Lazing on a Sunday afternoon...

Ok, more like collapsing! Stanimal and I spent the better part of this weekend working on our 5 year old canvas gazebo. We bought it for $200 and it was 50% off for an end of season sale. That gazebo has been through a lot, most notably flying over the fence a few years ago when we had 80 mph winds. It was bent and looked like it was trashed, but we straightened out the frame and reinforced a few spots with metal straps. The roof was all stained and gross so I proposed we paint it a dark earthy color. Stanimal was concerned it would be too dark on the deck so I decided to build a skylight for the center canopy topper. With heavy duty vinyl from the upholstery shop I used the existing topper as a pattern and made a replacement. We are very pleased with the paint and skylight, that old gazebo is ready to rock for at least a few more seasons!
Rejuvenated gazebo, $200 Save Mart grocery store over 5 years ago
60s caftan, $15 ebay a few months ago
60s jeweled sandals, $3 thrift store a few years ago

Op art project

Here find my latest in a long line of vintage clothing “projects”, clothes that need a little tlc before wearing! I bought this op art gem on etsy a few weeks ago for a mere $8. It was formerly a dress with a stain on the front, so the seller opted to cut and hem it into a tunic length shirt. I redid the hem to make it as long as possible and now I find it quite wearable indeed! The fabric pattern really sold me, though. Stanimal told me it hurt his eyes if he looked at it too long, which is considered a huge compliment to op art lovers such as ourselves! I busted out some 60s sunglasses Stanimal had bought me several years back, and accessorized with silver boots and stockings to let the print do the talkin’!
And to celebrate reaching 100 followers, the vintage purple necklace in the first picture is my giveaway prize! To enter: be a follower, like annimal house on facebook, and leave a comment! The more you comment, the more chances you have to win my necklace twin! On May 31 I will draw a random winner and ship that necklace your way! Thanks again, this has been a real groovy trip!!
60s op art tunic, $8 etsy a few weeks ago
60s silver vinyl go go boots, $100 ebay several years ago
60s yellow sunglasses, gift from Stanimal several years ago
60s necklace, $50 ebay seval years ago, last seen here

Color Me, Annimal!!

Stanimal has really outdone himself this time!! He has created a coloring page of me in our living room just for fun!! Please check out the color me annimal link on the sidebar to your right!! And don't worry about coloring within the lines, cuz you're just a jump and a click away from making me and mine any colors you please!! Enjoy!!!

How’s yours hangin'? DIY necklace hangers

After numerous failed attempts to keep my large pendants neat and untangled in jewelry boxes, I knew I needed to do something different. I saw many blogger DIY projects utilizing hooks inside picture frames. They looked cute in the same way Ikea store displays do, organized and neat if you only have a few items to store. But since I exceed at excess, I needed another solution that would solve my storage problem. I decided to utilize the existing picture molding over my vanity dresser, but needed necklace hangers to do so. I had bought heavy duty hangers to hang a shadow box display shelf on the opposite wall, but they were too large and too expensive if I wanted to buy a lot of them. So I made my own necklace hangers with jumbo paper clips, and now I can see all my necklaces and they stay untangled and ready to rock! All you need are jumbo paper clips and two needle nose pliers. Bend the paperclip open and flat, then straighten the larger end straight out, then use both pliers to create a 90 degree hook that will catch on the picture molding. Hang 'em high and admire your easy and practical DIY project!!