Sketchin'...

Just a sampling from my sketchbook...

Christmas Warmth...

It's that time of the year again when we can go to our Christmas storage boxes and pull out all of our wonderful Christmas finds. This year, I really had fun trying new and different ways of bringing some Christmas cheer to our household. Hope you enjoy looking as much as I had fun decorating. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!~

A taste of traditional...

...and untraditional...

This tree was a centerpiece from a wedding I attended and traveled from CA to AZ in our backseat. I found some silver leather samples and made them into some simple but fun ornaments to help dress up this tree. I also put an old necklace to good use by recycling the pearls and stringing them up. In the traditional tree I found some great deals on many of the ornaments including the "Q" ornaments which were actually gift tags but of course who ever has a name with a "Q" in it. Thus, I bought a ton and if you look at it in a non-logical way they just add a little more sparkle to the tree.

... traditional...


...and untraditional...

I bought this garland and just made it into a circle and it filled the perfect spot on my wall!~

...centerpieces...

...remembering family and friends...

I put the most time into this project but really had fun doing it. It really only took a little bit of glue, glitter, ribbon and fun clips to make this all happen. Enjoy!~

Thankful

I know Christmas is quickly approaching but there I believe that it is important to be thankful every day for the little and big things that we are blessed with in our life. This year we didn't have the traditional turkey but I sure did have fun decorating our table and just enjoying the season. Thanks to my friend who gave me some beautiful linens last year I was finally able to use them for these festivities.

Color-ing away...

"Pink n' Purdy"

This was a 3D box that I made in my Color and Design course. I decided to go with different shades of red with black and white to create this piece. I utilized fabric trim to create some of the stems of the flowers as well as create an abstract floral. I wanted to give a chandelier effect with the crystals and hung them with fishing wire over the top of the box.

Attending weddings has turned from a privilege to a hobby in my stage of life thus far. I love to see the different color schemes as well as personalized ideas that each bride and groom put into their ceremony and reception sites. My friend asked me to help decorate her card box which is actually a birdcage which she inherited. I dressed it up in her wedding colors by lining it with ribbon, a peony (my favorite), butterflies and twigs. I love the idea of a birdcage and think it can serve so many different functions.

"True n' Blue"

A friend and I went out to lunch at this place called, "Blossom" and I loved the interior so much that I had to take a picture and share it. The walls are upholstered and I loved the contrast of the wallpaper to the lamp shades.

"Light n' Bright"

While walking around downtown Scottsdale, I came across this beautiful light inside of a restaurant and wanted to share it. I love the organic as well as luxurious feeling of this lamp and thinks it really makes the room.

Going Green....

It's been awhile since I've been able to have some time to make some more pillows but here's a sampling of a ring bearer pillow that I made for a friend of mine who just got married over the weekend. Pardon the blurriness but it basically had a ribbon with a pearl that I sewed in the middle. The wedding was beautiful and I LOVED the theme...green and purple. =)


Classes have been keeping me busy, but I've definitely had some fun along the way. Here's a sampling of some things I've been doing in my Color and Design class. Our assignment was to create a 3D board that would be demonstrate 2 principles and 3 elements of design.

Principles: Radial (direction of the leaves); Emphasis (Star shape of the leaves)
Elements: Shape (square); Texture (Leaves and beads); Color (fabric)
This color board was an exercise to help us learn about developing an eye for matching up colors. Needless to say, I've definitely been "going green" in these projects....(in more ways than one). This is an example of a concept board that I presented in my Space Planning class. I decided to create a home that had a real cottage like feeling to it as well as what some may call, "shabby chic." I've really enjoyed this class so far in that it has challenged me not only in my CAD skills but also has given me more opportunities to learn about using space and making it really efficient. I will be posting some examples soon...so stay tuned!

Table Settings

Another hobby of mine is throwing parties and here are just a few samples of table settings and favors that I've had the privilege of designing while celebrating special days as well as special people in my life.

"Dayala Delights"

Some more projects I've been working on... Made from Sunbrella (outdoor) fabric:

Pillow Happy

It's been awhile..but here's a sampling of some pillows I made recently...

Women's Shelter

I had the privilege of working with some of my classmates on a project where we helped renovate a room in a women's shelter out in Phoenix. It was a great time to really roll up my sleeves and really put in practice some of my painting and upholstery skills (some of which I learned on the spot and from watching others). This was a great experience and I hope to find more opportunities where I can utilize my gifts in design to help serve and be a blessing to others.

BEFORE...

AFTER...

A Wedding Gift...

Here's a makeup bag I made for my friend who's getting married this summer. I lined the inside with polyester lining and gave it a velcro enclosure.