Paisley and Porter

{the painted space}

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

So remember back in January I mentioned that we finally picked out paint colors (after hemming and hawing for over a year)?

Not only did we pick the colors, we ran out, bought the paint, and painting (almost) the entire house in one long weekend. (Finally!)

We chose Valspar’s Woodlawn Snow for the main living areas (we have an open floor plan, so this included the kitchen, breakfast nook, living room, dining room, front entry and all the hallways).

Here’s my hubby, obviously working hard while I stand back & take pictures.

This next one is kind of a weird picture, but it gives you an idea of what the color actually looks like against the white trim.

Aimee from My Pink Life used this color in her studio. Isn’t it beautiful?

I can’t wait until we can replace the carpet with some gorgeous shiny wood flooring like hers.

Side note…having the covers off the electrical outlets for painting made me crazy when I realized that almost all the outlets in our house were installed with the words upside down. It still bothers me.

In the master bedroom we picked out Benjamin Moore’s Wickham Gray.

Here’s another bedroom from LLH Designs with the same color.

And ours, in the middle of the painting chaos.

Hubby did such a great job!

I’m working on getting some pictures of how these two spaces look now, so hopefully I’ll be able to post them soon!

finding my direction

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:21:00 +0000

I haven’t written much lately.

Not because I don’t have things to say, but because I feel as though I’m at a creative fork in the road.

There are so many directions I feel that I could go in, but there is already precious little time for creativity in my life and all the thoughts and inspiration going through my head is overwhelming. I don’t know which way to turn.

I have some new vintage items that I’ll be posting on Etsy this week as I finish editing photos and writing up the listings.

Over the weekend, I spent some time re-watching several of the videos from the Creative Business class I’ve been taking from Jeanne Oliver’s creative network on Ning.

I’ve also begun dabbing in mixed media after watching one of Jeanne’s free videos (also available on the Ning community site). I love how it gives me another way to express my creative side. I’ve been watching videos and reading tutorials from many other mixed media artists to try to get a sense of all the different possibilities, tools, and techniques.

I really enjoy creative the backgrounds. They’re so pretty it’s almost disappointing to paint and draw over them.

I’m also trying to remind myself every step of the way that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do art. I have a tendency to gravitate to order, to step-by-step instructions…I don’t want to frustrate myself by not being able to produce such wonderful art as Jeanne, as Alissa, as so many others. I know I will develop my own talent and style as I continue to practice.

“Sweet Song” by Jeanne Oliver

I also know that the more time I spend looking at other people’s work, the more I try to emulate their style. My own tastes bounce all around from white, simple, and pure to bright and cheery, but trying to narrow that down to my own distinctive style (not only in art, but in design, decorating, fashion, etc) has been a long process.

“There is no growth without change” – Rick Warren

So for the past several months I’ve been playing with the idea of stepping away from Pinterest and (maybe) limiting the time I spend reading my most favorite blogs. I don’t know if I’ll actually take that step, but being aware of the confusion in my thoughts seems to be a step in the right direction.

How long has it taken for your personal style to evolve to where it is now? How did you begin to identify that style?

Spring Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:28:00 +0000

Good morning, girls (and gents)!

I am so glad it’s Friday. It’s been a long week and I was needing a little pick me up, so I brought home some pretty flowers a few days ago bring a little springtime into our house.

I put some in my new wooden doughbowl that my sweet dad bought me from Peggy’s Antiques at Renninger’s.

I put the other bunch in the sweet vintage enamel pitcher I bought from Zen Cowgirl last fall.

My favorite score of the week is this beautiful old four-drawer card catalog. It was sitting on the ground in the back corner of my Goodwill and I snatched it up as soon as I saw it. I was SO tempted to keep it for myself, but in the end I listed it on Etsy and within hours it had been sold.

My son has been sick with colds and ear infections on and off since November, and so this week we had enough and decided that we really needed to find out what’s going on. In the past few days he’s been in and out of the doctor’s office and had chest x-rays, and I feel like I’m up to my eyeballs in prescription meds. We’re supposed to get the x-ray results back this afternoon & I’m hoping that we can finally kick all of our collective illnesses to the curb and be healthy again! Wish us luck, and have yourself a wonderful Easter weekend with your families!

xoxo,

Emily

Mirror Re-Do…Again

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I just wanted to quickly share another project I did this last weekend.

Do you remember the mirror makeover I shared with you last April?

Let me tell you a little secret…I’ve never been completely happy with it.

Sure, it was fine…but the color was all wrong and it had weird little trim around the inside edge that apparently didn’t want to be painted (maybe I’ll tell you the story of that someday).

I finally got tired of pretending I didn’t see it every time I walked past the guest room, so I grabbed some paint and slapped it on.

Viola!

It’s Sherwin Williams “Sea Salt”. We were thinking about using the color in our kitchen, but ultimately decided it was too bold (you can see a swatch of it in the picture below – it’s the lower color).

In case you forgot, here’s how the mirror was before.

Not bad, just “Eh.”

There’s an action shot for you – it’s half done here. Please excuse the ugly ceiling vent that ended up in the reflection.

& if you’re like me you weren’t sure that there was even that much of a difference – so I made a side-by-side comparison to be sure:

Before on the left, after on the right.

While I still haven’t decided if it’s better, it’s at least different. I may still end up repainting it (again!) but for now it’s A-OK to me.

Linking up with:

DIY Chalkboard from Old Wall Art

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 01:15:00 +0000

Have I mentioned that I used to have a slight rooster ~~obsession~~ theme in my kitchen?

It started out innocently enough – but once word got out among my family and friends about the theme it escalated out of control!

After a few years I had quite the collection. Rooster placemats, salt & pepper shakers, trivets, coasters, even a few life size statues. My poor husband was up to his ears in roosters & I’m pretty sure he’s still celebrating the fact that they went away.

When I decided to start phasing out the roosters, I knew I wanted to work with what I had to create a new look.

I love the chalkboard trend & wanted to add a touch of it in my home so I decided to paint over these plaques.

I painted the metal trim with one coat of regular white acrylic paint, purposely not giving it perfect coverage.

I used three coats of Cece Caldwell paint in Vermont Slate over the roosters. The paint dries pretty quickly, so this is a really fast, easy project (I spread it out over several days since I could only work on it in the evenings).

Once all three coats of paint are dry, it’s time to prime it with a coat of chalk. Rub the chalk gently over the entire surface of paint, then wipe clean with a dry rag or paper towel.

Then you’ll have your own chalkboard that you can use again and again.

I’m linking up with:

Saturday Morning and an Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 13:07:00 +0000

Good morning! I never know quite how to begin a blog post so let’s jump right in, shall we?

It’s a cold Saturday morning here in Mount Dora. I would love to be bundled up with warm socks and a cozy sweatshirt while I sip my coffee, but the husband is still sleeping and the child is playing happily in his room. I love to be warm, but at the moment I’m valuing this quiet time to myself just a little more. I’m almost afraid to draw any attention to myself *smile* It’s so rare that this happens!

I love to see the early morning light, so I’ve already opened all the blinds. I can see the weak sunshine peeping out from behind the clouds – I’m hoping it will brighten up soon so I can take some photographs.

Which brings me to my announcement…

Paisley and Porter is now on Etsy! I’ll be offering vintage items as well as handmade décor for your home.

Here are a few items that I’ve just listed:

There’s more to come as I build my inventory…I hope all of you will stop by for a visit!

I’ve got to run; my father and his wife are coming into town for the weekend and the house must be cleaned. Enjoy your Saturday!

Hey Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 02:50:00 +0000

Have you seen the Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" meme that's been floating around the internet?

I think they're absolutely hilarious...and relatable.

Not that I've ever been in any of these situations.

via

Bliss at Bliss Ranch is having a Hey Girl linky party for our real guys in honor of Valentine's Day.

Make your own and link up with us!

Here are a few that I made for my hubby...

they definitely are not based upon common complaints around our house.

All of these have been reviewed & approved by the man himself - I'd be in SO much trouble if I posted this without him knowing! Thanks for being a good sport, honey!

Small Updates {what I’ve been up to}

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Good afternoon, friends.

Back in early December, my hubby picked up some antiques for me at a yard sale – I’m giving him complete credit for developing his eye for these things, and for having the good taste to know what I would like. I wasn’t even home that day, so I never would have even known if he passed them by.

The homeowner’s mother-in-law had passed away, so they were holding the garage sale for the things they had taken from her home in North Carolina.

There were 2 of these beautiful wood chairs…I’m told they are solid rosewood from the early 1900s.

Look at the detail on them…

He also found two gorgeous brass lamps. They had been painted white at some point, and now the paint is chipping off to reveal the brass finish beneath.

Just the way I like it!

I don’t have pictures of the entire thing yet, but I wanted to snap a quick one of the base to show you.

****************************

Remember how I’ve been talking about painting our house for just about ever? It’s finally done!

The main living space is now “Woodlawn Snow” by Valspar.

And the master bedroom is done in Benjamin Moore Wickham Gray (colormatched to Valspar).

I really love the Wickham Gray…this photo isn’t much but I hope it shows how well the color contrasts with the white trim.

Now that that’s done, we can move on the the next DIY project…right honey??

Laptop Bag Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 01:10:00 +0000

Hi ladies! Just a quick post this evening to explain my absence over the past week or so...I've finally gotten into the routing of blogging during my lunch hour (it's the only uninterrupted chunk of time I seem to have :). It's been working really well for me...until last week, when my old bag I was using to carry my laptop back and forth fell apart on me - literally.

So now I have no way to safely transport my computer :( I've been trying to find a cheapy to get me by for the present, but none of my local stores have anything decent.

I really liked my old bag, but it was a high school graduation present and I won't be able to replace it with something of the same quality.

This is similar to the bag I used to have, but at $482 this is purchase that will not be made

All I'm looking for is something pretty basic (not "theme-y") with plenty of padding to keep the computer safe. & ideally, something a little more fun than black - think Jeanne Oliver or Vera Bradley, but on a budget. Maybe a fun pattern, or maybe a pretty bold color or neutral...I know these guidelines are probably NOT helping!

Maybe some examples would help...

Love me some purple

& you can never go wrong with pink!

pink again...I love how feminine, yet professional, this one is

If you have any suggestions besides the usual places like Target, Wal-Mart, etc...please let me know! I think I'm going through blogging withdrawals LOL.

The Primitive Life Milk Paint

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:29:00 +0000

Hi Ladies! Today I want to show you something I’ve been working on this last week.

My sweet friend Dawn runs a great little shop here in Mount Dora, and just launched her own line of milk paint: The Primitive Life Organic Milk Paint.

I’ve never used milk paint before, so I was really excited to give it a try. I was planning to buy some from Dawn anyway, but she insisted on giving me a box to try and write about. Together, we picked out “Hay” – it’s a really beautiful creamy white.

Did I mention how thrilled I was? I ran right home to see what I had on hand so I could get started.

Unfortunately, everything I had was already in process – I didn’t have anything on hand that was still in the prep stages! My husband is the one that suggested I give our end tables a fresh look. Here’s how they look now:

Before: a set of end tables we’ve had since we bought our house. They’re not fancy, and really not my style, but they were on clearance at a discount furniture store and we needed something (anything) to fill up the new, empty house.

As you can see, they’ve taken a beating over the last several years. Since they were so cheap we haven’t been meticulous about keeping them pristine.

What a difference already! These pictures were taken a few days ago, before the tables were finished. They’ve since been lightly distressed and waxed, but I can’t find my camera to take some updated & staged photos. Hopefully I’ll be able to post those later this week, along with a complete review of the paint – which, not to spoil the surprise, is awesome!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

How to Make Your Own Faux Mercury Glass Pumpkin

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Since my last post, I've been looking for other ways to decorate the house for the season. There are so many options it's impossible not to find inspiration somewhere…but in the spirit of this blog I wanted to keep things budget-friendly and use only what I already had on hand.

I absolutely love the look of the spray-painted faux mercury glass pumpkins, like this one from Pottery Barn:

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend $24 on a fake (albeit pretty) pumpkin. I’d much rather try to find a way to recreate the look on my own and save the cash for something else.

Here’s my version:

What you’ll need:

pumpkin, any size
metallic silver craft paint
old paintbrush

One of my pumpkins had funny brown spots on the side, so I chose him (her?) for my experiment.

Just brush on the paint, one coat at a time. Here it is after the first coat.

If you like the slight orangey tone peeking through, you can leave it as is. I wanted to get closer to a silvery look, so I kept going. I think I did 3 or 4 coats total.

I love the way it turned out! The stem (which I left unpainted) is a really nice natural contrast to the high-impact of the silver. And the total cost? A total winner – $3 for a bag of 5 mini pumpkins at the supermarket and $3 for the craft paint. $6 total! I would love to see a whole bunch of these in a pretty candlelit vignette…and I think I have my next project!

Linking up with...

Autumn Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 01:01:00 +0000

Can you believe I’ve been here now twice in one week? I know – it’s amazing. I’m amazing.

I’ve been feeling much more focused since my last blog post. Like I said, simply getting back into the routine probably helped a lot! It feels really good to be getting back into the blogging groove.

The hubs and I took some time over the weekend to celebrate my birthday. It’s not actually until tomorrow, but since my mother-in-law was in town and we had a built-in baby-sitter, we decided to take advantage of the rare opportunity! My hubby treated me to a morning at the spa with a seaweed wrap and a blissful hour of massage and relaxation. Actually, the whole thing was blissful and relaxing! I could have stayed all day, but our other plans (and wallet) pulled me away. After a quick shower, hubs and I headed out to try the new German restaurant in Mount Dora. If you’re in the area, definitely give it a shot! We both agree that the food is amazing, and the Black Forest Chocolate Cake is to die for…we’ll definitely be back.

After we were sufficiently stuffed, I made hubs come in to Pattie Anne’s with me. Somehow he had never been in there – an abomination in my book, since I would be SO happy to live there (or at least, bring something home every now and then!). Anne and Johnnie have really put together an amazing little shop, and I was really happy that my husband liked it too.

I did find something pretty cool there for my mom’s birthday present, too…but pictures will have to wait on that until I actually give it to her since she reads this blog from time to time. I just hope she likes it as much as I do!

It still doesn't feel like fall in Florida yet, but I’m trying to trick my brain into believing it – Pumpkin Spice lattes and pumpkin donuts definitely do the trick!

Autumn is definitely my favorite time of the year – I always get so homesick for the cool weather and changing leaves that I grew up with in New England. Now that I live in Florida I hardly ever get to enjoy the crisp, cool, beautiful days that I love – so to make up for it, I love to decorate the house every year for the season!

Here’s a quick peek of the decorating we've started for fall. It’s by no means done, and I hope to have a project ready to share with you over the weekend, but all the thanks and credit for this goes to my hubby! He was home with the sick child today and surprised me with this when I came home…a completely original design!

I love how warm and cozy the leaves look with our dark cherry dining table.

I hadn't planned on pairing the vibrant leaves with the pretty blue of the hurricane vases, but it totally works! Good job, honey!

These old lanterns are from my dad’s old sailboat. The copper coordinates beautifully with the bright autumn flowers (from the Dollar Tree). The contrast of the shiny metal with the delicate flowers is one of my favorite combinations, and a great way to add interest and texture to your decorations.

That’s about it for tonight – what are you doing to decorate this season?

Mount Dora on Dwellable

Setting a Goal

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 02:23:00 +0000

So! I guess I've been on an unplanned hiatus.

I didn't intend it to be that way, but after a while I fell into the routine of not posting and even though I think about blogging a lot and am still painting and crafting, I just haven't made the time lately to put together a blog post. Then I'd try to not think about it to avoid feeling guilty, and so on and so forth, until we had a lovely vicious cycle going.

So. I've decided that maybe my goals before were a tad unreasonable - instead of being disappointed in myself that I can't keep up with the same daily posting schedule that I maintained while I was unemployed, I'm going to set a goal of one post a week. If I end up doing more, great! If not, that's OK too.

To catch you up really quick, here's what I've been up to for the past few months...

I've been posting lots of pictures on Instagram (you can find me @paisleyandporter)

Lots of thrifting...I love being able to hit several different thrift stores during my lunch hour! Most of my recent finds have been clothes, but I've found goodies in other places lately also.

...like this pretty little shelf on the side of the road.

...this gorgeous picture and frame had been put out for the garbage pickup by my neighbors. As I was carrying it away three other women were walking down the street to get it. I won!

...these beautiful blue hurricane candle holders from an estate sale. I actually think I paid too much for the pair, but they're so unique I couldn't walk away.

We cleaned out the closets and garage about a month ago and had a yard sale...we ended up with a lot more room, less clutter, and enough extra money to build a workbench and shelving in the garage. I'm so excited that I have some space to work now instead of having to sit on the floor!

I've been working on this cute little table...can you believe that my mother in law's sweet neighbor was going to take it to the dump? My MIL salvaged it for me, and I've been experimenting on it with Cece Caldwell's chalk paint...I really love it so far! My sweet husband also found me a new palm sander that was on sale at Harbor Freight Tools (along with a bunch of other awesome things for the new work bench).

It's late now so I'm going to run and catch some Zzzz's. I've been pretty slammed at work so I'm actually surprised that I've managed to stay awake until almost 10:30 to write this!

Have a great night, ladies & gents, and do me a favor - I want ALL of you to hold me accountable to my posting goals. I really mean it!

Picture Frame Update

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:37:00 +0000

There are times when I catch myself in the mental trap of spending more time on the computer reading about what other people have done than actually participating in the creative process myself...I've been feeling like that lately, so last night I decided to try a new technique on a picture frame/mirror that I had already started painting.

I hadn't tried this technique before, and I tend to hesitate when I'm trying something new until I'm sure of what I'm doing. I realized though that I could hem and haw, and compare my plan to the success of others, and look for a better idea, or more specific directions...or I could just do it. So that's what I did!

Here's the before:

I had used a gray first, but I wasn't really happy with it...it was kind of plain and just boring. I grabbed a very light blue that I had on hand and brushed it over the gray. I let it dry for about 20 minutes (give or take, the paint was still a little wet so I probably could have waited longer for a different result), then came back and gently distressed with a fine grit sanding block so the gray peeked through.

Here's how it turned out - keep in mind these photos aren't staged & I know the mirror is super dirty. The sun was going down so the lighting wasn't great.

I'll have to try to remember to take some better pictures tomorrow after I clean it up a little more.

I'm really not sure what to think about this..the blue really didn't turn out the way I wanted (at all) - it was just some oops paint I picked up for $5 and it didn't end up looking like the sample dabbed on the can. I think i would have looked better with a brighter color, but now that it's done, I'll just keep improvising and see where it takes me!

In My Head

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 11:07:00 +0000

In my head, I'm thinking about all the crafts I'd like to do if only I had the time.

I wanted to make this cute little wreath as a housewarming gift for my sister when she and her husband bought their first house...almost a year ago.

Front Door Wreath from Teach Craft Love

I really want to make this for my son's room to keep track of those growing milestones!

Child's Growth Chart from Etsy seller GraceWords

I would love a small stool or chair like this for my crafting area in the garage.

Office Chair Redesign from Design Squish

Remember that huge tri-fold mirror I wasn't quite sure what to do with? I still have it, and this idea is growing on me!

Thrift Store Mirror to Chalkboard from You're Talking Too Much

We still doesn't have any grown-up furniture in our bedroom, and I would love to make a headboard for our bed...something like this, or upholstered - I'm not sure yet, but this one Mandi made from an old door is really amazing!

Old Door into Headboard from Vintage Revivals

& this is just a sampling of inspiration from my Pinterest boards! It doesn't include the painting I still want to do in the house, the sewing I want to learn, and the Paisley & Porter business projects. I'm starting to remember why I never did much of this before I was unemployed! I'm hoping to knock out a few projects that have been floating around in my brain for ages in the next week or so - stay tuned.

Rue de whatever

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 11:20:00 +0000

Is it really Monday again already?

I haven't been doing much the past few days, other than being miserable and trying to recover from a summer cold.

I realized that I never showed you the photos of the French road sign I did back in May...these are just the raw photos, not edited since 1) I don't have time right now, and 2) I didn't like the way it turned out so I've already painted over it.

I was pretty happy with it up until I added the white arrow. I was going for 'rustic' so I just freehanded that part instead of lining it up with pencil first - but I really hated the way it looked! I got frustrated and threw it behind a pile of stuff in the garage so I couldn't see it.

I found it again yesterday and decided it needed a fresh start. I don't know yet exactly what I'm going to do with it next, but I put a coat of fresh gray (Comfort Gray by SW) - I'm thinking something beachy.

I've got to dash out the door for work now, but I have some cool yard sale finds to share later this week. Have a good one, girls!

Em

Sink or Swim?

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:52:00 +0000

I know I said I had every intention of keeping a regular blog schedule when I went back to work, but so far that hasn’t worked very well, has it?

I’m finding it really difficult to balance my time. There is so much to do at work that I’ve been skipping my lunch hour and staying at least an hour late…every.single.day. It’s hard to say that I mind, because it makes for a nice fat paycheck, but I’ve been struggling on an emotional level about the creative time I’ve lost. By the time I make it home I’ve used most of my brainpower and don’t have any left for the creative process. I thought for a few weeks that my creativity had just dried up, but I actually realized that it’s just hibernating. Or something….

I kind of think I was just overwhelmed. I was putting pressure on myself to continue creating and blogging, and collecting everything and anything that I thought would stimulate that mindset. Combined with working 45+ hours each week, I think I just freaked myself out and made my brain just shut down in protest. I finally had it last weekend and almost went over the edge cleaning out my workspace and getting rid of stuff. My sweet husband found me out in the garage dragging projects out to the curb and gave me a pep talk. He has a wonderful way of readjusting my perspective and pointing out insights about myself that I know in my heart but can’t put into words just yet. I ended up bringing most of the stuff back inside, except for the nightstand I showed pictures of. I was having a difficult time with it to begin with, and I wasn’t happy how it had turned out. It was a piece of junk, didn’t have good bones, and wasn’t in good condition to start. I realized that I had brought it home for the wrong reasons (an impulse buy without careful inspection) so I let it go…I’m feeling a lot better now and am trying to focus myself better and be more intentional about how I spend my free time (doing something creative instead of sitting on the computer looking at other creative people’s stuff, etc)

source

In other news, our wonderful babysitter and her family are moving to Oklahoma. Her husband will be starting a great new job, and they’ll be closer to their families. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them, but the hubs and I have been in a scramble to make some other childcare arrangements for The Boy. We’ve enrolled him in preschool starting in August, and we feel really good about the school he’ll be in. All the same, it will be a big adjustment for all of us. We have every intention of keeping in close contact with them, but it won’t quite be the same – I guess that’s just part of life, so I’m hoping it’s an easy transition for everyone.

Aside from all that, life has been pretty normal. It felt really good to do something crafty for our little 4th of July get-together, and I feel like my creative juices are flowing again. I think as long as I keep the momentum going, I’ll be OK. I have a few ideas in the works now & I’ll show them here as they’re completed.

Have a great day, y’all!

-Em

Stars & Stripes

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 11:08:00 +0000

I hope y’all had an awesome holiday! I don’t have time for a lengthy post right now, but I did edit some of the pictures we took from the little celebration we had at our house..

I’ve been SO busy – I’m still trying to figure out how to balance work, home life, and blogging. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m ALL ears!

Untitled

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:24:00 +0000

Hi friends...I've been quiet this last week because of this:

Rain. Between regular summer showers and now the edges of Debby we've been soaked - not that that's a bad thing! We've been in desperate need of rain so this is actually perfect, but it's been so wet I haven't been able to get out and paint anything.

I have to dash off to work now, but I'll be back later tonight with a full update on everything that's been going on - we've had a lot on our plate!

Have a great Monday, and stay dry :)

-Em

Whirlwind Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 01:47:00 +0000

Is it Monday again already? I can’t believe how fast the weekend went by…we had been looking forward to it for a long time, and it was pretty much as great as I had hoped!

1. Family – My mom and step-dad came up to our house, and my little sister came home for a quick weekend visit from Maryland. We hadn’t seen her since Christmas so it was long overdue! She brought her boyfriend to our house for the obligatory “meet the family” weekend and everything went great.

2. Celebrating Father’s Day – My hubs went and made Mother’s Day really special for me this year, so I wanted to do something cool for him. I found some really neat vintage beer taps at Hoity Toity Mercantile and snapped them up – I don’t have a way to display them for him yet but my mind is working away on that.

He thought they were pretty cool, so I think I just started a new collection for him! I also made a card to go with them…

I don’t have the file on this computer, but I’ll have this available later as a free printable for anyone else that wants to use it next year.

Our wonderful babysitter also took the time to make some things for my hubby (from the kiddo, obviously). She found these ideas on Pinterest. I don’t know what her sources were, but these are her versions:

3. Now that I’m working again I’m appreciating my weekends! When you’re unemployed, almost every day is like the weekend & it stops being special after a while. Now I get to look forward to special family time and relaxation on the weekends.

4. I got a bunch of painting done. The nightstand is all painted now (finally, I know!) and I’m ready to wax it next. Hopefully I’ll have time for that one evening this week so I can get that piece sold and out of here.

I’m hoping that this week will be relatively uneventful at work – I think I’m finally starting to settle into a routine, and I’d really like to get back into my old routine of being able to keep up with housework as well. I’m afraid the laundry monster is rearing his ugly head again, and I’d love to get him back under control.
Have a great week ladies! What did you do for Father’s Day?

I'm linking up with Debbiedo's Newbie Party!

Remember, I’m now accepting orders for custom painted furniture. If you have something you’d like done, email me at Emily@PaisleyandPorter.com and we’ll talk!

At the Office

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:24:00 +0000

One of the things that is really great about my new job is that I have my own office! That’s actually super exciting for me because my old company squashed us all into cubicles like sardines. I’m also actually allowed to bring in my own pictures and listen to music and wear casual clothes (other things that were prohibited before).

So I’m trying to figure out some things I can do to make it a little cozier here. Obviously I can’t go overboard on office décor, but I do want to do a few things to beautify. I’d like to bring in a nice little rug for under my desk (since we have tile floors), a blanket (I get cold easily), and a shabby little supply organizer – I’m thinking something like this:

AnitaSperoDesigns on Etsy

I actually had an idea for this in my head already, but this is pretty much exactly it. I had a wood set of storage drawers in mind (wood just seems cozier to me than this metal one), but it’s just the look and style I was going for.

So here is what the space looks like.

It’s a bad, bad cell phone picture, but that’s where I spend my days now! I normally don’t go for the 70’s wood paneling look (ever), but in this case it makes the space feel very warm and welcoming. I’ve been surfing Pinterest for some small-scale décor inspiration. There really isn’t much there that isn’t meant for a home office, but some things could probably be adapted to a professional office building setting.

My eyes have been craving white after staring at the orange walls for the past 2 weeks.

My Ideal Home

A pretend window would be nice…

Dornob – Design Ideas Daily

I love the way terrariums add greenery and life to a space.

DoodleBirdie on Etsy

and some art or wisdom that will make me smile!

Etsy seller ParadaCreations

What do you think? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Weekend Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 01:45:00 +0000

Happy Monday everyone! I hope y’all are having a great start to your week. My stomach was churning a little this morning when I woke up at the thought of going to work, but of course there’s nothing to worry about. I’m so used to dreading Monday mornings at my old job that I keep forgetting that there’s not much to be anxious about now :) Hearing some of my favorite songs on the way in to the office this morning was definitely a great boost too – you can’t sing along with Lady A and not be in a good mood!

We’ve been having so much rain lately that I’ve hardly been able to get out and paint. I know some of you girls bring your painting inside when the weather gets yucky, but I just don’t have the space for that (between the boychild, the dog, and my own klutziness that would totally be a disaster waiting to happen!). I’m working on finishing up the nightstand I showed you in my last post, and I’ve been on the hunt for the next piece also…

One thing I’m looking for is a small table or bench to put in my entryway. The space is empty (still) and I really want to put something in there to make it more welcoming. I stopped by about 5 local antique shops over the weekend and picked the brains of all my friends who were working but so far I’ve come up empty handed. The entryway is very small and although I did find a few nice pieces that would have fit, they were a tad out of my price range for just now – I had some money to burn from my very first paycheck, but not very much. I’ll have to set that aside and keep saving for the next few weeks so I can broaden my search.

Morning T

BHG

Dear Lillie

There’s definitely no shortage of ideas! My friend Pattie Mae was a huge help – I can’t wait to get in her store and start spending my paychecks! If you’re in the area, definitely stop by Pattie Anne’s Vintage Land – I swear I could live and die there!

In other news, I’ve been working on the design for some business cards. I would have much rather been out working in the garage, but the weather has been so bad we’ve just huddled up inside for the past several days. The sunshine finally did come out yesterday for a few hours, so The Boy and I were able to get outside to enjoy a popsicle, and then the three of us went down to the Tavares splash park…it was such a pretty summer afternoon that we ended up stopping for DQ on the way home! It’s a good thing I’m so busy at work that I barely have time to eat lunch, or all the summertime treats would start to be a problem around my waistline!

One last thing – just a quick housekeeping item to point out. I’ve added a new tab at the top of the page for items that are currently available for sale. If you’re local, please let me know if you’re interested in anything listed there!

Linking up with Debbie-Do's

Coming up for Air

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 22:21:00 +0000

I have been a bad, BAD blogger! I’m so sorry I haven’t been around much here lately – not just for you, readers, but for me. Crafting and blogging has become a part of my heart and although I have a good reason for not posting…I miss it being here.

Work has been insanely busy – apparently this is the busy time of month here so I’ve been staying in the office until at least 7 PM almost every night. Thankfully, I’m told that it’s not usually THIS bad. Aside from working long days and late nights, there’s a lot for me to learn and remember, but already I’m happier here than I was at my old job. My co-workers are kind, helpful, and don’t fixate on gossip and drama. My boss is wonderful, and it makes me so happy that there is constant good feedback on my performance and that she makes a point to tell me that she’s glad I’m here – something I never heard in almost 6 years at my prior company. An added bonus? I’m working for a construction company now so I’ll be eligible for an employee discount on anything related to home renovation – both structural (doors, windows, etc) and material (woodworking supplies, tools, etc). How awesome is that for a DIY/home blogger?! I can already tell I’ll be using that.

On the flip side, I’ve really struggled emotionally about going back to work. When I got laid off, going back to work was always the plan but I let myself hope that this would change. I would love to be able to stay home with my child and raise him and concentrate on developing Paisley and Porter as a business, and I’m very fortunate to have a husband that agrees on those priorities. That time is not now though, so there simply is no other option if we want to continue to do fun things…like eat and keep our house.

Over the past 10 days since I got the job offer I’ve run through the full range of emotions, ranging from devastated to be leaving my child to confident career woman and back again. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to be the mom and wife I want to be when I went back to work. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it all, that I would somehow fail my family. Then I realized that my priorities (serving my family) are still the same, it’s just the job description that is changing. By going back to work, I am providing my family with another income that will allow us to save money, pay down our debt, and make better opportunities for our child – all the things a responsible family should do. And as I’ve mentioned, we have an absolutely fantastic baby-sitter for my son & knowing that he is safe & happy with her is a huge weight off my shoulders.

When it comes right down to it, the bottom line is this: I am lucky. Lucky to be out of a job I was desperately unhappy in, lucky to have 5 solid months at home with my sweet son, lucky to have been out of work for only 5 months, and now lucky to have found a job I enjoy with a company that seems to be very rare. There are negatives in there, of course, but attitude is everything and I’m making a conscious decision to focus on the positive. And there is always the possibility that someday our situation will change.

Since all this has been going on, I’ve barely had time to do anything with the blog or business. Last weekend I picked up a really ugly nightstand from the Habitat for Humanity thrift store.

Please pretend like you don’t see all the junk in the garage – getting my crafting area organized was one of the things on my ‘to-do’ list but now that I’m working…obviously that hasn’t happened.

It’s kind of scary looking, isn’t it? My husband actually looked at me like I had 6 heads when I made him get it out of the car for me, but I could see the good bones behind the horrible orange-ness.

Here it is after the first coat of paint…still not great but definitely an improvement already! I’ve finished painting it now (don’t have a picture yet) and this weekend I’m planning to finish it up with some light distressing and a protective wax finish. After that, it will be available for sale in the Orlando metro area. Let me know if you’re interested! & of course I’ll share all the ‘after’ pictures with you here.

I hope all of you are doing wonderfully…I haven’t even had time to be on my computer all week but I’ve been keeping up with some blog reading on my iPhone when I have a few minutes to spare. I haven’t forgotten you! I’m still trying to figure out how to balance all this but I’ll figure out a way (even if I have to drag my laptop in to work and blog during my lunch hour – which I am doing now!).

Love to you all!

-Em

News Update

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:31:00 +0000

Hi girls, I promise I'm still alive and kicking here.

If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen one of my recent updates that I got a job! It happened really fast - interview was last Thursday and by Friday morning I had a phone call with the offer. Yesterday was my first day there, and it was a total whirlwind (like most first days are).

I only have a few minutes here with you now before I have to head out the door but I want to thank everyone who responded on Facebook for their good luck wishes. My friend Kim wanted to know if I'd still be doing crafty stuff and keeping up with this blog. The short answer is yes - I love it way too much to give it up. There probably will be an adjustment period as I figure out how to balance my time, but I'm sure it will all work out!

Love to you all - I also promise to get back to reading and commenting on everyone's beautiful blogs...I've only been away from my computer for a few days but it seems like forever!

Have an awesome day!

-Em

Memorial Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:58:00 +0000

Photo of the Week from Arlington National Cemetery

At your BBQ's tonight, remember to set a place for the brave men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice.

God Bless America!