Update: Lino Print Lust

Remember the post about the beautiful work of Sahara Dalley of Papatotoro? My husband and I ordered a custom piece of fabric that we intend on using somewhere in our bedroom. I absolutely LOVE how it came out and I wanted to share with you the blog post that she did about making this piece for us. You can visit her blog here:

http://papatotoroart.blogspot.com/

and watch the video of her making the lotus print for us. For some reason when I tried to post the video myself it failed. Sorry! Please go check it out! It is always incredible to watch an artist and even more incredible to watch an artist create something just for you!

Did you go see it? Is that neat or what?! She customized the ink to match some of my paint swatches and ordered the finest linen from Scotland. Do you have visions of a custom piece floating in your head yet?

Now what will I do with the fabric?? I have been pondering for some time now. Is it the right feel for the headboard? Is it the perfect fabric for some pillows on the bed? Is it the perfect print for the fabulous $10 chair??

I am thinking it is the perfect fabric for the fabulous $10 chair!!! BUT...will I ever muster up the courage to cut it?? I highly doubt it! I think I will leave it to the professionals.



I think it will be fabulous!! Maybe I can find some coordinating or contrasting fabric for the back?? Such endless possibilities with this chair!

Not only does Sahara work her magic with gorgeous prints she also has quite the green thumb. Just look at her gardens.... my yard could definitely use her green thumb! Even just a tiny hint of her greenery talents would be a vast improvement to our yard! Someday I will do a post about our disastrous yard, but it will be awhile before it is at all blog worthy :)









A butterfly from her garden inspired this beautiful print:



Make sure you stop by Sahara's blog: http://papatotoroart.blogspot.com/ or her Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/papatotoro

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Kelle
xx

WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

Do you ever feel like someone else is living your dream life? Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my life, but sometimes I see a glimpse of someone living the life I have daydreamed about. Instead of becoming green all over with envy, I take that fuel and add it to my SBO fire!!

Did you see the article about a little store called Ephemera in the latest issue of Do It Yourself Magazine?? These girls, Karen and Arin, are living out my dream in Des Moines, Iowa!!!

Here is a little peak at their store:



Don't you want to go shopping?!?

They carry handmade gifts and art and provide the most friendly and comfortable environment to all their shoppers, that will undoubtedly soon be considered friends.

I love that they support local artists, like Miss Emily Phipps, who just recently added an installment to their "Green Wall Art for All"



She and her very helpful father installed these 72 paintings with a nifty laser leveling tool (aren’t dads just so GOOD to have around?!), a hammer, a tape measure, and a good measure of patience and BEDECKED their green wall.

This is only the beginning of their “Green Wall Art for All” series. Each of Emily’s paintings will be sold for $27 each and the proceeds for the paintings will benefit the Iowa Coalition for Drug Endangered Children. Is that cool or what?! These are the kind of peeps we need to find in our community and help support them in their efforts.

Not only do these girls seem like they are the type of girls that become "instant friends", but they also hand out pixie stix to all their shoppers and sometimes giveaway the cutest freshly made cupcakes?!? They don't know it yet, but they are my friends. And I want some cupcakes. Very badly.

The store also has a MAGICAL BLUE CHAIR. No kidding. Here is how they describe the magical blue chair:

"Ephemera is home to a gently worn, surprisingly comfortable, blue library chair. We think it’s magic. Ok, so maybe it’s not magic, but it will make you talk. And talk. And talk. And talk. Maybe you’ll talk about sad things or sweet things or small things or big things or happy things or scary things or silly things. And when you’re done talking, I promise you’ll feel better.

It’s a good chair."

And they even named their blog after it. http://www.ephemeradesign.com/blog/

Go on. Take a look. It's a dream come true!


You can also check out their Etsy shoppe which carries custom stationary! You can take a look by clicking here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ephemera

I especially loved these fall themed wedding invites:



and these notecards:



Love that quote!

So there you have it. If you are ever in Des Moines, I suggest popping into this place and saying hello. Maybe even sit in the magical blue chair and spill all your beans to Karen and Arin. I know I will!

What dreams do you want to see come true?

Kelle
xx

P.S. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers for my Dad. You are the best! My Dad is home from the hospital now and doing much better. We had a horrible scare last week, but this week we are all so thankful for all that our Loving God has given us. Dads are the best and just like Emily's Dad, mine would show up to my store with all his tools in hand and help me hang up artwork any ol day!

For Those That Pray

For those that pray please send some up for my Dad, "Grumpa Chuck", he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on Monday and has been in the NICU all week. He is surprisingly with it, but the struggle now lies in his heart. His blood pressure goes through the roof and his heart rate is rather fast. He is extremely upset that he is stuck in a hospital bed and unable to work. Working and helping out his family is all he knows and all he ever wants to do.

We're just going along with the bumps and turns and severe drops of this roller coaster hoping that in end we still have our quiet but funny, sometimes pretty darn grumpy, and hard working, extremely helpful Dad.

Thank you all for your prayers! I find so much peace in knowing God is ALWAYS with us and ALWAYS loving us :)

Kelle
xx

Taking a Break...

I will be taking a break this week from blogging. My family is experiencing one too many roller coasters and my heart is broken for the family of beautiful Marija of Holding Court.

Sometimes there are no words to be said.

I will be back at it next week :)

Paul and Diana's Closet

Remember my friends Buddy Holly and Angelina Jolie...I get to do their closet too!!!

I am so excited!! I love organizing and making everything look beautiful! It's almost ridiculous!

Their closet is about the same size as my bedroom...I am green all over with closet envy!

Today I saw all of Diana's shoes and I about died!



Ok. Maybe she doesn't have this many pairs, but still.

Why don't we have the same size feet?!?!

Here are my inspirational images:













I die!

We are going with a dark wood that feels warm and luxurious with some pops of color (which shouldn't be hard with all her gorgeous shoes!) and awesome lighting. I am so pumped! It will be a couple weeks before we start, but I can't wait to show you the finished closet!! I will have some before and after shots included.

If any of you want me to come and judo chop your closet or another area of your home, email me, and we'll work it out. I don't judge disasters seeing as how I have had plenty myself, and I have great thumbs, so I can hike it to your place if I need to :)

Enjoy your day
Kelle
xx

Urge to Purge

Want to see an example of what I LOVE to do? You know... nesting... what I do ALL DAY long, whether it's for me or for someone else.

Here is an example of my nesting skills: A before and after of my linen closet project.



This was before I judo chopped it Martha Stewart style.

When I opened the door I would hear sounds from horror films.

This is what happens when I get that urge to purge and organize:





I like to use decorative pieces that have meaning no matter where I am organizing or decorating. The urn that you can barely see, thanks to my poor lighting, is filled with napkin rings. My hubby and I purchased the urn in St. Paul during Grand Avenue Days about ten years ago. When I open the closet door I will think of that day and all the neat artisans we met.




Now when I open the door I hear angels singing and a bright light shines down upon me.





This is my view from the kitchen. Anger no longer ensues when the door is left wide open :)

I would say that it looks rather Martha/Pottery Barn-esque, but it's not. I might be Martha Stewart's sassy twin, but I definitely don't have her kind of cash! Most of these baskets are from Target. Some are from Pier1. Others were somewhere else in the house and I created another disaster wherever I stole the baskets from...such is life.


While I'm at it, I thought I would share a before and after of what was our nightmarish hallway.



YIKES!!

Now it is looking much better and much brighter...



My look is kind of "old school" style meets elegant meets "I need some family photos on the walls STAT!"

Happy Tuesday!

Kelle
xx

PS There is a Before and After party over DebbieDoos. Some of them are unbelievable! http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

What if Buddy Holly Married Angelina Jolie??

My friends Paul and Diana are the equivalent of Buddy Holly and Angelina Jolie...married...happily ever after. Diana may be surprised to know that she is Angelina Jolie in my eyes, but its true. Just like Ms. Jolie, she is a beauty who is also compassionate, and at the same time pretty darn scary!

Paul reminds everyone of Buddy Holly. He is super quiet and happens to be a genius artist. He frequently makes me laugh so hard that I nearly wet myself! I love that he doesn't even realize how hilarious he is. His quiet and gentle demeanor would have you guessing that he is a graphic designer who works in an office...au contraire mon fraire! He owns a tattoo shop and creates art that is of the permanent, love it forever, or else laser removal will happen sort. He does incredible work and you won't see colorful "airbrushesque" tattoos like his anywhere else.

Here is a little sample of his work:



Amazing!

You can see for yourself over at http://tattalatte.tripod.com .
I wouldn't trust ANYONE else to put something permanent on my body....EVER!

So....what would Buddy Holly and Angelina Jolie's bedroom look like?

We're gonna find out!

Now that you know a bit about them here are some inspirational pictures for their room design.






The above image is from http://designdump.blogspot.com. A great design blog! I would check it out if I were you!




These two images are from http://myleshenry.blogspot.com
Another blog that I frequently visit and LOVE! Do yourself a huge favor and go check it out!

















In case you didn't notice, we are going DARK! We are mixing some vintage with some rock and roll and throwing in some glamorous decadence!
What I love most about working for this couple is that they aren't scared to take a risk. We won't be playing it safe on this one!

This is going to be a fun ride and I will share all of it with you!

Next up will be my design and mood boards. Stay tuned!

Kelle
xx

***these pictures are from all over the place and it would take me nine years to retrace my steps, so they are what they are, and they came from some great blogs and websites. If an image is from your blog drop me a note :)***