From the monthly archives:

December 2009

A Fresh Start In The New Year

December 30, 2009

in Blogs,The Sweet Life

As this year is coming to a close, I have so much to be grateful for  – the amazing fact that I purchased my first house, my supportive family and friends, my good health, and all of the truly inspiring and creative people I have gotten to know through blogging. And yet it hasn’t all been peaches and roses! I have been learning to deal with living thousands of miles away from my own family and many old, dear friends, B and I have been learning to live on less financially as I’ve taken a break from teaching to go back to school and explore what I want to do next, and adapting to the east coast culture and climate has also been a bit trying for this California girl! So yes, I am ready to move past these challenges and into a fresh new year. Are you ready, too? If you would like to share any of your triumphs or challenges from this past year, I have a nice hot cup of tea here for you, and I am ready to listen :)

I would like to share a few resources, some that I have turned to in the past and a few that I have found more recently, that I hope might inspire you as you are making your own fresh start…

I recently found my way to Jess LC’s blog, Makeunder My Life, and I love the whole concept of simplifying and designing our own lives with intention. Check out the archives of design your life interviews for inspiration.

If you are looking to develop your personal style and fill gaps in your wardrobe this year, I loved this article (see photo above) on building your wardrobe from What I Wore. And a constant source of affordable style inspiration can be found in the Chic for Cheap column on Creature Comforts and Cheap & Chic on Melissa Loves.

I know I’ve mentioned this book before, but it just seems especially fitting for the new year – Style Statement by Danielle LaPorte and Carrie McCarthy is a book, yes, but really it is a giant questionnaire that helps you examine every aspect of your life and style, boiling it down to a powerful two-word style statement.

And this last one I will be doing this year! Gretchen Rubin started her blog The Happiness Project to increase the happiness in her own life and share tips with others trying to do the same thing. In her book which has just been released (read sample chapters here), Gretchen sets one manageable (and fun) goal each month with plenty of ideas and motivation to accomplish it.

Since this is a quiet time out there, and many of you are taking a little break as well, I have decided to give myself the gift of a few days off, returning on Monday, January 4. I will be using this time to begin organizing my home from top-to-bottom, quieting my mind with meditation and yoga, and also setting my intentions for the year ahead. If you have any sources of inspiration that you would like to share as we all head into 2010, please share! And thank you so, so, so much for being here.

Happy New Year!!!

{images: linked to individual sources above}

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Sandra Suy {Sublime Fashion Illustration}

December 29, 2009

in Art

Ooh la la la la… I have been dragging myself about the house today with a bit of a head cold, but I snapped right to attention when I came across the absolutely beautiful work of illustrator Sandra Suy. Sandra, who lives in Barcelona, studied fashion design before transitioning into fashion illustration, and just recently opened her Etsy shop in June this year. I think you will really enjoy her work, so let’s have a look!

Miu

Gabrielle

Danielle

Prada and Chanel

Any one of these prints would be perfect in a boudoir, tiny powder room or above a desk, don’t you agree? You can visit Sandra’s Etsy shop or website to see more of her work. I am particularly smitten with Danielle and her moody, smoky eyes - which is your favorite?

{images: Sandra Suy}

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New Conference For Design Bloggers: Jan ’10

December 28, 2009

in Blogs

Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you are feeling rested and refreshed, and that you have been able to take some time off for the winter holidays. I had a lovely white Christmas and spent a lot of time with B’s sweet family, including my brother and sister in-law and their sweet little one, visiting from England. This morning I wanted to share a little info about an exciting new event happening this January in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Altitude Design Summit is a brand-new blogging conference specifically geared towards design and lifestyle bloggers – the first of its kind! – and it looks like an amazing opportunity to uncover fresh ideas, inspiration, and network with a group of like-minded people. Unfortunately, there is just no way that I will be able to attend this time, but allow me to tempt you…

Oh yes, that’s right – Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy, Jean Aw of NotCot, and Heather B. Armstrong of Dooce will all be a part of the keynote panel. I mean, WOW! For their first year, the folks at Alt have managed to secure a superstar lineup. And aside from the parties, skiing, and inspiring lectures, there will also be “speed networking” sessions, where design and lifestyle bloggers can meet with potential advertisers. And, The Sundance Film Festival will be going on at the same time, only 40 minutes away if you want to sneak away from the conference to catch a film or post yourself in a cafe and people-watch. The Altitude Design Summit looks especially worthwhile if you would like to grow your blog or even make blogging a career, as this kind of networking and learning directly from pros is invaluable.

I would love to know – have you heard of this conference, and if so, what do you think? Personally, I feel that because blogging can be so solitary, any opportunity to get out there and meet real live people outside of blogland is a fantastic idea, and it is something I wish would happen more often. But at the same time, I realize that it can feel a bit intimidating, especially to meet some of your blogging “heroes” or even readers who may not have pictured you exactly the way that you really are!

{images: blog mastheads linked to individual sources above}

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Merry and Bright

December 23, 2009

in The Sweet Life

Our tree is up, my sweetie is home with me, and it is time to unplug and spend time connecting with family and friends. I am looking forward to cookie-baking, tea-sipping, exchanging gifts, phone calls with friends and family far away, snow walks, and a bit of peace and quiet. I am also planning on spending some time cleaning and organizing my home, examining things we have accumulated over the past year and letting go of those things that have become clutter or just no longer fit with the life I want to have. I love doing this at the end of the year – it makes the new year really feel like a fresh start. Do you know what I mean? Do you have any end-of-the-year traditions or routines that help you feel prepared and excited about the new year ahead? If you, like me, are searching for inspiration to help motivate you to clear and freshen your home, may I suggest browsing through the inspiration images from Amy Butler…

This is exactly how I want my home to feel: warm, vibrant, and fun, yet also fresh and uncluttered. So for the rest of the week I will be unplugged from the computer as much as possible, spending time connecting, cooking, clutter-clearing, and treasuring the most important things in my life. I will pop in from time to time to moderate comments, but otherwise I will see you back here on Monday, December 28! And thank you so, so much for choosing to spend a bit of your day here with me. Happy holidays!!

{images: Amy Butler}

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Easy DIY Inspiration Canvas

December 22, 2009

in Craft & DIY

I have been needing some sort of inspiration/pin board yet had been reluctant to shell out the cash for a finished version. I knew I wanted to create a DIY inspiration board, but most of the projects I have seen look like they take quite a long time and frankly, I just don’t have the motivation to get started on a complicated project right now! So a few weeks ago I saw a picture in a magazine (I believe it was Country Living) showing an inspiration board made from artists’ canvas and ribbon. There were no instructions on how to make it and only a brief mention in the magazine, so I decided to recreate it on my own – and it was easy (and came out quite nicely), so I decided to share this little DIY project with you!

Notes on materials: The materials you will need are pretty simple – I found everything at my local art & craft store. Most stores carry prestretched artists’ canvas in a wide array of sizes, so you can choose any size you like for this project. The canvas I used is 24″ x 36″ and cost about $25, but there were more expensive canvases made from linen (instead of cotton duck) and in various thicknesses. I chose an ivory grosgrain ribbon, but next time I might choose something more colorful! As noted, you can use either hot glue or a staple gun for this project – I like using the hot glue gun because if you want to change the ribbons in the future, it is fairly easy to pry off the glue spots and reuse the canvas.

Prep: To get a feel for how you want your ribbon grid to look, cut a few lengths of ribbon and play around making a grid on your canvas until you are satisfied with the look. I decided on a grid using 3 ribbons on the short side and 5 on the long side for my 24″x36″ canvas. Once you know how many ribbons you will be using, cut as many as you need and set aside. Next, divide the length of each side of your canvas by the number of grids: this will tell you how many inches to measure between your ribbons. Using my 24″x36″ canvas as an example:

24 (inches)/4 (grids) = 6 inches between ribbons on the short side

36 (inches)/6 (grids) = 6 inches again

Using your ruler or measuring tape and pencil, mark the place where each ribbon will go on the back of the canvas.

Step 1: Using your pencil marks as a guide, attach the end of each ribbon to the wood frame on the underside of canvas with a dot of hot glue (or a staple gun). Repeat for one long side and one short side of canvas – the ends of all of your ribbons should still be dangling.

Step 2: Turn your canvas right side up and straighten the ribbons so they lay flat and straight against the canvas. If you like, you can “weave” them together as shown above, alternating over-and-under for each row of ribbons. When you are finished, pull each ribbon taught and hold in place temporarily with a bit of scotch tape.

Step 3: Glue, glue, glue! First, turn your canvas over and glue down all of the remaining loose ends. Then flip canvas right side up and glue some of the ribbons together on the front of your board (as shown above) – this will make it easier to tuck smaller items into your inspiration board. I would leave at least a few spots unglued, to allow for larger items. If you have been using a staple gun up to this point, switch to either hot glue or superglue for this final step!

Picture 9

Tada! Not so hard, right? And there are so many ways you could customize this to fit your needs: you could paint the canvas a solid color before attaching the ribbon, or attach your ribbon on a diagonal instead of in a straight grid, or use small, square canvases and hang three side-by-side or hang a grid of four canvases on your wall…get creative and make it your own if you like! I do have to warn you that the ribbons are not perfect for holding up all items, so I am planning on supplementing my ribbons with a few post earrings used as pins to help hold up heavier items.

I really hope you enjoyed my first DIY project, and please let me know if you do, because I am considering adding more in the future and I would love to know if this is something you are interested in!

{images: Laura Gaskill}

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