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Saturday, April 21, 2012

quote of the day

"You know you're in love
when you can't fall asleep
because
reality is finally better than your dreams."
- Dr. Seuss

Thursday, April 19, 2012

quote of the day

The essence of all art is
to have pleasure in giving pleasure.
-Dale Carnegie

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The start of the beginning

What's today's blog post title even mean? Really, right? Well it has to do with my first meeting with a contractor to finish off our basement and to build my new and much larger Scrapbook Nook! I'll even get a bathroom that's adjacent to my scrapbook nook/creative art studio...now I'm living large! I'm giddy with excitement as we're to meet with a different contractor this evening- apparently my husband has several different contractors coming over this week to give bids on what we want done to the space that is now just a basement.

Our basement, currently it's just a big hole that contains the majority of my quilting and sewing goodies, the bulk of my beautiful fabric stash and of course ALL and with that I do mean my entire scrapbooking and paper crafting world!  Everything I own in the way of creative mediums is either packed in cardboard boxes or plastic bins, ugh!  Well with exception of my kitchen toys, they are on shelves.

 The crazy life of a creative person such as myself whose mind is always percolating with ideas is a complicated one at best(insert laughter here). I'll have to pace myself so I don't overboard before we even begin on the space. I need to think about paint colors, yup that should keep me busy for a little while, LOL! 

Now before I digress yet again... the real fun begins as I start with designing the actual floor plan for my new creative space. Where do I want the electrical outlets? Where do I  want my work surfaces to be? And of course there's got to be cabinetry, lots and lots of cabinetry! I know that I want to do radiant heat flooring in there since my new creative space will be in the basement - I always say that warm feet are happy feet♥.

I'm off to have another cup of coffee and to look at my diagram and think about cabinets and shelves and a big island in the middle to use as a design/cutting table. Oh the possibilities!

quote of the day

Believe in yourself!
Have faith in your abilities!
Without a humble but reasonable confidence
in your own powers
you cannot be successful or happy.
-Norman Vincent Peale

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Sewing my life away...

I don't know how to word it other than to say that I am in the throws of a creative explosion. I'm still sewing like there's no other thing in the world for me - you should see the guest room, it's a hot mess of thread snip-its and fabric scraps all over the floor. I've got loads of fabric spread out in heaps all over the bed, so much so that you can't tell that there is a bed in the room. While I was looking for a particular piece of fabric (to make a liner for a waste basket in my bedroom), I came across some fabric that would be great for lining the baskets in Hannah's bathroom. I tell you, my mind is just percolating with creative ideas today! 

Now I'm off to deal with the cable guy and then the auto glass repairman...never a dull moment around here!

quote of the day

Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within, as on the state of things without and around us.
Charlotte Bronte (1816 - 1855)

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Hard work and Perseverance

Hard work and perseverance really does pay off!

 I had this vision of what I wanted for our en-suite bathroom. I wanted to incorporate feelings of relaxation in the space, yet have a fun and energetic vibe happening at the same time. Finding the right color for the walls to make the space feel large and open. The previous owners had a dark dusty purple color on the walls and dark brown (the oiled bronze look) bathroom fixtures which soaked up all of the light and made the room feel small and drab. Sometimes people have an idea of what they want for a space but don't know how to make it all come together. Whatever the previous owners were trying to do (and I'm not condemning them), it looked more haphazard and thrown together. I know that I see things differently, that I can look at a room and be able to transform the entire space in my mind; Changing it all together into something new and completely different as if I was waving a magic wand. Being able to pull colors, textures and patterns together out of the air is something that most people have great difficulty accomplishing and they usually end up throwing in the proverbial towel. Now for me, it's been something I can just "do". I've always felt a little frustrated that others can't see what I see, until I learned that most people are blind to change. But I digress...

Our en-suite bathroom is now being transformed into a tropical paradise.My inspiration comes from a trip we took to Hawaii a few years ago. The experience left me with ideas for a future project.  I wanted a room full of energy yet one that gives you that take your shoes off and stay a while feel. I'll take you through the process with a photo spread detailing what was done once I finish my sewing and take pictures of the "almost" finished space. I'm still deciding on some artwork (actually I have it all in my mind what I want- you all know how that goes). I'm on the lookout for a cabinet to go above the toilet for storage space. What I like about the master bathroom is that the toilet is in a separate little room with a door. Now we'll be closing off the bathroom adding a small wall and doors. Currently it's a open space concept bathroom minus the little room for the toilet. We're going to be working on that very soon- look for pictures and even patterns in the very near future!     

quote of the day


Always bear in mind
 that your own resolution to succeed
 is more important than any other.
-Abraham Lincoln