Hang it up.

 

 Today was day one of phase two of the Creation Cove (I had to change the name from Creation Cave because Ben told me we can only have one cave in this house, and it's his Man Cave... I'll let him win that battle.)

In order to visualize the big picture collage, I took an inventory of all the pictures we had, and started to create a feel.

 

I think I have a good thing started (won't show it yet...) Tomorrow I'm going to paint some frames and start planning a couple drawings to be hung.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a couple sources of tips to creating picture collages and hanging frames in an aesthetically pleasing way.

here is an awesome tutorial on creating a 'gallery wall' using wax paper to mark nail holes.

The same blog has a great diagram for hanging pictures in different room set-ups.

One of my favorite blogs, Young House Love, used scrap newspaper, traced their frames, and arranged them on the wall.

Here's a great tip to make sure you put the nail in the right place on the wall.

 Do you have any tips for hanging frames? I'd love to hear them!

Happy birthday, Megan!

This is where it all started. 

The day I tried to strangle my sister while sweetly smiling for the camera. 

23 years ago today, my younger yet-much-taller sister was born, taking away my only-child status.  

I had a helmet of dark brown hair. Megan had a full head of blonde curls. She was obsessed  with Beauty and the Beast. I was obsessed with Cinderella. I loved pink. Megan was a purple girl. We both were super excited for our younger sister [Boo Boo] to come home.

I'm the one with the mullet
Megan is the one with the belly shirt.

We've always been different, but similar.

We've always carved our own path, and sometimes those paths are similar--sometimes they are so different.

We went to the same university--we did student leadership together, we partied together (but not until we were both of age, mom), and we lived in the same residence hall.

We went to the same university but had different paths--she was focused on political science and global studies, she went abroad to Trinidad, and focused on a future of service to the global community.

Megan has a heart for helping, and a mind for justice. She spent the last year in Palestine opening her heart to those living under occupation. She is spending this year in Minneapolis serving Habitat for Humanity. She lives to serve those around her.

Megan with some of her students at the Helen Keller School for the Blind in Jerusalem.

Megan is living, and will continue to live a life of service in wherever she ends up. She is the type of person that cannot ignore injustice and will continue to serve our neighbors, our community domestically and abroad.

It's amazing to think that 17 years ago, we were playing McDonalds Drive-Thru in our front yard--and today we're both living out our dreams--different but similar.

Since it was biologically feasible, my sister has been taller than me.

See that line that basically stays in the same place since 1999? That's me.
Now look up to the line that consistently grows an inch a year. That's her.

Physically, I've been looking up to her since I was about 8.

Truth is, I have always looked up to Megan. The way that every song is her 'favorite song,' the way she tries to whistle but only has one note [seriously megan, one note], the way she cares for those that she barely knows, and the way she loves for those that face injustice and hate.

 

Happy birthday, Megan. I love you, and I miss you. Can't wait to see you at Christmas. 

Phase one, complete!

Phew. What a day!

Today was Phase One of Operation Creative Cave.

For reference, here's what we started with:

Had to make it messy so the after picture looks even better.

The walls were soo disgusting. I do not want to know what the stains were...

After only three hours, this room was transformed into Harvard Library awesome. Seriously. These pictures do not do it justice [someday I will buy a big girl camera...]

ooo yeah.

Previously, I thought I would replace all the baseboards to lighten the room up, but I'm really liking the way the dark wood is looking with the dark walls. So cozy.

Hey, pretty.

 There you have it! Phase One!

Next phase will be creating the large picture collage on the two walls. 

Get ready for gold frames. Lots of them. 

Couch Surfing

Today's post is going to be short and sweet.  I woke up this morning with a killer migraine that all the excedrin+coffee+water couldn't help. Right now the walls are pulsing, and looking at this computer screen is painful.

Feel sorry for me yet? Wahmp wahmp.

In the past couple months, Ben and I have been doing a lot of, "Well, we'll buy this first, then this, then that." But if this summer has proved anything, it's that our plans mean nothing. The floor has been pushed to this fall [due to time] the backyard has been pushed to next summer [time...again], the bathrooms are too expensive to do [the way I want them] until after we finish the kitchen. 

With all the minor setbacks we have with the remodeling stuff, some things have been pushed up the list due to the crazy need for them. Like furniture. Major big girl furniture. Major big boy furniture. 

Ben and I host our friends at least once a week. Most of the time we watch a movie, and all we have is a little bitty couch and dining room chairs--not really cohesive to watch a movie with 6+ people.

For the past couple weeks we have been researching and scouring the area for a perfect couch...

I've grabbed a couple swatches and here is the color scheme/model we're looking at...Now all that's left is paying for it...right?

I love the idea of a tweed or menswear fabric on the couch...That yellow is awesome, too.

 

 

 

 

 

                   

I typically hate sectionals, but I think this one is pretty nice.
It'll give us enough seating for a crowd, too.       

I see a red door and I want to paint it black....

I wanna see it painted black!

It's no secret. Ever since Ben and I signed a giant check over for our house, I've wanted to paint something black. First, I really wanted to paint a bathroom:

Still totally going to do this...in due time... here

Then, our bathroom project got a little sidetracked when I rediscovered my love for really expensive things... [the only faucet I could dream of putting in here costs at least $600...danget, Lauren!]

Last weekend in my sleep deprived state, I decided I would completely revamp what I'm calling, 'MY CREATION ROOM.' [add cackle via Dexter's Laboratory.]

I don't want to call it a craft room.

Because it's not a craft room. I don't want spools of ribbon hanging off of cute hooks. I don't use ribbon. I don't really like cute.

This is going to be a true creative cave. A place where I can start projects and not finish them. A place where I can walk in at 9am with a plan, and leave at 9pm with glue in my hair.

This is not a place for scrapbooking, needlepoint or present wrapping.

So naturally, it's going to be black.

Here's my inspiration:

here

here

[ok...really dark steelbluegray.]

I chose this color from Miller Paint [my fav. paint], it's called Midnight Magic. Yeah.

[full disclosure: I painted a sample up on my wall (looks awesome) but my iPhone camera is making it look crazy. So...trust me.]

And now, here's the super ambitious part: I want to do some major wainscotting. Major.

Like this:

Don't pay attention to the colors [blech] but that design is awesome and will be great all-white.
here

But let's be honest. I have no idea how to do that...yet...

So for now I shall settle with GIANT BASEBOARDS:

here

I'm also prepping for some major picture hanging (FINALLY...a place for those dang wedding photos) that will include a couple original drawings, some sentimental pieces and a whole lot of awesome.

here

I'll wrap up the project with a great window treatment, and sprucing up the Ikea furniture (totally breaking out the gold spray paint...)

Step one starts this weekend: Time for some black paint!

[ok...dark-steelbluegray...]

All smiles

What up, Wednesday? Agh. Today was awesome. Had a really great meeting at work. The sun is shining, and now I get to spend my evening with you fine people. Yessuh!

As promised, the long-awaited guest book. 

Now, this guest book wasn't necessarily a new idea, or something that hasn't been done before, or even the best one out there. [in fact, here's one, and here's another.] But to me, it was the most special.

I love to draw. I just love it. 

But when do I draw? Never. I'm always pen-tooling it away on Illustrator, or arranging letters on inDesign, but I never have a chance to just straight up draw. 

Look at all those eraser shavings...cute.

This project gave me the opportunity to blow the dust off my drawing pencils, dig for my favorite lucky eraser, and straight up draw.

VW bug. Cute butt. 

I even went to the art-supply store and stocked up on a pile of beautiful drawing paper [to the tune of forty 18x24 sheets, gah.]

A little detail of the special couple.
True story: When Emily and I went to Vegas, we went to a fancy club in a fancy casino.
No vodka+redbull for us, we were all about the Coors Light in the Aluminum bottle. Yes. 

It was so special for me to be able to make this for the happy couple, but it was also [selfishly] awesome to restart my love of drawing.

I have a couple awesome drawing projects lined up in the upcoming weeks, I can't wait to show you.

There she is. So pretty. 

I'll try to dig up a picture of it all ballooned--it's pretty hilarious. Tom Cruise even signed it. Whodduh thunk?

Wedding of the year!

Hey! Good to see you again. Thanks for sticking with me this summer--but that should be my last scheduled break for a while.

Ben and I spent the last weekend celebrating Ben's sister's wedding. It was freaking awesome.

I've done a lot of projects for a lot of different weddings and bridal showers, but this set was a little bit more special than the rest.

Today I'll share with you an ensemble present: Beer for the rehearsal dinner.

Ben and my dad brewed an awesome beer for Emily and Alex's rehearsal dinner. Then, of course, it needed a label.

Here it goes:


Alex and Emily chose Tiffany Blue and Champagne for their wedding colors--so cute! But...so hard to match on a desktop printer. Took about 5 hours to get the right color, and my iPhone couldn't even pick up the color right...blech.

Heh. Heh. get it?

I wanted to name the beer, "Something Brewed," and thought that was super witty. But then, I went on Pinterest and looked up 'beer bottle design' and guess what the first 15 were? Some variation of "Something borrowed, Something Brewed" Drat.

So, I gradually started a list of possible names. It was hard to choose one that wasn't totally cheesy, and Rehears-ale was the perfect combination of witty yet awesome. 

Here's the printed labels. I used Avery shipping labels.

oops. There's my bottle of Zyrtec in the corner...

Have I mentioned lately how badly I need to buy a big-girl camera?

Come back tomorrow for the cutest little guest book...