I have two lamps that I got for my bridal shower with a beautiful black and white pattern. So I'm going to recover them (if I can find a temporary way to do that) to look like this:
What do you think? Too girly for a married bedroom?
Friday, November 11, 2011
New Bedroom Lamps
We're moving on Saturday. FINALLY. Baby O has been sleeping in the closet far longer than I ever intended (she's 7 1/2 months!). She is about to get her own bedroom and a super awesome crib on loan from Oilo (its the crib with brown bars and white ends). I can't wait to post pictures of all the wonderful details! And, even though I love most of my bedroom decor, the wall color of our new rooms is taupe, or darker, I can't remember off the top of my head. I do know that my black and white and gray wont go with the wall color and so, I'm changing it up. On a budget.
I have two lamps that I got for my bridal shower with a beautiful black and white pattern. So I'm going to recover them (if I can find a temporary way to do that) to look like this:
What do you think? Too girly for a married bedroom?
I have two lamps that I got for my bridal shower with a beautiful black and white pattern. So I'm going to recover them (if I can find a temporary way to do that) to look like this:
What do you think? Too girly for a married bedroom?
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Ruffle Shower Curtain Craze!
Have you seen this awesome shower curtain from Anthro? Its all the rage on pinterest these days.
One of my students started describing a shower curtain that sounded a lot like this one, but from Bed Bath and Beyond. So I searched and sure enough here it is!
And of course if you're feeling crafty, you can always go with Elle Apparel's homemade version (+ you get to pick your own colors!)
Anthro: $118
Bed Bath and Beyond: $49.99
Elle Apparel: $20 + lots and lots of work!
Which would you choose?
One of my students started describing a shower curtain that sounded a lot like this one, but from Bed Bath and Beyond. So I searched and sure enough here it is!
And of course if you're feeling crafty, you can always go with Elle Apparel's homemade version (+ you get to pick your own colors!)
Anthro: $118
Bed Bath and Beyond: $49.99
Elle Apparel: $20 + lots and lots of work!
Which would you choose?
Friday, November 4, 2011
Let the Fun Begin!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Most of my projects are for this little cutey!
Started but need to finish:
- Embroidery art for Baby O's room (Writing a blog post about this!)
- Leg warmers for Baby O
- A drawstring bag
- A quilt
- Headband to match Baby O's Halloween tutu
- Fabric blocks for Baby O for Christmas (Good thing she doesn't read my blog!)
Bought the stuff but need to start:
- Christmas stockings
- PJ Pants (I have to make these as an example for my students, but I might as well make them a Christmas gift for someone. . . )
And then there are some projects that I did finish!
- My yoyo pillow
- A ruffle shirt for parent teacher conf (didn't finish in time though)
- Baby O's Halloween tutu
And when it comes to food. . . you don't even want to see that list! I made quinoa burgers last night and they were so yum.
Are you on Pinterest? What's the best thing you've been inspired to create?
Update: Since I wrote this post, I have finished the legwarmers. They knit up so fast and they are super fun. I'm probably going to make a zillion of them.
My little blogger in the making!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
What To Do With Orange
With all the fall lovin' I'm seeing around blogland, there is a lot of orange going on. But instead of doing a fall decor post (as I'm in the middle of a move) I decided to continue my color planning series by using orange!!
Complimentary: I know I showed you some orange and blue in this post, but I've found a couple more that I also love and want to share!
Aren't these colors gorgeous together!!
And I love how light and airy this room feels.
Analogous: Colors that are next to each other in the color wheel make for a very calm space. I like how this party decor uses yellows, oranges and pinks in pastel colors for a charming festive feeling.
Triad: A triad color scheme with orange would include green and purple. I couldn't find one that I really liked, but when you take the purple out I really love the orange and green together. To me, orange and green represent everything awesome about the '70s.
Accented Neutral: I love how cheerful this orange and cream room is!
Monochromatic: The clean lines and geometric shapes give this all orange space some variety. Love it!
Mmmm hmmmm. I'm lovin' me some orange over here.
Complimentary: I know I showed you some orange and blue in this post, but I've found a couple more that I also love and want to share!
Aren't these colors gorgeous together!!
And I love how light and airy this room feels.
Analogous: Colors that are next to each other in the color wheel make for a very calm space. I like how this party decor uses yellows, oranges and pinks in pastel colors for a charming festive feeling.
Triad: A triad color scheme with orange would include green and purple. I couldn't find one that I really liked, but when you take the purple out I really love the orange and green together. To me, orange and green represent everything awesome about the '70s.
Accented Neutral: I love how cheerful this orange and cream room is!
Monochromatic: The clean lines and geometric shapes give this all orange space some variety. Love it!
Mmmm hmmmm. I'm lovin' me some orange over here.
Other colors in the color planning series:
Friday, October 14, 2011
Apartment Living: Black and White Bathroom
On Wednesday I shared some art that I made for my black and white bathroom. And since my bathroom is the only room in my apartment that I would consider "finished" I thought I would share with you what I love and what I would do if it wasn't an apartment and I could really change things around!
This is the picture I got from Tai Pan that inspired it all:
I'll be honest, I just put those Q-tips on the toilet for this picture. Aaaaaaaand, now I wish I hadn't. They aren't to scale.
This is the view from the door. The shower curtain and the rings are from Bed Bath and Beyond, I think. I got it three years ago, so I kind of forget.
Here is a view of the shower rings up close. I love them, so simple and geometric.
Although its not super original or amazing, this shower rug is so squishy and soft and its like the best part of the day for my feet! We got it for our wedding from our Target registry.
This rug, however, is just beautiful. Unfortunately this is the best picture I could capture. The other one I got looks like gray spaghetti! Ew. I got this rug at TJ Maxx when I was engaged. I didn't need it in my bathroom then, but I had the foresight to get it anyway. So glad I did.
You have to really love this rug if you're going to have it in a bathroom because cleaning it is NOT fun. First you (YOU? Who am I kidding. No one would do this but me) have to shake it. Then I go over it three times with a lint roller. And there is STILL blonde hair stuck in the shag. So I sit and remove any hairs I can see. Oh the joys of blonde hair + black shag rug.
When my husband quit his job at IKEA (the day I bought the frames was his last day working in the self serve area with customers. He continued to work logistics early in the morning before the store was open for a few more years) we went on a shopping spree to take advantage of his discount. And part of that, maybe the most boring part, was buying this clock. Its nice, don't get me wrong, but its nothing special.
I really wanted a clock from Target, but they were all damaged. Whoever designed that packaging. . .
AND lastly, here is a picture of my sink. Its very empty. It has to be! Can you see how very little counter space we have? Usually it has makeup and hair spray and curling irons all over it. I cleaned up for you.
Okay there is so much I don't like about it. Obviously the floors, counter and cabinets don't really go with the look, but in an apartment you can't change those things!
Some things I want to do when I own my house:
Or this:
2. Install some cool towel hooks, instead of a towel rack. Can you imagine these towel hooks made with wood blocks painted a glossy black and white stones? Oh man, I can't wait to make these!!
I could go on and on and on. . . I already have! So I'll wrap it up there. Which room in your house is your "most finished room"?
This is the picture I got from Tai Pan that inspired it all:
This is the view from the door. The shower curtain and the rings are from Bed Bath and Beyond, I think. I got it three years ago, so I kind of forget.
Here is a view of the shower rings up close. I love them, so simple and geometric.
Although its not super original or amazing, this shower rug is so squishy and soft and its like the best part of the day for my feet! We got it for our wedding from our Target registry.
This rug, however, is just beautiful. Unfortunately this is the best picture I could capture. The other one I got looks like gray spaghetti! Ew. I got this rug at TJ Maxx when I was engaged. I didn't need it in my bathroom then, but I had the foresight to get it anyway. So glad I did.
When my husband quit his job at IKEA (the day I bought the frames was his last day working in the self serve area with customers. He continued to work logistics early in the morning before the store was open for a few more years) we went on a shopping spree to take advantage of his discount. And part of that, maybe the most boring part, was buying this clock. Its nice, don't get me wrong, but its nothing special.
AND lastly, here is a picture of my sink. Its very empty. It has to be! Can you see how very little counter space we have? Usually it has makeup and hair spray and curling irons all over it. I cleaned up for you.
Okay there is so much I don't like about it. Obviously the floors, counter and cabinets don't really go with the look, but in an apartment you can't change those things!
Some things I want to do when I own my house:
- Replace the standard mirror with something like this:
Or this:
2. Install some cool towel hooks, instead of a towel rack. Can you imagine these towel hooks made with wood blocks painted a glossy black and white stones? Oh man, I can't wait to make these!!
I could go on and on and on. . . I already have! So I'll wrap it up there. Which room in your house is your "most finished room"?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
What to Frame?
I once liked this guy who worked at IKEA. On his last day I "just so happened" to need some new frames. I bought two, but later went back and bought a third. Most decorations are better in threes. I planned to hang them in my bathroom in a vertical line. There was only one problem: What to put in them! I had a black and white bathroom (still do) and my frames were black. I looked for a long time for some black and white prints, but the frames were square and square prints are hard to come by. One day when I had some free time I decided it was time to get something in them and get them on the wall. So I just went to JoAnn and picked out some scrapbook paper. What do you think?
Plain black with a snake skin texture.
This frame seems to have a little steam damage. That's the hazard with bathroom decor.
They used to be displayed in a vertical line, but in this apartment the best configuration is in a horizontal line.
I wonder if the guy I went to IKEA to see that day ever thought he would have those picture frames in his own bathroom someday? :) Probably not.
Here are some other non-traditional materials you can frame:
Can you think of anything else fun to frame?
Plain black with a snake skin texture.
This frame seems to have a little steam damage. That's the hazard with bathroom decor.
They used to be displayed in a vertical line, but in this apartment the best configuration is in a horizontal line.
I wonder if the guy I went to IKEA to see that day ever thought he would have those picture frames in his own bathroom someday? :) Probably not.
Here are some other non-traditional materials you can frame:
- Fabric
- Newsprint (imagine a shape, like heart, out of newsprint backed with white or black paper. I'm going to have to remember that one for later!) (update: Today when I was talking about this idea with my design class, a student pointed out that newsprint will yellow over time. I'll be honest, I kind of think that's cool, but if you're not down, you could always use pages from an old dictionary. They should be treated to keep their color a little better.)
- Wrapping paper
- Postcards
Can you think of anything else fun to frame?
Monday, October 10, 2011
What To Do With Yellow
Is yellow your color? Do you want to incorporate it with out causing blindness? Yellow can be bright and cheerful, but it can also be unsettling if used in large amounts. Here are some rooms/color combinations that use yellow. Love it.
Direct Complimentary: This color combo uses two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel. In this case its yellow and purple. When you have opposites it really highlights the differences between the two colors, so this room really allows the colors to pop. Also, because they're opposites, purple helps balance the irritation that yellow in large amounts can create.
Analogous: This color combo consists of 3-5 colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Its like using a section of the rainbow and it is a really smooth color scheme because the colors kind of flow from one to another. Very peaceful.
This room uses yellow, orange and red:
This room uses yellow, green and blue:
Monochromatic: Using too much yellow can be unsettling. So you have to be careful with monochromatic, because all that yellow can be overwhelming. That is why I love this bathroom/shower curtain by Elle Apparel. It uses a lot of whites, creams and light yellows as well as the more bold and darker yellows. This keeps the yellow from hurting your eyes and taking over the space.
Accented Neutral: This is almost always my favorite color combo. When you have a neutral space, you can use pops of color to add interest and then if you want a change, you can easily switch out pillows and art in a different accent color and you have a whole new space. A really hot color trend right now is yellow and gray and I just love the way its used in this room.
What do you think about yellow? Which combo is your favorite? Happy Monday!!
Direct Complimentary: This color combo uses two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel. In this case its yellow and purple. When you have opposites it really highlights the differences between the two colors, so this room really allows the colors to pop. Also, because they're opposites, purple helps balance the irritation that yellow in large amounts can create.
Analogous: This color combo consists of 3-5 colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Its like using a section of the rainbow and it is a really smooth color scheme because the colors kind of flow from one to another. Very peaceful.
This room uses yellow, orange and red:
This room uses yellow, green and blue:
Monochromatic: Using too much yellow can be unsettling. So you have to be careful with monochromatic, because all that yellow can be overwhelming. That is why I love this bathroom/shower curtain by Elle Apparel. It uses a lot of whites, creams and light yellows as well as the more bold and darker yellows. This keeps the yellow from hurting your eyes and taking over the space.
Accented Neutral: This is almost always my favorite color combo. When you have a neutral space, you can use pops of color to add interest and then if you want a change, you can easily switch out pillows and art in a different accent color and you have a whole new space. A really hot color trend right now is yellow and gray and I just love the way its used in this room.
What do you think about yellow? Which combo is your favorite? Happy Monday!!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Easy Fabric Art
(I apologize for the lack of picture to illustrate the steps of this project, I did it a long time ago and didn't have the foresight to document it!)
My bedroom colors are white, gray and a hint of light pink (so far the only actual pink is from my super awesome pillow)
Anyway, when one is presented with a large white wall and a limited budget, its time to get creative!
IKEA used to carry these awesome wood frames, which I have yet to find again, but no worries! I found canvas stretcher bars at Hobby Lobby and I'm sure other art stores carry them as well. The upside of these stretcher bars is more flexibility for size and shape, as you buy each side individually and they are very easy to assemble. But the frames I bought from IKEA were about 20" x 20", which was a bit small for my space so I bought four to group together. (If you had a longer space, say above a couch, three in a row would be really rad.)
Then you select a fabric to wrap around the frames. Its best to chose a print that is large to fit the scale of the space. I decided to chose a gray fabric with a large white flower for three of the frames and a white with small gray flowers for the fourth (even though this is a small print, the flowers are grouped together read like a larger print).
When wrapping the frames in fabric its important to work with all four sides at once, from the inside out. I used a hammer and nails but when my students did this project, they used a staple gun, which they preferred. Begin by stapling the center of the top of your fabric to the center of the top of your frame. Second staple the center of the bottom of your fabric to the center of the bottom of the frame, pulling very tight. Repeat on the right and left sides. Then continue to staple, moving out from the center and pulling tight as you rotate between stapling all four sides. IKEA totally gets how a picture is worth a thousand words and so I'm going to put a picture of the instructions that came with these niffty frames, because hopefully my rambling and these pics together will be easier to understand.
And now for the finished product:
I absolutely love these art pieces and I can't believe how affordable they were. Def a DIY that looks super professional.
My bedroom colors are white, gray and a hint of light pink (so far the only actual pink is from my super awesome pillow)
Anyway, when one is presented with a large white wall and a limited budget, its time to get creative!
IKEA used to carry these awesome wood frames, which I have yet to find again, but no worries! I found canvas stretcher bars at Hobby Lobby and I'm sure other art stores carry them as well. The upside of these stretcher bars is more flexibility for size and shape, as you buy each side individually and they are very easy to assemble. But the frames I bought from IKEA were about 20" x 20", which was a bit small for my space so I bought four to group together. (If you had a longer space, say above a couch, three in a row would be really rad.)
Then you select a fabric to wrap around the frames. Its best to chose a print that is large to fit the scale of the space. I decided to chose a gray fabric with a large white flower for three of the frames and a white with small gray flowers for the fourth (even though this is a small print, the flowers are grouped together read like a larger print).
When wrapping the frames in fabric its important to work with all four sides at once, from the inside out. I used a hammer and nails but when my students did this project, they used a staple gun, which they preferred. Begin by stapling the center of the top of your fabric to the center of the top of your frame. Second staple the center of the bottom of your fabric to the center of the bottom of the frame, pulling very tight. Repeat on the right and left sides. Then continue to staple, moving out from the center and pulling tight as you rotate between stapling all four sides. IKEA totally gets how a picture is worth a thousand words and so I'm going to put a picture of the instructions that came with these niffty frames, because hopefully my rambling and these pics together will be easier to understand.
And now for the finished product:
I absolutely love these art pieces and I can't believe how affordable they were. Def a DIY that looks super professional.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Logo!
Last December when I was preggo with Baby O, I team taught a class to interior design teachers from around Utah. Two awesome things happened that day: Fred, the construction teacher, was super nice and said all these great things about me (My students have designed two houses that Fred has built. Pictures? Unfortunately not.) The second thing was when my team teacher showed a lesson she does with her advanced class. She has them create a logo and they use that logo to label all of their assignments through out the year. And I was like, DUH. Such an awesome idea. Because I'm always looking for ways to make my class more commercial and less high school. And I actually thought, "I want to be a stay at home mom!! But I also want to teach one more year so I can have my students do this assignment!" I didn't have a choice, I had to work, so you better believe I took the chance to have my students do the logo assignment!!! I started by showing them my logo and it just reminded me how much I LOVE IT! It was designed by a friend of a friend, Caley Park. I've loved reading her blog and I'm learning so much from her! You can see my blog header, which is her design. And here are the blog button and facebook page versions, that I will use if I ever get to that point!
So we had a great time today designing logos and coming up with fun names for our design companies. My fav: Kick Ash Design (Her name is Ashlee! So cute!) When they're done, I'll post some of my favorites (with permission, of course!) I miss my girl (who had her first day at daycare and had a great time! Of course she was sleeping every time I came to check on her!) but if I have to work, this job rocks!
So we had a great time today designing logos and coming up with fun names for our design companies. My fav: Kick Ash Design (Her name is Ashlee! So cute!) When they're done, I'll post some of my favorites (with permission, of course!) I miss my girl (who had her first day at daycare and had a great time! Of course she was sleeping every time I came to check on her!) but if I have to work, this job rocks!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Pretty Yo Yo Pillow
Inspiration is a funny thing. Sometimes it can be hard to trace, but this one I remember. I was reading a blog about Christmas decorations and it made me so excited for fall and Christmas so I was googling other decorations and I came across some yo yos made with Christmas fabric. Maybe everyone else knows what yo yos are, but I didn't. So a little more googling and I learned how to make them and then I thought how cute they would be to make a throw pillow for my bedroom! So here is my craft project! I don't have a step by step tutorial, but I do have a few tips if you want to attempt it on your own.
1. I learned how to make yo yos by following these instructions.
2. I used felt for my pillow case.
3. I bought an old pillow from a thrift shop, because it was much cheaper than a pillow form (only $1)
4. I used a 4" circle for my yo yos and I made as many as I could with a 1/4 yard of each color of fabric. Then I played with different arrangements on my pillows.
5. I sewed the yo yos together before attaching them onto the pillow case.
6. I sewed my pillow case together before attaching the yo yos. It made it super hard/impossible to sew them on, so I used hot glue instead. Kinda bummed about that.
7. One of my pillows wasn't a pillow form, but stuffed with fistfuls of crappy polyfill, so once I took the cover off of it, it wasn't really useable. So I don't have a picture of that pillow yet. I'm going to have to figure something out for that one because its not a traditional size.
Here is the before picture of my pillow from the thrift store:
And this is my after picture! I love this pillow SO much! Hopefully my lame photography skills convey just how cute it really turned out.
What have you been inspired by lately?
1. I learned how to make yo yos by following these instructions.
2. I used felt for my pillow case.
3. I bought an old pillow from a thrift shop, because it was much cheaper than a pillow form (only $1)
4. I used a 4" circle for my yo yos and I made as many as I could with a 1/4 yard of each color of fabric. Then I played with different arrangements on my pillows.
5. I sewed the yo yos together before attaching them onto the pillow case.
6. I sewed my pillow case together before attaching the yo yos. It made it super hard/impossible to sew them on, so I used hot glue instead. Kinda bummed about that.
7. One of my pillows wasn't a pillow form, but stuffed with fistfuls of crappy polyfill, so once I took the cover off of it, it wasn't really useable. So I don't have a picture of that pillow yet. I'm going to have to figure something out for that one because its not a traditional size.
Here is the before picture of my pillow from the thrift store:
And this is my after picture! I love this pillow SO much! Hopefully my lame photography skills convey just how cute it really turned out.
What have you been inspired by lately?
Friday, August 19, 2011
Olivia's Room
When I found out I was pregnant with Baby O, we had a month left on our 1 bedroom apt lease. I figured if we renewed it for 9 months, we would only have to have three people in one room for a month or two. Well, O is about to be 5 months and we're still there! So for now she sleeps in a mini crib (shown in brown, but ours is white. The white on white made it so hard to see!) in our walk in closet.
Its been hard to read other bloggers who posted beautiful pictures of their baby's nurseries. None of her bedding matches, because I don't have real bedding for her small crib. And this is her mobile, which she loves, but doesn't go with any particular theme I have in mind.
And so, I present to you: Olivia's Dream Bedroom! (Except, for now, the dream is mine.) Hopefully I'll get to put this together when we move into a place with more than one bedroom. It better be soon, because she won't fit in her mini crib much longer!!
This picture is the inspiration for the colors I want to use. The blue is slightly different than my baby bedding, but I want to compliment it with yellows and pinks.
This is the bedding I have still in the packaging. Its designed by my sister-in-law, Annalisa Thomas. She has a lot of beautiful designs on her website. I obviously loved the one I picked, but her sticks or modern berries designs are probably the most popular.
I don't have the light fixture, but I do have the largest one of these pillows.
The next three items I would make using the same papers so that they would coordinate.
This paper balloon garland idea I got from an origami website. I love it! Not sure if I would use Christmas lights or if I would just string them up. The lights might be a nice night light. . .
I love these art blocks using 12"x12" scrapbook paper.
I love the modern look of this DIY mobile.
These are the colors of paper I want to use in creating the paper balloon decoration, the art blocks and the mobile.
To avoid this becoming too over the top primary colors, I would use mostly yellows and blues with just a touch of the pink.
And one final art piece I would like to create for the space. It would be fun to hang this linen piece above the changing table, since there is no danger of it falling and hurting my girl. I'm going to make it with blue, yellow and maybe a little bit of pink.
I also have a regular crib and changing table in a light wood color, but I'm going to paint them white. Ah! I'm so excited!
What room would make over if you could?
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