Explosions of Color

I discovered this series of chalk explosions by the photographer Marcel Christ recently and fell in love. Aren't they elegant? To see more of Marcels work visit his site here.

DIY: Make Your Own Pom-Pom Plant

Super colorful right? Great table centerpiece, yes? Trust me, this is beyond simple to do. It will take minimal supplies and maybe 30 minutes of your time. Shall we talk about it then? Yes, lets!

Supplies Needed:

Container for arrangement (I used a small mason jar for this)
Floral block or styrofoam that will fit inside the base of your container
Multiple branches in varying heights appropriate to the size of your container
Colorful pompoms (I bought mine at Michaels)
Glue gun and glue sticks

First, select a container for your arrangement. I simply took a small mason jar that I had already painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I knew that I wanted a simple, small arrangement to sit on our dining room table so I wasn't going for a huge container.

Next, go into your yard/park/forest/what have you and gather some branches. Select branches based on the size of your container.

Third, get your branches and lay them out of the table. Snap off offending shoots if they don't contribute to your vision of how your arrangement is going to look. Place the styrofoam block at the base of your container and start arranging your branches.

Once you have everything arranged just the way you want it, it's time to fire up the glue gun!

Select the color story you are looking for with your pompoms. I knew that I wanted a multi colored arrangement so no color was off limit. You know how pussy willow bushes look? Here is a photo in the wild of what you are going for with your creation...








Start gluing your pompoms on at spacing that is pleasing to your eye.

Finally, stand back and admire your creation. Adorable, right?!

I used this arrangement not only for my dining room table but also for a baby shower for my niece. This would also be great as a little Christmas tree with small ornaments hanging from it.

Here is another view of my completed arrangement, complimented by my husband and son playing chess :)

Pompom Garland

One of my favorite stores in the Bay Area is located on 4th Street in Berkeley and is called Nest (sadly there is no website for this location). There is an additional location in San Francisco, but the Berkeley location is my favorite. Recently I stopped in and found this delightful tin full of a rainbow colored pompom garland goodness.

 


 Everyone needs a multi colored pompom garland in their lives. I promptly purchased said garland and hung it between the opening of my kitchen and living room.



 
So pretty.

Room Tour: Sophisticated Teen Room

My friend Sarah has an extraordinary home.  It is such fun to visit; every room is infused with personality and color and unique trinkets from ALL over the place.  One of my favorite rooms in her home is daughter Lauren's room.  For a 13 year old, this is a decidedly sophisticated and whimsical place.

The beautiful headboard is a Craigslist find that Sarah stained a deep red.  The neutral bedding is from Target.  The lovely old armoire is from a neighbor; Sarah later repainted it white.

I love that this red isn't a typical "red wagon" or "barn red" RED; it is much more sophisticated hue.  Pillow from Target.

Sarah made this amazing message board center by wrapping cork board with a grey linen birdcage print.  Lauren is an avid artist; this zone is perfect for her to tack up her latest drawings and paintings.

This has long been my favorite piece in Lauren's room.  Actually, it is my favorite piece in Sarah's entire house!  Lauren made each of these gorgeous paper origami cranes.  Sarah then attached them with fishing twine to dowels and configured a kind of chandelier.  What an amazing piece of art!

Another of Lauren's paper crane displays hanging in a corner of the bedroom.

Thank you, Lauren for letting us visit your room!

Color Blind

I received my latest CB2 catalogue last week and found this print:



I LOVE it.  Big fan of Lincoln...plus the whole color treatment on the piece.  Yours at CB2 for only $179 but hurry because it is a part of their limited edition series (there are only 300 made of this print).

Rug Roundup

I have a major weakness for beautiful, unique rugs.  The more colorful and over the top the better.  A few of my favorite rug posts are here and here...

And so without further ado, I feel like it is my civic responsibility to showcase a few of my favorite rugs (of late).

First up, this offering from my ALL TIME favorite store on the planet, ABC Carpet and Home.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: if it were possible to just live inside ABC for the rest of my life, I'd be the happiest girl ever.  But I digress...

This 8x10 "splatter" look is yours for $3999 at ABC.  Handwoven in India.



This one looks like colorful overlapping fingerprints, no?  Or the rings of a tree?

 When I look at this I see this I think of movie theater spotlights!  By Sonya Winner.  Large size for $9,097.

 And finally, this crazy crazy explosion of color and print.  The website it is on is written in Hebrew so I am out of luck with translating anything about it.  Except that I LOVE it.  That doesn't need translation.


What are your favorite rugs?

Snaps of Color

Last week I had this CRAZY revelation: I decided to stop wearing all color and just wear black.  All the time.  Now, most of you have never seen my closet but rest assured there are about 11 items that are black and 150+ items that are brightly colored/print/floral/chevron/tie dye/you-get-the-picture.  Honestly, I love walking into my closet because it is an explosion of color.  And since high school I have been a girl who LOVES color.

But...

I have 4 kids and a busy life and as I stood in a clothing store last week looking around at ALL of the prints and florals and colors I felt overwhelmed.  I decided that maybe I could simplify one area of my life and start dressing in just black.  Kind of like a uniform.  I would wake up and simply put on one color!  Right?  It would be so easy.

It lasted for 1 1/2 days.

I mentioned my all black plans to a handful of friends; no one was in favor of the idea.  The running theme was "But...that's so NOT you!"

Turns out they were right.  Black is chic.  And I love the color black.  But to wear it every day for every item of clothing just isn't ME.

So I returned to my colorful ways and I doubt many people even noticed the difference :).

In honor of my love of color here are a few favorite color shots this week.  Gosh color makes me so happy...






(all images from my Pinterest "Just Because I Love it" board)

Watercolor Quilt

Want to see a truly unique quilt? 

I LOVE this.  It is currently sold out...but my DIY brain is already churning.  Maybe take a plain white quilted fabric and paint the circles with tie dye paint (better to get the water color effect than standard fabric paint - also, fabric paint is stiff and sometimes scratchy - this won't happen with dye), then wrap the whole piece in plastic to let the colors set for a few days.  Wash out and presto - tie dye watercolor circle quilt.  I also adore the binding; it brings the whole piece together.

I'd love to try this...

The Braided Rug

This rug is made out of a multitude of tee shirts. 

 

TEE SHIRTS!  How amazing is this?  And if you are new to my blog, you should know that I have a major thing for amazing rugs.  Which is funny because I have so few in my house...Hmmmmm...perhaps I need to work on that!

 

Anyway, loving this rug.

Gumball Felt Rug

OK, its not really made of gumballs.  But doesn't it LOOK like it?! 


I am crazy for this rug.

Beautiful COLOR

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a great lover of 1) bright colors and 2) vibrant prints.  And when both are combined it makes my heart soar.  So here are a few things that are making my heart happy lately!





This beauty is from my favorite store in the entire world, ABC Carpet and Home in NYC.  Love the mix of prints, the scalloped back and perfectly turned feet.  LOVE.



An amazing bottlecap pattern tabletop.  This is totally doable as a DIY.





I'm always a sucker for a tufted couch and with these prints all colliding together, well - it makes me happy.  Plus it looks very comfortable and isn't that what is most important in a couch?



And finally, I know this isn't furniture or a room...but the exquisite combination of sparkles makes my heart sing.  I would wear these in a heartbeat.

Stairway to Creativity

Saw this staircase on Pinterest and LOVE it.  Wouldn't this be a great project for kids to work on (with supervision, of course)?

Maybe the Coolest Chair?

I am in LOVE with this chair. IN LOVE I tell you...

Green!

Loving this glossy green kitchen island. I am totally confident that my husband would not be on board with this in our kitchen that we are designing...but I still love it :)

A Floral Kind of Mood...

I'm feeling florals lately...

Like this pretty little number above...

Or this adorable valance...

Ahhhhhh, this gorgeous throw from my favorite store is another stunning floral...

And finally this gorgeous rope floral rug from the Free People store. I'll admit it: I am coveting it :)

Maybe its just summer or maybe its my mood, but the colors of florals are really inspiring me. How do you feel about floral in your home decor? Too much?

A Crafty, Colorful Lantern

We've all seen the standard white hanging paper lantern. And we've all seen the cute little paper umbrellas that perch atop specialty drinks at your favorite Mexican restaurant. BUT. What if these two paper products got married?

Well...in this fabulously awesome tutorial THEY HAVE! Is that not the happiest most beautiful hanging paper lantern you have ever seen? I am rushing out to purchase all necessary supplies for this project today. Must. Create. NOW.

Catch the Rain

Saw this on Tumblr and loved it. Have a colorful Tuesday, friends :)

The MOST Beautiful Sofa...According to Me

I saw this on Apartment Therapy and it literally took my breath away. Its like someone decided to make a couch JUST for me.

Now, who knows if it is comfy, but just the looks of it make me dizzy with design joy :) I pray that someone appreciative will buy it and love it for me!

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Pom Love

I adore color - it feeds my soul. I also love pom poms. So this picture marries my two great loves.

Find a way to feed your soul today with something creative, big or quietly small. Just feed that creative need.

Have a glorious day :)

Slide Down THIS!

When in doubt...


..slide down a fushia banister. It will make all other decisions much clearer, no?

And if I may, that color combination of the pink against the turquoise will all of that white makes me swoooooon!