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From Capitalistic Chic to Depressive Chic: Is this for you?

There's a movement afoot - Depression Marketing. In this
movement, Black Tuesday is the new pink and
everything from fashion , books, and insurance is a
target of savvy marketing.

First, I noticed that Allstate Insurance tied a TV ad, Back to
Basics, to the Great Depression.

The online book sales of Amazon, December 2008 marked a
750% increase in sales of Depression-related titles which
includes The Great Crash, The Forgotten Man
and Ben Bernanke's Essays on the Great Depression.

.

Buyers are searching eBay for the bread and soup line
clothing look. A tattered, worn denim jacket, complete with holes,
recently sold on eBay for more than fifty dollars. The worn
look of the jacket , attributed to hard work, labor and poverty,
had as much to do with its collectible value as the title,
Vintage 40's DEPRESSION ERA Denim Chore Jacket.

It's hard to believe selling "hard times" could be so
in; yet, eBay reps claim that auctions of Great Depression
related items have surged since the first of the year with
strongest spikes in cloche hats (up 65 %) to only an 8% increase in
1930's music.



However, this trend isn't limited to vintage finds. Marc
Jacobs Spring/Summer 2009 catalog showcases the Dust Bowl look with
designer panache - a high-brow bag lady look. See below.

Supposedly, for the very wealthy, this newest decorative style is a
well deserved slap to Capitalistic Chic. The
idea is that it is such poor taste to flaunt anything luxurious in
today's home; tsk, tsk, the economy, don't cha
know. The only problem is Depression Chic is every bit as
expensive as Capitalistic Chic.

Check out the Kurrency Chandelier, by Stewart
Karten Designs featuring real
currency. This is available in pesos, euros, or dollars.

Of course you gotta be wealthy enough to have no need to
spend the light away;r otherwise, lights out. The light
has a projector feature that flashes words such as
"GREED" on your table. Gotta say, that chandelier would
be naked within a week at my house; but I could handle a fun
knock-off Monopoly Money chandelier hanging over what - a
game table, of course.



But hey, even the tables are changing. Below is the perfect table -
an industrial trolley , sure to remind you of back breaking
work and long hours with very low pay. Who knows, this cart might
be a real winner, a child may have pushed it for pennies a
day. Who couldn't enjoy that reminder with price tags for
industrial tables beginning at a mere $1200.00

.
Can you get into this trend?

Personally, I think we should see the promoters this movement and raise them
one. Instead of spending outrageous sums of money on items
intended to shout , "I am so aware of the many
poorer-than-I souls hurting in this economy", why not
quietly acknowledge hard times for some with
a spirit of generosity,
paying it forward,
actually helping
where/when/how you can?

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Gasp! Is that Grandma's Old Dresser Scarf?

Coverage is certainly up to the individual - from really
skimpy to much more than the average bikini.

WOW. Just thought y'all might be as shocked as I over this new idea of romantic clothing. *laughing* These photos pretty much "speak for themself". When I think of romantic clothing, I promise you, never would I have dreamed... Imagine! Sooo, will anyone I know be cutting up their old dresser scarves? Post photos if you make and wear one of these!* I wanna see...both back and front views~ Let me know.

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She asked her landlord if it was ok to paint. Holy Camel!

It all started when faux artist, Jeanne Burris of Fantastic
Finishes, was flipping through a
book,"Sophisticated Surfaces"and on
(p.138) found a room painted
by by trompe l’oeil
painter, James Alan Smith. Her birthday was soon and she
lusted for a similar room. So she asked her landlord the simple
question, "Is it ok if I paint?". He
agreed. A year later here's the birthday present she painted
for herself.


I see a lot of plastic, a lot of tape, but it's the sheer
courage that boggles my mind. How utterly brave and committed would
you have to be to take on a task of this enormity?




I would have quit long before the ceiling was striped.




This one little drape was moved as needed from section to section
to make sure the background designs worked harmoniously.




Jeanne says, "I started out thinking this would take two weeks
of solid work. I can't even imagine how much I would charge for
it. It was just so out of control on the details. I've been at
this for 15 years and my husband who joined about 6 years ago is
phenomenal at drawing.

If it's realism or dimensionality you want you just have to
find the right reference and copy the tones exactly. Tones are the
most important in a piece like this. If you need a shadow color,
say on the wall, hang something on it and keep mixing until the
color disappears and matches completely with the shadow. "





So there you sit in your living room, as a caravan of camels pass
you by.




Check out the Morrocan tile beneath the window, painted and
shadowed one tile at a time.




Imagine the surprise on your guests face when you open the door and
they are greeted by a shy harem girl. I bet their mouths drop
open.



Yes, a new or redone sofa is on her must-have short list. Around
the corner from the harem girl is the outdoor fountain.
So that's where she was hiding!




Ahhhh... so real you want to walk right through the wall.




Huzza ! Huzza ! Huzza! Now to invite the landlord to
see...

To check out many more amazing make-overs by Jim
and Jeanne Burris

CLICK
HERE.

Thanks, Jeanne, for sharing all of your photos and your
painting transformation with us

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Save that old leather piece

About nine months ago, I realized our old leather chair
was on the way to the curb unless a major miracle could save it. I
sure hated to give that chair up. But like me, it was really
showing its age; all those years of kids tumbling over the
back and sitting three to the seat reading or watching TV together.
With nothing to lose, I borrowed my hubby's sander
( I could have used plain fine grit sand paper) and basically
performed a mini-dermabrasion on the chair. It was neat
watching years of stain, dirt, body oil and light scratches
mostly disappear. Once it was clean and porous, I decided to change
the color as well.

I vacuumed all of the crud away and then I rubbed the leather
with rich brown water-based gel stain applied with
clean cheese cloth. The leather soaked the stain up in big gulps.
This stain is the kind of stuff you find in a can at your local
hardware which stains and seals in one step, advertised for
wood.

The tones varied according to how lightly or hard I rubbed it. That
was great because the effect was an antique bomber-jacket patina --
a very expensive look. Some of the deeper scratches picked up deep
color which was attractive too -- instant distressing! I let that
dry overnight.

The next morning I rubbed in an over-coat of walnut Bison wax
and hit it with my hubby's car buffer. It looked wonderful! I
was amazed, kids were amazed, hubby was really amazed and
didn't even complain because I used his priceless tools.
The finish now felt supple and smooth plus that bison wax
smells nice too.

I would have shared this immediately but I wanted to make sure it
didn't rub off to discolor skin or stain clothing ----
BUT!!!---- months have passed, and there haven't
been any problems at all with it. This project was a great
investment of time (not much) and money (not much).

In this economy, we all should spread the word of anything that
helps us to make-do when we can. If you want to try this and still
feel nervous about it, test it on an old leather purse first.
Personally, I'm a real happy camper with this trick ---and now,
who knows? Barring some horrific rip, I can refresh the finish
every few years and may read to my great-grand children in it
someday....

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Grow a gutter garden!

Suzanne Forsling, a transplanted Iowan and avid gardener, found
that the environment in her new Alaskan home didn't lend
itself to gardening. Suzanne didn't give up; instead, she
solved the problem in a new way - gutter gardening! Here are
the main tips I've gleaned from her
article:

• Gutter gardens need to be planted on the sunny side of
  your home. If you don't have an area of your home with wood
  siding to mount the gutters, deck railings work just as well.
  Decide where best to locate your garden and measure so you will
  know how many feet of gutters you will need.

• Purchase plastic rain gutters and proper mounting
  hardware at your local hardware stores. Suzanne's were
  purchased at Home Depot.


• Drill small holes in the gutters for drainage and mount.
  Suzanne filled the gutters halfway full with Miracle Grow
  Soil, added a layer of extra nutrients since constant watering
  would cause the soil to lose the nutrients, then filled the rest of
  the gutters with soil. Since the gutters aren't deep enough to
  allow for much soil, pack the soil as tightly as you
  can.
  

• Plant seeds & water well. If any soil has accumulated
  behind the gutters, next to your wood siding, flush that soil out
  with water now. For future watering, Suzanne controlled the water
  flow by using a water wand.


• Suzanne planted Simpson lettuce, variety
  lettuce, French breakfast radish, Swiss chard, beets and turnips.
  She re-rooted store bought green onions.

In a very few weeks, the Forsling family was eating fresh garden
salads and boiling hearty turnips. She plans to add a second and
even a third crop. This diy project really got my
attention because it certainly is the best of Hearthside Economics
philosophy - something to share that might help one another during
this terrible economy. We don't have small children; but
if we did, wouldn't it be a wonderful project that little ones
could help with? I'm talking to my husband right
now and hoping he would be willing to try this - on the back side of the garage.
Would it work for
you?

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Let's Play Decorator... with an unlimited budget.

by Devonia

Creating the above layout was such fun - like going shopping without spending a dime. Polyvore.com makes it possible to go shopping all over the web, import your own photos or photos you find online by doing a search right there and then , after which you can move it all around until you have something you love. I had painted the portrait of my grandmother and I wanted to see what would look good with it if I could have anything I found and liked online. With exception of the gilt framed portrait, everything in the layout, including the sunglasses, is available online.

Once I "published" my choices, the items on my shopping list popped up with the prices. I tallied it all up and the cost would be - 3700.00 dollars. Yikes! I bet I could beat that price to pieces by using trash to treasure substitutes. But still it was a fun project even though the painting is not mine. You have to be sure to click on the photo to see how neat this feature is -Terrific! It was a fun way to play decorator.

I'm thinking it would be awesome for project previews. For instance, my hubby is considering some new landscaping. It would be a big surprise if I were to take a photo of our home and yard, go shopping for plants, shrubs, trees, and flowers, cyber-plant 'em online so we can preview what might work for us with a cost-estimate for us to budget shop and beat. Wow! I'm loving it!

Next I'm making a Hint! card for my birthday this month. I know it would be appreciated because I must be very hard to buy for, since I can't even think of anything I want. I'll probably post it on the frig so my family can't miss it. Can't wait!

To run on over and give it a try - CLICK HERE.

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Happy Mother's Day

We are off to visit my mother tomorrow and I'm looking forward to a Happy Mother's Day with her. I tried very hard to think of something "special" to get her. This year it seems a bit harder than other years. I had taken the painting of my grandmother to her a week ago - she loved it. Then my hubby brought back beautiful plants for her flower bed as a house-warming gift from Canton. So I dare not upstage his gift with flowers... sigh... she's diabetic, so no sweets. Bet you can't guess what I ended up getting her? A clothes steamer.... Now isn't that an exciting Mother's Day gift?

She has recently moved into a spacious one-bedroom duplex in a retirement community. Her sister lives next door and a favorite cousin lives a couple of duplexes down. She's so happy there and I spend at least four days a month plus with her. However, since she has had to downsize so much to fit her belongings into a smaller space, she has requested no more knick-knacks, etc., because of space limitations.

Since there is only room for a washing machine, she has been hanging her laundry outside. Mother mentioned a steamer might be helpful to soften up the air dried clothing. So a steamer it is - still, I like to think she will be surprised. lol.

I hope your Mother's Day is wonderful and I hope someone thinks as long and as hard and as lovingly about what is the ideal thoughtful gift for you as I did my mother. I hope they come up with something a lot better than a steamer though.

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My grandmother's lessons: In good times and bad times, live with joy

I've recently completed the painting, above, of my deceased grandmother. It's a gift for my grandmother's daughter, my mother. I hope she will be pleased with it. I'm delivering this large painting, about 29x32, this weekend to hang above the hutch in the dining room of her new apartment.

While I was painting, I kept thinking what a remarkable woman my grandmother was. I would guess that she was considered "poor" all of her life. Her own mother died when she was nine and her father did not remarry. Like many children of that era, she took on responsibilities that now we would consider burdens, an interruption of childhood. Still, it doesn't explain to me just how she grew up so capable with so much knowledge. My husband believes that little girls of her era had, by nine, learned all they needed to know to run a home.

My grandmother, Mama to all, married young and had seven children. She was an extremely devout Christian, of Pentecost faith, and strictly adhered to the teachings of her faith. She covered her arms, never cut her hair, never wore jewelry or make-up. She was completely without artifice in her grooming and personality. Mama was exactly as you found her - always Mama. If you were at Mama's any Wednesday evening, Sunday morning or Sunday night - you were scrubbed and off to church with her. If there was a revival going on, you attended those as well.

Mama sewed most of her children's clothing, including sweetly embroidered layettes for her sons and daughters and first grandchildren. She was one of many women who delighted when feed sacks began to be printed with small calico designs and made good use of them.

Her beds were spread with wringer-machine washed hand-ironed sheets and quilts stitched with her fingers. Mama was up early to milk the cows, gather the eggs and cook a huge breakfast for her large family and any of the grandchildren or friends of the family who might be visiting. She planted, worked and harvested a huge garden each year (a man-sized garden) and "put-up" the bounty, canning for the winter.

Mama was also the most wanted midwife in the country and pulled a many a calf. Honest, she was a marvel and all of her children just took it for granted that there was nothing she couldn't do and do well.

I painted her on the porch, trying hard to catch the radiance of this good woman, the twinkle in her eye, her relaxed, welcoming posture, her love of flowers, and her beautiful smile. The okra in her lap represents the fact that I don't ever remember her without work in her hands.

How I wish I had asked her where she learned to do so much. The lessons I learned from my grandmother, I hope, have carried over into my life to be passed on to my children and they to theirs - Live, Love, Work & Pray with Joy.

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Wishing For Bluebirds

I loved this fat bluebird perched on this snowy fence post in Indiana.
It is kindly shared by a charming, warm longtime ebay seller, mim,
who reserves all rights of her photo.

THREE bluebirds! What a rare photo.
This was taken by a very special lady in Wisconsin
whose items on eBay are for sale under the id mysteryhorse.
She reserves all rights to her photo.

Since Thanksgiving, I've had the pleasure of my 83 year old mom's company. I'm enjoying her more than I can say; however, the time I once spent blogging - I'm now sharing with her. I miss blogging but I wouldn't miss this time with my mother for all the posts in the world.

I do want to say that I wish the "Bluebird of Happiness" for each of us this year. The blue bird is representative of spring and other blessings and though there are many, many legends surrounding the bluebird - there is one sweet story, published 1913, that I particularly love.

It's an enchanting tale evocative of Hansel and Gretel opening on Christmas Eve in a poor woodcutter's cottage, authored by Georgette Leblanc (Madame Maurice Maeterlinck), titled The Blue Bird For Children, The Wonderful Adventures of Tyltyl and Mytyl in Search of Happiness.

Google makes it available to us through their priceless book search and it may be read online or downloaded in its entirety in PDF format. It's sweetly illustrated and begins appropriately with the words

Once Upon A Time....

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