What to do with an old wire planter? With its sculptural quality, this was a no-brainer and a really cheap way to make a light fixture you can’t find anywhere else. Inspiration for this came from the industrial style fixtures Anthropologie offers right now and the 20’s fixtures I longed for in a wonderful lighting shop [...]
June 26, 2010
My Time Out Chicago piece this month started with a candlestick table. Found in an alley in Bowmanville, its original purpose may have been a prop for a play because the brown finish was thick and somehow exaggerated. No worries, a rough sand, two coats of gloss paint, then the dog photo, which was the [...]
June 10, 2010
Before my hard drive crashed last week, I used a borrowed copy of Photoshop. But when I picked up my restored Mac at the Apple store – tumbleweeds were rolling down the middle of the mall but the Apple store was one big party - I found myself locked out of Photoshop. The license code [...]
May 14, 2010
Remember paint by numbers? They were boring, but fooled me for awhile. A relative would pull them on a Sunday afternoon, something to keep the kids busy. Later it would dawn on me—paint by numbers was a glorified coloring book. My Time Out Chicago project this week involves a more experiential paint by numbers. I tore [...]
April 20, 2010
Where would we be without the Sharpie? This little pen can make a doodle look like a masterpiece. I’m referring especially to those of us whose talents stop at the line and squiggle. A Sharpie is just the tool for that kind of drawing, and in the case of a found mirror, a frame, too. This [...]
March 19, 2010
These drawers had been hanging out at a north side lakefront park since October. I saw them often, each time I walked the dog in their vicinity, but their re-purpose didn’t light the CFL bulb over my head til last month. This was after they’d sat out through Christmas and New Year’s, snow and rain, [...]
March 9, 2010
A piece of found carpeting and a roll of twine makes for a custom doormat for spring boots. This is a Tossed and Found project I originally made for Time Out Chicago in August. Now that we’re in the season of mud, particularly in the midwest, it’s a good way to upcycle a bit of [...]
January 13, 2010
Good uses for a cigar box when you’re eight years old: Home for a caterpillar—just add grass fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line Place for your used stamp collection fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line fill line [...]
November 5, 2009
Found Item: a satellite TV dish Where: it was sitting beside a dumpster in a parking lot in Ravenswood. Having only seen a satellite dish on rooftops before, they’re surprisingly light and covered with a high-tech powder coating. The Makeover: With so many options for materials to use for the clock face, I needed a consultation. [...]
September 20, 2009
Time Out Chicago covers the world of Free in this week’s issue, including where to go for happy hour food, free drinks and free haircuts. The issue even highlights free professional grooming tips on YouTube. I’m personally obsessed with the video workouts of Tracy Anderson you can find there. In the spirit, the cost of my Tossed [...]
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August 25, 2010
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