"Tomorrow never knows"

       While thinking of something to blog about today... I came across some images that were quite fitting to what I wanted to write about. I've developed a strange liking for door knobs (and images of door knobs) and was thinking "I can't just post pictures of door knobs..that would be a bit kooky" But then thought "This could relate to what I wanted to talk about today!"
     Tomorrow I start a new job... a full time job....a big girl job. I'm nervous to say that least...I don't know what's going to happen. Why is it, that people my age are so scared about "real life" happening? That being said... I would like to/am trying to think of it as a new door being opened. A new opportunity, a new adventure. Here are some door knob images that I like and my best effort to try to think of tomorrow as a door opening and a new start. 

http://maisonboheme.blogspot.ca/2012/01/vintage-door-knobs.html

http://angelmars6277.tumblr.com/post/7002636414

*Not sure where this picture came from, it is not mine

http://maisonboheme.blogspot.ca/2012/01/vintage-door-knobs.html

Yes, I'm a "tree hugger"

        No pictures for today's post... (well maybe one)... but yesterday I was out and about and came across several items that were made from post consumer materials. There was this line of bags that someone had constructed out of recycled pop/beer can tabs (you know the tab that opens the can) and they were all linked together to make chains and then formed into differently shaped purses (not my style but still very cool). Another line of bags was made out of seat belts- woven together, and another line made out of zippers that were all sewn together in rows to form the bag. It was nice to see that people are finally starting to use their noggin (and think outside the box!!!) and use materials that would otherwise be in a landfill, to create new items. 
      While in school I wrote my thesis on sustainable design (relating to interior design) so I find sustainability and environmentally friendly products so important in this day and age- we are litterly destroying our planet and there has to be a stop to it. I am hopeful that our generation can begin to make a difference. Yesterday it was really nice to see that there are people who care about our environment and are making a concious effort to make a change. We only have one planet and one chance. 

Here is the link for the pop can tab purses: http://inhabitat.com/escama-handbags-made-from-recycled-aluminum-pulltabs/
Link for the seatbelt purses: http://www.seatbeltbags.com/

http://observando.net/post/19391055319

Newest obsession

        Beaded yarn! Although I have yet to use said beaded yarn that I claim to be obsessed with... I haven't stopped thinking about it since my "grey" post from a few weeks ago (see image of grey beaded yarn). I'm still not sure if you can bead your own yarn..(would you have to unravel the whole thing and put beads on- probably not) or is there a way to put them on as your knitting...or do you simply have to buy pre-beaded yarn? Oh and the "Knitters Frolic" is this weekend! Here is the link if your interested in going (I sure am!)
http://www.downtownknitcollective.ca/dkc_frolic.html


Anyway... take a look (Just a side note- I really dislike when people say 'take a peek')

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84868137/fireside-beaded-hand-spun-art-yarn-50?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92615652/handspun-art-yarn-frozen-lake-light-blue?ref=v1_other_2

http://www.etsy.com/listing/96107555/beaded-yarn?ref=v1_other_1

Something I wouldn't normally pick up

       I have just started the Coco Chanel biography (by Justine Picardie) and so far so good! I've said before, I have never been into biography's and would have never picked this up on my own... but I'm glad that I got it. 
     I'm only on the third chapter but it seems as though she was very eccentric; she would create different versions of her life and tell them (mostly to her close friends) which has created gaps in her life story and different versions of certain events. For instance, she said that she grew up with her aunts, when infact she grew up in an orphanage. One thing I didn't realise is that she was born in 1883 and that she was very ahead of her time (to be honest, I didn't/don't know anything about her at all). I've been told that she had a very interesting life (even some of my guy friends are interested in borrowing the book when I'm done). 
      I thought I would look up some images and post them here to share! (Images were harder to find then I thought!) 

http://pinterest.com/pin/137289488610736695/

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=gabrielle+chanel+art+deco&view=detail&id=E02FE05E1A7199D21D28241EDFB05627C69E4C1E&first=61&qpvt=gabrielle+chanel+art+deco&FORM=IDFRIR

http://worktoshop.blogspot.ca/2011/08/chanel-love.html

http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f79/haute-couture-ad-campaigns-fake-89848.html

http://pinterest.com/pin/31032684901862548/

http://fashionisglory.tumblr.com/post/14979159102/valinautoironica-vintage-by-chanel

Let it in!

       With the warm sunny weather coming all I want to do is sit outside (preferably with a book). That being said I love houses with a lot of windows. I could never live in a house that didn't have sun coming in or lots of windows. When people shut their blinds I just don't understand why they would want to block out the nice warm sun coming inside. Here are some pretty, interesting shaped windows.
*Note: I am not sure where these pictures came from, but they are not mine

Very cool

Lovely view

Although I would feel a bit like I was on display....

Something different

Pretty and architecturally interesting

Antiquing

        Today I went antiquing! Here are some really nice finds that I didn't purchase (but wanted to). I wish I had a money tree...lets just say that. In the meantime I will admire the items I liked in the photos I took *sigh.

Look at this cute little set up. I wanted many items in this section

Cute Art

Really nice chair that would look good with a darker stain and a new cushion

Hilarious little... bookend....

Cabinet with glass door

Iron/metal grate that would look really nice hanging on a wall

Wallpaper love

       For over seventy years Crown has been in business and today they are still a family owned company. They began as a retail paint and wallpaper store then in 1951 they began distrubuting wallpapers (and fabrics) with their main headquarters based in Toronto. In 1957 they opened showrooms and began selling to the design industry. 
     I really love some of the papers that are in one of their new books "Risky Business". I know that right now papering one wall is trendy, but I must say, it really does look nice and its an easy way to create a focal point and go a bit crazy (design/creatively crazy that is; good crazy, not bad crazy). Here are some papers from "Risky Business" that I would love to use:
Information from: http://www.crownwallpaper.com/about-story.php

"Pucker up Buttercup"

http://www.crownwallpaper.com/residential-wallcoverings-detail.php?id=455

"Great Expectations" upclose

http://www.crownwallpaper.com/residential-wallcoverings-detail.php?id=455

"Great Expectations" in application

http://www.crownwallpaper.com/residential-wallcoverings-detail.php?id=455

"Barely There"

http://www.crownwallpaper.com/residential-wallcoverings-detail.php?id=455

A way to use fabric

      For a while I was addicted to taking home discontinued fabrics from work (you all know my love for fabrics now Im sure). I was sewing little bags but then I didn't know what to do with them after. I have a pile of fabrics in my closet now (way more then I can use)... until now!!! This is pretty idea:

Here is the website and instructions:

 http://www.bhg.com/decorating/do-it-yourself/accents/easy-decorating-projects/

     Do you have any other ideas?

Current Read

       Along with having a knitting project always on the go, I always have a good book on the go. Right now I am reading "Orange is the New Black" by Piper Kerman. I came across this book one day while looking in the biography section at the book store. I have yet to get into biography's but decided one day to take a look.
     This book is a memoir about a woman (Piper Kerman) who spend a year in a women's prison. At an early age she got into drug trafficking (for a short period of time) and ten years later she was caught (after she had forgotten about it and moved on). I'm quite enjoying the book, its not what I thought it would be because I thought she would be talking about her experience in a negative way but she doesn't describe it as such. She explains the relationships that she built in prison with the other women and what she learned about herself.
     The only thing I would say negatively about the book is that it makes prison time seem not so bad after all (which I'm sure isn't true). There doesn't seem to be any abuse in the prison she's in (for the most part- with the exception of some verbal abuse by authority etc..)and all the women are friends. Realistic? I'm not sure. One thing that I learned from reading this book is that the prison system's reentery into society program is very poor and it does not teach the women enough about reentering society as needed. Some of the women after relese, have no money, no family, and no where to go; they would rather be in prison still because at least there they have friends, a bed, a prision job etc. I found it sad and that the prision system lacks in this particular area; Often once a woman is relased she feels lost out on her own.
     I like this book because it gives the reader a good look into the lives of other women and it's rather touching at certain times (but not in a i'm going to cry way). I recommend checking it out.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/search/?keywords=orange%20is%20the%20new%20black&pageSize=12

Glass admirer

       I have always liked glass wear and it would be nice to start collecting a few nice pieces of my own (My mom had collected some which are now mine). I would either keep them in/on my non-existent buffet table or display them in some sort of cabinet with glass doors. I really like old antiquey things and I find these sorts of glass items very pretty to display or use everyday for that matter. Here are a few nice items that I came across. 

http://antiques2jewelry.com/bubble%20blue%20cup%20saucer.JPG

http://retroartglass.com/store/image/38otx/Glass_Archives_Blue_Moon_and_Star_Depression_Glass_jar.jpg

http://www.trocadero.com/tasmark/items/847844/catphoto.jpg

http://antiquesetc.ca/uploads/images/Glassware/Depression%20Glass/Yellow/IMG_2577_1.jpg

*LOVE this one!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/3362756290_163851ee4a.jpg

*The non-existent buffet

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=507075&cur_tab=

*The non-existent cabinet

http://myidealhome.tumblr.com/page/17

Grey day, Grey things

Here are some pretty grey images/things I came across today

http://trouvais.com/2011/05/10/mouses-back/

http://harmoniesdusoir.tumblr.com/

http://pinterest.com/pin/17873729741227095/

http://pinterest.com/pin/232850243204020659/

*Not sure where this picture is from, its not mine

http://pinterest.com/pin/63402307224232086/

Can I figure this out?

         I wonder if I could make this little stool, its adorable. I think I could knit it, but how do I make the circle? Have I knit a circle shape before? Would I knit in the round and make a tube? How do I make the sides? How do the legs attach to the knit part? This is seeming more complicated then I thought. It looks simple, but I don't know that it would be. I would need the following items I think:

• Heavy weight/bulky wool
• Large needles- maybe a size 12-14mm
• Stuffing
• 4 "legs"- pieces of trunks or branches
• Glue

Any suggestions?

*Not sure where this image is from, but it is not mine. 

My inner hippy

        If I had a way back machine, I would travel to the 1970's. This morning I thought I would find some information on 1970's interior design and relate it to modern interiors today.  

Colours used:
Note that orange is the "it" colour right now as written in previous post

• Green
• Gold
• Orange
• Brown
• Cream
• Chrome and polished steel in combination with red, blue, and yellow

Flooring:

• Timber flooring became popular again (I looked it up and its actually quite nice)
• Shag carpet
• Rubber flooring was introduced into residential homes (where as before it was used in a more industrial setting)

Lighting:

• Clear glass cube lamps
• Innovations with the dimmer switch, fibre optics, track lighting, and low watt lamps
• The Colleoni Lamp (for Knoll) designed by Vico Magistretti
• The Panthella Lamp by Verner Panto (Image below of modern Panthella influenced lamp)

        

http://www.architonic.com/dcsht/-panthella-floor-lamp-quittenbaum/4108839

Furniture:

• 1st Modular seating system by Burkhard Vogtherr (made in 1971)
• Frank Gehry's "Easy Edges" furniture (Image below)
• Designers used plastic materials due to the oil crisis of 1973

http://images.salon.com/people/bc/1999/10/05/gehry/chairs.jpg

Walls:
Today wallpaper has made its way back into residential design. Rather then papering all walls in a print, most people are choosing to use it as a focal wall. I love the paper that I have shown below.

• Large prints- influenced by the 1920's and 30's
• Metallic wallpapers
• Muted/dull colours
• Wood paneling

http://www.houzz.com/photos/modern/wallpaper/p/30

Information from: http://lifestyle.ezinemark.com/retro-1970-s-interior-design-16ab97ea5db.html

 Here are some modern interiors that I like that have a 1970's influence:

http://pourporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/1970se.jpg

http://www.designsponge.com/2011/07/sneak-peek-kelli-anderson-daniel-dunnam.html

http://www.desiretoinspire.net/blog/2011/3/30/daniel-hertzell-encore.html

http://www.desiretoinspire.net/blog/2011/3/30/daniel-hertzell-encore.html