Pinterest

Most of my  projects are for this little cutey!

I always hear bloggers and twitterers (?) and facebookers saying how much they love pinterest but they wish they spent more time doing instead of just pinning.  I.  Do.  Not.  Have that problem.  I need to stop starting new projects!  In any case, here is a list of projects I have going.  Not all of them can be blamed on pinterest, but even if I came up with the idea myself, pinterest always gets the creativity flowing, ya know?

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!

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!!

Source: dana-made-it.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

And I love how light and airy this room feels. 

Source: splendidminta.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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.

Source: marthastewart.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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.

(via)

Accented Neutral:  I love how cheerful this orange and cream room is!

Source: None via Kimberly on Pinterest

Monochromatic:  The clean lines and geometric shapes give this all orange space some variety.  Love it!

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Mmmm hmmmm.  I'm lovin' me some orange over here.

Other colors in the color planning series:

blue 

yellow

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:

1. Replace the standard mirror with something like this:

Source: target.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: target.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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!!

Source: thisnext.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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"?

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:

• 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?

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. 

Source: staceysheppard.wordpress.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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:

Source: interior-design-tutor.net via Kimberly on Pinterest

This room uses yellow, green and blue:

Source: besthomedesigns.org via Kimberly on Pinterest

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.

Source: elleapparel.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest 

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.  

Source: google.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

What do you think about yellow?  Which combo is your favorite?  Happy Monday!!