Life: Designed

Help Build 20 Homes in Fiji!

2013-01-25T10:43:00.002-08:00

Hello my lovely readers! Guess what?! Out of 100 students, I've been selected with 14 others to partake in a new initiative with my school, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Habitat for Humanity!

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London Calling

2012-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

I've never really heard London calling my name...until now.

I was at HomeSense a few days ago and saw a white washed wood chest with a faded Union Jack on the lid. I spent about 5 seconds dreaming that I could afford it.

And then when I was hunting for arm chairs for a recent client, I came across Made and spent some time dreaming I was living in London purchasing furniture.

Here are some goodies I have fallen in love with:

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Mint Chocolate Brownies/Cupcakes

2012-12-27T07:06:00.000-08:00

My dad's favourite ice cream is mint chocolate chip so in honour of him, I decided to make mint chocolate brownies for Christmas dessert!

I've made brownies before in my very distant past but never mint chocolate brownies! Sounds delicious right?

Life Designed

A Christmas Menu

2012-12-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

I've turned into a domesticated woman this holiday!

That's right...I've been cooking/baking a storm.

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Reuse Bath + Body Works Candle Holders

2012-11-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

I love candles.

So much in fact that in high school, my church youth kids joked that I was goth. I suppose the mood lighting and incense didn't help...

Soon "goth" was replaced with "witch" when the kids discovered a broom in my closet. It was a prop from a church play...I promise! =)

Source Unknown

Lately my love for candles has made a roaring comeback so a couple weeks ago I went to Bath and Body Works. I've actually never purchased candles from BBW but I was curious to see what they had.

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Nathan's Doljabi Raffle

2012-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

The baby of our family is turning 1 this Friday! It's so bittersweet...I wish I had the power to freeze time.

His cousin Mia, who's 6 weeks older, had her dol (a baby's 1st birthday) at the end of September. The Korean doljabi raffle was a big hit at Mia's dol so I reused the pink jars to make Nathan's dojabi raffle.

Mustache Mug Party Favours

2012-10-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

What is more fun than a mustache mug?!

I love candy bars but I feel like we need to switch it up. I'm pretty sure we've had candy bar favours for the past 6-12 parties. Change is good, no?

So for my nephew's upcoming 1 year little man mustache party, I came up with a different idea for favours.

His party will be right after Halloween so kids (and parents) will be candied out- another reason why I love this idea!

Life Designed

Mia's 1!

2012-10-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

So as I mentioned, my little niece turned 1 a couple weeks ago!

Life Designed

Here are some decor pics that our friend's daughter shot. At 16 years old, she's a budding photographer!

Today I turn 31... say what??

2012-10-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

Since I've been in school for the past 4 years it feels like time has stopped. That might be because I'm surrounded by a bunch of young'uns. In my class of 19 guys and gals, I'm the 3rd oldest. Is there something wrong when my closest classmates are a decade younger than me? But to even it out I also have a close classmate that's a decade older than me.

When I first started this program I remember thinking, "Wow, I'm going to graduate this program when I'm 31!" That sounded so old back then... but alas, here I am and... I don't feel a day older. I think my nephews keep me young. I'm pretty sure they think I'm their age.

It's hard to explain. I don't "feel" older but I know that I definitely am.

Dior Ad

This upcoming year will be an interesting year...some transitions will be happening and I have no idea how it's all going to play out.
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Mustache Photobooth Fun

2012-09-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

I love photobooths! But renting a photobooth is about $1,000 so for my nephew's little man/mustache bash birthday, we're going to set up a makeshift photobooth with these props I made:

Life Designed

Li'L Man Banner

2012-09-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well my niece's 1st birthday has come and gone and now it's time to focus on my nephew's 1st birthday party coming up! With 4 little ones, there's never a dull party decorating moment!

A friend's daughter took a ton of pics of the cake/candy bar table on Saturday so I'll post those as soon as we get them.

In the meantime...let's switch gears for a little man's 1st birthday!

The theme is "mustache bash" so I'm in the middle of make a little banner that will look something like this:

Life Designed

I was originally going to use onesies, but then I'd have to iron a mustache on or draw it which did not appeal to me. I'm not a fan of iron on transfers ever since my epic tie t-shirt fail.

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Baby's 1st Year Timeline Frame

2012-09-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday Mia!

My little niece is one today and for her party tomorrow, I've put together her monthly pictures in a large frame.

Life Designed

DIY Mid Century Bench

2012-09-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

My friend's boyfriend bought a condo over the summer and to go with his mid century modern decor, my friend and I built a dining bench inspired by this AWESOME mid century bench by Salvage Love:

Salvage Love

Isn't that gorgeous?!
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1st Birthday Party Target Haul

2012-09-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

In addition to my little niece turning 1 in just one week, my youngest nephew, Nathan, AKA Chubbs, AKA Butterball, is celebrating his 1st birthday in the beginning of November!

So I'm simultaneously making decorations for both parties in addition to studying in my last year of design school... It's going to be a busy fall.

Back in August, I had gone down to the States to hit up Target and Joann's for some party supplies and I wanted to share them with you!

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Korean Doljabi

2012-09-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

A huge Korean tradition at a child's 1st birthday is the "doljabi". This is where the child is presented with various objects that represent something ie. money = wealth, yarn/string = long life. It's said that whatever the child chooses will determine their future.

Of course it's silly and superstitious. We don't believe in any of it but it's a fun little tradition that everyone in our family has participated in. It's a way to have all the guests gather and give their full attention to the birthday child.

Life Designed

The is an opportunity to have a raffle where guests predict which object (and therefore which profession/future) Mia will choose. They take a tag, write their name on the back and drop it in the appropriate can. After Mia participates in her doljabi, a "winner" will be picked at random from the chosen can and awarded a prize.

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DIY Large Art Quote Canvas

2012-09-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

I made this large quote canvas as part of my friend's birthday present:

Life Designed

This quote is practically my life's motto!
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DIY Korean Dol Towers

2012-09-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my niece is already turning 1 in a couple weeks!

This is a pretty big milestone in almost every culture and it's certainly a big deal in the Korean culture where we have certain traditions attached to this big day which we call "dol" or "doljanchi".

If you google Korean dol/doljanchi, you'll see people go all out with decorations for this day. A typical modern day decor piece is the dol go im (dol tower):

Life Designed

Best iPhone Case Ever!

2012-09-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

I've wanted an iPhone for YEARS. And for years, I patiently waited for the right time to get one. A few months ago, it was finally time.

It's probably one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Haha!

After I got the phone, I struggled with what sort of case to get. Yes, it's a horribly difficult decision, isn't it?

For a while I thought maybe I would just make do without a case.

Apple

I love the look and feel of a naked iPhone.
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DIY Serviette Tray

2012-09-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a really simple easy DIY for a lovely, sophisticated tray.

Life Designed

DIY Rope Baskets

2012-09-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

The other day I was browsing on Pinterest and came across this awesome rope basket from Design Sponge:

Design Sponge

That's pretty awesome isn't it?!

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Dulux Metalclad Paint Review

2012-08-31T07:57:00.000-07:00

When I started to modify my sister's old shelves into night tables, I knew I wanted to paint it with white lacquer paint (something I've never used before).

I stepped into Dulux Paint for the first time to see what they had and after discussing my plans with the saleswoman she recommended this paint:

I got a quart for $25. This isn't lacquer paint (their lacquer paint only came in a gallon and it was $68!) but she recommended it because of it's high gloss finish.

And did it deliver?

Check!

However I did have a few problems with this paint.

Posting Images Of Your Kids- Yay or Nay?

2012-08-29T10:46:00.001-07:00

This is an issue I've been thinking a lot about lately.

I had pictures of my nephew with the back to school frame that I made for him but at the last minute I deleted them from the post.

The first time I posted a picture of my nephews, I blocked their faces because my sister and BIL didn't want their faces on the internet.

Life Designed

A couple weeks ago I asked my other sister and BIL if I could post a picture of their daughter on the bench I had repainted. They were fine with it, so I did. However I just recently took the picture down.
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DIY: Make The First Day Of School Memorable!

2012-08-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

My eldest nephew is starting kindergarten and I can't help but feel bittersweet about it.

Life Designed

It's a huge milestone if you think about it. His life will never be the same. Gone are carefree days. From now on, school will be a major part of his life. Yes, I'm being a bit dramatic. It's just kindergarten afterall. I suppose I'm projecting my own icky feelings about school onto him. Haha. He's actually very excited!
I asked him if we should have a back to school (or in his case, first day of school) party and strangely he said no. Still, I wanted to do something for him so I made this first day of school frame to capture this time in his life.
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Pinterest...At Last

2012-08-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

I know I'm wayyyyy behind but I've finally created a Life Designed Pinterest account!

Thanks to my Apartment Therapy feature, my DIY Industrial Bart Cart is all over Pinterest! However, I received a comment from a reader (Hi Amy!) that she had to follow a trail of bread crumbs to finally find my blog.

She suggested I add a "Pin It" button to my photos. I'm definitely going to look into that.

Since my computer died a few weeks ago, I don't have access to Photoshop. And I can't afford to buy a new computer right now so as soon as I get my school laptop, which comes with PS, I'll start watermarking my photos. This is a really good idea and I think all DIY bloggers should do this! Why didn't I do this earlier??!

My Pinterest account features my DIY projects but I also have several boards- all design/decor/DIY related.

When my hard drive died, I lost a lot of inspirational images that I had been collecting so Pinterest is a really great way to organize and keep images without fear of losing them- unless the internet crashes and dies one day. To be honest, I'm a little scared at how dependent we've become on technology!

Anyways, here's a sampling of my boards if you're interested!

DIY Inspiration:

Life Designed Pinterest

Click (beautiful photographs):

Life Designed Pinterest

Spaces:

Life Designed Pinterest

Design (similar to Spaces but not just interior design- industrial design, graphic design- anything and everything design related):

Life Designed Pinterest

Furniture/Lighting/Accessories:

Life Designed Pinterest

Places (gorgeous images of places I would love to visit- if only in my dreams):

Life Designed Pinterest

Architecture:

Life Designed Pinterest

Do you have a Pinterest account? If so, leave a link in the comments so I can follow you!

Give An Old Shelf New Life!

2012-08-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

Now that my sister and brother in law are moving their bedroom upstairs, they need smaller bedside tables or wall shelves that act as bedside tables.

Something like this wall mounted shelf would be great!

CB2

But not $179 great...
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