In the Land of DM

May 30, 2007

WOW! Jodi Lakey of Spokane just sent me these photos from her home. (She just bought the sunflower cabinet from me) We had a warehouse sale last weekend and I just happened to wander in to check it out when she was making her purchase. I told her I was happy to see it was going to a good home. She told me it was - and from her photos, now I know for sure! She has an impressive collection of Debbie Mumm "stuff!" I think maybe she even rivals my sister's collection - which I had presumed (perhaps incorrectly) was the largest in existence.

Thanks for sharing, Jodi!
(Oh, love the wallpaper too!)
Debbie

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Dangling by a Thread

May 22, 2007 in Gardening

Birthday's are so fun and this year is no exception! I've taken to spreading out my celebrating over the entire month of May.  I got a really fun birthday gift from Tom at the office.  And he made it himself! I asked him if he would share how he did it. I named it "Dangling by a Thread Wind Chime."

Dangling by a Thread Wind Chime

Materials:

• 1 medium sized sugar bowl with lid
• 5 old pieces of eating utensils (1 butter knife, a small soup spoon, a small sugar spoon, and 2 appetizer forks) 
• Assortment of Beads
• Hanger - Tom found a wire handle to recycle.  (collecting junk to reuse in projects is recommended!)
• Beading filament string (strong)
• 6 buttons to tie off filament string inside the chime.
• appropriate drill bits to drill holes in chime body.  (Tom used an 1/8 glass bit and an 1/8" masonry bit)

Tom's Step-by-Step

1. Drill 5 holes around the bottom edge of the sugar bowl
2. Drill 1 hole through the center bottom which will hold the sugar bowl lid
3. Drill 2 holes through the top sides for the hange
4. Drill 1 hole through the handle end of each utensil
5. Cut 6 pieces of Beading Filament about 18” long
6. String utensils to middle of filament, pulling ends together and tie it off. (I grabbed both strings and looped them together and around to create my knots on this project.
7. Slide 1 bead at a time and tied them in place using this same knot until you have your finished “beaded utensil dangle”
8. Continue this step for all pieces of utensils and also the same for the sugar bowl lid which will hang down from the center hole.
9. Pull the ends of the string through one of the holes of the sugar bowl, sliding the ends through a button inside the sugar bowl and tied off to desired length using the same knot. The button is larger than the hole, thus holding the string in place.
10. Repeat this step for each piece of Beading filament string.
11. Loop hanger through holes at the top of the sugar bowl and wrap to secure.

From Tom:
My plan was to build a wind chime using an old vase, deep bowl, jar, cup or something like that, and old silverware for the dangley parts...and because Debbie is so into beading, I thought I would choose some myself and incorporate them into the wind chime somehow.

Thank you Tom - I love it and I love that you made it!  Debbie

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Driver's License Renewal

May 14, 2007 in Creativity

I had an early Birthday party and got my Driver's License renewal taken care of at the same time! Look at the fun, creative and (absolutely truthful) birthday cake my friend Crystal came up with for me.

When she surprised me with it - the first place my eyes darted to was the weight! 115 lbs! Cool! Then, the birthdate.....1973! Then over to the height.....5'9"! You can see why she is my friend. She feeds into all of my fantasies.

She concocted the driver's license image in Photoshop and brought it into the local Grocery store bakery. They were also excited by the concept and whipped out a masterpiece. You can see by the photo that I laughed hysterically (along with everyone else!) for some time before we chowed down the cake.

Give you any ideas!? 
Debbie

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Happy Mother's Day!

May 11, 2007 in Family

Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to acknowledge your Mom in a special way for being an important mentor in your life?

I recently had that opportunity. I was interviewed by Entrepreneur.com about how my mother had influenced me in my business. Even though they chose a single quote from the interview – I sent her the whole thing so she knew how I felt. I was very happy to be able to think about and share the meaningful influence she had me.

My best wishes and thanks to all Mother’s on their important and positive influences they have! (even when they don’t realize it or are thanked for it)
Debbie

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"Dirt" from the office

May 10, 2007 in Friendship

Sorry Jackie - I just couldn't resist on dishing a little "dirt" on you!

Jackie, one of my super talented graphic designers was having "one of those days" and had a little run-in with a plant.

But don't worry, no computers or plants were actually harmed in this altercation. 

Now Jackie may be another story.
:) Debbie

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Spring Cleaning

May 6, 2007 in Creativity

OK, I must “fess” up…..I have not made any progress on my office. OK, well very little anyway. Here is my excuse. Due to changes in tenants in the building we are in, we needed to reconfigure our office space. So, in between our real work (making art and projects) we have been moving everything around. And we have been sorting through years of accumulation of stuff and purging as much as we can. Sometimes it is shocking how much stuff you manage to accumulate over the years. I must say it has been extremely satisfying to scale back all the clutter. It’s been the ultimate in spring cleaning. And since it is Spring, I guess it’s all the more appropriate. In fact, it’s been SO satisfying, I’m ALMOST tempted to consider Spring cleaning at home. I did want to share with you a few fun ways we organized some of our supplies in our Craft Room. 

We used a decorated wall sconce to hold a spray of paint brushes. It's handy, off the counter top and they will dry in the open air between uses. A cute hand-painted shelf (previously used as a dust catcher) now holds an array of craft paint on the shelf and from the pegs we hung scissors, tape, brushes and more. Using your wall space for storage helps you keep your work surface open and your supplies where you can grab them easily. I do better when as much is in view as possible. 

Okay, so much for all my excuses.......just trying to buy a little more time.
Debbie

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Join me Live Online!

May 4, 2007 in Media

I just found out that my KRLA radio interview will be live on the website www.homewizards.tv on Saturday, May 5 at 8:00am Pacific time.  However, if you planned on sleeping in that morning (afterall, it is Saturday!), you can listen at your convenience by going into the Show Archives.  It is called "Brighten your Patio with Paint." 
See you on the radio!  Debbie

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Media Saturdays

May 1, 2007 in Gardening

Just in case you're in the viewing or listening areas - I have a couple media appearances coming up in the next couple of Saturdays:

Saturday, May 5 at 8:00 (pacific time zone) I'm going to be interviewed by Cindy Dole on her Home Wizards Radio Show on KRLA radio (in Los Angeles, CA) My 15 minute interview will focus on simple ideas and techniques for creating Garden ornamentation.

The following Saturday, May 12 (sometime between 7:00am and 9am pacific time) I'll be doing a demo on Good Morning Northwest on KXLY TV (Channel 4 in Eastern Washington and parts of Canada) using Glass gems and sea glass to create vases, birdhouses, and flower pots. 

Hope you can tune in and be inspired for some fun new projects!
Debbie

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