Sunday, February 26, 2012

On a budget...

I always enjoy good design...on a budget.


I mean really...it doesn't have to break the bank...and you don't have to go without...and best of all, it is pretty exciting when you come up with an idea and don't have to let cost stop you from doing + enjoying it.


Here is one such idea I actually played with awhile back and am still digging the results.  Not to mention...feel even better about it because I didn't have to let cost stop me...just had to be a little more resourceful.



We had new windows installed at home, and I loved the open feeling...
wish I didn't have to do any window coverings at all...
though living in a fish bowl is a little too open for us.

So the very least I could do was white blinds, it fit the bill for simple and open
and gave the room a cottage kinda feel.

Then...I fell in love...
with a fabric sample my friend Mechelle gave me.


A very loose, natural linen with an embroidered stitch throughout called "The Buzz".
My thought when I saw it was a simple valance of some type, to finish off the blinds while still keeping it airy and open and adding a natural element to the room.

I LOVED this fabric...
and who wouldn't at $245. a yard! 
 I was very sad, but not discouraged as the creative wheels were already in motion. 


So off to the local fabric store I headed for an alternate fabric...
and one of my old standbys...burlap!
I love the weave, the texture and the range of colors.  I purchased the lightest, natural  color...kind of an oatmeal...and love all the imperfections in it.


Then I played with a no sew idea...





• I split the fabric down the center lengthwise
• folded over the finished fabric edge to the length I wanted for the finished valance, and let the edge show
• unraveled the cut side to create an uneven fringed edge
• using drapery rings that were painted sage green and then aged by running through the washer and chipped up, I sewed them on using a small bow with string that I unraveled out of the burlap fabric
• and best of all...used branches (from trees that had just been trimmed here in the neighborhood) for my valance rods.



 I love the way the light shows through the burlap texture, and it accomplished my thought of finishing off the blinds without taking away the openness I love when the morning light floods this room.

And the best part...

this versatile fabric was only $2.99 a yard ...
and I love it so much I don't even miss " The Buzz"  of the $245. a yard fabric (though I still love it and use the sample as a table topper)!




With the left over burlap...pillows!
I used it to back beautiful fabric samples, fringed the edges to repeat the valance design...and I have the light airy look I was wanting all along in this room.


 


Mission accomplished...
very, very affordable and easy.

Problem...
now that it's been a few months...and summer is on us...and this room set up has been the same since we moved in 2 years ago...
I'm ready for a change!

Hummmm....what next?

Sunday, February 19, 2012

A woman of few words...

For those of you who know me...

You know I can be a woman of few words when I get lost in my creative realm. Often times going for days without making outside contact with the world, working all day in silence...not even music in the background...thinking all the while...I should listen to more music and make outside contact with the world.  

It seems to be my process & who I am...so why question it?

Though I do...question it...on a regular basis.  Then I start getting bogged down with questions of why I do or don't do things a certain way, how I could do it different...self doubt starts to creep in...and before you know it...BLOCKAGE!!!

My remedy...


...make something, create something, put something together, plan something, paint something, sew something...DO SOMETHING!  Get out of your head and start  moving your hands and before I know it I'm back into my imaginative, expressive, inspired, artistic world once again...
...my comfort zone.





 A little vintage dresser I painted this last Monday,  sitting on the dinning room floor while it was rainy & chilly outside...a perfect day.


This little dresser was dragged in off the street by a kindly friend (thank you Cindy) and I gave it a new face and now it sits and waits to go to a new home.


I love the added touch of painting the inside of the drawers an unexpected color.



Two piece hutch I painted with stencil details over seaglass green & blue...it found a new home right away while sitting in the front entrance at Leaping Lotus.



...and you may remember this one form a previous post.  A very nice vintage maple dresser I painted using Chalk Paint (of course).  It made it's way into the room of a teenager and now we're searching out a desk & bookcase to paint to complete her very hip & vintage room.





It's another rainy day here in Southern California...a great day for staying in and making something...maybe I'll mix it up and turn on some music!

Enjoy your Sunday

Thursday, February 2, 2012

M.I.A. & Love...

Computer MIA...

...I know I've been Missing In Action from posting and all things computer since the holidays.

Reasons being ... 
it's a busy time building up and coming down from the holidays + being  in Los Angeles for design work and the LA Gift Mart + getting back into a regular routine once it's all calmed down...and the big + is ... 

I think I technically got a little burned out on everything technical! 

While I love the creative part of blogging, Etsy treasuries, social networking, etc...it takes so much time, and that is time away from painting, sewing, scavenger hunting and just being out there and creating...what I really love to do!  That along with my New Year's resolution of spending more time with family & friends...I'm still trying to perfect my balancing act!  I'm surprised how others make it all look so easy...how do they find the time?  Really...how do they?  I'd love an answer to that question.

In the meantime...


...let's talk about Love!

I'm lucky that the apple of my eye, Taylor (son), married a wonderful and talented young woman, Lucinda ( daughter in law), and we get to spend time creating together. 


Our latest project has been making Valentine gifts to add to my shop at Leaping Lotus.  So we both got busy and came up with loving boxes, mini birdhouses, vintage hanky lavender sachets and more as our contribution to the celebration of Love...
Valentines Day 
...and hopefully creating reminders to celebrate it everyday!



    Beautiful embellished boxes by Lucinda Walker

                                
Hand painted mini birdhouses with love music & poems

Then we spent the day kicking up the dust, resetting + merchandising the whole Cerro Home shop to give it a fresh + romantic feel.













SO...if your near Solana Beach ...come visit Leaping Lotus in the Cedros Design District.  It's a great place to spend the day shopping and having lunch right next door at my favorite little cafe, The Twisted Tart.

Come enjoy...and feel the LOVE !

...meanwhile, I'll keep working on that balancing act between life & computer.