Talk of the Town

THIS IS THE DOOR THAT TONY BUILT

2012-02-09T12:42:00.009-07:00

Isn't it beautiful! As soon as it was hung up it made the room feel more comfy. Mike's dad laughed and looked at us like we were lunatics. He also said, "Well, in Holland the barns are connected to the houses."

Mike and I both loved the idea of a barn door that we could pull across the opening between the kitchen and the living room and lucky us, Mike's good friend is very handy with a hammer and happened to have some barn wood on hand. In fact, the wood on this door is from the first farm Mike's dad owned. A cool bit of history.

I love the detail with the strip of wood here. It's like a tailored suit.

These wheels (need dusting) are from Tony's old clothes line in his back yard. He built the entire track, which is amazing.

Thanks Tony. We still love it as much as the first day.

HOW TO BUILD A RANGE HOOD

2012-02-06T21:30:00.019-07:00

Well, I figure we may never get our remodeling done, so maybe I should post something that is mostly done; the range hood.

Range hoods are expensive, and when you don't want something everyone else has you pay through the nose for it, unless you build it yourself. Then, instead of paying a thousand or five, you pay $250 or so. And, you probably need to sacrifice some quality... unless you are a fine woodworker.

Step #1.
Never use inspiration from magazines to model your range hood after. This will cost you lots and lots of money. Or cause your husband lots and lots of agony as you decide to try and build it yourself. OR it will cause you to compare your finished range hood to your inspiration and let's face it, depression will set in.

Oh zinc, why do you taunt me so. WHY are you so expensive?? I refuse to faux paint zinc. I would just do a poor job.

Chalkboard then, a nice alternative to zinc. Between these two I decided to go darker on part of the hood. (These two photos are from the book Beautiful Kitchens by Better Homes and Gardens)

This hood I've shown before. I love the scallops. I don't know why!!! I don't consider myself a girly girl and I blame Stampin' Up! But, I think a few scallops can hang in the kitchen for a while.

Step #2
Design your hood, have your husband frame the hood, cut your design out of MDF and go to town baby. Horrible description I know. Oh, I also cut out a paper pattern (non-3D) and taped it to the wall to see if I liked the size and how high I wanted it.

Step #3
Buy a hood fan. Ugh, this is almost as hard a decision as deciding on the look of the hood itself.

Step #4
Prime it.

Step #5
Paint it and cross your fingers. Lucky it's just paint and you can change it.

I did have a shelf at one point, but it was bowed so I removed it and frankly, never found the energy to make a new one. I was also very unsure about the part descending down the wall. I really liked thicker corbels but decided to go this route. I think it's just okay. I may saw them off one day. That will be the same day I remove the scallops, so this means probably never.

I'm surprised how faintly the scallops show up, but not disappointed.

At certain times of the day the scallops are more pronounced and I'm not disappointed in that either.

I think when the kitchen is done and the crown molding goes up with will look better. But as it stands now, I'm pretty pleased.

So there you go, next up, the barn door.

OH MY

2012-01-28T22:12:00.010-07:00

These roofs and houses are amazing. Loving Feldmen Architecture.

SOCK MONKEY

2012-01-24T08:43:00.004-07:00

Holy cow this is cute! Someone make this for me STAT. Oh, and one for Casey too. Vintage Umbrella even posted the pattern she made.

PATTERN DONE!

2012-01-21T22:34:00.004-07:00

And it took me less than a year and a half to write it. Oh well.

You can find it in my Etsy shop.

I WISH I WAS A BETTER TREE HUGGER

2012-01-20T11:26:00.005-07:00

(I need to justify owning this van. I will hug more trees.)

Mike and I had a quick trip down to Montana and a couple of nights we got takeout or we had a leftovers from a restaurant. We don't do this very often now that we live out of town, but it's incredible to see the amount of waste produced from eating out. The tiny little garbage cans in the hotel room were beyond full and I automatically thought, "They need bigger garbage cans in here." Wait...what?

Last year I was all determined to decrease the amount of waste I created. I love making these big bold commitments and setting myself up for failure because all I have done is move out to Mike's farm where we burn our garbage. That is a reduction because it isn't going to a landfill, but we are still burning it, and that has it's own problems. I barely used the cloth diapers I got. Big failure.

Then, Mike tells me last week that the fleece from our clothing is sloughing off in the wash and contaminating the oceans. You can't even safely recycle plastic into fleece. Sometimes you just can't win in life.

This morning I was again inspired by the Zero Waste Home. Not only have they cut their waste, but supposedly 40% of their costs as well.

First resolution of the year, start cutting back on waste. Again.

QUILTS

2012-01-15T21:29:00.013-07:00

I've been writing directions for my quilt over the past few days and in the midst of it have been admiring and been inspired by other quilts designed by amazing people. One thing I miss about being in a work environment filled with creative people is seeing their work. Creativity feeds off of creativity.

Katy Jones is not only a very cool looking tattooed artist that I would like to be friends with, sewed this amazingly beautiful quilt which colors keep me coming back for one more look.

She had it quilted by Angela Walters. Um...wow.

I've been watching Kellie Wulfsohn for a while. She does amazing raw edge applique and her quilts are artistically exciting to me and the colors jump. She recently finished this Animal Alphabet quilt that I wish I had created. Those yaks are killing me.

This is the quilt that inspired me to design a quilt. I saw this hanging on the wall in a great quilt shop in Utah and couldn't get over how rich it was. Sue Spargo uses her own hand-dyed wool on her quilts. My next quilt I want to do as separate blocks like this seems to be. I also really want to use wool. Could be fun!

And her embroidery completely inspires me. I love this extra element on quilts, which is why I used it too.

I have recently discovered Denyse Schmidt. The simplicity of her designs are very current and I love that. There are many, many, many country quilt designs out there and it gets a little tiresome. It's just great to see fresh beautiful design.

I really admire Lori Holt's design. I love how her quilts tell a story and the different elements she uses in the appliquéd top. There is a real 50's vibe to me. I'm going to aim for a quilt that tells a story next I think.

These images were found at Diary of a Quilter.

And there you have it, inspirations for the night to keep me inspired and hopefully you too. And now to bed.

KINDLE SHMINDLE

2012-01-10T13:21:00.002-07:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again, nothing beats a real book. Love this bookstore's logo and signage too.

TINY HOMES

2012-01-06T12:23:00.007-07:00

This has been on my mind a lot lately. Well, houses are always on my mind, but lately it's tiny houses. Mike and I have been dreaming of relaxing by a lake somewhere and I would love to do it in a small cottage. No need for a sprawling McMansion to take up beautiful outdoor space.

I love this house from Creative Cottages, LLC. Most tiny homes are just a plain rectangle, but this rectangle has such great style. It's amazing what can be designed with just a little more thought.

I can just imagine walking into the light interior with it's whitewashed exposed beams and gray fireplace. The perfect getaway.

I think it is immoral how developers, banks, cities, whomever, pretty much forbid you to build anything smaller than 1200 sf anymore. And we are brainwashed too! I often sat in my 1000 square foot house, (huge compared to what I have been looking at lately) thinking I needed a second bathroom for when company came. WHY?? Company came two or three times a year and then it was just me and my dog and he didn't require another bathroom. In fact, he insisted on being in my tiny bathroom at the same time as me.

To bad Southern Alberta has a real shortage on lakes.

DEAR LIFE...

2011-11-23T13:32:00.001-07:00

I have a problem. Everything I like turns out to be expensive. Please fix this.

Loving this beautiful green tile. Yours for $77/sf.

I WANT

2011-11-02T08:21:00.002-06:00

Oh Wacom and your geniusness. The Inkling.

10 SHORT YEARS

2011-09-19T22:30:00.005-06:00

Today has been a bad day. Today I was told my dog has cancer.

Jasper has been my best friend for the past 10 years. He has been my friend when it felt like I had no others. He has been by my side from Canada, to Oregon, to Utah and back to Canada again. He was born a Canadian dog and he will pass away a Canadian dog.

My eyes are swollen from the pain of loving "just a dog" too much. But it's worth it, these dogs give us so much more than we give them.

To Jasper...may the last of your days be filled with lots of swimming, walks, good food and joy; but most of all, love.

VACATION HOMES

2011-08-21T22:05:00.011-06:00

Mike and I just got back from our first "family" vacation in Whitefish. Of course while we were there we looked through the free real estate books while we ate lunch. I just want to know where the money comes from. Where????

But at least lots of money can create cool houses. This one is impressive and only 4.4 million dollars. I'm pretty sure that doesn't include the boat. OH! I lied, I just read that the boat is included, and a water trampoline. I don't know what that is, but I want one.

And here comes the boat on my favorite feature; rails right into the garage from the lake.

Does the real estate agent hire the helicopter to take the pictures of the house?

HOOKING

2011-06-24T22:51:00.008-06:00

Remember the hooked rug you did as a kid? I want to do one as an adult. I'm not sure when I'll fit it in my list of things to do, but now it's added and there it sits.

Maybe argyle?

Maybe one made out of old t-shirts? Found here.

Graphic?

Off to bed to dream about rugs, when I should be dreaming about finishing painting my kitchen cupboards.

STITCHING

2011-06-02T22:58:00.004-06:00

I'm not the only one who is loving stitchery. Anna Maria Horner has a new needle works kit out.

It's like she pulled it right out of my brain.

I can't wait until house stuff is done so I can start stitching on a new quilt idea I have going.

I wonder if house stuff is ever done . . . technically . . .

RANGE HOODS

2011-05-27T10:31:00.003-06:00

I love these range hoods and priced out a custom option at a local sheet metal shop...Folks, you can have one for at least $2000, I will be looking elsewhere. Why do prices always come in thousands?

TO A FUTURE MOTHER

2011-05-06T21:56:00.003-06:00

Years ago, my sweet niece Jackie gave me a homemade card that had written on the front, "To A Future Mother". I thought of that card every Mother's Day and I can't tell you the number of times it made me tear up because I knew deep down in my heart I would never be a mother.

Well, what can I say. I was wrong. And today my eyes would well up every time someone talked about their mothers on TV because...I am one. And now I get to worry about things like, how do you cut the hair of a 5 month old and how much does it cost?

Oh the times, they are a-changin'.

Untitled from onbelay11 on Vimeo.

WHEN IS IT TOO MUCH?

2011-04-20T14:37:00.010-06:00

Does liking and wanting good design make you spend more than you should? Should you always spend less, invest your money, travel or give to those more in need?

Let's use the bathroom faucet as a test subject. Should I get cheapest bathroom faucet out there? The same one that I lived with for the last 7 years in my little brick house? The one that worked just fine? The one that grew a lovely green sludge I couldn't clean underneath the plastic diamond? The one that costs $49.99?

Or keep the $380.88 faucet I got for $100?

Because truly, the function is the same.

How much is too much? I can't tell you how often I question my wants in life lately. Do you really need more than a warm dry house, clean clothes, good food and friends and family?

As Mike and I are remodeling his family house on the farm, I am amazed at the cost and all the purchases required. And that brings up the question a lot. Do we need it? Should we get it? Are we being extravagant? This is partly brought on by Mike not really caring what we get, just as long as I am happy, and will I stop asking him if he thinks it's pretty.

I've been trying to cut costs to lessen my guilt, like going with Ikea for the kitchen (still not cheap!), finding fixtures on Ebay, and generally spending all my spare time online trying to get deals. But it is still expensive and it shocks me. But here is my confession...I don't get the cheapest faucets out there, (see above). Nope, I want the prettier ones and I work like crazy to find it cheaper than retail.

But why am I spending so much time finding and buying this stuff. To paraphrase Tom Shadyac, "Does taking care of stuff make you happy? We don't need to take more than we need." (Well, we do need a faucet, but is my life better because I got the prettier one?)

But what can I say, I do love a well thought out design. Here is a very beautiful kitchen I have in my inspiration folder, found over at for the love of a house.

I think this will be an eternal struggle, but would love to know your thoughts.

LED LOVE

2011-02-20T19:03:00.004-07:00

I was talking to some family last night about how much I dislike the fluorescent bulbs. The light is harsh and they are toxic to throw away. So I went on a search to see if they made LED lights in the shape of regular bulbs and I came across this beauty at C. Crane.

It creates a warm light closer to an incandescent bulb, lasts about 10 years of average use and doesn't have any mercury or lead. Not cheap, but not as expensive as it used to be either! And it's quite pretty.

Just thought you should know.

VOTE...VOTE...VOTE

2011-02-16T20:42:00.009-07:00

Now that the wedding is over it's time to vote over renovation items.

I think the choice of bathtubs is a hard one because 1. buying online is less expensive, but you can't sit in them and give them a test drive 2. They aren't cheap, even online 3. They are hard to return if you don't like them.

I am a big advocate of buyers remorse. I have it all the time. In fact, Mike and I went down to the states to order kitchen cabinets. The next day I canceled the order. Mike thinks I'm nutso. Between hunger and a crying baby, I just don't feel like I was able to evaluate the cupboards well enough. And they are a LOT more expensive than a tub, and harder to return as a matter of fact. So, we are going with the $3000 cheaper Ikea cabinets and I'll just paint them. Eventually. Probably by the time Casey it 10.

What was I talking about...voting. Here are the contestants.

1. Classic pedestal cast iron tub. Beautiful, sit at either end, classic.

2. Ignore the ugliness the tub is inset into. Most affordable option. Notice where the overflow valve is set. Nice deep tub. Good sloping back.

3. Beautiful modern freestanding tub.

4. I didn't like this tub at first, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. I don't know why. Will dog hair get stuck under the slope at the bottom?

Not a tub, but a sink I WANT SO BAD!! I will give a dollar to anyone who can find it for me. I think it is a salvage school sink. Lethbridge doesn't have much for awesome flea market finds. When you do find a great item, you fall all over yourself trying to get it before someone does.

So VOTE!

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM

2011-01-15T21:06:00.006-07:00

This song title ranks as Mike's third worst song out of five.

Tonight we are looking for antiques online to use in our kitchen island. That's right, we have started work on the house at the family farm. He is in a house gutting frenzy and is pretty happy about it.

While searching for inspiration we came across this gorgeous island created by b-arch studio sabrina bignami. I think she/he/it/they are in Italy, so they won't care if I try and steal part of their idea for our kitchen.

I wonder how much it would cost to have someone build it...I wonder if I could build it...probably would take quite a while with a new baby in tow. Anyway, here it is in all of it's glory.

GOODBYE 2010...YOU WERE THE BEST

2011-01-09T13:18:00.007-07:00

Well, this is it. We ended 2010 off with a bang by having a baby. Our best moment yet. He is beautiful and perfect and a complete time waster because all we want to do is hold him or stare at him. He came with masses of dark hair and it's only gotten longer in five weeks. Here he is fresh from the bath.

It's amazing how a person's perspective instantly changes. I'm so in love with this kid it still makes me cry. I've become a real crybaby; but only about happy stuff. I'm so lucky.

Oh, and for the record, all those people who said kidney stones were worse than giving birth, lied...

STORMS

2010-12-02T09:41:00.004-07:00

My friend and old car pool sidekick Casey Hyer took this time lapse video of a storm passing over the Wasatch Front over 3 1/2 days. Gorgeous. I love seeing how the direction of the clouds shift. You should check out his other photography stuff here. I really wanted to fly him up to take pictures of our wedding, but...that didn't happen.

As a side note, you have to see his little girl, you have never seen bigger cheeks.

Time Lapse Storm in Utah's Wasatch, Nov 2011 from Casey Hyer on Vimeo.

LANDFILL

2010-11-26T08:19:00.017-07:00

So, lately I've been reading blogs of people who produce very little garbage. I love the idea but it's a really hard task. Everything you buy is packaged, double packaged or triple packaged. Even if it doesn't need to be. Every time I go to the grocery store and buy a head of lettuce, I think, "Do I need to put this lettuce in the plastic produce bag?" The answer is no, but I do it anyway. AND I can never remember my shopping bags. So I have a drawer filled to the gills with plastic bags. I'm a creature of habit and laziness.

And then there is the subject of diapers... It's really what started my whole pattern of thinking. How do I keep from contributing excessive amounts to our landfills. Some people, especially family, will think I'm a tree hugger, but... I like trees. Is this a bad thing?

This morning I was reminded of my seemingly impossible desire when I came across these extremely cool bags. They are almost entirely upcycled from old materials. I want one. They would make a great but expensive diaper bag.

You can buy them at peace4you.

They remind me of these dresses made from old canvas tents Mike and I saw at an art gallery in Nelson, BC. Angelika Werth is the artist behind them. They fascinated me. I couldn't stop looking at every detail. This is where Mike and I went our different ways in the museum. He went in search of the History of Beer and I stayed put.

They make me think of an old rocking chair I bought. I was going to go and buy some canvas fabric to recover it, but maybe I'll go in search of something a bit more interesting at Goodwill and upcycle it.

We'll see. Only two more weeks until this baby makes his debut. supposedly.

LIGHTING

2010-11-24T13:11:00.004-07:00

These are AWESOME! I will be either buying them or making something similar to them for my own house. The idea of them over the dinner table makes me weak in the knees. Maybe the babies room...hmm I like that
idea too. Found here.

DONE!

2010-11-15T21:13:00.010-07:00

And it only took me a year and a half to do it.

The inspiration came when I saw in a hip little fabric store some enchanting applique quilts and exclaimed to my friend Renae, "I'm going to start designing quilts!" And she basically let me believe that this was the best idea I've ever had! Because that is the type of person she is. I wonder if she would have told me if she thought it was a bad idea...?

I promptly recruited my friend Lara to help. She is amazing with a needle and thread. And to keep things manageable, I started by designing two baby quilts. One for her and one for me. When I posted the fabric in this post and the start of the quilt project in this post, my only thoughts were I'm going to get this done in a month or two. No sweat.

Little did I know that in a weeks time I would meet Mike and start a crazy awesome carnival ride that would lead me to actually finishing this quilt for our baby boy that is currently tossing and turning in my belly right now. A little miracle that I thought would never happen for me.

I wish I could say it is all Mike's fault this quilt took so long. But really, I'm just easily distracted. Creative ADD. That and the needle turned applique birds. If you want to make this quilt and you are in a hurry, machine applique. There is no shame in that. Those bird beaks require patience.

But now I am done. The baby can come and I think the small ruffle looks gorgeous. It isn't girly at all. Any baby can sport a small ruffle. Have I convinced you? I've certainly convinced myself.

I love the layered look of one quilt on top of the other. It adds a lot of depth. That scallop took a lot of brain power to pull off. You can barely see the contrasting polka dot fabric underneath, but trust me, It's dang cute.

I've never done a quilt with embroidery before, and I'm thinking it's possible that every quilt I make in the future will have it. It's just such a great detail. I showed a close-up last year of the stitch here.

All that is left is to wrap my new baby up in it when he arrives. Well, I have to write the instructions for the quilt too. I hope that doesn't take another year and a half. I hope I can remember what I did.

INSPIRED

2010-10-29T04:20:00.004-06:00

It's been so long since I've wanted to be crafty. But tonight/this morning I feel the sudden urge. Maybe it's because tomorrow/today is my last day of work before I take maternity leave. (Thank you Canada for such a generous benefit.) I was feeling guilty about taking off a month early, but not anymore. My ankle bones disappear at the end of every day. It's pretty freaky and generally not an attractive look. But hopefully this will give me time to finish making blankets and burp clothes. Organize the babies bedroom. Finish the baby quilt I started two years ago. Etc, but now I want to add this to the list.

Wouldn't these be awesome hanging from your Christmas tree? I found these snowflakes on one of my favorite crafter's blog, maggie makes. I love the stuff she develops and shows. She is making hers out of fabric, but I think paper would be stunning too.

WEDDING TIDBITS...DECOR

2010-10-03T14:47:00.024-06:00

Our reception was held in an old Mennonite church that had been abandoned due to a feud between church members. Never a good thing, but we fell in love with it as soon as we walked in. It had some great characteristics including a large hole that had been cut into the center of the chapel floor to accommodate the large machinery of the new owner. An interesting solution that probably had some Mennonites turning over in their graves. Hopefully they would approve of the wedding decorations more than the farm equipment. It's now the Gem of the West museum and filled with all sorts of fun nicknacks.

Apparently some people had more fun with the museum than even I had anticipated. I hope they don't mind that I showed their pictures. It makes me laugh so hard.

Being drawn to a spring garden theme for a wedding reception is definitely a good idea, unless you live in the cold north where spring is just barely starting to show. But that didn't stop me! I had lots of ideas that didn't pan out, like forcing paperwhites. Such a pretty bulb. But they wouldn't ship them unless night time temps were above freezing. But, I found out that you can also force flowering tree branches and lily of the valley. Woohoo!

So Mike and I cut some branches from his barely budding apple, lilac and cherry trees and I set to work forcing their blossoms. It was amazing to see their progress every day, but it was the cherry branches that became the most showy. And while there weren't any blooms on the trees outside, we had some beautiful spring flowers inside.

To give spring even more of a boost I decided to bite the bullet and make giant paper flowers from postal wrapping paper. I really went back and forth about doing these flowers. I knew they would be very time consuming and possibly flop and if weren't for family members ready to pitch in wouldn't have happened. I love how they turned out. Some people took them home at the end of the night and I have a few on the wall in my office. Some hard work you just can't get rid of.

To keep with the relaxed feel for the reception I found some beautiful paper by Amy Butler that were made into pennant garlands to drape everywhere. You say circus, I say festive garden.

Our guest book table looked so pretty and had such a great concept behind it. People were asked to write down memories or give advice that we would then hang on the stage wall. I think there was a lot of confusion. Most people didn't fill it out and those that did gave us the same advice, don't go to bed angry. We also got a few notes that people were writing to each other and passing around. "That guy at the table to your left is pretty cute." "Should we go over and talk to him?" "I think he's married..." We had fun afterwards trying to figure out who wrote these notes.

Every wedding has a favor and ours was no different. Mike's mom recently passed away and we wanted to include her in the wedding. Gladiolas were a love of hers and as a result the family farm had hundreds of bulbs that we packaged up and placed on each dinner plate. I love how it turned out.

And the desert table. Pies surrounded by spring flowers, moss and logs. Some of the logs were cut to be pie stands and others were cut to accommodate succulents. Have you ever tried to buy moss online. Not cheap. However, if you happen to have a friend who lives in Oregon that is willing to go pillage the nearest forest or sidewalk, that's the direction you should go in.

We bought pies, but the best ones were made by my mom and aunts. Mom made our wedding pie, however, it didn't make it out of my brothers car until after the pie eating started. I do believe it was eaten though. Just not by the bride and groom.

Which leads us to mood lighting. I really wanted candles in mason jars. I loved the relaxed look, but mostly loved the idea of washing them afterwards and reusing the jars instead of buying candle holders that I wouldn't know what to do with afterwards.

All I can say is, if you plan on decorating yourself, it can't be done without the help of your family, the grooms family and friends. I think that is what makes it even more memorable. Having everyone rally around to pull off a seemingly impossible task. The talking the laughing the idea swapping...I don't know that I would abuse everyone if I were to do it again. I would probably go more simple. But if I did that, I wouldn't have the memories of the love expressed through those helping hands. And what a loss that would be.

WEDDING TIDBITS...INVITES

2010-09-07T12:40:00.010-06:00

The time has come (and probably past) to start sharing bits and pieces of our wedding. I know you're dying to see it all, because my life is incredibly fascinating. It is, I'm just waiting for Hollywood to call.

So, let's start with the invites. Makes sense.

I put in some late nights sketching, researching, and designing them, then I turned around and completely changed how I wanted the invites to look. I really like how they turned out, simple and fresh. Mike and I had a fun coming up with the timeline, I think it is our favorite part. Mike's most baffling part was WHY was I stressing so much over how the invite should look. Just write it down on some loose leaf paper and lets go make photocopies! Okay, he didn't say that, but I'm sure he would have been fine if that's what we had done.

Then it was all hands on deck to assemble. My sister and niece even came up from the states (with a couple wedding dresses in tow). What would I ever have done without family. Here are some of them, assembling and cutting etc etc.

Why are these times some of the most fun? Probably because I get to boss everyone around.

Their nimble fingers created this package...

Which opened up into these pieces...

That tells a little story...

Let me tell you. These pictures were a pain. The wind kept knocking them down and clouds kept rolling by and I should go back in and make them all the same size and color, but...who cares.

I will always love these invites. I may dislike the design as it becomes dated, but I will always remember the fun time we had getting the ideas out there, having family assemble them and for mostly what they represent. One of the best days in my life.

MURPHY MY HOUSE

2010-08-30T06:44:00.002-06:00

I've always loved the concept of Murphy beds, but this company goes beyond expanding just a bedroom. If I had a tiny space I would seriously consider this furniture.

TIME TO PURGE

2010-06-12T13:17:00.006-06:00

I've been reading my friend, The Lazy Organizer's blog lately. Well, I always read it, but lately she has been talking about getting rid of stuff. She introduced me to the 100 thing challenge. Maybe a little extreme for me, but I love the living on less philosophy. I have always thought I was an anti-collector and had mostly just the basics. But then I quite grad school and went to school for graphic design. Let the collecting begin...

As an artist, you inherently have to keep ALL of your drawings. Not to mention ALL of the art supplies. Then I started working for Stampin' Up! Where, as an employee, you get LOTS and LOTS of art supplies for bargain basement prices. And you simply cannot refuse these supplies, because, you may need them one day and when would you ever get them at such a price again? Plus, as a product designer, you must have all of the product you designed for your portfolio in your possession. This equates to more and more and more stuff.

THEN, there is the collecting of paperwork. Do I really need to keep 5 years of bank statements and credit card statements? Don't the banks have copies of these? Plus years of my payment stubs, and mortgage payment receipts.

I can't tell you how much collecting more stuff went against my belief system, but the belief of who knows, the IRS may come knocking and I will need to dig out the IRS forms I filled out in 2001 wins. And lets face it, that 2001 form could have been done wrong, but don't they have a copy of it? If they don't, why are they contacting me in the first place?

When I packed up my house last August, I considered it a time to purge. I got rid of clothes, furniture, electronics, mason jars, an extra microwave (why do I have an extra microwave? Actually, I had 2! extra microwaves), a set of 4 turned tabled legs that were sent to me by mistake ( I was always going to make something with them. I had them for 5 years), my bed, etc.

But, I kept the 8 large tubs of Stampin' Up! Supplies. I really don't stamp, but I thought someone in my family might enjoy using my stuff. I kept the 2 tubs of my art supplies. I kept ratty old towels (for my dog). I kept skirts, shirts, and shoes I haven't worn in 3 years. I kept t-shirts from the 90's because, I reasoned, they are good to paint the house in. And I kept 3 bar stools, which I really love, but were too tall for the bar I had in my house and will probably be to tall for a bar in any future house I may have, sigh...they are really cool.

So, after moving 5 times since September, and realizing most of my stuff is still in boxes and I don't miss it, I've decided to really purge. However, here is the problem. I want to keep my books. I have probably missed them the least, except, I love them the most. I have always wanted a library and find tremendous value in books. I don't want a kindle, I don't want all of my favorite magazines to only be available on the web. I love the smell of a book, the feel of a book. I value books. I know I can go to the library and I do, but I want my own.

I want this...
Admittedly, the books are half of my boxes right now. But I want them, and I'm going to get more. You can't stop me. But the rest can go.

MOTHER'S DAY

2010-05-08T11:03:00.007-06:00

So, my wedding sucked all of my creativity from me. Hmm, that sounds like I hate being married. NOT TRUE!! I love being married, I just wouldn't decorate the hall next time. Or I would hire the SU girls to do it all for me, straight from concept to execution. Then I would just walk in and say, "It's soooo beautiful!"

It's taken a month, but I feel my design juices starting to come back to life. If I feel creative enough today, I'm going to make these for Mother's Day. Found at Simply...Gluten Free.

TWO MORE DAYS

2010-04-08T11:00:00.002-06:00

Found here.

PLANNER

2010-03-23T10:37:00.003-06:00

I'm loving this new planner Erin Zamrzla made for herself. Oh crafty people...she's got LOTS of great stuff in her Etsy shop.

VOTE VOTE VOTE

2010-03-09T20:06:00.010-07:00

So, the last voting session was so fun, here on the blog and on facebook, I thought I would see if I could get you guys to participate again!!

This time it's over flowers. Let me tell you, deciding how to decorate is tough. Because I really want to decorate like David Stark, the event planner genius. But I lack thousands and thousands of dollars and time. My decorating will probably be sparse, and that's hard, my head is filled with so many great ideas and choosing which one is actually possible is tough.

But enough about that, this is about bouquets...VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!

#1 Oh anemones, how I love thee. My friend Venessa turned me onto these and I will be forever grateful.
#2 Lavender. My favorite plant in my garden. I would have this hands down if I could get it fresh like in the first picture, which is impossible in April. So, dried then.

#3 Lavender with wheat. I think this is so gorgeous, but possibly a little cliche, considering I'm marrying a farmer.
#4 White tulips, great for April
#5 Ranunculus, speaks for itself

#6 Succulents. I came across these yesterday and am in LOVE with them. I think they are so beautiful and unique. Alberta isn't known for it's desert landscape, but does it matter?

#7 Parrot Tulips. Pretty...
#8 All green. Kind of fun, and my color!
#9 White Gerber daisies always look good.

#10 Lily of the Valley. I would do this too, but the florist basically said no, it's too fragile. But how do these people do it???

INVITES TO DROOL OVER

2010-03-01T18:54:00.023-07:00

So most of the invites are out! This is a major accomplishment. I like how they turned out, but they were never what I had in mind. They became more simple in their look, not necessarily simple in the length of time they took to create. And because our turnaround time was tight, I try to forgive myself for the little design flaws I would fix had I noticed them before they went to press. (Pictures to come sooner or later. They will come though.)

We wanted something a little different and fun. Maybe interesting to read. We had fun putting it together. And I had fun finding inspiration. Here are some fun wedding invites I found online.

I'm really loving Rifle Paper Co. My new favorite website.

Found at the Wedding Chicks

Peculiar Pair Press
Boxcar Press

So beautiful...Jeremy & Kathleen

Studio on Fire. They can do no wrong in my eyes. The font in the second invite really inspired me so I stole it! Okay, it is an old font already that I never realized had the swashes. I love how the designer added the leaf detail to the end. Oh to have the time to do fun stuff.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

2010-02-16T22:48:00.010-07:00

I seriously had no idea how hard it would be to pick a wedding dress! I'm in a mental turmoil.

I'm going to show some options and you guys should tell me which one you like. Some are serious options, some I just admire. I've tried on some I like, but I have no idea who designed them, so... VOTE VOTE VOTE. Imagine them with straps. VOTE VOTE VOTE.

#1 J Crew

#2 J Crew

#3 Nicole Miller

#4 Wtoo

#5 Nicole Miller

#6 Oscar De La Renta (Like I could afford it)

#7 Norstrom

#8 Nordstrom
#9 Davids Bridal

#10 Nicole Miller

CAREER CHANGE

2010-01-29T19:39:00.005-07:00

I've decided what I want to be. An artist that does "installations". I want to be able to say things like, "I did an installation at the Gutenberg. You should check it out."

Anyway, while looking for wedding decor ideas, I came accross this awesomness of an installation by Jean-Luc Comec for the Frankfurt Museum. I want one. Maybe I should do a sheep/phone themed wedding.

JANUARY IS ENGAGING

2010-01-24T21:17:00.005-07:00

I knew what was coming when he said on Tuesday, "Don't make any plans for Friday." I tried to push it from my mind. Like the time I saw the Sesame Street record under the desk before my birthday. Only minutes after my brain said, "What album? I didn't see any album." But come date night, the pushing became a giant shoving match in my brain. "Tonight's the night." became much louder than, "What date? I didn't see any date."

He picked me up and he was nervous. Every time he wasn't looking at me a giant grin was plastered on my face. I followed along with the worst lie in history. "We need to go to Henderson Lake and give Ryan a letter from the relatives in Holland. He want's us to meet him by the canons." Really . . . Sounds plausible, let's go.

We wandered down to the canons and nervously talked about the day we first met right there at that spot. He got down on one knee and said, "Patricia Joanne Bogdan, will you marry me?" and I said, "Yes . . . How could I not marry you?" Well, I wish I said yes!, i really said, "Yeah . . . How could I not marry you?" Just like that, up high, then down lo, then up high again. Like a giant stupid U. Well, I had to class up the proposal somehow.

But how could I not marry him? There is a reason I waited 20 years. It's lovely when it feels like fate, destiny and kismett clashing together. I don't care that they all mean the same thing. It's a powerful moment. I'm glad I didn't miss it.

And I'm not going to let the fact that I don't necessarily believe in fate ruin it for me! I'm in love.

MOVING AGAIN

2009-12-21T09:46:00.009-07:00

I'm moving again. The farm house has been rented so I'm moving into town and finally found a nice clean place. I'm tired of moving. This is my 4th official move since September. Most everything is still in boxes so I don't really need too pack up to much, but if I ever want to box stuff up in a creative way, I want Michael Johansson to come and do my packing. His sculptures are crazy fun.

BATHROOM BEFORE AND AFTER

2009-12-18T09:56:00.008-07:00

This bathroom redo is gorgeous. I saw it on Design Sponge and had to share the glory of it all. The tile on the floor, the vanity, the sink...yum. If I ever have a bathroom big enough to do this in, I'm totally stealing this idea. You can find it over at Southern Exposure.

FROZEN NORTH

2009-12-16T11:55:00.006-07:00

What you believe about Canada is true. We live in igloos. It has been so cold up here that the inside of my windows froze. Ice inside the house = an igloo in my book.

It has been so cold my Listerine froze. I didn't know this was possible. I mean, don't people put alcohol in freezers and it stays a liquid? I don't know what the alcohol content is in Listerine, but I know it has been used by some people to take the edge off. Hmm, come to think of it, my laser cutter broke before I could even use it yesterday. Off to find my Listerine.

I DID THIS (PART 1)

2009-12-08T01:49:00.019-07:00

It's been a month and a half since I left my job at Stampin' Up to move to Canada. Last weekend I was down collecting the last of my life and went to dinner with my "old" coworkers. I can't tell you enough how wonderful they are. If everyone got to work with as funny, beautiful, caring women as I did, you would be fortunate indeed. I miss my back up singers . . . "Trouble with a capital "T" And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!". You think I'm sucking up right now don't you . . .

Being a product designer is the coolest creative job and I wanted to show some of my favorite stuff I did. So anyone out there looking for a freelance paper product designer, HIRE ME! I'm available.

Usually after designing a product I'm pretty sick of looking at it, but not this. I still love this DSP, Urban Garden. Andrea and I thought we were such geniuses when we put these colors together.

Here is the stamp set I did to go with the silhouette line. I really wanted these pictures, I wonder where they ended up?

Build-a-fairytale . . . Reminds me of my felt boards I played with as a kid. Really fun to design.

Taking the Pink Flamingo paper to review was very heart pounding. I had worked on it for hours the night before and it felt very risky to present. It was so different. But Shelly put it in her line! That was a nice surprise.

Oh Raspberry Tart . . . I knew these colors were going to be to die for. And I don't like pink! I think I had a few eyebrows raised at me when I suggested the combination, but I work with a very trusting group. Kiwi Kiss, I wish that color would always be in style. I have an awful feeling that forest green will be raising it's ugly head soon, it was big in the 80's. Remember?

Well, there is the first installment of my SU! portfolio presentation. I have got to go to bed. WHY AM I STILL AWAKE! I wish I could show you the stuff going in 2010's catalog. It ranks up there with Urban Garden as one of my favorites.

SAVE CHRISTMAS

2009-12-03T22:30:00.002-07:00

This commercial makes me laugh EVERY time. Last night Mike and I couldn't stop laughing. The more we see it, the more we laugh. There must be some subliminal message, because it isn't that funny.

IT'S DECEMEBER!

2009-12-03T08:43:00.004-07:00

I'm so busy lately. Actually, it's not lately, it's always. There just aren't enough hours in the day. I'm continually making daily lists to work through, and yet I never make it through. I just keep adding to it. I now have two working lists, one that I need to work through now and one that includes things I want to do, but aren't going to happen any time soon. I just don't want to forget about them you know.

I'm also supposed to give out a Christmas list so I don't end up with . . . oh . . . say . . . underwear with ruffles on the bum. I got that for Christmas years ago. I was so embarrassed. I saw these Christmas Cheat Sheets this morning by Simon Cook and think they are fun.

He's got a lot of great designs on his website and free downloads too.

COMFORT

2009-11-07T00:34:00.004-07:00

I go to bed every night when it gets cold with a hot water bottle. I like mine bare so I get good and hot under the covers. (Keep it clean people.) But these hot water bottle covers are so fun. I found it while stalking Maggie Makes blog, but the tutorial is found at Patchwork.

I love blogs and tutorials. What did we ever do before the web.

OH CANADA

2009-11-03T09:16:00.016-07:00

I live here now...
I know you think I'm joking, That's my dad standing there. Okay, now I'm lying, that's not my dad and we do get snow but it usually looks like this...

A lot less exciting huh? It's definitely dumped snow here, but it likes to blow away, really faaaarrrr away. The wind blows so hard that they have put up a wind gauge in Lethbridge.

Yes, that is a big wrecking ball blowing in the wind. Okay, okay, it is also a sculpture. I can never hold onto a lie very long, but let me tell you, the wind has blown so hard here that I have almost been blown back to school on my walk home. NO JOKE! The wind has also blown me across a skating rink. I hate the wind. It's ruined many ice cream cones.

After 20 years I have moved back to where I grew up, Southern Alberta.
Andre Salvador
Mike Basil Otto RappTo date a farmer who lives on property very similar to this...
Otto Rapp
He doesn't farm the coulee of course, he farms the land on top of his coulee. The flat stuff. It's very flat where I live. Strange after living among mountains for so long. And the city of Lethbridge isn't known for it's quaintness, but I'm determined to discover it. I know it's in there somewhere.

Luckily the mountains are only 45 minutes away. Alberta has some of the most beautiful wilderness you have ever seen.

I worked here for the summer...

Okay, I bailed after 2 weeks, but I still worked there!!! Waterton is a slice of heaven on earth and just an hour away.

Then there is Banff. It can feel like another world. Especially when you walk into the specialty shops and the Japanese shopkeepers shake their hands at you and exclaim, "I don't speak English."

"But, I'm in Canada....aren't I? Where am I?" It's very disconcerting.

Moving back has been surreal. But I will admit, something fills my heart when the Canadian border guards say, "Welcome home."

So there will be more to post about Alberta as I do my best to convince everyone to come for a visit.

STOCKINGS

2009-10-29T11:10:00.004-06:00

Almost time to think about Christmas. Look at this amazing tutorial for stockings from Maggie Makes. The colors are so beautiful and non-traditional. I think I might have to make some. I'm pretty sure if my friend Paula likes it enough she'll have it made by this weekend. She is compelled to craft after all and the fastest crafter I have ever seen.

NEW CAMERA

2009-10-01T20:37:00.013-06:00

Yep, I splurged and got a new camera. The photogs at work tried to convince me that I needed the Canon 7D. They are silver tongued canon convincers and I almost took the bait. But in reality, I have a lot to learn before I plunk down what to the photog world is a paltry sum of money for fairly good equipment. If I ever think I'm good enough to deserve the 7D, I'll spend, spend, spend. Instead I just spent, spent on the Canon T1i.

I took it out for a spin yesterday and WOW, I love the camera and can't wait till I take photos that I drool over. But this is what I have so far, using my dog as my muse.

Off to find the rock amongst the grain.

I think he smells it!

Where'd he go?

A chocolate lab rises from the gold.

Stand BACK.

I could only get this shot by faking I was going to throw a rock. How do people get pictures of dogs? When I move, he moves. I'm not going to lie, me + camera + dog = a frustrated agony.

PEARLS

2009-09-30T05:27:00.004-06:00

I love this necklace featured on Style Me Pretty. I have no idea where I would wear it or what I would wear it with, but I really want to make one. Stephanie explains how she made it here and all I can think is, it would never occur to me to make something that looked so feminine, sheik and downright cool. If cosmic forces aligned and I had accidentally made this, I would think, "I want my money and my time back!" Sometimes it's easier to evaluate things when they are made by other hands.

Isn't she a pretty bride? She looks like Marisa Tomei.

GET DIRTY

2009-09-18T19:11:00.013-06:00

Oh Roland . . . I don't know where I would hang this after I messed around with it, but I love the whole concept. A+!

THE WHITE HOUSE

2009-09-12T22:42:00.021-06:00

I am homeless . . . I feel great! I can't believe it. On Tuesday I shed some tears as my sister and I hurriedly tried to shove every last bit of my life in our cars. I walked through the house alone, admired, got verklempt then drove away. Wednesday I found out the correct plumbing wasn't fixed, so after I signed my closing papers I had to go sit at my now SOLD house and wait as the plumber worked and thought, this house is still taking money from me! I walked through again after I handed over the check, locked the doors, dropped the key through the mail slot and shed no tears. Friday I did a drive by, yes I did. The driveway was filled with cars. The front door was open with people milling by and I thought, well, they get to deal with the bills and the spiders, and the weeds and the unfinished fence and the plumbing now. Not my problem. I am FREE!!

Until I buy another house. I've already decided my next house will be a lovely and warm and white. What!! you don't think white can be warm? I disagree. What do you think of these...

The above is from a show I love, Design Inc. They do such amazing stuff. I don't really want all white furniture because I'm the worlds largest slob, but I admire. From afar...

Check out that chandelier above, kind of hard to see, but so interesting.

Throw in some colorful rugs wowza! You've got amazing things happening.

Amy Butler has started home textiles and she is rockin' the rugs. I just want to lay across them.

I also found this company, Galbraith & Paul while looking for rugs tonight. Holy cow they rock my eyes! (words from my friend Jen, sort of). They design and make the textiles, lighting and rugs? themselves.

These lampshades are awesome. How fun would they be in a white house! I know.

And here they are actually making the fabric. I want to do this. Who does this? Please invite me over so I can learn your tricks and make my own stuff. Seriously. Nothing makes me want something less than when everyone else has it. So therefor, I should make my own. How high school I know. I should be ashamed, but I'm not.

QUILT BLOCKS

2009-08-28T10:16:00.006-06:00

I'm packing up my house and finding things that haven't seen the light of day for a few years and I'm throwing a lot away. I'm not really a junk collector. However, I will probably never get rid of these quilt blocks. I started them 11 years ago when I moved to Oregon. I was bored and lonely and so to occupy my time I went out and bought fabric. Makes sense right?

But I'm not sure what to do. 11 years is a long time. Fabric has changed and I certainly wouldn't choose this fabric to make this quilt again. Should I finish it? Should I change out the fabric and start again? I'm inclined to think the fabric really isn't that bad. A couple little country designs never hurt anyone...except emotionally.

What do you think?

POOR BABY

2009-08-25T21:59:00.011-06:00

What type of mother will I make. Look at my poor dog! This is what happens to him when he isn't allowed in the house in Canada. The mosquitoes try to carry him away while they suck him dry.

Many times my mom would say, "It's such a beautiful day, I'm sure Jasper would rather be outside."

"Wanna, bet." And I would promptly open the door and show him the great outdoors. "Here's your chance. Go be a free dog." His ears would instantly drop and he'd look at me like I was punishing him. So I would grab his collar and give it a little tug and in turn he would instantly go stiff legged, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!"

He hates being outside. If I sit outside in my backyard with him and a fly happens to land on his butt, he gets up and goes in, leaving me to my own devices. He's such a pansy.

Look at his poor swollen eyes.

And all down his snout. He must have had hundreds of bites.

"You did this to me." A dog can say a lot with his eyes. Swollen eyes say, you're a bad mother. Guilty....

RATS OF THE SKY

2009-08-24T22:05:00.004-06:00

Love 'em or hate 'em, they are awesome in this stop animation. I want to do stop animation. I need to control the things I want to do because I never do any of them and it just gets depressing after a while.

Michael Stevenson did his film Pigeon Pilfer as a student at San Francisco State University. It took 60 pounds of clay. I wonder how much it cost him? Being an art student is expensive. What am I saying? Being a student is expensive!

Pigeon Pilfer from Michael Stevenson on Vimeo.

COLORED EDGES

2009-08-20T23:18:00.003-06:00

How pretty. I kind of miss making business cards and I'm really loving colored edges. Especially this color green. Yum. I want to make something so I can color the edges, stack them and enjoy. I think one of the things I love most about Studio On Fire, aside from the jobs they print is the tips they give with their posts. It makes me feel smarter.

IT'S ABOUT TIME!! LITERALLY

2009-08-15T00:06:00.008-06:00

I finally took the time today to stitch on my quilt. The last time I did it was when I was in Canada. Guess where I am now . . . in Canada again! Maybe I should stay and get the quilt done. I'm obviously too busy to finish it at home. Too many other things happening.

I really love this embroidery stitch; the two grays twisted together give it a nice depth. I think it is called a rope stitch? I'll have to refer to my notes when I'm home. Maybe that will motivate me to put the quilt higher on the totem pole of priorities. If I keep going at this pace The Lazy Organizer will have finished her quilt months before me. And she's self-confessed LAZY!!

JOHN HUGHES

2009-08-12T09:01:00.002-06:00

Isn't is sad John Hughes passed away? Nobody made high school films like he did. And it isn't just because I was in high school when he made them. The best kiss ever was in Some Kind of Wonderful. Watts is so awkward and I remember slipping down in my theater seat when Keith grabs Watts' butt. I think I still would!

The music is killer as well. It gave the kiss even more impact. Hughes, or whomever, picked the greatest music for his films. He introduced me to Otis Redding in Pretty in Pink and I still have Try a Little Tenderness on tape. I think I found it in a second hand store.

I so wanted Andie to be with Duckie. He had the coolest shoes.

SELLING

2009-07-29T23:39:00.011-06:00

So, I'm selling my house. It's kind of a bittersweet thing. If it sells I'll love paying off my student loan and car, but I will cry mucho tears when I hand over the keys. I've been here almost 7 years. I keep reminding myself, it's just a house, but it's my home. Sigh.

LIGHT FIXTURES

2009-06-20T19:55:00.003-06:00

I desperately want this light fixture. I have for years, ever since I saw it on an HGTV design show. It's a bit more than I want to spend at this point in my life though. Maybe I should try and make one. How hard could that be?

ETERNITY TO FOLLOW

2009-06-12T13:24:00.004-06:00

I saw Matt Dorfman's invite on Design Sponge today. How can you not love the story! Great design too. (Stupid blogger, you'll need to click on the image to read it, because of the size restrictions.)

NPR

2009-06-12T08:37:00.006-06:00

I love NPR and I love creative people and I'm really loving little dioramas lately. 3d artwork in general. Here they are all combined in a piece of artwork done by Grady Mcferrin for an NPR calendar. I love how he does the leaves on the trees.

Here is some other stuff he's done. Awesome.

OVERHEARD

2009-05-25T12:22:00.002-06:00

"You have really cute feet."
"Are you sure you're looking at my feet?"
"Ya, they are really cute, well . . . except this big toe"
"Uh huh"
"And this second toe has a weird curve to it."
"Yes. . ."
"But this third toe, it's really cute."

BEFORE AND AFTER

2009-05-10T20:32:00.012-06:00

So I was looking at my yard when I first moved into my house this weekend and comparing it to how it looks now. Wow, I am amazing. Seriously? Is it bad to have too much self pride. I feel bad for the number of plants I killed in the process of getting it here though. May they rest in peace.

Before

After

I'M A SCIENTIST

2009-05-07T23:12:00.005-06:00

Once again I'm stealing photos from Jen. It was my Birthday last week and my team did the best desk decor I've ever had. Nothing like having a scientist in your midst to make these dumb artists around here smarter.

THE MAGIC OF CHALK

2009-05-04T21:51:00.003-06:00

Wow, I am soooo digging this song, Autumn Story, by the Firekites and the animation that goes along with it completely sells it for me.

I am entranced.

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

FLOWERS

2009-04-27T20:18:00.013-06:00

I have found the most beautiful flowers today on Martha's website. The top one is a paper technique you can make with leftover scraps of paper. LOVE IT! And while I still love paper flowers, I have now found these incredible clay flowers which may just trump the paper. So stunning. I might have to invest in the book at some point. They really remind me of the flowers people do out of fondant.

SILK RIBBON

2009-04-16T22:29:00.008-06:00

A while back I was looking at the Oh Happy Day blog admiring the silk ribbon embroidery she was showcasing. I can't get it out of my head and think I might give it a try.

Wouldn't it be fun to do it along the bottom of a skirt. I do love how it's done on this J Crew Dress.

HANDS AT WORK

2009-04-13T22:08:00.010-06:00

I have always been fascinated by hands at work. Their movements are beautiful and graceful. Right after hands is the tongue. It's kind of grossly fascinating to watch. Seriously, stand in front of the mirror and roll your tongue around for a while and see if you don't start to see it as an alien in your mouth.

Anyhoo, back to hands. Whenever I watch Lara sew I can't help but watch her hands. I think it creeps her out.

Don't you agree? Pretty hands.

Below is what we did for 6 hours on Saturday. Our mouths open yapping away while our hands did some work. When I was driving home I remembered all of the conversations I started and didn't finish because more interesting topics came up or they just flew out of my head.

And most interesting of all was miss smiley. Happy to lay on her future quilt. it was a really fun day.

But we can't forget the dog. After running around the farm with the kids he was completely comatose by the time I got him home. He had a good day as well.

NEW IDEAS

2009-04-10T13:36:00.009-06:00

I spent the day yesterday with my friend The Lazy Organizer picking out fabric for my new project. In an effort to make babies cooler than they already are I've designed two quilt patterns that we are going to sew up and then share with the world. Yes, my creative ADD has taken me back to quilts, but this time I have the ability to put my own spin on it and a good friend helping me along the way.

So here is a sneak peak at the beginning of our task. I can't tell you how excited I am to get started on this quilt. Aren't these fabrics so beautiful! It was so hard to pick out the final combination and I liked them at the store, but after soaking them, drying them and getting them ready to press I have literally fallen in love. You should go over to lara's blog and see the fabric she picked out. I'm telling you, those fabrics are going to make her quilt something amazing.

RICK-ROLL

2009-04-08T20:21:00.013-06:00

This is my team. I love them. A creative group of awesome people that couldn't be cooler to work with. I stole these photos from Jen and will also steal her words, because why rewrite something so well written . . .

This past Thursday at work we celebrated Markus' birthday. Our theme? Rick-rolling! I won't get into how we came up with that as our theme...but let's just say...it was awesome timing. His entire cubicle was covered in Rick Astley posters...

I really wish I had gotten pictures/video of his card. We actually got a hold of one of those sound-bite mechanisms for musical cards, which was cleverly disguised inside the card behind a cut-out of Rick Astley's head, with a "Don't Push This!" reverse psychology button, right? ... & when you pressed it, it played a recording of "Never Gonna Give You Up". Brilliant.

Markus had brought in some of his vintage ties he collects, for a project he's working on, so later that day he gave us a quick lesson on how to tie a Windsor knot. Some of us had a bit of trouble (*a-hem* Lauren) workin' the tie...

After we were all rockin' our vintage ties we had a quick photo shoot...

My awesome design team members include The Ultra-Fabulous Patti B, 'Nessa VonThinkWe'reAloneNow, Julie Vogue McFly, Markus The Miami Vice Pimp, and Lauren McNailed-It (as in her tie...finally).

And the rest of these were too good not to share. I encourage you to click for a larger version of these...there's some classic face-work happenin' ;) I love these guys.

FIRST BIRTHDAY

2009-04-04T18:44:00.009-06:00

Today was my little nieces birthday and she was completely adorable. I love her. We decorated her main "photo op" cake last night until 11 pm. This "dive in" cake is pink whip cream that made its way up to her elbows, ears and hair. I had to pull out my phone to get some pics. She's so cute even through a phone.

Happy Birthday! A year sure passes fast.

DECORATORS

2009-03-30T20:24:00.015-06:00

If I were to ever win Powerball I would use some of the money to hire a decorator and it would be one of these women. One I saw on Design Sponge and the other I used to watch religiously when I had HGTV.

I wish I lived in a state that had Powerball. However, when I did live in a state that did have it I never played, but it didn't stop me from dreaming about it.

Jessica Helgerson uses neutrals in the most lovely way

Candice Olsen has the best lighting design.

I'M IN LOVE

2009-03-26T23:11:00.010-06:00

And it's not with a man it's with the 2unfold bag from Hand Graft. (Although the man in the photo is pretty cute). All of these photos belong to one bag. Seriously, it can do all of these things. It can hold a 17" laptop or fold down into a clutch. I like the messenger look and the clutch look the most. The canvas comes from reversing it inside out. Genius. If I had 500 bucks just lying around I'd get one. How do I become that woman who needs $40K a week just to survive.

Venessa found some awesome inspiration online today.

PERFECT PILLOWS

2009-03-24T19:38:00.010-06:00

Now, as a little girl I hated ruffles. I wore them because it was the 70's and the beginning of the 80's and my mom sewed my clothes. I guess I could handle it in the dresses until I hit junior high, but the underwear was more than I could bear, or bare if you like. I think I had ruffly underwear even before I was in kindergarten. I hated them and cried if I had to wear them.

Which makes it strange that I LOVE these pillows done by my childhood friend, college roommate for a time, and even sister, The Lazy Organizer. Sister is a questionable term though, if you were to equate her to a Woman of the Amazon, then I would be a Pigmy.

But I look at these pillows and I want to fill my couch and bed, then luxuriate in them like her little girl is. I want to be a girly girl. I'm just really digging the red, pink and lime green together. I wonder why?

Oh well, my Pigmy furnishings will have to do for now.<

LITTLE PERKS

2009-03-24T19:26:00.002-06:00

My Etsy site gets a nice little lift when my stuff is shown on Etsy's front page. This time in the gift section, and two items listed FIRST!

No sales, but it still adds a little cheer to my day.

TALENT

2009-03-18T23:30:00.004-06:00

You guys should check out what my friend Kristina is up to. Talent oozing from ever finger.

101 & COUNTING

2009-03-13T14:15:00.019-06:00

100-year-old celebrates her birthday by smoking 170,000th cigarette

Last night my Etsy site hit 100 sales and now it's up to 101. It's a red letter day! In celebration I stayed up late on the internet researching things to go with my 100 moment and it would be a mistake not to start with the above Winnie Langley.

Fittingly if Winnie's lungs haven't given out on her yet, she is now officially 101 (my current sales data) as this article I found was old. And she must be as sharp as a tack if she can remember the number of cigarettes she has smoked in her lifetime. I can't even remember where I park my car at work. What does Winnie attribute her longevity to? I quote, "Mrs Langley insists she's never suffered because of the habit as she "has never inhaled". . . That sounds strangely familiar.

Second we'll talk about how it is the 100 year anniversary of how Ernest Shackleton's expedition claims to have found the Magnetic South Pole, but the location recorded for it may be incorrect. So, what we are to learn from this Wikipedia entry of things that happened in 1909, is that even declarations are historically important, because apparently this dude didn't in fact find the South Pole, but some random spot next to it. So, in the spirit of historical declarations, I claim that I have found the Magnetic Mountain West Pole on my run this morning. You heard it here first. I put it in my back pocket. Did you get that Wikipedia?

Third is AFI's top 100 movies, selected by AFI's blue-ribbon panel. I really think that AFI should rename their blue-ribbon panel because now I can't get the image of large pigs at the state fair out of my mind. Anyway, I digress; the 100th movie is Yankee Doddle Dandy. I've seen and it was very entertained by it. Moving on.

Fourth, I would love to write what the 100th song is on Billboards Top 100 today, but apparently you have to be a subscriber to see the lowest numbers on the chart. Who cares about number 1! The rudest thing I can say about Billboard and keep this thing PG is that your all a bunch of Blue-Ribbon Panelists!

Fifth, on the S&P 100 Apple is trading at 95.93 and Microsoft is trading at 16.65. I wish I had stock in Apple. Well, I wish I had stock in Microsoft as well and had cashed out when it was high. Apparently Bill Gates' wife wants an iPhone SO bad, but she is forbidden from owning one. I have an iPhone. Na na na na neener, I have something you can't buy with all your copious amounts of money. . . Somehow I don't feel better.

Anyway, that's it. I was toying with the idea of making this a list of 100 Facts About 100, but truthfully a list of 5 is long enough.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

2009-02-18T21:34:00.009-07:00

Sometimes, when things seem to be going awry, it's nice to look at something pretty. These letterpress items from Studio on fire are pretty luscious. Jen and I were drooling over them today at work.

CORALINE

2009-02-13T21:24:00.007-07:00

It's been kind of a while since I've posted. I guess nothing profound has hit me. Good inspiration has happened however. I went with a group of girlfriends to the movie Coraline. I love stop animation and this was wonderful. You should really go see it. And don't take your kids. I think it's a little scary for them.

Here are a few photos. I love to see behind the scenes to get a sense of all the work that goes into an animated film.

THE ANTI-DIAMOND

2009-02-02T22:23:00.008-07:00

I saw this ring on the front page of Etsy a couple days ago and fell in love. I call it the Anti-diamond ring. It's completely rocker cool and really a classic. Filled with silver instead of a gem, genius. So if your looking for something edgy and none traditional, but will still last a long time...I think this is your baby. You can find it here.

This is cool as well.

This is my favorite though.

VALENTINES

2009-01-31T15:18:00.001-07:00

Remember passing out Valentines to your classmates in elementary school? It was always so exciting to get that sheet of perforated cards and figure out who to give them to. Should you sign your name or become a secret admirer?

I loved those memories and wanted to create my own for my Etsy shop. Print as many as you need and share the love.

HMM

2009-01-28T21:10:00.002-07:00

I just read that Domino Magazine is going to be no longer. That's a serious source of inspiration and fun design out the window. What a bummer.

CARS

2009-01-25T15:48:00.002-07:00

So, I've been looking at cars all weekend because mine is quickly descending into the depths of despair. I bought one on Saturday, and will pick it up on Monday so they can detail it. However I discovered a little snag. They told me it was all-wheel-drive, but I discovered it's really front wheel drive. I'm fine with that, except I was dickering over the price of an all-wheel. I may tell them I don't want it, as I haven't completed the papers. It's the principle you know!

Anyway, in celebration of a new car, here is a very cool Audi commercial. I love Audi's but not as much as I love this Audi commercial. (I didn't get an Audi : )

JORGÉ

2009-01-18T13:14:00.005-07:00

So my friend Jen is doing some really funny blog posts lately. 365 days of Jorgé, her little rubber pig. You seriously need to read her posts.

Here we are with Jorgé at Big City Soup on Thursday. He loved our afternoon of inspiration. He even saw Russell Simmons and knew him. I however did not. I saw his shoes and wouldn't have known him if I looked up anyway. I live in a sad sheltered pathetic world.

CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATION

2009-01-16T21:42:00.010-07:00

I went out this Thursday with my coworkers on an inspiration shopping trip. It's always a good time. Julie and I ended up in a children's store looking at the most amazing pop-up book. I mean, this thing had the most amazing engineering causing huge trees to pop out of fairly small book.

I love children's books. It's such a wonderful place to showcase an artists crazy skills. This guy, Jelle Gijsberts from the Netherlands, has such a great use of light with happy images. I simply want to wander through the images he creates.

FELT FLOWER

2009-01-14T18:45:00.003-07:00

I love this felt flower so much. I just love how full and flowery it is. Not flat like my previous felt flower. I really want to teach myself how to make it so I can use it in a project. It's gone now but you can find it at the Balsam Etsy shop.

ETSY FRONT PAGE

2009-01-09T10:49:00.003-07:00

Hey! I was on the front page of Etsy and didn't know. Some kind person e-mailed me. That's fun!

LOOKY HERE

2009-01-06T19:00:00.006-07:00

Here are two fun designs done by customers. I love seeing how other people transform their Chandelier in a Box.

HAPPY . . . BASICALLY

2009-01-02T12:21:00.007-07:00

"Yes, basically I'm a happy person." I love that line in When Harry Met Sally and it fits me perfectly. I really am happy. But...

Now this "but" doesn't cancel out my initial statement, but (there it is again) on Monday I was feeling a little of the after Christmas blues. On that same Monday, I went to a very good friends wedding, an old boyfriend as a matter of fact, and I sat there watching him and his new bride beam with happiness and listened to all of the positive comments that were made about both and I remembered . . . David really is happy. He throws caution to the wind and cheerfully finds pleasure in almost everything. I also remembered how David told me on a few occasions. "You have a good life Patti, you have to choose to be happy."

Now, I reiterate, I consider myself a happy person. I realize I have a wonderful life, job, house etc. but I think it's taken me a while to get here. I used to be the person that said, "I'll be happier when {blank} happens." And when {blank} happened I'd move onto the next "thing" that I believed would make me really happy. And I’m a bit of a complainer. I think it keeps me free of ulcers. AND, I like to downplay things so that if they turn out better than I expected, it’s that much more exciting! For example, “I just know that noise is a robber waiting to kill me in the bathroom. Oh, it’s just my drunk neighbor banging on the wrong door. I’m alive! Hallelujah!” But seriously, I think what David said is true, you have to choose to be happy.

I can see I've unconsciously followed his advice in the following way. My last two jobs were miserable and I helped along that misery by having a bad attitude in one job and not quitting the other horrible job soon enough. I was also hating graphic design and really missed working in a scientific field. It took some time, but finally I was fed up with the mental misery and decided to stop lamenting science and really embrace graphic design. I was going to make it work and it was going to start working by finding a new job. But I was picky, it took a year to find something that I thought was a good fit and as soon as I found my new job I made another resolution, "I'm going to love this job if it kills me."

I'm not dead yet. I do love my job and graphic design. It's amazingly creative and I work with really wonderful people. I'm happy, and I made that choice to be. So when I think back on David’s advice all I can say is, he’s right. (He would LOVE to hear me say that to him.)

But it could be better. While wallowing in my after Christmas blues I thought not just about what David said, but all of the other people who have been talking about living a more positive life, namely my friends Kristina and Oprah. Haha. And I think now is the time to really get serious about being happy and attracting all that is good into my life. So I got the book Being Happy by Andrew Matthews to carry around as a personal reminder and . . .

I’m starting a new blog, Up Not Down, A Happy Direction. This blog is a place to share stories, inspire and motivate people who have made the choice to have a happier life.

So go over to the new blog and email me your stories so we can share your inspiration and I’ll find funny things that remind us why life is so great. Remember, if you’re too busy being happy you won’t see that there is anything wrong with that.

TYPOGRAPHIC PAPER

2008-12-27T20:43:00.006-07:00

I just found these beautiful paper sculptures done by Yulia Brodskaya. It's really just an awesome representation of paper quilling. Most quilling I've seen looks pretty dated, but seeing this makes me want to run out and give it a whirl.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-23T21:11:00.003-07:00

I had to post this image from Design Sponge. I simply love it and one day will do it when I get my wrapping act together.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

TPLO BUMMER

2008-12-18T23:51:00.005-07:00

I've taken my dog running a lot this summer, getting him an me in shape. Unfortunately, he started getting a little gimpy and finally blew out his ACL and has been hobbling around on 3 legs the last couple weeks. He's only 7 1/2 and I really want his remaining years to be good, so he went in for TPLO surgery this morning.

It's pretty invasive and involves the sawing of bones so I shed a few tears when I dropped him off because you never know what could happen during surgery. But they said he looks good although he may have an ulcer. I'm not even going to think about what that means. And I've decided not to think about the money either. Just like Scarlet, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

I LOVE PAPER

2008-12-16T22:24:00.007-07:00

Paper is awesome. It's so versatile and extremely cool. For example paper flowers are WAY more cool than silk flowers. So if you think you're hip, and you have silk flowers in your house, you might not be. I'm just sayin'.

Now I feel bad for saying that. . . I once told a roommate that if your jeans rubbed together when you walked you knew you were gaining too much weight. That was a mistake. I have never seen anyone agonize more about the fact that her jeans rubbed together. The fact is, everyone's jeans rub together when they walk and no matter how many times I tried to recant my jean rubbing statement, she would never let it go. She had other issues as well though...

So don't throw out your flowers. If you have silk flowers you can probably pull it off because of your extreme hipness!

Speaking of large hips, these paper wreaths done by Haru are to die for. She has a real skill in putting them together. I love how she has made the bottom a little thicker than the top on some of them. Nice touch.

I might have to try and make some of these.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

2008-12-13T12:37:00.007-07:00

I've been so busy this year, that I decided to buy a fake tree. Hmmm. The thought of getting a real tree and chopping off the bottom and remembering to water it, was almost overwhelming so, a fake pre-lit tree it was.

I'm not sure if it was easier though. That thing is heavy, and I got the floor model so we had to stuff the whole thing in my car. In the process breaking a wire. So I had to hard wire some lights together. I'm thinking it could be a potential fire hazard. But I'm willing to risk it for the lights. I haven't even bothered to decorate it yet, but I'm enjoying the glow from the many little lights.

So, in remembrance of my real little trees in Christmases past, here is a couple photos of one of them.

POSTAL CALENDAR

2008-12-09T20:31:00.006-07:00

It occurs to me I never posted my new Postal Calendar. I love it. I'm waiting for some to be delivered this week to sell, but a lucky girl in New York got my prototype.

TAKE NOTES

2008-12-08T20:34:00.015-07:00

I often teach a woman at work a lot about her computer design programs and she religiously takes notes on scraps of paper that inevitably get lost the next day and I end up going over the instructions again because she says she can't remember. Which is great because it gives me an excuse to talk to her. If you knew her, you would want to talk to her also.

However, over a month ago, I told her I was going to make her a book. No more scraps of paper. And here it is. Orange to match her hair and personality and I only gave her two tabs for computer notes and work ideas. Keep it simple.

I thought other people might like to make this book for themselves or others so I put it in my Etsy shop. The blue one will go up tomorrow.

SO LET IT BE WRITTEN

2008-12-05T15:41:00.004-07:00

So let it be done.

Christi Shanks, you are the lucky Glittering Tulip Chandelier in a Box winner! How exciting! I think I use too many exclamation points in life. But sometimes it's just too dang awesome not to.

I'll e-mail you to get your address.

Thanks for participating everyone.

HOLIDAY SHOWCASE

2008-12-04T22:26:00.007-07:00

This is the first time I have ever done a showcase. What a crazy amount of work getting everything ready. Then I think of the women getting the beautiful house ready where the Piper and Chloe Holiday Showcase is being held, and how much time they've put in. It's amazing these things get launched.

So, I took a photo of my setup. It's not like I originally planned because they wanted to hang the my mini chandeliers from their real chandeliers. Kind of a fun twist.

Using the ladder was Renae's brilliant idea. She's a genius that one. I think it looks cute, if you can tell through the horrific photo.

Don't forget the Glittering Tulip giveaway tomorrow. You still have time to enter.

CUPCAKE STAND

2008-12-02T19:01:00.003-07:00

I saw this beautiful stand on Etsy's front page today. I think it is dreamy. There is not a better word for it. You can find it at Whitney Smith's Etsy site.

Oh and Andrea, it's time for you to go home ; )