My True Colors

Alright, maybe I'm just more of a monthly blogger instead of a daily or weekly person... I would love to update the blog weekly and really make this blog something that is enjoyable and inspiring. But baby steps,  I'll get there eventually. 


I know I say this almost ever post but I really do have a lot to talk about this time :) I've even got the posts all planned out! I'm going to finally show you guys my apartment and what it has turned in to since I last posted about it in August. I also still need to upload my photos from my photography class and show yall my last two sculpture assignments! SOO MUCH! But luckily, it is the end of the semester and I only have 2 weeks left of school and that means lots of down time to be creative and blog about it! 


For now I want to show you guys my true colors :) 

When I first moved in to my apartment I didn't want to paint because I wanted a crisp grey scale bedroom with the only color being my vibrant blue quilt. Well, thats changed a little bit. 

Obviously, I have a lot more color in my life than I thought. And I must be drawn to blue and orange because almost everything in my room is a tint of one of those two! The desk you see in the corner is the desk that Reed and I made the first night I moved and the bed is an antique white iron bed I got from my parents.

 

The pillows where made by my Aunt and cousin as a gift three years ago and I absolutely love them to death. But, what is REALLY amazing is the fact that I received the quilt at the end of the bed this year as a gift. However, it wasn't from my aunt it was from Reeds parents who have only seen my room (and those pillow cases) maybe once. Apparently those are just my colors and every body knows it! 

The only remnant of my original design plan is the wall at the foot of my bed. I have hung (obviously not officially hung, but they are there!) a few pieces of my artwork from my beginning drawing classes. Hopefully one day, probably not in this apartment, I will have these properly framed, matted, and hung in a way that covers an entire wall with nothing but charcoal and graphite drawings!


This big armoire  is also from a previous post where it went under a pretty big change. It still needs a little tweaking but its good enough for now. 

And, my colors seem to be really contagious because not only are they really prominent in my room but they have also snuck in to the living room! 

I finally got something up on the chicken wire wall! Not sure what exactly it is but me and the roommates sure had fun making it! All we did was staple the wire to the wall and then cut up old sheets and weave them through in a pattern that we thought was interesting. I also added a few tissue paper flowers. It needs a few more but school took over my life and I just haven't gotten around to decorating in a while... 

This is just to show you guys the rest of the apartment. This is just our little breakfast nook. 

I didn't do this amazing piece of art. But my grandma who started me as an artist did and I've grown up looking at this painting and trying to figure out what it is. And I think I found my inspiration for my colors! 

Well, thats my apartment! I hope you guys enjoyed the tour! I know its not much but it is really starting to get its own personality and I'm really enjoying it!


I'll try to post again soon with some of my projects outside of the apartment!!

Work in progress

Finally, my internet has somewhat of a constant connection. I have so much to catch you all up on!! I feel like I have been going non-stop for almost the entire month of August. I just want to give a quick glance in to what my life has been like this month. The first weekend in August my best friend, Kailey, was getting married so I had a joyous weekend full of wedding festivities followed by tons and tons of family time. Reeds mom came in town to visit family and I was hanging out and visiting the Walpole/Lathrop family everyday for the entire first and second week of August. Then I moved up to Clemson on the 16th unpacked (from the car not the boxes yet) did a few projects and left on the 18th to visit Ross and Leslie (Reeds brother and sister-in-law)for the weekend. After a fabulous time with them we headed back to clemson to continue unpacking my apartment. Now classes are starting tomorrow and I am still not completely set up in my room. However, I have a lot of works in progress that I thought I could share and even get y'alls opinions on. 


First project: Corner Desk
I found and awesome website: Ana White Home Maker

This sight has some pretty awesome plans for all sorts of projects. The project I was looking for was a simple corner desk big enough to use as an art table too. The plans on here are so detailed that it made it simple enough that I could modify the project to fit exactly what I needed. These are just some photos of the process Reed and I went through to get me this great looking desk.  (this was a half day project, but we also took a few breaks so we didn't rush anything) 

^My empty corner

^Reed is such a fabulous helper. Actually, I am more of the helper. I promise I helped. I sanded, measured and painted while Reed did all the cutting, glueing and nailing. 

^Fence posts used as the legs 

^Reed did a fabulous job cutting the exact shape I needed for a desk and even added trim to give it a more finished look!

^Installing the desk in my room! It was pretty late when we got to this point. I think this was about 11 or 12 at night. This project was done the first full day we were back in Clemson so we were exhausted! 

^MY DESK!! So, yes this is finished but it is still a work in progress. I haven't set it up fully and I have bed-risers making my file cabinet tall enough... But look at how fabulously big it is! That drawing pad is 18"x 24" and it has plenty of space!! 


Second Project: Chicken wire wall 
This project I got my inspiration from Under the Sycamore.

I love the idea of hanging chicken wire on the wall to allow the decorations on the wall to constantly change with out much hassle. I couldn't decide which wall to use in my bedroom, plus I also thought it was worthy of the living room, so thats where it ended up. Mine did not turn out as good as the one above from Under the Sycamore but I thought I would show you the beginnings of how it looks. 

Sooo, it turned out to be a little harder than I thought. I also think I should have gone with the more expensive wire because this was very loose and hard to keep tight against the wall. 

 And this is where I need your help. I haven't decided what to hang on it yet. I'm thinking about either having paper flowers like in the picture from Under the Sycamore, or getting either belts or old fabric to weave across (diagonal?). I really am stumped when it comes to finishing this project and it looks pretty messy and strange the way it is so I REALLY want to finish it ASAP! 

And my last project for this week: painting the armoire! 

This piece of furniture weighs about as much as a baby hippo. Reed and Kevin (Reeds roommate) have been trying to convince me it is not needed in my bedroom which is in an apartment on the second floor. However, I know differently and I hope that I can bribe them with a home cooked meal. This beast of an armoire was used as my art cabinet back at home in Columbia and I thought it needed a bit of a face lift before being put in my apartment here in Clemson. These are really rough before and after pictures but they should do for now. 

 See why I say it is the size of a small hippo. The armoire was dropped off at Reeds house so I could paint it before getting it in my apartment. 

I chose to paint it with the dry brush effect to make it look more  antique than a flat solid color. I also haven't finished the paint job. The four squares at the bottom are not painted yet and I am going to add some cute contact paper for the inside cubbies instead of painting them. I am also unsure about the handles. I think I like them because they are so unique but I am also thinking about maybe getting something a little more colorful since my entire bedroom seems to be white at this point. 


So, this was a long post. I told you I had a lot to catch you up on! As of right now I have a million more ideas for my bedroom but have only started the ones I've shown you. Hopefully within the next two weeks (before I start work at Razzberry Fizz) I will have my entire room finished and will be able to show off all of my final products!!