The Floaters
5 days ago
Showing posts with label Color. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Color. Show all posts
14 July 2011
Confession:
This is my child's hand.
My son's hand.
We were at Target the other day and I was looking for a good turquoise nail polish color. But, since my nails were already done (in Commander In Chic
), I didn't want to test the colors out on my own nails.
), I didn't want to test the colors out on my own nails. (Wait - I'm not the only one who tests nail polish colors out in the store before buying them, am I? Shoot... bigger confession than I though maybe...)
Anyway... I needed bare nails and there his were. All cute and tiny and fresh for the painting. What's a Mama to do? He was very much a willing participant (though I think it may have been a different story if I had been hunting for a perfect pink).
It turns out they didn't have the color I was after. (A girlfriend of mine was wearing this perfectly matte teal at our wine tasting and since I'd been hunting for the perfect teal I asked her what it was and where she got it. She said Target but my Target didn't carry it. Hence the attempts to find a substitute by painting my son's nails many wrong shades of green.)
Sheesh, this story got long fast.
Let's wrap it up, shall we?
All of that craziness to say that the perfect summer teal nail polish color has been found and it is available. (I know, y'all are so relieved, right?)
Ladies and Gentleman...okay, maybe just ladies...I present to you:
Aaaand, that was officially the biggest waste of your day so far. Sorry!
(Or, if you've also been hunting for matte turquoise perfection in a bottle; you're welcome!)
13 July 2011
So, I am slowly but surely working my way to a pretty little blog redesign. (And by "I", I mean "Ryan". C'mon, you don't really think I'd tackle this kind of thing myself when I have design gold laying his head on the pillow next to mine at night, do you?)
Anyway, we're kind of held up right now because he's asked me to settle on a color scheme. You guys, I'm so bad at commitment when it comes to color. Seriously. You know about how often I paint my walls, don't you?
Anyway, I'm trying so hard to focus and commit but color is just so doggone pretty. Just not when you try to cram ALL of the colors in one palette and expect it to come off as dignified. Not then.
I know that muted pinks and teals are very en vogue for blog design right now. And lots of pretty scrap booking details too. I've put together many of these and they are all lovely, but the truth is, they're just not me. And I really want my blog to be me.
Fair enough.
So, I really focused tonight. I love clean design. Lots of white space. (This is why I can only appreciate scrapbooking and can't actually enjoy doing it myself.) I also love bold colors. (This is why I'm not fitting well into the muted colors trend.)
I draw a lot of my clothing inspiration from stores like J.Crew, so I hopped over there to see if perhaps I could also draw color inspiration from that same style. In browsing through J.Crew's Spring Lookbook I found lots of color schemes I liked very much. So, I dragged them into Photoshop and got to work with my little eye dropper tool.
Here is my progress thus far:
(FTR: I'm 100% positive I would never be able to pull off either of these first two outfits with even an ounce of dignity -or maybe if I buttoned up that cute red shirt it would work out just fine - I mostly just like the colors.)
(And I like the navy/orange/cream combo here.)
Anyone feeling any of these? I know I'll probably ultimately just toss these all Ryan's way and drive him crazy with my indecisiveness by asking him to just "do it and make it awesome". But hey - that's what husbands are for, right?
Anyway, any and all feedback is definitely welcome!
17 June 2011
Many of you may not know this but I went to college to study (and got a Bachelor's degree in) Housing and Environmental Design. I worked at Ethan Allen for about a year and a half before I got pregnant with our first baby.
That to say, I love Interior Design. I studied it for years and was only able to work in the field for such a short time before I took my dream job of keeping a home and growing babies.
And while I am living my dream as Oliver and Hazel's mama, I still very much get the itch every now and again to draw up floor plans and put together design boards and make flourish-y arm gestures and say the word "pop" a lot. It's in my blood.
And yet, since I left Ethan Allen, the extent of my design work has been limited to my own home (my walls groan under the weight of the paint they carry) and the occasional "can you make my house look fabulous by waving a wand and spending nothing?" requests from friends. (Honestly, not that I've minded helping my girlfriends out. Anything to keep these design muscles from atrophying!)
So, I've been hungry for design jobs. Real ones with real live budgets and clients who have an idea of what they want but trust me completely and have no time to get too involved.
And then Ryan took on a business partner. And they (wisely) opted out of working out of one of our upstairs bedrooms (you know, because nothing says legitimate business like, "Meet me at the top of the stairs, past the laundry room and through the playroom. Watch out for the legos!").
They hunted for cool spaces and settled on a great big room in a 189-year-old historic home just off the downtown square. (Turns out the great big tree in the back yard used to be the town hanging tree. Creepy!)
And the best part? They didn't have any office furniture and they were both way too busy to think about furnishing it themselves.
Picture my hesitant grin and eager eyes as I look at Ryan, silently begging him to let me take a crack at it.
And crack it I did. I measured the heck out of it, drew up the floorplan and presented furniture layouts based on their wants and needs. (I let my Art of Homemaking girls have a go at the furniture layout on paper too, just for a fun teaching opportunity.)
Not only did I get to imagine my way through layouts and conversation areas, I got an actual grown-up budget. And I got to order furniture. And accessories. And point and smile as the furniture was moved in.
I had a few weeks to do it, but I had a deelightful time turning this big, gorgeous empty room...
...into this little piece of design heaven:
Where my guy works...
...and no doubt thinks of me every time he sits on that gorgeous, real-leather sofa or puts his feet on the cool texture of the pebble rug. (not that he's ever barefoot at work. just imagining.)
No, I did not plan for Zac to be a part of the room's decor. But there he is, working hard.
Of course there are still things here and there that need to be finished. There's another desk on the other side of the room (for a programmer) that isn't pictured and the guys are figuring out exactly what kind of artwork they want to add above the fireplace (I vote big tv so we can eat dinner downtown then come here to watch a movie!).
My design muscles would like to officially thank UD+M for the excellent and satisfying workout. They feel great.
14 June 2011
My sister came over Thursday afternoon with a couple of her kids and she and I had an itch to make something. While Oliver and Beatrice played, Hazel napped and Rowan cooed in the room with us, we set to work on a ManiMina pattern I've been dying to try.
It's actually a reversible ruffled kimono. The pictures I have here are just Hazel's dress - one side is Lovesme Lovesmenot in Petal and the other side is Theory Rain Forest Leaves in Forest. I actually increased the height of the ruffle (made with a Kona Solid White) and though it looks like it might choke my little lady, it actually looks great on her!
The one Rebecca made for Beatrice used Anna Maria Horner's Lovesme Lovesmenot in Grape on one side and Heather Bailey's Lindy Leaf in Tangerine on the other, with an even steeper white ruffled neck. Fab.
And that, friends, is something I made. :)
03 May 2011
06 March 2011
Want a fun, quick and easy no-sew project? Something you can start and finish during naptime and still have time to fold some laundry?
I found these Room Essentials wall clocks at Target last week for $3.99. (Actually, I think they're on sale this week for $3!) They come in yellow and blue and black and maybe silver or white.
They're great as they are, but sometimes I can't leave well-enough alone. And sometimes, fiddling with things pays off!
And so, I will show you a quick way to personalize your clock with pretty pattern and color and interest. And it doesn't involve anything being Bedazzled!
What you'll need:
1 Room Essentials wall clock (or any clock that has a removable face cover or has no face cover at all).
A flat-head and phillips-head screwdriver
A pencil or pen
a piece of pretty, coordinating fabric, large enough to cover the face of your clock
a piece of interfacing or stabilizer about the same size
double-sided tape
So, first thing's first. Release your new clock from it's packaging prison. Yes, it requires a screwdriver. Yes, I agree, it's overkill.
Now we have to take the plastic cover off of the front of the clock. On the backside there are two small tabs holding it in place. Press the smaller one in with a flat head screwdriver to set it free.
Gently ease the plastic cover off of the clock.
Now it's off. Congrats!
Now choose a fabric that will compliment the color of the clock and coordinate with the room in which it will hang. I was thinking I wanted pink in there, but then I changed my mind.
It's important to press the fabric well before you begin. You don't want to attach wrinkly fabric to your clock face.
Now, set your fabric aside for a moment. Lay the plastic cover on top of your interfacing/stabilizer and trace around it with a pen or pencil.
Done.
Now, cut out your circle, leaving a bit of extra space so that later you can cut the interfacing and fabric together for more perfect edges.
Lay your fabric down on your ironing board with the right side facing DOWN.
Then, lay your interfacing on your fabric with the shiny/adhesive side facing the fabric.
This is your opportunity to place the pattern of your fabric where you want it within your circle.
Just make sure one more time that the glued side is facing the fabric. It's a shame to get that wrong.
Now press it on well according to the instructions.
And cut your circle out!
You can cut it out with scissors if that's what you have. Really, that will be just great, especially since you have a nice line drawn.
But if you'd rather use a circle cutter
, just measure the radius of the circle by placing your pin in the center of the clock and your blade at the edge of the white, then tighten your screw. (My cutter isn't quite aligned in this photo.)
, just measure the radius of the circle by placing your pin in the center of the clock and your blade at the edge of the white, then tighten your screw. (My cutter isn't quite aligned in this photo.)
Really, if you're using the circle cutter you can skip the tracing step. Just find the approximate center of the fabric and interfacing (doing a quick dry-run to make sure you won't go off the edge anywhere) and cut that bad boy out.
This is your last chance to press, so really make sure any puckers are out of it.
Now, using a ruler or your cutter or any wildly creative method you'd like, find and mark the center of your circle.
From the center of the circle, cut a line to the edge. Do not cut your circle in half! Also, this is another chance to get picky about pattern placement if you want to. If you'd like your seam to point to the six (go straight down), consider how that will affect whatever is going on with your fabric and cut accordingly.
Now, find something small and circular. Maybe 1/4"-1/2" in diameter.
Place it in the center of your circle and trace around it.
Cut out that little circle carefully with scissors.
Now you get to slide your pretty fabric easily onto your clock face to make sure your fit is right. Feels good!
Once you've checked to make sure it fits properly, you can take it off for a minute to put some double-sided tape on the face.
Lay some tape about every two to three hours (ha!) taking extra care to put tape all along where the seam will be.
Now just slide your fabric into place and pat it down so it's sure to stick well to the double-sided tape. Smooth out the seam to conceal it as best as you can.
Pop the cover back into place.
Now all you need is the correct time and a AA battery and you're good to go!
Pretty and easy!
So pretty and easy in fact, that I did a yellow one too just for kicks! (My seam wasn't awesome here. The truth is, the yellow one was my first one before I decided to do a tutorial. Live and learn. And y'all get to learn from my mistakes to give the seam lots of tape!)
Cheers!
05 February 2011
I don't know why I'm always so terrified to go with my gut on things, but without fail, I'm usually a nervous wreck on my way home from the paint store.
I mentioned earlier this week when I gave you a peek at my sewing room that it was in desperate need of a paint color reevaluation. Well, I'm not really one to let a lot of moss grow on an idea (or however that saying goes, I'm terrible at idioms), so by Thursday I was in full-out, this-is-going-to-have-to-happen-now mode.
I knew that I wanted to tone things down a lot. (remember the nearly gold color it was before because it was previously a guest room?) I thought I'd like to go with a light grey or even an ever-so-slightly tinted white. Something that would really lighten the mood in there. But, sucker for color that I am, I also wanted something pretty and exciting in there too.
What's more exciting than pink? Straight-up, creamy, yet in-your-face pink. With a hint of orangey-red added for tonal purposes, of course.
I chose a color at home from my handy Martha Stewart palette folder thingy, but I knew I'd want to take a look at all of my pink options once I made it to the hardware store. Man, nothing like choosing a color that you've never actually seen in your own room's lighting to make you want to pee your pants a little (almost wrote "pee your paints" here on accident, that would have been funnier).
I painted yesterday afternoon with my trusty 4-year-old encourager. He sat at a safe distance, so excited to see bright pink paint streaking a stark white wall (you'd better believe I primed the heck out of that mustard color!). He loves to watch me paint. And sometimes, when I'm feeling uber relaxed and fun, I let him roll a couple of streaks himself. Especially when I'm planning to tear up the carpet soon anyway.
Anyway, I knocked out the brunt of the work yesterday with just a few follow-up strokes needed today. Y'all, I am in love. I feel so happy and chipper and inspired to make great things in this room!
Wanna see?
Here's the before:
And the after:
I mean, obviously everything is currently shoved into the center of the room. But that color! Mmm, that color. I love it. Wouldn't it be fun to switch out the ceiling fan for a pretty, girly chandelier or something? I have some ideas for a window treatment and I have a new ironing board cover on the way from this cute little Etsy shop (mine was seriously 8-years-and-couting disgusting).
Anyway, just wanted to share my pretty color joy!
And in case you're curious, the paint colors are:
Watermelon Pink, Behr, Home Depot
Spring Melt MSL 114, Martha Stewart Living, Home Depot
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