The Reveal...

Before

Here are the before and after pictures of the Living Room, Kitchen, and Office. I am very happy at the outcome! I have enjoyed this course. I have loved designing, painting, working, etc. to get this apartment perfect. Now I am excited to be back during the summer to finish the bathroom and bedroom!! Above is the before picture of the living room and below is the after picture.
It is a wonderful feeling to be done! I have learned so much and can't wait to conquer another Interior Decor project. I have realized that my joy in Art it not the normal art, painting, drawing, etc. But it is much much more. Creating, Building, mixing colors and finding color schemes, rearranging, changing, experimenting. I love it!

After

Next: The Kitchen/Dinning Room. I didn't have much time to do a lot in the kitchen, but I was able to give it a new paint job. Which made it look a lot cleaner, and allowed it to match the rest of the apartment. I also was able to get some pictures from a friend of Austin's and frame those up nicely to hang on the wall as a conversation starter in the dinning area.

Before

After

Finally: The Office. Posted below are the before and after pictures of the office. With the new layout and design hopefully it will provide a better place for Austin to work. With the new chalk/bulletin board, located to the left of the Desk, Austin will now be able to stay a bit more organized and hopefully won't forget important meetings, plans, or ideas! Also this new office contains his bass and amp, so if he needs a break from work he will be able to pick up his bass and play away!

Before

After

what you have been waiting for

Extra Pics

Not just yet...

I decided to recover this stool. Forgot to take a before picture but believe me. It looks so much better! And best of all it matches everything else in the Apt.


The internet was down yesterday. Here is the post I was planning on having up. I am glad to say I am done with everything. I plan on taking pictures of the NEW Apt. and... a post will published shortly revealing the finished product!


I tried my chance of creating some creative things around the Apt. Both ideas tried my patience but it was a good challenge. I am excited they turned out and didn't flop on me! Check them out below!!

IDEA #1

Above: Looks like an assortment of scraps but it is the beginning of a chalk/bulletin board for the office. Experimental idea. Turned out wonderful.
Below: The finished product. A chalk board, as well as a bulletin board!

IDEA #2

Above is the beginnings of an experimental light fixture I am attempting to make. During the process of making it I thought it would not work and was ready to scrap the whole thing and just throuw it in the dumpster. But I didn't give up on it. I am glad I followed through with my experiment.
Below is the finished product. It provides the dark corner with a settle glow of light. I am very pleased with it!

Tired & Exhausted

What a day. The painting is... DONE!!! Living Room . Office . Kitchen. FINISHED!!!
Such a great feeling.

Worked on a light fixture. It's an experiment so we will see how it turns out. Hopefully I will finish it tomorrow and then post pictures! Also worked on a decoration for the office!
Refinished a stool. It looks sweet!!

The plan is to be finished tomorrow and the final Post will be on Friday!!!
Get pumped! :)

Stuff. Stuff. Stuff

Wow... Pillows take a long time to make. Very long. I currently have 4 large pillows 27''x27'', 2 medium pillows 22''x22'' and 2 small pillows 16''x16''. They are all stuffed and sitting on the furniture, adding a beautiful accent of color!
Last night I took a break from stuffing the pillows to grab some dinner and as I was eating, I looked down by my plate and there laid a piece of stuffing. lol. I don't know if more stuffing ended up on me and all around me or in the pillows. :)

Bought frames to frame up some family heirlooms, they look beautiful now, and will make beautiful wall decorations for the living room. Finish a painting that will soon be hung up in the living room as well. Looking forward to seeing it all in place and finished.

Excited to begin painting the kitchen. Also, can't wait for some pictures to arrive. Austin has a great friend who is an amazing photographer. He is going to send us some of the pictures he has taken so that we can use them to decorated Austin's apt.!

Can't believe I only have three more days left here. It will be oh so sad to leave. I love my family so much and enjoy spending so much time with them. I am also going to miss all the boys at the Ranch so much. They keep asking me when my last day is, and when I have to go back to school. One asked if I could just quit school and work full time at the Ranch. They told me I wouldn't have to worry cause I would already have the job. ha. They are the best. I hope and pray everyday that they will begin to see the light a little more each day.

God is so good. I was blessed today by one of the staff. I received a large amount of money to help me pay for tuition this semester. I couldn't believe it. Such a blessing. It is funny how in our life we think we know the answers and when God doesn't answer them the way we would we think He is crazy and doesn't know what He is doing. We think He doesn't hear our prayers and for some reason isn't caring for us. But then he does something so out of the blue. Like today. And we realize how GREAT and MIGHTY and WONDERFUL He is to us. I don't know about everyone else but I know I need to give Him way more credit than I do. I need to realize that my answers in life are not His, and that I need to follow His answers more than my own.

Graphic Work

Outside of tri-fold brochure.

Inside of tri-fold brochure

JUST FINISHED!!!

Above is the brochure I have also been working on. I just finished and it feels good to be done ahead of time! I am happy with the design and how the brochure turned out. I hope the Ranch is happy with the design and layout of the information. (and I won't have to change it!) :)

Spending $

FABRIC>

Went shopping at JoAnn Fabrics. Found some lovely fabrics, and now my budget is very small.
Going to make some pillows to add an accent of color to the Living Room. Also plan on recovering the Dinning room chairs with the burlap material. Excited to see out it turns out!!

I never realized how hard it would be to find fabrics that go good together and also match the color scheme. I have always dealt with color in art but I have never had to search for the color. I have always been able to make my own colors. It was a good challenge.

> I have realized that I would love to do this kind of work the rest of my life. I have had so much fun!!

The Joys of not having fast/dependable internet.

The internet has been down the last few days. So... it makes it hard to update a blog. I will update soon.

Wish I could today but I am suppose to be working to the brochure for the Ranch. I need to get back to that. But will be on here soon!

Today is my last day of work, which will be sad but yet nice because after today I will have loads of time to work on my class. Oh the joys of having to pay for tuition. I can't wait for a little break!

Updates on the Apartment will be coming soon

What a day.

I have found a new workout for your arms! - Just decide to paint a whole house! :) lol

Just finished the Living Room and Office. and... I have decide there will be no more pictures of the rooms until the finished product!! All I will say it that it is looking very different.

Funny note: I was finishing the trim in the office, stepped off my stool and stepped right into the tray of paint. lol It was not funny. :)

I plan on doing some design layout tomorrow as well has taking inventory of what kind of furniture Austin has and decided what more we should find/buy.

A good Day!

The Boys are making some pretty neat stuff!

I have enjoyed seeing each one take the class in different direction. One told me the other day that he just loved it, and asked if he had enough time to make something else.

Had a run in with the Kiln, it wasn't wired with enough power, so it kept tripping off. One of the Staff helped me out and lead a new wire to it so that enough power can get to it to keep it going! I am in the process of firing today and am excited to show them to the boys. They all can't wait to glaze what they have made so they can pack it up and send it to their mom! so cute!!

On Saturdays I am working on a brochure for the Ranch. The Ranch has a program where they sell products, such as crafts, buffalo meat, vehicles, and trees. They wanted a brochure that contained all that information but focused mainly on the tree program. I am almost finished with that, which provides a good feeling!! :)


INTERIOR STUFF:


Decided to go thrifting to find some awesome deals on furniture, etc, but we didn't think too much before we left. Austin drove his Acura integra. So, we didn't have much room for large items. We ended up finding a sweet chair!! Then we went to Wal-mart to get paint, and other supplies so that I can begin the process of redecorating. I am going to start painting tomorrow and hopefully be done with the walls Monday night. Above is the color scheme! Kind of crazy but will be a fun change!

Looking forward to finding more awesome thrift buys. I will post our finds soon!

What I have to work with

Before: Office

Before: Living Room

Before: Kitchen/Dinning room.

Take a good long look cause it will never look the same again! My plan is to design these rooms first and then if I have time move on to the bathroom and bedroom.

Today I will be spending my time sketching up mock ups and then presenting them to Austin (my brother) to let him pick the final design.

Learning lots and excited to begin!

Interior Decor

Well. When it snows in Missouri it is so different than the flat lands of Indiana and Illinois. I have been snowed in the past two days, unable to make it up the hill to get to the internet.

Here is a summary of the past two days:

I have read through many interior decor books learning about the design basics to the specifics. General Planning, The Elements of Design, and Style introduce the design basics while some of the Specifics are walls, floors, windows, furniture, and the finishing touches.

The Course:
Learning Interior Decor
Decorating my Brother's Apartment with a SMALL budget (around $100)
(This should be exciting!)

Planning on making a mock up of the design tonight. Presenting two ideas and letting him choose which one will be the final design. Then planning on hitting up many thrift stores to find furniture to fix up and decorate with, so that I can stay within budget!

Learning a lot.

Tomorrow: Before pictures will be posted!

Working on a coil pot

Trimming the foot of a vase

The End of Another Week

Nothing ever goes smoothly.
I began the bisque firing process of the ceramics that the boys have been making. At the end of the process an error occurred. I could have guessed something like that would have happened. I guess the problem is that there is not enough electricity running into the kiln to fire the clay projects.

Crazy. Crazy.

But on a good note. The boys have been enjoying the ceramic class. (I have a feeling though, the main reason they like it is because it gets them out of the cold and out of working for an hour. ha.) I have had fun seeing the creativity flow from the boys that I would have never guessed would have enjoyed pottery. They are creating some beautiful pieces. The adorable thing is that they all want to finish and give it to their mom. So cute.

oh another crazy thing. The wood burning furnace hasn't been heating the pottery room. So... I have been quite cold the past few weeks. BUT... Yesterday, the best thing happened for me. One of the guys on staff brought me two electric heaters! I am starting to feel my fingers again. ha.

(just got back from driving the mail down to the mail box, the car I was driving just died on me. I had to walk back up the lane, and I had forgot a coat. ha)

I love being able to just talk with the boys. I hear some of the funniest things with my time with them. One story: One day I was talking with a boy, who has Auspergers Syndrome, and out of no where, he asked me if I could have a "crush" on him. I said I don't think that would be possible. He asked well what about til June and then I will just dump you then. I responded, well that wouldn't be fun to be dumped. Why would you want me to have a "crush" on you til June. He replied well sometimes I just would like to have a girlfriend. He also told me that he was a nice guy and it would be a good idea cause we would make a good match cause we both like the game, Mouse Trap. I was able to change his mind so that we could just be best friends!

Well that is a little about the adventures I have been on. Life is crazy but oh so wonderful.

I have started reading through some books for my j-term class on interior decor. I am excited for Monday to start and to begin to dive into the class. Come Monday I will be posting every day and sharing what I am learning as well as some photos, to show the progress!

First Snow!! The after effects of a beautiful Snowball Fight!