PillowTalk.jpg

Need a quick and inexpensive change to your room? Pillows can change any room in an instanceinstant! With a variety of shapes, patterns, colors, and textures - there is a pillow for every occasion and every person. I love the way the colors and patterns you choose for your pillows can change the whole mood of the room. Mix and match solids,  and patterns, and colors, and textures to create a fun conversation piece. I'm just gushing over that fox pillow!

Check out  some of these fun pillows for your own home:

Top Row: Red Flowers, Flock of Birds, Black Flowers, Red Berries, Whale, Dipped-Dye

Bottom Row: Tassel, Geometric, Yellow, Tree House, Fox, Ampersand

Advent: Love

Advent_Love.jpg

The shortest week in Christmas is the fourth week, which symbolizes love. This candle signifiesy the love of God that surrounds and fills us at all times, but  we recognize it in a special way in the Christmas story. There is no greater power than love. We love, because God loves us.

Life Lately in Pictures

I haven't had my iPhone long, but it has become a necessary tool in my daily design work. It is fun to to go back through and see the small fragments of memories captured in everyday pictures

Instagram_Dec2013.jpg

With Christmas and the New Year approaching quickly, there has been a lot of gift wrapping, snow shoveling, and ever increasing more work on projects for my Etsy shop (coming 2014!) I'm thankful for these small blinks of life captured, and they make me excited to share with you what is to come

A different Kinda' Christmas Tree

UnconventionalChristmasTrees.jpg

The thought came across my mind that maybe this year we wouldn't have get a tree - and then it immediately vanished out of my mind. Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas without the glow of the lights between the branches of the evergreen ( real or fake) and the nostalgia of hanging up ornaments collected from years gone by. Though I'm a traditionalist (this year), I love the idea of the unconventional Christmas tree and the fun way it could add to the decor of the Christmas season. Check out some of these unconventional trees:

-  A lovely gathering of flora and fauna, this tree would be a fun Saturday morning craft

- I love the vintage tinsel, white Christmas trees - and how this one is decorated in golden hues, so fun!

- If you don't have room for a real Christmas tree, this fun string alternative tree would be great for any office cubicle or dorm room

- I've never seen a better looking brown tree; how great is this wooden beauty! The gorgeous white ornaments really makes it pop!

- If you seem to not have space for a tree - this flat, wooden tree allows you to still have the warm glow of the tree in a space saving way.

 

Advent: Joy

Advent_Joy.jpg

In the third week of advent, the theme is "Rejoice" or "Joy" . The spirit of joy  comes from the words of Paul, “The Lord is near.”  This joyful spirit is marked by the third candle of our Advent wreath, which is typically rose colored.  One moves through this week feeling a part of the waiting world that rejoices because our longing has prepared us to believe the reign of God is close and reminds us that Christmas is only a week away

Interesting Pinteresting : Office Space

InterestingPinterest_OfficeInteriors.jpg

I currently have two (small) office spaces - one at my full-time job and a personal one at home - that I recently started to decorate. I love the shape and size of each - but when it comes to decorations, it's a mess of odds and ends,  pictures, and electrical cords. Naturally, I took to  Pinterest to see the options and creativity of other offices out there. I love the pops of colors in the unexpected places like lamps and flower pots against the clean environments of neutral wall colors. It's given me a lot of inspiration for my own spaces! Check out more office space on my  Office Pinterest board.

Row 1 ( 1, 2, 3, ) Row 2 ( 1, 2, 3 ) Row 3 ( 1, 2, 3 )

Color Companions: Radiant Orchid

colorcompanion_Orchad_1.jpg

Pantone announced their color of the year 2014 this last week, and it is the beautiful Radiant Orchid. In honor of this fabulous color, I have found some beautiful examples  used in a range of everyday life. Here is to a beautiful "year of confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination.(Pantone Website) "

Left to Right: Letter A, Dress, Paint Colors, Drink Glasses

Advent: Peace

AdventweekTwo.jpg

"It is through remembering that we again look for signs of Christ’s coming in Advent. In hope, courage, and faith dare to speak with the psalmist: 'Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.' ” Rev. Anna Fulmer

Moodboard: Christmas Wish List

ChristmasWishlist_2013.jpg

This year I found myself not exactly knowing what to answer when family and friends asked "What do you want for Christmas?" I tried to prepare a list through out the year of things that I truly wanted - now out of school and grown, I feel the same anticipation for the Christmas season, but not as much for the Christmas presents. Nonetheless, these beautiful treasures caught my eye in traveling. Isn't that coat the loveliest? SO here are seven things I wouldn't mind finding under the tree this year:

1. Ampersand Necklace - so delicate and understated, who can resist a great ampersand?

2. Socialite Bow Detail Coat -  the buttons and the cute collar detail would make this coat a perfect compliment to any date night or a holiday  outfit.

3. Victorian Whale Bookends - the perfect whimsical addition to any bookcase, or office cubicle!

4. Oblique Calligraphy Starter Kit - With a growing love for calligraphy, this starter kit is a great way to continue to grow and learn in the beautiful art!

5. Pillows - these fun throw pillows would add a great touch of color to any room!

6. Darling Magazine - This unique quarterly magazine continues to produce amazing articles and beautiful imagery - a must read, and not a bad coffee table display!

7. Back Up iPhone 5 charger - Any girl on the go would love this handy back up if her battery were low, I know I would love one!

Color Companion: Black and Gold

colorcompanion_BlackandGold_1.jpg

Now that the Turkey has been served, and the glow of Thanksgiving has settled into ushering in the warmth of winter, the Christmas season has begun! I have had a fond love for gold for quite sometime, and with all the twinkling lights around this time of year, the gold always seems more magical. Two classy colors themselves, black and gold make a beautiful, unconventional pairing for the holidays - even if it just a is a small splash of the two in your ensemble or on your table.

Clockwise: Mirabelle Top, Beeswax Candles, Geometric Coasters, Table Decor

Advent : Hope

Advent_Week1_Hope.jpg

With December coming so rapidly upon us, we leave Thanksgiving behind for the season of Advent. Advent derives its meaning from the Latin meaning word for "coming". In the weeks before Christmas we prepare, we wait, we long for the coming of the new born Christ

Color Companion: Brown & Orange

colorcompanion_BrownOrange.jpg

Being the week of Thanksgiving, I find that with the fall, the warm colors are everywhere! Orange being the strongest of the warm colors, showcasing itself in the holidays from Halloween to trading in it's shocking companion, black, to be a softer companion to brown, red, and yellow alike. I have never openly admitted to loving the color orange, but somehow it always stays on  my color radar, and I love it most as it dances on the trees in the fall. It reminds me to be thankful for the sweet warmth of summer that is passing, and the cool time of winter that once again will bring a full blushing springtime. As Thanksgiving draws near, what are you thankful for most?

Clockwise:

Find this beautiful Calligraphy print by Lindsay Letters,

See how to arrange a great Thanksgiving day table of  Flowers from BHG,

A Guide to Take Thanksgiving Meal by Kate Wolfson,

A little Thanksgiving table Decoration Inspiration

For decor inspiration check out this article here: https://morningchores.com/thanksgiving-decorations/

Interesting Pinteresting: Doors

InterestingPinterest_Doors.jpg

Though I am not a home owner yet, I love the idea of one day having a pop of color on my front door, don't you? I have been adoring these fun colors, and beautiful statement doors that have been popping up on my Pinterest home page lately. Doors are an easy fix to change the color or style with, as the real estate is small and doable in a few hours. I keep dreaming if I could paint my apartment door, what color would it be?

 

Clockwise: Garden, Teal/White, Pink, Lime Green, Circle, Royal Blue, Green, Slim Teal, Yellow

 

 

Portfolio: Aagaard Wedding | Sketches

Agaarod_Sketches.jpg

A few weeks back I shared this mood board with you from the lovely Aggaard wedding. You can see how the Mood board dictated the inspiration for the three comps I ended up showing the client. With details of a muted palette and a vintage but classic feel to the suits to match the rustic wedding she was planning, each suite captured a different mood we had talked about. The first having a contemporary look and a splash of watercolor to create color; the second being more straight cut classic, with modern vibes, and the third being a clean pallet of grey and white with a mix of patterns and vintage fonts. In the end we mixed and matched pieces from each set to create the final suite she had envisioned from the beginning. I can't wait to show you how it ended up!

Moodboard: Christmas Season

Christmas2013_Moodboard.jpg

Top: 1 / 2 / 3 Middle: 4 / 5 / 6 Bottom: 7 / 8 / 9

Though the snow today was not a totally unwelcomed (cold) surprise in Chicago, it feels as if it is officially been proclaimed winter! With later months come Thanksgiving, and of course the season of Christmas. I know it is somewhat scandalous to think about Christmas before the Thanksgiving turkey is even plucked for the table, but it is with snow that the warm feelings of Christmas and winter come sweeping in to my mind – and of course designing our Christmas/Holiday card! I pulled some photos I have seen that remind me of how Christmas season past have felt and looked like for me, and what I want to convey in our card this year. (Plus, how cute is that snow covered fox!) The large snowflakes, the cozy lights and coco, and the steady stream of red from decorations to car lights on their way to and fro. And how about that great typeface, Frosted by Molly Jaques. It felt like a perfect cherry on top to start thinking about this years holiday season.

Minted Style Board

Christmas Sparkle by Caroline, see more unique stationery

Christmas Sparkle board by Caroline. See more unique stationery

Left: 1, 2, 3, Right: 1, 2, 3 

 

The holidays are upon us, and though Thanksgiving should never be overlooked - I instantly was in the Christmas mood with Minted's Holiday Inspiration Board Challenge!

I was inspired by the warmth of light that the season brings by the beautiful card by artist Griffinbell Paper Co. you can see on the lower left. Though it becomes dark more quickly in the evening, there is something to those twinkly lights everywhere and the burst of bold stars on a crisp snowy night sky that take me back to my childhood playing in the snow at night as my father shoveled our driveway, and seeing the warm glow of our home. Even better was coming in rosie-cheeked to my mother, who always seemed to be waiting with the hot coco and a sweet snack for us to snuggle up on the couch with.

View my board here, and go create one of your own to try to win $100 to Minted!