Upcycled Corkboard Tutorial - from Blah to Cork-tastic in 10 Minutes!

This is another easy-peasy tutorial

(not sure why I am doing all these cork tutorials lately - it just seems to be working out that way)

all you need for this one is a piece of cork or your existing corkboard, some scrap fabric and furniture tacks.

I made mine with a vintage hanger, but this is equally awesome on your existing corkboard.

(you can also make this on solid wood and furniture by drilling starter holes - it is alot of work though - I did something like this once using paint for the petals instead of fabric on an old cabinet - you need to measure the starter holes so the furniture tacks are placed exactly where you want them and you need to use a very small drill bit)

1. Cut a cardboard petal template 2. Cut out your fabric petals 3. Lay out your flower 4. Add your furniture tacks securing the fabric as you go

STRANGE BUT TRUE

After writing this post I was suddenly so tired that I had to lay down on my front porch - well not on the actual porch floor if that is kind of what you are picturing, but in a wicker chair on the porch with my feet on the railing -

one moment I am staring at my dandelion garden and listening to Harry Chapin sing that sad song about the taxicab and the next moment I am shooting Lance Armstrong in the foot ... uhuh - at least no vital organs were involved - even in my dreams I only maim, never kill - I'm kind of nice that way.

I have no idea where or how I got the gun or why I decided to go all Clint Eastwood on his Nikes but I clearly remember seeing Lance sprawl backwards onto my shipping table, landing squarely in a pile of customs forms and manilla mailers.

What this says about my subconscious I don't really want to think about - I was on the livestrong site looking for recipes the other day or it could just be my brain's way of reminding me not to eat tylenol pm for dinner ... again

BTW is anyone getting up tomorrow to see the wedding?? Maybe if I really do slip myself some tylenol pm this afternoon and fall asleep around dinner time I can get up early enough ...

Creating Special Spaces for Our Stuff

I was so happy to find this amazing yellow toolbox at a little antique shop in Red Bank, NJ (simply one of the best towns on the planet) a while back and it seemed the perfect place for some of my favorite old books.

I am not usually "a lamp on the left and a lamp on the right" kind of a girl but lately have been craving a bit more symmetry and structure.

I have also been wanting to move real furniture into my kitchen and move out the prefab cabinets and this is the first step - an old dresser with some black paint, covered with turquoise and sanded (sand where real wear and tear would occur - around knobs, corners, etc) as a sideboard under my pot rack (excuse the messy pots!)

If you have about 15 minutes you might enjoy Dan Phillips TED talk about the homes he builds from reclaimed and cast off materials.

Saving the Planet by Trusting Ourselves and creating a wish garden that may get you uninvited to the annual block party

Some days the news is so bleak I can't watch it.

My hubby was getting nosebleeds during the early weeks of the Japan nuclear crisis and we reached a point where we turned it all off.

I felt guilty over this because I do not want to be one of those people who turn from things I do not want to look at - the kind of person who steps over the homeless, avoids looking at the scarred and pushes her own stuff down so deeply that neither years of therapy or a two ton John Deere can unearth it.

(we were thinking - "I just can't go there. It is too hard to look at this stuff. It is too hard to feel this stuff." We put the brakes on.)

These are challenging times (and I am talking about things other than Japan here and many of us are feeling it) - times maybe we will be telling our grandkids about if we are lucky enough to have any. I think we are all here for a purpose, meant to be right where we are, right now.

None of us know what is going to happen. We believe things will get better, but suspect that maybe things will get worse first.

So maybe the greatest, most powerful thing we can do is to simply say, "What the hell, I will go there. I will look. I will feel what I need to feel. I sur­render."

Maybe we don't have to worry about being centered while we are in this place at this time.

If we intend to always be in control we are out of luck. Control is like a box that will never allow us the range of movement that is needed to knock down boundaries and belief systems anyway. Control has always been highly overrated.

My Hindu guru artist friend says to me, "Is the world really collapsing around us? Or is it lift­ing itself around us while everything that stays the same just feels like it is falling?"

Maybe we will know exactly what we need to do, exactly when we need to do it. Maybe we just need to not be afraid to look. Maybe we just need to not be afraid to feel. Maybe we just need to trust ourselves.

I am writing this post on Earth Day after a neighbor asked me what I am doing about my 'dandelion problem' - I told him I'm not sure and he said to me, "well, I thought knowing you, you were probably growing them on purpose"

*sigh*

I do know we are not about to pour toxic chemicals all over the tiny little piece of the planet's skin that we are the caregivers of right now.

I will never understand how a dandelion is any less beautiful than a daffodil.

Maybe there is some organic remedy I could look into or maybe I should wait until they turn into little puffballs and then erect a little fence around my dandelion patch with a sign that reads - blow me.

:)

*never trust a blonde print by franticmeerkat
*dandelion print by briole

GIVEAWAY - Days of the Week Corkboards with Pushpins by Uncorked for Mother's Day CLOSED

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK!

Moms need to be organized - and these babies can help, I promise.

As a special Mother's Day giveaway I am giving away something from my cork line Uncorked - 7 little corkboards with 7 gigantic days-of-the-week pushpins - perfect for moms needing a little more organization.

(or people with moms needing a little more organization)

Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree. I get most of my cork (other than the recycled wine corks) from Portugal - where the cork is carefully harvested by hand without chemicals; the process allows the bark to grow back in a few years! Cork is an amazingly eco-friendly wood.

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive these 7 corkboards and 7 days of the week pushpins!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight, Sunday, May 1st! Good Luck!

The Mother's Day Giveaway winner is (chosen by random.org) :

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 462
Result:
60

Tracey3!