I recently found this super cute Elephant Trinket Box on my expeditions. It reminded me a lot of the animal boxes by Karl Zahn for Areaware.

His head opens up to reveal a little place to put small items. He has a mark on the bottom that I’ve not been able to find anything out about. Any guesses? I know it’s probably German.

Remember… BUY VINTAGE!

Apartment Therapy Post!

YAY! Thanks again to Apartment Therapy for all the love on my DIY Before and After Projects! Check out the post here…

Get your STUDS on!!! This adorable 80s style scarf necklace adds a bit of gold studded flair to any outfit. Made of super soft Jersey Cotton, this comfy scarf-style necklace can be paired with a feminine tee and skinny jeans or worn with a minidress or tunic as a bold statement!

Each scarf is hand cut by me from the softest Jersey Heather grey cotton with an adjustable gold-filled chain and lobster clasp closure at the back. Each scarf has a unique hand-studded pattern and features all over gold faceted, dome and flat round studs… no two are ever alike!

BUY ME HERE!

Thanks for the love Apartment Therapy!

Apartment Therapy Post

Before – Stinky!

After

After – Detail

THE BACKSTORY: The story of the “Stinky Mushroom” gets its origins from the Greek “Fungus foulsmelicus.” Actually, this do-it-yourselfer’s-dream sprouted up on Ebay for $10 and it was love at first sight. “It will go perfectly with our new Thomas Wold Mushroom Table!” I thought to myself… but unfortunately it wasn’t love at first sniff when I opened the box 2 weeks later! It smelled heavily of smoke and had stains all over it, but you get what you pay for! So the day dawned on a new project…

THE PROCESS: After the fabric was removed we found that the foam was in pretty bad shape as well and was pretty much THE source of the nasty smell. So we went down and bought some 6″ thick foam from the local craft store and carved it with an electric turkey knife to the correct shape. For the fabric we used an Urban Outfitters tapestry in Birdie Stamp which we cut and sewed from the pattern of the old fabric. For the top of the mushroom we just placed the foam atop the particle board circle and covered it with a little batting to smooth out the jagged edges. Then we just stretched the fabric over the top, gathered it at the bottom and stapled it down. For the bottom we just re-stapled the fabric to the inside of the tube.

Before

After

Detail

Can you believe this crazy silver chair was destined for the dust-bin?

THE BACKSTORY: One day, while working the morning shift at Urban Outfitters, I saw my co-workers dragging this out into the back to the trash. This chair was part of a “found furniture” shipment that came all the way from Urban’s Philly Headquarters for the opening of the Del Amo store and had been sitting in the back for years. Thankfully they let me save it and I schlepped it home.

THE PROCESS: It didn’t have anything structurally wrong with it but the upholstery was full of holes and there were multiple coats of paint on the frame, including gold underneath the silver! To spruce it up we used heavy duty enamel paint from Sherwin-Williams in a deep chocolate brown and found this awesome fabric at ReproDepot. The upholsterer replaced the grass stuffing in the back and finished off the edges with a lime green gimp braid.

After working at Urban for two years I’ve managed to save this chair, a Victorian style sofa used as the shoe couch (complete with used gum stuck to the bottom), a 5×6 foot gold frame that used to have a full size mirror, and 2 marble tabletops… all of which I have yet to do anything with so stay tuned!