Framed! An Artistic Exposé

Tess is back for another guest post! You might remember her as my writing-partner-in-crime at work (and here she is, covering me AGAIN. Sorry, friend!) I LOVE this post on the things she frames at home--so clever, and so Tess. Thanks for your help, T. I owe you one, as always!

Confession: I am obsessed with framing. Photos, yes, but see also: cards, fortunes, coasters, book jackets, ticket stubs, and pretty much anything I can fit under glass—or onto a bulletin board. (Which brings me to obsession no. 2: framed bulletin boards made with designer fabrics, but that’s a blog post for another day).

Below, a look at my favorite everyday items as framable art, and why I love them so:

Children’s Book Jacket

Nothing says smart family entertainment better than a room decorated with our literary alter egos. After a dear friend gave me this children’s book as a birthday gift, it got me to wondering if there were books out there featuring characters named after all of us. Turns out, there are…and a new adventure in home décor followed.

Cookie’s Fortune

I make a living off the power of words, so it’s no surprise that one of my greatest-ever sources of inspiration came from Charlie Mom’s Chinese takeout. Five years ago, I quit my full-time job with two huge goals in mind: 1) start a successful freelance business and 2) have a baby. It took about a day for the excitement to wear off and the terror to set in, but these pieces of paper promising “Your current plans are going to succeed,” “Patience is the remedy for every trouble,” and “Your path is arduous but will be amply rewarding” were always there assuring me that they would. And they did. I like to believe it’s thanks to Charlie Mom.

Coasters
When my friend Andrea gave me these fabric coasters from our favorite NYC decorating source, Hable Construction, as a housewarming gift, I’m sure even she felt a pang of sadness imagining their fate. This way, my guests can drink in their printed perfection without worries of spoiling them in the process.

Calendar
It’s so hard to say goodbye to each eye-popping month on my SusyJack* Deluxe Wall Calendar. That’s why I’m only too happy to recycle every page as bold n' beautiful artwork (that also makes for a unique and inexpensive gift). Since Susy is committed to eco-friendliness, I’m sure she would approve.

Spoons
The highlight of my trip to Paris was not the Louvre, or the Left Bank, or even the butter. It was finding La Vaissellerie, a little piece of Fish’s Eddy fabulousness meets Parisian sophistication. I knew I had to have this rainbow collection of demitasse spoons, but it took a few years to decide the best way to utilize them—tacked to, of all things, a “jewelry display board” I found at Pottery Barn Teen. Magnifique!

Comments

[Jorge]

Framing cookie fortunes, brilliant!
Right now I'm working on my father-in-law's desk, staring at a loose, lonely fortune that reads "You will attract cultured and artistic people to your home" followed by a smiley face. I'm thinink how much better it would look framed.