MAD DREAM DESIGN: inspirations

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Create Every Day Project

Who has time to create every day???
I think we all do!

Or I think it is important that we do create every day...to stay connected, to get inspired, to get exposure to new things, and to not give up. We are all creatives and there is always time to create, you just have to tell ourselves there is and then make the time.

I have a chalkboard by our side door and for the past couple of months it has had this quote on it:

"You do have time to create."
It is my daily reminder.

After a bit of creative U-Turn a couple of weeks ago, I decided it was important that I just to stay creative, doing even the littlest thing each day (I have to remind myself of this constantly). This was mostly inspired by Week 10 in The Artist's Way, and this post on my friend Allie's blog, Between Dreams.

Here is the list Allie posted:

Photo Credit: Between Dreams

I love this list for a few reasons.
1. It show we are all creatives.
2. A few things are already things we like doing daily.
3. It keeps it simple.
I also love #2, 24, 29, 32.

I have been finding that we can make being creative into something extremely complicated...when in reality, it couldn't be simpler. I went to art school...your creativity had some pressure put on because your grades mattered. I work as a graphic designer, some pressure is put on my creativity to make sure I preform. These things complicate creativity.

Okay, I am not talking about work or school...I am talking about fun creative things to keep me inspired. The one thing I miss most about working in graphic design is working with my hands, getting them dirty and moving around a shop. Love that. That is where jewelry comes in for me. I just have to make sure I do a little bit every week. It is hard when life gets in the way...paddling, work, exercise, friends, family, pets, traveling, planning my wedding (oh ya...) and eating!!
But it is worth it.

Create Every Day Project

So where does the project fit in?

In order to make sure I am creating daily, I am starting the Create Every Day Project. The CEDP will be a weekly post featuring what I am working on (things in progress), what I created the previous week (finished projects), how I got inspired (what I have found), or maybe even a tutorial on how I made something (so you can make it too). I am interested to see what all the weeks will end up looking like, all the different ways I find myself creating, and how it will keep me honest about creating. I think it will be a lot of fun!

Would you like to join in on this project? Should we do a link up party, so we can share all of our projects each week? Leave your thoughts and comments below. I look forward to sharing my projects with you!

Falling for Friday // 3-15-13

Happy Friday!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

The jewelry finds I have been inspired by.

1. Roots Jewelry - stacking rings...yes. feather....yes.

2. So many triangles and all the different shades within them. love.

3. GiantLION - chunky distressed brass.

4. Girl on a swing around your neck...so fun and playful!

5. Simple triangles for everyday wear.

6. Shop Rare Bird - leather chevrons, please!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Mr. The Kid

Today I am featuring my Maid of Honor and a best friend, who just happens to be my sister.

About the blog.
My little sister, Lily, lives in LA and I luckily get to see her almost weekly. She has an amazing heart and a gorgeous blog, Mr. The Kid, running over at Tumblr. Her blog is very visual and a great source for fashion, design and anything white or pure.

What's different?
Lily has a had a few other in blogs in the past and they all have been visual, photo blogs, that have all been very well curated. As you scroll through Mr. The Kid, the subtle themes of color, feel and mood change ever so slightly. Even though the photography is presented in a cache style, you can clearly find the muse of the day in each grouping of photos. The thought behind each group totally comes through as a cohesive collection - that is what I love most about her blog. Yes there is a certain style to her blog and to the photography, but it isn't limited to a theme. I also love that fact that it inspires the idea that each day we are inspired by something different, it is not the same thing from day to day, but a revolving image.

Enjoy!

Falling For Friday // 2-22-13

Every Friday I will be posting my finds for the week here, along with other blogs. We will all be linking up, so come check it out for some of the latest finds and trends happening...from style, to crafts, to kids, to our favorite things...it will all be there! This is where we are all linking up:

Kelly Westover // Westover Manor
Dawnelle // Just Dawnelle
Casey // A Little Artsy

February 22nd, 2013

What I found myself channeling most this week was great women who have small businesses or are just simply inspiring. I am about to start up my Etsy shop in mid March, so I have been looking for the best of the best in the handmade business and in blogging for inspiration, motivation and adventure/risk taking. This is what I found:

Images c/o Moorea Seal (click for more info)

1. Moorea Seal // A few weeks ago I found Moorea Seal. Moorea blogs about inspirations, her jewelry, and is the creator of the 52 lists project, which I started to participate in a few weeks ago. You can see my lists here and here. She has an Etsy shop with amazing finds and her Pinterest is one of the most sought after, especially for jewelry...if you love Pinterest check her out!

Images c/o Design*Sponge (click for more info)

2. Design*Sponge // This post on Design*Sponge (who doesn't love this blog?), as a part of their Biz Ladies section (a great section to look through, btw), features Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. I am a huge fan of her work and merchandise, so I was excited to see her featured there! Check it out for a great design overload.

Image c/o Maiedae (click image for more info)

3. Maiedae // This design studio is run by Savannah and Jenny, and boy are they the cutest business partners ever! Just this week, Savannah had her last day at her day job. She got to quit her day job, people! Talk about a dream come true! :) Congratulations Savannah, read more on that here!

Image c/o Between Dreams (click image for more info)

4. Between Dreams // this blog is so fun to wonder around on, so yeah, it has the perfect name. Allie has great photography and imagery, along with fun, inspirational posts that we all love to soak up. This post features Jenni from The Story of My Life (another blog I love). This is a great read for following your dreams!

Images c/o of Influence Network and Anne Bogel (click image for more info)

5. Influence Network // This group of women are so inspirational, and they just launched their latest project, The Influence Network. You can join for a small fee to partake in their (from what I hear) amazing classes and forums, or like me, you can just follow along on their blog. This post by Anne Bogel on planning for inspiration is great! Anne talks about planning ahead and how that can spur inspiration, and I could not agree more. Some of the concepts she talks about here, I have started to implement into my own blog, just this year, and I love the results!

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

52 Lists Project // Week 7

Check out Moorea Seal for more information on the 52 Lists Project.

Week 7
the things that make you feel healthy.
mind, body and soul.
good workouts. sweat.
family. love.
reading. learning.
creative meetings. creating.
water. fruit.
getting outside. nature.
sleep. vitamin D.
walks with Ozzie.
singing. dancing.
paddling. races.

Brickyard Buffalo // #buffstuff

Have you heard of Brickyard Buffalo, yet?

If not, I say get over there and check out the deals they have flying this month.

Brickyard Buffalo

They feature all of our favorite artists in the handmade biz with deals on the most "to die for" items. Lots of savings...but the deals only last so long! They have a countdown and only a limited run of each product, so get them while you can.

Each month they have an editor of the month that has picked out some of their favorite deals to feature on Brickyard. This month the lovely, Casey Wiegand is their guest editor. What a fun gig!

Casey Wiegand

I have decorated my office with some of my favorite Buff Stuffs. My latest purchase is this Love Tree print by Plum Street Prints. It is the perfect gift for someone you love too. Other Buff Stuff you will find in my office are the Dream Big print by Small Fry, the Remember print by River and Bridge, and the Navajo Pillow, in black, by Little Boston Print Shoppe. The Little Boston Print Shoppe's latest deal sold out in less than half a day! Not that it surprises me...I love her hand printed pillows!

Love Tree print

Dream Big print, Remember print, and Navajo pillow

I heart my new office!

If you like what you see here...definitely check out Brickyard Buffalo! A current deal that I am crushing on is this brass locket necklace by Brooklyn Rehab. Lots of fun designs to choose from like Abe, Lucky Horseshoe and my personal favorite, Aztec.

Aztec locket deal happening now!

Enjoy!

Wedding // Inspiration

So Jimi and I have booked our venue and have set a date for our 2014 winter wedding! Now that I the venue and the season I have started to look at ideas for engagement photos, colors, attire and stationary.

I really like using Pinterest for this as I can get an overall feel for what it is I want. Here are a few of my boards I am using for wedding inspirations.

Wedding Ideas - ideas I think are funny for any wedding, not specific to my wedding exactly, although I will probably pull a few things from this board for my own wedding!

Engagement/Wedding Photos - these are all ideas that I think are fun with photography! I look at these photos as inspiration for any couple's photo shoot, photos you like of a wedding could be translated to your engagement or one year anniversary. I am looking at over all feeling and LOVE!

Here are a few snapshots and if you are in the mood for a little wedding fun check out my Pinterest!

Apart from my Pinterest my favorite wedding site...hands down...is Ruffled! You should really check it out they have amazing shoots, vendor lists and newsletters!

Enjoy!

Channeling My Muses

I have been working with the amazing Nicole Longstreath of The Wardrobe Code on my wardrobe for the past few weeks now and I have already found some amazing results. I can tell this is just the beginning of a very fun and successful process! I highly recommend her!!

I first heard Nicole speak at Craftcation last year and have been following her ever since. I love that she supports thrifting, being yourself, accepting your body type and not getting caught up on what is trending at this very moment. She is the perfect mentor for younger girls looking to tighten up their wardrobe/style, the artist who wants to be professional, yet creative with her wardrobe, and women of any age looking to revamp their wardrobe. She is realistic and fun...this is not TLC's What Not To Wear (although I do love that show), where you have to get rid of your whole closet and start over (Thank goodness!).

My homework for this week was to make a "My Style Muses" board on Pinterest. I was really excited about this little piece of homework because 1) I got to use Pinterest, 2) I got to have fun finding my Style Muses, and 3) it really helped me see what I am looking to channel in my own wardrobe.

You can check out Nicole's Muse board on Pinterest and this post on her blog explains how to choose style muses and what to do once you have.

I may have gotten a little carried away but, you can check out My Style Muses board here. For now here are a few of my favorites from the list...

My Blogger Style Crush
Casey Wiegand

Photos property of Casey Wiegand

Casey Wiegand blogs at The Wiegands and creates at A Little Artsy, she is truly inspiring and has amazing style to boot! She is one of my favorite bloggers to follow.

My Celebrity Style Crush
Kirsten Dunst

First of all I love her name (Kirsten was my first American Girl doll as a little girl). Second of all, I have loved her ever since seeing her in Little Women (a favorite holiday movie in our household) when I was a little girl. I love her style in almost every one of her movies and her very own casual style!

Enjoy finding your style muse!

Setting 2013 Goals

This year I want to make them into something I can really reach for in 12 months and I want to make them simple, straight forward and to the point.

Here is a great post on how to do just that on Navy Wives Unite.

Krista Wells explains that we should set three goals, one from each category.

The Categories:
1. Health
2. Wealth
3. Wise

She also explains that we need to ask ourselves, "Who do I want to become in the process of reaching these goals?" and "Why do I want them?"

I think this is a very important idea, because what is the point of setting a goal if you don't want to change, aspire, or act. We need to dig deep and find what it is we really want to accomplish (who you want to become) and how we are going to do that (which would be your specific goal) early on in goal setting.

By only picking three goals, we can really concentrate on them. We are starting small and working our way that "Who"we want to become! Whether you concentrate one one at a time, splitting up your year into three different goals, or you work gradually on all three together through out the year, I think you will see the results you are looking for.

What if you accomplish all three before the end of the year? Wells says to focus on three goals at a time and once you have reached where you want to be through those three goals, that you move onto your next three goals.

Here are my three goals for 2013!
I will report back on how these are going throughout the year or when I do actually meet them.

1. Health: Cut out most processed food. Don't buy them or bring them into the house, look at ingredients before I buy things, look for natural ingredients and alternatives to artificial ingredients.

2. Wealth: Take online business tutorials and put some jewelry in my shop. Make time to watch tutorials and to make jewelry, prepare a good business base, shop, and blog for Craftcation in March.

3. Wise: Camp more! I would like to see more places in California, so I can experience and know where I live better. I want to find all the prettiest spaces in Southern California in 2013 and enjoy them, document them, and share them.

4. I am going to add this goal because I just cannot ignore it in 2013.
Plan my wedding! :)

Share your goals, write them down, let others help keep you accountable.

Enjoy!

Dream Big

We all dream big, but what is the one thing that we all have that can compile all of those dreams into one?

That would be...the Bucket List!

I recently found Kate Conner's Blog where she has her Life List...a wish list of sorts for her life. I have this list, you have this list, we all have this list. This is a list that lets you dream without limits, plan for the future, find inspiration, and it can be a great reminder about what life experiences are really all about!

The best way to make it a great reminder is to write it down, share it, and LOVE IT! By writing it down...not only is it the perfect page to come back to year after year, but it will become a reminder for what you really want in this lifetime.

This is a great time of year to be putting your bucket list into writing. We are recovering from turkey, dusting off the Christmas decorations, and ramping up for the new year, making this a wonderful time for reflection. At this time of year we become aware of what it is we love, what makes us happy, what we are thankful for and what we want in the new year, which makes writing this list a bit of a breeze! Then when the holidays are gone and the hustle and bustle of the new year takes us by storm, we have our bucket list to remind us of what we want to really accomplish, not just during the holidays, but throughout our entire life.

This list does not have to be long, but it should be big, as in dreaming big. What are your wildest dreams, what do you want to find, and what sounds like so much fun? These are the things you should be writing down, these are not your goals for the year (even though the bucket list is a great place to start when you sit down to set your 2013 goals!), but the goals that you might not always believe you will accomplish or find the time for...but you want to do it anyway.

Now, this list should not be a ball and chain. This list is completely for fun, it about dreaming, and creativity. This list will change throughout your lifetime, it will evolve and that is what makes it even better. It can be added to, it can be changed and it has a life of its own.

Once you have written your list, share it with someone. I would like to share mine with my boyfriend, Jimi, and see what we can go accomplish together. If you are not comfortable sharing it, that is okay! Writing your bucket list down, alone, sends it out into the universe for you! You may come to realize, that without even noticing in the first place, you start to pick things off of that list just because you wrote them all down!

Here are a few from my Bucket List:
1. Start my own business.
2. Travel to the 7 Wonders of the World.
3. Go to the Baja 1000 with Jimi. (This is on his list!)
4. Go on a volunteer expedition in another county.
5. Teach art to children. (could be in another country :))
6. Paddle in another country. (This is probably on his list, too)
7. See every kind of whale, dolphin, and porpoise possible, from a boat in the ocean.
8. Experience the love and gentle nature of elephants in their natural habitat on a safari.
9. Drive from northern Alaska to the southern tip of S. America with Jimi. (This is on his list!)
10. Marry my best friend!

Now write a few of your dreams down and start that bucket list..it's fun!

Enjoy!

Los Padres National Forest

Over the weekend Jimi and I embarked on a little adventure into the woods.

This is what happened!

We explored multiple camping spots, did some offroading, did some hiking, had some fun trying to keep a fire going in the rain, and found some amazing new places only a few hours from home.

I was inspired by the Traveling Triplets' Kylie and her explorations of the Los Padres National Forest, to take this trip, and see what it was all about. You can check Kylie out at Traveling Triplets and on her own blog, Fly Bird. She has a ton of fun footage of her adventures in the woods with her hubby!

I was pleasantly surprised that this is the perfect weekend trip for us. There are three national forests that surround LA County, Los Padres, Angeles, and San Bernadino National Forests. On a rainy weekend like this one was you can really get out there, where you are the only for miles, and get away from it all. This is a great time of year to go since camping is not as popular in the winter months, and the national forests are full of huge pine trees...add in the fog and it makes for some great winter loveliness. We all got to experience the ending of fall...the colors are amazing right now in California!

The Adventure Pass will get you in for only 5 dollars a day, or 30 dollars for the year. There are plenty of campsites to stay in (for free!) and explore...we spent most of our time down in Reyes Creek, where the trees are shedding all their leaves and a nice creek runs right through the campground that makes it very peaceful.

The Los Padres National Forest is known as the most rugged forest in all of California, making it a place where you need to know what you are getting yourself into, so always go prepared...a map is a must, since you do not always have cell reception.

If you are in California, check out your local sports or gear store for maps and the Adventure Pass!

Our goal for 2013...camp at least once a month in one of the four forests covered under the Adventure Pass and stay in each forest at least once. I am sure we will have our favorites, but we are excited to explore them all!