May 24, 2012

Little Corners: Pencil Shavings

Today Rachel Shingleton of Pencil Shavings is welcoming us into her colorful Oklahoma City home!

Color plays an enormous role in our home. When we first moved in, everything was in builder beige, and I felt myself cringing at how blah everything felt. Slowly I’ve painted room by room. I realized one day that I wanted my home to feel like an Easter egg: softly colored with eggshell texture. My favorite room in the house is our formal living room, painted in a Robin’s egg blue. My son’s artwork is framed in the corner, and I love the additional color it lends to the room.

 

Undoubtedly one of my favorite corners is my side of the bed in our pistachio green master bedroom. The ginger jar lamps were a find – a pair for $10 – at a local antique shop. Paired with new shades, they instantly pulled our room together. And, occasionally, it also works as a necklace display for those pieces too large to put in my jewelry box. On the wall hangs a mirror and two vintage Chinoiserie-inspired plates from my parents’ house.

 

Does this count as a corner? I was absolutely thrilled when we moved here 4 years ago to have a genuine entry. I think an entryway can be so crazy versatile. Right now, my vintage campaign desk (an eBay find!) lives here along with a lamp my husband gave me right before we got married. I love to switch up the items displayed – and of course, my subtly striped walls make me happier than a bird with a french fry!

 

Upstairs in my office, piles of colorful Alexander Girard pillows compete with the equally-bright Amy Butler patterns on this vintage French chair, another antique store find. Eventually I’d like to  recover this chair to go with the pink-and-grey/blue colorscheme I’ve got going in here, as seen by the pink lamp in the corner. 

 

Finally, another corner in our living room. Inspired by blogger Jenny Komenda at Little Green Notebook, I decided to make a skirted table. I love that it’s form and function – it hides a multitude of crafts/sins underneath it!  The plates on the wall are gifts from my husband over the years. The Chinoiserie-inspired pillow is Thomas Paul and the chair was from a Saks Fifth Avenue that went out of business. It was painted Pepto-Bismol pink and I spray painted it cream.

Posted In little corners
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May 24, 2012

Leather Keychains

Baggu just does it right. Every time. Check out their latest product release – leather loop keychains and wedge pouches! That yellow is practically screaming my name.

Posted In accessories, wear it
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May 23, 2012

Easy Balsamic Berry Galette

Man, do I love berry season. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. All of them. And I can never resist picking up a carton or two when I walk by at the market. Last week my poison of choice were some huge blackberries. (They were as big as my thumb, I swear.) It’s been a no-days-off kind of time around here, so I didn’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I opted for this berry galette that’s super quick and easy, the balsamic gives it a savory sort of kick.

 

EASY BALSAMIC BERRY GALETTE

• 1 pint berries (I used blackberries)
• 2 Tbsp sugar or honey
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 pie crust – from the refrigerator section or your own rolling pin
• 1 egg, beaten
• honey

Rinse berries and place in bowl, coat with sugar or honey and add vinegar. Refrigerate for an hour or so, until the berries release some of their juices. Grease or use cooking spray to coat a cookie sheet, place your flattened pie crust in the center. Drain the berries and place them in the center of the pie crust, leaving a 2-inch border around the edges. Fold in the edges of the crust in and pinch together where they overlap. Lastly, brush the top and sides of your unbaked galette with egg. Bake for 40 minutes at 375º or until edges are golden brown. Once done baking, allow to cool on a rack until room temperature. Cute into pieces (serves 4) and either drizzle with honey or top with vanilla ice cream (or both!).

Posted In recipes
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May 22, 2012

Turkish Bath Towels

Turkish bath towels remind me of summer, plain and simple. They’re super light and absorbent and just so colorful and happy looking. You may want to make a note on your wishlist that there’s a boat load of reasonably priced ones over in Bath Style’s shop. Just in case.

Posted In accessories, house and home
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May 22, 2012

Create + Connect Project

Picture it. You’re sitting in your cubicle on another boring (snore) conference call. You’re daydreaming of what you want to be doing instead. You know you have the creative skills to pay the bills, but you’re maybe not so sure about how to get from point A to point B. Enter the Create + Connect Project!

I’m thrilled to be teaming up with a handful of incredibly talented and inspiring peers who have all gone through the transition themselves. The Create + Connect Project is specially tailored for for creative types who want nothing more than to follow their passion. There’s no better time than right now to go for it – trust me when I say no one else is going to do it for you. (Now I sounds like a faux motivational speaker!) You can take the first step and sign up right here*! The first module starts Wednesday, June 6th and program registration if open through May 31st. You’ll find me during the last module on Creating a Community of Raving Fans. Let us help you turn your passion into profit!

* Should you click and sign up, I will receive a small fee. It all keeps Design Crush going.

Posted In collaboration/project
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May 21, 2012

Plywerk

I love that feeling of falling head over heels for a brand. A company that has their shit together on all levels, and who are nothing less than a pleasure to work with. That’s Plywerk. I started talking to Garrett about a collaboration on my gallery wall tutorial about three months ago. His attention to detail and premeditating problems was a step above, and his excitement for the project was beyond cool. These were my thoughts before I ever laid eyes on Plywerk’s bamboo frames. Afterwards I basically lost the ability to describe my love for these Portlanders and their product.

I swear I could have hung the blanks on my wall as art in their own right, the sustainable wood is some of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. It’s easy to see which ones they are, I love the dimension they lend to my gallery wall. And they’re just as nice to look at in profile as straight on. Seriously, compliments one after another on these bad boys.

I used blanks with adhesive, but that’s not their biggest and best product. Plywerk actually prints your photo or image onto the panels themselves. Crazy, right? You can read more about both option right here. It was such a great adventure getting to work with these guys, they definitely have the Design Crush seal of approval!

This is not a sponsored post.

Posted In create, house and home, walls, wood
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May 18, 2012

Happy Weekend

 

01/ A Swiss Animal Knife!
02/ Charcoal colored walls stenciled with white florals.
03/ An entire miniature city built with metal type!
04/ I could move right in to this microcabin in the woods.
05/ A badass rocking horse named Hesus.
06/ Tiny, detailed matchbook landscapes.
07/ Loving this lookbook for Zlda’s The Boyscounts collection. (via More Design Please)
08/ A fun DIY ombre crane garland for summer entertaining.
09/ A beached whale right in the middle of an Argentinian forest.
10/ Gale force winds to the face? Don’t mind if I do. (PS: Colossal killed it this week.)

Posted In concept, create, grand design, happy weekend, house and home, illustration, installation, jewelry, make it, photography, sculpture, travel, walls, wear it
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