OSD Obsessive Sorting Disorder

There is so much talk and publications about gettting organized.  We see these beautiful spreads of well organized closets, and covet these newly created living spaces.  And now there are these new professionals whose jobs are to make our lives better by helping us get organized.

Let's imagine we hire one of these professional organizers...we bringing them into our house... open a closet that houses all our craft junk and containers of beads like these and politely say "could you get this sorted out for me...?  Thank you!"  No one ever addresses this kind of "get organized".  I know some of you are just saying, "throw it away!".  But will your conscience let you do that...?  After all, we are living in the "green" age.  We CAN'T just throw things away...!  Right?
 

Is this...

• Insanity vs OSD (Obsessive Sorting Disorder)
• Testing your childrens fine motor skills vs THE ultimate punishment
• or recreational activity vs the value of work?

Mom:  Who in their right mind would sort this!?

Amber:  You...

Mom:  No!...well, maybe...?
 (to Ali) Would you sort this...?

Ali:  Ive done that before...

Mom:  You did?!

Oops you missed some.

Shouldn't we sort the pink from the blue...?

And what about that orange one in there?  Oh...oh...I see a black one too.  Ooo and theres a green one.

Mom:  What would you call this Ali?

Ali:  uh...I don't know...the most tedious job on the face of the planet?

Mom:  Amber what would you call this?

Amber:  OSD Obsessive Sorting Disorder.

Mom:  I'm thinking we could do this for *FHE! 



Vicki

photo: homevestures.blogspot.com

*FHE is an acronym for Family Home Evening.  Every Monday night our family gets together and has singing, a lesson, talent, scripture, refreshments, and ACTIVITY!

rug boards

Somehow I had to get a piece of the Flor carpet tile action.  How?  The tiles are a bit pricey and I wasn't sure that I wanted the grid like pattern all over my floor.  However, I do think these people are genius!  Ah...the spaces they create draw you in.  I just love looking at their catalog for inspiration. 

I was in the process of remodeling a space when I found out that I could order one of every kind of tile they have in 6.5"x6.5" sample size.  I thought oooh...these are SO cool, I've got to do something with them. This is how the rug boards came to be... 

The thing I love about these boards is that they can get as big or small as you like.  You could do monochromatic colors, gray scale, or whole remnant boards.  Love it!  Carpet is not very hard to cut...you just use a straight edge and a matt knife with a NEW blade.  Or if your cutting an oval like I did with the painted Ikea frame, I used heavy duty fabric sissors.

With the Flor tiles I used hot glue and glued the squares onto a piece of cardboard  I then secured it into my frame by using a electric (they are smooth and easy to use) staple gun and paint stirs to attach the tile board to the back of the frame.

I got SHORT screws and screwed them into the back about 1/3 of the way down.  Then attached wire to the screws so I could hang my boards.   My frame was custom made from pictureframes.com.  I like ordering WHITE or BLACK  frames from them they have a nice selection, reasonable, and it comes right to your door, you never have to leave the house.

So... I've been thinking how interesting it would be to put carpet on the walls.  What I mean is to make one wall an accent wall of carpet. Then hang a very interesting piece of art work and wire some spot lights on it.  This might go well in a theater room or a family/ game/ flex room, or even a hallway. 

Um...Um...Um...  Yes...I'd do it, yes I would.

vicki

  

pictures by homevestures.blogspot.com

click here to view flor carpet tiles

and here for picture frames

elegant...easy...edible...egg

Some things just need to be easy...

Use your imagination for an elegant EASY name place.

When we say someones' name, we are giving them a sign or signal of approval.  Children love to see and hear their names and it's a reward when you say it lovingly.  Christopher was over a few nights ago while Dawnelle was at a meeting.  The thing that comforted him the most when he got hungry and began missing mommy was hearing his name repeated over and over again.

Your Easter meal is a good time to summon feelings of love for your guests as you set the table with a special elegant...easy...edible...egg.

vicki

angry birds

Last month my little brothers ordered a bunch of Angry Birds plush toys. They came in the mail about two weeks ago. So, instead of Albert and Hyrum playing Angry Birds as an application on my parents' phones, they got the Lincoln Logs and built their own scenarios. 

The yellow bird has been captured by the pigs.

The next day, I decided that it would be cool if I surprised Albert and Hyrum with this (I must admitt) pretty awesome set up of Angry Birds. So I sat on my living room floor building a structure with Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Marble Works, and Lego's. Sure, it doesn't look like much, but nothing beat the smiles on my little brother's faces when they saw this. Hyrum was able to see it about an hour before Albert, and his smile disappeared once he discovered that he could not shoot the birds until Albert got home.

For those of you who don't know the story of angry birds, this is it: The pigs were hungry and stole the birds eggs to eat. The birds were angry and wanted revenge.

After my brothers got the stuffed animals they heard about the new Angry Birds movie called Rio. They can't wait to see it. It's made by the same producer as Ice Age. Because I love Ice Age so much, Rio suddenly became a must see on my movie list. And then.... to add to my excitment..., will.i.am and Jamie Foxx sang Rio's theme song on American Idol last week. 



Left: Jamie Foxx; Right: will.i.am

As a family, we love watching American Idol together and judging for ourselves who is the best. And when they sang this song, because of Albert and Hyrum's love for Angry Birds... We all decided we're going!

In my opinion making scenarios for Angry Birds is a great and fun thing do do with your kids or younger siblings when they are bored.  All you need is a couple stuffed animals, and something to build the scenarios with.  You could use anything. Cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, empty cans,  old milk jugs or cartons, story books, ect. The sky's the limit.

My set up may look sturdy and strong, but it took Albert and Hyrum each three hard throws with the birds before the whole thing was destroyed.

Try it, I guarantee anyone who contributes with this project will have a blast!

AmBer

sculptural lagniappe bags

Interesting how design affects us without us even knowing it. 

After making the 'sculptural lagniappe (lan-yap) bags' I realized they had the feel of sculptures and interiors I had seen here and here.

Your guests sit down at the table...they're happy because they know they are going to get a faaaannnnntastic meal, but before the real food begins you encourage their appetite with this lagniappe bag of healthy snacks.  They sit and see the bag, and say... "what's this?...", "oh?...", "OK! I get it?...", "humm?...I ....??".  That's the thing... this bag is not meant to be 'cute'.  It's meant to say "looky here", "I'm not your average goodie bag".  

For me this bag is sayin 'I'm thinkin outside of the box...or bag...', sorry, my husband makes jokes like that, I'll just leave it at THAT.  Also, you don't have to fill this all the way up with snacks, a third will do.  Therefore the rest of the bag becomes your creation.  I know... your putting yourself out there with this one.  

I read somewhere that GOOD design evokes feelings.  But that doesn't mean that designers should take advantage of peoples visual ability by shocking them.   That's just wrong.  My opinion is that good design stimulates GOOD discussion, it inspires and grows new creations, at least new creations for us.  And somehow we can discover or rediscover, but as long as we discover it is new and original to us. 

We can never say that our designs are truly original though, because everything is inspired from creation.  And what I mean by that, is... Heavenly Father's creations: nature, us, the universe.  He is the master, and we are all his apprentices.  Agree... 

Approximately 5 minutes or less to make. 

Start by cutting narrow strips from one side of your bag to the other.  Stop just a little ways of cutting it off completely.  Otherwise... if you cut all the way across... all that you have accomplished is making your bag shorter.  Which is fine... if you want a shorter bag...but..., if your goal is the 'sculptural lagnaippe bag' STOP! before you get to the edge.  Now repeat 2/3's of the way down your bag.

Now you'll have 1/3 of your bag left without the cuts, fold that part up and cut slits or circles or use a hole punch. 

Open your bag carefully.  Bend and 'sculpt' the strips, then weave a stick, or stir, into the back.  I used a stick and hot glued popcorn on the branch.  'Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree'!

I filled the bag with healthy snacks, no fat, no sugar, no salt, low calorie.  Air popped pop corn, freeze dried rasberries, blueberries, and rasins. Yum! Really.

Lagniappe: (lan-yap) dividend, something extra, 1849, from New Orleans creole,

an unexpected or indirect benefit, a small gift

vicki

Photo's: homevestures.blogspot.com

'Good Earth' Design

Moss has a very chic element in design.  Today we see moss holding hands with the vintage beat, and lending good 'Feng Shui' to modern and comtemporary spaces.  So many top merchandisers have been using moss to accent and showcase their products.  It's "muy rrrich" and exciting! 

We are going to create a center piece for our Easter table.

We like assorted sized cans...but, matching cans could be stunning as well.  We used packing peanuts as a filler.

Moss doesn't have a deep root system, it kind of grows on top of the ground and so there's not much in digging it up.

If you have moss growing in your back yard, it's like striking GOLD!

It grows in the shadows of the trees where it's cool and damp.  Moss is not slimy like algae, it's somewhere between dirt and grass.

We moulded the moss into the cans to create smooth clean edges.  

You can bring it inside and it doesn't need alot of light or water.  All you really need to do is throw a few ice cubes on it.  It will last for weeks on display.

I liked the white brocade motif of these paintable wallpaper samples I ordered online.  The white allows the moss to be the focal point but also acts like the man in couple figure skating, he's there to make her look beautiful...

You can poke things in it, lay things on top of it, or just leave it as a optic tactile feast.

"The earth is a good earth, the elements are good if we will use them for our own benefit, in truth and righteousness."  (DBY 302)

vicki

BTW background music while posting... 'Inspiration Information' by Shuggie Ottis

photo's: homevestures.blogspot.com

banksy...

...a renowned British street artist and someone I have become quite interested in lately.

No one knows who he really is or what he looks like but his artwork is very recognizable. Banksy, to me, has brought street art to a whole different level. His artwork has brought up a lot of questions in my mind regarding what is considered art. What he does is graffiti. It is usually seen on walls, buildings, billboards, and sidewalks that do not belong to him. However, there is something to me that really makes his work art. There is definitely some serious thought put into not only the artwork but the location. I think I like his work because it makes you think. Like any artist however, I don't alway agree with everything they believe nor do I like every piece they create.

What do you think?? Is it just glorified vandalism or art? or both?
Dawnelle

on the Israeli West Bank barrier

sources (images and information): banksy, wikipedia