Why hello there, blog.

Oh my...it's been a while. What's new in my world? Just this little guy! :o)

Little Harper was born on September 30, weighing in at 7 lbs., 12 oz. Life sure has been busy since he got here, but it's filled with sooooo much joy! :o)

Anam Cara

People ask me all of the time about Anam Cara in Asheville...a lil' shoppe that my biz partner Erinn and I have made out of an old bingo hall in West Asheville. She's the director of the Anam Cara Theatre. The shop is called The Anam Cara Collective (translation: "soul friend"), and it's a little combination of what she does and what I do (consignment artsy crafty stuff). Here's a lil' peek into the shoppe...Repurposed ceiling fixtures and decorations. I don't think ANYTHING cost us more than $10.00 in the whole shop! Just a lot of imagination and a whole LOT of elbow grease to get the shop up and running! Of course you can find my signature signs, hula hoops and cards in the shoppe. And a GREAT selection of vintage clothes! Aaaaand: check out this awesome stage in the back of the shoppe! Perfect for parties, poetry readings, performances and more! :o)

Thinking of visiting? Shoppe is located at 203 Haywood Road, West Asheville 28806. Website coming soon!

An enchanted cottage.

One blue kitchen ceiling + a funky mix of paint = one happy ceilling!
Now how can you be grumpy when you ALWAYS have sunny skies in your kitchen? What fun!

Getting ready for tour.

As my boyfriend was getting ready for a 2 week long stint on the road, I tried to help out with little marketing details so that he could be a driving/walking billboard as he traveled the east coast. First detail: vehicle lettering. (And here's a tip to all you small business owners: letter your car! It's quite possibly the best way to stand out and get attention for the least amount of advertising dollars!) Jim is a graphic designer as well, so he had a clean and quirky design all set for his t-shirts and stickers. I just added it to the car (his new Mini Cooper!) with two colors of vinyl. TA-DA!Then I got to thinking about the dates Jim was leaving...and I thought maybe I could go too. So I did! I drove down to the Carolinas with Jim and flew back a week later while he traveled on. Best road trip buddy ever.Yessssssssss! For more info about Jim's tour, you can check him out at http://www.jimtyrrell.net/ or view his live streams of music at http://www.thejimtour.com/

garden goodness.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I have made it this far in life without ever really having a garden. I have done some container gardening with little success. But after diving in and learning what the heck a perennial even was (and with some help and inspiration from my awesome friends!), I finally have a pretty front yard garden! Thanks Tina & T-Rej!Half of the fun was being able to add funky things to the swirly garden bed. This sled here is one that my mom used as a little kid. Oh, the Christmas wreath. Yeah, I can't take that down. There's a family of robins living in it. Sure they poop on my plants, but they look too cozy to move. So Merry Christmas!Have you ever smelled the sweet smell of dark mulch? It's warm, it's delicious. It smells like worstershire sauce. I wanted to eat it.

Yay! Garden!

This Saturday, June 11th!

Come one, come all to Veggie Art Girl's Flea Market & Craft Fair! We'll be selling crafty goods and flea market finds from 9-4...swing on by! For more info: http://www.veggieartgirlboutique.com

A cute lil' chicken house.

These Asheville chickens needed a fancier home...When I stayed at the DIY B&B this past winter, Erica and I spruced up the chicken's abode. The color concept: mint chocolate chip ice cream. The design concept: funky, retro chickens, flowers and the encorporation of an excerpt from one of Erica's grandfather's favorite books. ' "Ever had a drink of watermelon wine?" he asked. He told me about it, though I didn't answer back....Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime, but old dogs and children...and watermelon wine.'I'm pretty sure Bubbles the chicken liked it. :o)And this is the cute lil' staked sign that I painted to go in front of the house. Need a place to stay when you are in the Asheville area? Check out the DIY B&B in West Asheville...it's super groovy! :o)

Vintage awesomeness.

Check out this lovely new addition to my home!
Gosh, it's a good day when you stumble upon a groovy chair like this at the thrift store. :o)

Grand Opening Success!

Following a beautiful weekend of sunshine for the painting of the building, we were lucky enough to have another great weekend for our grand opening of The Anam Cara Collective!Erinn and I created this sign on wheels out of an old billboard I found on the side of the road in downtown Asheville. We rolled it out to the street in the early afternoon, got the cupcakes set up, stocked the wine and beer and prepped the stage for the lovely Nikki Talley. We were soooo excited to reveal all of our hard work to the public. :o)Nikki won over the crowd with her beautiful southern folk rock. Store sales were flowing. Energy was upbeat and positive. Everyone really loved the space, the vibe, the music. What a great night!Yay! A full house! Nikki Talley rocks! If you are in the Asheville area and see her playing anywhere, I highly recommend that you get the chance to see her. For show info and musical samplins', you can check out www.NikkiTalley.com. Thanks again Nikki for making our grand opening such a success!

Crafty goodness.

They say one's trash is another man's treasure. Well, that's pretty much the story of my life. I make art out of crap and try to creatively repurpose any junk I see beauty in before it makes its way to the landfill. Setting up shoppe #2 here in Asheville has been super inspiring and I have found many ways to cut corners with my moola and still make beautiful displays. Here are a few examples of my Crafty Kathy ideas to share:

I needed something to hang small print, cards, photos, etc. on the wall with. And here in NC, there is bamboo a-plenty, so I took a couple of lengths and mounted it to the wall. $1.00 in vintage ribbon and clothespins from a local thrift store later, I have a fun wall hangy thing...perfect for my homemade moustache stickers and swirly tree greeting cards! (But you could use this in your home for photos!)

I love old windows and try to save every one (and shutter) I see abandoned in piles on the side of the road. Here are a couple of examples of displays that are the perfect project for slightly cracked windows. I cut scraps of foam core and cork board to fit in the window panes. And rather than buying fabric, I found some old velvety skirts at the Goodwill, cut them up and stretched them around the boards. I used liquid nails to adhere them inside the window panes.

Now anything can hang in these windows (jewelry, photos, etc.) with simple push pins or straight pins.

This display piece I take a lot of pride in: the orange ironing board wall hanging. Here's a tip for the thrifty: visit out-of-town dumps in your travels and see if they have a swap shop. I was about an hour out of town one day and stopped at a dump (mainly because I had been admiring the beautiful sign for years). They initially told me to leave because I didn't have a dump sticker. But when I explained that I was leaving nothing and wanted to see if they had a pile of junk I could look through for art projects, they waved me through and guided me to the swap shop. And there I found this orange beauty. I yanked the legs off the ironing board and mounted it to the wall with initial intention of making a magnet display board. But then I discovered that the holes were perfectly spaced for pegboard brackets. Excellent.

This was another dump find: a rusty old cart with a bent wheel. A quick coat of paint and some fabric scraps cut to size for the inside shelves and voila!...a gorgeous plant or display stand! This one is going to be filled with funky potted plants for the Anam Cara shoppe.

Everything is coming together and we open in just 1 day! Yippie!

You know what else is cool about living in Asheville at the D.I.Y. B&B?

The kitties! This one is Marie. Or Mimi. I cannot remember. I call it Cat. (It looks like a giant here, but in real life it is teeny.)

This fluffy beast is Sylvester. But I call him Sylvia. Or Orange Cat.

Meowz!

Fringe Freak Fest!

I have been working hard here for the past 2 weeks, setting up shoppe. But you can't have all work and no play! The Fringe Fest is a staple in my winter stays in Asheville- a 3 day festival of sorts where you can, well, fly your flag. Be yourself. It's all about performance, music, dance, costume and just...being strange. Here is how our Friday Night Fringe went: Step 1.) Get fringe-on-stick.
Step 2.) Wave your fringe (see video below).

Step 3.) Watch brilliant, wacky, zany, funny small plays, beautiful dance, enjoy local brews and laugh with friends in make-shift performance studios in the River Arts District. (This stage was in a pottery studio.)

Step 3.5) Watch funny puppet shows, too.

4.) I don't know if there IS a caption for this photo...

Oh, and here is a little more Fringy goodness: