Thrift Score

Right now my house is an absolute mess.  Totally and completely.  My refrigerator is empty too, which has forced me to live on a scrambled egg white and turkey bacon diet for the last few days.  Remedying both of these problems was at the top of my to-do list this weekend but you know what?  I didn't do any of it.  Instead I spent the entire day Sunday watching movie marathons on tv and catching up on my crafting projects.  Regrets: zero; New pieces of artwork: 2. This is a before and after post, so don't be scared by this first picture:

I found this bandaid colored mess at the thrift store last Friday and was really digging all the pattern magic that was happening.  The flesh tones, not so much.  So I dug out my box of paints and paint brushes and grabbed a sharpie then went to town.  The results?

A brightly colored laser-light-show wonderland that isn't nearly as blurry in real life as it is in this photo.  I know, I know, I've been laser light show crazy lately, but at least I put a new spin on this with the little black triangles scattered throughout.  It was a risk, but I think it paid off.

Here's a closeup of my master work:

The polka dots weren't here before, either.  I also added the red, blue, yellow and green because those were the only decent colors I could find.  Seriously, I don't know where all my good paint ran off to.

I had such a grand ole time sprucing up the print, once I was done I decided to move on to the 3 dimensional project I've had on the docket for quite some time now.  I found this creepy madonna and child sculpture at a thrift store in Ft. Smith, Arkansas over Christmas break.  Having wanted to play laser party on a sculpture for a while now, I figured this was as good as any to start with.  One Tom Hanks movie later and here's what I got:

I have to admit, I actually tried this project right after Christmas with decidedly different results.  I originally taped off all the areas I wanted to keep white then spray painted the exposed portions with black paint.  Despite my meticulous taping, you know that paint bled and it was yuckytown USA.

I repainted her white and started from scratch.  This time, I bought chartpak tape, a thin, high-gloss tape that comes in every color of the rainbow (even metallic gold!).  The lines you see here aren't paint, they're actually tape.  Once the chart-pac tape was applied, I sprayed her with clear-gloss spray paint to keep everything in place.  Here are more views:

And that is that.  Now I have to skeedaddle, these groceries aren't going to buy themselves.

Designer Spotlight: Inga Sempe

G'day everyone!  How 'bout ya'll raise your hands if you remember that monster Olympic-sized post I wrote on Tuesday?  Remember how it was the longest blog post ever in the history of mankind?  So, keeping that in mind, how do you feel about a slightly significantly shorter post today?  No go?  Hmmmm... what if I promise lots of pretty pictures?  Deal?  Deal.  Let's go. I have come to learn something recently which will undoubtedly shake you all to your core:  Ligne Roset carries several pieces of furniture.  True!  I know we all love to swoon over the Togo (I'm looking at you, Raina) but believe it or not, they actually have a very extensive line of lovely pieces.  And behind every line of great furniture stands a great designer.  Ok, they have several designers they work with but today we're focusing on one: Inga Sempe.

Ligne Roset unveiled it's newest piece, the Ruche, by designer Igna Sempe this week at the imm cologne

A simple, upholstered quilt is draped over a basic frame to create the newest piece.  And, since we're channeling Raina today, I will ask your thoughts please.

The Ruche is not Sempe's first piece for Ligne Roset, she has designed several including the Moel sofa and chair (shown above) as well as the Lampyre, the Long Pot, and Lunatique: a telescoping table.

Sempe's portfolio also contains this gem, designed for quirky Italian furniture makers, Edra

Edra let Sempe get away with these shelves as well, which, btw, I find delightful.

One of my favorite pieces by Sempe is this pleated hanging lamp for Cappelinni.  Designed in 2003 and still stunning as can be 7 years later.

I'm also enchanted with her high pleated lamp, also for Cappellini

And you know what, dudes?  That's all I've got for today.

Want

While sifting through the New York Times slideshows yesterday, I came across a room from this slideshow that made my heart skip a beat:

The object of my love and affection?

The Patrick Townsend Orbit Light.  At only $300 I feel like I could give it a really good home if only the internet would put the black one up for sale.  All I can seem to find is white and grey.

On a side note, I realized that yesterday I did not link to either of the NYT slideshows I wrote about (thank you btw for all the amazing feedback, you dudes rock!) You can read about the yurt here and the sleepy time boring pad here.

See you dudes Monday!