Nikon CoolPix and a Handmade Wool Felt Case

01/11/2011

Jason got me a new digital camera for Christmas. It’s a Nikon CoolPix S205 that we snagged at Target’s Black Friday sale. I LOVE it!

Someday I’d like a nice, fancy DSLR but the truth is that I don’t really know enough about photography to use anything other than auto-mode most of the time anyway. I love that this camera is 12 mega pixels and it’s smaller than my cell phone. My brother-n-law swears by Nikon cameras and so far I’m really pleased with the photo quality, even with the flash. My old Kodak EasyShare DX6490 was terrible with indoor pictures. The flash blew everything out and without it the pictures were almost always dark and grainy.

It didn’t come with a case or protective sleeve or anything so to protect my little baby, I decided to make a cute little pocket pouch for it. I used olive green wool felt for the outside and light green fleece for the inside. (By the way, this is my first time working with wool felt and I love it! I bought it almost 2 years ago and I’m finally getting around to using it for something!)

I found a big gray button in my stash that matched the gray contrast stitching (really I was just too lazy to change the thread in my sewing machine) and some green ribbon to make a loop to close it up.

I’m happy with how it turned out and I’m confident it will protect my tiny, slippery little camera. That and making sure I utilize the wrist strap!

Sidenote: I was using a 128 MB memory card with my 7 year old 4 MP camera. It was sufficient for about 100 pictures or 10-15 minutes of video. With my new 12 MP camera, it was only enough for about 30 pictures or a 1.5 minutes of video. I just ordered a new 16 GB memory card (for only $25 on Amazon.com, by the way!) and now I can take over 2,000 pictures or 25 minutes of video. Yay! Also, my 4 MP camera cost over $400 in 2004 but this 12 MP cost less than $100 in 2010.

1 Comment | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Modern Gingerbread House

12/21/2010

I wish I could take credit for this but alas, I cannot. I saw it on a blog last year and saved it in my inspiration files. (The blog is now private so there is no point in citing it.)  Maybe it will inspire someone else out there, too!

1 Comment | Art, Art: Cooking, Art: crafts, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

12/17/2010

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: modern design, Art: Phone Photo Friday | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Christmas Gift Guides

12/16/2010

(Picture taken on December 13, 2010, the morning after Nashville’s snow storm. We got about 1.5″ at our ranch.)

I’ve seen lots of great gift guides out there this year but two blogs, A Cup of Jo and Design*Sponge, seem to stand out above the rest. Great ideas, wide ranges of prices and broken into creative categories. In case you’re still shopping:

Cup-of-Jo Gift Guide Part #1: Your Beautiful Mom Who Gives Pitch-Perfect Advice and Has a Secret Crush on Niles from Frasier. (from Cup of Jo)

Cup-of-Jo Gift Guide Part #2: Your Hilarious Younger Brother Who Rides a Yellow Motorcycle and Dressed as a Bedbug for Halloween.

Cup-of-Jo Gift Guide Part #3: Your Twin Sister Who Loves Hiking by the Ocean and Wept When She First Met Your Baby.

Cup-of-Jo Gift Guide Part #4: Your Best Friend Who Wears the Prettiest Lipsticks and Knows (and Keeps) All Your Secrets.

Cup-of-Jo Gift Guide Part #5: Your Awesome Dad Who Makes the Best Family Lunches and Always Has a Good Book Recommendation.

Cup-of-Jo Gift Guide Part #6: Your Favorite Little Dudes Who Love High-Fives, Zerberts and Giggling Just ‘Cause.

Cup-of-Jo Gift Guide Part #7: Your Beloved Husband Who Makes Peppery Eggs, Sings The Rolling Stones to Your Baby and Can Always Make You Laugh.

Design*Sponge 2010 Gift Guide: For Flower Lovers

Design*Sponge 2010 Gift Guide: AC’s Guide for Guys

Design*Sponge 2010 Gift Guide: Gifts by Color

Design*Sponge 2010 Gift Guide: For Animal Lovers

Design*Sponge 2010 Gift Guide: Crafts

Design*Sponge 2010 Gift Guide: $50 and Under

Design*Sponge 2010 Gift Guide: $25 and Under

(More Design*Sponge guides here.)

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: crafts, Art: modern design, Family | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Wishing You a Shiny Brite Christmas, Again

12/14/2010

OK, last time I’m going to mention this, I promise. Wishing You a Shiny Brite Christmas poster and postcards are available for sale in my Etsy shop, Light Hand. (Sorry, the poster sold out already! Let me know if you want one and I can order more from the printer if there is enough interest.)

What can I say, I love my Shiny Brite ornaments!

2 Comments | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Christmas Gift Ideas for MCM Lovers

12/13/2010

A Christmas Gift Guide for the Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lover!

A Colorful Rotary Phone – Price: $20-60
I found this turquoise beauty on Etsy for $55. I prefer to do my own hunting rather than paying the mark up for someone else’s vintage find, but I have a friend who is on the lookout for one and she’d be happy to receive one like this for Christmas.

Funky Vintage Mugs – Price: $12
Perfect for a hot drink lover, these mugs could be paired with a favorite local coffee, gourmet tea or specialty hot cocoa.

Atomic Ranch: Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes – Price: $26.40
Inspiration galore for the atomic ranch owner in this beautiful coffee table book.

Eames Style Rocker – Price $120-160
Of course the real deal would be great but if you’re looking for something equally attractive (and uncomfortable), there are many more affordable replicas out there. Braxton Studio sells a few different options like the one above through Amazon.com.

Saturnus Coat Hook – Price: $18
These retro style over the door hooks would be great for anyone who needs a little more hanging storage space (and who doesn’t?).

Vintage Style Crosley Alarm Clock Radio – $58
No authentically mid-century alarm clock radio would be mp3 player ready but this one definitely pulls off the retro look.

Giclee Print Mushrooms – $35
I’m a big fan of JennSki’s mid-century inspired art. This 5×7 print called Mushrooms is available in her Etsy Shop.

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Merry Christmas from My Mid-Century Modern Life!

12/06/2010

I’ll be celebrating Christmas for the next few weeks on this blog, mid-century modern style. I hope you stick around. It’s the most wonderful time of the year … though I could do without the cold weather! 🙂

Jason and I got an early Christmas present from my parents this year: a fresh balsam wreath. It’s lovely and it smells like Christmas. We had it hanging in the house for the first few days so we could enjoy the smell but it started shedding a lot so we moved it out to the front door. Isn’t it lovely?

1 Comment | Art, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Pinecone Garland

11/24/2010

I saw some pretty fall decorations on Design*Sponge last week: first these Emily Thompson Wreaths:

Then these Bird for Bread fall garlands:

And I was inspired to gather a few of the many, many pinecones that fall from our giant pine tree every fall to make my own fall garland.

I purchased some bright blue spray paint for another project (more on that later) and I had some white spray paint on hand. I could have made this a DIY post but it was really so simple.

I laid the pinecones out on newspaper and spray painted them: 6 of each color. Spray one side, wait an hour, turn them over, spray the other side. Then I used some thin wire (string would have worked) and twisted it loosely around each end of each pinecone to make a chain.

I had some command hooks (the ones intended for Christmas lights) already up on the ceiling so it was a snap to hang my garland. We’re having Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year so I thought it would be fun to do a tiny bit of fall decorating.

Our big pine tree is not only pretty but useful, too. It provides shade for the front yard. We use the pine needles for mulch. We’ve used the pine cones for decor and kindling. But, I’ve never used the pine branches for anything. Maybe this year I’ll try making a fresh pine wreath.

Anyone ever done that? Do you have any suggestions?

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: crafts, Art: interior design, Art: modern design | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Architectural Trellis

11/16/2010

Jason and I had been brainstorming what kind of architectural design element we could add to our house to create a backdrop for our spineless prickly pear cactus (which is the same color as our house.) At one point we were considering using decorative concrete block.

As we’ve also been discussing the design of a fence for our backyard, Jason decided to create the accent for the front of our house using the same style we’re thinking of for the fence. He used 1×2 untreated planks and 2×4’s for support, then stained the whole structure before mounting it onto the house. (I helped a little with that step.)

It took a little bit of getting used to but I’m really loving it now! We’ve decided to call it an architectural trellis (or an architrellis!).

 

1 Comment | Art, Art: gardening, Art: God's creation, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Design Lounge

11/15/2010

My company moved to a new office space several weeks ago. (Yes, that’s the 4th location in 4 years if you’re counting.) In the designers’ area there is a space large enough to create a lounge. Our manager suggested that the other designers and I come up with furniture ideas and present them to our boss. Here’s what we came up with, all in the $850 range:

#1: $841 Mid-century sofa from Urban Outfitters, TULLSTA chairs in white from IKEA, African Suns rug from Urban Outfitters

#2: $841 Mid-century sofa from Urban Outfitters, TULLSTA chairs in white from IKEA, Chenille rug from Urban Outfitters

#3: $827 KARLSTAD sofa from IKEA, TULLSTA chairs in white from IKEA, JORUN rug from IKEA

My two fellow designers and I decided that we liked #1 the best. Except that one design homie didn’t like the rug and he suggested red chairs instead of white so they won’t show dirt as easily:

#4: $841 Mid-century sofa from Urban Outfitters, TULLSTA chairs in red from IKEA (no rug)

I just saw while I was posting this that the Chenille rugs from Urban Outfitters are on sale for $19 … hmm. Maybe I can convince my bosses that we need one of those. Or maybe I can convince Jason that we need one in our house!

3 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »