Teamwork!

I'm back with a quickie little update, as I check things off my Big Ass List of things to do this summer.

Trevor recently switched his schedule around, so he officially has weekends off for the first time since 2007! As you can imagine, my head is spinning with all the things we could do. Dates, yardwork, day trips, dog park, house work, etc etc. However, he of course has his own ideas of what he's going to do, and he's finally going to finish his arcade refab. I mentioned this a MILLION years ago, but for the past year or so, that monstrosity has been sitting in my garage, taking up room from MY neglected projects. Hmph.

Anyway, he needs a place to sand/paint/build, right? Great! Lets clean the garage. Check.. Lets go to Home Depot and buy a palm sander, shop vac, and fertilizer while we're at it! Check, check, check. Guess I can't complain if I get to benefit from his purchases too!

Speaking of fertilizer, I've been working on my backyard for what seems forever (Here's an intervention-ish post froma year ago in …usually in fits and spurts and sunburns, only to get too busy to even go outside some weeks. Well, since it's on my Big Ass List, I have to put some serious effort into it, and it's looking better! Last week I mowed (twice in a month, getting more consistent!) and pruned the lemon tree.

This is what it looks like today, out my kitchen window as I did dishes:




It's definitely getting better…tonight, I'll be spreading some of this stuff on the front lawn, to get it nice and dark green.


Soon, I'll have office updates for you…an IKEA trip is in my very near future!

DIY: Typographic Pallet Art

I know I've mentioned a million times that I work for a print company. What I haven't embellished on, is that paper is shipped on pallets, so there's a TON of pallets in all shapes and sizes behind our shop. Seriously. And with this whole ReduceReuseRecycle fad officially a "lifestyle movement", I couldn't help but be inspired.

I've always been a lover of typographic art, but since the last month of Strong Creative has been all about graphic design, rather than the tactile arts, I couldn't help but be inspired.

A quick print out of our favorite song lyric in Arial at 150pts, cut out with an Exacto blade, made a perfect stencil. Note, I didn't say the stenciling itself was perfect…all these years of watching HGTV, and I forgot to stipple with a dry brush, rather than paint it on.

I have to say tho, I love the "perfectly-non-perfect" effect, and even better, my Trevor LOVES it. He's always proud of my work, but this is the first decor-y item he's been completely blown away and thrilled by. So, they'll be for sale in my Etsy shop shortly. (Edit: For sale now in my Etsy Shop!) Pick your own meaningful quote, of course ;)

Also, not too shabby, that the blue matches my new-to-me lamps from Napa's newest consignment store, Roost.

Completely Uninspired

Yep, I discovered Pinterest, just like everyone else recently. (follow me?) While the photos are totally inspiring, when I sit down to create (bags, quilts, logos), I'm just completely devoid of any creativity. Hi, Strong Creative not-so-much.

However, tonight in a cleaning frenzy, I think I figured it out. Welcome to my office(slash-diningroom-slash-cat bathroom):







Some things seriously need to change. That broken Dell, the pile of bills to file, the excess of wires, the hidden chaos behind the curtain, the exposed litter box (DIY suggestions?) I need places to stash papers and crap, with labels, so things aren't arbitrarily shoved in boxes when guests come over. I LOVE the wood art piece, it's actually a coffee table my grandpa (graphic artist and jewelry designer) designed and built. I need color, calm, a mouse pad, and a place to jot notes to myself. Also, while we're at it, maybe I should replace the print cartridges in my printer? It's been two years, but I work for a print shop, so it isn't exactly first priority. I also have a old, HUGE cork board in the garage, just waiting for spray paint and a fabric background.

Luckily, our dear Pinterest (no, really, follow me) has some awesome work spaces.

Source: None via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: None via Ariel on Pinterest

Source: google.com via eqart on Pinterest

Love the frames, and the bookshelf, carving out a little colorful workspace.

Source: 26.media.tumblr.com via Rachel on Pinterest

LOVE that yellow fireplace in the background! Colorful spaces like this blend well into my kid-toy cluttered life.

Source: designspongeonline.com via Stefanie on Pinterest

Small, but functional.

Source: madebygirl.blogspot.com via Ally on Pinterest

Source: lamaisondannag.blogspot.com via Valentina on Pinterest

Source: designspongeonline.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Mel on Pinterest

Source: olofjakobina.blogspot.com via Bobbi on Pinterest

Source: designspongeonline.com via Mia on Pinterest

Love the elastic memo board!

Source: matchbookmag.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Clearly, I'm not into "fussy". More controlled, colorful chaos. (say that 3x fast). White background, with pops of color…I love the idea of keeping the organizational tools (shelves, boxes, etc) the same color as the wall, to let everything that's hidden in the boxes just disappear into thin air. Yep, I like that.

So very excited.

This weekend is bound to be very fun, and VERY productive. Today, I'm purging, Goodwilling, and FreeCycling. I can't get out into the yard just yet (need two adults in the house), so I'm instead directing my energy at the forgotten storage zones in our house. Our closet, Delaney's closet, the garage. I will, however, need a certain baby (who is currently sorting dog food into bowls) to take a nap before I head down to take care of that last part.

TOMORROW (dun dun dun) is a play date with my friend Kelly. While our babies are probably too young to care about one another, Kel and I will be fashioning an upholstered headboard for her master bedroom. Her husband is getting in on the bedroom action too, apparently he's absolutely giddy to break out his jigsaw.

There's about a bajillion tutorials out there, and this is actually the second upholstery project Kel and I will have done together (she helped with the Rocker Re-Do: Part Two). So really, dear internet, I just need you to provide inspiration.




(Click above pictures for individual tutorials from the amazing, and NorCal, Centsational Girl)


via decorator.girl


via CasaSugar


via Project Pretty


via A Dad A Mom and A Little Lady


Kel is thinking something in grey/silvery tones, to compliment her purple and green accents. Stay tuned to see what we come up with!

DIY: Quilted Potholders

Remember the peek at my Handmade 2011 present for Elizabeth?

Here's a full gander!





Adorable, right? Elizabeth's kitchen has red accents (not to mention she's SO into holiday-decorating). I did all the quilting on my sewing machine, which is unable to drop the feed dogs. Soooo it's slow going, but the hearts are so damn cute, I can't even stand it. Now, to enter them in Prudent Baby's contest.

DIY: Business Card Holder

I don't talk about work much, for a number of reasons. Mainly, I'm trying to keep up the illusion that I'm much more professional than my 23-year-old brain feels it should be. Also, there's none of the extra mind-game crap I dealt with at my previous job, so usually I just go along my merry way.

I work for a print-shop in Napa. The company has been around for a gadzillion years, and has been staffed by family (or might-as-well-be-family) for the entire time. We do everything from business cards to banners, and I have the lucky position of seeing a job from its inception to the final product. I do sales, I do customer service, I do project management, I tap around the building in my pointy gold shoes and jeans, kindly asking "could I have this done yesterday, please?". I love it. Love love love it.

I've been carrying my super fancy business cards around the standard 250-count box since I started last April, and I don't think it's doing any justice to the foiled-embossed-glued back greatness I hand out to future clients. So, after seeing Schlosser Design's tutorial, I whipped up a cute little carry-case.




I used a 1/8" seam allowance (rather than the suggested 1/4") to accommodate for my quadruple thick cards, and yes, I did mick fabric to match the blue of our logo. (finally cut into Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow 1/2 yd I've been hoarding for almost a year thankyouverymuch.)

A link to our website is over there to the right, under "Shop Local". Maybe you've got a great photo you want printed on canvas? Or fancy shmancy business cards of your own? You know who to call.

Late nights and tree skirts

My man is in Dallas for the next few days, so I've been using those lonely nights to get things off my Christmas list!

So far the past few nights have been very productive, but mostly cleaning and organizing before the baby's birthday party. I've rearranged some artwork, finished my lovely little forest banner from Purl Bee, and worked on a few Christmas surprises that obviously won't be made public until they're seen by the recipient ;)

I do have something to show for myself the past few days, however. We finally pulled out the Christmas tree at work, and I guess the tree-skirt was lost in storage somewhere. So, what's a crafty girl to do? Ask for petty cash to whip up a new one over night :)

It was SUPER easy! I used this tutorial from Design*Sponge. I did all my cutting while the baby was happily pulling DVDs out of the entertainment unit, and finished the whole thing in probably 45min total. What a difference a properly working machine makes!

So much for no more projects....

Transformation coming soon :)

DIY: Ironing Board Cover

My ironing board was in desperate need for a facelift. It's nothing fancy, just a cheapo package deal from Walmart, something like $10 for the board and pad. This in itself was not too ugly (I mean, it's only an ironing board), but one day I found out just how sharp my rotary blade was, and ruined it for life. I continued using it, with some frustration, but too cheap to buy a new cover, or use pretty fabric to recover it.

But then, when decorating onesies with my sister, we completely destroyed the thing with iron on transfers. Oops.



Hot mess, hmm?

Luckily, Sew4Home JUST had a tutorial of how to make an ironing board cover. That, paired with common sense, and a discarded body pillow case, helped me create my new (if plain) ironing board!




I'm not so great with rolled hems and curves yet, so I sorta just made pockets at the challenging parts. But, its works fine for my purposes, and sure looks a whole lot better that the previous. Lesson learned about the rotary.

DIY idea: Ruffley Goodness Duvet Cover

The more and more I think about yesterday's post, the more I HAVE to make a duvet cover.

It's between the two Urban Outfitter knock offs I mentioned, Waterfall Ruffle, and Tuxedo Ruffle. Both look deceptively easy, but so so cozy. Technically, the Tuxedo version is a quilt, but I'm sure it'd look fine as a duvet cover, right? And if not, I can always rip out the seams, and insert a batting.

Either way, I need to bone up on my ruffle skills. I love either version in a grey, ooh, or maybe a light turquoise. Something muted, almost neutral, so I don't get sick of it so fast.

Does anybody know of a great tutorial on how to make a duvet cover? I've considered putting two flat sheets together (I've already mentioned my family's aversion to them), but I'll easily need more than 2 sheets if I want all the ruffles to be the same color.


PS. I need to redesign this blog page. It's boring the heck out of me.

To-Do: Master Bedroom

My bedroom depresses me.

Okay, not TERRIBLY, but its definitely one of the most sparse rooms in the house, and since it's not pretty, it often becomes a 15x12" laundry hamper. So then, I have nights like tonight, when I spend hours picking up dirty clothes with a baby strapped to my chest. (Let me tell you, my thighs are KILLING from the careful squats to pick things up without waking her!)

As you may know, I work best off of lists. So, a list of design ideas for our bedroom, to be bought when I have the money, or to to be recreated with crafty flair when I don't. (The latter is more frequent.)

Jewelry Storage

Gorgeous, hmm? I've been spending a lot of time up in my bedroom this evening, purging and organizing, and I came to the realization that I definitely need some sort of jewelry display. Too often necklaces end up in my undie drawer, and become tangled and broken. The picture above is from Design*Sponge. Who wants to buy me a jigsaw for my birthday?


I've seen variations on the framed jewelry board too, and if I found a particularly special frame, this might do. But, it does seem somewhat busy if you have a TON of jewelry, which I do not.

Then of course there is the ultimate lazy DIY version.

Bedding
Since we've lived together, our bedding has been cheap Tarjay/Walmart separates combined with retired duvet covers from my mom. Once, we stood in front of the wall of duvet covers at Ikea, and picked the most neutral one up there, because everything I wanted was too girly, and everything he wanted was too masculine. Ooh, grey tonal blocks. Exciting.

Ultimately, bedding is what truly makes a bedroom. It's the visual centerpiece that beckons for you to come spend more time between the sheets. Ooh, look how cozy I am. Come cuddle.


We currently have a dark cherry four poster bed, that's super high. Another mom handmedown, but it's a grown up step up from our previous Craigslist Ikea Malm bed. It's pretty similar to the photo, but the headboard is round. And it's up against our big window facing the street.

This ruffle duvet cover from Urban Outfitters looks like a great base to a cozy, dreamy bed. But for $128? Mmm, not so much. Broke, remember? This could be a great DIY project, however. My first sewing project was a bag similar to this. Same thing for their tuxedo ruffle set. Something textural and neutral, with awesome throw bright pillows. Yes please.


I'm also thinking I need to rearrange the room. With the bed in front of the window, we pretty much always need to keep the curtains drawn, which even with white curtains, makes our dark room even darker. I think I should finish Trevor's nightstand too. That thing has been sitting stripped in the garage for months now. Now if only I had the time to do any one of these things!

DIY: felt birdy mobile

No baby yet, but I've been plenty busy getting ready for her. We haven't had any extra cash (do we ever?) so I've been super creative with what I have around the house. Personally I think it makes everything better. I'm careful with the supplies I do have, with precise cutting and a 'slow and steady wins the race' mentality.

First up, that mobile I've been talking about for weeks. Some bright felt, and a couple mock-ups later, I came up with something sweet and simple that I couldn't be happier with. Trevor absolutely loves it as well :) As an extra bonus, I now have a pattern to make some cheap and meaningful Christmas ornaments for family/friends. Giving is something I love most about the season, and now I don't have to worry about showing up Christmas morning empty-handed.





Wait, what's that? Is that a different fabric on the rocking chair? I think it is.... That'll wait for the next post, because my iPhone doesn't take great pictures at night.

*edit* Ugh, sorry about that. This is my first blogger update via iPhone, and first time using my photobucket app. I know those images are size massive. I'll fix @ work tomorrow. -C