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!!

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.

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!

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?

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.

Source: nattybydesign.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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.

Source: oilostudio.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I don't have the light fixture, but I do have the largest one of these pillows.

Source: oilostudio.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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. . .

Source: origami-instructions.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I love these art blocks using 12"x12" scrapbook paper.

Source: jensidea.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I love the modern look of this DIY mobile.

Source: e-tells-tales.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

These are the colors of paper I want to use in creating the paper balloon decoration, the art blocks and the mobile.

Source: google.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Source: joann.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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.

Source: decor8blog.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

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?

How to Clean Your House 10 Minutes at a Time

(Not really a design post, but what's the point of having beautiful interiors if you don't have time/desire to keep them clean! I know that's a problem for me every now and then.)

I wrote a to-do list this morning, and an hour into Baby O's morning nap I realized I was not going to accomplish it at this rate. I was working on my list items during commercial breaks and I was reading blogs during the show (I don't even know what was ON!)

So, knowing naps never last as long as either one of us needs, I went to my messy kitchen. And then magic happened. I thought, "I bet I could clean this in 10 minutes." And I set the microwave timer just like my parents did when we were kids and had to finish our dish job. Only this time it wasn't to scare me, but inspire me. In 10 minutes I would be free of this chore. When the timer went off, it was not perfect, but I decided to move on to the next task anyway.

I spent 10 minutes on the laundry. First, putting a new load in, and then folding Baby O's clothes that were in the dryer. When the timer went off I left the few items unfolded and went to feed O, because that was as far as I got before she woke up.

Later that day I did 10 minutes of cleaning the dining room, 10 minutes of cleaning the bathroom, 10 minutes of cleaning the Living Room and 10 minutes of finishing all the little bits I didn't have time to finish in 10 minutes. :) Working on one thing as quickly as I could for 10 minutes kept me focused and up beat.

And in between those 10 minute spurts of work, I got to play with my cute little girl. Give it a try and see if it works for you!

(picture)

What To Do With Blue

Here are some ways to incorporate blue into a room:

Direct Complimentary: means using opposite colors on the color wheel. Orange and blue are opposite and they make for a very lively color scheme. In this picture blue is the main color with coral accents, which is key when using complimentary colors. Being opposites they can fight with each other if you use them in equal amounts.

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Analogous: means three to five colors next to each other on the color wheel. This picture made of blues, blue-green and greens isn't a whole room, but I am so inspired by the colors!

Source: decor8blog.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Triad: uses three colors equally spaced on the color wheel. That usually means you're looking at red, yellow and blue OR orange, purple and green. I love this example of a triad because it doesn't look like a kids bedroom and the red (actually pink) is such a small detail it doesn't scream at you. Once again, the blue takes the show with support from the yellow and blip of pink.

Source: nattybydesign.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Monochromatic: means using the tints (added white) and shades (added black) of one color. In this case its blue. I love the way this room was done with navys and sky blues. It helps a lot to have variations in color values to help with the monotony of using one color. Also with monochromatic, you can add variety with texture or pattern, like they did with the couch pillows, the rug and the curtains.

Source: seethespark.org via Kimberly on Pinterest

Accented Neutral: This scheme is probably my favorite color scheme in both interiors and fashion. Neutral colors are easy to live with and the small pop of color gives them just enough interest. The difference between mono and accented neutral is with a monochromatic you use quite a bit of the main color and little, if any, neutrals. With accent neutral its all neutral with just a touch of the accent color. This room is mostly white and browns with a blue back splash and blue chair cushions. So calm and peaceful!!

Source: go4kitchen.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

So lastly here is a picture of my baby stuff, all blue. I can not wait for Baby O to have her own room (right now, she shares a room with our clothes. Some people call it a closet, but whatevs) so I can add some more colors to this.

Source: oilostudio.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

So what would you add to it? Should I go triad with some yellows and pinks, or direct compliment with some fun oranges?

Magnet Board Tutorial

So I used to be big into crafts as a kid, but one day after finishing a cross stitch I realized it looked exactly like the picture on the package. Where was the creativity? I had basically completed a glorified coloring book, AND I didn't even pick the colors myself. So I wrote off crafting. BUT lately I've realized there are a LOT of crafts you can do that allow creativity to shine through, and this was one of them. I prefer to call my creations "custom home decor", it feels a little more upscale :)

A few days ago I wrote this post about needing some ideas for some fabric I purchase with no project in mind. Caley suggested I frame it, which I am actually looking for a cute fabric/print to frame in my bedroom, but this fabric doesn't match my gray/white/pink color scheme I have going. My friend Liz suggested an ottoman cushion and I loved that idea. She also suggested a magnet board, which at first I didn't think much of, but just to fully understand I looked up some magnet board and then. . . INSPIRATION! I decided to make a magnet board for my sister serving an LDS Mission. I knew this fabric was her style, but I wasn't feeling a skirt out of it. AND her birthday is today and I had no idea what to get her. I thought this would be perfect! She could hang it up in her apt. with one small pin and have a place to hang lots of pictures from home. So here is what I did:

1. I went to Lowe's and bought a piece of sheet metal. The piece I bought was 6" x 18" and there was a variety of sizes to chose from. The helpful worker told me to make sure I didn't get aluminum as it is NOT magnetic. So I got steel. Be careful, the edges are pretty sharp. One piece was a little under $5. (Much more reasonable than the piece I found at Hobby Lobby that was bigger, more flimsy and cost $9)


2. From Hobby Lobby I bought magnets and some tiles to glue onto the magnets.
3. I started by making the back of the project because once I started the front I wouldn't be able to use my metal as pressing guide. First iron two of the four sides and then place the sheet metal so it hangs off the edge a little less than 1/4". (This way, the back piece will be a little smaller than the metal and wont hang over the edge) Using the sheet metal as a guide, press the other two sides.
4. Once all four sides are pressed, you're going to want to miter the corners, by opening them up and folding the extra fabric down. (Does that not make sense? Hopefully the picture will help. If not, google it.) Then fold the edges back down on the pressing lines. This just makes your edges look nice and smooth.

So now the back is finished and you can see how its a little smaller than the piece of sheet metal.
5. Now you get to glue the front piece of fabric on! Glue one of the short sides first (I don't have pics because I was working alone and you have to work fast with hot glue) and then glue the other short side, pulling the fabric nice and tight. Then start from the middle of the long side and then pull the other side tight. Work back and forth from side to side, pulling the fabric tight as you glue. Then trim off as much extra fabric as you can.


6. Glue on cord or ribbon or rick rack, what ever you want to hang it by and then glue the back on top.

7. Here's the money shot (and of course its the worst looking one of all). I wanted to show how it would look with a picture on it and my baby was just waking up from her nap (I did this whole project during one 45 minute nap!) and so I just grabbed a similac coupon off the fridge! But you get the idea.

So excited to give this to my sister!!

I need some ideas!

When I worked at JoAnn Fabrics in Orem, I vowed that I would never be one of those women who bought yards and yards and YARDS of fabric with out a project in mind! I worked with a woman who had a two bedroom apt. One room for her, one for her FABRIC. However, when I saw this fabric while shopping with my mom and sister, I could not help myself. It just reminded me of the 70's and I love all things retro! I'm pretty sure this doesn't go with any thing in my house and so I have two yards of this fabric and no project! Okay so its not quite a room full of fabric yet, but I just need to be cautious not to start spending money on fabric I don't need! :)


So any one have any great ideas? If you love it and it would work in your space, let me know! Maybe I'll surprise you with an accessory! Its a little more chartreuse in real life, this pic looks a little olive to me. You know you love it! How would it look best?