Ode to Stamps!

Geek Confession: I love Postage Stamps. When I was in fifth grade I started collecting them. My Dad collects stamps too and started me out with a children's stamp collecting book. He taught me the basics about how to soak them to remove the paper envelope. I love stamps so naturally I strike up conversations about them at Pink Olive. I mainly struck up a conversation about these stamps:

 These are the exact stamps I would've LOVED to have used for my wedding! I thought about using Vintage Postage Stamps but didn't know where to get them (Psst-Etsy). Instead I used many current stamps from the Post Office... and they were beautiful.

  I'm stocking up on the Herb stamps above and will probably use them on my holiday postcards (since there isn't a .29 cent holiday stamp).  Here are a few more current stamps I'm loving!

Anytime Stamp

 
Stamps for Save the Dates or Wedding Invitations:

Stamps for Holiday Cards:

All stamps and Images belong to the USPS https://www.usps.com/

PS. USPS....I could use a Holiday Post Card Stamp..for next year...

Martha Stewart Living: Wax Seals

I saw these wax seals in Martha Stewart Living, November 2011.

They used them in gift wrapping but they would also be great
on Wedding Invites, Holiday Cards, etc.

The seal wax is made to go in a glue gun!!! SO EASY!!!

For more: http://www.marthastewart.com/857299/wax-seals

  Image from Martha Stewart Living, November 2011

DIY Umbrella Chandelier from Free People

          I'm so excited to share this guest post from Free People, a premiere bohemian clothing boutique. (I'm sure you have heard of them...) This project is so inspiring and pretty. I have a window in my kitchen that looks into the living room that needs something new hanging from it. It NEEDS it. I've been thinking about a chandelier and luckily this project has come into my life! AND Wouldn't this be a great project to use up-cycled materials with? Enjoy! 

The Free People store display design team recently created beautiful umbrella chandeliers for the Pittsburgh store. Take a look at this intriguing chandelier display made of paper umbrellas, stripped and then beaded, which we hung above the dressing rooms to evoke the spirit of artist Sylvia Marius.

Here’s a DIY for you so you can tackle this abstraction on your own:

You’ll Need:

1.       A paper umbrella (Not the kind in your Tiki Palace Drink. Think: Chinatown! Party Supply stores!)

2.       Cord, twine or heavy string.

3.       Beads! There are never too many beads in the world.

4.       Scissors.

5.       Strips of fabric, for fun.

6.       Tape or glue.

You’ll Do:

1.     Open umbrella. Cut paper from the umbrella frame. Don’t cut the string parts. Just remove the paper. (You can leave some paper for artistic purposes too.)

2. Wrap handle and post of umbrella in fabric strips if desired.

 

3. Measure pieces of twine that will span from one spoke’s end to the umbrella handle, when the umbrella is fully opened. Add a few inches for tying and knots. Tie one end of twine to end of umbrella spoke.

 

4. String beads. If you like, you can sting beads and knot them, leaving string in between beads to space them out.

5.  When finished beading, tie the end of the twine to the umbrella handle. Don’t pull too tight, but a little curve in the spokes will be OK. Secure both ends with tape or glue.

6. Add strands of beads and/or strips of fabric as your heart desires.

   

 

Hang ‘er up and you’re done!

 

This guest post was contributed by Free People, a premiere bohemian clothing boutique. For more DIY posts, check out their blog at http://blog.freepeople.com/ every Wednesday!

Seeing the world through a fresh lens

This year I decided I would take a photo every day for a year. It's not an original idea by any stretch of the imagine. A Google search reveals that some 61 million people have had this idea!

But even if it's becoming a cliché to do a 365, it's still teaching me new things. I dove into the project with my old digital point and shoot camera, which I have always enjoyed playing with. And I started looking at more and more photography very quickly, and I feel like so far in 2011 I have done a pretty impressive job (to me anyway) of figuring out my personal aesthetic. When I look at an image, I like to see life, clean lines, edges that pop, and calm. Like this photo I took on my new Sony Alpha A390 DSLR:

Where am I going with this? Well, life, clean lines, edges that pop, and calm are what I like to have in my home. What pleases my eye in a photograph pleases my whole being in my surroundings. I feel like I've been studying to learn how to be inspired, and circularly, I'm inspired to study.

Starting what was meant to be a simple, fun project has set me on a path I hadn't expected. I used a chunk of my holiday bonus from my funstopper job to purchase a beginner digital SLR camera, and I've been studying up on how to create the aforementioned clean lines, edges that pop, calming, life-filled images that please me so much.

A hobby has been born, and I think that this hobby will have a large influence on my day-to-day life in my home. I see each part my dwelling in a new light and in greater detail, and ever photo I take of my home lets me see something I hadn't seen before. I keep getting ideas on how to decorate and rearrange and tidy up that I hadn't had before.

So here's my thought for the Cozy Rustic readers: even if you don't have a "you-paid-HOW-MUCH-for-that-camera?!" camera, go around your home and take photos. Lie on the floor and take photos. Stand on your couch and take photos. Sit at your desk and take photos. Crawl under your dining table and take photos. Zoom all the way out. Zoom in as close as you can. Use the flash. Turn the flash off. Photograph the inside of your fridge. When you sit down to look at your handy work, you might just feel like you're seeing your home sweet home for the very first time! And who knows what you'll learn from the experience!

BONUS: Here are a few shots I took just in my living room tonight. Nothing was placed and set. This is just how the room was.