Color inspiration

Once again, these people make me want to start my own color movement.....inspiration is a brewing for me!

http://www.letscolourproject.com/

Check it out and have a colorful day.

Rainbow braids

Saw this in the Free People catalog and thought this is ridiculously cute....kinda reminds me of My Little Pony hair. To see more how to recreate this look and to hop on the braid trend, click here. Wishing I had long hair now.

Fun with String

Recently I was inspired by some online images I saw of these cool string globes. I loved the airy-ness, shape and modern feel to and thought, I can totally makes something like for our bedroom. Our bedroom needs a little love since I've been spending most of my time obsessing about the nursery. Anyway, here are some shots of J and I's attempt at some DIY crafting.

I bought a round balloon and dipped the string in glue and Jason helped me twirl the string around and around the balloon.

We did this for a while and let it dry for a few days, popped the balloon and then spray painted all the string white to give it more stability and hardness.

Next we hung it from our ceiling next to our bed. Now we have something very special in our bedroom to look at that we both created.

Custom Striped artwork for Baby C

T-minus 2 weeks until our due date and the nursery is finally ready. A while ago, I posted about painting stripes on the wall (click here), I decided against that b/c it was going to be a little bit too overwhelming, so I decided to create a large striped mural instead. Here is what I did, which was super easy and really fun.

First I used painters tape to block off some areas to add stripes. This process was pretty random. Next I mixed up some paint colors that I wanted and started painting between the tape.

Next, I pulled off the tape and this is what I got! Like it, but don't love it yet.

I let the paint dry overnight and decided to use the fun masking tape I got in Japan to add some more stripes and colors.

And viola! This is the custom piece that is in the room now hanging next to the Eames Hang-It-All. I like how this side of the room now balances the other side. I also like the fact that the stripes aren't too overwhelming and just add a little more color into the room. See this post for additional nursery pics. Whatcha think??? BTW....this is the pull-out sleeper we ended up getting from West Elm. Got a great deal on it as a floor sample and fits the space perfectly.

Color in action

How gorgeous and playful. More images here.

Let's Colour Project

Now this project looks interesting.....The Colour Project.

It's a worldwide project to transform grey spaces with paint. Check out some of these beautiful images and look at more beautiful images on their blog.

Colorgasmic!

Baby C loves color. Nursery almost complete

With only 7 weeks to go, Baby C's room is nearly complete. Still need to pick a rug, but overall I am super happy with the outcome of the room being fun, colorful and modern. There are so many meaningful things in the room that the baby is going to be surrounded by and I just can't wait for him to grow up here.

DwellStudio for Target crib, red Eames elephant from my awesome work friends, curtains and bedding sewn by me and my friend Bari, CB2 mobile, IKEA bookshelf painted by my wonderful husband.

I love the red in the back of the bookshelf that ties the room together and make the items on the

bookshelf stand out even more. Top shelf are Haba toys from Uncle Alvin and Auntie Sara.

2nd shelf are shoes I worked on when I was working in kids footwear. The leather elephant I found in Tokyo while I was there in December. 3rd shelf are toys from when I was young and the blue toolbox I thifted for $4.

Thanks Uncle Alvin and Auntie Sara for the awesome toys.

Lemon Poppy Thins

Hey all, it's been a while since I last posted anything on my baking adventures but yesterday I decided to try another new cookie recipe for my girls weekend getaway. Lately, I've been in the mood for all things lemony and these turned out delicious. The texture is chewy, yet crispy and I will definitely make these again.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Baking time: 10 minutes

Makes about 60 cookies

2 1/4 c all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp. lemon zest

1 1/4 c granulated sugar

12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

1-2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

1.Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

2. With a mixer, beat lemon zest and sugar on medium speed. Add butter. Cream with sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, another 2-3 minutes. mix in lemon juice. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined and no flour pockets remain. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

3. Preheat over to 350.

4. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough to 3/4 inch balls; roll dough in poppy seeds. Place 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets.

5. Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating half way through baking, until edges are set. Transfer to a rack and cool.

Furniture lust.....

So as most of you know, my biggest design project at the moment is the nursery. The design challenge is that it is our only other bedroom, which also doubles as my closet and the room also has a door to the backyard. AUGH! The space is tiny and it really needs to function as the Baby C's room, a guest room for when moms come to help out and just a nice calm room for me to hang out with Baby C when everyone is gone. So I've been on a big hunt for a sleeper/daybed that is modern, has clean lines and is not going to overwhelm the tiny room. This is what I've found so far, what do you think? I'm kinda anti-futon because I associate it with my younger years. When J+I moved in together we had 3 futons between the two of us. Anyway, I'm completely obsessed with finding the perfect piece for this room, but with my budget, I might just end up with a futon. Here's to furniture dreaming.

American Modern Daybed based on the George Nelson design from 1948 shows the "less is more" concept in action. Nelson's timeless straight forward daybed design has been expounded upon with today's manufacturing techniques and FSC-certified solid Maple wood. The Modern American Daybed features open slat design for circulation, removable back cushions for added space, and removable covers by Maharam for easy cleaning.

Vincent linen twin sleeper from CB2

Sisterhood of the traveling maternity dress

Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a while. Today's post is pretty generic, but here's a shot of me from the computer camera. I'm at 30 weeks and feeling GREAT. Can't say that I mind being pregnant at all.

The dress has a fun story, I bought it a long time ago on super sale, despite the fact that it was too big. It was a DEAL and I love me a deal. So, one day I wore it and a friend asked me if I was pregnant and at the time I wasn't and was completely mortified. Anyway, I decided it was going to make the perfect maternity dress one day and gave it to my dear friend Bari who was pregnant at the time. She loved it and lived in it during her pregnancy and then gave it back to me and now it's my maternity staple. Now it's the sisterhood of the traveling maternity dress. If you're next in line for being pregnant, let me know because this dress is yours, I promise it is the most comfortable thing on earth and WILL look good on you! :)

Color Codification

I saw this work by Lauren DiCioccio on 20X200 and thought wow, I love it! Unfortunately they are sold out of the smaller print, but I'm contemplating the larger print for Baby C's room. It goes with the striped walls, right? Anyway, the artist calls this body of work "color codification dot drawings." To make each painting, she lays a sheet of frosted mylar over a magazine page, then assigns a color to every letter (numbers are shades of grayscale) and apply tiny dots of paint over every character on the page according to my color-code. Making the paintings is a lot like solving a cryptogram and the result is a legible blur of dots in the form of the article’s layout, a kind of Braille for the color-inclined. Nice work, Lauren!

To stripe or not to stripe, that is the Question

Above are some images I was inspired by and now I've been completely obsessed with stripes for the last few days and trying to decide if I should "stripe out" a wall in Baby C's room. Should I make my lovely husband indulge in my manic-ness about Baby C's room. I'm thinking that it would be on just one focal wall. What are you thoughts????

Be Mine.

J and I aren't big into Valentine's Day because we believe we don't have to have a day to show our love for one another. Regardless, we were in the spirit and individually came to the conclusion that we would make each other something. Interestingly enough, we both created pieces that were framed. Mine Valentine's gift was inspired by this Etsy site and J's was inspired by his fascination with coding and integers. I love how similar, yet alike we can be sometimes. Happy Valentines Day to all my friends and family. May you see love today and always.

Within the code, you can find, "I love you, Winnie." J can be very sweet sometimes. :)

My piece was made from a recycled bible and hand stamped. I love the way it turned out and how the hearts jump out from the black background like butterflies.

Blue Heaven

I totally gasped when I saw this post this morning on decor8. Absolutely stunning, beautiful and color-lustful! Color can make all the difference in the world, can't it!? If I had these chairs, I would design my whole room around them. Yeah for color updating the iconic Hans J. Wegner Wishbone chair. Can't wait to see the other colors that they come up with, 12 more colorways for their 60th anniversary.

Quote of the Day

Marimekko Spring collection

I have always loved the iconic colors and patterns of Finnish company, Marimekko. Bold, simple, and always colorful. Check out their latest collection of prints, here. I can't believe I don't own anything from them yet....if anyone wants to get me a gift....this is my hint. :)

Paint chip observation

I've been starting to think about decorating for Baby C and of course, the right color is a must for his room. I've been seeing a trend of color chip samples as decor. Check it out. Maybe instead of painting, I'll just get a punch of paint chip samples and create something. It's kind of a sustainable, creative way to use something, right?

Concept can

Convex logo substitutes colorfully spayed can. It reduces energy and effort to separate toxic color from aluminum. Pretty cool, if your brand as recognizable as Coke, why not? Love the simplicity of it. What do you think??? Found on Designspotter.

Crayola's Law

What did we all do before the internet came along to give us information like this? If you've ever wondered where you can find, say, a statistical analysis of how the number of Crayola colors has increased from 1935 to the present, wonder no longer.

I love the visual communication of this data...wish all information was this visual. It would make my life a little easier.

Found via weathersealed.com

Raw color

Nature is so amazing, just look at the beautiful colors that can be created naturally. Who needs florescents?

Color and patterns for baby boy

So I've been a complete flake when it comes to blogging lately, but I've had good reason. I've been a little preoccupied. I'm expecting and super excited since we found out we're having a little boy. Since I'm now starting to think about the baby's room, I've come to realize that baby boy room decorations are really limited! There's tons of cute girl stuff, but for boys it's a different story; it's either pastels, dated patterns or bad cartoons. I don't want to bring my little guy into a world of pastels, I want him to be greeted in a cheerful colorful room. Is that too much to ask?

So the other day, my dearest friend and new mamma, Bari, took me to the fabric store to pick fabrics out for Baby C's room. We'll (I mean Bari) will be making crib sheets, a bed skirt, curtains and maybe some other notions. But this is what I picked out. These fabrics colors and patterns make me giddy! I am in love with it and am pretty sure Baby C will love it too!

Can't wait to show you the finished room....might take a while as I don't have to be done until late May.

PINK BOLDNESS

My good friend sent this image to me...I love how this person decided to step out and be different, especially among all the neutral colors. AMAZING and BOLD! I am a major purple lover, but pink will never die!