I gave her a list of the furniture we already had ( the bed and the dresser) and explained that I wanted something that would grow well with him (meaning not to theme-ish) This is what she came up with.

She told me she would leave the bed as is, but paint the dresser a cream color which is what we did. (Well we technically painted the dresser an Ikea off white) At the time, Mavrick’s room was staying where it is now… but since then I got pregnant, we are moving in the basement and we are splitting Mavrick’s room into a room / playroom.

We have a gray shaggy rug and gray bed linens, but other than that we don’t have much to work with. I love the idea of adding other wood type elements in the room so that the bed doesn’t feel “out of place”  but I’m afraid with the playroom area it will all look like missmash. The hubs wants to add some superman theme of some sort and I am fighting with my very last ounce of breath to make him understand that it won’t happen. I told him the most he can have is this illustration in a wood frame…. and MAYBE a Cars stuffed car. (maybe Mater to match the “wood”)

I want to do something cool, maybe a mural or something that will make the space a WOW factor. But I have no idea where to start. Have you seen some great roomspiration ? Or some unique ideas I should consider?

Here are some unique color combos I am loving for a nursery.

[ source : Flights of Fancy ]

As I was looking through their website I came across this beautiful space. Yes, they put it in workspace (seeing it’s jewelry making) but I would LOVE to see this in my room someday A hidden makeup area. Swoon.

I am loving this little desk perfect to store away your laptop when you are done. Not to mention I love the leg work on this piece. (unfortunately it’s not yet available. boo)

I can definitely do this for my office. Cover boards with fabric for an instant, inexpensive place to put your inspirations. Thank you Ikea... you’ve inspired me once again.

[ images : Ikea ]

Color + Vintage have to be the perfect combo in my mind. So it’s a given when I came across the ‘Vintage by Colour’ series created by Swedish photographer and designer, Hilda Grahnat, I fell in love. Seriously, I love each picture and would frame them in my office. (Not to mention I love me some vintage finds and damn those are great!) She is such a talented artist it blows my mind. Check out her website for more of her work or read her blog, lots of great finds on their as well.

[ August Empress + Hilda Grahant ]

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE great blogs. Great as in the content as much as the design. My new favorite (actually I’ve been reading for quite sometime) is Lay Baby Lay. You will find some great nursery inspiration & delights on that site! Be sure to check it out when you have 2 mins. It’s all about promoting great blogs & designers. Great work Joni!

Just like blogging, you’d be surprised to know that  there is a Pinterest etiquette. I’m not trying to claim that I do it all right, we are all human, but if we are aware of it, it only makes us better… right?  I thought  I would give you a 101 (and feel free to add to it) about Pinterest.

Like I mentioned, I don’t do it perfect… not even close and it’s harder to control when a pretty image pops up in your feed and you simply repin it (which is what I tend to do ALOT)

1. MAKE SURE TO AVOID DEAD LINKS
   When I see something I love on pinterest the first thing I do is click on the image to go to the blog/site it comes from for additional details. Say for example; price, where I can get that specific item or how I should go about making it (tutorial) It happens too many times that I click on the image and it just links to the image. FAIL! I don’t know where the image is coming from nor do I know how to find it. This is the #1 mistake from pinners.

   HOW TO FIX THIS PROBLEM:
   If you installed the Pin It Bookmark (Safari, Firefox & Chrome) be sure you click on the actual post (for the specific URL) and then use the Pin It Bookmark. That way it will save the Post Unique URL rather than the website’s URL. This happens alot with Tumblr Posts. (links to say page 6, but by the time you click on the link the image is not on page 6 but maybe page 13) Hours of searching = no fun.
   
   

2. CREDIT SOURCES PROPERLY
   As much as it’s easy to reblog something we’ve seen online, it’s as easy to pin something from a blog who’s reblogged content. Sure it’s easy to do, but it really sucks for the original source. I mean seeing their “post/image/art/design” on pinterest coming from another source but their own. This has happened to me (and I’m not an important person ) so please try and avoid this. 

   HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM:
   If you are on a blog and like something but see there’s a source for the image, click on that link until you find the original source and pin away. Yes this may be time consuming I know (finding the original source) but in the end it will eliminate sourcing issues. If you can’t go this route, then might I add you credit the “original” source in the description. (see image below)

   

3. YOU WOULD WANT TO KNOW IF YOU WERE PINNED
   As much as I love Pinterest, I find that it lacks one thing. Either a notification when someone pins you (maybe a la pingback) or a way to search a specific domain on pinterest to see who pinned art/design/photography from your site. I even went forward and sent the suggestion to the peeps over at the pin kingdom and they thanked me for the suggestion.

   HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM:
   You can do one of three things. #1 – leave a comment on the post of the blogger saying you pinned their pic and leave the unique URL of that pin. #2 –  you can mention (@) the author/source of the image (if you follow that specific person) or #3 – If you don’t follow that person, then tag either their name or their blog name (i.e. #blushink) That way searching to see who pinned you will be easier to find. (Ideally I would do 1 & 2/3) but as long as one is done… then yay!

Okay enough about the don’t of pinterest and on to the Dos. Do use it, Do follow people, Do like, Do mention and most of all HAVE FUN DO-ing it  Last week I found a tip that is worth to be shared. Did you know that you can highlight type (say a source or description) and then press the pin it bookmark and it will copy/paste the text in the description box of the pin itself? Isn’t that great? You can go ahead and modify the text but it makes it so much easier/faster and you are sure not to make any spelling mistakes in names. If you are a visual person, check out the explanation on The Pinteresting Blog

Last but not least, did you know you can embed an image on pinterest directly on your blog and all the credits will be intact? All done for you so you know everything will work. It’s actually pretty great! You can find the embed button on the side of a pin next to the twitter, email and facebook button. You can even select the size of the image (but can’t go bigger than the original). This is what an embedded pin looks like :

Source: europaintfinishes.blogspot.com via Nancy on Pinterest

I promise I am not the Pinterest police… I just want everyone to enjoy all aspects of the site. Am I missing anything? Do you have more Pinterest Etiquette or tips? Please do share!

Don’t we all love sale sites? I know I do (even if I don’t buy as much as I would like) My friend Ty told me about Fab earlier today. As soon as he said design & sales… I was sold. Basically you will have daily design inspirations and sales at up to 70% off retail. Who doesn’t want that?!

The sales begin in 5 weeks, but you need to get an account, it’s by invitation only. Well today is your lucky day, I have a link just for you! Click here and sign up, then invite your friends and get $ in your account. Sweet deal I say! Happy Friday!

The Invisible Mom

It all began to make sense — the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids would walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’

Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie
this? Can you open this??

Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’
I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’
I’m a taxi for order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’

Some days I’m a crystal ball; ‘Where’s my other sock? Where’s my phone? What’s for dinner?’

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . She had just returned from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .
I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription:
‘With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’

In the days ahead I would read – no, devoured – the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names.
2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw
everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.

‘No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend,
he’d say, ‘You’re gonna love it there…’

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know… I just did.

I needed that. Thank you to my sister for sending this to me. <3

I’ve been invited to join Pinterest a while ago (July to be exact) and though it took me a few months to start fully using it, now it is my go-to place for inspiration and to keep imagery that i love on all fronts ; graphic design, home decor, food, fashion and products. What is Pinterest ? it’s a virtual pinboard — a place where you can post collections of things you love, and “follow” collections created by others

I thought it might be a fun idea to share those images with you, so I’ve decided to make a bi-monthly roundup of some of my favorite Pins. If you would like to see more of my pins, follow me here. If you are also pinning, be sure to tell me so that I can follow you as well.

New in 2011? I’ve added a “Pin this” button at the button of all my posts to allow for easy pinning if you happen to find something on my blog worth sharing with the Pinterest Community.

Happy Pinning :]

{ p.s If you want an invitation to pinterest, please leave me a comment with your email and I’ll invite you. I only have 6 invites it will be on a first comment first invited basis! }

]]> http://blushink.com/pinterest-roundup-new-in-2011/feed/ 37 http://blushink.com/packaging-hot-cup-cold-spoon/ http://blushink.com/packaging-hot-cup-cold-spoon/#comments Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:30:54 +0000 Kelly | Glamour This! http://blushink.com/?p=4708

Loving this great packaging designed by Drew Roper who is currently finishing up his final semester as a graphic design major at the University of Missouri. I personally think he won’t have any problems finding himself a job. This whole concept is amazing.

“Branding, design and packaging for Hot Cup Cold Spoon, a new coffee house chain with its roots in the midwest. Company offers a wide variety of coffee products as well as their own homemade ice cream. Focusing on quality and service, this brand offers a unique contemporary look to a quality franchise.”

{ Via | The Dieline }