Stuff I Love

Just things that I think are beautiful!

Happy Haunting

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Just dropping in for a sec to wish you a Happy Boo Day! It’s few days early, but my Halloween starts tomorrow with a Halloween luncheon with my girls, Siri’s first Kindergarten Halloween Parade, and of course, trick-or-treating on the 31st. Plus, if you haven’t checked out my studio site recently, I’ve done a couple of updates! If you need a peek at some of the Love Nest papers, go here. I’ve had people tell me they were able to find the paper pad at Hobby Lobby and a couple of people tell me that it was already sold out! So be sure and drop by there if you want to snag it! Happy Haunting!

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Dress Design for Shabby Apple dresses

I saw this contest and as I’ve started designing for our first fabric photo shoot, I decided, “What the hey!?” So here’s my entry to the Shabby Apple Dress Contest.

Boooonnnuusss (That is me singing it. Unfortunately you can’t get the full effect via blog.): I’m using fabrics from my new line CoquetteTM for Northcott. It hasn’t hit shops yet so this is a first peek at 3 of the fabrics in the line. This simple-straightforward dress is 50s retro meets modern girl. A little bit of June Cleaver (a flirty flowing skirt). A little bit contemporary (the chic, updated snug “on-the-neck” collar). A whole lot of feminine (an empire waistline and little puffed sleeves with piping)! It’s simple, sweet, and oh so preppy to be sure.

I can see myself racing around on errands or picking up the kids at school in this little sweet thing or just hanging around the house. Throw on a cardigan and take it to work! I’m showcasing 3 different color/fabric ideas here and I’d love to see which you like best. I have my favorite but it’s a secret! Even if these don’t make the contest, there’s a good chance you’ll see these come Coquette’sTM release. Enjoy!

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Have a favorite? Tell me!

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Spider’s Web Papers – Batty Wreath

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IMG_7715_smHalloween is just a week away and I finally have finished my Spider’s Web Bat Wreath. I used my paper version (produced by My Mind’s Eye), but you can also pick it up digitally. I picked up this wreath from Michaels. These twig wreaths are relatively inexpensive ($4, I believe). I then had my silhouette machine cut out these bats for me. I few hot glue gun sticks later, and I was in business!

My kids are going to be a witch and a pumpkin this year (if I can convince her). We are in a new neighborhood, and I excited for the kids to trick-or-treat in this super kid-friendly street.

Hope you have a happy halloween!!!!!

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Love Nest at Hobby Lobby – Glitter Happy!

lovenestIt’s glittery and oh, so pretty! My darling Love Nest Glitter Pad that you can grab exclusively at Hobby Lobby! This is my first glitter pad and I am so excited about all the projects I have waiting for me! There are 18 patterns and 54 papers in all! You can also grab the digital versions of Love Nest (for all you digital scrapbookers!!!) in the Sweetheart, Love Nest, and Love Nest 2 Paper Sets (although some designs have been changed for print). You like this in paper? I’m going to let you in on a little secret…I’m currently getting love nest ready for FABRIC! Northcott will be producing the line (which takes a year to manufacture so this is very early news indeed), but I wanted you to look forward to this happy little line that I will certainly be making lots of little girl’s goodies out of!

lovenest2Oh, and I haven’t forgotten about Halloween. In fact, I already finished my batty wreath using Spiders web…just need to get around to taking a picture of it! Spider’s Web can be picked up in digital or paper.

Love the Spider’s Web line? Be sure and check out the My Mind’s Eye Blog! They’ve added some of the most adorable projects on that site using the line including some scrap-happy layouts and a haunted house fold out album! It’s all so very yummy!

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A Happy Find – Lonny Magazine

Picture 11A very happy and accidental stumble as I searched for a few new things for my home…I ran into this FABULOUS magazine that is completely DIGITAL! It’s a fantastic mix of Blueprint and Domino (both of which I still sorely miss!). They even do a nice little feature on Deborah Needleman who was the former editor-and-chief of Domino. Lonny has tons of great ideas for your home and (my favorite part) if you like something, you simply click on it and it takes you to the site. Talk about shopping easy! I was clicking away because I’ve been looking for….well, too many things to list here.

Happy shopping for me!

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I am…

IMG_7425…getting settled in my new house.

…loving my new dark wood floors.

…finishing up love nest for fabric (BTW, you can now find love nest in a glitter pad at Hobby Lobby!).

…admiring the awesome new Halloween projects on My Mind’s Eye blog.

…finally ordering myself the Cirrus flatware set that I supposedly got for Mother’s Day.

…loving that the holiday season has commenced (new digi stuff for the holidays from me here).

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The Digital Scrapbooking Experience

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DSC_0030Finally! After a crazy two days I have a chance to write about DSE! Thursday afternoon I taught an Illustrator class  at the Digital Scrapbooking Experience in Provo, Utah. Jen Allyson flew in from San Francisco to help me out.

I had a WONDERFUL time with the students! After teaching 5 years of college, I had completely forgotten how wonderful it was teach students who are eager to learn (and everyone in my class was!). Thank you ladies + Gary for participating in my class! I’m glad I did it because it opened my eyes to what people can do with a little bit of education on the programs. I’m constantly asked about becoming a designers and I may have just had my eyes opened to some new possibilities for these people. I’ll let you know on the developments.

I also hosted a table with a cute little flower make-and-take, candy, and my papers from My Minds Eye (and if you haven’t figured it out yet, papers that get printed can also be bought DIGITALLY from me). Jennifer Allyson and Garden DSC_0056Girl Gennifer Bursett both helped me. In fact, I probably owe Ms. Gennifer since I managed to forget my camera and I all these photos are hers! I showed off my digital book that was printed from My Pic Tales and Silhouette Machine, which made all my make-and-takes (and I couldn’t live without at this point!).

You can make our make and takes too! All you need to do is go to the Paper Flower Wreath post and download the pdf. The flower shape we used can be used as a pattern and hand cut out, or I also provide .gsd files for you to use on your own silhouette. Here’s DSC_0031photos of Jen and Gen sporting the barrette version you could make. We also had laundry clips and pipe cleaner for attaching to badges or making wristlets. The papers we used for the table all came from my Paris and Co. and Bella Bella Paper Pads that can be bought exclusively at ACMoore.

Some of my favorite moments at DSE? I loved meeting the other instructors (I was so happy to see Crystal Wilkerson there!), I throughly enjoyed Jessica Sprague’s Keynote address, and (my most favorite moment of all) when one of my students (of whom I will refer to as the “Atlanta Gelato Queen”) slipped a chocolate gelato onto a box I was carrying out.

DSC_0055Thanks for all the fun everyone! I could only go to one day of DSE (sorry everyone! I just couldn’t get up there yesterday and today is packed!) because we closed on our house yesterday! Yippeee!!!!!! And now, the work begins…or might I say, the true Project Mania begins! September might end (and I have a few projects yet to finish up!) but in October I’ll be posting all my house fix ups.

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ABC Book Project-Early Project Mania

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img_6708_sm1It’s the season of change. I’ve been feeling it more and more as my oldest child heads to kindergarten. It seems even more imperative to capture these fleeting moments, and what better way than with an ABC photo book of my little darlings. It seems appropriate considering the time of year.

I like homemade ABC books because they are so personal. They capture a moment in time, and my children adore looking at themselves in a little hand-held book that seems made just for them. It also can be a valuable learning tool.

img_6742_sm1For this little project, I tried to accomplish two things. First, I wanted a new ABC book that included Felicity, my youngest daughter (I made one for Siri when she was a toddler). Second, I wanted to give Siri a tool to learn new words as she learns to read. I also wanted it to be fun, so the girls and I went on an “alphabet scavenger hunt” to gather the items we photographed.

img_6745_smThis hybrid project uses my ABC templates, which are 4” x 6” templates that you drop right on top of your photo, My Mind’s Eye’s Penny Lane Papers, and pink stamp ink, which I rubbed along the edges. The final book is 5” x 6.5” (that’s the size I cut the papers I mounted the photos on). I got the whole thing spiral bound at Office Max.

ABC books can be used for more than just learning the alphabet…try these fun ideas!
•    Capture a vacation using the alphabet. Not only will it be fun to figure out things to photograph using the alphabet, but the book will be fun to look at when you are finished!
•    Capture a child or family’s year using the ABC’s. It’s a great way to get a snapshot of your year!
•    Use the book as an opportunity to capture things that you love in your home. I made sure to include “red blankey” for Siri and “white blanky” for Felicity because these are their lovies. When do we ever take the time to capture these meaningful everyday items? In 10 or 20 years, long after those blankets are in rags, I know my children will be happy to have these photos.

A couple of helpful hints when taking photos for this project:
•    If you are taking pictures of your kids, a second adult is really helpful because one person can hand the items to the kids and one can photograph.
•    Remember you need lots of foreground/background…aka…empty space to fit your words and letters!
•    Take photos all with the same background for a cohesive look. I used a brick wall in front of my house. If doing a vacation book, you won’t necessarily want to do this so you can capture all parts of your vacation.
•    A mix of closeups and full shots make the book more dynamic and interesting.
•    Laminating your book makes it more durable for little hands.

Want to buy the template I used for this ABC Book? Go here:

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/digital-kits/carina-gardner/_abc_book_/

To see the entire ABC book I made, visit my flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/carinagardner/sets/72157612650193775/

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Want to see more Project Mania projects from me or anyone on the blog hop? Or want to join the blog hop? Go here.

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Project Mania…An entire month of projects!

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img_6708_smWe’re getting started a bit early here (Project Mania officially starts on September 1st!), but I wanted to make sure that everyone has a chance to participate! I’m giving everyone a head start here so that if you have any big projects that need starting or need to clear out your schedule to make way for some great projects in September, you have the time to!

This is a BLOG HOP! Here on my blog, I’ll be posting a plethora of new projects, tutorials, and free downloads to help inspire you. If YOU have been working on some things and want to share OR if you’ve needed a kick start, this is it! Time to get your hands dirty and get going! We all want to see what you’ve done! Whether it is scrapbooking related, sewing, home decor, home organization, crafts…if you’ve been meaning to do it, let’s get it done this September and post it on our blogs! You’ll definitely see plenty from me on these fronts all September.

So you think you want to share what you’re going to be doing September 2009? We’re starting a list right here! First thing you need to do is grab this html code and the little banner to put on your blog. It will relocate you back to this post for the most up-to-date list on blogs/websites participating in Project Mania.


<a href=”https://carinagardner.com/2009/08/06/project-mania/” target=”_blank”><img class=”alignnone” src=”http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee297/diginirvana/projectmania1.jpg” alt=”” width=”200″ height=”150″ /></a>

Next, you need to send me the name of your blog and the link you want it to go to so that we can all drop by and see what kinds of things you are getting into! Send it to carina@diginirvana.com.

Here’s the list of everyone participating! Go visit and see what these Project Maniacs are up to!

Carina Gardner Studio (Me)

The Project Girl

Mean Mom Digital Productions

Brought to You By The Letter B

live laugh LOVE scrapbook

Life’s Little Moments

Naomi’s Space

Sophia’s World

My Creative Space

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Bright Eyes

Yesterday during lunch, Josh had his computer on the kitchen table and Siri was singing, “I Need a Hero.” She only knows the song because of Shrek so that got us wondering who sang the original (which I love). Turns out it is Bonnie Tyler. We were both surprised and Josh brought up the YouTube Video. So, of course, I decided we needed to check out the Total Eclipse of the Heart Music Video too. It’s one of my favorite songs and has now led to this post which is now a “Where’s Waldo” of the Total Eclipse Music Video.

Read my list to get a very important and completely RELEVANT visual list. I think I said “WHAT?!!???!!!” every five seconds while we watched this video. My favorite moment? When several swimmers get splashed with water from the side. Very relevant to the song, of course.

Warning: The is not an all inclusive list of the horror flick you are about to watch!

Here’s the play by play: Cue the music candles, romantic wind blowing sheer curtain, moon, and then…possessed man with the “bright eyes,” school boys (which oddly enough are shown when she says “dream of something wild), swimmers with water splashing on them, dancing ninjas, fencing, dancing rockers, football players, flipping gymnast, a porn moment, possessed satanic choir, ballet cavemen, a winged cherub molesting Bonnie Tyler, and last but not least, an EXTREMELY creepy guy (also possessed) that shakes hands with Bonnie Tyler.

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Caterpillar Project

buttoncaterpillar Siri and I made a caterpillar from our button jar yesterday and I thought I’d share it. It’s a fairly easy project although it tends to break in little hands (we had a “re-glue” situation a couple of times). Basically, you just need to make 5 sections of 7 buttons each. THe 5 buttons need to be 1 big, 2 semi-big, 2 medium, and 2 small. We used hot glue to put the buttons together. We also alternated colors (3 pink sections and 2 blue sections). We added a pearl button for the nose and 2 pink pins for antenna. All and all an easy project! Siri loved putting it together. Warning: you WILL have buttons all over the floor once you are done! Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

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My New ACMoore Paper Pads! Bella Bella and Paris and Co.

img_4663My new AC Moore paper pads have arrived! They are exclusively at ACMoore (I don’t think they have hit the stores yet). There are two pads: Bella Bella (which includes many of the original Bella Bella line papers) and Paris and Co. (also found digitally at 2peas). Here’s a card I made this afternoon using the papers (alpha rubons from the Laundry Line and Crochet flower from Bohemia).

I’m always amazed at the mess one grown woman can make to create a simple card like this (granted, both of my girls helped with the mess, but most of it was mine). It’s positively amazing!

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Hair Clips

Siri, Flissa, and I got in a craft mood this afternoon and made a bucnh of new hairclips. It’s easy and makes the girls look so cute. We are espeically into silk flower clips right now because we ALL end up wearing them:). We also made a bunch of button clips. Here is Siri posing with them:

carinagardner_hairclips You’ll also notice Siri’s little bird that we decorated. We were at the craft store and I found a couple of little birds for 69 cents. The girls each got one and with the glue gun out, Siri HAD to decorate hers. I love the glue gun!

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We Believe in Art

Saturday afternoon, I was working on my digikits and Siri decided to do an art project. Josh was suppose to be watching her, but managed to fall asleep on the couch. When I went to check on her (and realized that Josh was asleep), I found her in COMPLETE artistic mode:

img_4405The entire white table was painted red, blue, and green. Not on purpose, of course. She’s just, ummm, able to make that paint go far.  (Honestly, this picture does NOT do it justice!) My favorite part was that she had taken several of her paintings and made them into this ball of paper (think PeeWee Herman tin foil ball). It was actually very inventive, and I see sculpture in her future:).

In other news, there is one more day of the giveaway (see the post below!) so add your comment to be entered in!

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Memorial Day and Madsen Cycles

tinlizzieWe had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. The highlight for the kids was the Memorial Day breakfast we attend in the neighborhood at the church. There’s a 5K (we didn’t participate), pancake breakfast, and one of the neighbors drove the kids around in this…

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The best part for me; however, was that I got a chance to try out Jared’s Madsen Cycle. I am SO in love this this thing and will be buying one in the next couple of weeks because it is so fantastic! I was sort of worried that it was going to be too heavy or hard to ride, but I was completely surprised at how light it is and easy to balance. There’s also a cool feature were the kick stand is UNDER the bucket to hold the bike up when you aren’t riding it. Then, when you kick off to go, it rotates up. Love the design!! One of the best parts is that the kids LOVE it. I mean, really, really love it. For us, we live near the library, both grandma’s houses, the grocery store, etc and having a bike like this would save us on gas and help me and Josh get in a little exercise. So I was SO happy to test ride this one. 

I also found out that there is a giveaway going on over at MadsenCycles. They are giving one of these away for FREE! I’m not sure how you enter, but you should visit here to check it out: http://www.madsencycles.com/contest/. Jared (the owner and inventor of the Madsen Bike) img_4267lives in our neighborhood, and he told me about it. If you have little kids, you should seriously think about entering this giveaway! Wait, did I already mention I love this bike? lol

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Crocheting and Preschool Graduations

img_4248I’ve picked up the crochet needle this week. I usually start to crochet again out of sheer necessity: I can’t live without a crocheted wash cloth. Seriously, they are the BEST for washing dishes and our other one is seeing it’s final days (something that happens often since we don’t own a dishwasher). I’ve never even tried crocheting anything else. One of my graphic design students a couple of years ago made Siri a crochet octopus (known at our house as “Purpie” because of his lovely purple hue). It  really is one of the most adorable stuffed animals (is that what you call a crocheted animal?).  Maybe one day I’ll get away from the crochet washcloth and move on to grander and nobler projects. lol.

img_4055In other news, this week Siri graduated from preschool and even had a class program in lovely red gowns and hats.

This is it. The beginning of the end for me. My baby is going to kindergarten next year. It’s cliche but I know I’m going to cry that day. She looked so old at her little preschool graduation. The great part is that summer has officially begun, which means…vacation! And I’ve already begun calendaring the camping trips and vacations I hope we have time to go on. Last summer was vacationless with Felicity being so young and Josh taking the bar. Not that vacations won’t be hard this year: Josh is taking another state’s bar this summer (we’re marathon bar taking) so that he can be licensed in two states. Good stuff.

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Creative Juice Photography

img_4383_smThere is always a little bit of discomfort when I post pictures of myself on this blog or on the website. For the most part, it’s been hard because as the principle photographer in my home, there really aren’t many pictures of me (moms, you know what I am talking about!). So I had Creative Juice Photography come over to do a few headshots with me and my products so I could put them up on the about page, etc. They did a FANTASTIC job! I was really happy with their work! Jess was so professional, we took the photos at my house (this one was taken on my front porch).  Go over and check them out when you get a chance and also take a look at my new pics on the about page.

The paper shown here is from my Bella Bella line from My Minds Eye. You can also see the entire line here.

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New Website

If you’ve noticed an absence of blogging it is because I have been trying to get together a new website that hopefully will be up and running at the end of this week! It will be a great resource for my design news, projects with products, new paper crafting products, digital scrapbooking products, and where to buy them. The blog will get a new makeover as a result as well! There will be new flickr groups and more:). So excuse my absence a bit for this coming week and I’ll have this new website up and running! I’m pretty excited about it! You’ll even get sneak peeks of my new products coming out WAY before they actually hit CHA and stores! 

Happy Sunday!

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Crate and Barrel Placecard Holders

The UPS truck showed up at our door today and dropped off a Crate and Barrel package. I asked Josh (jokingly) what he bought from Crate and Barrel (he laughed…I don’t think he’s ever ordered anything from there…me on the other hand, well, that’s a different story). So I open the little box and on the top is a card from my darling friend Jen and her new husband Spencer! The card was SO sweet (the gift was a thank you for helping with her wedding), and I couldn’t believe it when I saw THESE:

cbplacecards1If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I’ve been searching for these little darlings since this Favorite Friday post! They are even MORE beautiful in person! What a FANTASTIC bride!!!! Thank you, thank you Jen and Spencer!!!! I can’t wait to use them!!! What a great surprise!

If you are looking for these same place card holders, you can pick them at Crate and Barrel here.

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Work, work, work…& something funny.

So I’m sure you also feel this way many times: too many things, so little time! There are SO many things I want to do creatively, with my family, for myself…but I need just one more hour in my day (you know you can relate with me on this one)! There is the daily grind of regular life, there are things that must be done, and there’s, well, work. And all of it is necessary. So carving out a piece of time in your life that is complete devoted to some kind of creative effort or ME time is difficult. I see this especially for moms (when’s the last time you got some ME time, mommies?). Last night, I had a bit of ME time by going out with my girlfriend, Jen (aka: the projectgirl). Did I mention that she is getting married? Yep. She is. And I’m guessing she has been too busy to even mention it on her blog. Currently, she is staying at my house as we make final preparations this week for the big day. Last night we went out for pedicures and a little late night dinner. VERY indulgent and something I can be okay with as Ms. Jen lives in San Francisco and I’m always so happy when she is in town! So with a week’s worth of wedding stuff in front me (I am currently fancied-up for our bridal luncheon today at the Lion House) and Two Peas products to make, My Minds Eye submissions barking at me, my daytime job (yes, I still have one of these), and well, I have been sketching out new designs for this website (lol…good timing, I know!), things start to get a tiny-bit busy. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining! I think this is what life is all about! And most of it is SO fun (I love everything I do!)! I guess this post is sort of a reminder for me to enjoy the process—something I am terrible at doing. I’m sort of an end result person (a prognosis attained from the doctorate I’m sure). So I hope if things are crazy for you, you take a moment to smell the roses and enjoy your process!

And, because I love you so much, here’s something for you all to enjoy. Josh was sent this little goodie from a friend on facebook and I CANNOT resist posting it here! I mean, it IS design related. Please, please, I urge you to watch to the VERY END! Business card anyone?

Your Business Card is Crap!

Wait, wait….This is THE most impressive business card I have ever seen. It’s MINE…hahaha! That is such a great line! And where in the world can I get this guy’s business card?

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Beautiful Bedrooms

I’ve been dreaming of a beautiful bedroom these days. With my office in the bedroom and with my girls using it as their hang out room, it is currently stuffed to capacity. However, I found these 4 bedrooms on HouseBeautiful’s website to inspire me to help make my room a little prettier…

Florescent pink pillows…who knew they could be so stunning?

 

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This one is probably my favorite. Soft, sweet, and bright. And SO comfy. Don’t you just want to climb into that bed, snuggle in, and read a book?

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The chandelier on this one is TO DIE FOR. Yum, yum!

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I’m attracted to the colors on this one! I think that blue is in my living room…

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Easter Inspiration

I’m back from a bit of a hiatus from my blog. I’ve had a number of things barking at me these last couple of weeks and I’ve devoted myself to being a little more careful about what I choose to spend my time doing. I actually was sitting in on a seminar a few weeks ago that asked us to rate the top 5 things in our lives (things we like to do, wanted to spend more of our time on, etc.). We were then asked to take that list and compare it to what we ACTUALLY do with our day. This simple task is an eye opener. I found myself acknowledging that I didn’t want to spend my life living the way I was now (so busy and stressed out) and not doing the things that I LOVE. Life’s too short right? My number one thing I wanted to do more of was spend a little more quality time with my little family—especially my girls. They’ve always been my number one priority, but I decided to MAKE sure that if I am doing something other than being with them, that it is completely worth it (that’s one way to justify not getting around to the laundry, heehee). Other top things for me? Designing, of course. I am COMPLETELY passionate about it. Surprisingly enough, cooking came up high on my list too. I completely forget how much I enjoy cooking as I spend more nights quickly try to get dinner together at night without a thought to how fun the process is. So you may see a bit more cooking on this site as I flex my creative muscles and make myself spend more time on things I love doing!

What are your top 5 things? What do you care about the most? I really believe that we have the ability to DESIGN our lives…which is a task in and of itself. How would you design your life if you could? I have some ideas about how I am changing my life to be a little less busy and more dynamic and engaging! I am always seeking after beauty in my life and that is one of the things I hope to bring to anyone who reads this blog. I hope that creativity is an integral part of your life too.

Which brings me to what I originally planned on posting about today: Easter inspiration. This is such a wonderful holiday—for decorations, family, and reflection. Hopefully, you get a chance this week to think about your life and what you need and don’t need in it! And while you are pondering these very big questions, lol, here is some eye candy to make you happy and feel inspired for this holiday!

This is Bossy Feltworks  etsy shop. What a little darling chicky, huh?

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This one’s from SoMommySew. These birdies and colors are divine?

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 This one is from madepersonal and is so charming.

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If you want something to tandalize your eyes and your tummy, you should read this post over from the kitchn. It’a an assortment of very pretty little cookies you can find at different locations. These are too sweet and are true eye candy:

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Those ladybugs are KILLING me…and little umbrellas? So sweet! Hope this all makes you as happy as it does me! More holiday stuff all this week…because, well, how can I help it? Happy Easter, Passover, or whatever you choose to celebrate this season. The main thing is that you celebrate!

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Easter Birdie Nests—Kid Edible Project

We made these edible easter nests that Siri is obsessed with it. I guarantee they’ll be a hit with your kids too! Plus they are easy!

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Add a peep birdie for extra sweetness!

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All you need is:

Chow Mein Crunch Noodles

Chocolate Chips (We like milk—it’s naughtier)

Shredded Sweetened Coconut (optional…I like it, the kids don’t)

jelly bean eggs or whopper eggs

Peeps chicks

Heat up a pan and melt the chocolate chips. Add the chow mein noodles and mix gently. I usually heap half into spoonfuls on a plate or tray and then mix the coconut in for the rest. Let your kids add the eggs and peeps. Easy Peasy! 

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Nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, glue gun skills…

Last night before the girls went to sleep, I pulled out some of my extra “bits and ends” and decided to make the girls a couple of clips. Siri just got a haircut (which has been FANTASTIC!), but means I need more clips for her to pull her hair from her face. 

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I bought alligator clips and just made a couple because I decided that Siri’s hair is too thick for these tiny ones I bought. I’ll be off to the store today to buy bigger ones so we can make more! (Siri was REALLY into it). First thing this morning, she asked to wear the clip we made.

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All I did was lay down some thin ribbon on the clip and hot glue the two crochet flowers to the clip. We also glued two tiny pink gems in the centers of the flowers. Easy! And Siri is happy to boot! Glue gun skills…gotta love them!

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Photoshop Tutorial: Silhouettes

My first Photoshop tutorial! It is created using a fabulous program called Jing. This photoshop tutorial was created in a swf file , so hopefully you will be able to watch it…you may need to download the latest version of Flash to watch it. I sort of zoom through the tutorial because I only had 5 minutes to show everything (the limit on jing).

Here’s the project: creating a family silhouette art piece for your living room. I show you how to create this silhouette in photoshop and then take it into Illustrator for clean up. I’d suggest the tutorial for intermediate users, but if you are a beginner, it wouldn’t hurt you to watch it! You can pause it as you work on your own. 

I created my first silhouette of Siri when she was 2 years old. I thought it was a great way to document the subtle changes in my little girl. I have the screenprint of that piece in my living room. I love silhouettes and my original idea was to hang individual tiny portraits of each member of the family. However, do you know how HARD it is to find a decent oval frame? So I decided to go with the square frame and put all of us (my husband, Josh, myself, and two daughters) into one piece. Inexpensive art, always a plus!
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Want to watch a larger version of this video? Click here.

 

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Adding Color to My Life and Another Frame Project

As many of you know, I live in rental that we aren’t suppose to paint. So a lot of my tricks to decorating are things that are “movable.” Well, last week I got the okay to paint the living room and kitchen! What a dream! I’m not done accessorizing and I’ve pulled everything down from the walls. I have a million little projects to work on for this home and I’ll be sure to post them here!

Okay, so here’s the before:

img_1273So this is my kitchen. Very big, I know.

img_1275My Living Room…there was a pony parade going on!

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Here are the colors I chose:

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I actually tried out the taupe and knew it was just right…but the tiffany was a little dark for my taste. My finally color ended up being the shade lighter than this color, which wasn’t exactly right, but will do for now. It needs just a hint of green.

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This is the shade darker…glad I tried it before buying the gallon! And the final results! TA DA! Ummm, I love color! It changes the entire space…notice I haven’t changed a lot else (I DID pick up the ponies, but they’ll be back!:)

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Darling little bird and number balls found at Thai Pan Trading! $2 for the bird and $1.50 for the balls!

img_1442I once saw this on a show…the kids books stayed in the room on a tray. Heaven knows that our kid books are ALWAYS in this room, so it seemed right to sort of “organize” them by putting them on a tray.

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I only painted the bottom half of the kitchen taupe. High contrast heaven!

 

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I’ve already have a dozen more projects for all these rooms. I have curtains…but I’m not sure if we are going to be able to hang them in here because of the plaster in the wall…it makes it hard to drill!

MY FRAME PROJECT—Painting the frame, take 2

Okay, back to the living room…notice that great focal point frame (and nothing else on the wall? hehee…)? I found that at Home Goods on clearance and painted it. ‘Painted it’ is an understatement because I actually worked on it THREE times because I could get the color right. I thought I wanted it to be white. It didn’t work. I mean, NOT AT ALL. It looked terrible (By the way, that frame WILL get hung…just haven’t gotten round to it yet). Then, I decided to be bold and paint it red.Also a bad idea…but not as bad as the white. The THIRD time I painted it brown, but left some of the red peeping through (just a tiny bit). It was exactly what I needed. I want it to be a focal point and it had to compete with the curtains.

Here’s how the frame started out. Gold, ugh, not for me. I love how ornate it is though!

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img_1300Here’s the white phase, which leads very nicely into the red and brown phases.

img_1427While the red phase looks COMPLETELY scary here, I’m glad I did it because it acts as an undertone for the brown and gives it dimension. It’s not FLAT.

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The final un-hung frame. I’ve been a busy gir1. I’m about to fall asleep writing this! I’m off to bed early tonight! And remember to check tomorrow! I have an interview with Holly Jones and a great giveaway from her super darling store My Cute Stamps!

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When It’s Beautiful, It’s Beautiful

There’s something about spring that makes me want to buy fresh flowers everyday! I don’t buy flowers very often, but sometimes I do give myself a treat and grab some flowers when I’m out grocery shopping. My favorite flowers are peonies (I’m actually starting a new line called Peony Place…look for it at 2Peas in a couple of weeks!) and Josh use to buy them in the spring for me in Minnesota in the Farmer’s Market on Nicollet Mall.

So here’s my “springtime” moment for you! Flowers from the deco files at Domino Magazine! I found flowers used beautifully in rooms and on their own! Enjoy!

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I am SO into this room…there’s something so homey, but COOL about it. You know what I mean? I just love the flowers…so casual but sophisticated!

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I’m in LOVE with this arrangement….and  the room!

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Frame it! My Kids’ New Chalkboard for the Kitchen!

I must admit that domino magazine is the devil. First off, I wouldn’t have gotten the idea to start re-decorating my living room if I hadn’t actually taken a break from working to read the darn magazine. If I hadn’t started thinking about redecorating, I wouldn’t have come up with the idea for a chalkboard project. If I hadn’t come up with the idea for the chalkboard project, I wouldn’t have decided I need to do a few things to update my kitchen too. So here I am, redecorating away! This was my first finished project of the weekend! I’m glad I did it because the girls love it! 

Cost (about) $35

Materials

Old Frame (bought at an antique store) ($10)

Large piece of white board ( 4′ x 8′) cut down to 24″ x 36″ ($13 from Lowes)

Staple gun, staples

Paint (2oz bottle of paint or enough to cover surface of the frame) ($3)

Paint Brush | Sponge brush

Roller

Paint Tray

Chalkboard Paint ($13)

Hanging Hardware

Hammer and nails (for hanging)

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I like to have my kids in the kitchen with me while I cook (they are usually running back and forth between me and the living room). I needed an art area that didn’t require me cleaning up the table so I came up with this framed chalkboard piece. I’m in a rental so I needed a pretty way to display the board (I couldn’t just paint the chalkboard onto the wall), plus, who doesn’t like a pop of color that looks like art?

1. If you bought an older frame or something that had artwork in it, you’ll need to pull out all the staples. My frame was bought from an antique shop for $10 and had a lot of old staples that needed to be pulled.

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2. Paint the frame the color of your choice (I went with a seafoam blue) with your paint 9I used acrylic) and sponge brush or paint brush. Let dry and cover with a second coat if needed.

3. Paint the chalkboard paint on the large piece of white board (mine was 24” x 36”). I covered it using the roller to get a smooth finish for the first coat. I let it dry for 24 hours and then rolled on a second coat. I touched up with a paintbrush.

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4. After the chalkboard area has dried I stapled the chalkboard piece to the frame using the staple gun.

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5. I added hanging hardware to the back (follow your hardware instructions) and hung on my kitchen wall.

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Here’s the finished product. And here’s my girls enjoying it! Yesterday Siri was helping me cook dinner and she would run between me and the stove (I’m taking the picture from the stove/sink area) and was writing down the instructions (coloring little pictures) on the chalkboard as we made dinner. It was SO cute! I especially liked here picture of the strawberry!


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Some of my helpful hints

The white board I bought was from Lowes and came in 4” x 8” sheets. I ended up with 2 other HUGE sheets that I just let the kids doodle on until I get around to framing them as well. From this $13 sheet you can basically get 3 great art areas.

 I try to find frames at antique stores, thrift shops, and discounts stores like Home Goods and Tuesday Mornings because then I don’t feel bad about the price and painting it!

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My First Artists Date: Antique Shopping

I FINALLY got around to doing my first artists date. I decided to get myself to an antique store for a project I’ve been meaning to do. I also quickly dropped by Pier 1 to take a look at their sale. Okay, before I go any further and show you what I bought, I need to defend my decision to do an artists date that looks ALOT like aimless shopping:). As a working mother, I never actually leave the house on an errand that is SPECIFICALLY to make my house prettier WITHOUT my kids. Well, at least not since I moved to Salt Lake. I’ve sort of just been getting by in our rental house. However, I’ve been feeling a very strong urge to decorate my living room and kitchen the last few days. I had a couple of projects in mind and I needed to get the materials cheap. one thing I knew I wanted was a very large frame. I also wanted  to check out the local antique store. So, I found a place called Moriarty’s Antiques. I managed to arrive Saturday morning at 10:30am and it didn’t open until 11:00am. Pier 1 was just around the corner so I popped in for a second. They were having a serious sale (a reason I hardly wander out of my house during the January through March months! I ended up buying the red plate in this set:

2257834I only saw the little red salad plate, which I bought all 12 they had in store (now that I see the whole set, I wish they had the bowl in the store too! I would have grabbed that baby up!). I have a set of Crate and Barrel white dishes and this red plate is the perfect accent! How much did I get those darling little plates for? $1.50 a piece… $18 later I’m a happy girl! 

At 11:00am, I was headed to the antique shop where I meandered for an hour. Oh happy, meanderings!!!! I love this artists date thing. I just love antique stores because you can really find unique and loved items that have so many uses…I like finding some new use for these old items! I ended up buying a monster frame that was hideous for only $10!!!! And I’ll show it to you soon (I promise) because ever since I bought it, I have been dolling it up for a fantastic kids/kitchen project.

So I would consider my first artists date a total success. I just like giving myself the chance to see something different and new. And I’m addicted now! I can’t wait for the next one!

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San Francisco Day 2

San Francisco: Day 2
Day 2 in San Francisco was a rush around day since Jen and I had decided to paint her apartment. She had picked out colors the night before and picked up paint and supplies in the morning.
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Now that I have mentioned it, I must explain the 7 Layers of Hell. I feel as if I’ve explained this concept before, coined by one Lachelle Smith while Josh and I lived in student housing at the University of Minnesota. It’s basically used in the context of a situation in which you would hate to be doing forever (the reference, I believe comes from Dante’s Inferno). Such things may include washing dishes (Lachelle and Nick’s 7th layer), checking voicemail (a Jen Shaw favorite), or putting gas the car (yes, one of mine…don’t ask me why! I just hate doing it!).

Have a Layer of Hell you want to share? Go ahead. Oh ya, one of my layers includes single cruises (sorry, this is a reference to the post called Airplane Conversations).

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My first trip to San Francisco

Day 1: San Francisco with Jen

I have been on a part-business and part-pleasure trip to California now for 3 days. So I’m here to report on all the fun and fabulous things we have been up to. My girlfriend Jen lives in San Francisco (I am in Salt Lake City) and you can grab her perspective on this trip at theprojectgirl.

So Jen took me to her favorite cupcake place Sprinkles. I am a fan!
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My favorite is white coconut frosting over chocolate, fluffy goodness! Who knew that happiness was so easily attained? I also had the red velvet (not at the same time…although I wanted to eat every cupcake they had there!). If you have a favorite, post it!

We spent the first day I was in town shopping the cool boutiques of San Francisco. Check out some of the shops we went to!

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Why do I love pretty things so much? These shops were filled with the most adorable things! Ahh, you will like this one…

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Hehee. Might be helpful, huh? Had to buy the book just in case…I’d hate to lose my soul! For some reason I am having trouble loading the photos of my very cute buys at the antique store, so I will have them up in the next post!

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Heather Bailey and Madsen Bikes

Well, Jen is in town for business and she’s over tonight (yes, it is 12:25 in the morning) and, of course, we start talking about design (what else? we’re a couple of obsessed neurotics!). She introduced me to a fabric designer’s blog that I MUST tell you about because it is so FABULOUS! Her name is Heather Bailey and it is such a great blog! She has a real way with color:

here’s her blog: http://www.heatherbailey.typepad.com.

My second obsession that i keep meaning to post about is Madsen Bikes. I MUST have one of these bikes in the spring (I am totally going to get one come march). The buckets in the back can hold kids or groceries. I love them! Take a look!

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