Steppin' Out

This scene was inspired by this greeting card I found at Pier 1 Imports.  Kinda sassy, huh?  Animal prints and bling!  This is not my typical gear for a night out.  Typical...oh, who am I fooling?  I would never wear this, but I do wear leopard print shoes!

This room has been sitting for two weeks, and the longer it sat, the more I tweeked it.  I got a little tired of it.  Lesson learned:  Finish and post (or at least take the pictures).  It's like when I do my Christmas shopping too early.  I leave myself too much time to change my mind about a gift and wind up buying something else or adding to it, so I do most of my shopping the week before.

I painted these chairs today with a metallic paint and the chairs actually look like metal.  The picture doesn't do them justice, but they're quite shiny.  I tried this type of paint some years ago and didn't get the desired results, so it may be the surface material that makes the difference.  I was very pleasantly surprised.

The crap:  OK, so I guess I really don't like this part!  I hit the publish button without doing this section and had to come back and edit.  Hunky Dory pointed out to me that when you're first starting out, this section is a good source of information, and I have to agree with her on that.  I pick up a lot of info and tips by reading this section on other blogs.  So, here we go....the striped wall is the inside of a shopping bag.  The folding screen (which I covered with paper), trunk, and nightstand base are part of a set I purchased from ebay.  The vase and planter ( a sake cup), and gold purse are thrift shop finds.  The white base on the trunk is a chopstick holder.  Palm tree, chaise lounge, pillow, and dress by me.  Accessories are Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and me.

I hope you like it and if you're a new follower, many thanks for joining!

Later, Beany.

Bob Marley....One Love

Bob Marley!  What can I say?  When my family gets together, he's one of the few musical artists that we can all agree on.  No matter what the music preference or the age group, Marley always works.  My son's walls are covered in posters and there are quite a few Marley posters.  So, I got the idea to do a masculine feeling room.....a clean room (which WAS NOT inspired by my son's room!) 

I used a mosaic tile technique on a photo that I downloaded.  There are websites that do this,

 but nooooo, I did it the hard way (well, not hard, but time consuming.)  I wish his left eye had been in one tile, but I was measuring and cutting from the back and really didn't want to do it over.

 

The goods:  The chairs and books are from Hobby Lobby.  The flooring is a vinyl tile.  The table is a piece of acrylic and a napkin ring from Crate & Barrel.  The bicycles are paper clips from World Market.  The Korean masks are magnets from a Korean store.  The succulents in the white containers are from Minnie Kitchen's Etsy shop (I HAD to have them!)  Flat screen is the backside of a make-up container sitting on an easel from Michael's .  The large planters are made from mouthwash bottle caps, one I covered with craft yarn. The white tree is a branch painted white and the green tree is made from a plastic plant. The silver floor lamp is from the 99 Cents Store (and it never did work!  What can I expect for a buck?) Pillows by me.  One Love trinket was a key chain.  Other little accessories are craft store finds.

Thank you so much for following my blog and all the kind and encouraging comments!  I'm just so tickled!  It's nice to share with like minds!  Beany.

brinca dada gone green

So, I'm at work and I get picked up for lunch at the door, but I spot a bright canopy in the parking lot as we roll out.  When we get back, we park, so now we have to walk past the canopy to get into the building.  I work for an air pollution agency, so we always have exhibits and demonstrations for anything that's solar, greener, or burns cleaner.  We're late, so there's much pep in our step.  I look over and OMG, I see a dollhouse!  I know this house!  It's the brinca dada!  I inform my friends that it's the brinca dada!....blank stares.  Anyway, I give them hugs and they're off.  I already mentioned that I was late, right?  I go over and ask some solar-related questions before I get to the good stuff (the house).  It's a company called "Energy Upgrade California" that educates homeowners on "Whole House" energy efficiency (I told them I'd say that).  Now, back to the house:  they ordered it online, then had another company "pimp it out" with insulation, ventilation, heating & air, water heater and solar panels.  I tell them I'll be back with a camera to take pictures (of the house, not them).  I go back to my office (late), grab my camera and inform the boss that I'm leaving to take pictures in the parking lot.  He laughs.  Nice boss, nice place to work, and it's all good!

Here are some pics.  The windows are clear, which is a little distracting in this setting.  The house is BEAUTIFUL!  It made my day! They call it "Barbie's House Gone Green" (I guess they're clueless about the scale, huh?), but I was thinking more along the lines of "Pimp My Dollhouse".

Maybe I should have had them sign a release form, oh well, they'll never see this.

Cutaway of wall system and insulation

Overview of solar panels, insulation and heating,
 ventilation and air conditioning unit (HVAC)

Washer, dryer and hot water heater

Cutaway of roof, insulation and air conditioning unit (AC)

HVAC and insulation

Air conditioning unit on the roof

I had to get some interior pictures, duh!

Ode to the Lekman!

What an awesome little box!  I've seen this on several blogs and I give props to whoever introduced it.  It's a piece of prime real estate!  It's modern, has clean lines, has lots of floorspace, has lots of natural light, high ceilings, you can build up, and you can have skylights if you wish.  I think everything that can be done with it, has been done, and very well, but I want my turn!  I was playing around with some items I had just received in the mail and this is what it grew into.

OK, a lot of pattern going on, but I call this the winter version.

This is the summer version.  Changed the rug and did some editing.
 Personally, I like the cozy version.  Noooo, maybe I do like this one.

I was going to change to a solid paper, but I just couldn't do it.
I love this paper, man!  This paper is me!

Let's get a closer look: Outdated mags, stale coffee, plastic cookies, fake flowers,

oh, and lamps that don't work!

The cat's view

The cat

This is the part that I'm not too fond of.  Is this really a requirement?   The chairs, pillows, TV stand, and TV (the flip side is a fireplace that I saw on Call of the Small), are from HBS Miniatures.  The table is a cookie cutter and candle dish.  The fireplace is from Hobby Lobby.  Summer rug is a washcloth.  The pouf is from Party City (I saw it on someones blog. I think it's a kick ball or something like that).  I made the lamps and a lot of the accessories.  Other little items are from Michael's (paper and mirror parts) and Hobby Lobby.  The star, the Lekman box is from IKEA.
The cat was given to me by a retired co-worker who knew I liked cats and miniatures.

Whew, I'm tired!  This took forever!  I missed the whole Lakers' game!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

It's a partay! Cinco_de_Mayo (May 5) is a favorite celebration in these parts.  An interesting thing that I found out yesterday, is that it's celebrated in the United States, more than it is in Mexico. I'll mess it up if I try to explain the historical points, so Wikipedia can do a much better job than me. 

This was going to be a quick one-picture-shout-out for Cinco de Mayo, but I got carried away, then I had to bring snacks and drinks to the partay, but I'm missing the margaritas. Hmmm,  I'll have to make up for that before the day is over!

 

 

 

Writing on the Wall

Lately, this cute little plaque has been catching my eye every time I walk past my co-worker's cubicle.  Now, I know it hasn't always been there, or I would have caught it with these keen eyes I have for such things.  I was right, turns out it's a recent gift. Well, I have no shame, so I asked little Lizzy if I could borrow her cute little recent gift.  Ask and you shall receive, people.  Thanks Lizzy!



I had been thinking about a way to slip cover the CB2 Igloo chairs since I don't have much stuff yet and I'll have to squeeeeeeze the life out of what I have, so I bought some children's socks and hair scrunchies from the 99 Cents store to try out an idea.  OK, this may have been done before, but I just got here, so I haven't had a chance to check out the thousands of blogs and the archives that go along with them.  Forgive if I've horned in on someone's idea, but we're all creative folks, yeah?  It's bound to happen!


Small scrunchy=not good.
Socks and large scrunchy=not bad.

I cut the sock in half. 

So, I'm thinkin' to myself, "This works."



Above:  Flooring is wood grain paper (I placed acrylic on top for the reflection), white wall is corrugated paper, acrylic cube is from the 99 Cent store, vase is from the thrift shop at a whopping  25 cents, the green sticks in the vase are candles from Target, and the hand charm is from Michael's.