Here’s my send-off to my favorite part: the kitchen.

(Psst… like my vintage apron? Here’s a video of my collection.)

(Psst… like my dinner soundtrack? Get the song free here.)

(Psst… impressed with my culinary skeels? You would be if you had smell-o-vision. Here’s the sort-of recipe.)

Amy’s That-Was-Actually-Crazy-Delicious Roasted Veggies and Meat

• Vegetables, chopped (onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes … anything that’s good roasted)
• Meat, chopped
• Garlic, minced
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste (don’t be shy)
• Cook until it smells delicious, and the meat looks done. (For temperature, just guess. It’ll be fine. Mine oven’s in Celsius, so guessing is my new method, and it hasn’t failed me yet. Well, I did melt some baked apples this morning. Did you know apples could melt? But they were still edible!)

While I’ve outgrown that trick (though I’m tempted to pause right now and try it again), I still often drift off to sleep envisioning patterns. My favorite was an umbrella that popped into mind once. Wish I remembered what it looked like.

All that to say, I went to Nancy Mims’ house!!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mod Green Marvelous

Nancy is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Mod Green Pod… the hippest line of organic fabric and wallpaper out there. I’d seen Nancy’s work in some of my favorite magazines (Dwell, Domino, Cottage Living) and on some of my favorite websites (Apartment Therapy, Design*Sponge, Craftzine). I had no idea she was from Austin until I bumped into her at a party!

I had the privilege of seeing her home and studio (I invited myself). The tour did not disappoint.

Nancy’s style is funky. Quirky. She is funky. Quirky. And while I literally felt like a kid at an amusement park taking in all the wonder of her home, it’s what I took away that I’m even more excited about. I don’t mean I took anything (though I could list right now what I would’ve liked to stuff in my pockets… and my bag… and my car). Nancy has this fantastically fresh perspective on things the rest of us look past.

Easy Cheese

Case in point:

“I find graffiti to be really beautiful. I especially love it when spray paint artists spray paint messages that aren’t very nice, they aren’t very polite, but they use really beautiful script for them.  I find that really charming. Because I think it’s funny they’re sort of  relaying this mean message, but they’re doing it in this really polite, formal way. I find that really funny.”

And I wouldn’t put it past her, so I had to ask.

“I’ve definitely done my share of graffiti,” she said. “I’ve never used spray paint. But I actually drew an entire 7-foot tall can of easy cheese — the spray on cheese — on a dorm room wall [in pencil].”

Regarding the Disregarded

Perhaps the thing that most inspired me about Nancy is that every day, she quite literally exercises her wonder and amazement at the overlooked among us. She goes for a stroll and photographs things that catch her eye. (Here’s her flickr stream … I can’t believe what she captures with an iPhone!) Can you imagine? Finding something that inspires you and doing it every single day? I bet that’s a powerful weapon against the grumps. And life’s curveballs. And maybe last night’s ice cream.

Many of the great knick-knacks and decor in Nancy’s home are from junk shops she just ducked into, and, of course, got for pennies. Which makes me love her even more.

“I think that’s a good metaphor for life, too — to go out in search of the unknown. And  be open to things you would’ve never guessed would happen.”

“Keep your eyes open,” I say.

“Exactly. And that happens a lot when I doodle, too. Whenever I set out to do a specific design, it doesn’t really happen for me. I have to sort of let go and see what else emerges.”

100% Conscientious Cotton

And though pretty designs are plenty for me, Mod Green Pod is about more than that.

“I’m proud of the designs. But I’m most proud of the fact that it’s organic cotton.”

Something textile giant Robert Kaufman likes too — the company just released a new organic craft collection by Nancy called, appropriately, “Free to Grow.”

Which, luckily for the rest of us, I do believe she is.

Music by Hot Club Sandwich. Buy at iTunes Music Store

Stashbusting: Busting one’s stash; getting rid of the clutter that is one’s fabric stack. I learned the term over at Dollar Store Crafts, and thought, “I’ve got some stash to bust.”

I have a bunch of fat quarters from a project that never happened, so my pickins were none too slim. I decided to make a flowering fabric collage.

It’s really quite simple.

1. Wrap a canvas with a solid fabric (lest your collage look downright psychedelic) for the background, and attach with staples on the back.
2. Cut out leaf shapes in increasingly larger sizes (I started with 1/2″ long, and increased each by another 1/2″).
3. Dip the back of each leaf in mod podge.
4. Press on.

That’s it! (Tip: I did find it helpful to do a test run of the layout with paper before I started.)I like how happy the piece turned out to be. And for fall and winter, it wouldn’t take any time at all to create another piece, perhaps with cooler colors. Plus, my new art gave me the perfect place to hang the jar cozy my friend and guest contributor, Sara, made for me! Aren’t they a nice pair?

Speaking of stash-busting, you may also like these: my bird and leaf silhouettes and vine collage, both with free pattern downloads.

Note: If you liked the video soundtrack, you can download the song free right here.

My dad makes these great wick dippers out of wire hangers, and I’ve loved mine for years. Instead of smoking up a room when you blow out a candle, you can just dip the wick.

Dad has collected and perfected various tools to bend the perfect tip, and make interesting handle designs. It’s harder than it sounds; my bird ended up looking like lips, and my attempt at a 3-D handle looks like a tornadic mess.

I’ll leave this DIY to Dad.

[Show as slideshow]

Click here to view the embedded video.

(See Brooke’s HNWN debut in my Austin Handmade Market video.)

I’d never used an apron until my mom gave me an adorable vintage one a couple years ago. What was I thinking cooking bacon all this time without protection?? Plus, with the miniature floral fabric and tulip pockets, I feel pretty dern cute at the stove these days.

Recently, my great Aunt Dottie (best cook in the family) gave my mom a bunch of her old aprons for a fundraiser — an apron auction. Adorable, vintage, and a family heirloom? Gimme those. I still don’t quite understand how an apron that doesn’t protect your top is worth much, but the skirt aprons are so cute, I’m strategizing how to get away with wearing them as part of an outfit.

[Show as slideshow]

Click here to view the embedded video.

While the store was open, Austin Handmade hosted some groovy handmade markets in the parking lot, leaving shoppers (some toting video cameras:) ) with plenty of inspiration for gift ideas:

• Revolutionary bathtime products
• Funky hip jewelry
• Squealably cute kid garb
• Soap that smells so good you want to eat it
• Jewelry that buys cows
• Wearable sushi
• “Earrings that make you feel good”
• Beads that inspire daydreams

Most of the artists are members of Etsy Austin, which is a great way to keep up with all things stylish and crafty in Austin. I would also like to point out the soundtrack to this video is a song called “Glitter Bomb.” And that’s awesome.

If you like this video, you can see more like it at amyhadley.com, where I post videos more often.