She works hard for it, honey

Though my posts don't indicate it, I've actually been very busy knocking things off my Big Ass Summer List. I've done the dishes EVERY DAY for the past month (a big deal w/o a dishwasher), Jeni Olsen Design hired me as a Junior Designer (!!), Trevor's weekends off means we're able to spend more much time together as a family, we've been knocking BS items off our credit reports, I've signed up for 3 classes (all online!) in the fall, aaaaand we're back in the house hunt!

Yep. We have to buy this year to take advantage of a bunch of programs, so it's needless to say that I'm hustlin'. In addition to my 30hrs / week at the print shop, I've racked up an additional 15hrs per week between Strong Creative and JOD items. Not getting much sleep, but it's so worth it! I'd rather break up my work day this way, than work 8hrs straight and only have enough time to feed Delaney before getting her ready for bed.

So, some recent projects, fresh from my inspiration board:


Logo and collateral for David Aten Events
Logo and business cards (and brochure and signage!) for Revive Skin Spa
Logo and business cards for Denny Design


Painted pallet for Jeni and her kitty (he's a big fan of my work) photo from JO

With school starting in two weeks, I REALLY need to knock out this last quilt. It's kinda due in 11 days. Luckily, it's pieced in strips, I just need to piece the strips together, then, you know, actually quilt the beast, bind, and deliver. No pressure.

I'll get into how we're buying a house in another post…it's pretty awesome :)

Office Progress!

Well, today I've been able to cross, not one, but TWO things off my Big Ass Summer To-Do List (as it's been referenced to on FB).

You remember the chaos and general ugliness that was my office/dining room before, right? Well, here's a reminder:



Yeah. Not good. Did I mention earlier that that printer has been without black ink, and therefore unusable since before we even moved into this place, 2.5yrs ago? I work at a print shop, so I don't panic when I have Hancock or Michael's coupons to print.

Here we are today, with "inspiration board" and "paint and hang green Ikea LACK shelf" crossed off the BASTDL.





Still a whole lot to do, and items to buy for styling, but I'm heading there. And I promise, decent "after" photos (like, not using my iPhone). Hey, if Emily Henderson can do it, so can I! Getting those hard drives and modem out of my working zone makes the space seem so much bigger already!

Mood board coming soon, as I price and measure out all my options. I DO know I'll be getting one of those $59 IKEA counter tops to cover my existing desk. It'll go all the way to the window, giving us more surface AND storage space (bye bye Booda Dome!)

PS, last week we went to Monterey for some awesome family time. Four generations, from 18mo to 89yrs. Can't resist some motherly bragging! Who's this pretty girl?

Things to do this summer

Because after all, there's nothing like a list. And just for fun, I've listed 24 things to do (or start) before I turn 24 at the end of September.

Source: etsy.com via Emily on Pinterest

1. Take Delaney to feed the ducks

2. Get the backyard in friends-over-for-BBQ state
- more lawn, less blackberry rambles
- prune lemon tree Done 6/26 while on the phone with Best Friend Kelly
- paint old patio furniture and grill

3. Clean out garage Finished 7/1 with Trev, so he'd have room to finish his arcade machine

4. Pull together our bedroom
- upholstered headboard
- paint nightstands
- retrofit/refinish existing dresser
- reupholster ottoman
- area rug from estate sale
- curtains
- duvet cover and bed styling
- paint walls and ceiling to match the rest of the house

5. Go to the beach once a month with Kelly and our girls

6. Update the office into a functional, inspirational space
- paint existing desk/shelf - Finished 6/18 - not hung because apparently drilling through exterior-now-interior-thanks-to-a-sunroom-addition 1934 stucco is hard. Took 15min and lots of sparks to do ONE hole.
- ikea wood counter top
- inspiration board - Finished 6/18
- litterbox solution
- curtains
- dining room cohesion - effing mouse pad for my spazzy optical mouse - Finished 7/15.


7. Get business license for StrongCreative

8. Establish dish-washing routine - Finished 7/30. It's official, I've done dishes EVERY DAY for the past month. Looking forward to my future dishwasher, ugh.

9. Lose 25lbs by August 17th

10. Finish upholstering couch, add new feet.

11. Get Delaney potty trained

12. Get Delaney in her big-girl bed (and big girl bed out of garage, see item 3)

13. Run an 8min mile

14. Find affordable, reliable daycare so I can work 8hrs a day

15. Boost my credit score to 600 (or higher!)

16. Five new StrongCreative clients - Finished 8/1 Okay, so I've just added 3 Strong Creative clients, but I was hired by Jeni @ Jeni Olsen Design as her Junior Designer! Now I get to work on awesome, big-name-client projects, and have the best mentor/boss lady/friend to learn from.

17. Finish my MIL's quilt (by Aug 11)

18. Go on a date with Trevor once a month (or more!)

19. Take Allie to the dog park once a week

20. Pay down family debts by half - Finished 8/1


21. Refresh living room
- reupholster waiting room chair in something bright
- Bring in teak shelving units
- area rug (estate sale)
- rearrange for optimum comfort/entertaining.
- rotate photo frames (and finally take the provided "fake family portraits" out of a few of them)

22. Limit coffee intake to cups brewed at home or work.

Sign up for (and eventually pass) two more classes towards BA degree - Finished 7/15, taking THREE classes!


24. Spend as much time outside with my family as our schedules and daylight allow.

25. Go on IKEA (and Urban Ore??) field trip with BCE Jeni Olsen - added 6/17 because she basically demanded it.

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.

Almost there!

Dru's quilt top is finished!

Now, all I need to do is wait for a batting sale and Hancock Fabrics, and I can quilt this baby.



Can you spot the robots?

Fabric Madness!

Yesterday, while finishing up laundry and website updates with my mom, my youngest sister asked the thing every budding crafter wants to hear: "So, what are you making me for my birthday?"

Love that kid. The three of us quickly decided on a quilt, and my mom offered (well, agreed to) pay for the fabric if I sewed it. Really? Someone wants to enable finance my sewing habit? Heck yes! We decided the quilt would be a joint birthday present from me and Mom, and then Dru will take it off to college with her. Seriously, I was a little verklempt.

Later (after Delaney and Trevor were in bed), I called my mom to show her the bundles I had picked out for Dru on FabricWorm. Somehow, it turned into a marathon conference call; me on one end, and Mom, Dru, and my step-dad, Randy (requesting a 50's bowling "Pins and Fins" quilt). Lets just say we got a little out of hand.






Now, instead of one birthday quilt, I have a birthday quilt for youngest sister Dru, 20yr Camping Trip Anniversary quilt, a birthday quilt for my mom, and a birthday quilt for 2nd oldest sister Blair. Gotta love FabricWorm for their bundles! Now I just have to get busy....

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!

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 :)

The Jungle: Machete time

You know, if Machete = WeedWhacker. And in this case, it does.

Remember how overgrown my backyard was a few months ago? Here's a reminder:





Well, being that I took those pictures exactly two months ago today, the yard had grown a bit more. So add a good two feet onto everything. I meant to take a picture this morning, but forgot because I only had a limited amount of time to be outside (but I'm sure shame played a small part in that oversight).

In an hour, I yanked out a bunch of weeds, and weedwacked the entire lawn. Since everything had pretty much turned into a nature preserve, at times I was concerned about a possible attack by a snake, possum, or particularly violent mama bird. But, I made it through unscathed, and have now defined where the lawn previously existed.



Isn't she helpful? Thought she'd do some digging to remove some weeds.

I left all the tall weeds in the lawn area for another day. Reason 1: The pansy .065 trim line I bought couldn't handle 1/2" stems (trunks?) Reason 2: Even if I did hack them down, our mower couldn't handle the leftovers.

So, here's the plan of attack to get this yard in BBQ party shape:
1. Pull out ALL the weedtrees. On the side of the house (behind my garden patch), within the lemon tree, in the "lanscaped" area behind everything, and on the right side of the deck.
2. Mow lawn progressively shorter and treat with turfbuilder w/ weed control and water the heck out of it.
3. Prune back lemon tree, monster lavender and palms.

After that, I should be left with a clean slate to "decorate". We'll talk flowers and groundcover and sun shades then.

Catching up

It's been a while, hasn't it? Time flies when you're working/mommying/cleaning/cooking/scrambling for cash. I feel like I'm always doing SOMETHING, and yet nothing ever gets done. I can't tell you the last time my sink wasn't filled with dishes, let alone whipped out my sewing machine.

I've been trying to spend as much quality time with baby girl as possible. With working in the morning, and Trevor leaving a mere 4hrs before her bedtime, I feel like I don't get enough quality time with the munchkin. So, while she's awake I don't clean, don't exercise, try not to watch TV, don't blog or craft. I just hang out with baby girl.

Tonight was a rough one, where she needed to be in my arms the entire time, not a single nap her entire day. I couldn't seem to provide enough milk for her, which is easily the MOST frustrating thing for a mom. At least, for this mom.

I desperately want to get in the backyard and fix it... I ran across a picture from when we first saw the rental on Craigslist, and it's laughable to think they're the same yard. But, I just don't have the time. I get crap from my family for not going back up to town, when I just desperately need someone here to help me. Someone else to hold my precious one so I can get outside and fix up my yard, or do 17 loads of laundry. Trevor and I hardly have anytime together with him picking up doubles, and the last thing I want to do is chores the few hours we have.

Sigh. It's just been a rough night, and I need a creative outlet. I'm slowly clearing out and reorganizing the office for our new desk (which I need another able body to help me lift into the house, of course). I moved all the books into the living room, into the bookshelf that still needs to be put back on top of the TV like it was before the Epic Leak of 2010. For now, this rainbow will do it for me. (Oh, notice the new paint color, and white curtains in the living room? Very nice.)

Oh, I also made this cool washable fabric basket I found from HowAboutOrange, who found it on JezzePrints. So, I didn't iron the fabric in the first place, but it's not bad for a first try! Jezze's instructions were super clear, and easy to follow. It now resides in my linen closet holding baby medicines (and nail polish). I'm going to make two bigger ones to hold all the bottles underneath my sink.

All in all, I guess I haven't been completely neglecting the home (as I promised in the last post), I just don't have time to blog about it! I work on the dining room while I can, but pretty much any other projects (quilts, gifts, bedroom, etc) have had a kibosh put on them until I can get the yard under control. I want to have a BBQ at the house for my birthday at the end of the summer, which gives me 4mo to get it under control.

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!