Paper leaves and Altoid tins

I've been working on this little idea that I've had for a while now. It feels good to finally get started on it, and watch my vision materialize into reality. Although all this meticulous cutting of paper is trying my patience.

Project

I'm thinking of scrapping this blog and starting anew. Just to get a fresh start.

Anyways, I'm working of a few projects right now. One is an illustrated, loosely related but not really series. The other involves Altoid tins. I've had this idea for a while now, and I'm finally trying to make it come to life.

I've been thinking more and more about quitting my job as a cashier. At first I was so grateful to have the job, it was my first real source of steady income, and the money gave me freedom to go out into the world without having to ask my parents for funds. After a while I was able afford a car, which gave me even more freedom to be able to leave whenever I chose to do so. I was no longer confined to my home or the distance I wanted to ride my bike. It was liberating.

It was also a total weight on my shoulders. With the paycheck came the mentality that I could go and do whatever I wanted. But most things take money. Even to get from Point A to Point B took gas money out of my pocket. And with these ridiculous gas prices, money went quick. Then there's maintenance and insurance. The freedom that my car gave me was balanced with a responsibility to take care of it. This freedom was counterbalanced with a new confinement.

So anyways, my job...it's just not cutting it for me anymore. As the holidays creep closer (Halloween decor has been placed in the store since mid-September) I can feel the dread creeping in the pit of my stomach. I hate working during the holidays because, despite this season being about holiday cheer and thankfulness and selflessness and such, the worst in people comes out in full force. People get in fights over getting the last exclusive toy for their spoiled children, or grabbing as much of a holiday item as they can for fear that someone else may get to it first and leave none for them. The holidays get to be loud, obnoxious, and depressing. From a cashier's point of view. Ask anyone who works in retail, unless they're in denial or the enjoy being yelled at by people because we ran out of turkeys or toys or whatever, then they probably dislike working the holidays as much as I do. I've worked through two holiday seasons, and I can say that that is more than enough.

I'm looking for alternatives, but as a 20 year old with only 2 years of cashiering and guest service experience, there's not much I can do that varies greatly from what I already have here. What other options are there?

I've stumbled upon the website of Steve Palvina as of late, and he talks about how to work on personally development. He's very avid about creating your own personal business based on your personal strengths. And he suggests that instead of waiting to develop a plan and a logo and business cards and other such little details, that you should just go out and start. Which is what I'm trying to do now. I don't need to start big, I just need to start. I already have the blog, and although there's no true direction to it and post can be erratic at times, the general path that I follow leads me towards my interests in plants, art, and do-it-yourself projects. So that's what I'm going to be focusing on. Mostly I'll work on creating and promoting my own personal art, as well as posting DIY's that interst me, and plant related material that catches my interest.

So as to help motivate and remind myself, here's a list of a few things that I hope to accomplish to help me with my personal blog turned business.

1. Find an intersting and relevent blog name. Register it, and create a tradmark.
2. Write more often. Try to write once a day.
3. Paint/draw/crochet/sew/craft/etc more often. Try to do so once a day. And try to finish projects before getting bored then jumping to the next one.
4. Take more photos of things that interest me, or things that I'm doing. Chronicle my events with pictures.
5. Live more conciously. Take more opportunities to leave the house and get off the computer. But don't shirk away from responsiblity's like keeping up on homework and such.
6. Go outside more often. Hike, ride my bike, garden, go to the beach. Pick up rocks and shells and sticks and moss. Look for inspiration.
7. Make more of my own foods, and write about it.
8. Write a DIY tutorial on Saturdays and it S-A-T-U-R DIY. You know, kind of like that song? By the Bay City Rollers? S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT! (This may not be the best idea because after doing a quick search online, it looks like I'm not the only one with the idea. Although I swore no one had thought of this last year when I did.)
9. Start offering some of my items up for sale. If I know people are willing to buy, it will in turn make me more willing to create.

So there, a few things to help me out in my attempt to maintin and possibly profit from this blog. Let's see where it goes.

Time to do something

Here I am again after an extended (extremely extended) absence. I want to be more avid in putting more consistent posts up, but honestly I just don't know what to write about. Thinking about it now, I want to write about my interesting experiences and such. Except, I'm terribly normal and slightly boring. So I've resolved that I need to start doing more interesting things. Travel more, even to near by places. Try new experiences. See, taste, do more things. I should start making a list of things I want to accomplish in a day, a week, month, year...challenge myself to do things, instead of staying home and roaming pointlessly on Facebook, or scrolling through (mesmerizingly beautiful) posts on Tumblr. It's time for me to become what I want now instead of waiting for it to happen. It's time to start doing anything and everything.

Finally Back

I haven't written a thing on here in over two months. And not to be a cynic or anything, but I don't have enough of a devout or consistent reader base for it to really matter much. But I want to change that. I want to be writing on here more often, my only issue is what to write about and focus on. So far this blog is just a jumbled mix of fashion DIY's, home decor, art, and other crafty odds and ends. But there's no uniformity as to what I'm writing about. I suppose the way my blog currently looks reflects my indecisive and multi-interested nature. I fall in love with something, be it home decor or knitting, and it consumes me for a time. But I soon tire of it and look for the next thing to move on to. The only consistency is that they are all some sort of creative outlet. Like right now, I'm working on replicating, or rather attempting to replicate, a blanket I saw on Pinterest. But I know myself, and I will get tired of this project before I even get halfway through, and then I will abandon it in the back of the closet, for me to discover sometime next year and attempt to finish it again soley because I'm tired of all the half finished projects that accumulate in my room. Well, let's see how far that blanket project will last.



Via The New Yorker (Tumblr)



Art

I really need to get back into drawing and stuff. I've been feeling so unproductive lately, but I feel too discouraged to do anything about it.

Time to Focus

I really need to work out the kinks in my blog. First off, I'm not even entirely sure what my blog is about. It kind of started out as a DIY-esque fashion blog, then transitioned into other DIY projects, then it turned into me raving about what furniture I wanted but would never acquire. There's just an incohesive jumble of art, fashion, DIY, and decor kind of jumbled together here. How very inconsistent of me.

Well let's see. What are my interests you ask? I love plants, art, and crafting. That pretty much narrows down my interests.

Plants are great! They're so green and lovely and diverse and great for climbing and great for food and look lovely in a vase on the table and fun to plop in your garden and watch it grow. Plants are beautiful, and my obsession with them won't be dwindling any time soon.

Art is awesome. And I'm not talking about that really obscure art (but if that's your thing more power to you). Be it well known mediums like drawing or painting or sculpting, art is so diverse and indefinably beautiful. Art can be found in wood working, in glass work, sewing, weaving, music. I like tangible art with a creative spark or an interesting message. I like creative uses of colors and shapes and forms. I like art that obviously had some effort and thought put into it. I love seeing an idea manifest itself into a physical form via the artist.

Crafting is an art of it's own. Sewing, knitting, crocheting, painting, jewelry making, woodworking...Crafting to me means making something yourself instead of buying it, or adding personal touches to an item to make it more suited for your tastes. Embroidering an edge to a sweater, knitting your own hat, making a terrarium, or painting a side table. Crafting projects can be as big or as small as you want them to be.

I'll do my best to focus more around themes. I also need to get in the habit of posting more personal pictures, and of my surroundings.

100th Post

I haven't blogged in over a week. And that was just to say that I was going to San Francisco, which by the way was super fun and amazing. Ok, break down of my trip...

The boys picked me up at my place around 5:20, and after some hours of driving, listening to mixed CD's, and laughing at bad drivers, we arrive at our little motel at around 1. We check in, settle in, and after a rest, we go out and get some food. Our original plan was to check out this seafood place, but after seeing the outrageous prices, we settle on a pizza joint. Best decision ever! They had great pizza. It was in little Italy just past Chinatown, and it was one of those hole-in-the-wall places. They had great music, great food, and awesome service. The rest of the day is just a blur of exploring Chinatown and other parts of the city.

Friday was the big day. This was the main reason we came to San Fran. After a stepping literally next door from our hotel to this breakfast nook for a delicious all American breakfast cooked by an old Chinese woman, who happened to be the only one in the kitchen cooking to feed the entire restaurant, and after leaving a generous tip, we head across the Bay Bridge to Oakland. After a Jamba Juice, we head over to the Oakland Oracle at around 3:50. Our friend, not interested in the event, drops my boyfriend and myself off, and the two of us head over to find the line. After some assessment, we find that we are within the top 40 people in line. Thousands will follow soon. We anxiously wait for the doors to open at 8. Finally, after hours of sitting of hard concrete, the front of the line begins to stand, and everyone behind them follows. Slowly, the security gaurds let us in after a quick pat down. After a scan of our tickets and wristbands slapped onto our left wrists, we quickly head over to the stage. We are within the 2nd row of people! Another hour of waiting ensues until the start of the show. Finally, the lights dim, the crowd cheers, and the band steps out. The Arctic Monkeys are no more than 20 feet away from my face. After some loud cheering and live music, they disassemble and allow for the next band to come up. The main event. The reason we came out to city. The Black Keys! They rock out for an hour or so, and it is pure, musical bliss.

The rest of the trip included a trip to the Golden Gate National Park, where we saw a small number of bison; driving down Lombard street, that extremely windy road that San Fran is famous for; driving over the infamous Golden Gate Bridge; riding through Sausalito; and lots of great food with the help of Yelp. Overall, the trip was fantastic. And like any good trip, it was over much too quickly.

San Fran

We're off to the hilly city, "we" being myself, my boyfriend, and our friend. My boyfriend and I are about to witness not only the live performance by The Black Keys, but the Arctic Monkeys as well! We've been planning for this trip for months now, and finally, FINALLY we will be leaving tommorow at 5am on our way to San Fran. After an epic performance, we will all be spending the rest of the weekend exploring San Francisco, getting fat off of clam chowder and beignets (French donuts).

Decor Inspiration: shelving

I'm in need of some new shelves in my room. There's really no hurry, so I'm taking my time drooling over the beautiful shelving that I'll never aquire any time soon.





Via Digsdigs



Via Modern Octopus

 

Via Maiya

I'm looking for something more in the way of wall shelves though. Box shelves seem an ideal way to store and display my many knick-knacks. I've also finally discovered the name of the shelves I've been coveting for some time now: string shelves! And yet I'm not digging the prices.

For now, I'll just continue to not change a thing in my room due to lack of motivation. I'm a lazy artist, I have all these visions of beautiful things and for the potential my room can have, but I lack the funds and motivation to do so. Oh well, in time.

S-A-T-U-R DIY: bookshelf

I've been seeing this Anthropologie inspired bookshelf all over the web for a bit now. I love the fact that this little shelf is custom made to fit your specific books, but I wouldn't pay 1000+ grand when I could easily make my own.



DIY version



Antrho version, both images Via


This book shelf reminds me of a very similar, and very expensive, custom side table. It's available here on Etsy for 2000+ bucks with shipping, but with a price like that I am no where near inclinded to buy it any time soon. Or in this lifetime. But it doesn't mean that I won't admire or dream about it. Or perhaps hack the idea if I ever gain any sort of wood working skills.

Via Etsy



Blogging

I'm such a lazy blogger. I'm also pretty new at it and I'm still trying to find my own personal style. But that's now excuse for my laziness (although I am lazy by nature). I need to stop trying to be something I'm not while blogging. I'm no professional at anything, I'm just a newly 20 year old who has no idea what course in life to take. I have interests in art, design, DIY, crafting, and other such things, but I don't know how to turn this into a career option. Or if I even want it to be a career. I wouldn't mind having a job, and just keep art as a hobby. But I can't stand to have some boring, average, 9 to 5 job. I can't to cramped offices, cubicles, endless typing, and dim fluorescent lighting.

My dad owns his own business selling light bulbs. He started working temporarily at a light bulb distribution company, but after a while decided he could do the same work on his own. Thus, he started his own business. I really have no interest in selling light bulbs, but could I perhaps start my own business?

I know I've been contemplating the idea for a while now, but I'm not really sure if I could do it or not. Then I tell myself that you'll never know if you never try. So what if I fail? There's not true failure except not learning from an experience. As long as I learn something from starting my own business, be it marketing tools, or what buyers are looking for, or even if I learn that I don't want to run my own business, the experience would be worth it. I just need to let go of my fear of failure and rejection and just go for it.

Another idea I've been thinking of is getting a job as an electrician or something. No matter where you go, people are going to need electricians. Training doesn't take too long, a few years I think, and electricians get paid decent money. This idea is kind of going off the my-dad-has-a-light-bulb-business fact...I'm sure my dad has a few connections.

Possibilities. It's time for me to focus and zero in on something.

S-A-T-U-R DIY: string art

I remember making string art in grade school. We had an array of colored paper, thread, and patterns to choose from. After carefully punching out the small holes for the thread, we used blunt needles (as not to poke ourselves with and cause injury) and followed the pattern. I think I may still have those little creations in the back of my closet.

Threadbanger provides this great tutorial to make your own string art.





Via Apartment Therapy





S-A-T-U-R DIY: paper cut lamp and 3D paper sculpture



I signed up for Meg Allan's Youtube page after I saw this first tutorial. She has a great voice and cute ideas in her videos. I went out and bought cardstock specifically after watching these videos.

Tumblr

If you're a typical young adult, such as myself, you shamelessly spend countless hours on the internet. Addiction? Perhaps. But I try to justify my time online by telling myself I'm getting inspiration and ideas for art and DIY projects. At least, that's what I tell myself. More often than not, I just book mark the page (or lately I've been using my Facebook less as a social medium and more as an archive for pictures and links) and tell myself I'll do it later. Unfortunately, I usually lose interest or motivation before I've even started the project.

I've gone off topic. Anywho, I have a Tumblr. Nothing fancy, nothing professional, nothing serious. I use it mostly to post up art and other pictures that I find inspiring. Every now and then I'll post up a cool DIY tutorial, but the bulk of my posts are cool looking art. If you want to follow me, check out my Tumblr here.

Inspiration: lights

Here again with more lights and light fixtures and things. I can't stop obsessing over them! Possible DIY's? Hmm, I think it's time for me to start sketching some concepts...


Via Style Park



Via 3Rings



Via Time Out



Via Home Design Interior



Via Curbly



Via Decor8

 

Via House Pict



Via Recyclart

 

S-A-T-U-R DIY: oversized knit

Remember those wonderful knitted poufs? Well, here's oversized knit project. And I mean oversized. This yarn is so thick...in fact it's not technically yarn. It's just wool roving. No matter, it's on my to-do list. I need this in my room. The Giganto-blanket is just too cool. It's so chunky and fluffy. It takes about 6 pounds of wool roving to make this, and unless you can find it cheaper, costs about 100 bucks.


Via Noctunal Knits

Here's another neat-o chunky knit project. Knit your own puffy squishy rug. Again, the materials itself will ring you up over 100 bucks. But I love the idea.


Via The Purl Bee

 I know, I know, this isn't technically "knit", but it does involve chunky yarn. I saw this chunky hand crochet idea on Pinterest, and when I clicked the link it led me to this video. It seemed like more of an advertisement for the chunky Italian yarn, but it did provide a pretty good tutorial. After looking at the picture, it looks like this "yarn" is just a very small knitted tube. It looks time consuming, but a possible alternative for wool roving and other oversized yarn.

Via Pinterest



S-A-T-U-R DIY: lights

Ok, I feel as though I am becoming obbessed with lights. There's just so many different beautiful kinds! This chandelier designed by Lindsy Adelman is just gorgeous. I love the mimicry of a tree this light invokes. The Brick House sports its own DIY chandelier and offers a few words of advice. Download the instructions here and make your own.


Via Lindsey Adelman


Here's a tutorial on how to make a "Potence" syle lamp. Now that I think about it, is there a way to take this idea and make my own arc lamp?

Via One Forty Three

S-A-T-U-R DIY: branch hooks

Here's a pretty nifty idea I saw on Scandinavian Deco a while back. Cut sections of branches are used to make this easy coat hanger. I like the organic form of the branches combined with the crisp look of white paint.



Via Scandinavian Deco

Garden Therapy had a similar tutorial, where the branches were nailed to a board instead of directly into the wall.



Via Garden Therapy



Pinterest

Ok, so I have a Pinterest, but I barely keep up with it, I just post up the occasional pin and tell myself I'll do it later, when in reality I just forget about it. Any who, guess who stumbled on the greatest board of all time? Marie Yates has this great Pinterest board. It's all about the DIY. I love it!! But where to start first? I feel like a dog caught between all his favorite toys in the same proximity. You love all of them, but you just don't know which one to go to first, so you just kind of run around in a circle between all of them while you try to "decide. But anyways, check out this great board. I'll let you know if I stop running around in circles.

Lights

Lights please! I cannot stop thinking about lights, lamps and pendants. I went to Target's website to look for some floor lamps to replace my cheap, disintegrating one. So I mosey around and find these really cool and modern looking tri-leg standing lamp. On sale! So after sifting through the entire standing lamp selection, I finally buy two that look promising, telling myself that I'll return the one I like the least. Or both if they turn out to not be to my taste.



Via Target



Via Target

Today, I went into Target on the hunt for some deccent shelves (to no avail), and say that all home decor was buy one get one half off. I went to the lamp section and bought two more standing lamps to try them out in my room. One I ended up hating, but the other was a lovely arch lamp that fit well in my room. It was too expensive for my taste, and I'm not really sure why I bought it. But anyways...

I also went to Target.com to check out some more things, and I see that the tri-leg lamps that I had bought were applicable to the BOGOHO (buy one get one half off) deal! The deal only lasts for this week. Hopefully my lamps get in by this Thursday as promised, and I can go into a store, work the system, and get my extra discount.

Oh, and the wonderful arch lamp that I paid 80 bucks for? On sale on their website. for 55 bucks. And it's also applicable to the BOGOHO sale. After looking at the  item number between the two lamps (the one  have  vs the one online), I find off that it's off by ONE number. Which means that even though they look and are called the exact same thing, they're technically different items. Which means it would be easier to just return the one I have then buy the cheaper lamp online. The perks of working at Target means I know these things. Not really, there are few perks to working there. I need to get out of retail.



Via Target


Anyways, onto what I really wanted to post up here. While on my usual scroll through Design Sponge, I was looking through and saw this string of lights and instantly wanted one. Like, NOW. It is so insanely simple and beautiful and gorgeous and functional and it needs to be mine! This is the work of Patrick Townsend, and after looking through and finding the white string 10 without a price next to it, I already knew it was out of my price range. Damn. I really wanted one.

PS I love everything about this room.


Via Design Sponge

This kind of inspired me to think about taking some sort of electrical or wiring something-or-rather class next semester. I think it would be really cool to learn how to may your own lamps and light fixtures. Perhaps as a possible source of income? We'll see, but for now, I'll wait for my lamps to come in on Thursday, then try and figure out how I can get everything as cheaply as possible with all those discounts and things.

S-A-T-U-R DIY: pouf

Poufs, floor cushions, and the like are becoming a popular home edition as of late. It seems interior designers and home makers alike can't get enough of this trend. Adaptable, useful, and playful, these handmade poufs would make a great addition to your home.

Better Homes and Garden gives you the tutorial for this Moroccan inspired pouf.


Via BHG

I'm obsessed with over sized knit. It's just so playful and artistic! You could buy a pouf from Christien Meinderstsma (which has gone way beyond any price I am willing to pay), or you can take her cue and make your own. Pickles shows you how to make this over sized knit pouf. Cue the search for fat, chunky yarn!


Via Pickles



Branch Lamps

Here's a few interesting looking lamps I saw made from tree branches. If you can find some sturdy, pliable branches, these would be an interesting DIY.


Via Apartment Therapy



Via Shelterness



S-A-T-U-R DIY: geoball

To further show my recent obesssion for geometric shapes, here's a very simple patter to make your own geoball.







All images Via Weekday Carnival

S-A-T-U-R DIY: lighting

I've been thinking a lot about lights lately. Mostly because I have a cheap light stand that needs to be released with something more...inspiring. Artistic. Beautiful. Handmade. You get the idea.

I don't quite know why I love this light so much. It could be the simple design, or even the neon cord. Although I wouldn't leave the light bulb bare, I do like the simple shape of the extending arm. This would be great next to a bed or couch for late night reading. There's really not much of a tutorial on how to make it, but by looking at the picture, I'm sure you can get an idea. It seems easy enough (Plus, I love the artwork on the wall.)


Via Weekday Carnival


I've been seeing round, overly sized pendant lights all over the web, and this whirl-it shade seems to be the most prevalent, and easy to execute. To make the orb itself, a large balloon, yarn, and some wallpaper glue was needed. I would love a cluster of different sized orbs to light my room. (PS, I have that same black and white pillow case. Got it from Ikea years ago.)



Via Pickles


These little paper stars are intended to hold small tea light candles, but I'm thinking you could get a large piece or paper and make a cool looking pendant light out of it.



Via Passengers on a Little Spaceship



This was just too cool, and such a simple idea. It's a great way to decorate an old shade and give it some new life.


Via Aunt Peaches



S-A-T-U-R DIY: planters

Take an old book that you never read and turn it into this clever little book planter. I have a few books I'm willing to use for this project.



Via Apartment Therapy


Turn some cheap cinder blocks into this modern looking planter. Although I do like the idea, knowing me  would constantly walk into, bump against, scratch myself on, or stub my toes on any projecting cinder blocks. If you're not accident prone like I am, this is a simple DIY to add some green to your yard.


Via Recyclart


Another cool idea using bricks is this duo succulent planter and candle holder I found on ReadyMade. These would be great placed on a low brick wall or as a center piece for an outside table.

Via ReadyMade

S-A-T-U-R DIY: pleated dress

I am by no means a professional at crafting. Often times, I start a project with a lot of enthusiasm, only to grow bored after a while. The project sits, unfinished and waiting. Finally, I just get so tired of looking at it that I either scrap it or rush to finish it.

That was not the case with this dress. Although it does have a few rough edges and loose threads, I'm happy with the over all result. My boyfriend's sister is getting married this May, and I decided to make my dress rather than to buy one. I wanted something pretty, but simple. And red. After some looking around, I found this great tutorial for a beautiful Zara dress that Kate Middleton was seen sporting.

After some looking around, I came to the conclusion that Zara no longer sells the dress, but the tutorial does show what the original dress looked like. My dress isn't quite done yet, but do far so good. More on my dress later.


Original Zara Dress