I tea-dyed a satin purse. I needed a small off-white/beige purse as a base for a long beaded fringe. The only purses in the right size/shape that I could find were white satin. I was matching colors for a tea gown I was wearing to an ARS function. This little purse was perfect, and it even had a full-length nylon fringe all the way around that would add swing and fullness to the seed bead and crystal strands I was using. I made a strong tea solution, let it cool to "warm" and dunked the purse in, fringe, strap, and all. I was afraid the purse would lose its shape, but it didn't. I left it in the tea for about 30 seconds, just long enough to be thoroughly soaked. I lifted it up carefully and set it in a bowl of clear warm water and slowly moved it around to "rinse" the tea out. After sitting about a minute, I repeated the process in a second bowl of clear water. I held it up until some of the water had dripped off, laid it flat on a towel with a washcloth to help hold the shape inside. Once it was dried it was the perfect color. After 10 years, I still love this purse.

What a great, handsome place to chop that onion, Ginny. I just bet you love it. :) Baunlee, I think I'd try ignoring that brownish-purple. I'm guessing it was supposed to be maroonish long ago, but in any case it functions as contrast, so leave it at that if possible? If it refused to be ignored, paint it. In any case, you could then concentrate on colors you would enjoy with that aqua/turquoise. Beige? Yellow? Coral? I'm an orange with blue person myself. I just realized. If that were my challenge, I like Persian and other Middle Eastern rugs, which often come in rusty wine reds and golds with light blues in the design, and I might try using one as an organizing principle in the room. Just for instance, I might try 1. A rusty red-based, heavily patterned wool Persian rug under the dining table, rather large for impact. I'd want it to define the room, not the tile. They're extremely durable, and those complex patterns are a big reason why they can be used for generations and look good right up until they finally wear out. 2. A soft muted gold, or muted straw color, or golden-orangish yellow on the walls--a color that harmonized prettily with the cabinets but was quiet enough not to do a big wow! blue-yellow excitement thing with the tile. It would be as close to the same saturation and value (i.e., neither brighter or duller or lighter or darker) as the tile as I could bring it without the wow.This way it wouldn't add light-dark contrast in addition to its color contrast. They would blend together in a warm but calm way. 3. While I figured out what I wanted to do with that nice recessed ceiling, I'd cover it all with the same color mixed with some white on the ceiling--in a gloss if the ceiling were smooth enough. 4. Your picture is gone so I can't check it for ideas, but I'm sure I would use more of the same soft pale yellow often above the floor level to avoid too frequent color changes. Also, I'd keep the upper areas mostly light and keep the darker, vibrant color of the rug mostly on the floor. Such as curtains with the background similar to the wall color. Then smaller accents of the red here and there, and of course the aqua that's already here and there. :) Then, being me, I'd probably paint the walls, cabinets, woodwork, everything, all cream, leave the rug and hang antique blue plates on the walls, but only after a year or so had gone by and I was finally in the mood to do it. :)

I only have 3 tiny closets and Moni my bedroom closet looks just like yours. I love purses/handbags and that only came about because family members must love buying purses because I keep getting them as gifts. My cousin from out of town sends me a beautiful large purse every birthday, my other cousin decides she doesn't like the some of the new purses she buys and passes them on to me and they are just perfect. Many times when my sister goes off to St. Louis she brings me back a new purse. I can't believe how many people compliment me on the purse I am carrying. I have some totes too and shopping bags. I still love and use the tote bag with cats on it that Flamey made and sent to me. All the hooks in my closet have multiple bags hanging from them, some are on a table in my bedroom, or on the door handle on the back of my bedroom door. I have a coat rack that I use to hang some clothes that are on hangers in my bedroom and have some of the purses hanging on that. 2 are on my bedroom floor in front of my dresser. I interchange them during the seasons but don't match them to the clothes I wear. I am getting ready to clear out all 3 closets. I live in the house I grew up in, 2 bedrooms, an unfinished upstairs and a basement which floods frequently so I don't store anything down there. I don't have room for the stuff I have, so I don't know how we had 9 people living in this house with no clutter anywhere. haha we must not have had many clothes either because I remember there was only 1 dresser and that was in my parents bedroom. We had a sock drawer where all the socks went into. My older sisters hogged the bedroom closet. Living room closet was for coats and still is even though I have a pile of cooking magazines on the floor of it and coffee table books on the top shelf. If I had the where with all and the means I would have the wall that separates the 2 closets in the bedrooms opened up and made into one big closet with shelving.

Bingo! Sorry I've been AWOL. School started Aug. 19, our Moms In Prayer group started up again (we pray for the schools/students/teachers). We had the Eclipse (Nebraska was one of the best places to view it and lots of hubbub). I attended a training on Native American Children/ICWA Indian Children Welfare Act. Very enlightening. The tribes are a nation within a nation. They have their own courts, social workers, etc. If the tribe chooses to return a child to the household with a parent who is neglectful/abusive the American courts have to let it happen. On the other hand, the Native Americans have a strong culture and often use non-traditional ways to cure drug addiction such as music therapy and animal therapy. My husband had a birthday so we had a party and now he's trying to put together his own business. That's been a life-long dream. Trouble is...he's an entrepreneur and I'm the anchor who keeps dousing him with questions and pieces of reality. I can see where he wants to go, but he can't see the 200 steps he has to take to get there. In his mind he's already there (wherever he sees himself in his video playback in his head). I may need valium. My double click cosmos bloomed! That's been my good news to keep me going!!! Ii got my daughter's video complete from her trip to Japan and got it uploaded to Facebook. Heidi