Archive for January, 2009

Posted on January 30, 2009 - by Estate Manager

My Little Ponies

One of great things about being a stay at home mom is that playtime is part of my job description. Even better is when you get to play with toys you had as a child. My Little Pony was all the rage when I was a girl and The Bird seems to take after her mother. She loves setting up the play set and putting all the different accessories on the ponies as well. The best part is listening to her make up the names for the ponies and try to remember them as we play. Their names must change 3 or 4 times and when I finally think I got it she reminds me that it is something else. I think the ponies real names are Cherry-Lee, Sweetie-Bell and Scoot-a-Loo but The Bird insists that their names are De-De, Lily and Rosie. (The inspiration is combination of cartoon characters and friends’ names) It is all very sweet, pink and girly and each time I play with her I am better for it.

What are some of your favorite childhood toys? Please show and tell.

Posted on January 27, 2009 - by Estate Manager

A Very Happy Friend

Do you ever have moments where you think this is the absolute coolest time to live. I mean we live in a time where we can have friends that live across the country and we can communicate with them in multiple ways. I am closer with some of my friends and family now that I am further away just because we can communicate through email or the Hearthstone House site. And even better than that is having friends you have never met but having an instant connection with them because of technology. I never thought I would say this but “I love technology.” (Slade is probably beside himself for me saying that.)

I have been commenting and browsing on a site for a couple of months now and have started an online friendship with a fellow blogger. It is so encouraging to see other woman who are creative finding an outlet for what they do and having a community of others who can appreciate it. I just wanted to say thank you to Very Mary and tell her to keep on inspiring others through her crafting and art. I wanted to share these cute collages Mary sent me. They came in the mail today and completely made me smile. She wrapped them in vintage sewing patterns and tied them up with red twine and a vintage tag. I love the attention to detail she has.  I think they will look great in Meebs room and I will take a photo when they are up. Please stop by Mary’s site and Etsy store and say hello!

Posted on January 21, 2009 - by Estate Manager

Post Modern BIRDHouse

Here at Hearthstone House the family has a special affection for the Aviary Kingdom.  The mother has always been fascinated by birds and curious about their behavior. It was no surprise that this morning the oldest daughter wanted to make a birdhouse to supplement the one that already hangs from Hearthstone’s deck.  She felt as though they needed a secondary space for entertaining, relaxing and congregating. Fortunately, no permits were needed for the addition and the team went right to work. The materials used in the construction of the birdhouse are as follows: empty tissue box, cardboard paper towel tube, ribbon, construction paper, glue stick, markers. Design Historians, Architects and Hipsters all agree that they have not seen such a thought provoking design in the suburbs for quite sometime and compared the structure to other post modern buildings such as The Disney Concert Hall, Falling Water and The Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame.

Upon completion the team had a small but emotional ceremony dedicating the new space to neighborhood birds and their families. Bird seed and refreshments were served.

Posted on January 16, 2009 - by Estate Manager

Nursery Idea Boards

My friend Kim is expecting her second child and asked for some help in designing the new nursery. She and her husband have opted not to find out the sex of the baby and enjoy the surprise. About a week ago I sent Kim different ideas for a gender neutral color scheme and crib bedding ideas. She narrowed her choices down to 5, and I then came up with 5 different ideas boards for each crib bedding she choose. I presented the ideas to her today and she is going to make a decision sometime in the next week. I wanted to share the boards with you and have you vote on your favorite. Please leave a comment under this post and I will reveal Kim’s choice later next week.

Posted on January 15, 2009 - by Estate Manager

Valentine Mail Box

When I was in grade school I made one of these every year. My teacher would ask us to bring in an empty tissue box and a few days before our Valentine’s Day party we would decorate the boxes. Then we would place them on our desks and the day of the party we would go up and down the rows of desks and deliver each valentine to our classmates. Today The Bird did not want to me to throw way an empty tissue box. She demanded to make a craft with it. So I told her my story. And of course this idea was intrigued her imagination. She immediately turned the box on its side and said, “It has to have a red thing like the one outside!” I had some metal brads so we made a red flag for the side and then she started decorating her mailbox. The results are nothing short of amazing.

Posted on January 13, 2009 - by Estate Manager

Glitter Glue Part 2

I think these are self explanatory, The Bird in her element with her organized chaos.

Posted on January 13, 2009 - by Estate Manager

Biker Babes

Its winter, we are stir crazy and we have to get out of the house. That was the consensus today in the neighborhood. So The Bird, Meebs and I met up with some friends at the park to get our sillys out. At least that is what I was hoping for. These pictures were taken pre melt down. The Bird was not her self today and had a full blown, knock down, drag out temper tantrum. On the up side she was finally pedaling all by herself and riding around the basketball court. I brought the cones so the girls could practice going in circles and weaving in and out.

My friend brought her two girls and they were having a great time too! Her oldest is on a “big girl bike with training wheels” and was going to town. Her youngest in trying to get the hang of it but was so cute in the process.

Posted on January 8, 2009 - by Estate Manager

Camera Artist

I am really enjoying learning the ins and outs of running the Hearthstone House blog. Yes, I said I am enjoying it.  It has been so fun to capture the girls in the moment rather than waiting for Slade to come home. He has given me just a few brief lessons since Christmas and I am able to post it all by myself. One of the other skills I am learning is taking digital photos, processing them and cataloging them on my laptop.  I have never been confident with taking pictures, especially being married to Slade and him being such a great camera artist. But lately I have been surprised to see what the little camera and I can do!

Posted on January 7, 2009 - by Estate Manager

Mixed Media Art Collage

Today The Bird was particularly inspired. She surprises me everyday how intense, serious and creative she is. I couldn’t resist capturing the moment. Lately, her favorite medium is glitter glue. Grandma Debbie sent her a glitter glue set for Christmas and she is putting it to good use.  Her method is interesting, first she “layers the glue” or to you and me squeezes as much of tube out as possible on to the paper. Then she will take a paint brush and smear, swirl and smudge the glue and then very methodically place bits and pieces of construction paper, foam beads and sometimes even more glitter glue. The result? Awesome. I am merely the assistant in all this, I keep the orange juice and goldfish close by, help uncap tubes and of course de-glitter sticky hands when little artist has deemed the work a masterpiece.

Posted on January 4, 2009 - by Estate Manager

A new twist on all things old and dusty.

Bizarre, macabre, dark and trendy a new twist on all things old and dusty. I have a secret love for the Victorian era and all its curiosities. I have a hope chest filled with old post cards, photos and papers from the Victorian era, and as a young girl I started collecting small bits and pieces.  My Grandma Marianne or my Aunt Chris would take me out for an afternoon of tea and antiquing and I have always cherished these moments and the tiny treasures I found. Slade, my beau, on the other hand is a futurist and loves anything cold, metal and minimalist. We are a funny pair and meet some where in the middle at Room and Board and Mid-Century Modern. So I love the fact as a designer I can live vicariously through design magazines, clients and now blogs. Here are some of my secret findings on all things Victorian.