Creative Juice

Crush : Recycled Leather

1. & 2. Geometric Leather Fringe Earrings

I love just about everything in Boo and Boo Factory's etsy shop. The colors, shapes and textures on all of her pieces are screaming to be worn. Perfect for the rocker in me.

How I Did It : Handwritten Text on Cardstock

Hey, it's Friday! I'm pretty excited because it's freezing here which means I'll probably spend a lot of time in my studio scrapbooking or painting this weekend.

Yesterday I put together this layout. I intended to print the journaling onto cardstock but accidentally closed the PS file without saving. Instead of re-typing it I decided on Plan B - handwriting the journaling. This is how I did it:

1. I already knew where I wanted the text so I put all the elements of the page together and left the writing for last.

2. When I was ready to write, I made light guides with my pencil and ruler and made sure to make margins too.

3. Sometimes, I write a first draft in pencil, but I had already typed my thoughts out once (and lost them) so I was ready to write it out with my black pen.

4. After waiting for the ink to dry, I erased the pencil lines. Presto! 

It's funny how my desire for perfection varies. Most times I would have simply handwritten on a layout without making guides with my pencil. Yesterday, I wanted to try and keep things neat because my original plan included typed text. Lucky for me, I chose to just go with this quick solution. Sometimes that is the difference between getting it perfect and getting it done!

What about you? Do you change your course of action mid-layout if you run into a problem? Or do you rather get things exactly as planned? Does time play a role in your decision?

Ol' Girl : House Tour, Part II

For the first time in ever, I've managed to decide quickly (read: under three months) where everything goes in this new home of ours. With the exception of a lamp or two, I haven't re-arranged anything. Yet. Yeah, that's a pat on my back for sticking to my goal. You can read more about that in the Ol' Girl : House Tour, Part I.

I plan to share photos of the house with our stuff in it - a promise is a promise. But first, here is the rest of the house on the day we moved in.

Favorite kitchen features? Big windows overlooking the back garden, space for a table and the swing door!

I love that the staircase is hidden. (You can see a better photo of how it's hidden in this post.)

The guest room is a the top of the stairs. It's starightforward and sort of small. The door you see in the second photo on the right above is the boys' bathroom.

Our room is down the hall. It has a transom, which is a nice feature. The drawback is that a light on in any other room upstairs pretty much shines through. Sucky for people (like me) who prefer their room pitch black.

We gave Andrea the choice of having his own room. He decided to room with his brothers (as he did when we lived in Toulouse). I've always preferred to keep a room for sleeping and a room for playing so I was glad about his choice. The dorm is the only room with carpet - a feature the boys find useful for wrestling.

Ah, my little piece of sunlit heaven. Thierry and I share this space (he works from home when he's not traveling). It is right above the sunroom and is set up the same way - windows along three walls. This room is not part of the original structure and you need to walk through the playroom to get to it. You can see the windows and paneling still exist on the wall that was once the exterior of the house.

There you have it! There is a partially finished basement that I haven't photographed. Maybe I'll get around to that one day. For now, I am glad to have finally shared the rest of the house tour. Next up : what we've done with the place!

Paint & Brush

Hello. On the right is my favorite brush. On the left is what I painted with it this weekend. It has been about ten months since I last picked up a paintbrush. I'm one of those people who needs things organized in order to get creative. So this weekend I worked on getting our home office/studio/whatever-you-call-that-room organized. Since the move, it has been the most neglected room, but that's changed and now we're best friends. I feel I now have permission to be creative.

How about you? Can you overlook a messy workspace when you're feeling creative or have an idea to work on? Or do things need to be nice and neat? Isn't it interesting how we are usually one way or the other?

Mixtape Monday : January 2012

The overall theme of what's been playing on repeat in my ears these past weeks perfectly reflects winter's paralyzing effect on my less-than-motivated self. Misery loves company and that's why I'm sharing this mix with you. You're welcome. Kisses!

It's the clever work of new girl crush, Gossip Girl music coordinator, Alexandra Patsavas. She chose each song on this list for play on an episode of Gossip Girl - the show I spent Christmas vacation getting to know. So if you're feeling melancholic, have a listen.

Speaking of Gossip Girl, who's watching tonight? I am (Chuck Bass).