Posts Tagged ‘books’

Thrifty & Chic: Thrifting Angels

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It’s been nearly 7 months since we moved into our house, and I finally finished decorating the living room! Yahoo! Last week as I was hanging the remaining artwork on the walls I decided that our living room was severely lacking a cool, gaudy lamp. I hadn’t been on KSL longer than 15 minutes when I spotted this gem. I was afraid Chris would be annoyed at the hideously awesome lamp, so I didn’t call or email the guy about it. That night I showed the listing to Chris to gauge his interest. I was pleasantly surprised at his reaction:

me: So, I found this awesome ugly lamp on KSL. Wanna see it?

Chris: Sure.

me: See? Aren’t the cherubs hilarious?

Chris: Woah! $15? Rad! So, when are you going to pick it up?

me: (shocked) Well, I haven’t even called the guy. I thought you’d hate it.

Chris: What?!? No way, this is totally rad. You should get it.

Those may not have been his exact words, but I remember how shocked I was at his enthusiasm over the lamp. I didn’t realize the lamp was over 4 feet tall until I went over to look at the thing. SCORE! It barely fit in the back of our Element. We also had to get a side table for the lamp, $8 and one thrift store later, I had it. Perfect. My living room is now 99% complete.

Also pictured:

My mom gave me the Mme. Alexander doll when my parents moved to NC. Turns out my mother-in-law has the same little Indian Mme Alexander doll. I think she’s super cute.

The 4 books below the doll are a treasure of mine. I found these for 25¢ each at a we’re-bulldozing-this-school-so-everything-must-go sale. I thought their covers were really cool. When I took them home and flipped through them, I thought their out-dated styles were also really cool. When the series was blogged about on a really cool design blog, and I knew I had found a sweet hidden treasure on that crazy sale day.

So, have you found anything on the cheap that you thought was just funky then it turned out to be even cooler than you thought? Do you like my gaudy lamp? I’ll be posting pictures of the entire room soon, so you can see how well it goes with the room.

Happy Birthday!

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Not only do I turn a quarter century today, but this blog turns the big T-W-O!

It’s going to be a good day. I can feel it. To celebrate, I’m doing a giveaway! YUP. Another blank journal giveaway for those that you didn’t win last time.

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SHAMELESS PLUG: Don’t want to take your chances winning a book? Why don’t you learn how to make one? Take my bookbinding class this weekend! Click here to sign up.

Please follow the guidelines below for entry:

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  • Any comment will do. If you can’t think of what to say, answer one of these questions: What is your favorite blog post? What would you like to see more of?
  • Comment before 11:59pm MST Monday, November 9, 2009.
  • Please tell family and friends about it (not required, but very nice). Tweet, Facebook, text, or write a good old fashion letter to someone.
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Earth Day Winner #2: Zebra Book

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Here are a few good tidbits about Heather:

Favorite colors: Red, Apple Green, Black

Interests: Guitar, Architecture, Interior Design

Something about me: I love zebras!

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I made her a pamphlet book out of discontinued wallpaper, string, snaps and grey paper.  I hand-painted the zebra pattern on the inside of the book. I’m thinking I like zebras now, too!

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Father’s Day is Just around the Corner. . .

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A friend of mine (inspired by this post) asked me if I could make a book for her husband if she gathered quotes and blurbs from family and friends about him. Of course I was thrilled to do it!! I really love the idea of getting family and friends to say nice things about your husband and binding it in book form for a gift. Seriously it’s genius. You know. . . father’s day is around the corner, and I did bring my bookbinding supplies with me to Arizona, so send me an email if you want one made for the man in your life. Or woman. Heck, I wouldn’t mind it if someone did that for me!

Ed's Cork book

I’m so happy with how it turned out. I really wish you could touch your computer screens and truly feel how yummy the cork and leather combination is. I LOVE CORK. I LOVE CORK! It’s just deliciously soft.

Ed's Leather & Cork book II

Like I said above, feel free to drop me a line (islyblog[at]gmail[dot]com) if you want a custom bound book. Also! Check out the right sidebar and join IS•LY with Google friend connect!

New Books in the Shoppe

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For some reason I have to call my etsy store the Shoppe (pronounced /Shop E/). And by the way, do you know that I have one? I’ve been secretly listing hand bound books on there without really telling anyone. So here it is, I have a shoppe, and it’s awesome and you should probably buy a book. A perfect gift for someone cool. I just listed these two lovelies:

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Mini Handmade Date Book (blank)

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Leather Handmade Flat Back with Hidden Monkey

So hop on over to the IS•LY Etsy Shoppe and peruse all of the goodies I’ve made. Just for you.

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