So Long!

I've switched everything over to WordPress, and the blog's address has changed.

The new (and permanent) home is at http://makingitlovely.com

.

There is also a new feed:

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Working on WordPress

My blog's first anniversary is fast approaching (January 9), and I'm hoping to move to Wordpress on that day. Switching everything over and working on the redesign is challenging, yet exciting. Wish me luck.


Take that, Blogger!

p.s. Let me know if you want a sneak peek. I could use some feedback.

Orleans Rug

I thought I could cross something off my list already, but now I'm not so sure.

The new rug in that last photo happens to be the Orleans Rug from Crate & Barrel. I'm smitten.



The problem is that it's not really big enough for the living room.



It would be gorgeous in the 8x10 size, but it wouldn't be very practical. The entry to our home is tiny and awkward, so you have to come into the living room almost immediately upon entering. The room is only 11'x12', so the larger rug would cover most of the floor. Obviously, white may not be the best choice for a high-traffic area.

Also, we eat on the sofa. Because we are lazy. The dining room is ten whole feet away. So again, white may not be the best choice.

Brandon thinks that maybe we shouldn't even have a rug in there. We have rugs in the adjoining rooms, so he thinks the bare wood is a nice visual break. What do you think?

Lace-up Oxfords

Yes, they're trendy… which is why I was happy to only spend $20 on them. Thanks, Payless!



I'm standing on a new rug, in front of the leaf of a new table in this photo… more on that soon. ;)

Here's to 2008!

I've never been one for resolutions. I do however keep a running checklist of sorts in my head… ideas for the house, goals for the blog and the shop, and fun things to do. This year, I've decided to write them down and share them. As Holly said, "When you write something in a public place for all to see you're much more likely to commit to doing it".

• Sew curtains for my office, the guest room, and maybe even the library.


• Paint the guest room.


• Finish the stairway.


• Pink Loves Brown will be at the National Stationery Show for the first time this year (booth 4053), so I'd like to really expand the wholesale side of my business.


• Sew a purse for myself. Until now, I've only sewn curtains (for the kitchen and my studio).


• Implement a new accounting system for the business.


• Try some new recipes. I tend to cook the same things over and over.


• Develop a schedule for regularly releasing new designs in the shop.


• Commit to wallpaper for the dining room. I need to make a decision and stick with it (lousy pun intended).


• Go to Paris! I can speak French (somewhat), I love the architecture, and I want to go so badly.


• Excercise. Walking from my bedroom to my office does not count. ;)


• Make little clothes and sets for my Blythe doll (it's on the way)!


• Experiment more with photography (that's what Blythe is for).


• Find a (shag?) rug for the living room.


• Redesign the blog and switch from Blogger to Wordpress.

I'm sure there will be more to do as the year progresses. I'm new at this whole resolution thing, remember?

*edit* I thought of another…

• work on the outside of the house!

Happy New Year!

Francesca's Painting

I couldn't show this until now because it was a gift…



I had created a similar painting a few years ago for little Ross on his first Christmas, so now it was baby Francesca's turn.

It was a simple process. I created the layout for the 16' x 20' canvas in Illustrator with a vector frame from istockphoto. I printed it out on 4 sheets of paper, taped them together, and traced the design onto the canvas with carbon paper. Once the pencil outline was on the canvas, I simply 'colored' it in with paint.



Merry first Christmas, Francesca!

Waitin' for Santa…

As the next four days will be a blur of family and holiday hullabaloo, I thought I'd share our Christmas card with you today (instead of waiting until the 25th).



Alternately, you may be interested in the slightly more risqué version: Waitin' for Santa.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Christmas Wrapping

I love wrapping gifts. Naturally you want to choose a gift that you think will delight the recipient, so why shouldn't the presentation have the same effect?

Each year I choose a theme for my Christmas wrapping. Actually, I hesitate to use the word "theme" here, because I always think of theme rooms (Jungle safari! Circus! Beachy/nautical/seashells aplenty!). What I mean to say is that I am my own art director. Yes, hello - I am persnickety.

Anyway. This year's "theme" was metallic and pink. I'm using silver, copper, bronze, and gold wrapping papers (from Target and IKEA), and various silver, bronze, and pink ribbons.





The gift tags I made are simple, but with enough possible combinations to make them interesting. First, the necessary tools…



I have a very heavy-duty circle punch (the big black thing), but any craft punch would work. I also used a couple of Sharpies, a pencil, scissors, a hole punch, decorative scissors (for children, judging by the brightly colored plastic), and scraps of pretty paper.

I started by punching out circles in my shimmery stardream papers. I then used the leftover scraps to trace onto my other papers, and cut out a slightly smaller circle with my decorative scissors.

After making many circles, you can put the gift tags together in different color combinations, punch a hole, and you're done.





The gift tags are the most labor-intensive part of the wrapping process, but they're actually pretty easy. Once they're finished, I just mix and match everything. Choose a paper, choose a ribbon (extra points for off-center placement and criss-crossing!), add the gift tag, and that's it.



Don't they look nice when they're grouped together?

Font Crush 2!

I have chunkier, more substantial fonts for you this time around.



Just as before, they've been added to the far right sidebar above my wishlist, and each page load will randomly display one of the fonts.

Two fonts are free (for personal use only): Sanka and White Bold. The other three are suitable for commercial use: Mesquite ($29, as seen in the banner above), Hellenic Wide ($49), and Rustler Fancy ($19.95).

Enjoy!

Murray Head & Sugar Cookies

My sister just called.

sister: "Who sings 'One Night in Bangkok'?"
me: "Murray Head."
sister: "OK, love you. Bye!"

I love that song.

In unrelated news, I'm making sugar cookies.



I wish I had some exciting projects to show you, but it's all work, work, work, cookies, work, work, work over here.

If Only I Could Play

I took guitar lessons for awhile, starting when I was 18. I really loved learning to play, but eventually I ran out of money and had to quit. I wish I'd had the determination to continue on my own, but I didn't. I hadn't picked up a guitar for a few years now, but suddenly I wanted to again.



I blame Alex's loft, which I saw at the Apartment Therapy Party on Friday. He had a couple of guitars on display, and they made me think of my own. I have two electrics (my old Danelectro 56-U2 and a vintage Fender Telecaster), a Sigma acoustic, and a Lotus bass. They've all been sitting in the basement.

I also have a clarinet but I suppose those aren't as cool, right? ;)

Oh Deer, It's Christmas

We started decorating for Christmas a bit early this year because we needed the tree up for our Christmas card photo. I won't show it to you yet, but it's good. The photo shoot involved Brandon, footie pajamas (complete with butt flap), and Jim Beam. Ho ho ho.

Christmas in our apartment last year was very silver, pink, and shiny. It didn't feel right to deck out our 1920 bungalow the same way, so we went out to get a real tree a few days ago.



All of our ornaments are the same, but of course the tree makes all the difference.


last year


this year

I wish I had some cute pillows to switch out for the holidays. I've had my eye on the Swedish House Pillow Cover from Pottery Barn, but I'm hoping it will go on sale after Christmas and I can buy a couple to save for next year. The living room doesn't look bad with our normal items, but a little change is always nice.



And now, my taste gets a little questionable.

When we were packing up our things from the attic of the old apartment, I added a little something extra to our Christmas decorations. Three deer. White ceramic deer. They were just sitting up in that stuffy attic, abandoned and unloved, and I knew nobody would miss them if I "liberated" them. So I did. Brandon found out as I was unpacking them a few days ago and…

He hates them.



Well, maybe he doesn't hate them. Strongly dislikes? (Is that better, honey?)



I put them on the buffet, and I think they're fantastic. Oh deer.

We Need a New Vacuum.

I could have also titled this post "Things That Suck". I took the high road, people.

Any recommendations?

The Hoover WindTunnel Cyclonic looks pretty nice. Is that the one they're advertising right now with the white room and the multiplying messes (little black dogs in one, something else in another)?

Apparently I am easily swayed by advertising. Sign me up and sell me a vacuum, please!

I also want the Dirt Devil Broom Vac. In pink, of course. I'm sure the broom + vacuum concept is not an entirely new one, but this seems like a genius product to me.

P.O. Box 1268

I can't find my shrinky dink paper. Woe is me! I wanted to make a key chain and take a photo with my new key because I have a shiny new Oak Park P.O. Box. This is what my key chain will look like eventually:



Wondering where to send snail mail (or goodies) to me?
Pink Loves Brown
P.O. Box 1268
Oak Park, IL 60304

I'm at the post office quite a bit these days.



A huge thank you to my lovely, lovely customers! I truly appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

p.s. My Periodic Table of Sentiments cards were in Daily Candy today, and I'm thrilled to pieces!

New Bookplates

Yay! My new bookplates are here!


Retro Curves Bookplates and Don't Blame Me Book Club Bookplates

Mmmmmm.

Enstrom's Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee is delicious.

Organization is for Squares

In my whirlwind post prior, I mentioned that I went out to IKEA to pick up some wire baskets. I bought them after seeing the way my friend Emily uses them in her studio.

They were only $4 each, and they're meant to hang from a shelf. I intended to hang them, but ran into trouble with the items on the shelves above not being able to sit flat. I decided to just set them on top of my card-catalog style boxes instead.


IKEA GORM clip-on basket and KASSETT drawers

Now I'm able to store my cards, stationery, pins, magnets, etc. in the drawers, and place a few of each in the baskets above to grab quickly. It's a nice system, and I'm pretty excited about it! Sometimes I don't realize how much time can be saved and how much better my things can be organized until I start using a new system.



I also realized that I have a penchant for organizing with squares. I love to see how other people have used squares, cubes, and grids to organize their belongings too. That, coupled with my love for flickr, led me to create my first flickr group: Organizing is for Squares.

Please feel free to join, and if you have any photos that would fit in well… please include them!

Whew!

I have been a very busy lady.

Thursday

The guest room was finished up as well as it could be. I'm going to order the Marimekko Lumimarja fabric for the windows. The friendly people over at Finnstyle are offering me (and you) 15% off until Friday! Just enter "makingitlovely" when you check out.

Here's the way the room turned out for now:



This was all in preparation for the arrival of my friend Lili, of course.



We went to the Design*Sponge Biz Ladies Meet-Up, which was great. I saw some friends (like Donovan and Grace), met some new people, was recognized (yay!), and ate yummy snacks.

Friday

Lili and I walked around Oak Park, checking out some of the shops (Flybird, Fitzgerald's Fine Stationery, Paper Source, Barbara's Bookstore…).

I also hired a second employee! Yes, again. Did I ever write about Sarah? She didn't work out, but I digress. My friend Pat had just quit at the bookstore, so he'll be helping me for the holidays. Hooray!

Later, we went to Emily's open house at her studio. Gorgeous! She has an amazing space with wood floors, huge windows, tall ceilings, and space. Sigh.

Oh, and I met Jess from How About Orange there, so that was a nice surprise!

Saturday

Saturday was my last day with Lili, so we stopped by the DIY Trunk Show before I brought her to the airport. I was recognized again, and it completely made my day (and made me blush!). I bought a poster for The Fiery Furnaces from David R. Head Jr., and we both bought an Implements of Craft poster from Handmade Nation.



After I had dropped Lili off, I went directly to meet up with my sister and my dad. My sister's car died, and she decided that she needed a new one OHMYGODRIGHTNOW. Uh huh. There was no way I could talk her out of it (believe me, I tried), so I figured I could at least help her get a good deal. She and my dad were ready to sign off on a car for $247 / month for six years. I got them down to $225 / month for five years. Still crazy, but less so.

I rushed home after car shopping and started cooking because Brandon and I had a pot luck dinner to go to. I made a sweet glazed bell pepper salad: roasted red and yellow peppers and red onions (coated in olive oil), then mixed with balsamic vinegar, honey, and chopped kalamata olives. We hopped on the el with our big bowl of food and headed over to Amy and Anthony's place. It was a really nice evening with other crafty people, and lots of yummy food.

Sunday

My friends Bekah and Lisa just finished grad school (such smarties), and they rented out Timber Lanes to celebrate. Um, I bowled a 53. I haven't done that badly since I was 8. Brandon bowled a 133, and we were all very impressed. Much shouting and excitement commenced whenever anyone broke 100, so…



After bowling, I drove out to IKEA. I thought they were open until 9 o'clock on Sundays, but they're only open until 8. I arrived at 7:55. Luckily, I knew exactly what I was there for: the wire baskets I had spied in Emily's studio. I grabbed 15 of them, hit the self-checkout lanes, and was out of there pretty quickly.

Lastly, I got home and finalized a deal with T.G.I.Friday's for a custom button order (550 buttons for the Chicagoland area). I'm bringing in a new button machine for it, so I'll also have 2.25" mirrors available in the future over at the shop.

Whew! A busy end to a busy week.

The Guest Room Won't Be Finished.

Yep. I've been sick, and I wasn't able to do much with the guest room. Brandon and I did get all of the junk out that had accumulated in there, so at least it will be clean. The daybed will be delivered tomorrow, which is when Lili will be arriving. She will have a place to sleep, hurrah!

Even though the room won't be finished in time for our first guest, I'm still thinking about how to decorate it. I haven't picked a paint color yet, but I think I'd like to go with either a light creamy beige or a silvery gray color. I need to find curtains before I decide.

I like the scroll flocked curtains from west elm. Nice, right?



I'm also pretty keen on the Lumimarja Natural fabric from Marimekko. Swoon.



At first I thought the Marimekko fabric was too spendy, but I just realized that it would be about the same price as the west elm curtains. Hmmm.

Oh, and I also bought a little side table from Target.



Back to fabric… I'm thinking more and more about plunking down the money for the Marimekko design. Any other suggestions before I purchase? I'd like there to be a bit of orange in the pattern.

A Daybed for the Guest Room

I just ordered the Lubi Daybed from CB2 for our little guest room.



I think the Pier 1 lamp that I bought for the office might find a home in the guest room too.



Do you know why? Because we have a guest coming! Lili will be staying here for a few days next week! We'll be going to the Design*Sponge Biz Ladies Meet Up, the DIY Trunk Show, and maybe a couple of other events too.

I haven't even started on the guest room yet though! Here's what it looks like when it's empty:





It's an awkward little room (7' x 14', with a sloping ceiling). Any ideas? I haven't devoted much thought to it yet, but maybe we can whip it into shape quickly! You know, in all of my spare time. ;)