Blissful Bedroom

I just received the new trade catalog for the fall/winter collection at Bliss Living. I have to say, it couldn't have come at a better time since I had just attempted to make my bed (which rarely happens) with the various mismatched pillows and blankets. I did finally buy a quilt to fit our king sized bed a few months ago - prior to that we were using the one from our old queen!

Having the requirement of eco-friendly bedding makes it somewhat difficult. You typically can't just go to a store and pick up organic cotton anything, though it is getting better. Furthermore, bedding can be quite expensive and we have a standard king versus the ever popular California king...the excuses go on and on.

Getting back on subject, I was excited to flip through the pages and see a range of colors that felt new and fresh, like the Icelandic Dream collection

(I love the wooden mobile in the background)

and Amelie Green


I'm really drawn to the varying shades of green, especially the touches of olive and dusty sage together. Notice the Canada passport pillow too. How cool is that?


I'm also a fan of the reclaimed wood shelves


Needless to say, it sent me into a bedroom redecorating frenzy so you may be seeing my bedroom before/after posts in the near future.

award winning

I spent this past weekend in the Celebrity Retreat at the Teen Choice Awards. Rachel Hulan of Path Design was chosen to design the eco-friendly lounge, and I went along to help setup and break down.

While some of the actors received surfboard shaped awards, I got to take home my very own prize: a papier mache bird that was used in our lounge decor.



This little guy, from Stray Dog Designs, is so cute! It's handmade from recycled materials and coated in a non-toxic paint. Personally, I think my prize is better...thanks Rachel!

Check out Rachel's blog for pictures of the space.

a noteable project

No matter what I do, I just can't get away from using paper. First of all, I'm a list maker. I need my to-do lists to get me through each day (plus it's so very satisfying to cross things off). Then I need paper for the printer, paper for drawings, paper paper paper.

I do try to cut back by using scrap paper as much as possible. But the pile of scrap printer paper was starting to outweigh the blank sheets so I decided it was time for a new plan.

I thought my piles of paper would be better used as notepads. That way I can make my lists and throw them into my purse, car, wherever (I never leave home without a notepad). To make things more fun I decided to use some scrap fabric to bind them.

So I chopped up my paper into halves and quarters, punched holes for metal brads, and glued the strips of fabric onto the pads. Viola! A whole new set of notepads.

I'm really not much of a crafter but this was easy and turned out pretty well...so just be warned that some of you may be receiving these as gifts.

Summer on the Lake

Growing up in Minnesota, our family spent every summer at our lake cabin. These days I don't get to see much of that cabin but the memories are vivid, as each summer I dream of of waking up to loon calls, fishing off the dock and playing cards until the early hours of morning.

Lake Houses is a nice collection of images that spark nostalgia and a definite longing to take a trip to the lake.

find the book at Amazon.com

sprucing up the office

I've been collecting jars for years. I'm typically not a hoarder of any sort- I just don't like clutter. But jars are such useful objects and I've given mine a second life as office organizers, holding everything from pens and paperclips to art supplies.

Last week I found a cool project on Martha Stewart.com to transform ordinary glassware into display pieces with enamel paint. Not quite willing to give up my clear glass collection, I decided first to experiment with a few pieces and see how that went.

I picked out a few jars that I thought would look good with enamel, washed them out and used rubbing alcohol to prepare the surface for paint. I selected 'Pacific Blue' for the first round and got to work, pouring the paint and swirling it around.

Here are the jars after the first coat. I later went back and added another coat. On one jar, I decided to try doing a layer in white, to make the inside white and the outside blue. That didn't work so well so I ended up covering it with another blue layer. But that left me enough white paint to do a 'milk' jar.

My new and improved jars! My next step is the honey jar (clear jar in the photo). It has a great texture that will look pretty cool. I can't decide if I should go white or blue...any suggestions?

For the project how-to, click here

Ps, this is a green project if you use a water based non-toxic acrylic enamel. I didn't know this when I started so my blue is a regular enamel, but the white is eco. Just an FYI.

*Note: the before and after jars are shown on swatches of Rubie Green textiles