Jeremy In VA's Profile

I make granola bars quite often and the 'glue' is natural peanut butter (I just make my own by running unsalted roasted peanuts in my mini food processor until they form a paste), honey, brown sugar and a little water. It works very well once you get the process down.

While I agree to a degree about self-proclaimed "collectors' items", I think all that Lisa probably meant was:
"She has a book coming out later this summer. I think it will be in high-demand with photography book collectors."

I'm not disappointed that this won, as it was easily one of my favorites. So congrats! Well done.

What does disappoint (and really surprise) me is that the Family of Four didn't even place in the top 5. While most of the entries accomodated one or two people, I was sure that the fact that these entrants were able to make a small space work for a family of four (and so stylishly) would guarantee them a spot.

My advice is to get a bigger mirror or a large piece of art, lose the candlestick and empty the green vase. Good luck!

This is the kind of entry I expect to see in a Small Cool contest. Definitely a finalist. I second the call for something above those bookshelves, though.

I bought some "superheroes on the toilet" postcards that I read about in either Domino or Living Etc. and framed them in inexpensive frames with mattes. They're hung in a kind of formal grouping which contrasts with crude subjects. I get a lot of compliments on them. Above the toilet I framed the ubiquitous "keep calm and carry on" poster. Like others have said, none of these were expensive so if they get ruined I won't be too worried, but at the same time they are fairly (relatively) unique.

One thing I will suggest is to paint that little strip at the top that is currently white the same color as the wall. People tend to leave anything that is remotely ceilingish white, and I think it looks unfinished. Same thing with the arch next to it.

Garrett,

It's probably out of your way, but there is a place in Rockville, MD called Image Impact that does this, or something similar. I once saw a photo exhibit where the photos were mounted this way, and I contacted the artist to find out more information on the process. He said that the images are "face mounted" on Lucite and once mounted they are "done". It's an archival process in that the adhesive used is archival and UV absorbing. He's had images as large as about 30x90 done this way. Impact Images came recommended to him by a highly regarded fine art printer in Washington DC, and apparently they do work for museums and galleries in that area.

Hope this helps!

Crate and Barrel sold Fire King Jadite batter bowls five years ago?

In our last house we had the Varde series cabinetry in our kitchen, and I really hated the upkeep on the butcher block counters on them.

When we installed our Ikea butcher block counter tops in our current house about a year ago, I decided to justs seal them. We used a salad bowl finish, which is (or is like) a poly that, once dry, is non-toxic. It has *some* shininess to it I guess, but it's not what I would call "high gloss". If you've ever seen, well, wooden salad bowels, that's about how shiny they are.

So far they still look great, though they're not aging or acquiring any sort of patina, which for some people is the draw.