kelly's backyard-i want!

Kelly is a regular customer of the store, she used to sell at the local farmers' market when it was still going (unfortunately it closed a year ago). she recently came in telling about her new hobby that she was super into: beekeeping.
now i love honey, so was totally into this. she invited me over to her house to check out their operation.
i love kelly's house.
hidden in the middle of Floral park neighborhood is an agricultural oasis. Kelly has 4 chickens, trees a pretty sweet veggie garden (she even had artichokes!) and 3 hives. when i came to say hello, there were 3 women in beekeepers outfits, changing the hives. they call themselves the Backyard Beekeepers!

(i love this picture)(fresh eggs-she gave me some!)(the ladies working the hives)

affordable art-Jill Bliss

i am super excited about this new artist that we are getting in the store, not only because her work is super cute, but i can actually afford to have it in the house!
Jill Bliss is a Portland-based artist that does nature-themed works on paper and fabric. i found out about her via Nicole, she has one of her awesome day-planners that can start at any date-LOVE them.
here are some items that i am looking forward to getting in here-cute huh?

(turtle island)(douglas fir)

cheap and easy new floors

one of the situs i had with the big move in: the old floors had been ripped out and i need new floors-but i am on a budget and i need things on the eco-side.
Alan, my landlord has offered to put carpet in. but i am really very weary about going through the whole carpet thing again-the mess, dust, pet dander (you know you really never get carpet clean) and you have to do at least once a year deep clean. not to mention carpet is not recycled (unless you go with FLOR), recyclable and has a whole bunch of nasty toxins in it that off gas...basically not having it.
this is what i am dealing with:
yeah they kind of look cool, but the bedroom looks completely different and has a bunch of stains from the past tenant (don't ask).
so i decided to do a DIY floor.

1. pick out a color that you want your floors to be. ever since i saw the place, i wanted a dark chocolate brown on my floors. AFM Safecoat has a low-VOC floor paint that is super thick and has great coverage (about 1 gal covers 400+ feet).2. on your hands and knees, search every inch of the floor for nails, staples, broken pieces of wood, etc. do this SEVERAL times.
3. sand the entire floor if you can, you can use a hand sander (i only had 2 rooms to do-still sucked).
4. tape off all the corners, dont be lazy it is totally worth the work. mop the floors at least 2 times and give the floors a good vacuum before you start.5. get painting! i used a smaller roller brush which gave me more control over the paint. do at least 2 coats (maybe 3) and allow 4 hours dry time between coats.
6. if you need extra durability, Safecoat has a great low-VOC floor sealer called Polyuraseal BP, this stuff is pricy (like $40/qrt) but will make the floors last, make them more resistant to scratching, can give a great shine/make it look pricy...i didnt use it.
this is the finished product-not too bad huh?

super cute vintagey stuff

i was on etsy this morning (of course) and i found this incredibly CUTE sell of vintage knick-knacks, blue bell bazaar. now it is not like i can afford all of these things, but a few gave me some really good ideas of what i can made myself.

(i want to start carrying old veggie prints like this)(i totally love theses hand forms in black, they also have them in white, only $24!)
(now this is what i am talking about, a cool old frame, a solid back, a little chalkboard paint and you are ready to go)

Nikki McClure for me!

i got the best gift recently, a little too late (my birthday is in May), but this was definitely worth the wait.
if you have had the chance to stop by my store, you will notice that i have a TON of Nikki McClure artwork. McClure is a Washington State-based artist that does papercuts with an exacto knife. the images are so simple, yet profound...they are a hit here with customers. we have posters, calendars, bags, journals, stickers...whatever i can get my hands on!
gustavo just recently got me an original, straight from Nikki herself! he really did good on this one-definitely makes up for all of the horrible gifts in the past (like getting items from my own store!). PS to guys: do not do this!

(up on the wall-this was made from a single piece of paper!)

today on etsy-stiksel

found these super cute pillows and dolls from Holland today- made from recycled/upcycled fabrics..these things are adorable. only thing: they are from Holland, not the most carbon-friendly journey. but i think that these images are a really good idea to do something on your own, i just need to get better at sewing. i do how have a ton of fabric samples from a local design school...hmmm......

clothing by desira pesta

Happy New Year!
found this new (or at least new to me) organic clothing line, and it doesnt look like anything i have seen before.to see more of this line check out her etsy page, let me know what you think!