Day 1: My Bat Girl at a Birthday Party.

I'm jumping on the August Break challenge a little late, but better late than never! My friend Jenn told me about it the other day and I thought it would be a great way to document the rest of the summer, forcing me to photograph something every day. Today we attended a Batman-themed birthday party. Luckily we already had a batgirl costume from last Halloween! The party was all kinds of awesome and there were plenty of fun games for the kids.

If you haven't heard of the August Break challenge then check it out on Susannah Conway's blog!

Ready to start some new Scrapbooks.

I'm feeling really disappointed with my scrapbook efforts over the past few years. I used to be so good at cranking out pages but over the past few years I seem to have let go of scrapbooking a little. Which isn't good. It isn't terrible either because I know I have worked hard on other creative projects (lots of card-making, mixed-media and wearable projects) but I miss scrapbooking frequently. I'm currently in the middle of "Operation Organize" at home and getting our spare bedroom in order is my priority this week. It's getting a fresh coat of paint and I'm setting it up as an office/art room. While doing some reorganizing this afternoon I started looking back through some old scrapbook albums. I came across some of the first scrapbook pages I created for Izzy. I hadn't looked at these in a while and all of a sudden I felt like a complete failure and tears started welling up in my eyes (I might be PMSing). I think it was a mixture of "oh my gosh I forgot how tiny she was" and "why the heck am I not scrapbooking as much as I used to?" I'm confident that in 1-2 weeks I will have the room in order and ready to create. So in addition to creating something with my Amy Butler fabric as I mentioned in my last post, a few scrapbook pages are in order. asap. I have never been much of a journaler except for holiday scrapbooks, so I need to start journaling more also. Just for fun, here is a look back at a few of my pages from four years ago...

I will be back on the scrapbook subject in a few weeks with some fresh, new pages. Can't wait!

Best $47 I ever spent!

I recently decided to do away with our rectangular dining table and that I instead needed a round table. I had pretty much grown tired of the rectangular table after one of the chairs broke and we were left with 3. Then recently my neighbor had purchased a pottery barn set on craigslist that is a round table and chairs (I'm insanely jealous) because those sea grass chairs are amazing. When I saw her set I realized that a round table would open up more space and that it simply had a better ambiance. Since purchasing my round table I have honestly realized that there is more energy in the room. I also noticed at a few recent gatherings with friends and family that when sitting around the table, the conversation in general is so much better - it feels warmer and friendlier, how it should be! Not that it wasn't before but there is definitely a difference. And most importantly our family dinner time feels more like it should and not some mad dash to eat dinner.

I had stopped by one of my local thrift stores with the intention of finding a side table for the downstairs hallway (still have not found that by the way) and while there I stumbled across this dining set. It reminds me a lot of the style of dining table my parents had (and still have) growing up. I asked the sales person how much for the set and he said $40. Sold! It is a little outdated but it's a solid table and in great condition. I'm not really sure what kind of wood it is, maybe maple?

I still have yet to find some super cheap and awesome round table cloths. So until I do, I'm using this rectangular cloth piece that I picked up at the markets recently along with my red lantern as the centerpiece (usually lives on my kitchen window sill). I'm probably breaking design rules by using using this rectangular piece (I'm almost 100% certain that it should be something circular?) but honestly right now I am OK with this. Plus the blue in the pattern compliments my blue kitchen so I think I'm good. This may all change soon but for now this table and setup makes me all kinds of happy. Eventually I may repaint it, maybe even distress it. I'm undecided and trying to put my energy into repainting rooms first and organizing so maybe this will be a fall project. I do love the look of a white table and black chairs set so we shall see!

 Table $40, Table Cloth $3 and Ikea Lantern $4.

That happy feeling of getting an awesome deal? Priceless.

My new kitchen - a fresh coat of paint.

We have been in our current house almost 2 years. Gradually we have been doing a project here and there but more recently I have been a home decorating rampage and have a goal of finishing all the painting projects by the end of the summer. I decided recently to tackle the kitchen. The green just wasn't my style and since I spend majority of my time in the kitchen, it seemed like the best place to start. I don't even know what i would call this green? All I know is that is wasn't my style and had to go.

Before:

(and if you look closely yes that is bacon in the fry pan. sorry).

After:

So here is my new kitchen. Is amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do!

A blue kitchen is just what this home needed! Everything feels so much better downstairs now.

 I'm a happy camper.

Just in case you are wondering the blue is "Prussian Cadet" by Valspar. My goal was to find a deep, earthy blue and this was the winner. I will be sure to post more of my home decor adventures throughout the rest of the summer. My daughters room is almost complete!

Laguna Beach Montage Wedding Pictures

I recently had the pleasure of assisting a photographer at a wedding at the Montage resort in Laguna Beach. This was something I had wanted to do for some time so when the opportunity was there I grabbed it. I've been using a dslr for quite some time now but my experience is limited to taking pictures of products and art and craft projects. So when I purchased my first personal dslr I knew that taking pictures of people would be quite the learning curve. Gradually I'm making progress and trying to share pictures on my blog here and there.

The couple we photographed were incredibly cute and adorable. It was a small wedding which actually made it much less stressful I'm quite sure. There were only about 20 guests and no bridal party so I cant help but wonder about weddings with 200+ guests and enormous bridal parties. I realize a wedding that size would need an entire team to catch all the important moments. I cant even imagine.

When Ross and I got married, we had a similar size wedding with 15 guests. Big or small - it really doesn't matter. I just wanted to take some great pictures for the bride and groom. By the end of the day, between myself and the lead photographer, we had at least a few thousand pictures.  

I have put together just a very small sampling of my pictures from the day. I haven't had the chance to go through all the pictures just yet so my goal is to include ceremony pictures in a future post. These are basically some of my favorites.

Thanks for looking and stay tuned for part 2.

Just Rosy

You may have seen my other flower bibs in my etsy shop, however I have a handful of rosette necklaces that I recently listed also. I've made these as gifts for people in the past and thought i would add a few to etsy. The first one made an appearance in the last issue of the Jewelry Affair publication. Simple white roses that can coordinate with so many outfits.

My sister requested a blue rosette necklace for her birthday,  so I started making rosettes in this dusty blue that I love!

 

For this one I decided to try something different and add a simple embellishment. This is my new favorite for the summertime.

                             

                  

I could spend hours looking at etsy and all the amazing accessories artists create with rosettes. I still haven't created rosettes using patterned fabric so that will be one of my near future projects. Now I'm off to clean out my wardrobe in search of shirts that I no longer wear with pretty patterns (and maybe a trip to Joannes).

Yes I made a Cork Wreath...

I had been saving corks for a long time (probably a few years) and recently I finally felt inspired to create a project with them. I decided a cork wreath would be a great way repurpose the corks and create a "green" home decor project that is somewhat unique. My wreath is currently resting on a bookshelf in the dining room. I still have not had the courage to actually hang it on my front door. I guess I'm worried that all the neighbors will think we are the vino family! Its not like that, I promise. In fact, even though I thought my cork collection was huge, I ran out of corks in the process of constructing the wreath and had to call on my trusty vino friends for some more corks! Thankfully they had been saving theirs also, I guess a lot of wine enthusiasts just like to keep corks? They do look pretty cool if you keep your collection in a large glass jar or vase.


 Anyhow, as soon as I decided to create the wreath I did a quick google search and found plenty of images for inspiration. I decided that my wreath style would be bricking the corks instead of scattering them, just my personal preference.

All you need is a straw wreath, available at most large craft stores, a hot glue gun and your corks. I started from the inner side and worked my way to the outer edge. Too easy. Once the wreath is finished, tie a strip of torn muslin and tie a bow for a simple accent.

Whether you enjoy a good glass of wine and have your own cork collection going or you happen to stumble accross somebody that has a few spare corks, a wreath is one of many green projects that you can create with corks.