Target

All posts tagged Target

Cubby of Curiosities ?

Posted by James on March 1, 2015
Posted in: New Home. Tagged: , . 21 Comments

Every time I walk buy this thing at Target…..I pause,

9-Slot Target Cubby Organizer

Jamie says, “Just buy it.”….as he always does.

Sure, I have plenty (And I mean PLENTY) of things to fil it with, but not one inch of available wall space.

Too bad,

So I’m sitting at my desk, as I usually am, surrounded by a million very important things……

My Desk as it Usually Is

These, specific very important things…..

Pile of Assorted Crap on My Desk

And it hits me……”Why does it have to hang on a wall?”

It doesn’t…..and now it sits on my desk.

Target Cubby Box on my Desk Filled to the Brim with Treasures

Key Chains and Harvey Pins Collage

Lighter, Zuni Box and Horse Fetish in my Target Cubby Box

Target Cubby Box Collage

Top Half of the Target Cubbys

Totems and Bracelets on my Desk Collage

Luke and Leia in Cubby

Now everything that inspires me is right where I can see it; the cowboys from my birthday cake 20 years ago, Luke and Leia that I played with as a kid, a tiki from Maui, the bracelet I bought in Phoenix, and several gifts from dear friends.

Wanna learn more out some of this crap, I mean, very important stuff?

Read about my Steiff bear, Zuni fetish, St Labre celuloid indians, Fred Harvey pins, and Frankoma pottery.

Aging a Galvanized Metal Clock

Posted by James on April 28, 2013
Posted in: New Home, Projects. Tagged: , , , . 8 Comments

Target is amazing.

You know it is.

Their latest offerings of over 3,000 new home products fall under the Threshold name.

Too much to love in this line, but we narrowed it down to this galvanized metal clock from the “Urban Farm” collection.

Threshold Galvanized Clock from Target

It was inevitable……..He just had to come home with us.

20 inches is pretty big, but not nearly as big as some of the 4 foot +  inspiration clocks we posted about a few weeks ago.

Great clock….

Galvanized Metal Clock from Target in Package

Just so…..”New” looking.

I think I can change that.

Galvanizing is a chemical process used to coat iron and steel with zinc. Galvanizing is done to minimize corrosion; the zinc prevents oxidation of the metal and protects it by forming a protective barrier from moisture and corrosives.

I just need to break through that barrier with a sandpaper scrub.

First I removed the clock mechanism by pulling the center pin carefully out.

Pull the Small pin Carefully from the Center of Hands

The arms just slip off gently,

I store all my clock parts in a ziplock bag.

A Ziplock Bag Full of Clock Parts

Genius tip here….these screws are small.

Then I sand the entire clock with 80 grit sandpaper.

James Sanding the Coating off the Galvanized Clock

This removes most of the protective coating and will allow my acid to reach the metal.

I read several suggestions online…..sea salt, vinegar, bleach, and even gel toilet bowl cleaner.

I started with white vinegar.

….and spritzed the entire surface.

Spritzing the Clock with White Vinegar

Then set my clock in the sun.

Galvanized Clock Coated in White Vinegar Sitting in th Sun

I let it bake in the sun for a couple of hours with minimal results…..so I went a step further and sprayed it with bleach.

Whoa Momma, did that work……..and fast too.

Weathered Galvanized Clock with Bleach

Close up of Weathered Galvanized Clock

Close up of Weathered Galvanized Clock

Nicely aged, and in just a few hours. All the “rivets” around the edge even rusted.

I was planning on painting the numbers black so they would stand out more…..but not now.

NUmbers 1 2 3

The darker areas around them makes them much more prominent than before the bleach.

Now to age the hands just slightly with some sandpaper.

Sandpaper over the Hands to Age them Slightly

I carefully reassembled everything…..

…….and this is what we have now.

Aged Galvanized Target Clock in the Den

Close Up of Aged Galvanized Target Clock

Pretty Cool. Am I right?

Of course I’m right, I usually am.

(look closely and notice that I painted that single brass pin in the middle of the clock hands with black paint……Why, oh why would it be brass?)

Nate Berkus Tortoise Shell

Posted by James on October 25, 2012
Posted in: New Home. Tagged: , , , , . 4 Comments

Target can do very little wrong in our eyes,

Their recent collaboration with designer Nate Berkus is no exception.

I’ve seen a few sneak peaks at the collection…and I already have a favorite piece.

This amazingness….

LOVE, (sigh)

The first image of this beauty that I saw was in a lacquered gold-ish color…..like so.

A little bit “gilded” for our tastes.

No worries…I like the white way, more, much better. After all, it’s the color Nate choose to hang in his own home. Seen here above the reclaimed mantle in his Manhattan guest room.

We stopped by Target early and Jamie asked a kindly shop girl if they had the new collection yet. She told him that it was in the store, but NOT on the floor yet. THEN, she offered to check in the back to see if the tortoise shell was available…..with Very little begging and pleading from me……..

She returned with 2……. a green AND a white.

SCORE! We took the white.

I’m sure that in a month there will be hundreds of these in the discount isle, but for now…we are set.

Not that we have any available wall space to hang it on.

The Curiosity Shoppe

Posted by James on September 19, 2012
Posted in: New Home. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

As usual, Target continues to inspire.

Our favorite of this Fall’s Target offerings come from the San Francisco based Curiosity Shoppe.

The Curiosity Shoppe is owned and operated by Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom. The pair left their super fun, kinda crazy lives in New York City and came home to the San Francisco Bay Area to start up the Shoppe for the simple reason that they were obsessed with beautiful things. They’re thrilled to be sharing the objects and ideas that delight and inspire themselves with as many people as possible. Whether it’s a favorite art book, a vintage find, a carefully hand-crafted piece of jewelry or a one-of-a-kind painting, they guarantee that everything you’ll find in the Shoppe is special. The person who dreamed it up gave it their creative all, and they love them for it.

The collection that the Curiosity Shoppe has curated for Target is based on a vintage road trip.

Think : Route 66 in the 1950’s. Love

A few of our favorite, available online and instore,  items are….

This cutting board shaped like our United States of America. We think it could be improved with a coat of “clear blue sky” chalk board paint and hung on the wall as a message board.

These Awesome salad tongs…..I’m speachless…I just can’t begin to explain how cool I think these are….

We’re a little crazy about these Cafe Au Lait Mugs as well. They’re just the right size for soup. 6 bucks each, great colors, and who doesn’t like vintage graphics? We certainly do.

If you do make it to San Francisco, I highly recommend a stop in this store. But if that trip is a little out of your regular shopping route, the Curiosity Shoppe has a website.

Here are a few of the offerings from the website that tickled our fancy….

How great is this red metal first aid box? It’s just what we need to mount on the wall in the garage for band aids and Neosporin. Not that we need either that often in our garage.(wink)

We also like this little ceramic soap dish. Maybe next to the guest room bed for keys and change.

This 2-toned wood magnifying glass would be the perfect gift for a “hard-to-shop-for” guy…

I’m really in love with these cork coasters. Could it be the Navajo prints?……..Could be.

How perfect would this bottle opener be mounted on the wall next to the “beer fridge” in the garage? Pretty perfect, if I must say.

Yeah, we’ll be placing some orders in the near future.

We linked each picture to the appropriate site to purchase.

Now start clicking and shoppe around a bit…..you’ll thank us.

Beautiful Modern Door

Posted by James on September 7, 2012
Posted in: New Home. Tagged: , . 2 Comments

While cruising the isles at Target the other day (I know, a lot of our stories involve shopping at Target, or Ikea) we stumbled on this poster in the men’s shoe department. Odd placement since the “Dad’s” feet/shoes weren’t even visible.

Isn’t that just the greatest door ever? Just look how happy the family in the poster looks….We could be that happy too with a door like that.

We had a “door-man” price out a door like this for us, and he came back with a bid of 1800$. Uninstalled

And no, I didn’t forget a decimal point. For that much money we could remodel both bathrooms….and take a small vacation.

Never fear……we will keep looking…..and shopping at Target.