The greatest and the least...

"The greatest and the least,
The rich and the poor,
The weak and the strong,
In sickness and in health,
In joy and in sorrow,
In tragedy and triumph,
You are ALL MY CHILDREN"

Today's a sad day, it marks the end of an era. The very last episode of All My Children will be airing in just a few hours. It all started on January 5th 1970 when the world got their first glimpse into the fictitious Pennsylvania town of Pine Valley. This gorgeous little town that is somehow convenient to NYC, the Bahamas, Hawaii, LA and has both a beach with yacht club and also dense forests with random fallout shelters in the forest floor,  yet it appears to only have a hand full of residents that have a penchant for marriage, drama and questionable medical practices. There just aren't enough words or sequins to explain this twisted group of people who I love.

So in honor of my exile from Pine Valley, today we talk pine...

Pine trees are native to the majority of the northern hemisphere. From ornamental uses such as the Christmas Tree to practical uses like construction, the pine is the most commercially important species of tree.
There is a word that you come across quite frequently when shopping for pine (especially in a flooring capacity). Heartpine- it is just that, the wood from the heart of the tree. Because trees are harvested at a younger age now, they no longer grow long enough to form the darker decay resistant heartwood, thus creating a wonderful reclaimed second life for this product that is called antique heartpine. Heartpine is also used to refer to the heart wood of southern yellow pine.

reclaimed wide plank pine flooring is rich in character

Eastern White Pine has been the flooring choice for hundreds of years for New Englanders

Pine flooring often has color variation, grain and knots that give it tons of character and can make a big impact.

But if pine flooring isn't your thing- you can still give your own Pine Valley tribute on the walls- Pine needles have so many gorgeous shades of green in them so there is something for everyone!

"green-wash" pays homage to forest it comes from with the color of young needles and the beauty of the grain showing through.

The dark pine green of mature needles gives this tile a reptilian feel

So Pine Valley- you will be missed!

Guess I'll just have keep the story alive with my very own Erica Kane...

after all she hasn't married Ken yet...

It's a wrap...

I have been totally delinquent in my blogging...I went from wishing people would stop rushing the holiday season to all the sudden  Hanukkah is over and Christmas is a week away! So now I am thankful for a mid-week snow day to try and gain some ground on this holiday rush. The few presents I have already gotten need to be wrapped and I need to figure out the wrapping situation as I am due for a delivery from the UPS guy with the rest of them!
Wrapping is one of my favorite things about the holidays- yes it gets ripped off (quite fast in my household) but for days and weeks it helps lend a festive note to the holiday decorations...so put a little thought into your wrapping this year- let them know, before they open their gift, that you are giving them something special.
Kraft Paper is one of my favorite staples for gift wrapping...it is the ultimate blank canvas that you can personalize in a million ways to instantly and easily turn a brown box into a thoughtful personalized gift for your loved ones.

Last year I used kraft paper, twine, old school shipping tags and stamps with sepia toned inks to make vintage packages for my loved ones...but this year I am feeling a bit more colorful!

I love the good old Green and Red but I have always been a color outside the lines kind of person and I like to use lots of colors for Christmas!

Or maybe I should go eco-chic this year...

I defiantly have plenty of fabric lying around to use

or this idea from Martha uses potato chip bags turned inside out!

The old newspaper wrapping looks sharp when paired with a bright ribbon.

I really love the trend in papers being two sided so that it is just as lovely when you start ripping...

Wrapping paper like this one with the hunks on the inside is a great way to get some giggles on Christmas morning- it reminds me of one Christmas in particular...One of my brother's had just gotten serious with my now sister-in-law and it was (I think) her first Christmas celebrating with our family- I have no clue what I gave her but I took all the best photos of my brother's awkward teen years to Kinkos and made my own wrapping paper with a collage of him all over it! he was mortified but it was priceless and hey- she married him so I didn't scare her too bad!

the perfect wrapping paper for the person who has everything!

I love Heather Bullard's antique inspired wrapping ideas for the romantics..

The ultimate grandparent wrapping paper- let your children's art be the wrapping and it really will not matter what is inside the box

perhaps for the Dexter lover on my list???

who needs tags when you can personalize the paper?

 While I do love all these ideas I think I am just going to dig around my craft supplies and see what I have to use as a jumping off point... 

Happy Wrapping!

photos:Apartment Therapy, Coastal Living, Martha Stewart, Good Housekeeping, House and Home, Design Vagabond, Mentalfloss, ReNest

Edna...

Today is my Great Aunt Edna's 96th birthday. She is a remarkable lady who has lived a long and interesting life. I am pretty sure she is the one I inherited my artsy crafty side from. I have a dress that she sewed probably 50 years ago and it is the most remarkable needlework;last weekend I listened to my Mom and Aunt calling dibs on her art work she created (our family has a bit of a tradition of calling dibs on stuff). So on her birthday I can't help but think about crafting but I also think of my two other favorite Ednas. And they are what inspired my crafty subject...who knew eyeglasses made such chic lighting?

This one uses the frames and all to give it some color variance 

This one uses only the lenses to give a crystal like effect

I love this one! I think it would be fabulous over a kitchen table in a bachelor's apartment

So before you pitch your old prescription give it a thought... find a new use or give them to a crafty person to give them new life!

photos: SMH, HomeWorkShop, TheOpticalVisionShop, MyModernMet