Resolving to Tackle My Resolutions

I never was one for a New Year Resolution. Other than "trying to excercise" or "eating less junk food" - which barely lasted until the end of January. But this year I plan to actually set one and achieve it.


I have SOOO many unfinished/barely started projects consuming my house/basement/studio/brain that it is borderline ridiculous. Some are relatively small, like trying to fix the broken leg on the coffee table. You'd think I would get on that pretty quick considering every time I put my feet on it it creaks and wobbles, threatening to spill my wine all over the new carpet! Some are bigger, like the kitchen remodel we are currently planning - to be tackled in the next month or so.


And then there are all the other in-betweeners that I will list now - mainly for myself to keep track but also for you to hold me accountable for my procrastination.


1. Revamp the dresser I found by the side of the road a couple weeks ago - seen here
2. Work on the nightstand for Dan's side of the bed that I picked up at a garage sale over the summer. I don't feel like stripping it but the white paint is too stark. Applying a wash of stain over top might just do the trick. Plus it matches mine from this post!
3. Finally get to work on the two wooden chairs Dan's grandmother sent home with me, oooh, a year ago maybe?? Yea, I haven't forgotten, Mima!
4. Fix up the other wicker-backed chair from garbage night that matches this one

5. Paint/attach paper to the stairs leading up to our bedroom. The staircase isn't open or lit very well, so it appears rather dungeon-ness when looking up it from the living room. I used these as inspirations:

6.  Paint the windows in the kitchen.  They are a hideous shade of cream that goes terribly with the otherwise white trim in the room.

   7. Remodel the kitchen!  New countertops, sink, faucet, tiled backsplash, stove hood, and cabinet paint.  

   8. Reorganize my studio - I've been rather sloppy these past couple of months, not wanting to put away
     my toys when I'm done with them.


Anyone else have New Year Resolutions that you intend to put off  get focused on as soon as possible??

It's Happening...Just As It Should

Life is a funny funny thing.  Not necessarily funny-ha-ha, though that is always enjoyable, but more of a funny-ironic thing. 

It's funny how creativity can come naturally sometimes, and other times you have to work at it.  Either way, it takes talent, and knowledge, and passion to create...to design....to live.

And as I sit here reflecting on the year 2011, I'm engulfed by both the funny-ha-ha and the funny-ironic memories that have made this year so special and so important.

In somewhat of an order:
-I quit/lost my horrible job (I say lost because they "let me go" right after I put in my two weeks)
-I acquired a new job that asks alot of me but is what I've been looking for for so long
-I moved in with Dan (and brought all my stuff with me!)
-I continued to plan our wedding, down to every last detail
-I spent every weekend of the summer going camping, or with family, or hanging out with friends - I was SO busy!
-I got married!!
-I traveled to Europe for the first (and certainly not last) time with the love of my life
-I obtained two new clients for J. Paris Designs

Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mention that part yet??  It all just kind of happened :)

So you're thinking, two? Really?? Not like you can quit your day job or anything.  Well, no.  But it's something.  And my day job is what got me here.  Flooring clients turned interior design clients.  I charmed them with my design prowess and knowledge of pretty colors - plus my business card says "Interior Designer" right on it :)

But, nevertheless, they were impressed by what I had to say and not one, but TWO people hired me (that's right, I get paid) to tell them what to do.  Or at least guide them to making the decisions on their own.

The funny-ironic part comes into play when I think about how long I've waited for something like this to happen.  How badly I hoped for someone to actually be willing to pay for my ideas - not just a friend who casually asks "I was hoping to get your advice on a color for our bathroom".  Afterall, I wanted to make a career out of it, not just give it away for free. 

Enough about that, though, and more about the actual rooms I'm working on!

The first clients are a lovely couple adding an addition off of their existing kitchen.  After seeing their house, they obviously have a sense of design and style, but just weren't sure how to implement that into the new area. 

Doesn't look like much just yet, but once the drywall is up, it's full speed ahead!!

They also are planning a wine room/bar in the basement as a second project.  I went with the Mrs. to the cabinet store last week to pick out elements for that room.  Here is what I came up with:

Just a start, but a copper bar sink, light colored granite countertops, and dark antiqued-edge cabinets.  Along with cork flooring, I'm pretty excited about this space!

The second client is a remodel of the kitchen in a one bedroom condo.

It's pretty small, and the client wants to utilize more of the space on the left wall by adding more cabinets and rearranging the stove.  I'm in the middle of designing a blueprint of the new space to his specs so that he can show it to a contractor for a quote. 

Pretty exciting!! :)

I was arranging the gifts under the tree yesterday and came across this package addressed to me - or at least I assume it's me:

Love him <3 

Pot Luck

I've been potting for over 6 months now - on the wheel for at least 4.  I'm getting better ;)

If you remember this post, about my last crew of pottery, you will remember that they were cool, but could be cooler.

And so I give you....my first batch of really cool handthrown pots:



Of course, the pictures won't do them justice, but this one is a beautiful teal blue/green one.

This one is a dark brown/black metallic finish - one of my fave glaze results yet!  Just look at that profile....perfection! haha

The glaze got a little thick on this one - if you look close at the inside of it, you can see glaze bubbles. Also, it decided to "poop" a little bit on the bottom, making it slightly uneven when it sits on a table.  No biggie though.

This was a request from a friend for a "knitting bowl".  I had seen a ton of people making them in class, but never tried it myself.  Basically, it's a regular thrown bowl, but you cut a hole or slit in it for the yarn to go through.  That's what the "J" shaped part is.  The two holes to the left of that are for the knitting needles to rest in :)

I wasn't super excited with the glaze effect on this one, but I can admire my pimp throwing skills though!

Currently taking orders because I literally have ZERO space left for any myself!!

Dresser Gods Are Smiling Down

Boy, oh boy, oh boy!

Do I have great luck, or what??!

It started out like any other Wednesday evening.  Went to weekly pottery class, made some awesome stuff (post on that up next!) and was driving home when, what to my surprise, I see not ONE but TWO dressers sitting out by the side of the road.

!!!

Alas, though, I was in the Bug....cuter than the dickens, but just not suitable for dresser stashing.  So I rushed to the store to by milk (the errand I was running when said dressers were spotted) and came in the house shouting "I found dressers by the side of the road. Let's GO!"

God bless him, he tries to put on a good face, but deep down inside he sees himself on an episode of Hoarders one day.

Anywho...there was only one that I really wanted, so we get in the truck, drive to the house, load 'er up, and head on home.

Note: Not only do I bring a flashlight with me, but I hustle around like someone is going to come up and try to steal it from me if I don't hurry up and get it in the truck.  Also, I feel somewhat dangerous - like a thief in the night or something :)

It's as we are putting it in the garage that I realize we grabbed the drawers for the OTHER dresser....drat.

So back in the truck I go (and to the curb the other drawers go - though I SO wish I had a use for them!) and load up the actual drawers.

Now this is the exciting part......



Someone put all the drawer knobs in a plastic bag for me!  They knew I was coming :)

And wait....there's more!

Aside from a good sanding (I honestly don't mind the glass ring on the top) it's already stripped.

!!

It's like the dresser gods were smiling down saying "If you put it by the side of the road, she will come."  Such nice people to get it all ready for me to come in and make it spectacular.

Wait, you want to see the actual dresser??  Good call......

Oh, yeah!



'Tis the Season to be Freezin'!!

I cannot deny that, even though winter will stretch all the way until March when I want to kill Mother Nature, early December still has me craving the snow.  Northeast Ohio is notorious for the four seasons of almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction (I stole that from Jeff Foxworthy!), so the fact that it hasn't snowed yet is a little disheartening.  But I digress....by getting the house ready for our first Christmas together!


The mantel is decked and the stockings are hung with care - and 3M removable hooks.

I used an old window leftover from summer decor on the patio and put snowflake wrapping paper behind it.  Upside down wine glasses served as candle sticks, and green glittery candles and decanters were stolen from the wedding stuff still packed in boxes in the basement.

Here's three of the Christmas bottles that resemble the ones from my Halloween mantel.

The nutcracker I bought when we went to see the Nutcracker Ballet over Thanksgiving weekend.  He's super glitter-ified :)

A little wooden sign I made a couple of years ago.

Who doesn't love the Grinch??!

This past weekend we went and picked out our tree.  Chopped it down and everything :) 

There's something to be said for gettin on your boots, hat, scarf, and gloves and trudging out into the Christmas tree field in search of the perfect tree.  It's just not the same when you have to trudge to the basement to pull it out of a box.

Growing up, we always got a real tree.  And every year, my sister and I would pull out the box of ornaments and decorate with a hodge podge of macaroni angels and clothespin reindeer.  What mother would ever turn down a handmade ornament?? 

This year being our first Christmas as a married couple meant our ornaments had to live together on the same tree.  I'm not the "themed" Christmas tree kind of person.  While I can appreciate the aesthetics and the planning of such trees,  there's nothing quite like the patchwork of ornaments that each tell a story.

This one we picked up on our honeymoon in Paris.  Handpainted Eiffel Tower and Paris city scene.

I didn't get this one in Paris (more like Hobby Lobby) but it's one of three Eiffel Towers hanging on the tree.

My mom made my sister and I matching angels when we were little and I stole mine from her ornament box when I moved out - now it hangs at the top of our tree :)

Dan's mom bought us this for Christmas last year.

From the first Christmas in Dan's new house.

This is one of Dan's contributions....

Just Kidding ;)

My little sled and Dan's really little sled!

And here's our patchwork of ornamental beauty!  Of course, there's more ornaments than branches, but we like it that way.

Merry Christmas, Everybody!

Does anyone have any ornaments that mean something special??  Do you decorate your tree in a theme, or a menagerie like our's?

Wedded Bliss - Behind the scenes secrets revealed :)

If you've been following along, you all know that mine and Dan's nuptuals took effect on a beautiful autumn day that, thanks to global warming, was unseasonably warm.  The leaves were turning, the air was crisp, the sun was shining, and all was perfect in paradise.  The wedding ceremony and subsequent reception went off without a hitch (unless you count the fact that I put his ring on the wrong hand, which I don't).  All the little details really made an impact, even if only to me.

The majority of my plans/creative masterpieces were kept a secret so that it would be a surprise on the big day.  But, with only a small pat on my own back, I did everything (EVERYTHING) myself and with the help of my mom and bridal party.  The centerpieces, the cardbox (you just wait!), the tablecloths, the bouquets, etc.

So here is a personal account of all the details that, although may not have been noticed by every single person, reflect a year's worth of hard work.  I put my heart and soul into planning this wedding and I hope someone else can find inspiration for their own one day :)

The Program:
Have you ever been to a wedding where you know the bride and groom, but the bridal party is a mystery to you?  Why are these people important?  How did they meet?  The bridal party has an important role to play that day, and their presence should be well documented.  Also, people want to know about the couple...at least I do.  So I designed a program on Publisher to tell all of that.  Give them something to read while they wait for my grand entrance :)

There was the "People Near & Dear" section and the "Random Facts You May Not Know" section, designed to create a few laughs, and coincidently a few tears.  I think they were a hit!

The Bridesmaids:
I decided a long time ago I didn't want flowers.  Nothing against the rest of the sane world who uses flowers on their wedding day, but it just wasn't my style.  I knew what I wanted for my own bouquet (we'll get to that in a bit) but that left me with the bridesmaids' bouquets - could they walk down the aisle bouquetless??  After months of debate, I found floral accents at the craft store and assembled them in to their bouquets.  Glittery, pretty, and easy.

Also, they were all wearing a different black dress of their choosing and I wanted something to unify them. Plus, it was supposed to be cold that day.  So I altered store-bought shawls for them to wear down the aisle and during outdoor pictures.

Here are the bouquets in vases on the head table.

Modeled by my lovely Maid of Honor and sister :)

I also made their necklaces to wear that day:



My Bouquet:

Again with the no flowers, I googled "alternative bouquets" and was bombarded with ideas that made my creative head spin!  But one idea stuck in my mind....Brooch Bouquets.  They were beautiful, unique, and timeless - a great momento to have long after the flowers would have died.  I labored over this idea for months, trying and trying again and again to get the look I wanted.  I ended up with this:

I chose all green and silver and rhinestone/crystal brooches.  Some new, some used, some really really old. 

My Hat/Veil:
I knew right away I didn't want a long veil - again, just not my style.  My mom had given me her's awhile back, not really intending for me to do anything with it, just more as a sentimental thing.  Well, it was poofy, and long, and totally not me.  But it had this hat that got me thinking.  So I pulled all of the toulle off of it and just the hat remained.  So I altered it.  And kept it a secret from her until the day of.  Boy was she surprised!

The Ceremony Sendoff:
If this was 1955 and we were getting married, there would be rice flying everywhere.  But because it's 2011 and people are bothered by everything, rice is no longer allowed.  Bubbles are the new norm.  But it's October, and I never follow the norm.  So I (and my bridal party) made streamers to wave as we walked out to greet our guests.

They made for some really cool pictures!

The Guest Book:

All along I had intentions of doing a signature mat for people to sign and then hang our wedding picture in it.  Until I did some more googling of "alternative guest books" and found inspiration for thumbprint guest books.  I had a stationary and card boutique customize a drawing of a bride and groom for some coffee mugs my mother-in-law bought us, and so I contacted her for a larger version of the image.  She then added some "strings" for the balloons and the guests went wild.

We wanted a unique way

To remember this special day

And the people we love so much

So don't forget to sign your name

Because no two are the same

And leave us your personal "touch"

:)

The Card Box:

I blogged a couple months back about a card box fetish I had and that mine was going to be intense.  Well, I didn't disappoint.  Made entirely of cardboard, I give you the mother of all card boxes:

I'm pretty sure there were several people who carried their cards around for awhile, unaware that it was the card box!

The Seating Chart:
I can't actually take credit for this - it is all due to my talented mother.  I just came up with the idea and she executed it beautifully.  We didn't have the floor space for an entire extra table just to lay out tiny cards with guest's names on them.  Plus, I really liked the idea of a chalkboard.  The easel came from a display at work that was being thrown out, and the rest is my mother's genius.

First names and last initials, easy to find, easy to read.
The Favors:
What's the best part about Halloween?? The CANDY, duh!  And since we all turned in our witch's hats and devil horns and tiger tails a long time ago, trick or treating has been a thing of the past.  So I decided to bring it back.  I hit up the stores right after Halloween last year when everything was 50-75% off.  I bought a ton of candy dishes in all shapes and sizes.  Then, about a month before the wedding, Dan and I hit up a huuuuge candy warehouse in Cleveland to buy all the goods.  There was some stuff there from when our parents were kids!  Everything from Milky Ways to Gobstoppers to Candy Mustaches and Candy Necklaces.  Squirrel Nut Zipper, anyone??

The table was literally overflowing with candy - we ended up with half a bag by the end of the night!  I stamped white paper lunch bags with trick or treat stamps and told them to "fill 'em up!"

And boy did they ever!

The Cake:

Now, no, I'm not THAT good....I didn't make the cake too!  My baker Uncle made it for me after I gave him an idea of what I wanted - which basically consisted of "white with polka dots!"  But I DID make the cake toppers.



Seen here, before

And here, after :)

The Centerpieces:

Again, we reach the "no flower" situation which results in un-flowery centerpieces needing to be designed.  My original thought was "just do it all in pumpkins!"  But that would require me to assemble them no longer than a week before the wedding and that was just TOO. MUCH. PRESSURE.  So I came up with 3 alternatives. 

Here's a shot of the whole thing, before it got crazy!

Liquor decanters I've collected from garage sales, flea markets, etc filled with glittery styrofoam balls and topped with drippy taper candles.  One of the bottles is actually an Eiffel Tower, if you look closely :)  The #8 pumpkin was for the table numbers according to the seating chart.

Glittery pumpkins purchased at Target last year at 60% off!  Also glittery candles from there too.

Glittery sticks and reeds from the Flower Factory in a clear vase with colored glass sand at the bottom (sorry, I didn't end up with a great shot of this one!)

The caterer provided the black tablecloths, but I had found some glittery black and green overlay on clearance at Joanns and used that for some of the tables, as well as the shiny orange runners you can see.

Well, I think that's it. Whew, that was a lot!  It was fun though!  I've said numerous times throughout all of this, I needed to get married 5 more times to be able to use all of the ideas crammed into my head.  And damn that Pinterest for providing me with unecessary ideas 3 days before as I tried to scramble things together!

I'm open for questions, seeing as I am a seasoned pro now :)  But on a serious note, you don't HAVE to hire a wedding planner/coordinator.  If one comes free with the rental or something, great!  But you can do this!  It just takes some time, brainpower, creative juices, and patience!!