Organize, Organize!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

If you're new to my blog then I should mention my weird obsession with ribbon. Well to put it lightly my "collection" has grown to the point of needing it's own special piece of furniture.... yes, it's quite sad. Therefore, another big project my dad and I attempted over the weekend was a ribbon/wrapping paper organizer. I LOOOOVEE IT and I love how proud my dad is to have been a HUGE player in the process. He's definitely handy but doesn't consider himself to be a "carpenter" by any means. You can find my inspiration and full instructions at one of my favorite places to visit: Centsational Girl!

The dimensions are around 32" wide x 60" tall
I know..... REALLY large


You can see the massive amount of ribbon is weighing
down the centers of the dowel rods - ha!



Ewww.......agghhhh.......pretty.



I haven't hung it yet, so for now, 
it's nestled in this little nook in the corner.

Thanks again DAD!!!

Dining space turned home office

Monday, September 20, 2010

As mentioned in the previous post, I finally took action in starting my home office over the weekend. I will go ahead and post photos, but it is not quite complete.... yet. I live in a pretty small townhome, which is great since it's just Ava and myself, but I have a LARGE variety of "side projects" which basically means I have a lot of tools and supplies (and CRAP). Therefore, the lack of storage space is the issue here people. My house has an open living/dining room area combination and I never grew up around a formal dining table and all of that; so what I decided was to use the dining space as a home office. Two main goals: a good-sized working area and STORAGE. I can't begin to express how thrilled I am to have the larger chunk of work behind me and now I need a few last, key elements (rug and chair) and accessories. But here is the home office in its current state.

From my previous "home office inspiration" post, you probably notice
my love for green & white (just take a look this blog). But having already
painted my living room a sky blue last year, I just went with mostly white.


Shelves, lamp and file folder boxes from IKEA - desk is a 
hand-me-down (originally a weird gold) that I painted white


Because of the lovely sunlight pouring in, 
these aren't the best photos.


Large vase and filler also from IKEA
You can see the table is pretty bare and there's
an obvious need for a rug and chair.


One last look from the living room. I've used the couch as 
a kind of "divider" between the two spaces.

Home Office Inspiration

Hundreds? ........ Thousands maybe? ........ In case you're wondering, I'm trying to estimate just how many home offices I've searched out over the last few months as inspiration in my own my home. Whether that be through magazines, web-scouring or Pottery Barn catalogs, I FINALLY (with the much appreciated help from my dad & the "attempted" help of my seven-year-old daughter.... gotta give her a little credit) 'walked the walk' this past weekend. However, THIS particular post is about the inspiration.... the photos of the both sweaty and teary weekend will be next!






































I apologize for not having all the photo credits.
A couple include: Pottery Barn and Design Sponge.

Jewelry frame!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

I've been pretty busy with the jewelry frames. My house nearly looks like a frame shop. This particular one was for my friend CANDICE ZANE who said, "I don't care what colors you use.....just have fun with it."

Size is around 16" x 28"
Purple frame/black metal panel/silver stars


(closeup)
The stars were inspired by her tattoos!

Give me a shout if you would like a 
custom jewelry frame for yourself!
brittnava@gmail.com

Thrift store finds...

Monday, September 13, 2010

Coming from a very small town, we didn't really have too many thrift stores.... only yard sales. And they're great too, but I'm not a morning person at all and yard sales always begin at like 5 am and no matter what the bargains are, sleep is an absolute priority for me. So, since moving to the Birmingham area, I have discovered thrift stores. LUV! I only wish I had more free time to peruse around and find wonderful things (many of them being fixer-uppers). Here are a few things I found a couple of weekends ago.... some of which are already in progress!


Spice cabinet, two frames and a wood sign that has mucho potential.



Telephone table I found for about $5

New project: hair bows

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Someone requested that I make her daughters some hair bows, and even though this is something I've never attempted I thought I would take a shot at it (another reason I agreed is because of my secret obsession with ribbon...I seriously buy some nearly every trip to Hobby Lobby and I really have no specific use for it.... problem solved!!! I'll try to remember to post a photo of all the ribbon I have in the near future - it's quite embarrassing). Anyway, I do not consider myself to be talented at all with a needle and thread so mine are "no-sew" bows.


The bow size averages between 4 and 5 inches.

Yet another bow holder

Monday, August 23, 2010

This was another gift for a friend - just to show the variety of color available!


$30 - Let me know if you're interested! 
brittnava@gmail.com

butterfly series

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Many of my projects lately have been for babies, which of course never get old! Here's another done on four 12x12 canvases of the main stages from a caterpillar to a butterfly. She also wanted a beautiful quote so I tried to come up with a unique way of tying everything together. The quote is painted on wood and is actually a brand new piece from Lowe's that I got to beat up and paint white to make it look old and worn. And it hangs in loops of ribbon from the first and last paintings. It was so much fun and I was pleased with how it turned out!!






Let me know if you have a unique or custom project 
in mind that you would like me to attempt! 
I'm always happy to discuss new ideas!
brittnava@gmail.com

bulletin board for baby boy

Thursday, August 12, 2010

A friend at work recently made a baby gift request..... something thoughtful and unique for a wonderful couple who were blessed with a beautiful baby boy, Davis. I happen to believe that adoption can sometimes be highly underrated. Adoptive parents are sometimes forgotten in the grand scheme of baby showers and other traditions. It seems to me that the fears and anxieties that new adoptive parents face are the same as new parents....worrying about your abilities as a parent, if you will accomplish everything that child needs, if you will provide a better life for him or her, and so on. The list is endless, and adoptive couples need to feel the love and support of their family and friends just like every other new mom does. So I thought what better than a personalized bulletin board to proudly display their heartwarming journey....



The frame was a thrift store find that I painted white (22" x 28")




I used the green push pins to represent leaves and
the thin white stripes are pieces of transparent ribbon! 

Silhouette painting of Ava

Sunday, August 1, 2010

At last I am going to post one of several projects I worked on over the weekend. Some are finished, some in progress....stay tuned!


I love how silhouettes have come back! This is all paint on canvas.



This oval canvas has the "lovely" stapling around the edge so I had to 
cover it up somehow.

Let me know if you're interested in ordering one for yourself! 
They also make great gifts! 
brittnava@gmail.com


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