Faulkner gym

Got to spend another Saturday painting a gym floor logo.... except this one was 16 FEET wide!! Whew!! My back and neck are definitely suffering today!!

Oak Mtn gym

OK so I previously gave a sneak peek of our first gym logo at Oak Mountain HS. Sorry it's been a while, but at last I'm posting the final photos!! It's pretty tough working all day crouched down on the floor in a hot gym!!

Save the Gulf

Threadless is a great site if you're looking for a unique t-shirt. They also make great gifts for all ages, even sweet babies! The following is extra special because I'm sure we all wish we could do something.... ANYTHING.... to help out with the Gulf crisis. I've got mine and love it!

Ava is 7

My sweet baby girl had her seventh birthday party Saturday at TreeTop Family Adventure. I thought the location was nice because it gave the kids a variety of activities to choose from AND I didn't have to worry about clean up! It all stemmed from some cute cupcake plates I found at Hobby Lobby. From there I found some clearance purple napkins and decided to go with the purple and green color scheme.

mini-golf with Pop

go-karts with uncle Mick

cupcakes from Edgars bakery

homemade cupcake toppers

lollipops and other candy from Serendipity Sweets

birthday headband and #7 sparkler candle from Party City

birthday banner made with scrapbook paper

Design*Sponge

The internet/world wide web has its pros and cons... but being a designer and creative person in general, MY favorite thing is the limitless amount information. It is such a simple way to discover creative inspiration whenever and wherever you like. Want to find "India-inspired design?" One simple search later... Voila! An amazing, personal blog on ALL things design, with a special focus on Asia and India.

Well I have tons and tons of great sites I'm dying to share, but it HAS to begin with Design*Sponge (run by Brooklyn-based writer Grace Bonney). I'm sure many of you already know about it. It is absolutely one of my favorites and has been for years! This is just one of the wonderful DIY posts I'm so excited to pass along! Let me know what you think of Karen's coffee can lanterns!

Credit goes to Karen from maggiemakes!

Simply b Button

After going back and forth, I've finally decided to ATTEMPT a blog button. For those of you who are blogosphere newbies, this is used commonly on a sidebar so that other sites/blogs can use the buttons to link to their favorite sites. Let's hope it works. Cross your fingers!

Gymnasium - Oak Mountain HS

A good friend of mine was asked to take on a pretty significant project for Oak Mountain High School. And since she was understandably anxious about doing a large-scale painting for the first time, she asked for my help. My main experience is with wall murals. However I did assist with a gym floor painting once before.... about TEN years ago. Yikes. Needless to say.... we both had our moments of uncertainty in the beginning. But, after a full day's work, I think we deserved a nice (gentle) pat on our very sore backs!

This photo is a bit of a sneak peek (over half-way finished) - once the guys put two coats of clear gloss on top of the whole floor, we'll run back over and take a photo of the finished product!

Thank you notes

My brother and I have a wonderful mother who always forced us to write thank you notes growing up....for EVERYTHING. However now that I'm older and "wise-ish," I've come to appreciate this tradition and common courtesy. It seems that we as a society have fallen prey to the fast-paced convenience of technological communication. The days of old-fashioned letter writing seem to be over...but I am going to continue holding on for dear life!

These simple, personalized note cards (blank inside) were a request from my mother (of course) FOR my brother. The majority of the thank yous now-a-days are too pretty and girly for my little brother, a college basketball player. As a solution my mom asked me to put together something so he would no longer have an excuse!

The navy and red are his school colors.

Just in case you want some great tips for writing thank you notes, click here!