Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion -The Comforts of Nature


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Paper, Scissors, Crop

Pins & Needles

Text by Mary Forsell • Produced by Kathy Curotto and Trenna Travis Lange

COLLECTOR’S ITEMS
(a) A collector’s coffee table with removable dividers shows off nature finds. Eggs, Roost. Decorative papers, Snow & Graham. (b) Bell jar serves as three-dimensional “frame” for treasures. Stationery, Cavallini & Co.

CATCH & RELEASE
(c) Catch butterflies without ever picking up a net. Photocopy images from field guides (and other copyright-free material) and cut out. Use teacher’s putty to attach to wall, folding in half for 3-D effect. Sofa, armchair, Lee Industries. Paint, Glidden.

WING TIPS
(d) San Francisco artist Diana Fayt’s etched stoneware bowl. (e) Pair pillows that depict flora and fauna. (f) Exterior semigloss paint transforms ceramic into a “chalkboard vase” for drawing birds or other outdoor images. (g) Carpet tiles with roosting flock from FLOR.

DEEPLY ROOTED
(h) A bistro bottle dryer makes a fun perch for nests. On table beneath, faux bois vase by Ty Travis reflects the Arizona artist’s “memories of trees, nature, and the happy times I’ve spent in and around them.” Hand-signed prints, Alena Hennessy.

LOUNGE WARE
(i) Shells combine with clean-lined vases. Crocus ornament, Roost. Cards, books, Cavallini & Co. (j) Diana Fayt illustrates her tea bowls freehand. Transfer print pillows like the one on the couch, (h) are easy to make. Download a nest or butterfly design , (butterfly, nest, wall art butterfly) print on transfer paper. Iron onto fabric for pillow.

LIFE LISTS
(k) Alena Hennessy’s lightweight stone bird sculptures have sweeping, 17-inch wingspans. “They come ready to hang with an adjustable line so they can suspend from the ceiling or even from a tree outdoors,” the artist says. The woven cotton pillow, also by Alena, has a matching pattern on the back. Chaise, screen, Lee Industries. Vase, Ty Travis. Plate, Diana Fayt. Table, Rothschild’s Antiques & Home Furnishings. Flooring, Pergo.

POSTCARDS FROM THE HEDGE
Go ahead and say it out loud: This year I’m actually going to weed the garden! Then treat yourself to a new journal to keep track of plantings and jot down ideas. We like the kind with elastic closures, so you can tuck in seed packets, magazine clippings, and inspirational cards. (l) and (m) Postcards, journals, gift tags, butterfly eraser, Cavallini & Co.

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