I have heard a lot about Pinterest lately. Everyone seems to have it, and everyone seems to be addicted to it. I have to admit, I LOVE the idea of it. Having everything you like on the Internet in one space that is just your own, genius.
I recently read a job posting that wanted candidates to actually have a Pinterest account. So I signed up, or at least I thought I was signing up. I was actually put on a waiting list, and had to wait to be "invited" via email to join. Well my prayers have been answered because today I was invited. I signed up and my account is www.pinterest.com/AmyRobertsDesgn .
Now, I just need to figure out how to "Pin" and I'm sure it wont be long until I am addicted also.
Come back soon, and Ill share with you my likes on Pinterest!
-AR
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
I Made That! - Baby Birthday Edition
It was my adorable niece's very first birthday on March 27! I was helping my sister plan her big party which happened on March 31. I was in charge of making the cake,
A "decorate your own cupcake" station for the little kids as well as a "memory book". A memory book is something I kind of made up of course. It is a simple scrap book that we filled with pictures of Miss Ava throughout her first year with various family members and friends. I cut up pieces of paper and set out markers for guests of the party to leave a special birthday message for the birthday girl. It is a simple keepsake and a cuter guest book that everyone will be able to look back on over the years.
For Ava's first birthday I really wanted to get her some TOMS shoes. Preferably the silver tiny glitters, but being so busy, I didn't order off line and was left to scour the malls and call as many shoe companies as I could. No one carries the tiny glitters in such a small size. So I was forced to buy her some hot pink Mary Jane's with a cute bow on the toe. She liked them just the same.
I also made her a gift of course. I am really glad my family taught me from an early age that hand made gifts really are the best. Not only are they one of a kind and personalized, they are cheap! I was on a shopping spree with my friend Nicki and she showed me this box on blank cards for less than ten dollars. The cards had cute little pastel coloured owls on the front, four different styles. Of course I bought them. I knew I could use them for something creative. As Ava's birthday approached, I found some simple wood frames unfinished at the dollar store, so I picked up four. I also found a pack of pastel card stock at the dollar store which went perfectly with the pastel colours of the cards. I painted the frames a cream colour, cut the card stock to fit the frames and placed the owl cards over top. I also left secret messages in all the cards. I thought this would be a fun find for Ava when she was older and maybe replacing the owls with pics of her high school crush. However, my Sister found these messages about 30 minutes after I left her place for dinner.
This is what the final creation looked like,
After Miss Ava's birthday came Baby B's 1st Birthday. Ava was born 2 weeks before Brooklyn who is our cousin. For Brooklyn's baby shower I made her a sign-able frame as one of her gifts. It was Winnie the Pooh themed and had a jade green border. I wanted to make Brooklyn a growth chart. So I made it Winnie the Pooh themed as well and tied in the jade green colour scheme in the numbers and leaves.
This is what the final creation looked like,
I personalized this gift by making the characters appear like they were going to someones 1st Birthday with the cake with one candle, the party hats, and balloon. I like giving these personalized gifts to friends and family because I find that today, we get so much "stuff" we really don't need and we forget about the simple treasures that are so special to us. And keepsakes are something that can last a life time and be passed down the family.
Good tip for giving hand made items as gifts, sometimes guest of the party will approach you to make one for them, Cha-Ching! Might have a special something to show you all in July.
Come back soon, and I'll share some more hand made creations with you!
-AR
A "decorate your own cupcake" station for the little kids as well as a "memory book". A memory book is something I kind of made up of course. It is a simple scrap book that we filled with pictures of Miss Ava throughout her first year with various family members and friends. I cut up pieces of paper and set out markers for guests of the party to leave a special birthday message for the birthday girl. It is a simple keepsake and a cuter guest book that everyone will be able to look back on over the years.
For Ava's first birthday I really wanted to get her some TOMS shoes. Preferably the silver tiny glitters, but being so busy, I didn't order off line and was left to scour the malls and call as many shoe companies as I could. No one carries the tiny glitters in such a small size. So I was forced to buy her some hot pink Mary Jane's with a cute bow on the toe. She liked them just the same.
I also made her a gift of course. I am really glad my family taught me from an early age that hand made gifts really are the best. Not only are they one of a kind and personalized, they are cheap! I was on a shopping spree with my friend Nicki and she showed me this box on blank cards for less than ten dollars. The cards had cute little pastel coloured owls on the front, four different styles. Of course I bought them. I knew I could use them for something creative. As Ava's birthday approached, I found some simple wood frames unfinished at the dollar store, so I picked up four. I also found a pack of pastel card stock at the dollar store which went perfectly with the pastel colours of the cards. I painted the frames a cream colour, cut the card stock to fit the frames and placed the owl cards over top. I also left secret messages in all the cards. I thought this would be a fun find for Ava when she was older and maybe replacing the owls with pics of her high school crush. However, my Sister found these messages about 30 minutes after I left her place for dinner.
This is what the final creation looked like,
After Miss Ava's birthday came Baby B's 1st Birthday. Ava was born 2 weeks before Brooklyn who is our cousin. For Brooklyn's baby shower I made her a sign-able frame as one of her gifts. It was Winnie the Pooh themed and had a jade green border. I wanted to make Brooklyn a growth chart. So I made it Winnie the Pooh themed as well and tied in the jade green colour scheme in the numbers and leaves.
This is what the final creation looked like,
I personalized this gift by making the characters appear like they were going to someones 1st Birthday with the cake with one candle, the party hats, and balloon. I like giving these personalized gifts to friends and family because I find that today, we get so much "stuff" we really don't need and we forget about the simple treasures that are so special to us. And keepsakes are something that can last a life time and be passed down the family.
Good tip for giving hand made items as gifts, sometimes guest of the party will approach you to make one for them, Cha-Ching! Might have a special something to show you all in July.
Come back soon, and I'll share some more hand made creations with you!
-AR
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tiny Tip
Visual clutter is something that can be really distracting, for me. If I'm at home and there is something out of place, I can't concentrate. If I go to a store, where there are 500 items for sale on the cash desk alone, I can't concentrate. For me, this is why I love using things like baskets and boxes to "hide" things. I am REALLY good at storing a lot of stuff in small places and not having it interfere with any one's sight lines.
Something that I've always found a pain to display/hide are books, DVD's and CD's. I know I know who has CD's anymore? But, I do.
Case in point, TV display units -
Minus the holiday stockings, and the side shelving units (we will get to those in a later post, but I bet your wondering what is in those boxes and baskets) You can see ALOT of stuff on either side of the television stand at the bottom cupboards. And most units have glass doors as a decorative feature. A rainbow of horizontal lines courtesy of our favourite DVD's, family photo albums, picture frames and even those media boxes and gaming consoles that never go with any decor style.
I had thought about using a decorative window film over the glass doors to disguise the insides of the TV stand, but I never really came across one that I liked. It wasn't until I was cleaning the accessories warehouse at my last job that I came across this punch out decorative sheet metal. I thought there was something I could do with it, but wasn't sure what. They no longer needed it and I got to take it home for free! Bonus, however, now I cant find any more like it, anywhere!!!
This is what I decided to do with it -
TA-Da! (Who else is in love with Modern Family?)
I had the glass carefully taken out in one piece, and sheet metal cut to size, and installed in place of the glass. Before installation I used a brown and hammered bronze spray paint and mixed the two together and with a rag blended together. I was trying to get the sheet metal to look like the door hardware. This is a really simple change that you can do, to any style of cabinet to make it unique, hide your mess, and personalize your furniture.
I was lucky with this cabinet that the glass was being held in the back of the door similar to picture frames. I have a second cabinet that I would like to pop the glass out of but the glass is actually installed between the front and back rails of the door frame. So, if this is something you would like to try just be sure to check out the installation of the glass in your doors before you start breaking it out!
I have yet to find some window film that I like for my second cabinet, but when I do I'll let you all know.
Come back soon and I'll share some more tips!
-AR
Something that I've always found a pain to display/hide are books, DVD's and CD's. I know I know who has CD's anymore? But, I do.
Case in point, TV display units -
Minus the holiday stockings, and the side shelving units (we will get to those in a later post, but I bet your wondering what is in those boxes and baskets) You can see ALOT of stuff on either side of the television stand at the bottom cupboards. And most units have glass doors as a decorative feature. A rainbow of horizontal lines courtesy of our favourite DVD's, family photo albums, picture frames and even those media boxes and gaming consoles that never go with any decor style.
I had thought about using a decorative window film over the glass doors to disguise the insides of the TV stand, but I never really came across one that I liked. It wasn't until I was cleaning the accessories warehouse at my last job that I came across this punch out decorative sheet metal. I thought there was something I could do with it, but wasn't sure what. They no longer needed it and I got to take it home for free! Bonus, however, now I cant find any more like it, anywhere!!!
This is what I decided to do with it -
TA-Da! (Who else is in love with Modern Family?)
I had the glass carefully taken out in one piece, and sheet metal cut to size, and installed in place of the glass. Before installation I used a brown and hammered bronze spray paint and mixed the two together and with a rag blended together. I was trying to get the sheet metal to look like the door hardware. This is a really simple change that you can do, to any style of cabinet to make it unique, hide your mess, and personalize your furniture.
I was lucky with this cabinet that the glass was being held in the back of the door similar to picture frames. I have a second cabinet that I would like to pop the glass out of but the glass is actually installed between the front and back rails of the door frame. So, if this is something you would like to try just be sure to check out the installation of the glass in your doors before you start breaking it out!
I have yet to find some window film that I like for my second cabinet, but when I do I'll let you all know.
Come back soon and I'll share some more tips!
-AR
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