Jason and Amanda Joy Wells were thirty-something newlyweds who, two weeks after tying the knot in spring 2009, moved into their first home, a beautifully preserved 1949 one owner home filled with charming character (and lots of potential)...not to mention the giant workshop and all the fruiting trees and bushes in the back yard. This site is meant to document the evolution of this house into their home as well as all of the events, occasions and happenings in and around it.


Friday, December 16, 2011

Christmas - Mom and Sis DON'T LOOK

I am so excited about this gift that I HAVE to share it...but SERIOUSLY, MOM AND TAYLOR DON'T LOOK.




                           


What is it?  'A piece of art' you might say....but it's something else too.


Give up?





IT'S A CALENDAR!!!

                     


My mom, sister and I have celebrated Calendar Day for many years...even now that they live in Portland, I still get a text on the first of each month celebrating the new beginnings and ripe possibilities. 

 During my search for cool made-by-us gift ideas, I came across a dry-erase calendar made from paint swatches: http://go.tipjunkie.com/dc/1979/theaestheticwriter.blogspot.com/2011/10/diy-dry-erase-calendar.html  I KNEW this was the gift to make for my mom and sister.  Once I started digging through my paint swatches, I realized that I either had to go raid the paint dept. at the hardware store or adapt the idea.

What I ended up doing was re-creating segments out of a Valspar color grouping.  Then my husband printed it on the 48 inch printer we've got lying around.

We decided to make a big one for our public creative studio.  I'll post pics when we get it installed :)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Oats to the Rescue!


I know it doesn't look like much, but I'm super excited about this little green terrycloth pouch.  Jason whipped up some to go with a Christmas gift and we had a few left over.  So there is the set up.

We were heading out to Tillie's birthday party yesterday and the shirt I wanted to wear was not quite acceptable.  It wouldn't necessarily classify as dirty but it smelled.....off.  I REALLY wanted to wear this shirt.  What to do?  I filled one of the terrycloth pouches with a cup of old fashioned rolled oats...


...and added a few drops of my favorite essential oil and popped it in the dryer with the shirt for a few minutes.  You know what?  IT WORKED.  Not by masking the smell with another smell...the oats actually sucked the smell up!  This will certainly not become a replacement for actually washing clothes, but in a pinch, this trick works like a charm.

Don't have a terrycloth velcro pouch lying around?  Just use a sock that has lost its twin!  Pour a cup of oats in it (add a couple drops of amber, sandalwood or your favorite essential oil, if you'd like) and tie it up tight.  A few things to note:

  • Don't use it on wet clothes or the oats may turn into oatmeal
  • Make sure the sock has NO holes in it
  • Don't use the packets of Maple & Brown Sugar - or any other flavored quick oats.  The flavor powder may seep out of the sock and yuck up the dryer.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Christmas Crafting

I've been up in the art loft all morning knocking out Christmas gifts...I'm biting my lip. It's all I can to to NOT post what we've done so far!
Here is a gift that Jason and I made from last year.



Every year I say that I want to make the things I crafted for Christmas to sell...this year I've got some G-R-E-A-T ideas and it's looking like a public art studio is in our near future. I will keep you posted!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Update from the Man Cave

Jason and I went, over 4th of July weekend, to visit my family that lives in Vermont. My father is a pen turner who LOVES to share what he knows...and Jason LOVED learning about turning pens. Now we have a whole corner of the workshop converted into a wood turning shop. Here are some of Jason's latest creations, just in time for Christmas.