i’m a sucker for old things. things cast away and left behind. chipped. tattered. rusty. bent. so it’s probably no surprise that one of my most favorite haunts to hit in the city is the salvage yard. hidden way, way, way out in south of market and honestly, a little hard to find is the one place where i know i’ll always find something.

i was crossing my fingers big time when i asked beth on saturday morning if she’d like to go check it out. then i saw the twinkle in her eyes and knew. we were kindred spirits.

then we walked in the door. i think she might have gasped a little out loud.

there are piles upon piles of old doors, windows and chippy wood all stacked neatly in rows. and there are piles and piles of old rusty toilets too. but those aren’t very pretty to look at, so i skipped that photo-op.

this is my pile of pink wood that i snuck into the house monday morning after dropping the littles off at school in the man’s car. 30 boards of chippy old school wide plank moulding with a sage green underbase. i die.

and this is our new bookcase. i was a little scared to ask the guy what they wanted for it, because the price really depends on the person quoting and whether they like you or not. he obviously liked me. because it was $30.  and it’s huge, that picture is so deceiving, it’s almost as tall as me. ;)

and this is my cute little pile of chippy, rusty parts that i scored from the “barn”. i have so many ideas for this pile and those pieces, especially those huge hinges in the upper right.

and i have to note, you should have seen me trying to get it all into the car. beth was cracking up. we eventually had to cut all those pink boards in half {fine with me as it will save me the work of doing it at home…} and pile them on top of the bookcase. of course this was all after we spent 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get the broken seat to pull down. i mean really? the lever decides to break just when i’m trying to get all of this to come home with me? i almost thought i’d have to leave it all. *gasp* but if there’s one thing my mama taught me was to never give up when it comes to junk. much to my husbands dismay. ;)

the thrill of the hunt. it excites me. every. single. time.

happy wednesday!
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i just got back from a much needed girl’s weekend with my friend beth. i feel inspired, excited and super tired. ;) i have SO much to share with all of you this week, i feel like it’ll be nothing more than a SF weekend recap all week but i know you’ll want to hear all about it.

highlights : the view of the ferry building from the hotel terrace in the embarcadero was amazing (see above). the farmers market on saturday. the salvage yard where i scored the cutest old bookcase with a vintage window door for $30 (beth, you need a truck next time!!) and the piles of pink chippy wood trim. the beet salad & caramelized onion/garlic pizza pie we had for lunch in north beach. the 1811 linen parchments i scored at the most amazing shop in a north beach back street for $1 each. i know!! the best seafood resturant ever. the alameda flea market.

the only sad moment? realizing i didn’t spend nearly enough time talking with other girl friends we saw at the flea and realizing i didn’t see one at all. guh.

thank goodness it was just what i needed.
happy monday!
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i spent a big chunk of sunday doing that thing i have been dreaming of doing for months on end; making for the sake of making. it was a cool crispy day, drizzling rain all morning that opened up into a beautiful autumn afternoon. amazing to think that last week it was 90 degrees. it was as if the seasons shifted exactly on friday. hello autumn!

while i was in the studio i had a few different projects in the making. a few, like this tattered cuckoo clock i had started last spring and then set aside. i decided to do some followup. the cuckoo clock base is from kaiser crafts, something i have had on hand since i used it in a scrap kit for kR about a year ago. i have 3-4 more and i have some plans for those as well. i want to experiment more with the layering.

i thought i’d give you a quick little tutorial on what i did. this is the easy explanation peeps, but feel free to ask any questions in the comments and i’ll answer them there too. ;)

the base was covered with some plaster sheets {you can get this at any craft store}, i’m a big fan of stephanie lee (can’t wait to take her class at artfest next year!) and have wanted to play with some techniques i learned from her book with judy wise plaster studio.

after wrapping the base and gable with the plaster and letting it dry {this was done 5 months ago… lol} i dyed it all with some tattered angels mist in spanish moss. it’s a beautiful color, a soft and muted steel blue with a gorgeous shimmer. i need more. alot. more.

then i started the adorning. lots of vintage tattered laces and linen applied to the gable {see the original pic above}. just cut and layered really simply.

wrapped linen & lace rose with a little 7gypsies brass stud for the center and added it to the front.

i added a brass hanger loop and that gorgeous bee charm.

then the altered clock face made with a large brass 7g’s charm from the display kit. a piece of vintage open weave linen. antique buttons piled in a circle.

add arrow book turn and a large key then i dangled it above the cuckoo opening.

it was a great day, i’m still smiling as i type this out, remembering how relaxed it was to be out there making this. messy. fun. happy time creating. here’s to many, many more of these types of making days.

today i’m working on putting together a little mini halloween kit for the kR shop. it’s cute. and very limited. and hopefully will be listed by wednesday so you have plenty of time to put it together. it’s also making me happy on day 2 of making and exploring.

happy monday!
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textures | kim klassen

the desire to be making things has been a struggle lately, i am struggling to be creative in the way that is familiar to me. it seems a bit weird, considering i had a burst of inspiration last month but others things happening in my life have sucked all of that style and type of interest right out the window. in reality i think it started when the sadness from recent deaths began surrounding me and made me realize that my interests in what i want to make is shifting. time is precious.

my do time, my making time has become precious.

i’ve gone out to the studio numerous times in the last few weeks and i have hated everything that i have started. hated. meaning every single piece has ended up in the garbage can. i’m not sure that i’m interested in the simple act of the way i used to make things and the ways that i have, up to this point, told stories. to be honest i’ve felt this way for quite a while now, it’s one of the reasons that i closed down the kR kit club. i love to cut paper, i do. i love to look at pattern and texture and figure out a way to combine them on a page. but the desire to do more than that is growing and honestly, it’s becoming a more important passion for me. i want to experiment more. i want to learn how to make more.

i want to sew and make jewelry and collages and hand bound books and anything else that my heart leads me to.

it’s a shift i have seen and felt and heard from other friends and probably a simple tide that is more common than i realize. so i’m taking some time to be quiet. to walk away from the table and get  a better feeling for what it is i want to do from this moment forward.

even if all that leads to is time tearing up books so that i can find my voice again.

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my bean wants a big girl room. she wants a real bookcase & desk with drawers. a bed with a canopy made out of blush hued tulle & linen & sheer cream lace. i know. she has a vision. and to add to that vision she wants ponies to be the theme. she’s is my little BIG girl after all.

so i’ve been pinning ponies for her.

of course, i have a vision too. i want to find her a BIG pony/horse image to put right over her daybead. a big one. square. maybe with a hipstamatic border. dramatic and really visully inspiring. i want the canopy to gather in the center over her bed and to drape over each side, maybe tied back with old horseshoes. i want it to have various old show ribbons accenting the top or maybe the tie backs. i want the back to be open so you see this amazing horse image we’ve picked out.

so i’ve been pinning ponies for me.

if i could just buy her a pony i would, so she could have the same love affaire that i did with my missy when i was 8. but we can’t quite do that right now, although pony riding lessons are starting in november, so we’re at least going to play with ponies. it’ll be our thing. can. not. wait.

until then we’re going to be scheming on her new room & pinning ponies. for us.

happy thursday!
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