Thoughts on living creatively

Sometimes it can be hard to give into our passions and what we love because of our wiring to view success in life as something entirely separate of our creative passions. So in order to be successful at what we love, we have to forget all that we’ve been told and re-write the parameters to fit our creative souls.

1. I will appreciate my creative self and not attempt to weigh it against others. All beings express our-selves differently and there is a place in this universe for all of us.
2. I will stop thinking of success in number gains and begin thinking of it in joys gained.
3. I will remember not to take my day to day for granted, that life is the journey and that everyday is another mile in the direction we want to go.
4. I will except that even experts make mistakes and allow myself some wiggle room to work all the kinks out.
5. I will always allow myself to have a rest, taking time to clear my mind and recharge.

The warm weather is rolling in and this is the season for celebrating life, ourselves, and each other. Give into your passions a little more each day. You’ll be glad you did.

Hillery

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Easter Tutorial round up

A few pretty Easter egg tutorials from around the web

You can click on the image or the link below it to be taken to the tutorial.

//Decor 8 Painted Easter Eggs//

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//Silk Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs Our Best Bites//

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///Wohnide Wunderwieb Painted Paper Napkin Appliqué Easter Eggs///

^this site is in German.S

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//Embroidered East Eggs Design Sponge//

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//Spoon and Fork Water Color Easter Eggs//

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Love and light! Happy Easter Everyone!

Bohemian Caravan Inspiration

Wanting to live better and be more comfortable in our tiny apartment, I am constantly hoarding ideas and inspiration to organize and decorate our space. One of my main sources for inspiration is the Gypsy Caravan or Roulettes. Bright, colorful, and compact these dwellings make good use of every inch of space.

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James and I’s bedroom, with it’s dormers and funny closet, is a little lacking in functioning space as it currently stands. Our dream is so really utilise every nook and cranny. To not only make room for long term storage, but also active storage – book shelves, day to day clothing storage, and also as odd as it sounds – long term food storage with a light controlled place to store our home canned goods. We want the bedroom to be a place we escape to, find cozy, comforting, and romantic. And a space that also functions well, with adequate storage, and is an easy place to get ready for the day.

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We’d like to achieve this by lofting our bed for built in storage underneath, and at it’s foot, working with the slope of the roof. We’d also like to add a reading area in the window dormer with functioning storage underneath and and space beside with a mirror and a little storage to function as a vanity so we both aren’t squeezing into the little bathroom in the mornings.

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We have similar hopes for our spare room which is almost exactly like our bed room. We’d like it to function as an office as well as have a space for two guests to enjoy themselves. We also want it to be a space that can easily transition when we have our first child (another 5 to 7 years down the road).

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We are in this apartment for the long term and we are excited to find the best ways to organize the space, find the furniture that works, build what we can, and get rid of what we don’t need.

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For more information on these images or on roulettes/caravans check out Jeanne Bayol or her blog. Her work is amazing!

Inspiration and sharing…

I want to share a few things that I have found inspiring so far this week:

1. This video is incredible. 100 years of Style in 100 seconds.

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2. I watched ‘My week with Marilyn’ Monday night and I was mesmerized. Michelle WIlliam’s performance was breath taking and I found myself falling in love with Marilyn and her complexities.  It’s a beautifully filmed and luscious narrative about coming to terms with who you are and learning how to be oneself. The cast is wonderful, the costumes stunning, and the acting superb. Needless to say I enjoyed the film immensely and recommend it to everyone.

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3. I have listened to this song every free moment I have. My kid brother is having a pretty rough time. My Dad mentioned this song to me, we’ve always been Neil Young fans and this song really touches my heart right now and reminds me how beautiful my brother is. I miss him very much.

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4. Was Mad Men beautiful this week or what? It’s been a long awaited premier and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen this season. The wardrobe in this episode, oh my! Loved getting acquainted with everyone and seeing were they all are after 8 months of time has passed. Oh and where’s Betty? I was surprised not to see her, just wanted to catch a glimpse, but she’s barely even mentioned.  Matthew Wiener is keeping us on our toes – so glad SDCP is being pushed into the Civil Rights Movement. What a beautiful being to an exciting season!

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Some images that have stopped me in my tracks:

1. Breath taking photograph of tulip fields below Mt. Hood. Entitled: Tulips Below the Volcano.  Photograph by Robert Crum on Etsy

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2. The stunning and colourful terraced riced fields in Yunnan, China. Image via: National Geographic.

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3. In love with this gorgeous Moth and Butterfly  collection. I find them absolutely fascinating. Image via: Whonever Tumblr. Though I hope to find another source for this image.

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4. This incredible skirt made of Barbies. Talk about repurpose. From a really amazing flickr album by MarieHochhaus. Her photographs are just so beautiful.

Working on some more spring cleaning, really trying to get this apartment into tip-top shape. It is so tiny, just taking the time to organize and give everything a home makes it feel lighter, more open, and airy around here. So happy to have James home in the evenings as well. We had dinner with his Aunt and a friend at Darbar last night. We we didn’t go out to eat this much in all of 2011 as we have this March. There has been a lot to celebrate and our families have been very generous and kind to us. We have such wonderful families. In other good news I get to pick up my bike from the shop tomorrow! Yippie! Can’t wait to take her for a spin.

Super excited and having a great week so far!
Hillery

Inspiring Spring

I am so excited that Spring is finally here and my hermit-dom is over. Over night, tiny flowers peeked their heads out of the rich, dark soil and the birds moved back into their trees.

It’s got me baking up a storm; staying up late preparing loaves for fresh morning’s bread. The smell of yeast mixing with the night air is intoxicating.

I’ve also taken to drinking lemonade and having afternoon naps with all the windows open; falling asleep listening to the kiddies play in the school yard down the street and the ting of aluminum bats during baseball practices in the park.

The transition of spring is so inspiring and here in my new home it is  truly magical; as winter fades into spring before our very eyes.

Replacing winter coats are long, cool, evening walks as the sun fades and families are heading in for dinner. Replacing winter’s cozy nights by the fire are days lying in the cool grass watching the clouds roll on. Warm mits and winter boots are replaced with sunny sandals and afternoon spent doing nothing but reading on a shady park bench.

Best of all it’s time for immersing oneself in the slow warming of the earth and enjoying her sweet perfume. For getting out in the dirt, for sowing rows of gorgeous seedlings for summers harvest. Tasting sweet fruit and laughing with those you love.

Spring excites change and inspiration in our souls. Remember to let your creative spirit flow and let it guide your mind, hands, and your heart.

I hope you have a gorgeous day,

Hillery

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Thought book DIY

Have you ever had a really amazing idea and then forgotten about it before you had the chance to write it down? Well never again!

Here is a quick little DIY “thought” book you can whip up in less than an hour to jot down all those incredible ideas. Simply equip it with a pen, if you are like me you will need to secure the pen to it so you don’t lose the pen! Stick it in your bag or clutch and there you have it, a little mobile creative space. (:

You need: an old greeting card, some card stock, some notebook paper, and some scissors. You also need glue, a needle and thread, and something sharp like an awl or if you don’t have an awl you can carefully use a sewing machine needle like I did.

Simply cut down the notebook paper to fit your greeting card, and fold in half. Poke holes with your awl or sharp needle being very, very, careful not to poke yourself. Then sew through all the holes several times. If you want to add more color cut your card stock into two pieces to fit on the front and the back and glue into place, but if you have a pretty greeting card you can skip that step. I even glued in a ribbon book mark and some velvet ribbon on the spine. Have fun, get creative!

They are the perfect size for a clutch, pocket, or purse, and are so so precious. Hopefully they will help me keep up with all of those random inspirational moments while I am out walking around town.

Do you keep a journal? A dream book? What are some other ways you keep up with your inspirations and ideas. If you’d like to, share in the comments below.

I hope you had a beautiful day. I am off to get ready for bed. Sweet dreams.

Favorite crafty tutorials – January Tutorial Round Up

I want to share some of the amazingly crafty tutorials I have found over the month of January. I hope you find this inspiring and useful! Here’s my top ten:

Click on the image to be directed to the tutorial. Right click to open in a new window.

I am a little addicted to the Free people blog, though too broke to ever buy any of their merchandise. I  do love their tutorials and this 3D wallpaper effect with silk or dried flowers is gorgeous.

This is a great travel pencil pouch from Smallfriendly.com. Easy to make from a lovely piece of felt and it’s a no sew project! Wouldn’t it be great to be prepared to sketch whenever the mood hits you?

More design Please is an amazing blog. I love their tutorials so much. I think it’s fantastic how they combine the process in a single image file. It makes it incredibly easy to share. This fork ring is absolutely too tantalizing to pass up.

I love to sew and clothing reconstruction is one of my favorite ways to liven up my wardrobe. This tutorial is from Long eared Love on blog spot. She shows how to make a copy of the sweatshirt jacket below from an oversized sweat shirt. Cozy!

Skip to my Lou has a ton of tutorials on their site. This tutorial is for an extra-large cosmetic bag. Who doesn’t need one of these? And that fabric is crazy beautiful.

Don’t you just love polymer clay? And aren’t these bracelets stunning? This little tutorial comes from the Delighted Momma Blog. I need to be my sculpy out of storage so I can make some of these one dreary winter afternoon.

Design Sponge, incredible blog. It’s my go to site for inspiration and how tos. I love Moroccan style, it’s so colorful, and comfy. This little DIY is on how to turn mason jars in lovely Moroccan inspired candle holders. I want to make a million of these for my apartment.

This is a fab tutorial is on how to make adorable shoe fringe for your favorite lace ups. It’s found over on The Dainty Squid blog. I love this blog and I stop by to read on a daily basis. Cute style posts, great thrifting finds, yummy recipes, and fun tutorials.

We are always in need of more market bags around here. This tutorial is from Delia Creates Blog. I love how she repurposes t-shirts to make these awesome totes.

 

The hubs and I are wanting to build a couch. We are thinking pallets. This super simple design is from Cuarto De Recha, (this site is in Spanish.) Simply stack the pallets, grab some foam, cover it, and there you have it. The author did say naps on this couch are 5 star! Great storage underneath too.

Happy crafting!