February 18, 2009
I needed to make a thank you card to my aunt for my birthday present AND I needed to use my new scrapbooking tool – the Sweet Heart Maker, so I punched out some hearts in pink, red, and purple and got out a sheet of dark purple paper. I arranged the hearts in a butterfly pattern and drew a little body and antenna on the dark purple card stock. I typed up what I wanted to say, printed it out, and stuck it to the inside of the card. I could have stuck a blank piece of paper and then did a handwritten letter, but I can type faster then handwriting and with a lot less mistakes. And, the multipurposing of the scrapbooking tool makes it even more valuable and I feel like I got more of my money’s worth when one of these makers from Creative Memories costs $21!
February 11, 2009
Since my friend Carla wrote down her Random Things and I have had some requests on Facebook for mine, I decided to list my Random Things. I was just going to do 20 like Carla when I saw that on Facebook they are doing 25, so I did 25 instead…
- I love interior design. I consider my style part Modern part Rustic with a little industrial, arts-and-crafts, Bohemian, and Japanese. What a combination you may think. Yes, it is odd. I call it Eclectic.
- I am crazy about organization. I can’t let a week go by without organizing something from a cabinet to my scrapbook stuff. At every job I have had, I have pointed out that my passion for organization is one of my strongest strengths. It is a definition of my character.
- I have painted almost all of the rooms in my house twice and the living room will be painted for the third time this spring.
- I almost never follow a recipe. I always have to change something. See earlier Post.
- I don’t like following the rules other than of course driving and laws. I believe you should know the rules and follow them if you must, but if there is no harm to anyone or anything, then the rules should be allowed to be tested. As my Painting I art teacher once said, “First you learn the rules, and then you challenge them – that is where the growth begins” or something very similar.
- I can sew, cross stitch, and I even patch my husband’s pants when they get holes in them.
- I have been involved in practicing earth-friendly awareness since 9th grade.
- I was the only person in one of my senior level Physics classes in college – I made my own schedule.
- Some of my favorite movies that I watch over and over are not-so-serious movies – I like the ones I don’t have to think about but if I do, there is a lot of hidden meaning – Clueless; Ferris Bueller; Breakfast Club; most Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks animated movies, and Tim Burton animated movies (Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride).
- I am at an eternal struggle with myself most days – the analytical side that wants to do things by the book and be organized and structured and the creative side that wants to do things chaotically and what ever gets done gets done. What is it like at odds with yourself sometimes? Counter productive is all I have to say.
- I am always organizing something – a closet, a room, my desk, or boxes that my parents bring from my childhood…
- Until I was 18 and went to college, I lived in the same house my whole life.
- I went to 5 proms in high school and 1 high school prom in college. I had a lot of boyfriends in high school, but I was a good girl.
- In high school for Powder Puff (girl’s flag football), the name on the back of my jersey was Weird & Unusual (from Beetlejuice).
- My absolute favorite store is Ikea.
- My favorite color is Violet (the blue side of violet not the red side).
- Probably more than 80% of my diet is organic food.
- I am a mild hypochondriac.
- I love gothic architecture and castles (not the flashy castles though).
- I create a task list every day (well almost every day and minus weekends) and most days I don’t complete all of the items. What I don’t complete, moves to the top of the list for the next day. The list can be no longer than 9 items. 3 must do’s, 3 probably do’s, and 3 we’ll-see-how-today-goes do’s.
- I was called gadget girl in college because of all my techie toys.
- I was called mouse in high school because I would scurry through the halls weaving through people so that I could get to my next class with time to spare.
- I attend the Renaissance Festival every fall and I dress as a gypsy – an outfit that I put together. Way back in my family history we were Russian gypsies.
- I never imagined I would live on the eastern shore as long as I have lived here.
- The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is turn on my computer and look to see if my husband is on Trillian to see that he got to work safely.
- One of my favorite past-times is watching my husband play video games. It is like watching a movie that is really long. (I like to play video games myself, but there is something different about watching him play.)
- I enjoy making furniture. Not fancy or decorative, but practical functional items. When I can’t find what I want in a store, I just design it and then buy the wood and other items to build it. Right now I am working on an entertainment center.
- I have 2 cats – one who is spoiled and one who is rotten. Together the are spoiled rotten. :-)
- I got back into scrapbooking after putting together an album for my mom for Christmas. During the week after Christmas, I did 50 pages for my own scrapbooks. During the month of January, I completed another 50 pages. They aren’t full of embellishments and fancy stuff, but I am not that kind of girl. However, the pictures are artfully arranged and the papers are coordinating with the pictures. What a way to get back into it!
- My favorite dog is the Goldendoodle. Hopefully, one will join our family one day.
- I want to design and build (well, contractors build) my own house near the woods in the country in the mountains someday.
… Okay, I know. This is more than 25. Like I said in #5, I don’t like following the rules. :-)
May 12, 2008
Purples are my favorite color group. Purple is the general name for the colors between red and blue. On the basic color wheel, purple is called Violet. In my Color college art course, I was told by my professor that purple is not a real color and we were only allowed to call it Violet. It is called Violet on the artist color wheel, so I could see from where he was coming. I still tend to use the names interchangeably, but in that class, I tried my hardest to only say violet. According to some online research, Violet is actually a specific color and purple is a general term.
Personally, I tend to favor the blue-purples, but recently started liking certain colors within the red-purples with the purchase of our couch.
Purple is seen in nature in flowers: Iris, Pansy, Azalea, Violet, Lavender, Orchid, Lilac, and so many more.
In interior design, purples can be used as main attractions or accent colors. It can either cool down or warm up a room depending on if you are on the blue or red sides. Purples can be paired with lots of other colors. If your purple doesn’t go quite right, a slight shift in the blue or red direction will make all the difference.
Purple can be used at good gift wrap also. Above is a purple scarf and ribbon wrapping up a boxed set of DVDs for a family member for Christmas. Who said Christmas presents need to be in green and/or red?
Another way purple can be used is an alternative to the pink that many female babies are put in to make sure that everyone knows they are little girls when really young.
May 1, 2008
Red is the color of fire, trees in autumn, strawberries, tulips, roses, fire trucks, apples, birds and so many other things. It is a color of warmth and vibrancy. No matter how small something is, if there is red on it, it will be noticed. Stores like to use red for their signs like Target and Michael’s Crafts. There are so many variations of red from the red-oranges to the red-violets. I prefer the red to red-violet range since it is deeper and subdued in its vibrancy and feels warmer to me.
In homes, some people use red as an accent color while others make it the main attraction as in the paint on walls.
We use red as an accent color in many rooms while our hallway has red walls.
Clothing is another option where red really comes in to play. Ever heard of the power suit? Many government and high ranking people wear the power suit that a lot of the time includes a red tie or scarf.
So, if you want to make a statement and stand out, red is the way to go in many aspects of your life.
