Shop numbers

I am a very visual person and have kept pinboards in various fashions since I was in middle school so last summer when Pinterest, an online pinboard, popped up I immediately jumped on the bandwagon. I started building boards for my various interests and bookmarking projects that I might want to do later. When we began talking about ideas for the shop remodel, I created the ReBelle deux pinboard to keep track of the things we want to do and those that we might do. There are so many details that go into building a creative business and it can be hard to keep everything straight, Pinterest has really helped keep me organized and better than that it has helped to keep me motivated.

The new shop building came with 2" house numbers and while I am not totally familiar with local codes, I am pretty sure those are too small. Sarah and I discussed running to the hardware store and picking up some new house numbers, but we wanted to do something more visually interesting though we had no idea what. I started looking at house numbers on etsy and other sites and I pinned the ones I liked. When I came across an image of house numbers made of string art I knew we had a winner, afterall we are a yarn shop- string is our specialty.

The before and the after.

I am not going to provide a tutorial because Amanda at Our Humble Abowed does an excellent job. I will, however, give you a few tips to make things a bit easier. First, the tutorial says to use MDF board, but if you are going to put these numbers outside you will be much better off using a plywood or other wood rated for outdoor use. Even with a coating of paint, the MDF board will start breaking down with exposure to rain and cold. I used single-sided MDO plywood that we had leftover from our shop sign. It is an excellent choice for this project if you can find a sign shop that will sell you a small peice. My second tip is that if you have access to a drill, go ahead and drill pilot holes where your nails are going to go, it really cuts down on the time spent hammering plus it makes it easier to keep the nails straight. Lastly, this poject will take at least twice as long as you think it will so go ahead and plan to spend your entire evening on it.

Ode to Spray Paint

If you know me, you know I love spray paint. There is little in this world that can't be made better with a coat of spray paint. Okay, maybe that isn't true, but for many of my favorite thrift store finds a little scrub with a steel wool pad and a coat or two of spray paint were all that it took to breathe new life into a drab piece.

One of the first things we noticed about the new shop space was its need for new light fixtures. We knew right away that we wanted to go with chandeliers in every room. Most of the shop light is natural so we don't need anything too bright, just enough to supplement the early evening light in the winter months. We try to buy used whenever possible and if we buy new we try to stick with the most environmentally-friendly option available. We bought the chandelier in the front room of our current shop from the Habitat Restore (a thrift store that benefits the Habitat for Humanity in our area) when we remodeled the current shop so that is where we headed for the new lights. Lucky for us, suburbia is full of houses with boring chandeliers that are quickly replaced with other light fixtures making the ReStore a haven for boring, barely used chandeliers. We get to scoop them up cheap and reinvent them. We have two brass plated chandeliers in this style, this one and the one that is hanging in the front of the current shop. After researching ways to deal with the top of another chandelier we bought, I came across several pictures of spray painted chandeliers and decided that is the direction we should go with these. No special preparation is needed simply clean, prime and paint- that's it. I have three colors picked out so each one will be a little different, but in the same basic style. I found several images where beads or chandelier crystals were added to embellish the finished project, but I am not sure that is where we want to go with these.

First of the three basic chandeliers- cleaned, primed and painted. Total cost: $22.

Now a word of warning- Spray painting is easy, but it does take a little practice to get drip-free, even coats. If you have never spray painted before, you might want to check out this quick tip guide. Also, if you are interested, I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch for this project as well as the shop rocking chairs. I love the range of colors and finishes that it comes in, the coverage is the best I've seen in a spray paint and the can is designed to be used at any angle without splattering. If this paint proves to hold up over time it will be my new go to paint.

Salad Time

During the summer months, one of my favorite things to eat is salad, I eat as many as seven a week and honestly if given the option, I would probably eat salad for every meal. They are fresh, cold and make me feel like I am doing something good for my body. Lately I have been seeing a lot of pictures of the salad-in-a-jar idea where you start with the salad dressing in the bottom, layer on the hardier veggies and end with the greens on top, then you shake it all up right before you are ready to eat it. Separating the dressing and the greens prevents wilting and allows the prepared salad to be stored for a couple of days in the refrigerator. With the new shop renovation, I take very few of my meals at home so this week I decided to make a bunch of salads that I can grab on my way out of the house in the morning. While I love the simplicity of the jar, they aren't the easiest vessel to eat a salad out of so instead I made my stacked salads in storage containers (which have the added bonus of being larger than a quart jar so I get more salad.)

Today's salad- mushrooms, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and Italian dressing on the bottom, red quinoa in the middle, spinach on top finished with walnuts, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds for added nutrition and crunch. Cost breakdown- $1.60 per salad.

^

The key to a great salad is to get a good mixture of colors, flavors, and textures. I like to start with a good mixture of greens, add whatever fresh veggies I have on hand, throw in a source of protein (tofu, tempeh, or grains,) add a little fruit for sweetness, a slightly bitter salad dressing, and top with seeds and nuts for extra fat and protein. I through some quinoa in today's salad for some extra protein, an absolute necessity for a busy day. I only make "dinner salads" so I don't worry about adding too much fat or calories, obviously there is no meat in my salads and I have found that better ingredients tend to require less dressing so I can use anything I want and feel totally fine with it. Also with my current stress level running pretty high, simple foods are easy to digest and tend to make me feel better. Salads will save me!!