My Favorite Aisle...

I wanted to share my favorite aisle at my favorite store & a few of my favorite things! All of these wonderful items can be found at Target.

Crazy, Busy, Beautiful

Well, this week and the next week are going to be the most hectic, exciting & crazy weeks that I have experienced to this day. Hectic because of the packing, exciting because of Chicago, crazy because I am leaving my family in Michigan =(

But, I look at this move as the best next step forward in a wonderful and fortunate life that I get to live.

Here are a few pieces of art that I felt captured the feelings I have been having lately:

1

2 (Steven's new favorite saying)

3 (My Design)

1 / 2 / 3

IKEA Dream Living Room

There are moments in my life when I am very decisive and know exactly what I want. But when you are pretty much handed the entire IKEA store and have to pick out whatever you want {staying within an entire budget, of course}, I get so indecisive! The issue that I am having right now is with my living room. Pretty much everything in the living room will be brand new: couch, coffee table, side tables, lamps, pillows, etc. All except a pain-in-the-butt chair that is way too ugly to even show! I will hopefully get the courage to reupholster it one day!

Anyways, back to the living room. I have been messing around with a couple of different design options, but still can not decide. I need help deciding what to get rid of, what to keep, and what to add.

By the way, only three pillows shown, one that I already have, and two from IKEA that I will be purchasing. There will be others soon. I am on my second pillow cover so far, so I am working into the ones I want on my couch!

So, here is option number 1:



Rugs, coach, coffee table and two black pillow covers from IKEA. Yellow Rosette pillow from Target. Flower wall paintings from here. Chevron wall paintings created by me.

And here is option number 2:



I am liking options from both. You will notice that the only thing I changed are the rug and wall paintings. These are my two "problem" areas right now.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated =)

Awesome Items for an Awesome Earth!

In honor of Earth Day today, I wanted to share with my readers a few of the household items that I absolutely love!

First, these pillows are amazing. They are so cute and the best part.... really eco-friendly. These beauties are from Inhabit, and you can find them for $45.00. All of Inhabit' pillows are hand-printed in the USA using environmentally-friendly, VOC free inks and the fabrics are derived from certified recycled post-consumer waste and all paper from the printing process is shredded and repurposed as packing material. So, your house can look awesome, and the post-purchase splurge guilt won't linger {as much}!



Next, are these italian herb planters. The reason I love these is because I rent and don't have the space for large plants, but I love the the look of a natural apartment.



And, last but definitely not least is one of my favorite household items, rugs!!! These rugs are from Viva Terra and cost only $49 for a 4x6 of the striped and $98 for the blue 4x6. They are made from recycled plastic bottles and packaging materials.

Happy Earth Day!

First attempt at cording = Success!

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share the final product of my first attempt at adding cording to a pillow cover. Not to mention, this is only the second pillow that I have ever made! Not too shabby! I was going to also attempt to add a zipper, but I am thinking I should take it one step at a time, maybe the next one will have a zipper.

Take a look:







It even has 2 different fabrics!






Does anyone have any good tutorials to share from their blog? List them below!

Help:: Paint or Clean Up?

I need help from everyone that is reading! I need to know if everyone thinks I should paint this mirror, or if I should keep it the same for a more antique look. I can't decide, and if I do decide to paint, I can't go back. The detailing in the mirror is amazing, so I would hate to ruin the beauty of it, but still can't decide!

So, what do you think? Please leave comments below with your opinion! I appreciate any thoughts!

weekend finds

Nice weather this weekend meant A LOT of shopping for me! I guess when it's cold I spend too much on coffee, and when it's warm, I just spend too much on everything! Although, according to me, it was a very successful weekend. Besides the things that I am going to show you, I also purchased three vertical canvases to paint a chevron pattern on to place behind my couch, a magazine rack that I will be most likely painting white, and A TON of paint! Nice weather = Painting in my eyes, and I can't wait!

So, it was perfect timing, because I had just read about how Barbara from Hodge:Podge created a burlap bulletin board. I loved the idea and the look of the new bulletin board so much, so I bookmarked the page under my "Projects" tab and kept reading. Well, on Saturday at my first garage sale of the season, I came across a whole 3 yards of burlap and it was the perfect color. Now, the best part is the price. A whopping $1.00 for the entire thing! Oh, how I have missed garage sales! So, this project is now on my immediate to-do list, thanks to this awesome find:

Then, I stopped at a local thrift store that I had just heard about and was blown away by how huge it is inside! I'll admit, thrift stores do scare me a bit, and I don't think it's really the things that I find there that scare me, but more the people. But, I pulled up my big girl pants and started digging. I found a lot of great things, including this ENTIRE roll of fabric in the same color as the other pillows that I am making. Best part = $6.00 for an entire roll. I haven't measured it out yet, but there has to be at least 10 yards. I am considering curtains. Has anyone seen curtains in this pattern before? I am curious.

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Then, on Sunday, I stopped by the Goodwill to drop more clothes/junk off for donation and ran across this beauty:

Some of you may recognize it because it's at Target right now for $19.99. I got it brand new at Goodwill for $7.99. I couldn't pass that up. It is going to match my new bedroom perfectly!

I am going to have a lot of good painting posts coming up soon, now that the weather will cooperate with me, so keep an eye out for those. I also post all of my posts on my Facebook page, so if we aren't friends, you can find me here. Just send me a message with the request, telling me that you found me on here!

Talk to you soon!

Nightstand Hunt

Since I am soon going to be moving, I am also on the hunt for some awesome furniture that will actually fit inside my 625 sq. foot apartment! It is going to be hard, but with a lot of searching, I think I will be able to find some great pieces!

Today, I am on the hunt for 2 nightstands. Currently I have the LACK side table in yellow from IKEA.
I was considering just purchasing another one, but decided I wanted to go on a little hunt! I have collected a few of my favorites below. Hopefully I will find something soon!

I love the simplicity of the Rykene Nightstand from IKEA.

I also ran across this one too. It's the ENGAN nightstand from IKEA.

I also found this great one from Anthropologie. It's a bit out of my budget at $248, and when I have to buy two, that will really add up!

Have you found any good ones that you think I might like? Share them with me, if you'd like! I would appreciate it!

upcoming project. 4.6.11

So, since I am just starting this blog, I have so much to tell everyone! I have about 6 projects lined up and ready to go, not to mention the million other wedding projects I will need to squeeze in soon! So for an update, over the next few weeks I will be preparing for our big move to Naperville, which means lots of redecorating, repurposing and creating! Some of my favorite things to do!

I have been thinking about the two lamps that I posted yesterday, contemplating what to do with them. I designed a small inspiration board that sums it up. I am looking to put these in the bedroom, and want to do a more nautical look.

This lamp is something I ran across on Handmadeology. You can find the tutorial here. I am in LOVE with this and can not wait to get started on this project! I'll make sure I post about the process when I finally get around to it!

I am also thinking that something around these lines is going to be up soon on my To Do List:

The hanging poof, not the pool table =)

Do you have any upcoming projects that you are uber excited about starting?

monday night shopping trip

Today I went on one of the longest shopping trips that I have been on in a while. And I was by myself, even though I do find it easier to shop by yourself. Check out all of the great things I got!

It all started with these two lamps. I found them on Craigslist for $15 each. You can't beat that, especially if you felt how heavy these things are. They are made of ceramic and the shades are a tweed material. Yes, the other one does have a lamp shade, but it's lying around somewhere! I will be posting a DIY project for these beauties later...once I decide exactly what I want to do with them!

This is the result of 4 hours in Joanns... AMAZING fabric!

From left to right:

(1) will be used for throw pillows in the living room (scroll down for my new throw pillow that will accompany these)

(2) will either be used for a fabric artwork or for pillows, still undecided

(3) will be made into a throw. Still trying to figure out how to get the yarn look around the edges, so I will be experimenting with this one!

(4) will be make two beautiful 22"x22" pillows for my new bed

More New Finds:

This is the pillow I was referring to. I have been gawking over this pillow for the last couple months...stopping myself from buying. Today seemed like the right opportunity, though, since I had already spent a ton of other money! I am so glad I got this, though, because it is going to match great with the yellow fabric above. It is part of the DwellStudio for Target line.



Here is the desk that I want, but can not have, at least not yet! The problem is, we are moving into a smaller apartment and I am in the middle of selling all of my big furniture, so to add another desk to the mix is just chaos! One day I might have it though, or one similar. I have my eye on this desk from Ikea.

So, this is what my living room looked like when I got home from my very long shopping trip:

the beginning...

I am about to take everyone on the most exciting journey of my life...besides my upcoming wedding and the one day when I will have a wonderful baby, and so forth. But for this moment in time, it is THE most exciting journey!

My entire life has been based around graphic design and marketing. I was always so enveloped in the business aspect and have the most entrepreneurial spirit you could ask for in a 22 year old, almost college graduate.

When I was in high school I had two passions: graphic design & interior design. I love fabric, I love cards, I love flowers, I love bold, beautiful items. Although I would have loved to pursue interior design after high school, I chose my other passion. I will be graduating from SVSU at the end of this month with a BBA in Marketing, minor in graphic design. FYI: I minored in graphic design, instead of getting my BFA in graphic design, because still to this day, I believe I have learned more outside of the classroom in graphic design. I am a hands-on learner, and through internships, projects, and other endeavors, I know what I know today. In January 2011, I began my first business, Studio A Design, a graphic design & social marketing boutique. It combines my love for both business and graphic design. I have worked with a few companies so far, and I love what I do. However, there has always been something missing.

I will be graduating soon, and because of that am now on the hunt for a full-time position at a marketing firm in the Chicago area. I think, to this day, I have applied for over 15 jobs, and have not received one single call-back, and I am not sure why. I feel as if I have done everything right up to this point. As other students went out on Thursday nights, I went to bed early because I have always had at least 2 jobs at a time, and always an internship. I did well in all of my classes, finishing with a 3.75 GPA. I am a builder and hard worker. What else do they want? Well, apparently more, because I don't have any interviews scheduled yet.

Anyways, so this is where I am now. I have begun my journey to divulge myself in my other passion: interior design. Everything about it makes me excited. I have always told everyone that if I am not an interior designer or real estate agent before I die, then I have not lived the life I wanted. Guess I have to start somewhere then!

My fiance and I are going to be moving to Naperville, IL on May 7th, and I LOVE MOVING! I know that may sound weird to some, because most people hate moving. But I LOVE it! It means a blank slate for me to create something completely brand new! That means: SHOPPING! My other favorite thing to do! (By the way, you will read the term "favorite" a lot in this blog. I have a problem with that word. Steven calls me a child when I use it, because kids love everything!)

I wanted to do a simple post for this first one. The next one I am going to do will be about my shopping trip today. 5 hours out by myself, between picking up two lamps I found on Craigslist, Joanns and Target. It was an awesome day, to say the least! Stay tuned!