than STUFF, and spreading joy, and celebrating what we have, you instantly start to eliminate the nonessential and stressful. These are the things that are more obligation than fun – too exhausting, too expensive, or just TOO MUCH – like shopping for the perfect gift for too many people, or giving the perfect party with a million homemade hors d’oeuvres. Where do we get these notions of how the holidays are supposed to be?

I’m all for deconstructing any part of the holidays that drives you crazy, to strip it down to its heart. read more…

11.30.09 | comments (11) | in cheap + great, family + friends, free + flea, gifts, materials, strategies |

craigslist strategy for finding treasures

Phil Mansfield for the N.Y. Times

Phil Mansfield for the N.Y. Times

The N.Y.Times recently ran a story about a couple who bought a house in Upstate New York for $95,000 and fixed it up, beautifully, for $10,000, using pure elbow grease and a eye for scavenged and second-hand stuff.

The best nugget of info, to me, was about how to score serious finds on Craigslist: “Using Craigslist successfully means scrolling through the listings every day, not once a month,” read more…

07.21.09 | comments (2) | in buildings, cool spaces, free + flea, reimagine, solutions |

buy, sell or trade produce at veggie trader

cherries2

Maria Robledo

The newly-launched website Veggie Trader is like Craigslist for homegrown produce. Sign up to post a listing describing the excess produce you have and what you’d like in return. Or just enter your zip code to see what your neighbors have available for sell or to give away. read more…

05.15.09 | comments | in community, food, free + flea, garden, services, share, strategies |

tailor-made cutting board

cutting-board-crop-horz-auto-cont-50-sat-10cont-5darkness-in-hue

Ellen Silverman

My friend Holton Rower made me a cutting board from a hard wood log called Arbutus that he found on his land in the Pacific NorthWest.  He had the board cut by a friend who has a saw mill, then carved “Golly’s Food” into it with a chisel, Golly being my nickname.  Holton’s cutting board defies the usual modern thinking about cutting boards that is fearful of any cracks on the theory that they can harbor germs. Holton’s has a knot and a couple of natural cracks in it which is part of it’s beauty; I know this board is from a tree and enjoy that knowledge when I cook, an inspiring piece of REAL in a city kitchen. read more…

03.30.09 | comments (5) | in food, free + flea, hard, housewares, how-to, materials, reclaim |

diy patchwork headboard

patchwork-headboard-stylefiles

Living Etc. via Style Files

I love the idea of this patchwork headboard from Lockwood Design. There are endless possibilities for combining cool fabrics and textures and it’s definitely a do-able project.   I can imagine using all sorts of vintage fabrics, which can be found at flea markets and on Ebay. Or buying 1/2 yard of several fabrics from a great fabric store.

It’s basically an elaboration of a basic upholstered headboard like this one made from a tablecloth. (Tablecloths are often made of wonderful hard-to-find fabric. So why not use them like fabric?) Charming tea towels and linen place mats would make great patchwork panels.

tablecloth-2-pixdesigners-lib

via Designer's Library

There’s lots of info on the internet about how to make an upholstered headboard; I recommend reading a few to figure out your strategy. Here’s a start:

How to Make an Upholstered Headboard (sew a panel of patchwork pieces to use as their single sheet of fabric)

How to Make an Upholstered Headboard Using Pillow Shams (essentially a patchwork headboard that you could do with other fabrics).

01.24.09 | comments (1) | in elements, free + flea, furniture, how-to, repurpose, sleeping, soft |

 
 
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