Upcycled Holiday Gift Ideas - Week # 7

This week 3 easy, peasy upcycles.

You may not have the goods on hand to create exactly these pieces, but they may get you thinking about things that you do have and ways to rework them!

The level turned coat rack above (add hooks, knobs and hanging hardware on back) makes a great gift for someone's entry way.

These giant old casters will make someone a great pair of industrial bookends. I was originally going to screw them into a book or board, but thought I would give them as is since that would make them more versatile.

(attach directly to furniture, hold more or less books, etc)

I realize this type of thing isn't for everyone, I won't be giving an old pair of casters to my mother-in-law for instance, but there is someone on my gift list with a work table of books needing a good home.

This vintage suitcase and Anthropologie faux-vintage metal painted shelf racks will make an amazing shelf. The suitcase can be displayed opened or closed.

If your vintage suitcase has a musty smell - I have found that airing them out outdoors and then putting a bar of soap inside a sock inside the suitcase usually works. If the smell is very strong you may need to place a small bag of charcoal inside the suitcase for a few days or some newspapers (change them every couple days) until the odor is gone.

Hubby and I are going out tonight for a "we both forgot our anniversary" night on the town so I have been getting ready as I posted this causing my toenail polish to go all the way down to the knuckle and also on the carpet and maybe just a little on the baseboards - but that's just more festive, I think ...

we are determined to party until they start stacking the chairs upside down on the tables – the universal sign for "you have had enough, go home now" ... or at least until 9:00 ....

xo all

olive rants .....

Drove up to the ATM. Rolled down my window. Put in my card.

Got $100. Magic. Me likey.

But, I got my card back even though I still had a check to deposit.

Went to put the card in again and it slipped out of my fingers and bounced. Under. My. Car.

By now, of course there was someone behind me. Tapping. His. Steering. Wheel.

I pulled forward and by some miracle he didn't ...

Got my card and stood there, trying to figure out how to make a deposit. Finally the ATM spit out an envelope so hard it flew under the tapper's car.

I'm clearly not smart (or fast) enough for this whole process.

(whimpered for my mommy)

Made eye contact with the tapper.

Indicated with sign language that I was about to slide my arm under the front of his car. He indicated back by throwing his hands in the air something that looked like either

#1. I understand, go ahead or
#2. I understand, go ahead, make my day, I would love an excuse to accidentally on purpose run you over - I decided he had kind eyes and probably wouldn't want to explain an ATM hit and run to the small boy seated next to him.

I tried to reach the envelope. Couldn't reach it. Went back to the machine.

Realized too late it helps if you don't hit "continue" before typing a dollar amount for your deposit. Transaction denied. Got my card back.

Put my card in again. The ATM shot out another envelope, but I was ready this time so I caught it. Between my teeth. Really, they are enormous. Resisted the urge to bite it into tiny pieces and throw them up in the air all over myself like lunatic confetti.

Finally got our tax refund check deposited. Yes, you read that right. Tax. Refund Check. In November. For $47.00 - Just. Don't. Ask.

* one of those days print by tinoiseau

thanking our vets today

Have a nice weekend everyone.

New Artist Collaboration Lockets Will be In My Polarity Locket Shop Soon!




1. HamjArt NURTURE (Mother) Set
2. LavennzOsy ENCHANT Set
3. LittleSonrisa MAGIC Set
4. ShayneoftheDead CRYPTIC Set
5. LavennzOsy HARMONY Set
6. SSCPhotography SAN FRANCISCO Focus Set
7. TheShabbyPhotographer FREE Set

why it's ok to be wrong .... and not in an "i'm ok, you're ok" stuart smalley kind of way either

It is easier to be amazing when we give up the fear of being wrong.

(maybe it's the only way to be amazing actually)

And this should be easy because life is not a contest and no one wins and no one gets famous (for more than a second) and no one is ... well, no one is ... right actually, but somehow (like most of the really important stuff) it isn't easy.

Sometimes trying to be right feels like the smart thing to do, the less risky thing, the safer thing ... but maybe it's not really any of those things.

And maybe eliminating the criteria of what is "right" and making the only criteria what brings us joy - what we love to do or what we have never done before - can keep us in the present moment - the only place we are ever in the presence of something greater than ourselves.

The place the magic happens.

Being wrong is a risk - we could look stupid, we could lose something, we could ... well we could really blow it, maybe big time.

(although when we get real with ourselves what we have to lose most of the time is more about ego and less about any real loss)

And being always right or being smugly right or doing work that is right or righter than someone else's work -

maybe work that is different is more impactful than work that is better - we would probably never say someone was the best potter or seamstress or metalworker because what would that mean anyway?

but we would remember the potter or seamstress or metalworker that showed us something different or made us feel something different and I am not talking regretsy kind of different, but if that's where we need to start to get to amazing then wth let's go with that


or making right in any way a criteria for our creative work is fear based.

It is also that inward polarity that takes our focus from the outside world and puts our attention (and intention) on ourselves and what we are going to get - attention, applause, money, etc, rather than what we are going to give - which is our amazingness, passion, enthusiasm and talent to the world!

(which will inevitably lead to attention and applause and money and most importantly happiness and I offer a complete money back guarantee on all of this - as I do with all my posts actually, of course, I pay out in milkbones - which are like dog money - this is a dog blog after all)

Being right is sometimes about looking backwards to prove where we've been, to prove that we know better - the risk of being wrong isn't about where we've been or about where we're going ... it's just about the now.

The place we have to be as makers.

(and this is not a post about the lessons learned from failure - the real value in failure is that it builds the stength in us to take more risks!)

Yup, it's a process. Yup, it's work. Yup, no one can tell you where taking a risk will land you and yup, it may be on your ass (that's why most of us have extra padding there), but not to risk being wrong when there is even the tiniest chance of being amazing is maybe the only real risk anyway.

* everything will be ok print by PrintedInc