Styling With Dried Hydrangeas: 3 Ways

Hi Friends! If you're living in the Northern Hemisphere and have any Hydrangea plants growing in your garden, now is the time to plan for the autumn harvesting and drying of their flowers.

Dried Hydrangea flowers will last for years and are a lovely way to add some interest, texture and color to your home.

Today I'm sharing three ways that I'm displaying dried Hydrangeas in my home; bedroom, dining room and kitchen areas.

In my bedroom, above, I've placed cut stems into a thrifted Pier One wall pocket.

And in my dining area, below, I've placed them into milk glass pedestal bowls.

Simply cut the stems completely off and place into the bowl. Faff with them until you achieve a pleasing ball shape.

Lastly, I placed a bunch in a colorful blue and white Chinese vase in my kitchen.

If you're interested in learning about drying Hydrangea flowers, I wrote about the basic steps in DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making. And if you would like to know more about making a decorative wreath with dried Hydrangeas, check out DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath.

Thanks for looking and bye for now.

Flattening the Curve, Day 25

Hello friends. Today is the twenty-fifth day of my mandatory leave from my work site due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and Jim and I just returned from a neighborhood walk. There was a letter that needed to be mailed and rather than placing it in the mail receptacle right outside our door, we opted for some fresh air, sunshine and exercise and walked to the local post office. Don't worry, I live in a suburban area and going for a walk means not encountering crowds.

Today was a stressful day. It didn't start out that way. In fact when I woke up I was excited because I had purchased an Easter greeting card and a lovely bouquet of fragrant pink lilies and roses as an Easter gift for my mother. I wrote about my mom here on the blog on Day 11.

Mom lives in a skilled nursing home just a few blocks from where I live and even though I have not been allowed to visit as of March 11th, due to the coronavirus epidemic, I have been allowed to hand off items I want given to my mom to someone at the door and I did just that with the flowers and greeting card this morning.

Then, this afternoon, I got a call from one of the facility administrators. Mom is fine, but I was informed that someone who was working at the home tested positive for the coronavirus. If you've followed the news at all here in the United States, the coronavirus first occurred in the US in a nursing home in Washington state. My heart sank and I almost couldn't speak. Our family has already talked about this possibility but until I got the call I had no idea how I would feel.

I was assured that the person that was infected was last in the home on March 21st and that proper guidelines, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, have been and continue to be followed and that everything is being done to prevent illness.

And yet, I worry.

I understand that in the grand scheme of things that getting news that someone is not infected (at least not infected at this point in time) with this horrible virus is nothing compared to all the death and grief happening right at this moment all over the world.

As my sister Joyce said today when we talked on the phone after getting this news, no one is untouched by this tragedy. I think what hurts the most about this situation is how each one of us wonders in the back of our minds will it be me, or will it be my husband, my wife, my boyfriend, my girlfriend, my sister, my brother, my son, my daughter, my aunt, my uncle, my grandparent, my friend, my neighbor, or my coworker that will die? Will I get that phone call? And the emotional toll it is taking on each one of us day by day is unbearable.

Let's cherish every moment we have.

Flattening the Curve, Day 10

Hello everyone. First off, I have a question for you. Now that most of us here in the United States are becoming fully ensconced in the coronavirus (COVID-19) Stay Home, Stay Safe 'lifestyle', have you brushed your teeth, washed your face, gotten dressed, and eaten breakfast today? I hope you are able to eat something. I only ask because I have to remind myself to do those things.

Getting lost in all the confusion of this COVID-19 problem can take your spirit away, rob you of your senses, and make you forget to brush your teeth. Everything feels like a ball of confusion. And yet, we have to sit with it, don't we?

So today on the blog I'm taking a break from all the news, data and anxiety and sharing what I would normally call in the title 'Vintage Finds'.

Since I started my Etsy shop Vintage Tea Treasures I have become enamored with vintage English pottery and bone china. And through that activity I discovered the chinoiseries, or Chinese style midcentury home decor items. The quality of the items I find varies but the decorative theme is always a take on a classic idealized form.

For example this 9-1/2 inch Wedgwood plate, in the 'Eastern Flowers' pattern features three chrysanthemum floral bouquets around the perimeter of the plate and an open fenced area with another chrysanthemum in the center of the plate. The center flower has moss entwined around it, as does the smaller blue flower to the left of it.

Another of my favorite items to collect are the asian or Chinese style figurines. Traditionally they came in pairs but most of the ones I've found have long since lost their mate, like this one shown.

What I enjoy most about this figurine (and I find it to be true in all of the ones I've found thus far) is the dynamic pose and the interesting gestures.

The shape of the base indicates that perhaps this figurine is meant to be a bookend, however it is very lightweight so maybe this one and its' mate could have held up a few books (maybe three?) as pure decoration.

And who can resist the makeup? A 1930s 'Betty Boop' heart-shaped lip treatment and an oh so dramatic eye liner! Love that!

Well, I hope this peek into my obsession with chinoiserie style collectables diverted your mind, if only for a moment...

Stay well family and friends!

York Wall Coverings Project: Mandarin Prose by Waverly Classics

Friends, have you ever dreamt about a home decor project that you felt a strong desire to undertake but weren't sure if you could actually figure it out and make it happen? Me too!

Back two years ago when I thrifted the c. 1950 James Mont Chinoiserie Limed Oak Hutch shown here in my dining area, I imagined how nice it would be to have some kind of wallpaper on the wall behind it to liven up the room and to serve as an interesting backdrop.

And white walls. I really wanted white walls.

I know there has been a lot of discussion in the interiors world about seeing an overabundance of white walls on the blogs and in the magazines but over time I realized how much of an effect the prior turquoise-painted accent wall had on my photography. And, more recently, the sliding door to the right needed to be replaced and I was disappointed when I discovered that the glass in the new door has a blue tint. Furthermore, we live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and cloudy, rainy days are the norm many days of the year. So for these reasons, white walls it is!

Speaking of white walls - while shopping for wallpaper I knew I wanted whatever pattern I chose to be vibrant and have a white or near-white background. Also, it had to be colorful, whimsical and fun because this is the busiest room in the house and it can afford a playful atmosphere. And, most importantly, it had to be in the classic chinoiserie style. Of course I looked at dozens and dozens of wallpaper samples, thinking very carefully about all the choices. When I discovered this Waverly Classics by York Wallcoverings wallpaper in the Mandarin Prose pattern at Mahone's Wallpaper Shop, I knew the fantastical scenery was just what I was looking for.

And then came the hard part. The "I'm not sure I know what I'm doing" part. The "I don't know anything about wallpapering" part. And the biggest doubt of all was the "I've never power-sanded a wall in my life" part.

The uncertainty about taking on a large project with an unknown outcome kept me from taking the plunge for about two years. In the spring of this year I thought a good way to distract myself from my fears about the task was to just purchase my chosen wallpaper pattern and give myself some time to ease into it as this was going to be my big summer undertaking. It was a bit of a mind trick I played on myself as well. I figured I'd feel quite rotten if I spent my hard earned money on wallpaper and never made it happen.

And that is how I got here:

This is what I call "testing your family ties" and "how badly do I want that wallpaper anyway?"

What a mess! Our small power sander has a containment canister on it, but as you can see, there is powder everywhere. And not just in this immediate area. Although I placed painter's drop cloth over furniture and doorways, it still managed to seep past these barriers and, well, it seemed to find its way into every nook and cranny throughout the house. Pardon me, wallpaper project, while I vacuum for a week!

Two other frustrations I had were figuring out the mechanics of operating a power tool and the summer heat. James showed me how to use the sander and gave me a demonstration, but it took awhile until I got it. I started on the smaller wall to the left. It has a lot of scuff marks from applying too much pressure or from staying in one place too long. But by the time I started on the second wall I had it figured out pretty good. Despite the heat.

The outdoor temperature on this summer day was 91° Fahrenheit. While it does stay noticeably cooler inside, wearing all the required safety gear (gloves, face mask, goggles and knee pads), coupled with having to exert a fair amount of pressure on the sander made it quite uncomfortable. I took frequent breaks, drank plenty of water, and laid in the cool grass in the backyard until I felt I could stand it again.

Just so you can get an idea of the task at hand, here is the wall texture before and after:

As I was researching how to hang wallpaper here on the web, I learned that it adheres best to a smooth freshly painted wall. It became quite clear to me that if I didn't make the effort to knock down the 1970s textured wall surface that the project could fail - so why take a chance?

So once the massive clean up and vacuum cleaning was finished I painted the walls to be papered with two coats of white paint. I also painted the door and wall to the left and the wall to the right because my intention was, ultimately, to paint the entire dining area and kitchen white. 

Here's what the dining area looked like with all the painting done:

And finally, the paper hanging commences!

You're probably not surprised when I tell you that the wallpapering was a lot easier than the sanding. In fact, it was so easy that in hindsight it nows seems silly that I fussed over it at all. In fact, I highly recommend that if you are considering trying your hand at wallpapering that you purchase the Waverly brand. It's quality is exceptional - there are no overshadowed lines or inconsistencies in the colors and the smooth texture is easy to work with. Also, the rolls come with a full set of instructions that I felt were well written and easy to follow.

And the best part of all is that it is pre-pasted!

I would also recommend purchasing your wallpaper from Mahone's Wallpaper Shop - a family owned business. My order was shipped promptly in a sturdy box and the packing material was a wallpaper scrap which I thought was an ingenious way of repurposing their product.

Have you been thinking about trying your hand at wallpapering? Don't let your fears get in the way. With planning and a bit of internet research, it's a very doable project.

Have any questions? Ask me here in the comments below or on Instagram.

As always, thanks for reading!

Little Yellow Couch Style Manifesto

Hi Friends! Do you listen to podcasts? I listen to several, and one of my favorites is Style Matters, hosted by Karen June Grant and Zandra Zuraw of the interiors blog Little Yellow Couch. When I first heard Zandra say "we believe that your style comes from knowing who you are" and that their mission on the podcast is to "get to the substance behind the style" I was immediately hooked.

On the weekly podcast Karen and Zandra interview designers and stylists to find out why style matters to them. And each week I am continually amazed by how much I learn about style as I listen to stories from people who are passionate about not just decorating their homes, but how their homes are a reflection of their personality, interests and lifestyle.

My own journey of home decorating and styling is a fairly recent one but my passion for collecting vintage home wares has been going strong for years. The truth is that my home has been more 'junk store chic' than purposefully collected and aesthetically decorated or styled. Life has been so busy with work and the raising of children that I just never had the energy, brain space or 'know-how' for anything more.

But life is different now, changing. My children are grown and I strongly feel that it's time to get serious about style and why it matters to me. I found a great place to start is Karen and Zandra's Style Manifesto, a discovery tool designed to identify how your personal values align with how your home looks and functions. It's rather scary to realize that the clutter in your home can be considered a reflection of the clutter in your head! But face it, I must...

Through a series of five essay questions, Karen and Zandra take you through an inspection tour, so to speak, of your home. I have always felt that being self analytical is one of the harder tasks in life, but what I have also discovered is that journaling is the key to working out issues. The first part of the writing exercises take you through identifying your values and where your personality shows up in your home. Then you will be asked to pinpoint the elements of your personality that are missing in your home and encouraged to brainstorm ideas that will bring those characteristics you would like to make visible into the foreground.

Once you have finished answering the questions the fun part is creating your own manifesto - an actionable plan for how you will achieve your newly found style goals! And since a manifesto is a public declaration, I'm sharing mine here with you:

And of course, I'm always in for a fun art project and the blank space at the top and bottom of the manifesto were just begging for a little bit of collage.

I hope you will consider listening to the Style Matters podcast and signing up to get your own Style Manifesto. I'm sure Karen and Zandra will be delighted if you did!

Thank you for letting me share.

Styling And Photographing For Instagram

Hi friends! If you are an Instagram user, you may already be aware of the fact that there are a few analytics applications that will calculate the top nine images liked by your followers, friends and other Instagram users in 2017. I used the app called instrack.app and the image shown here is the result of the algorithm doing its magic.

It's interesting to take a walk down memory lane - both figuratively as in the act of looking back at images which hold symbolic meaning and literally taking a walk along an old familiar route, retracing steps from another time.

Both of these activities have occupied my mind lately.

Recently I had reason to walk about a mile to catch a bus. The route was familiar as I used to walk it most weekdays, including during the time I got my first iPhone. Back then I was already versed in photography and having a camera phone opened up my curiosity for learning a new way of taking pictures. I would look around as I strolled along the city streets, seeking out interesting subjects to capture with my new camera. As I retraced that route last week, memories of those days came flooding back and I was thinking about my journey through still life photography and Instagram.

I discovered Instagram soon after I started taking photos with my phone. Like so many others, I began sharing my images there. I was inspired not only by the gorgeous and interesting portrayals of everyday life, but also by the snippets of conversation. People were talking to each other from all over the world! Before long I found a great community of women who were sharing their styled photos of flowers, tea, coffee and other bits of everyday life. They call it 'faffing' which is an English term meaning to spend time doing something that is not important instead of the thing one should be doing. It has gained greater significance though as a calming meditative process that helps to cultivate a relaxing mind.

Intrigued by this artistic community, I decided that I was going to learn still life 'flat lay' iPhone photography. There's something about this style of photography that taps into the ancestral memory. To create an image that is both in the present but yet evokes symbolic and emotional memories of the past piques the curiosity of the viewer. You can't help but want to stop and peer into this moment in time and engage with the objects - search out the familiar, see what resonates and find your own memory locked within. No wonder prop stylists are always on the hunt for new and interesting items to add to their collections!

At the same time, it truly is the art of placing objects. Those everyday things that are familiar to us and have meaning and context in our lives suddenly transform into objects of art. You find yourself considering size, shape, and quantity, and thinking critically about color, style, composition, unity, proximity. There are so many elements to consider, ponder and get frustrated over. But this is an invaluable exercise for developing the artistic eye. It's not easy for most of us and does not happen overnight. Similar to any creative endeavor, one must dive in, keep going, resist the urge to compare yourself to others, and take breaks along the way.

Thank you for letting me share my styling and photography journey thus far. If you would like to share yours, leave a comment or visit me on Instagram.   

Styling and Photographing For Instagram

Hi everyone! Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, the flowers are in full bloom almost everywhere you look. And that means an endless supply of ideas for photographing them starts tugging at my brain.

Today I'm sharing three recent iPhone images, all involving styling flowers together with tea. Styling is a challenging skill to acquire, but it can be an enjoyable and mindful activity, especially when the subject matter is one you enjoy. And I happen to enjoy both flowers, and tea!

Still life photography can be a photographers best friend - it's just you, your camera, and a few objects. You are free to arrange and rearrange your subject matter, trying a variety of layouts, without interruption or worry about being judged. And if you are using a phone camera, which has no manually variable adjustments, your main concentration is on lighting and composition.

For me, photographing tea and flowers came about rather serendipitously. Discovering the supportive community on Instagram, learning the art of flatlay composition, acquiring a new obsession with collecting vintage teacups, and opening an Etsy teacup shop, has all been a fun, challenging, and fortuitous journey of discovery!

Thanks for looking friends!

Styling A Vintage Hutch: The Christmas Season

Hi Friends! Ever since I purchased a limed oak James Mont chinoiserie-style hutch last spring, I've been wanting to style it on a regular basis and share it here with you on this blog.

As it happened, 'Life got in the way', as it often does, and for the most part this hutch became a repository for various tea ware items offered in my Etsy shop. While that's still true to some extent, this is my first attempt at purposefully arranging the collectibles in my hutch in a manner that more characteristically reflects who I am. After giving it some thought, I decided that a good approach would be styling through the use of pieces that vary in type, shape, and size, yet are still consistent in color and style. Luckily, I collect a huge variety of 'stuff', and I thought that picking items with my styling decisions in mind would be a fun challenge for myself!

Choosing a color scheme of white, green and red, and a Christmas or seasonal theme, using all vintage items provided a consistent look. And having a variety of items - plates and teacups and saucers that vary in shape, size, and manufacturer - helped to tie together a miscellaneous collection of fun Christmas kitsch, such as the Santa mugs, elves and guest card holders (like the small 'Mrs. Claus' figurine), into a harmonious whole. Adding a touch of the modern world is a great way to bridge the past with the present; the paper fans (purchased at a Target department store) and the poinsettia plant displayed alongside a vintage teapot on the very top of the hutch help to accomplish that.

Here are a few close up shots, one from each shelf:

I enjoy recording family memories, and took these photographs on Christmas Eve as part of a holiday story for a pocket photo album project. And now that I have taken down all of the Christmas decorations, and also begun putting away most of the items pictured, I realized that the photos I had taken were the beginnings of a new blog post series on styling a vintage hutch! And now, I can begin the process of figuring out what will go on these shelves next. What fun!

Thanks for reading. Soon, I hope to be able to once again share another post featuring the styling of my vintage James Mont hutch.

Styling The Seasons - June

The urge to preserve our memories is a basic human phenomena, which has endured over time, and the methods we use to record the events of our lives are steeped in traditions such as writing and photography. These days, we might even prefer writing on paper or perhaps taking photos with our film cameras, to the more modern electronic devices available to record our thoughts, hopes, dreams or remembrances. 

But even in this modern age we may still want to find more traditional ways to express the significance of some of life's more memorable moments. And in our homes and other personal spaces, we might gather together objects and memorabilia, and display them in a way that, hopefully, communicates the special meaning of those special times.

Thus, my Styling The Seasons post for the month of June represents two significant and memorable events that happened within the last month - my first foray into sponsored posts on Instagram, with Numi Organic Tea, who sponsored my #collectandstyle hashtag on Instagram for the month of May, and the purchase of a circa 1950 James Mont Chinoiserie Limed Oak Hutch.

Several of the tea related objects on the shelves of this newly acquired hutch are the result of my collection habit going into full gear, for the sake of tea. If you've been on Instagram lately you may be aware of a recent styling trend using flowers and tea or coffee as design elements. I was drawn towards this, both because I loved the idea of a good scrummage through a charity shop searching out vintage tea cups and saucers, and I also enjoy the challenge of having new subjects to style and photograph. As well, the tea and coffee trend fits nicely with my #collectandstyle hashtag.

I thrifted all of the teacups and saucers, as well as the neutral colored hand painted Japanese teapot on the middle shelf (right side) and the creamer next to it. The white Chinese teapot, also hand painted, (top shelf right), has been in James' family for a very long time, since the early 1950s. The dinner plate on the top shelf, also thrifted, was made by the Homer Laughlin China Company in 1940. 

The bamboo box on the bottom shelf is very special to me because it was a gift from Numi Organic Tea. The grand prize during their May sponsorship was their "Flowering Tea Set in Bamboo" gift box. They sent me one of the gift sets for styling and sampling, and I plan on reusing the beautiful hand crafted bamboo box for memorabilia. 

All four of the ceramic birds are some of my most precious keepsakes - they are all from my childhood. I really have no idea how it is that I still have them! While growing up in the city of Chicago, there were many Saturdays when I would walk to the neighborhood shopping district with my weekly allowance. One of my favorite stores there was Woolworth's, and that is where I bought all of these colorful, made in Japan birds, one at a time.

No Styling The Seasons post would be complete without flowers, and I am happy to share a bouquet I made with wild perennial sweet peas. For years I've been seeing the many lovely wild pea vines growing next to the bike path along the Willamette River, and recently thought it would be fun to grab my clippers, gather some up, and bring them home.

Such a bright color! But what do you think, is this magenta or fuchsia? What I really love about this color is the subtle underlying blue or blue/violet tone, and as they fade, these wild pea flowers gradually become that darker bluish shade.

I began this wild floral arrangement by placing a frog on the bottom of a vintage ceramic container. Luckily, I happened to have the right size and shape frog in my collection of flower arranging tools:

I gathered the flowers in pairs back to back, and placed the pairs first in each corner of the vessel, then began filling in the front, sides and back in the same manner, poking the stems securely down onto the prongs of the frog. I repeated with double stems along the front, then directly behind this row of flower pairs, I placed single stems, all facing front using longer stems, in order to build some height in the middle of the arrangement.

This vintage container, with its Asian influenced design on the front and repeated on the back, has a base style that echoes the 'feet' on the James Mont Chinoiserie hutch. Have a look:

It's interesting how the design of the cabinet base, with its cut-away groove between the cabinet and the pedestal, creates the illusion of the base floating on its pedestal legs. 

As long as we are focusing on the bottom portion of this hutch, check out the lovely three dimensional appliques on the doors!

This pair of elements is what places this piece of furniture squarely into the 'Chinoiserie' genre; with its evocation of a Chinese garden scene, it is very reminiscent of the famed 'Blue Willow' dishware pattern. As well, the uncomplicated design of the piece as a whole also lends itself to an Asian influenced style.

Owning a hutch has been on my wish list for years - I always wanted a special place to gather and show my favorite vintage pieces. And it may surprise you to know that I didn't want just any hutch, but this exact one! Some years ago, I had seen a limed oak James Mont hutch in a furniture magazine from the early 1950s, and always dreamed of owning one exactly like it.

And now that this wonderful vintage hutch is here in the dining area of my kitchen, I'm looking forward to the promise of future styling opportunities, displaying all of the fun collectables and family mementos that it will hold on its shelves, and in my heart, for years to come. 

If you would like to read the story about my purchase of this hutch, you can find it here: Vintage Finds: c. 1950 James Mont Chinoiserie Limed Oak Hutch. Also, if you would like to know more about my Instagram hashtag #collectandstyle and find out how you can participate, you may like to read #collectandstyle - A New Instagram Hashtag. 

And finally, Styling The Seasons is the brainchild of Katy Orme at Apartment Apothecary and Charlotte at Lots and Lotts. You can participate by styling a surface in your home that reflects what the month means to you and sharing it on your blog and/or on social media using the hashtage #stylingtheseasons.

Thank you for reading!