House Planning | Let There Be Wallpaper and Lights!!

We've been living amongst piles of cardboard boxes, opening our pantry time after time foolishly expecting new contents to appear, and occasionally screaming at saying hello to one pesky mouse that is worried we might be leaving him (or her?) soon. Or maybe he's just enjoying the obstacle course that is our apartment, eh? In any case, all of these signs point towards a move in our near future- two weeks today, in fact! So why am I making drawings of our house instead of packing boxes? Well, because it's just really loads more fun. Duh. And after making these last suppers in our closet-sized kitchen, I need to be reminded of the hope that a nice kitchen and dining room will soon be in our lives!

After making the down payment on the house, we'll be working hard to build up a savings fund again. But I managed to finagle an inexpensive vintage dining room light from Germany, and talked my brother into giving me back the light from his bedroom (which I installed back when it was my bedroom). So, things are coming together! And my wallpaper fund is growing. And we haven't even moved in yet.

Planning a home is one of the sweetest things in life, so I hope you will enjoy my sharing the journey along the way! (I'm crossing my fingers for a nursery project in the near future!)

Sources: The old bedroom light was purchased from eBay (search white globe ceiling light), the wallpaper is from here, and the vintage dining room light is from here.

Blog Designing at Freckled Nest

It's been a while since I shared any blog design work I've done in the past few months! L'Erin, of SisterFire, recently launched her passionately encouraging blog that is just as firey and fun as the design we worked on together. L'Erin hadn't been blogging before we started her design, which was challenging to understand her style and how she would be using her blog. But after a lot of discussion, sharing of inspiration, and a bit of trial and error, I think Sister Fire's design is the perfect home for readers to reclain and ignite their lives.

Jan, of the Butter blog, is a cute and clever mom of 2 living in LA with her television star hubbie. We connected immediately with a love for handmade, textural design and illustrative elements. Of course, you'll see a lot of butter yellow mixed through her design, grounded by a deep, neutral grey. I'm excited to see Jan grow as a blogger, and will definitely be stopping by now and then for some rich bites of Butter inspiration!

Jeri Lynn, of Alchymie, is the lady I pretend to be in my dream life. She and her husband fell in love while living abroad, and now they live a culture-filled life with their two children in Austin, Texas. She is heavily influenced by the graphic and textural elements seen in antique pottery, textiles, and art. Together we worked on adding some of these elements with a subtle background, antique stamp designs, borders, and paper textures. I really love the simple look of her design that provides a perfectly suited backdrop to the sharing of Jeri Lynn's adventures.

Scrapbookers are a lot of fun to design for, so I was delighted to work with Larissa of In a Scrap of Paper. I had a lot of fun looking through Larissa's scrapbook pages to get a sense of her design style. We clicked immediately and together created this colorful backdrop that she now uses to share her projects with her many readers.

Interested in having your blog redesigned and think we would be a great design fit? Check out Freckled Nest's website for more information on packages, rates, and hiring me as your designer. Later today I'll return with the winners of last week's giveaway!

Reader Freebie | Fall Desktop Wallpaper

Oh, you know, just a little somethin' somethin' to freshen up your (and my!) computer's desktop. I like to do this from time to time, and since the last one I created was at the beginning of Summer, I thought, well, why not make this a tradition? I hope you enjoy it! If not, just wait. There will be a new one come Wintertime. But let's not wish that upon us just yet, hmmm? :)

D O W N L O A D   O P T I O N S :

1224 x 768 pixels
1600 x 1200 pixels
1920 x 1200 pixels

Reader Freebie | Summer Desktop Wallpaper

In honor of Spring's arrival, and my new goal of making more stuff more often, I've made something especially for you, my beloved readers! It's been a year since I changed my desktop wallpaper, and maybe like me, you'd like something fresh on your computer screen.

_____________________________________

Click to download your preferred size on flickr:

•  1 9 20   x   1 2 0 0  •
•  1 6 0 0   x   1 2 0 0  •
•  1 2 2 4   x   1 2 0 0  •

_____________________________________

If you're interested, check out the last freebie desktop decor I designed.