Posts tagged inspiration
Where I Blog
Aug 30th
Today I’m participating in Kate’s blog party, “Where I Blog” over at Centsational Girl. Right now, my little blogging oasis isn’t much to get excited about. However, that’s all about to change as we put the finishing touches on our home office redo which I blogged about here. Just to highlight a couple things on my desk that make me smile…
There’s a milk glass vase my Mom gave me recently. Bless her heart, she’s always bringing me milk glass goodies from her yard sale trips! So when I was looking for something to hold my pens and such, I quickly brought this gal into the office. She’ll look great with the other black and white accents we bring into the room!
And of course there’s my pet Octopus, Mr. Octavius!!! He makes me VERY happy because if you know me, you know I have an undying obsession with the Octopus! I found him at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island on our recent family vacation. He’ll fit in great with the color scheme we have planned for the office too!!! He’ll inspire lots of artwork and many a post I’m sure. YAY!
That’s it for now. Please visit again soon to see the progress on our home office and other projects around AB! Also be sure to stop by Kate’s place and see all the inspirational spaces where bloggers get their blog on!
Home Office Inspiration
Aug 25th
The hubby and I are in the midst of a home office redo. The home office was originally our formal dining room then used solely for his office space. However, with us doing a lot of collaborating, we figured it would be better for us to share the space instead of me in the studio and him in the office.
This is kind of where we started. B-O-R-I-N-G! It hadn’t been painted or really updated at all since then. So we started there.
About a month ago, Tim and I attended one of those free workshops offered by our local Pottery Barn store. The topic was decorating with color and pattern. Great workshop by the way! We highly recommended it. And…not just because Tim won a FREE gallon of Benjamin Moore’s new Natura paint! The perfect motivator for starting our office redo.
We selected their Glade Green which really lightened up the room and has a soft green tint to it (hard to tell from the computer display here). Tim says it reminds him of Keylime Pie! YUM! But after painting the room, we were stumped. Where to go next? So we got busy and created our first mood board!
So what do you think?! Drastically different, huh?! Which we are totally not opposed to. My favorite color is ORANGE so I’m loving the popped of orange in there. The green chair? Not my fav but Tim has an office chair we found at an estate sale in that color. It may have to go!
We found this credenza at a thrift store for $18.00!!! Yes! Just 18 bucks! But that story deserves it’s own post. Anywho, this fella will be painted black and get some new hardware to go with our mood board look.
Guess what this means…
Another trip to Ikea to pick out desks and accessories! YAY!
I can’t wait to share pics of the finished space. I’ll also be sharing posts on:
-how we determined desks placement
-our frustrating adventure in painting the space
-a review of the new Benjamin Moore Natura paint
and the accessories and decor we select
And you’ll have to come back to see how close we get to our inspiration mood board!
Check out blog parties I’ve linked to here.
Glass Act-Choices In Handcrafted Glass Chandeliers
Jul 21st
I came across this amazing kitchen design by Pitsou Kedem in Architectural Digest yesterday. My eyes were instantly drawn to that magnificent glass chandelier hanging over the dining area. (Sorry, I couldn’t find a close-up of it.) It’s constructed of interlocking glass loops and exquisitely handcrafted. Seeing this article inspired me to research other handcrafted glass chandeliers.
This piece is a Suzanne Guttman Glass creation. The delicate hanging mechanism and minimal metalwork allow the glass to stand out.
In contrast, in this piece by Elizabeth Lyons of Lyons Glass the metalwork plays an important role as the armature, tying the piece together. The metallic of the steel and glass are simply grand on this small piece.

This gorgeous opalescent and clear glass chandelier from Red Fern Glass is simply stunning. Oh how I wish I had the space for such a piece.
So here’s hoping you find inspiration today, even in the seemingly small places!
Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things
Jan 24th
This past Tuesday I started my Senior year at VCU! That means that this building will be my home-away-from-home for the next five months. And believe me, I will be spending A LOT of time here not only attending the four classes I’m taking this semester, but also putting in lots of hours working on projects in the various studios. I’m very excited about my classes this semester.
I’m taking a new course offered for the first time this semester called Intermediate Seminar. This lecture class is described in the syllabus as class where “we will talk (a lot) about all of your curiosities…and we will look hard at how other designers, makers, and artists have utilized their curiosities in their work. We will read articles, write down our thoughts, feelings, theories and our wild conjectures (and read them aloud in class).” And then at the end of the semester we’ll be required to give a presentation meant to “articulate our individual curiosities”. Yikes. Both exciting and scary for me. I’m not a get-up-and-talk-in-front-of-people-person! But hopefully by the end of the semester I’ll be ready!
In addition to this lecture class I’m taking three studios: Fabric Design II, Pattern Weaving and Lampworking II. Fabric Design II continues our exploration into various printing and dyeing techniques as well as fabric piecing and construction. Yes! Quilting! I can’t wait to put my new sewing machine to good use! Woohoo! Oh, and we also had to select a “theme” for the semester-something that our work would revolve around. I chose to continue exploring ocean life so you’ll be seeing a lot of octopi, squid, jellyfish, etc. in my work this semester.
Pattern Weaving is going to be great too. And of course our professor has us diving right in! We’re already working on our first project, called “Green”-either as a color and/or from an environmental awareness perspective. We’re also dressing our looms for our first samples. I’m honestly amazed at how comfortable I’m feeling in the weaving studio considering that I felt like I was all thumbs last semester! LOL I pray that comfort continues!
And then there’s Lampworking II. In this class we’ll be building on the skills we learned in part one but we are also free to choose the direction of our work. If we want to explore sculptural work, jewelry construction, etc., we are able to! Now, I just need to choose! I’m thinking about working with images on glass. I’d like to incorporate some of my husband’s photographs into my work!
Oh, and then on top of this course load, I found out Tuesday that I got an internship at the Virginia Center for Architecture helping with Education and Program Development!!! I’m really looking forward to it. I have a passion for non-profits, especially in the area of education and program development. And Architecture!? Oh yes! I’m hoping to get the opportunity to attend a few lectures and learn A LOT from the wonderful people there. I’m so freakin’ blessed! God is just too good!
Now, I just hope I can keep my sanity through it all and still produce good work, learning and growing all the way!
I’m going to try my hardest to post, at least weekly, about school and things going on with projects, lectures, shows, etc. I hope you’ll stop by!
Sunday Grace
Jan 17th
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” -Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
May you all have a blessed and productive week.
PRAYER REQUESTS
~All those in Haiti.
~All those without a warm place to stay during the cold winter weather.
~Josh: stage 4 Lymphoma. Just started chemo treatments.
Please email me or comment to this post with your prayer requests. God Bless.


































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