The Creative Connection Event

Mark your calendars! The Creative Connection Event is taking place in Minneapolis the same dates as the Junk Bonanza. The Creative Connection was recently founded by Nancy Soriano, former editor of Country Living magazine and Jo Packman Editor in Chief of Where Women Create.

The Creative Connection brings together artists, business owners, bloggers and those who have the desire to be creative for an opportunity to learn, market and create! There will be daily hands-on classes in jewelry making, knitting, painting, sewing and journaling taught by industry leaders as well as panel discussions on how to use technology and social media to market your business. The event will even feature a "Smart Bar" for one-on-one consult by experts in the field and a Handmade Market for indulging your shopping desires!

Keynote speakers at the event will include Amy Butler, a designer known for printed fabrics for home, fashion and craft as well as MaryJane Butters, editor of MaryJanes Farm magazine.

I will be attending the Thursday evening cocktail party and authors book signing event. I am honored to be featured in the August issue of Where Women Create and have been invited to sign copies of the magazine (along with other featured women) at a special Where Women Create table.

Two great events on the same weekend makes for an ideal girls getaway and worth the travel from either near or far. You can find more information on the Junk Bonanza and The Creative Connection websites.

I just returned from junking in What Cheer Iowa and Kimball South Dakota! Having packed my long underwear away for the season, I had to buy a new pair along with a stocking hat for the 50 mile hour winds and chilly temps in SD. The junk was worth it!

Cheers!
Ki

More Ideas House Projects!

The best ideas require little or even better, no work!

Take for example the "curtains" in the Bachman's Ideas House. The white kitchen needed a pop of color but with opening day deadline approaching, time for a custom sewing job was out of the question. A quick, and might I say, adorable solution was to simply tie these new vintage-look aprons on cuphooks attached to the window frames!




This second project really happened by accident. I was working in the kitchen one day while much of the interior of the house was being painted. Needing a paper towel holder, I grabbed one of the painters empty rollers and voila! - we had ourselves a one of a kind paper towel holder - for free! My plan was to attach to a base and use in the craft room. When I went looking for an appropriate base Lora had the same idea for the kitchen!



She attached our repurposed paint roller/paper towel holder to the end of the butcher block island. How is that for re-purposing?

I had a wonderful week in Florida. I was even able to get out for some junking and will share pictures with you next week.

Cheers!
Ki

Two Ideas House Projects

The Bachman's Ideas House is filled with clever and practical uses for vintage objects - most that can be found easily and purchased for next to nothing. Here's a couple of my favorite projects.

In the upstairs bathroom, I repurposed two old wooden hangers as towel bars. By anchoring a scrap piece of dowel to the wall before the hanger was attached with 2 screws, I created a simple, yet sturdy place to hang a towel!



Notice that the metal "hook" on the hanger makes a great (and easy) place to quickly hang your towel - no excuse for wet towels on the floor! And the wooden form is a great place to add a washcloth or even a hand towel.



For the next project, I challenged my friend, Sara Smith (you may remember her from Flea Market Style magazine) to create a side table with stacks of old coverless Reader's Digest Condensed Books. This project proved to be a bit tricky because it was really important to create a stable base - out of of books, no less!



Sara was able to drill through the center of the books (individually), insert a threaded metal rod and attach it to a wood base with nuts. At the top she added another thin piece of wood for extra stability and topped it with the 4 volumes you see through the glass top. You can see the washer/nut combination under the glass which I think gives it sort of an industrial look. (Clear rubber surface protectors placed on top of the nuts keep the glass from sliding.)



I am off to Florida for the next week to check in with my parents and fam, the bunk house and do some horse back riding....and maybe even a bit of junking.

Cheers!
Ki

Bachman's Ideas House

Whew! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Bachman's Ideas House opened today and it has been a fabulous creative journey.

I was privileged to work with an amazing team of talented folks from Bachman's, including (house mother) Angie and (Mr. in charge-of-it-all)Larry. Together we took a charming old bungalow on the Bachman's property (5936 Lyndale Avenue South Minneapolis MN) and really spruced it up - repainting, adding new light fixtures, granite counters along with a long list of fresh and doable decorating ideas.

The Ideas House showcases many of Bachman's products and highlights how people can incorporate vintage finds and repurposed junk into their own homes with beautiful results.



In addition to putting the finishing touches on the many vintage projects featured in the house, I have been busy spreading the word. This past Tuesday, I appeared on the Fox 9 Morning Show and was able to give viewers a sneak peek inside the house. Click on the Fox 9 link and see my appearance!



Examples of projects included in the house are; vintage hanger towel bars, a bed spring table in the dining room, a side table with a stacked Reader's Digest books base, a "C" clamp coat rack and even a baseball bat headboard! So much fun to create and even more fun to share! (All are for sale! You just have to wait till the house is closed for the season to pick up your find.)



Want to see more? Plan to visit the Bachman's Ideas House in Minneapolis from April 8-18 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) and May 1-2. Tickets are $5.00 with 20% of the proceeds benefitting Children's Home Society & Family Services. Also with admission, visitors receive a $5.00 coupon off a purchase of $25.00 or more at Bachman's.

What if you don't live in/near Minneapolis? Don't worry, I will be posting more pictures from the Ideas House and project details in upcoming blog posts!

When I checked in with one of the House greeters this afternoon to see how it was going, she exclaimed visitors were giddy checking out all the fun ideas. Some even hugged and squealed with excitement. Hearing that made all those long hours so worth it! Did I tell you we will do it all over again 3 more times this year? Totally new decorating ideas including the yard and gardens coming up in June.
Cheers!
Ki