Who has influnced your creativity?

[Josephine]

Ever since my Dad and Sister have passed on I have been thinking about what an influence they were on me in regards to decorating, restoration, and homemaking. Growing up my Dad did most of the homemaking in our home. He loved to cook, move furniture and come up with creative solutions to home improvement. He was always experimenting with new ideas and every time I came over he would ask if I noticed what was new and did I like it. He liked to create with things he had on hand. He made a bar for the basement by raising a table to the right height with Plastic plumbing pipes. He set stools in front of it, hung lights from the rafters and then hung sheets to cover the rafters. It looked really cool when he was done! I'm not that creative but he really taught me to look at things differently. My Sister was 18 years older than I and lived with Mom and Dad her whole life. She was all about decorating for the seasons. She decorated the whole house for fall, Christmas and Easter. I continue this tradition in my own home and also include a red, white and blue theme for summer.

So my question is---Who has influenced you most in regards to decorating etc.

[rubyslippers]

My grandparents were first married and raising a young family during the Great Depression. They lived in a precious Arts and Crafts Bungalow; sometimes I wish I had bought the house when my grandmother passed away. However, I have to believe it went to the right people as I believe my home "found me" so to speak. Anyway, my grandparents had a very strong work ethic. My grandfather loved to read; he also gardened fabulously. My grandmother on the other hand was a phenomenal artist. She made the stained glass windows for her home. She also painted - - real paintings - - as well as walls and furniture. At my house growing up, my Dad continued the tradition that you just did things on your own. My school projects were always just a little "different" - - everything was always just a touch on the creative side - - so, I guess I sometimes think I look at the world through multi-generational eyes. I've been an "old-soul" since I was a little kid. My Dad and I would go outside and look at the moon and the stars and wonder about the world. I've always been an avid reader with a fascination for the world-of-make-believe. Then, on top of that, I love being outside. This week, for some reason, I really missed my grandparents. They have been gone for many years; however, I think our family members truly influence us on very deep levels. Josephine, I cannot even begin to fathom your loss, but your memories are really very special to read. The traditions you continue make a lot of sense to me. We tend to remember the big stuff, the way we celebrate holidays, etc., but the little traditions ... the day in and day out work ethic ... the zeal family members bring to the small moments ... these are the things we tend to remember forever ... and the neat thing is that these are the things we can control during tough times.

Thanks for sharing your post about creativity.

Sincerely,

Jenny

[annielinz]

I really have no idea where my decorating gene came from. Neither of my sisters possess it at all. They are bah humbugs during the holidays...don't even put up a tree:eek:. I was born to decorate/create, I rearranged my room from the time I was a wee one. Once I found out who the Easter bunny really was I insisted on putting the basket together for my little sister and hide the easter eggs in the yard. At Halloween I put up the decorations and made the costumes for my sister with what ever we had on hand. I was the self anointed baker in the family from an early age.

My Moms creativity was in the garden and in the kitchen, I can not hold a candle to what she produced there. Her decorating style was the simple clean lines of Hayward Wakefield furniture; very collectable now, but not my style. The house I grew up in was a 50's ranch my folks built. My Dad grew up with dark carved furniture, oriental carpets but preferred the clean light lines and simple tastes. As long as he was surrounded by his books he was happy. He did instill in me the love of the outdoors and nature.
We inherited a lot of the dark carved furniture from my grandparents and that is more my taste.

Josephine, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad and sister. What has helped me get thru the passing of my parents is to surround myself with their things. I decorate with my dads pipes, some old gardening tools of my moms, some books from the house that my dad enjoyed, the binoculars he bought me to watch the birds. So in a round about way they have influenced my decorating.
Heres a pic of my dads pipes and a silver tray from my grandmother that has some watches and other do dads that were my folks.

[Lisa S]

I wish I had more of my dad's things. I have his Marine Corps Blues in my closet. I had it dry cleaned and plan to put it in a shadow box. It was very startling to see the uniform hanging there after it was cleaned ~ it was so much a part of my dad.

We moved every year or so as a kid, so our home was never one house. My mom is a very good decorator and our home was all about the furnishings that we carried from one place to the next.

My mom and I just visited some very good, long time military friends that are living near my home. The woman gave me a beautiful carnival glass serving set that my mother had given her years ago. Being military folk too, they carried the set from one post to the next. I guess when we did that, most everything we owned became special. So... for me home isn't the 4 walls, it's what you put inside it.

[Breezy]

Probably my mother. All three of us girls decorate in a traditional way and that is how our mother decorated also.

I love old houses and furniture and although I can appreciate a house decorated in a modern way it's just not my style.

Annie the pics are just lovely. What a great idea to use your father's pipes in your decorating. Well done!

[Gigi]

Beautiful pictures Annie~ and super special.

Creativity? Ummm...probably my mom who taught me to sew in grade school.

[Josephine]

Great stories! Those pictures are beautiful! I love the pipes displayed like that. One really special thing I found when we were cleaning out the condo was the telegram my Dad sent to my Mom when he was discharged from WWll. I framed it and display it in my dinning room. I also have my Dad's Grandfather clock. Just seeing and hearing it in my house makes it feel like home.

[chyna]

I would ultimately have to say my paternal grandma (my maternal grandmother was stifled for way too long by my grandpa, she couldn't decorate her way out of a box:p) and my mom. My paternal grandparents married after my grandpa was discharged and they were poor and had to make do. However my grandfather is one for appearances so my grandmother was a wiz at making something out of nothing. The house that I do dearly love and wish was my own is a prime example of that. When they bought the ranch and the house (by then my shrewed grandfather had bought and sold enough property that this one wasn't a shack;) ) the house they moved into was in poor shape. The story is that old Mrs Nelson was a bit on the nutty side and kept farm animals on the first floor. Believe me, that is not what was intended.:eek: Much of the old grandeur was there but alot my grandma had to fake. Like the beams in the kitchen, I never knew until we were doing my house that they were styrofoam! I had looked at them thousands of times and just always assumed they were wood! Also the ceiling in the livingroom/diningroom must have been cracked badly so my grandma put burlap bags up there and painted them red. With the bunching and so forth you'd never know there is one bad ceiling up there. Maybe this is why I love red so much that room is one of my faves. Red ceiling and cut leaded glass windows with bay windows. sigh I will never have a house that grand.

My mom is none to shabby in the making do arena either. We used to live in that same town and our house was... lets just say, yucky. One of the walls in the livingroom was an ugly avocado color that she couldn't afford to paint so she got some white paint and painted a tree with some creatures at the roots. It really was a cool painting up there, my dad is still mad at my aunt and uncle for covering it over when we moved. :D In their new house she talked my grandparents (maternal) neighbor into letting her have the wood off of his old barn and then nailed it on one wall along with some old stuff. My favorite part is the "door" she made along with an old doorknob set. I would never do it in my house but it is pretty neat. Not sure alot of people notice it though since the furniture cover alot of it.

Oh and my grandpa Andy for being an auctioneer and showing us all what you can get at auctions. That is how my grandma furnished alot of her house, remember alot of that old stuff was considered junk when she picked it up. Ha!

[shabbychick]

I have no idea where my decorating taste comes from. I tend more toward themes than styles, if that makes sense. I have a chicken theme in most of the house, but a beach cottage/garden theme upstairs, except for the guest bedroom which is my medieval room. I have one tropical fish bathroom upstairs, and the downstairs powder room is all about rain...ducks, umbrellas, raindrops, etc. My relatives think I'm slightly insane. They're all much more conventional than I am in their tastes, and they all have lovely homes. I'm the only one who decorates from the thrift store, but I think my place has more character! My mom didn't spend a lot of time or money on decorating; when I look at photos from my childhood, I see that there were very few changes from year to year except for the wallpaper. My mom's father was a paperhanger, and she learned from him. I could leave for school in the morning, and by the time I came home, the whole living and dining room would be re-papered. And this was in the days before prepasted wallpaper. Unfortunately, I did not inherit my mothers wallpaper gene. I suppose my tastes are mostly influenced by my reading and my imagination. I can imagine a setting from a story and want to recreate it in my home or at work. One of these days I'll post some pictures from my redecorating project in the school library.

[chyna]

Bet your mom and grandpa used a homemade wallpaper paste too. That stuff is hard to remove! My mom keeps trying to talk me into using it on my prepasted stuff and I about choke. I'm not a fan of wallpaper and the thought of permanent wallpaper about kills me. :o:eek:

[cheapdiva]

My paternal grandmother was the original Martha Stewart. Funny, I was just talking about her today!! She was truly a "grand" mother and incredibly gracious. Meals were served on linens with the best china and silver used every night. Linens were sent to the cleaners, precious items were out and meant to be seen and touched. She believed it was how you learned to appreciate good things. She painted, she sewed, she knitted.

She believed in buying one quality item rather than 10 cheap ones. She loved to cook and loved to entertain and believed in good food and conversation at the dinner table. She was always impeccably groomed and dressed.

She loved to laugh and discover things. She was the youngest 78 year old when she passed away - 33 years ago. And I miss her every day. If I had a tenth of her creativity and talent, I'd be happy.

[chyna]

Your grandmother sounds like she could be related to my grandmother. :) Do you find it odd when people put up things because of children? I do because nobody ever did that when I was around that I'm aware of. Things were where they wanted them and I knew better than touch something I wasn't suppose to but I also wasn't afraid to look. I put that same belief in my dd, other parents fret about taking a young child to an antique store but I really don't. I stress the point of look with your eyes and not your hands before we enter and that is that. And if Lizzie really wants to examine a bit more she asks first. Now her buddy down the alley..... they aren't allowed in my bedroom because of her.:rolleyes:

[ChapterTwo]

I agree about keeping things out, even when there are children around. My mother taught us to appreciate their beauty. She would hold the item and let us touch it and look at it, with her help, and we knew not to touch them on our own. I did the same thing with my children and it worked like a charm.

I got my creative flair from my dear mother. She used to oil paint when she was younger, and was creative around the house because, after buying our family home, money was tight. So curtains and tablecloths were dyed to brighten them, Furniture was painted and spruced up that way. She "made do" which is what many of the younger generation nowadays cannot fathom (and why everyone is in debt). As I got older, if the two of us saw a chair or table that a neighbor had out for trash, we'd grab it and restore it! That is the way we managed to find a Little Red Riding Hood cookie jar and salt/pepper shakers that she had always wanted (but couldn't afford)...there they were, sitting on the trash pile!

[chyna]

YOu people in the more populated parts of the country just make me so jealous!!! :D One day my friends you are going to see a U-Haul with Montana plates crusing up and down your streets. :p

[ChapterTwo]

YOu people in the more populated parts of the country just make me so jealous!!! :D One day my friends you are going to see a U-Haul with Montana plates crusing up and down your streets. :p



Oooooh, tell me when you're coming to NJ and I'll join you! ;)

[chyna]

Maybe I'll swing down the longest yard sale while I'm over there. :p;)

[Josephine]

We do have great trash around here! One of our favorite outings when the boys were young and we had no money was to go trash picking. DH always called it treasure hunting. One time we picked up an old computer that sold for $350 on ebay. My favorite treasure was a milk glass light fixture that I held on to for years before I found a place for it. The old woman who was throwing it out was so glad to see me taking it, she was happy that someone was going to use it. It is now in my kitchen and I love it!

I also agree with using good things around children. I have three sons and have always used good china on occasions. They have never broken one piece of the good stuff, it's always the everyday china that gets broken.

[chyna]

That breaking the everyday stuff thing does come in handy. We went thru a phase where we did the blue wolf thing from Shopko. Guess I don't care if they stay or go still but with a hubby who doesn't put things away after using them, dogs who will get into any bowl or plate left out and a dd who can't make the trip to the kitchen we've lost quite a few pieces. :o The last victim was a bowl on the floor that a piece of marble countertop fell on. Oh yeah, if you're going to break something break it really good. ;)

[ChapterTwo]

<< Maybe I'll swing down the longest yard sale while I'm over there. >>

I think that's in the beginning of August this year. I've always wanted to do that, but I'll be recuperating from my daughter's wedding...:confused:

[chyna]

I end up watching it on HGTV and wishing I had been there. Looks like there are so many goodies to be found.

[ChapterTwo]

I bet it's almost a little overwhelming...when I'd be at Point A, I'd be thinking there were better things at Point B or C! But still...SOOOO much fun! My mom used to love to go to flea markets and sales, but none of my friends do. :(

[annielinz]

Oh I wish we lived closer, how much fun would it be to go flea marketing and thrifting together. We don't find good deals here in No. Calif, the prices get so jacked up, I envy some of you who find such great deals!

[ChapterTwo]

Yes, I wish we all lived closer, too! Half the fun of finding treasures is giggling and talking about them, afterwards! :p

[cheapdiva]

This is why photos need to be posted - so we can all share and enjoy the treasures!!!!

[Zuzu's Garden]

Yet another group therapy moment. I always thought there was something completely wrong with me when I couldn't find "FINDS" at the Goodwill or Flea Market. MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH - It's a location 'thang', not me.

So get a bigger U-Haul and swing by and pick me up, Chyna. I want to go too!
:p
Zu

[cheapdiva]

I'm with you on thinking it was me that couldn't find things - I do fine on the smaller stuff but some sites (myromantichome blog) - my God, she finds the most incredible furniture on Craig's list! But she lives in CA and apparently they turn their "junk" over faster!

Let me know when you'll be picking me up!!!:p

[ChapterTwo]

Is anyone familiar with Freecycle? It's the epitome of "One person's trash is another person's treasure". You look up your area on the website listing (and hopefully there's a Freecycle that covers your area) and look through the postings, to see what people want to get rid of. You set up a time you can go pick up the item, and...it's yours!

Of course, it also works when you have something decent that you don't want anymore and haven't the time or energy to sell it. Everything is FREE!
I've given away furniture and the people were so grateful!

Here's the main website: http://www.freecycle.org/ (Sometimes it takes a minute or so for the website to load...)

It's not quite the same as dumpster diving, but you can get some neat stuff, and the price is right...:D

[annielinz]

Cheapdiva, Cindy from Romantic home blog lives the next town over from me, heck I must be blind when I hit the thrift stores! I even scoured the ones in her town hoping to find her deals...no such luck. She has found such great things on Craigslis also, when I look its garbage. She's fined tuned what shes looking for tho. I also think she goes a few towns over where its more affluent, the pickin's are better quality.
I don't know about your goodwill/salvation army places, but I find their prices high around here.I've never gotten into garage saling, maybe that's a better deal, you have more bargining power.