a thing for letters and words

the other day my post was about numbers. today it is about letters and words. i love all kinds of typography. if you do, you will want to visit this fun site i recently found. so on with photos of things around my home that have letters or words.....
a recent find at good juju was this linen pillow cover. the colors are perfect and i just love all those letters on it.

this card reminds me of a bingo card, only with alphabets instead of numbers. oh, and no free space. it is eye candy in my studio, or sometimes makes it way into a august arrangement on my entry table. signaling the start of the school year.

the letter H. was found gold and quickly spray painted black. it lives on the wall in my master bedroom, above some pictures i found at a flea market and had framed.

the letter M. in my son's room. i love monograms and more often than not, if you have a decorating dilemma, this just might be what your space needs. try it!

ahhhh...words. as in 'use your manners please'. i have posted these pillows before, but think they are worthy of making it into this 'words post'. subliminal, yet effective.

ooops...here is another letter H. simply written on a chalkboard in my kitchen.

three lovely words, 'home sweet home'. i made this with scrapbook paper and those small luggage tags (that i am also addicted too!) a random pretty frame i had tucked in the basement and it becomes a piece of art.

the word 'cafe' in my kitchen. i am not sure why i love this word. maybe because i ran a cafe when i lived overseas, or maybe because {some days} i have a desire to run one again. or maybe because it is a short word and it fit this space?! ;)

scrabble letters are always a fun find at a yard sale. i use them for all kinds of things. this phrase 'wash hands' sits quietly in the boys/guest bathroom. instead of a hand towel in this bathroom i love having a stack of 12 wash cloths. you can pick these up on the cheap at target for around $3/12. it does make for a bit more laundry but the benefits are worth it. everyone gets a dry towel and less germs are passed around. after a party, there is always one person that comes up to me and says 'loved the idea of the individual hand towels, i felt like i was at a fancy hotel or restaurant'.

this a-z sign was found at a garage sale just at the time my oldest was learning his abc's. it is in his room, in that small space above the closet. now that my youngest son is learning his abc's i suppose it is due for a new location.

that is it for the letter/word tour. if you have a favorite word or typography around your house i would love to hear about it. leave me a comment!

a thing for numbers

two, five, three..... 9, 4, 21.... it does not matter what the number, or the order. i have a thing for numbers. i am not even sure when it started. i pick them up at flea markets and garage sales. or, if something is plain, i will add a number myself. as i looked around the house the other day, i noticed that i have quite the {collection} going. in no particular order... see for yourself.

the number 2. picked up at a consignment shop lays quietly on my desk. her original purpose was a house number. i wonder if she was alone on a house, or in a group? her purpose now, a paperweight.

the number 459. joins numbers 458 and 457 in our mudroom. each locker has one of these old swim baskets to corral the smalls.

numbers 1, 2, 3 & 4. march down the front of an old dresser. originally intended for my son's room so that i could tell him that his socks were in drawer #2, shorts are in drawer #3. decided that i liked it better in the living room for a bit of whimsy. *easy project with a stencil and some paints!

the number 5. why? why not! plain white plant pot gets a simple face lift. *another easy project with ceramic paints, or a sharpie marker!

numbers 1 - 12. the face of a clock. i think circles are pleasing to the eye and i think that is why i am so drawn to clocks. this little one sits on my bedside table. it is rarely wound because i can not sleep with the tick, tick, tick sound. it also finds a temporary home in january on my dining room table as part of the centerpiece.

roman numbers. another clock, again round. this one currently resides above a mantle, but also gets moved around. i really liked this one when i bought it, but am growing tired of the red. {it is actually for sale for $75. interested? send me an email and i can tell you more about it}.

numbers 1 - 12 repeated again in a round clock. maybe i have a thing for clocks too?! this was a wedding gift {14 years ago}. the frame was pine and has since been painted black and distressed. it is large and i love it.

number 4 and 6. as in happy hour 4-6. this little frame sets on my kitchen window sill. 4-6 is actually the witching hour around here. kids are starting to get hungry, sometimes cranky and dinner needs to be thought of and prepared. this little reminder helps me to think positive during these hours. and yes, sometimes i take it literally and pop a cork off a bottle of red wine.

dollars and cents. these little cardboard price tags i found at a sale. not sure what i will do with them but one day it will hit me. they are currently eye candy in my studio.

a mix of numbers. old bingo cards make me weak in the knees. i have no idea what it is about them, but i can not get enough of them. these came from a dear friend {thanks lauri}.

numbers 1 - 28 and sometimes through 31. a huge framed calendar that i made because i am such a visual person. each month the magnetic numbers get moved around to their appropriate day of the week. strips of paper are used to add the happenings of our days. a real piece of {useful} art in my mudroom.

number 6 and 9. a framed vintage race car poster in my son's room. i love the large graphic, the numbers, letters and colors in his room.

another framed poster in my son's room.

that wraps it up. hope you enjoyed the tour of numbers.

tomorrow?? a thing for letters/words!

what's on your mantel?

the mantel is a show piece around christmas time. it seems that i load mine up with so much stuff in the months of november and december. that come this time of year, i just want something simple.

this old frame is a favorite of mine, it appears several times on my mantel throughout the year. for february, i hung a red rose wreath that i had stashed in the basement. you can never go wrong with white pillar candles, line them up all in a row for a bit of a modern look. a favorite piece of art, from a friend of mine, adds to the 'love' theme of the month without going overboard.
what's on your mantel?

how sweet it is

i signed up for treats for my son's valentine party at school. i am taking strawberry and cheese cube kabobs. kids love food on sticks and i thought something healthy was a good idea. but since it is a party afterall, i also wanted something fun, pretty and sweet.

i found this FUN COOKIE SUCKER recipe here. wrapped up in a cellophane bag and tied with a ribbon these turned out adorable! they were so easy to make and really didn't take any longer than making and icing cupcakes. my son loved how they turned out and is excited to see if his classmates think they are getting a sucker instead of a cookie. i also heard him in the living room tell his dad "i have the coolest mom ever!" and this morning when he saw all 25 of them (21 classmates + a few extras) on a tray he said "wow, you baked 72 corn muffins for boy scouts this week, and now 25 cookie suckers, you are the best mom ever!" now that is SWEET!

fun find

it was a beautiful day on saturday...might have even hit 70 degrees. i had some errands to run down in the village and really just wished that it was a spring saturday with lots of garage sales. but i knew sales would be few because it is after all... february. a few blocks from my house i saw it....a SALE sign! i was so happy. even happier when i found a bingo game. we had family game night friday night and i was wishing we had just a simple bingo game. there it was....along with boxes of dominoes, scrabble letters, chess and checker pieces. i had a smile on my face and my soul was happy. odd what spending a buck will do for you on a february day. oh yes, all of my finds were just $1.00 oh, happy day! ;)

face lift for a garage sale find

i have had this cabinet for awhile......maybe two years. i scooped it up at a garage sale for 5 bucks. i always had intentions to paint it, but since it lived in the basement, i never got around to it. then at some point i did some rearranging and the cabinet ended up in my living room. even in the ugly state that it was, i still liked it. i guess because when i looked at it, i could see the potential. every time i looked at it i was reminded that it needed a face lift, but it was functional, so it just became a project on a long list. two weekends ago i finally tackled the cabinet. i am always so amazed at how little time and really takes to paint a cabinet. why did i wait so long to complete this project? one word explains it.....PROCRASTINATOR! here is the end result.....

i had recently found an old french paperback here and i tore it up and used it on the back of the cabinet. i love how it turned out. a fresh coat of paint, some light staining, new hardware and it is finally done.

the top shelf has a few of my favorites...especially the ceramic crown. a subtle reminder that, with no girls in line behind me, i will forever be the queen of this household. ;) the middle shelf for my husband who likes his scotch on the rocks after a hard day at work. the bottom shelf for the boys, a basket filled with baseballs that we pick up for cents at garage sales. and behind the two doors on the bottom, baskets of toys for the boys.

it feels good to have this project crossed off my list. since i have painted this cabinet, i have spent the last two weeks completely cleaning and rearranging bedrooms. it is what happens when i clean....stuff just gets moved from one place to another. and wow does it feel good to have my house so clean. even the closets have been cleaned and we have several bags of donations going to local shelters this week.

here is the before photo of the cabinet in its ugly state. so next time you see something ugly at a garage sale, look for the potential in it. paint is inexpensive and it is a great way to update a piece. you will also be saving money, and the environment by recycling these pieces.