RainyDayRose

Birthdays always just creep up

2011-02-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

My birthday is coming up. I have a lot of friends who will celebrate their birthday for an entire month. I for one have never been that person. Maybe I will spend a weekend indulging in bad foods, libations and great company but then it's back to regular life. I have decided however this year I am not going to be limiting myself. No, instead March will be a month I am going to be celebrating my birthday throughout. I have attached my holiday gift guide I wrote for bows and sparrows which although it was for the holidays, I like to think that these gifts are timeless. (Hint hint, Mom, I have the Alessi orange peeler already).

Now, I actually wrote this piece because I have been very flaky on this blog and never linked my gift guide from early December and wanted to share it. Also, I will be adding some of my recipe contributions to bows and sparrows on here soon! Ciao! xoxo

Sunnylands Estate, Palm Springs

2010-11-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

A long weekend jaunt to Palm Springs was in the works for several months. This birthday present included a private tour of Sunnylands Estate a year before it's anticipated opening date. I had no idea what Sunnylands estate was until I was given this gift, much to my chagrin. The gift giver knew I have an eye for mid century modern design, a love of architecture and this seemed to fit the bill. The Annenburg family owned this 240 acre estate and built a 25,000 square foot home that was designed by architect A.Quincy Jones and completed in 1966. The home was only lived in five months out of the year by the Annenburgs but during those 5 months they would wine and dine with the likes of Queen Elizabeth, the Bushes, the Clintons, the Reagans, Frank Sinatra (married here), Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby and multiple foreign political officials. The property boasted an 18 hole golf course, 12 man made lakes, pools, guest houses and a world famous art collection.

Set to open in November 2011 Sunnylands Estate now has a 5 acre visitor center done in LEED sustainable methods that is the grand entrance to the estate. Inside the center will be the Annenburg book collection, classes will be held all with a focus on the arts, rotating art exhibits and focus on the mid century modern era of design. Because we were given the tour before the opening date, we were not allowed to take photographs.

The grounds were perfectly manicured and although I don't have photographs to show, this place is going to be spectacular when it's done. It was certainly a nice introduction into the Annenburg family, their legacy and definitely their style. If you're in the Palm Springs area come next November certainly check it out. Thanks to Janis Lyle for the tour and the President Geoffrey Cowan for their gracious hosting of us

Palm Springs, baby!

2010-11-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

After a highly anticipated trip to Palm Springs I finally got my poolside margarita and a good fill of mid-mo architecture. I will be posting here very shortly, including details of my amazing private tour of Sunnylands a year before they open to the public. Thanks to a Mom who's in the know in the art's world!

Credenza Record Cabinet: The (Re) Finished Story

2010-06-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

The final product (above)

After over two years of searching for a credenza to tuck away all my electronics in and to hold my television I finally found this Telefunken record cabinet on Craigslist for $165. It was in poor condition being that the original owner shared that his grandfather left it outdoors in a barn exposed to the elements. It had the right lines that are important to me in my furnishings however and I decided to take it upon myself to have this be my large refinishing project to conquer, of course with a little help from my handy teacher, aka Mom.
Here's the step by step, minus a cut finger.

Before pictures show the significant damage:

This shows the color before, which was changed with a darker stain.

Here are the supplies: heavy duty gloves, a small dish to pour the liquids in, very fine sandpaper, tack cloth, Fromby's Furniture Refinisher, Jasco's Bix Varnish and Stain Remover (which we ended up not needing), Steel wool, Wood Stain in Modern Walnut by Zara and Fromby's Tung Oil finish. Cost approximately $60.00.

The Sandpaper had a cloth texture to it which made it easier to use and less chance of making a mistake. We gently sandpaper'ed the entire piece after which we used the tack cloth to pick up the remainder of the dust.

Here my Mom's showing how we rubbed re-finisher into the wood with steel wool. It was clear we had to remove all the finish, rather than refinish and re-amalgam the old finish. You want to be gentle doing this so as to keep an even surface for staining and final finishing.

Here you can see what the wood looked like once it was stripped. It also made the damage show even worse, which worried me initially.

There's limited shade in my backyard but you need to try to refinish in the shade. The chemicals dry up very fast once you pour them into your shallow container, also you can damage your furniture piece if you have parts that dry too quickly. We used rags to rub in the refinishing product in the same direction of the grain. This part was labor intensive as we had to go over the piece several times.

Before staining

After staining

The dark color and natural sheen came through after two layers of stain. I let it dry in my side room for a week and a half. The first three days inside I rubbed tung oil with a soft cloth on it which gave it an even more beautiful sheen.

Here are a few close ups:

Below are a few other pictures that show my new chair on loan (thanks Sarah!) and my living room coming together. Oh yes, that's my pup Benji on the sofa and on the carpet in the pics.

My *L* for Love letter, guitar from Dad, Angie Wyant print and photo booth picture collection on top of my buffet cabinet that holds my Grandma's china from the 1950's.

**The End**

(next project, wallpaper this wall behind the buffet cabinet...)

Building Mom's headboard

2010-05-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

Like every project, this one took much longer than anticipated, cost more than expected and was somewhat of a pain. But, like every project, we conquered it!!! My Mom has wanted a headboard for years. I built one several years ago that does the trick and so my Mom hired me on to assist her with building one for her abode. Here is a step by step of the headboard:

The room is small. We had to be very careful with our measuring. Here's to give you an idea. Also, this is before we painted the wall a light grey.

Here we're cutting the crown molding for the edges of the headboard. This was probably one of the more stressful parts as it's incredibly difficult to get a perfect cut to make the corners connect.

We had the peg board cut to fit the space. My Mom's friend suggested picture hangers to affix it to the wall. It was a marvelous idea and now I am thinking of changing my own headboard around to copy this.

Here I am stapling the quilting over the back of the board. We also put 1" foam on the exposed side and glued it and for some reason didn't take a photo.

Here we're pulling the fabric covered buttons through the headboard to give a tufted look.

It was very difficult to get a uniform appearance so we just resorted to this. It sufficed.

My Mom painted the molding a darker shade of grey as the white looked a little too "country"

and much too bright.

This shows how difficult it is to measure the corners correctly.

Viola'

Bring the outdoors in

2010-02-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

I am going through a transition in my home and it includes none the less a new puppy. I am finding the outdoors found way into my house thanks to my little guy bringing the nature inside. Yes, clumps of mud, grass, leaves, you name it. I have tried to fight this phenomena but I am very close to giving up. However, today on Design Sponge I found a nice little piece of nature that I would gladly invite into my home. This wall decal would look stunning in my living room where my AngieWyant print lives. Don't get me wrong, my print will go elsewhere in my home of course. Enjoy this Amy Ruppel decal I sure did. Brings a little of the outdoors in. No pesky mess, I leave that up to my pup.

Jens Jems trunk show

2009-12-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to a jewelry trunk show. Actually make that two, but right now I will be highlighting the one hosted by my friend Sarah , the Undercover Caterer. She had her friend, jeweler extrodinaire Jen Moore bring her fine goods for all to see and buy for holiday gifts. Sarah was quite the hostess with an amazing simple spread of green salad with persimons, pommegrantate seeds, a mix of wilted greens including baby chard which is a personal favorite of mine and lastly a great homemade mac and cheese with ham. She can certainly make the most simple dishes taste gourmet and delicious.

Jen Moore has been making her handmade jewelery for many years and selling it on etsy, at craft fairs and private parties. I wanted to show a sample of some of her goods and also show what I bought!!!!

I loved this with the heart!

She has theses adorable boxes so you can wrap your goods if they're a gift.

Loved the brushed bronze circle necklace. If it was closer a certain friends birthday I might have bought it!

And lastly, here's what I bought. Pardon the bathroom shot, on this overcast day it's the only room with a mirror that would work!

Jen's Estsy shop is: http://www.jenjems.etsy.com/ You can also contact her on the link above by clicking on her name! Ciao!

Blue Art Studio & my "time warp" gift

2009-12-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas in my extended family we are picking names out of a hat and only getting one gift rather than the dozen or so we normally end up giving and receiving. My creative interior designer cousin Lisa wanted to come up with a theme for the gifts and ended up with a "time warp" gift theme. I have been sending out ideas to my cousin and she's passing the ideas to her Mom who's not internet savvy and needed suggestions. I am crossing my fingers on a few things including a subscription to Atomic Ranch and I wanted this clock that was on my friends blog bows and sparrows the other day but low and behold it's already sold out.

Today I found this great print that is fun and I suppose could constitue a time warp gift theme, yes? Blue Art Studio had this beauty. Cross your fingers for me that I will get it. Check out the other ones on their website too. Some good stuff on there. Go Charles Eames!!!!

Today's all about my girlfriends

2009-12-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

This picture makes me smile. I am smiling today too because I am so lucky to have such creative, intelligent, thoughtful, beautiful, inspiring, girlfriends. Yep, life's good because you guys, love you!

DIY Journal & Mod Home Ec Teacher

2009-11-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

I have been following Curbly for fun crafting ideas for some time. Often the posts are on needlepoint, puff paint and grandma craft variety so I quickly breeze through looking specifically for the poster: Mod Home Ec Teacher. Her real name is Shelly Miller Leer and she has, in my opinion, a dream story. She went to school for design and textiles yet landed a career in the legal field. She found her way back to her first love and founded an upholstery business and was teaching courses at the Indianapolis Art Center in different forms of DIY craft and upholstery. She has created a DIY weekly column for the Indianapolis Star newspaper and writes regularly for Apartment Therapy Chicago. This is my dream story, mostly because I, too, wanted to do something related to the arts, career wise but found myself in a completely different field of work that's limited my creativity to after 5pm and on weekends.. Enough about me, let's hear it for Shelly and all her amazingness. Here's some links to her wares:

http://www.curbly.com/modhomeecteacher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GndlHCeTXWw

http://www.curbly.com/

Todd Oldham, where art' thou??

2009-11-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Todd Oldham has been a fixture in modern design circles for years and most recently became a contributing editor to the popular Berkeley based Ready Made. I am shocked to find that it just happened tonight that I stumbled across a book of his that's right up my alley. Yes, a book of do it yourself projects appropriately titled "Handmade Modern" touting 72 projects: "Each project is charted through step–by–step photos and instructions until the fabulously mod end. Other projects include home–computer face–lifts, Xerox wallpaper, aluminium lighting fixtures, and cosy shoe–storage systems. In additional to Todd's brilliantly engineered projects, the book comes complete with a tutorial on modern home design in the form of sidebars and short essays throughout –everything from that now–famous Eames chair to the case–study houses of the 1950s. Handmade Modern promises to revolutionise the way the reader looks at his or her own home and capacity to beautify a space. Chic, accessible, and fun, this is the achievable new look of modern home design." (Guess what has been added to my Christmas wish list???)

In addition he just came out with a project book for children, which is perfect for my design conscious parent friends. Yes, you know who you are!!!

Alexander Calder mobile look alike

2009-11-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

I have always loved Alexander Calder's abstract mobiles. In New York's MOMA they have huge versions and they would never fit in a normal person's home and the reproductions have always been expensive and often a poor reproduction. However, enter CB2, a favored alternative to Ikea and voila' my Calder mobile reproduction that's going to fit in my home and is affordable at $19.95!

Here's the CB2 version:

Can I make a Knoll credenza???

2009-11-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

I sort of am in love with this one and think that I could probably make it. I am thinking different colors....

The search for the perfect credenza....

2009-11-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

Oh dear my seach continues. I have been looking at new credenza's and found some of these that are somewhat in the right price range. This one is actually pretty great. It's from Macy's and affordable, consisdering... I wish that I could find this at a thrift store since it well, looks like it could be found at a thrift store perhaps a few years ago before the credenza craze happened.

This was on a website from a design school and was a project someone did. It seems like one I could make, yes?

But really, why can't I find one exactly like THIS!???? Well, I did find it on Etsy for $2000 which is much more than I can afford. Oh well...

Some beautiful book art

2009-11-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

My dear friend nudged me the other day and suggested highlighting some beautiful art found on classic book covers. Penguin has been publishing such classics since 1935; dating back to hot metal and letter press style print being the norm. Their in house designers have changed throughout the years but they've started reaching out to new designers that are not perhaps that typical Penguin Classic look that we're all so familiar with. In college reading the classics I probably owned over a dozen Penguin texts, however none as beautiful as these. Otherwise I may have actually kept them through all those moves....

A nice Ikea hack

2009-11-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

Great idea but not quite what I am looking for. I want something that's a little more rich and warm. I prefer to have a credenza that's got more history or at least feels like it came out of a magazine in 1963.

some credenza's to make

2009-11-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

I really like this one, but it's a matter of finding the perfect record cabinet and gutting it. It's all about the bones of the piece, yes?

http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/how-to/how-to-make-your-own-record-collection-storage-unit-101052

Oh me oh my, somebody help me find...

2009-11-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

The perfect credenza to be all mine. Yep, not really a poet here, but all fun aside. This is some serious serious business. For the last year I have been on an unaccomplished mission to find the perfect credenza for my living room to put the TV on and store away unsightly electronics and junk really. I have added a picture of my space including the entire living room to give you an idea of what I am sort of needing (okay, fine, wanting).

So, with that I am going to be hoping to get some suggestions and feedback. I am going to start posting credenza's both ones for purchase and of course those that you can make!

Check out my friend's new blog

2009-10-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

http://bowsandsparrows.blogspot.com/

Erin, one of my nearest and dearest has started a new blog about her love of birds and all things beautiful that she likes and or aspires to do. Of course her professional writing skills add to the fun too. Please take a peek at her blog.

Poladroid

2009-05-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

If you're at all human you're aware of the phenomenon of the Polaroid camera than you're also aware that they're phasing out their film leaving us connoisseurs sans pictures. It's so sad that it will be the end of an era for so many of us. Not to fret, Poladroid is a simple free download that allows you to take your digital pics and put them "through" your Poloadroid on your desktop (including the ubiquitous Polaroid sound) and voila' your picture's transformed into a beautiful Polaroid like pic with the white frame and saturated colors that make us all swoon!

Cranky Chef

2009-05-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

So my friend Caroline has a blog that's all about food. I know that a lot of people do, but hers has some very imaginative creations that are very inspiring. A lot of simple recipes that are healthy and don't require several different stores to pick up ingredients. Please take a peek, she will greatly appreciate it. Look forward to seeing her more frequent postings in August when she returns from some European travels. Here's her romano pepper breadsticks and creamy red pepper dip. I would like some right now!

Long time absentee

2009-04-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

I am sorry for not being on here for what amounts to a half a year. It's funny how winter makes me hibernate and not do many projects. You would think knitting, sewing, drawing would take place during the cold winter. I don't have that much to show for my winter since, well the closest to creation I have made involves: cooking, some basic clothing alterations that make okay things a little better, a few photo albums finally completed and life getting in the way of creativity. I realize that this is a very very unhealthy thing that has happened and I vow to not let it happen again. I am back and I am ready to make things that will make me and hopefully you happy. Here's a picture of a fun winter activity that brought me some serious happiness. There's nothing better than white snow on a warm winter day shared with friends. xoxo RDR

LA inspiration

2008-09-19T20:47:00.001-07:00

A few things I saw and loved and wanted to share with you. Park LaBrea is getting a pretty update that I just adored including adding new focal points on the building, adding color and acentuating the awesome doorways. Fortunately a certain dear friend of mine will be having a baby here in a month and I will have to come down to visit her. Oh darn.

duh a link to my design sponge before and after

2008-09-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's a little bit back now on their site, apologies!
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/08/before-and-after-rosemarys-chair.html

Oh my gosh, I am on Design*Sponge today!

2008-08-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

So today after some conversations with Grace over at Design*Sponge I was so overjoyed to see I fit the bill to be shown on her fabulous website. If you haven't checked it out yet please do. There are many fun ideas of things to create, places to see, and many homes to dream living in. I hope that you visit her site and support her. I will continue to try to submit projects to her for sure.
ps. If you couldn't tell, this made my day!!!!!

*** Here's a little bio of the site if you aren't familiar (I got this off their "about" section, check out how awesome Grace is!) ***

Design*Sponge is a daily website dedicated to home and product design run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. Launched in August of 2004, Design*Sponge features store and product reviews, sale and contest announcements, new designer profiles, trend forecasting and store/studio tours. In addition, Design*Sponge features a unique section dedicated to covering student design, national and international design shows. The site is updated constantly throughout the day (with an average of 6-10 posts a day), and attracts a core group of devoted readers. Design*Sponge currently has over 30,000 daily readers

Design*Sponge editor Grace Bonney has a unique angle on the industry, working as a contributing editor at Domino Magazine and CRAFT magazine, and as a freelancer with top publications like House and Garden, New York Home, Food and Wine, In Style, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Magazine, CITY Magazine, Time Out New York Kids, Archinect, The New York Post, Everyday with Rachael Ray and others. In addition, she wrote a weekly design column for the Philadelphia Inquirer for two years and has worked as Style Editor of HGTV’s Ideas Magazine.
In addition, Grace has been a featured guest on Good Morning America and the Martha Stewart Radio Show and has been invited to speak with wide variety of organizations ranging from design schools to professional trade organizations. Recent engagements: “Design and the Media” (RISD, 2007), “Getting Your Work Online” (SCAD, 2007), “Design and the Internet” (AIGA, 2007), Design and Marketing Online (FIT, 2008), and Design Panel Discussion (SURTEX, 2008).
Grace also runs a national series of meetups for women running design-based businesses called the D*S Biz Lady Series. Grace hosts and speaks at these events designed to connect local designers and provide free advice on the subjects of PR/marketing, legal concerns, business/financial decisions and wholesaling. Meetings have been held in Brooklyn, Chicago, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles with 6 additional cities coming in 2008.

Patio set from start to finish

2008-08-24T17:19:00.001-07:00

These are the after pictures of our patio set...

So this is what I started with. We needed a patio set to eat dinners outdoors on hot evenings. I didn't realize to find a nice patio set you would be paying quite a bit of money. Last week on a fun visit to a suburban thrift store we found this 3 piece set for $40, which was much less than I was thinking I was going to spend! The great thing also about this set is that it folds up so it's easy to transport in my trunk. I was sold!!! I just knew I had to use some imagination, usually in the form of color to make this piece pop.

I started by washing the set in a mild detergent to get off dust, some rust and some grease.
Next upon recommendation by my favorite Mom & Pop hardware store was told to make a 50-50 concoction of white vinegar and water and spray the set down for maximum paint stick. This helps you avoid primer! I left this outside to dry which was really quick since it was 90 degrees outside. Here I am sprayiing down the table. This photo certainly shows the rust better too.
Here's the Krylon Satin Touch in "Catalina Mist". I ended up using almost 4 cans. I was told this holds on both metal and the plastic arm rests.

Overall I am very happy with the end results and think that the small amount of paint really made this table perfect for us!~

Chihuly and S.F.

2008-08-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

For my Mom's Birthday I took her to S.F. for the night and we did whatever she wanted, which included The De Young museum's Dale Chihuly exhibit, the Legion of Honor and lots and lots of eating. Enjoy the pictures.

xoxo Rosie

Bow Ribbons play Luna's 7.31.08

2008-08-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Bow Ribbons at Luna's, yes I realize I am veering off topic, but it was a really really good show.

Should I make this ottoman?

2008-07-28T23:19:00.001-07:00

Should this be my next project? We have been in dire need of a coffee table for a long time, with a tray it would do that trick, and when we have extra guests around we'll have plenty of seating. Let me know if I should do this!

how to make the ottoman; follow the link:

http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/blueprint/2008/01/ottoman-empire.html#more

a visit to the east bay

2008-07-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is Jen's bike. Okay, well one of many

Jen's Bottecchia, her prized bike.

Apartments done right.

The fabulous Clairmont Hotel

Not an ugly chair anymore

2008-07-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

So I found this lovely little gem at a garage sale with my dear friend Darcey. Immediately we saw the simple yet elegant lines of this find and bought what was a pair. We each got one for a grand total of $4 for both. We were thrilled with the potential. In the midst of a move and planning a wedding there was much distraction for both of us for several months.

Finally one day needing the solitude and project I found myself disecting this chair in all it's glory. Chunks of pillow coming out left and right, tearing off hardened velvet that felt that it had been soft in it's heyday but had spenttoo many rainy seasons outdoors now making a sad hard sheen on the fabric. My dear mother gave me her leftover Ikea fabric from one of her projects and immediately I knew it would be a part of this chair. I love that their fabrics are thick and durable. I hate that they are so recognizable but again, trying not to spend much money I found myself digging in my bin of fabric and resorting to this. At least I must say I adore the design.

I could not take off the pillows so immediately I knew this was going to be quite the chore. I decided to paint the chair first so with a layer of black spray paint on the wicker part and layers of black shiny oil based paint I found that this chair already looked better than ever. The next chore was measuring the fabric, flipping it inside out to securing it to the bottom part of the chair (where the backs of your knees hit). With probably 50 staples from my handy staple gun I was able to secure the fabric without showing any pillow. I stuffed the rest of the fabric into the seam of the chair along the sides and back. With my sewing machine I made the stop part of the back of the chair sewing three of the four sides of a square. At this point I just covered the top part and with a flat head screwdriver shoved the excess fabric into the chair where it cannot be seen. There's a button I covered in the same fabric on the back of the chair that goes through the wicker and secures the back pillow to avoid it flopping.

Two days of labor later. It seemed like such an easy project when I started but than of course, they always do....

For future projects I will take photographs of the steps, supplies, pain (cut fingers etc) and make this a bit more interactive.

Welcome, come on in

2008-07-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome!!!! This blog I am starting for your own viewing pleasure and well frankly my own as well. The plan is to complete projects that I can share with others who may find inspiration and enjoyment from. I make useable art out of found objects spending minimal money and making beauty out of something that was once ugly. I hope that this is fun for you, as I know it will be a lot of fun for me. Please also share your projects on here. I hope that this can grow into a forum of fun creative ideas for all.