Earth Day 2015

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Modmissy

Today is Earth Day.

A day when over a billion people in more than 192 countries give thanks to our tiny orb and demonstrate awareness in support for the environment.

This year my nod to Earth Day occurred on my way to the recycle box.

In an “OMG” moment I realized that something I had barely used I was throwing out. Truly a blatant waste of the earth’s resources! Sinful right?

The item plaguing me with guilt was a fabric sample brochure from Keilhauer; a company whose corporate goal is to be ‘environmentally benign’. Far be it for me to mess with a company Mission Statement!

Surely I could think of some way to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’.

Back in the house I went with brochure in hand.

And got my creative juices flowing.

I started with this,

I really liked these,

Tried this,

But then was inspired by this,

Came up with this,

Which finally ended up looking like this,

Let’s all try to make the 3R’s part of our daily lives.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!

All images via Modmissy

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Modmissy

Ho ho ho! Here we go.

Tis Christmas time again!

As you know I love the season but I have a hard time with all the decorations (read clutter) in my home.

But alas I found a solution.

This year I am hosting Christmas dinner at my home. I wanted all of us to celebrate together so we built one long table that would seat 20. We had to rearrange the furniture in the living room so everyone could move around freely. (Nothing worse than being stuck in a corner and 10 people having to get up and move when you decide that a 2^nd helping of mashed potatoes and gravy would be nice!)

This arrangement of furniture meant there was no space for a Christmas tree!

Oh darn.

Don’t worry I did not ‘Scrooge’-out, instead I placed my fully decorated Christmas tree in the front porch! Everyone at the table can still see the tree. Sans needles and mess. Perfect!

And then creativity struck, I wrapped the gifts and tied them all up with a bow and wouldn’t you know – a Christmas tree appeared!

And on that note a MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

See you in the New Year.

XXXOOO

All images via MODMISSY

Location, Location, Location

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Modmissy

It’s often said that where you buy a home is all about location, location, location.

And I agree.

But the neighbours are a big part of that detail too.

Good neighbours are good, great neighbours are great.

And so it was on a recent Friday evening that I dined alfresco with my great neighbours at our annual Laneway Party.

(A laneway being the lane at the back of houses shared between 2 adjacent streets providing each neighbour access to their parking/garage/backyard.)

Introductions were made,

There was a meet and greet for all ages,

Entertainment for the kids – a piñata stuffed full of candy,

Metro’s finest on horseback visited (entertainment for the adults!)

The table was set with white linen and real utensils – no plastic here.

Platters of food, candlelight and plenty of wine kept the revellers going into the night,

Plus it helped that the kids were occupied with movies in ‘Bill’s Man Cave’. Remember Bill (& his lovely wife)?

A head count was done around the table and 53 neighbours were seated for dinner!

These 2 ‘party planners’ were pleased! Thanks to all who helped to make the party a great success!

All in all a fabulous evening shared with my ‘great’ neighbours making my home’s location the best!

All images via MODMISSY

Canada Flag Pillow

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Modmissy

Last summer I wrote about being inspired by a pillow I saw in the July issue of Canadian House and Home magazine and decided to design and sew my own version. I wanted my pillow in neutral colours to match the cottage décor so I used linen and canvas. See here.

This summer, my son requested a Canada Flag pillow for his bed at university – in the “true north and strong” colours.

So I started with this,

And cut and sewed,

And ended up with this,

I frayed the edges,

And used a striped fabric for the backing,

Love it! And my son is thrilled.

All images via Modmissy

Sewing a Silver Lining!

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Modmissy

In my Junior High years (grade 7 and 8) my school principal decided to try out a new method of teaching/learning and used my class for the experiment. We were his lab rats!

Needless to say I did not learn much in those 2 very crucial years. (The principal was fired soon after!)

But for all negatives there is a positive and the silver lining here was that my school thought it would be useful for us teens to learn some life skills.

So we were bused one afternoon a week to another school that had facilities to teach us in ‘home ec’ and woodworking.

Home ec (as in home economics) taught us how to cook and sew.

And the woodworking class taught us how to use tools and build things.

I eventually learned what an adjective was and how to do fractions, finished high school and went on to higher learning but those life skills I was taught in grade 7 and 8 have been invaluable.

And well used.

Cooking is something I do on a daily basis with rave reviews from the family.

And I always have a sewing project on the go.

My sewing projects are usually quite basic but I do turn out some good results. I have sewn a million cushion covers over the years and if you’ve ever been to a fabric store you may understand how fabulous fabrics have a way of following you out the store and inspiring sewing projects. I recently fell in love with this colourful ‘mod’ fabric,

and thought the fabric would be the perfect accompaniment to my retro bedside lamps.

Apparently everyone at university is ‘Irish’ and celebrates St Patrick’s Day in a big way so this past March my son requested a pair of ‘celebratory’ pants to be sewn by his obliging Mother.

Three yards of this,

Produced these,

A big hit with all the St Patty’s Day revellers.

I even got orders for next year! NOT!

My woodworking skills have been used much less. Although I did produce my initials in woodworking class and have kept them all these years as a reminder that I can indeed build things,

Instead I married a man whose building skills far outweigh mine and we decided early in the relationship that I was a better cook/sewer and he was a better builder.

That’s fine by me.

Cheers!

All images via Modmissy

Christmas in July

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Modmissy

Aaaaaaaaarrgh!

It’s August! One month closer to autumn. sob..sob..sob

For me, July epitomizes summer and I am not ready to say goodbye so I advocate that July should be 60 days long.

Makes perfect sense. Let’s keep summer around longer. Right?

Funny thing though, yesterday I attended a ‘Christmas in July’ event. I celebrated the holiday with Home Depot® at their 2013 Holiday Preview.

The event was held in the beautiful shop of Bobbette & Belle, Artisanal Pastries – a must visit bakery in the heart of Leslieville, Toronto.

Here is a sneak peek as to what’s hot (no pun intended!) in holiday décor for 2013.

The Winterberry Collection – red, gold and brown. Very classic.

The Metallic Woodland Collection – gold and browns. Very organic.

The Arctic Holiday Collection – silver and blue. Iconic colours with new shapes and designs. Perfect for Hanukkah too.

The Midnight Holiday Collection – chartreuse, charcoal, turquoise and midnight blue.

Oh…..I loved the wallpaper behind the white cabinet in the above photo. Thinking of it for a feature wall in my own home but that’s for another blog!

Of course no holiday is complete without a gift so Home Depot® and Bobbette & Belle sent me home with a goodie. Thank you.

So happy holidays and bring on more summer!!!

My Spool Bed

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Modmissy

A year ago I wrote about my ‘curbside treasure’ – my antique Spool Bed. (see here)

I stated that “one man’s garbage, another woman’s treasure”. ????

Well……after a bunch of (my hubby’s) elbow grease, this old spool bed that was left for garbage at the side of the road is now my cottage bedroom treasure.

Nothing short of totally dismantling, re-gluing, sanding, staining and altering to fit a bigger mattress the spool bed’s makeover is now complete. Sweet dreams!

All images via Modmissy

Baby it’s Cold Outside!

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Modmissy

Brrrrrrrrrrr! It’s cold outside.

Mother Nature seems to be confused offering 12 degree temps (54 degree Fahrenheit) in June.

So I thought it would be OK to talk about fur – mostly fun faux fur.

I have had this photo in my inspiration folder for some time, a tear-out from Style at Home magazine. The magazine made mention of statement pieces like the well-styled bookcases, the hide rug, table and vase – which are all very lovely. But who could ignore that outstanding/amazing flokati-covered chair. Not Me!!!!

Another chair that caught my attention is The Cutie Chair by Munna Design of Portugal whose mission is to ‘transform emotion into products’. The Cutie Chair with its faux fur and gold leaf legs certainly fills me with emotions of happiness!

The Ciprio designed by Fernando e Humberto Campana for Edra is a wonderfully playful iconic piece. The settee has 9 cushions fixed to an invisible metal tube frame, stuffed with Gellyfoam® and covered in ‘ecological fur ‘available in different fur lengths. Fun, fun, fun!

This chair seen on houzz.com is a Mid Century Modern classic piece covered in faux fur. Serious but not too serious.

So I decided to do my own version of a faux fur covered chair. I went with yellow to give a pop of colour in a very white guest room plus it matched one of The Hudson Bay stripes in the Point Blanket. My family have coined it the ‘Big Bird Chair’ (à la Sesame Street).

Oh well….it makes me smile!

Inspiration Hits – My Newest DIY

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Modmissy

I was struck by inspiration recently. Whomp!

I believe my setting and scenery had everything to do with my inspiration – sitting in the backyard, feet up, warm dappled sun shining through the canopy of trees and a cuppa tea by my side. I was reading my July issue of Canadian House and Home magazine and came across a photo in an article titled Relaxed Seaside Living.

I loved this calm, neutral living room with slipcovered furniture, sculptural rope floor lamp, lots of weathered wood and organic textures. But there was one particular detail that caught my eye.

So I was inspired to DIY.

And in the wink of a D-eye-Y this was my creation…..

My Canadian Flag pillow. Perfect for my ‘Relaxed Lakeside Living’!

I chose to use neutral, organic fabrics for a faded, worn look but also these are the tones of my cottage interior. See my cottage renovation here: https://modmissy.com/2012/09/12/the-cottage-renovation-the-after-photos/

Oh Canada!

All images via Modmissy

A Modmissy Creation

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Modmissy

This past holiday my family (25 in total) did the gift exchange/swap thing – everyone brings a wrapped (hence the secret) gift with an approximate value of $10. Depending on the number you pull from a hat you then chose when it is your turn to unwrap one gift or steal from a gift that has already been unwrapped and revealed.

Fun and chaotic, sometimes even turning into a bit of a ‘sport’!

This year in true Modmissy style I decided I had to create a ‘one-of-a-kind’ gift that reflected me. Chocolates are de-lish and lottery tickets could be $$$$$$ but just not my style.

Here is what I decided to create.

I started with this. A Ralph Lauren oxford shirt that I decided my husband no longer needed!

And then with some black and white houndstooth check fabric I started to create. Any guesses?

A few cuts and stitches later this was the end product. A Ralph Lauren oxford pillow!

The front of the pillow was the Ralph Lauren shirt complete with the pocket and logo plus I changed the white buttons to black for more interest. The back of the pillow was the houndstooth with the Ralph Lauren label that I removed from the inside of the shirt at the neck and re-sewed on to the pillow.

A Modmissy creation now adorning a niece’s sofa!

MODMISSY

Design is Everywhere

Tag Archives: diy

Earth Day 2015

Merry Christmas

Location, Location, Location

Canada Flag Pillow

Sewing a Silver Lining!

Christmas in July

My Spool Bed

Baby it’s Cold Outside!

Inspiration Hits – My Newest DIY

A Modmissy Creation

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