Beige, Grey, White and Bland...

As I am still fighting a stiff neck, I am not attempting any sawing, gluing, hammering or anything else that requires I move or turn my head much.

So, I decided to weed out some of  the magazines that were cluttering the place.  

I am pretty good about keeping them cleared out, but a couple of weeks ago, someone gave me a few decorating magazines.  I shall not name the magazines but  the three in the first photo were all out this year, two within the last two months. As I flipped through these and a few others, I noticed that almost every photo was of a white, grey or beige room....Once in a while there was a turquoise, lime green or orange pillow or vase.  That was all the color that there was in them. No interesting prints, plaids or stripes anywhere.  Borrrrring.

This must be the trend right now...None of the rooms looked lived in.  Oh, yes, there was a white dog in one of the white rooms...He kind of blended into the woodwork, so to speak.

That got me thinking.  I have been tearing pages out of magazines since I started doing minis.  I keep them in six big scrapbooks.  Lots of good ideas.  I went and got them, thinking that I would add a few more things from these magazines...I tore out a total of two things.  One was a coupon for 20% off of one item from Bed Bath and Beyond.  The other was a small picture of a kitchen table that they wanted 5,500 dollars for!  I am not sure why.  If I build it in mini, it will cost about 2 dollars.

I started looking through the scrapbooks....Still lots of ideas for minis and not dated or out of style.

I found some photos of white, beige and grey rooms.  The difference?  They all had things of interest to look at.  Not at all cold or uninviting like the ones in the magazines now.

I used to subscribe to several decorator magazines.  Later I started buying them once or twice a year when I saw something of interest....I haven't bought any lately.  Now I see why.

While I was looking at the scrapbooks, so was Tessie.

I heard her shout from the bench at the foot of the bed, "Run Mr. Policeman!  Run!  That building is going to eat you!"

I immediately knew what she was looking at.  I cut this photo out when I first started the scrapbooks.  It has always been one of my favorites. 

If you can see the guy's face up close, he is looking at the photographer out of the corner of his eye....You can just hear him thinking, "Move along!  There is nothing of interest here."

Unfortunately, now Tessie wants a man eating building...

Back to sitting upright and not moving my head much.  That's after I stop shaking my head in disbelief.  She would probably install a drop gate with teeth attached and invite Zar over for tea...

See you tomorrow.

Little Secrets......

OK. This is the last look that you are going to get of Kim's chair. I expect to finish it off and send it to her by Tuesday. She gets to see it first. It wouldn't be fair if I Showed it to you first.

Tessie still thinks it is staying here. Life is good when she is happy....Just wait til Tuesday, when it disappears....

Meanwhile, I decided to throw in one of my secret miniature making weapons for good measure today.

About thirty years ago, I found some wonderful big Hallmark scrapbooks at "Pic'n'Sav"( now Big Lots)No. I didn't misspell it. They left off the "e".

About ten years later, I found three smaller ones. Same place. They were all really cheap at the time. Best $15.00. for all, I ever spent for miniature information....

As soon as I got the larger ones home, I started filling them with information and photos cut from decorating and needlework magazines, that I had formerly kept in files. The idea was to build up a book of things that I personally liked. No shuffling through twenty magazines to find one picture of a bed I liked. No looking for information on how to do a certain needlework technique that I didn't often use.

I got the idea from some scrapbooks that I found in the U of A Library. A woman left her decorating scrapbooks to the library and they actually have them on the shelves. Some of the things in them are pages from decorating magazines from 1920s to 1940s. They were, and still are a goldmine of information.

There is no rhyme or reason to the way that these are put together. It is more fun that way. I have most of the things cataloged in my tiny mind and it doesn't take long to find something that I need. I pull them out about once a year and add to them.

I started the larger ones when I was still teaching and doing a great deal of needlework. so, I started one, initially just for needlework. It has evolved as a mixture of all kinds of things.

That one is full. The other two large ones are about 3/4 full.

I did label the smaller ones when I bought them...One is rugs. One is draperies and beds. The last is houses. The first two are full, the later one is about 1/2 full.

This is a double spread from the rug book. Not only does it have hundreds of beautiful rug ideas, it has things like the gorgeous arched doorway on the left and the room with fireplace on the right.

What is the point of all of this? A lot of people keep files. I tried that and found it not to my liking. It's just the way I am.....I like irregular order...

These scrapbooks tell me how my taste has changed after thirty years. Surprisingly, not a lot. Styles change, but I seem to find something every year that fits into my likes.

When I was in college, one of my fashion history professors made the statement that style and design goes in 30 year cycles. He was right. If I look back at the earliest photos in these albums, a lot of them look like they are current. As the saying goes, "Everything old is new again..."

See you tomorrow.