Hobbies

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unexpected situations or something from our pasts that we remember. As a homeowner, I have found watching home improvement programs a way to get new home renovation ideas and be entertaining. “This Old House,” which aired in the 1970s, was one of the first shows I watched. For the past ten years, however, the television program, “Fixer Upper,” has been a source of inspiration not only for architectural design but for trends in color, textures, and forms.

In addition to their many endeavors, the hosts of the show, Joanne and Chip Gaines, publish a magazine. “Magnolia Journal” frequently offers their suggestions for interior design ranging from wall paint colors to nontraditional materials, creating unique textures for walls, countertops, and floors.

In her “farmhouse or industrial with vintage” designs, Joanne Gaines’ style uses mainly light monochromatic color palettes. White-washed shiplap, concrete countertops, and neutral wall colors are commonly utilized to create a calm but stagnate environment. The design gains interest when the element of contrast is included in these interiors; black iron and aged patina copper fixtures create differences in value, color, and weight.

These interior design ideas have inspired me to use similar color palettes. But whether I am creating a magazine layout or an online web page, I am reminded of how vital the element of contrast is in design.

As a result of being a full time student, I had decided because of my busy schedule not plant anything in my garden this year. I was actually looking forward to a summer free from weeding and watering. That all changed when I saw a “Plant Sale” flyer on the campus of Southeast Technical. I knew that they had a landscaping program, but did not know that they grew annual flowers and vegetables. And when I noted that tomato plants were 50 cents per plant, my gardening decision went out the window.

In my defense, I did purchase only two tomato plants for my garden. Since they were not labeled as to which variety of tomato, I just planted them and waited for them to grow and produce fruit.

The first plant to produce tomatoes was a variety called Blondkopfchen Organic. It was slightly larger than a cherry tomato and had a golden yellow hue. It’s taste was sweeter than a cherry tomato and also had a slight citrus after taste.

The second produced a variety called Cherokee Purple Organic. Variegated vertical stripes circled the outer skin with green, red, and purple hues. Its taste and texture were rich with slight citrus after tones.

One of my favorite hobbies is to create things for my granddaughter. In the past, I have made Halloween princess costumes, fairy gardens, numerous art projects and a birthday cake which was “requested” to be topped with a mermaid, fairy, ballerina, and a princess. About three years ago, I purchased a dollhouse kit from a thrift store for $35. I thought it would be a simple task to create an heirloom for her, and I would have it done in no time at all. I am happy to report that last Christmas I gave her the completed dollhouse which now is one of her favorite things to play with when she comes to my house; I am delighted that I could give her this heirloom…however, I need to confess that it was more of an “adventure” than a simple task.

The previous owners of the home had initially constructed the structure with a hot glue gun instead of the recommended wood glue, so a little demolition took place first. Next, I installed the rest of the windows and corrected the alignment of the doors. The instructions for creating a faux brick texture for the chimney involved mixing plaster of Paris and using a stencil to plaster a precise 1/16 thickness on the chimney and the pulling the stencil off without smearing the plaster. Completion of the roof included gluing over a thousand wood shingles. Each dowel for the porch needed to be constructed precisely to measurements or the banisters and stairs would not fit together. In the end, other than the initial cost of this project, I purchased only the faux tile floor for the bathroom and used only leftover paint and wallpaper I already had.

Some of the furnishings had been previously assembled, but again, many of them needed to be constructed, then sanded and painted. This project took me a span of a 1 1/2 years to complete and during that time, I researched other dollhouse enthusiasts and brought many wonderful ideas into my granddaughter’s dollhouse.