So there is something really cool I found out about while reading the New York Times’ T Magazine and it’s called plasti coat. This thing is all the rage (at least in my office :) ). What plasti coat is, is a liquid form of the rubber coating you always see on those tool grips…basically with this you can have the comfort of a tool grip on ANYTHING!

There is a great page on eBay that explains what exactly the benefits of using this type of product is and it links to some of the listings for the product…
http://reviews.ebay.com/Using-Plasti-Dip-Products_W0QQugidZ10000000003612258

Of course when I found out about it, the first thing that I thought was how cool it would be to dip home accessories in it. Someone in my office was actually telling me that he dipped some of his Jonathan Adler plates and it’s just great because you instantly create these wonderful, durable decorative plates using a product that initially only had a utilitarian purpose.  

Here are some great Jonathan Adler decorative bowls that would be perfect to cover with plasti coat.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jonathan-Adler-2-White-Ceramic-Nelson-Bowls-New_W0QQitemZ120171196830QQihZ002QQcategoryZ45479QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Plasti coat comes in mostly primary colors, but there is enough to choose from for an array of projects. I love the idea of a collar or an apron coated in this stuff! Or what about taking something plain like a linen or cotton towel and dipping the end in the plasticoat to give a band of color!

The possibilities are truly endless because this product is so versatile. It spans the whole spectrum from functional (gardening gloves, bottom of canvas bags) to decorative (ceramic lamp, bowels, plates…).

This past weekend, I went with eBay to the Country Living Fair in Morrow, Ohio (per my past announcements on this blog:) ). eBay had a booth set-up, where eBay users could drop in and give testimonials about their eBay experiences.  I also got the chance to meet some of the Country Living editors (love Country Living..great home decorating tips).

I have to say that I don’t know what I was envisioning as far as turn-out, but I was blown away by the traffic this fair generated—cars on the highway were literally backed up for miles—it was truly amazing to see!

There were, of course, some great finds at the fair…lots of antique dealers selling crafts, but not the crafty kind, the beautiful, delicate kind. I bought some great ceramic splatterware bowls. I love splatterware for traditional or country houses and it’s such an easy way to add touches of color.  Also, a great find were these wonderful spider silhouettes that were handcrafted by a Virginia-based artist. I’ve been a big fan of silhouettes and have found some great ones on eBay. There are also some services that let you send in pictures and they’ll custom-make a silhouette for you—a great holiday gift idea. Last Christmas, I had a silhouette of my dog made that turned out beautifully.

Actually, just writing this blog is bringing up why I enjoyed the fair as much as did: I just love quality handmade things and so many of the items at the fair brought me back to my grandmother’s house, especially the silhouettes…she had some beautiful, delicately made ones in her house. 

Another noteworthy part of the fair were the workshops/demonstrations on things like painting, pottery, decorating…to me this brings up something that I’m sure a lot of you already do, but just as a reminder: one of the simplest things to do is to throw a coat of paint on that old chair you never really liked or to reupholster that couch that is lying around in your basement because it doesn’t quite fit in your home – don’t be afraid of these kinds of projects– it’s so easy to give new life to furniture!

Here are some splatterware and silhouette finds!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bennington-Pink-Morning-Glory-Splatterware-HUGE-BOWL_W0QQitemZ260165798007QQihZ016QQcategoryZ2752QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dr-Douglas-Magic-Muffin-Maker-splatterware_W0QQitemZ190158857886QQihZ009QQcategoryZ20627QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-FRAMED-SILHOUETTES-BOY-GIRL-OLD_W0QQitemZ250170694739QQihZ015QQcategoryZ125QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Silhouette-Girl-with-Wild-Animals-Autumn-Leaves_W0QQitemZ160163169721QQihZ006QQcategoryZ916QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem