Posts tagged ‘design’

Priming the glazed carrot walls

I’m taking a week off of sewing Easter dresses and working on pattern samples to paint the kitchen. Three years ago, Rob was traveling to Russia or Spain or something for a week or two. While he was gone I painted the kitchen “Glazed Carrot” without warning him that it was going to happen. When he came home he was shocked. And as one can expect, when you take a risk like that it never turns out well, he has never liked it that way.

I’ve already started painting the new color, which is called “Root Beer Float” on the back splash wall. And I must say it is quite thrilling. I will wait to give the full visual when the room is completed, because how many pictures of a half painted room can one blog have before it is just old? But with the new color up on the wall I am wondering why I waited so long to make the switch. It is just lovely. A fawny brown with just a bit of yellow undertones, keeping it nice and warm.

And of course, when Rob came home from work and found the work I had already done he said, “Do you think it’s too mustardy?” But then he followed it with, “Well, I really like it. I like it a lot.” So, from now on I don’t have to hear him complain about the kitchen walls, I only have to hear about how I once painted the kitchen traffic cone orange. Hurray!

Oh my goodness. I hate it when I say: “I was just thinking the same thing!” because I say it all the time. In fact my Mom told me that I think too loud because everyone always knows what I’m about to say before I say it. Often they say it for me and then I wonder if my Mom was right.

Well, this has happened in a big way over at the Nesting Place, where The Nester is writing a series on the theory of thrifting, and when too much is too much (here’s the final post). I’ll tell you my thoughts must be mighty loud because they’ve traveled over state lines to get into her mind.

The inspirational clutter-free cottage.

Ironically, her low clutter mission began after visiting a beach cottage, just as mine did after our trip to Ocean Isle last May. I wasn’t brilliant enough to post about the taking down of so many of my well sought for finds, but I’m glad she was. It has put into words so many of the feelings I’ve had as I carefully put paintings, artifacts and tchotchkes away. All the time wondering if I had made the mistake when buying them, accepting them as gifts, hanging it on the wall, or putting in the closet. I am still in high clutter mode here, and I want to tone it down father so I’m going to come back and read her series again for inspiration as I take things down. I’m probably going to start offering my finds to friends for free before I donate them, but first I have to have the fortitude to say goodbye to such hard won treasures!

While making a wallpaper turkey with my daughters I found some amazing burlap wallpaper samples. They were so attractive I really wanted to use them in my decor since they seemed so “autumn” but there really wasn’t very much of it. I thought of framing them and placing them in the dining room seasonally, but then the texture would be kind of lost.

Then I remembered my mums I had in a cheap blue vase, not really making a statement at all on my piano. I thought it would be awesome to have a vase kind of like these to display them, but in brown. But I’m lazy, and I wanted them now, and to make something like that would require a trip to the store and multiple steps. So instead I grabbed my stapler and rolled the paper into a tube and stapled the seam shut. Then I put the tube over a heavy Ball jar of water and put the flowers in the water. The only “technique” required is making sure the ugly part is in the back!

I do really like the look of these, so maybe when I have a free moment I will make them for real, but for now I have the look, and that’s good enough for me!

I just finished making bridesmaids jewelry for a friend’s wedding.  This is the second wedding I’ve designed for, and I’d thought I’d share the process in case you’re considering doing custom work.

1.  I talked to the bride about her vision for the jewelry.  We discussed colors, materials, necklace shape, earrings, budget, etc.   She gave me a fabric swatch & photo of the dress.

I also asked her to bring anything else specific to give me the most accurate idea of what she wanted and didn’t want.  I suggested bringing: a few bead strands (to understand size, shape, colors, materials) and sketches, photos or actual jewelry (to understand shape, size, and perhaps pattern desired).  This meeting took about an hour.

The bridesmaids dress, but in a different color. Image from Eden Bridals.

2.  A few weeks later I showed her pictures of necklace ideas, shapes, and patterns I liked & my ideas for beads.  For this dress, I worked to make sure the beautiful dress embroidery was the main focus.  I wanted the necklace to compliment it but not take spotlight.  And for the earrings, I thought there was enough going on with the embroidery & necklace, so I suggested something very simple looking. Read more »

Vintage is in and has been for a long time now and my guess is that it is here to stay. Whether it’s clothing, jewelry, dishes or furniture, there is something truly lovely about beautiful vintage goods. The whiff of memory and nostalgia, the authenticity and uniqueness, the refreshing quality of something old made new again through use in a different age. Sustainability is also a factor – there are so many talented artists and designers recycling vintage into gorgeous new things and rescuing heaps of fabric, metal, woods and plastics from overflowing landfills in the process.

My personal style is quite simple and minimalist but within that I have a collection of elegant vintage jewelry, china and silverware, much of it gifts from my dear grandmothers. Jewelry is a popular topic here on Clever Nesting so I thought I would share a couple of ideas about how to wear vintage brooches.

The easiest way, of course, is to just pin them on. I love the look of a sparkly brooch on a coat or jacket and they are lovely on sweaters, especially as a substitute for buttons or clasps. Lately I’ve also been wearing several of my brooches as necklaces. This is such an easy thing to do: string a chain or ribbon through the closed clasp of the brooch, swing it over your neck and voila, a unique and creative accessory that will leave you smiling all day long.

If you already have a few prized hand-me-down brooches try looping them around your neck the next time you’re thinking of it. And if there’s nothing sitting in your jewelry box yet, ask around at the next family gathering to see what the generations before you may have stuffed away in their dresser drawers or start scouting antique shops, garage sales, consignment stores and other treasure troves. I highly recommend the latter as a fun, indulgent and inexpensive way to spend a day and spark your creativity and the former is a great way to share in stories from the past.

Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.

Like my new shirt? I have been planning this out in my head for a few weeks. I was just waiting until I had a free morning to get out some fabric paint.

I am using the profab sample pack of fabric paints which I picked up at Craft Akron. The print is made with a rubber floor tile from Zero Landfill (this is the project I alluded to on Monday) which from the get-go reminded me of argyle. I like the first run pretty well, but I have to research a little more to see about getting better coverage, etc. As I get better results I will be sure to post pictures.

I always love the vignettes in Anthropology.  They’re so unique & often use recycled items.  Sometimes I think the displays would be great artwork in my home; other times I’d use them for party decorations.  Here are some pics I took during my last visit.

Bike wheels surrounded by colorful pop bottle flowers

Pretty paper flowers cascading from the ceiling

Empty glass bottle display

TED-Technology, Entertainment, and Design-is a yearly conference where the world’s leading thinkers & doers speak on ideas that are shaping our future.  I’ve seen many of the talks online (most are absolutely insightful & amazing!), and just learned about the independently run TED event in Cleveland.  I already ordered my ticket.  But if you’re not in the Ohio area, here’s a list of TEDx events around the world.

Here are the TEDxCLE details:

Who:
Creators, catalysts, entrepreneurs, artists, technologists, designers, scientists, thinkers and doers.

What:
At TEDxCLE, TEDTalks video and live speakers spanning topics such as health care, urban revitalization, art, and product development will combine to spark deep discussion and connection amongst speakers and attendees alike.

Where:
The Capitol Theatre
1390 West 65th Street
Cleveland, OH 44102

When:
Friday, February 26, 2010 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Why:
Share Cleveland innovation, development and positive change with the world.

How:
Tickets for TEDxCLE can be purchased for $20 at The Capitol Theatre ticket booth or online.

If you care about good design in what you create and what you purchase, you must see the film Objectified.  It’s part of the design trilogy that began with Helvetica, and is specifically about manufactured items and the processes of making good design decisions.  It teaches us to think about the objects we use each day.  Why do we use them?  Do they add value to our lives?  What were the designers thinking when they created them?  Do they care only about money or will they think long & hard about the users’ needs?  And, are they thinking sustainably?

No only does this film push me think critically about the design, value, and sustainability of what I buy, but also about the items I create.  I don’t want my life cluttered with wasteful junk and short-lived objects destined for the landfills.  I think it’s great to spend our time, money, and resources on things that are of greatest value.

Here’s the jewelry display I put together for the Craft Akron Open House this past Saturday.  I used this metal tree candle holder and put business cards in the candle spots.  Then I made the earring tags from cereal boxes and cut a hole in the top of each so it slides over the metal leaves.