It's almost OCTOBER

Sweater and boot weather is nearly upon us. Also, Halloween and fall festivities. I'll finally have a reason to blog because fall is for craftiness!

I don't have too much to post because I've been spending a lot of time thrifting and finding cool old stuff for my space at Found on Fremont. All summer has been the time for estate, garage, and yard sales, which makes great pickings for Found (and a lot of house decor for my aspiring mid century modern house). The space is so packed now that both my vendor partner and I have started using our etsy shops again to list items outside of the shop. 

Right side of the shop - clothing, jewelry, books, linens, etc. etc. etc. 

We've got such a great collection of old books and vinyl for sale! Such fun to shop for. :)

I haven't been crafting as much as I'd like, but I started making my "Buggy Bauble" jewelry again, which is just in time for the Halloween - the only holiday that appreciates dead things. It's become common knowledge that I collect ethically harvested dead bugs, so I have been getting a lot of jarred specimens from friends with the statement, "Please don't give me back the jar." Basically, bugs in your window seal? I'll take 'em. ;) 

Charmy "buggy baubles" of goodness handmade by yours truly. 

Per usual my job takes up most of my time. Committees, leadership programs, numerous pump station projects, and a little bit of my own project management. Having a blast being a part of the 'City that Works.'

Demo Day at a pump station or a doorway to wonderland?!

My favorite day is Demo Day. Honestly could watch the crew do this all day...

Momentary Update: house, Found, cats & scaffolding

I'm always amazed by how much time flies before I decide to blog, but it looks like several months have passed again... No excuses except that "adulting" has been taking precedence. Seems like naps have been my real hobby lately - well, that and overwhelming myself with the never ending projects I want to start on my house. I was lucky my house wasn't a "fixer upper," but I definitely have a vision of how I want it to look. Realizing that it's going to take a few years before it gets to that vision has been my latest reality. I have to take pride in my little projects, such as conquering the ferns in my front lawn to make a cute littler flower/herb bed instead.

I've also started working on my interior and trying to bring it back to it's late 1950's-60's era by decorating mid century modern. As a vintage vendor and thrifter I thought I'd have no problem finding pieces, but it's proving to be a long winded project. For now - rotating knick knacks in my mod built-in shelves and my record player are the key elements. Still in desperate need of more stuff on the walls since I'm not much of a minimalist...

Outside of my house projects, I've also been spending a lot of time sprucing up my space at Found on Fremont. I started a shared space with another vendor and our vintage/handmade tastes have meshed really well. I've finally had a chance to work on being more selective on what I bring to the store because it's very well stocked and always changing!

My co-vendor and I love vintage books. Our space is filled with such a fun collection!

Outside of Found on Fremont and my homemaking endeavors, I've also welcomed two new family members into my life. Ludwig (van Beethoven) and Wolfgang ("Wolfie" Amadeus Mozart). These fur babies have stolen my heart as well as much of my time. A kitten and "catten" have made for a lot of messes, a lot of cuddles, and a lot of smiles. 

Cute natural poses like this everyday - I'm a happy cat-mom :) 

And, to tie in my 9-5, here's some fancy scaffolding used to repair a 30'' force main over the Columbia slough. I'm really excited for this project to head back into construction after a three month redesign! :) 

Mostly my Life and not much Art

Long time no post. I suppose that's nothing new though. I'm a slow blogger, particularly when trying to "adult." The big news is that I bought a HOUSE! A lovely 1955 Ranch style house with all the retro accents still in tact. I had a fantastic real estate agent - Greg Washington - with Living Room Realty. He's been with my family for three generations of home ownership and helped me find my literal dream first house. :) I'm so happy.

See his sweet blog post here:
http://www.livingroomre.com/2016/01/08/three-generations-of-brannons/

Decorating has definitely been the highlight! I'll start sharing more of that as I finish certain areas of the house. Just started working on my art room - the shrunken version of my old art studio. Mom and I used to share, but we've started the process of de-arting the studio. My old room is now going to be mom's art space. *insert Ch-ch-changes song*

Here's a bit of what I've started on my house so far:

Art room progress, one corner at a time - my wall of inspiration.

Rather than hanging up individual pictures, I found these neat wall mount shelves that I can just stack my art on. This is a collection of comicon, gifted, and random art. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my personal art. 

Piano has successfully been moved into a new home. I finally get to put up my "Big Eyes" art. :)

Outside of house decorating, I've been trying to find time to craft on the side. Latest project is trying to utilize my collection of collage papers... Something to confess - I'm a paper hoarder. I save pictures and cut outs for "special" projects. However, special projects aren't planned, so the papers just sit as mine have done for the last three years. So, finally - took some scissors and started collaging my papers on the most un-special craft ever: Votive candles. Not very creative and not very unique, but it's helping me use my supplies and candles like this will be coming to Found on Fremont soon!

Speaking of Found on Fremont, I've still been restocking and working on my vintage/craft space from time to time. It hasn't taken any drastic changes lately, but next month - I'll be moving into yet another new space! This time, with a fellow crafter and vintage lover.
See her blog here: http://nicknameinhighschool.blogspot.com/
I'm looking forward to collaborating vintage curiosities and crafty goodness. :D

So, for the last time (just estimating that I probably won't blog for another month) my current space at Found before it becomes a combined effort. :)

To finish off this post and fill y'all in on what I do on a daily 9-5 basis. Here's one of my construction projects in action off in N. Portland. Storm water vault installation at your service - curtesy of the City of Portland.

Found Updates, Gardens, and Pump Stations

"Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing" 

 ~Thomas Edison~

Going to try and blog more frequently. Adding it to my list of things to keep my busy while going through a long distance marriage. I've been crafting more, keeping my mind and hands active, so there should be more to blog. 

To start with, I have had a happy stomach full of figs all week - yay for September!

Close up of the lovely purple figs I picked from our tree this week.

I have also started preparing for fall at Found on Fremont, by decorating for my favorite holiday... Halloween. I usually make a lot of macabre art, so it's nice for it to finally fit a theme and serve a purpose in decorating in my space at Found. 

I have been collecting old toy violin cases (this one happens to be a music box) and I thought this one would be the perfect halloween card display. 

Added some of my usual plastic bug accents as well. I also turned one of my sister's beheaded-barbies into a skeletal being - nearly a year ago, but she fits right in. 

I also created a new jewelry display using one of my old easels, burlap from my wedding table mats, and an old cushion. I wanted to find a rustic background for some of my new jewelry pieces - some of which are literally 'creepy and crawly.' Friends of mine have known I'm a bit of a bug collector (note: no bugs were harmed in the making of this jewelry - all found as is) and I've repurposed them into some unique curio necklaces. I'm probably a little too happy with them, but I have hopes someone with a buggy heart will love them. :) 

Also did a bit of redecorating and cleaned out some old items. I'm still a cluttered little space of vintage/handmade items, but rearranging always brings a fresh new face to things. 

The space from afar with all my pastel cutesy items nicely separated by some vintage clothing I'm finally parting with. Working as an engineer since graduating college has severely depressed my fashion sense. Cubicle life calls for comfortable practicability - aka - I only get to dress up on days off unless I want to be a construction hazard...

Speaking of construction, jobs, engineering, and the like. 

Here is an example of one of the many pump stations I have visited while working. 

Pump stations. Remember where you flush - they are actually quite fascinating places. This particular pump station is very close to a local brewery, it didn't have a sewage smell to it - more hoppy than anything. :) 

Wedding, Married, Done!

So, now for the post I've been waiting to write about, my WEDDING!

On July 25th, 2015 I married my best friend after being engaged for a year and half. I'm still reeling that I'm a married woman and that I have a h-u-s-b-a-n-d! Anyway, as typical crafter I had a lot of handmade accents to my wedding that I wanted to share with you all here.

Surprisingly, most of the planning and crafting for the wedding occurred about two weeks before. I spent that first week avoiding all the big things like hemming my dress, ordering my bouquet, etc, and made a bunch of accents. 

I made table cards for the food served at the wedding - paper and scrapbooking scissors!

Hand painted my table number cards. Honestly not my best fonts, but hectic times call for a lack of perfectionism. 

 

One of my fabulous bridesmaids helped me make these adorable bow napkin and fork assemblages. They went in the center of the plates, holding the napkin and the fork for the food. I also made my flower girl's basket using some faux flowers and fun wire vinery. 

One of my favorite hand made aspects of the wedding was my broom. "Jumping the Broom" is a tradition from the time of slavery when black slaves were not legally allowed to get married. Jumping the broom gave a sentimental way to validate their marriages and represents jumping into a new life together. Nowadays, many black Americans use jumping the broom as a way to show remembrance to our ancestors and a reminder for a time when our marriages were not sanctioned. I made my broom from an asian supermarket broom, glitter, ribbon, and lots of faux flowers. I wish I had a better picture of it!

Now, we're getting to the aspects of the wedding I didn't make. Following tradition of boutonnieres for the important men of the two families and corsages for the important women of the families, we realized that finding florists to make these outside of prom dates is a little difficult. So, my always craftier-than-I mom made all the boutonnieres and corsages for everyone. Shown below are a couple samples. They turned out lovely - all faux flowers! 

 

Also, shown in pocket pocket above are handmade pocket squares from my coworker. 

She makes pocket squares with two sides and has some really fun material. 

They are such great quality and she sells them on her etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/people/ashleytjaden1?ref=pr_profile

I told her my wedding colors, she found the fabric, brought me samples, and they came out perfect. Her etsy shop name when it's active is usually called: PrivilegedPocket <-- Cute name too!

And, lastly - photography was done by a family friend with a small photography business. Photographer, Donnell Cox and his assistant, Savanah Lacey, took my wedding pictures. They got some great pictures and edited them to match my wedding colors.

College Graduate and Wedding Bells

I haven't posted in months, but now I have no more excuses not to craft or blog anymore. I'm officially an engineering college graduate - with a job - and about to get married in less than a month. So, I guess I do have a few excuses not to blog on here as much. Any crafting I do should be strictly for wedding decorations and whatnot. The nice thing about being out of college is that work doesn't follow me home. I can leave my work and not have to study it when I come home. It's also a weird feeling having all of this time available to do what I want.

I'll be posting wedding crafts and the like on here soon. Nothing much to show yet, as everything is half finished, but I'll literally keep you posted. :3

February at Found at Fremont

Hi all,

It has been forever since I last posted. My final semester of college has come upon me and time for craftiness hasn't been easy. However, my schedule has been starting to open up, so I've been working on a few projects. One of which is my new space at Found on Fremont. I'll be moving into a smaller, but more open space in March, but this month I'm experimenting with a larger space to finally sell some of my refurbished furniture. 

Here are the results for this month's space. I even went with a more specific pastel colored theme this time. I think it's a lot less cluttered than my previous space. 

Anyway, I'll try to post more of my projects soon. I've started drawing again, so hopefully I can get back into painting and try some illustration for cards or prints.