piece of work.

some gig poster inspo...

photos I love...

I am gearing up to get OUT of this apartment and having so much fun looking for inspiration for the new place, which hasn't been found yet......but there is still the hope of something new.

The Best Me Challenge: Week Six-That One Song

I want to start by saying how proud I am that all of you are diligently going along and doing these challenges every week. I REALLY AM SO HAPPY!! I also wanna share that I totally am aware that I haven't shared my project from last week but, things are a bit hectic right now and project sharing just needs to wait but when I get back(mid February), I will be sharing TONS and there won't be a challenge posted next week because I won't  be here but, I will post all that I have missed when I get back.......never fear. I will also have LOTS of photos to share from California and Las Vegas and Santa Fe, so it will be busy busy on this blog when I get back. I just wanted to say a quick note about my classes. I will be posting a schedule of my monthly classes soon probably end of Feb. or beginning of March.

Okay now that all that is said, this weeks challenge is to find that ONE song that is just speaking to you right now. When you hear it, you really FEEL it. Describe the reasons why you love this song, how it moves you, what it says to you. Anyone who knows me, or visits this blog on the regular knows how much music means to me. It really is one of the best things we as people have ever created, in my opinion. I think there is so much that we can learn from music, the stories and the mood, the joy and even the heartbreak. Do you have a special song that brings back memories, whether good or bad? Do you and you spouse have a song? Do you love a certain song because it reminds you of your kids? Or do you just love that one song because it just makes you get up and move, whatever the reason. WRITE IT DOWN! And if you choose, make a project to go along with it. Remember to post on Flickr. I go through almost daily and look at all the work, I just LOVE admiring all of this purpose to better at being us. It is so moving for me.

With that, I will be signing off for a bit. I bid you found farewells and lots of creative juices. We'll talk again soon...

Oh, also before I forget. I had the great pleasure of being a part of a wonderfully artistic publication called Artful Blogging, I have to say I was stunned and so happy when they asked me. If you got the last edition of the magazine, you KNOW how inspiring it is! There are so many talented and amazing artists in this one too. I am shocked to be in such great company. There are some SERIOUSLY cool blogs in this mag, definitely worth checking out. I have read it a couple of times now, and I keep finding something different that sparks me. Great great stuff....

been doing a little collecting

So, I am keeping this file of all the photos of homes and rooms that I love, as inspiration for decorating my new place. I think it's a little twinge of my inner interior designer still in there somewhere.

this is my most favorite!!

pretty eclectic bunch huh? I really CAN NOT wait to get out of this apartment but, good things come to those who wait............right!??!

some ogling?

Boho Modern is: Mixing old with new. Building your space over time. Taking formerly functional items and transforming them into either purely aesthetic pieces - a collection of vintage keyholes or door knobs mounted to a single wall, or using functional items in fun new ways - a vintage umbrella stand becomes a place to store rolls of wrapping paper or vintage sheets transformed into a duvet, for instance. Boho Modern feminine with an edge. It's deeply personal. Mixing periods and ethnic styles is highly encouraged (i.e. Indian prints mixed with Aboriginal). Color can be subdued, rich, bold, or barely there. It can be neat with few objects or items arranged in collections, or a bit disheveled. Traditional design "rules" are thrown out the window, replaced by a casual beauty that comes from the heart. It's all about textures and details. It's about living a more creative life and decorating from the heart. Eclectic living.
this description came from the Decor8 blog.

This my friends, is my inspiration for my home. This is what I am soo soo drawn to, I love it. My particular favorite part of the description above is..."Traditional design "rules" are thrown out the window, replaced by a casual beauty that comes from the heart. It's all about textures and details. It's about living a more creative life and decorating from the heart."  YES!!! YES!!! CASUAL BEAUTY THAT COMES FROM THE HEART.....ahhhhh...sigh....it just sounds so wonderful doesn't it.

I am making a collection of photos for home inspiration(for my personal reference when decorating). Not every photo is the afore mentioned style above but, inspiration just the same and of course I would have more photos for the ogling....

love the mini wire hanging just above the desk...

I have a dresser quite similar to this one that I planned on refinishing, it was gonna be some hue of green, but I am loving this finish more I think, and with those candle stick, perfect....

all of these photos came from the Decor8 on Flickr.

one thru ten

1. What have I been up to lately, you ask(I will pretend that you asked).Well....I saw Juno, which was the BEST movie I have seen in a LONG long time, really. BUT you have to have a sense of humor.......WARNING:meaningless observation coming...I have to add the day that I went, I was perplexed(my word of the day) at the sheer numbers of senior citizens at this movie, which let me clarify IS NOT a problem, it was just weird for a movie with such content as this one, NO?!?

2. My friend and fellow Fashionista at SIS, Adrienne Looman, is doing a photography class, it's a class on how to alter you photos with funky colors, very artistic, very cool. Like these...

3. I uploaded a bunch of new music to the blog, so there should be hours of cool music to listen to now. I saw on Cathy Zielske's blog, she shared her top 25 songs on iTunes, and I thought that since I get so many emails and questions about my music taste and what I have on the blog, I would share that too, these are in the order of what I play most, so here we go....

25 Sea of Love- Cat Powers
24 Misread- Kings of Convenience
23 The Girl from Ipanema- Astrud Gilberto, Joâo Gilberto & Stan Getz
22 My Moon My Man- Feist
21 Let It Out- The Hombres
20 Paper Bag- Fiona Apple
19 Hell No- Sondre Lerche & Regina Spektor
18 Such Great Heights- The Postal Service
17 Go It Alone- Beck
16 Harder Better Faster Stronger- Daft Punk
15 D.A.N.C.E.- Justice
14 Piazza, New York Catcher- Belle & Sebastian
13 Lover's Split- Broken Social Scene
12 Soul Meets Body- Death Cab for Cutie
11 Dearest- Buddy Holly
10 Mr. Blue- Catherine Feeny
9 Tire Swing- Kimya Dawson
8 Anyone Else But You- Moldy Peaches
7 A Well Respected Man- The Kinks
6 Catch The Wind- Donovan
5 My Father's Gun- Elton John
4 Everybody Here Wants You- Jeff Buckley
3 Happiness- The Weepies
2 The Beast- Angus & Julia Stone
1 All I Want is You- Barry Louis Polisar

4. I found a new photo of my favorite clusterings from Decor8

I think I am so into this because we are going to move in a few months and I am SO excited for a new space, a fresh perspective. I adore that radiator, you can find that a lot here, most of the older homes/apartments here have that steam heat, I guess since it is so dry here, they still use it, I have no clue. None the less, I love the way they look.That stack of mags, YES YES YES!!!

5. Can you tell I have totally embraced the whole list thing?!?!
6. SO SO glad that this is back on, I missed it so...
7. I have lost 5lbs.(dancing with my arms held high....I REALLY am)
8. I plan on having more sneak peeks of my January class, so stay tuned for that.
9.One of my most favorite people and best friends, Ashley Wren is doing something VERY cool, it's called Overlooked and if I know Ash, I KNOW it will be super fun and inspiring, so check that out.
10. I want to thank  the person that pointed  me in the direction of Pandora Radio, I can't remember off hand who told me, but I LOVE YOU all the same. Where the heck have I been, this site is THE BEST, especially if you are a music lover like me. Seriously.......I could kiss you!!

 

I'm in love...

with this house, all the clustering and the color combos against the whitewashed wood, HEAVEN........

this last photo is my favorite, love the stacks of books and the painting leaning on the floor, LOVE IT!!! I found these photos on Decor8.

So I have decided to leave all the challenge stuff right here on this blog, but I do think it would be a neat idea to start a Flickr group to share all of the work, whatcha think about that? I don't want to do anything that you guys don't want to participate in, you know!??! Again, thanks so much for you comments and encouragement.

Monday will be a big day, not only will I post the newest Best Me Challenge, but I will be putting up a little storefront with info about purchasing online classes, plus I will have a sneak peek up of my newest class, "Alterations".......so keep your eye out. This class is gonna be something very different and SO much fun. Another something to do just for YOU. Hope your weekend is a great one, full of fun and possibility!

Fresh Inspiration for a New Year

I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful new year!!! I hope you all are excited about The Best Me Challenge , because I am!! I'm ready for a great year filled with creative abundance. I wanted to share some photos of my wire wall. It filled with stuff I have created, old photos, current photos, postcards, fabric, magazine clipping and more. It is a new inspiration project I am doing for myself. I am gonna put up a second wire just below this one and have all the things that I am REALLY loving at the present time on both. It's a place for me to hang recent projects I have completed that I want to admire for just a bit longer as well as a place for just all the STUFF I collect that I want to look at all the time. I will switch this out every couple of months, it will be an ongoing thing that I am really looking forward to.

Also, I wanted to post this little snippet of info again, I think it got passed over a little too quickly the last time I posted it, so for those of you with questions, please email me.

Another exciting thing that I am starting this year is a monthly class. I will start accepting class payment(for the January class) on January 7th. I will have a sneak peek of the class up on the 7th too. THE CLASS WILL BEGIN JANUARY 14TH, it is called "Alterations", it will involve magazine pages, fabric, paint, trims, sparkles of all kinds, patterned papers, and more. I will post the supply list the first day of the class. The class will be held similar to my Christmas class I just did. There will be separate blog. And for this class, the blog will be up until the end of the month. There will be VERY detailed step-by-step instructions, along with photographs to inspire, plus all the personal help I can give. I will also set up a gallery for those that purchase the class to share their work. THE CLASS WILL COST $22.

Thanks again for all of your well wishes and excitement for the new year and all the fun it will bring!!!

♥♥♥ much love ♥♥♥

currently loving......

both are here.

found here.

I love this photo below soooooo much, the colors are PERFECT!!!

you can find this image here.

hope all is well. That is it from me today.....

Merry Christmas!!

thinking about...

these, they seem to be one of my current fascinations. LOVE THEM!!

found these here.

and these are here.

and these...

love love love these.

there are a few more things that are really inspiring me right now...

this photo, LOVE all the different colors together like that, so inspiring, PLUS......it's felt!

think I found this on this site.

and then this photo, OMG!!! I want a wall full of butterflies like this, I have NO CLUE where I found this photo though, probably the same place...

not much else to report(or that I CAN report) right now, but soon I will have some exciting news!!

I have been doing a lot of observing lately. Observing my life, strangers, family, just observing life. For some reason, right now, my view seems to be a bit skewed, somethings off and I can't figure what it is. This usually happens to be before a big creative breakthrough. So I hope I have that to look forward to.

Our lease is up on our current apartment this coming spring and I am already READY to get out of here. We have been here for 4 years, and I ready to move on. We have outgrown it and it's getting frustrating. I just don't have any room for anything. But this could be due to the fact that we need to do a MAJOR overhaul and get rid of a lot of stuff. I just want someplace with LOTS of really good natural light. I want open areas, creamy walls and high ceilings. Truth be told, just someplace bigger and different would be good right now.

So that's all from my little corner of the world, maybe something more exciting soon...