My Workspace

I wish I had a before picture for you. The color of the room used to be a darker mossy/avacodo-y color. I never wanted to be in the room because it was too dark! Now it is bright and clean and better organized. The color of the wall is actually a brighter turquoise. For some reason my camera didn't capture the right color. I'm sure you can imagine it in you head :)

I am taking a trip to colorado so I won't be posting for a little while.  I hope the rest of your week is filled with fun and spring magic :) 

Thursday Things: Vintage

Many people may not know it, but Etsy is not only a site for handmade goodies, it is also a site full of vintage treasures! Here are some notable vintage finds:

How about some Pyrex mixing bowls from FoundVintageStyle's shop. Now that's what I want to cook with!

I can see these Naturalizer Spectator Heels from sunnfox's shop either dressed up with leggings and a cute skirt or dressed down with some dark denim jeans. I am wondering if wearing another person's shoe would be weird at first though? I'm not sure. All I know is they look super cute.

These old letterpress letters  from SalvageNation's shop are quite the bargain! I can see them being used for making mixed media artwork or displayed in a grouping. 

Speaking of letters, how about a vintage 1950's typewriter from MyraMelinda's shop. Send a letter the old fashioned way and you're sure to make someone feel special :)

At Drawflower's shop you can get one of these lovely lampshades made with wallpaper from the 70's. Now if only I had one of these when I went through my Beatles/hippy phase...oh wait I think I'm still in that phase.

 There are vintage clothes galore on etsy. I love this vintage sweetheart pleated ruffle blouse from brownbagvintage's shop. This would be adorable with jeans. 

I just started to read The Great Gatsby by J. Scott Fitzgerald. My mom and I have decided that we want to read all the classics so I dusted off an old version from 1953 that was just sitting on my shelf. I actually took it from the last apartment I lived in. There was a community bookshelf of sorts in the lobby area so one day I snatched it up. I just wanted to share a few words of wisdom I found on the first page. It is quite good advice if I say so myself.

Chapter One

In my younger  and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, " he told me, "just remember that all the people in the world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

Reserving Judgments is a matter of infinite hope. 

I think a lot of us want to say we are non-judgmental but even I catch myself judging other people without thinking about where they come from or why they are the way they are. I like the idea that reserving judgement is a matter of infinite hope. When we let go of judgement we are able to see the best in people. When we see the best in people we are able to show them the best part of ourselves.  Reading can teach such great lessons! 

Paint on the Walls

Hi Friends.

I caught the painting bug today and I am really excited to share my pictures with you. I have lived in my house for three years and still hadn't painted my bedroom! I have always been a little weary of painting due to the high ceiling, but I decided enough is enough. No wall can stop me now!

Here is a little before and after:

Before.....boring walls

I was so excited when i finally saw the color on the wall! In this picture you can see that a ladder was necessary. It turns out that my ladder wasn't tall enough so I had to call my friend Erin and have her bring her giant ladder over. I am glad she came because she convinced me to continue painting the wall to the left, which you will see in the next picture. 

Thank god for that ladder! Here are the final results: 

I am so happy I painted. Now I actually want to hang out in my room. As you can see my style is pretty girly and fun. I love color and tend to shy away from the minimal look. I plan on painting my bathroom which is attached to my bedroom next and then the office/artroom. 

Hope you all have a lovely Monday evening. I'm off to watch Dancing with the Stars and John and Kate Plus 8. 

Peace out.

Thursday Things...on a Friday

Sorry I didn't get to posting thursday things yesterday! Friday will have to do.  Here are some more Etsy favorites. 

1. Being a crazy bird lover, i am drawn to this beautiful 50's Birdcage Pillow

by Olive. 

2. This is such a cute idea. A Doily Clock by andfurthermore . This would look much better in my kitchen then my current boring silver clock. 

3. I really believe that We Are All Made of Stars! This is a fabulous gocco print by jessgonacha. I think it would look really cute amongst a grouping of your favorite art prints. 

4. Love these Filigree Earrings by Silverdog. So delicate yet fun! I am noticing a turquoise and red theme with all my favorites this week. Hmmm lets switch it up for number 5.

5. Who would have thought to turn felt into a necklace! I think I love this by Feltik.

6. I am so in love with etsy. It is a daily struggle not to buy something! I just wanted to share this last item with you that I bought from buygollymissmolly's shop.  It is a milk glass pot that I plan to store my pencils in in my office or I could always plant a sweet little plant in it. It was a great deal and I can't wait to get it in the mail. I think next week I will devote thursday things to great vintage finds. 

Let Go

*Picture taken last summer in my mother-in-law's garden

Sometimes I think we expect too much from ourselves.

Let whatever you do today be enough. 

Let it be ok if you didn't get to every thing on your to do list. 

Let it be okay if you decided to finish that really good book you haven't had time for.

Let it be okay if you let the laundry sit in the basket until you wore every wrinkly thing in it and still haven't started a new load.

I think the Beatles were on to something when they wrote "Let it Be"

Seriously. Give yourself a break. 

Visit this video  by swirlygirl to be even more inspired.

My Buddy

I just adore my cat. He is pure cuddly-ness. 

He is a perfect creation! Just look at the stripes on his head!

If you aren't convinced yet, get a look at his handsome face. 

New artwork to be posted soon :)

Thursday Things

I decided to devote today's Thursday Things to some things I things are pretty darn cool on etsy

1. This pillow by pixieblossoms.  I wish I had a knack for sewing like her!

2. These beautiful stoneware bottles by antb. I imagine them sitting on my big mantle all together like a little bottle family. 

3. These adorable earrings by Bijoutiful.

4. No more boring flour sack kitchen towels! Instead I want these by flyingrhymes from Denmark. 

5. I need to buy these by evelynfields. This one is for my friend Katie who hates the idea of plastic bags floating in the ocean. Genius!

6. If we made our own plans.... by michellemoode. This small work speaks big. I would love to see it blown up as a larger print! This also inspires me to do some experimenting with dying my paper with tea. 

Silence

“See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.” Mother Theresa

Good morning dear friends, 

It has been a nice quiet weekend, with nothing too exciting to report. 

This morning I was greeted by the sun rise in my backyard and I had to share its beauty with you. I think it is important to have a little silence to ourselves each day. The quietest part of my day is in the morning when I first get up. I brew my own delicious batch of dunkin' donuts coffee (it is THE BEST), add my coconut creamer (also yummy) and i sit down either at my kitchen table or crawl back in my bed and sip on coffee and check all my "sites" on my mac.  

Weekends are nice, but I really love having a morning routine during the week. When I quit my job as an art teacher there was a period of time where I felt "lost" in the mornings. I didn't know whether to sleep in, get up, work on artwork, etc. For the last month I have really felt like I have found a good routine that has worked for me creatively. I use my mornings to plan the rest of my day and I go from there. I used to put pressure on myself about sitting down at a certain time to paint/draw, but now I just jot down ideas as they come to me and create when I feel most inspired to.  I do make sure that I work on something everyday even if it is just drawing some crazy flower designs with my favorite faber castell ink pens. I am so tempted to buy the gift set for myself!

What is involved in your morning routine? 

Thursday Things

Happy Thursday!

I decided to start a series of posts to take place every thursday called Thursday Things. It is basically a list of "things" that I have noticed, like, appreciate, and want to pass on for the week. So here it is: 

Four Things

1. My friend Katie's blog post today about living a passion filled life.

2. I LOVE going to spin class. I started going last week and am now addicted. It is a full 50 minutes of cardio in which I sweat all the toxins out of my body. It makes my legs feel strong and it clears my head. Being an avid runner, spin class is a great way to change it up. Try it!

3. I have revisited my David Gray CD and I really love this song. 

4. This is a sweet photo blog to visit.

5. I am looking forward to seeing the tulips bloom in my neighborhood which inspired my new painting seen above :)

New Work

Here is a fun mixed media collage/painting I just added to my shop titled "Garden Party"

I think we would all benefit if spring would decide to get here!

I used ink, acrylic, and hand colored flower designs. The chair is my favorite part of this design.

I hope you have a Terrrrrific Tuesday!

~Kelly

If I Had the Big Money

I would buy pretty much every clothing item at Anthropologie.....

And maybe some pretty accessories from Pier One like this Pillow

And....possibly this chair from Target