Francophile Post #2

This is for the second day of RhondaMum's Love of All Things French Day! I work in a doctor's office in a little cubicle, so I made the most of my surroundings and decorated the boring old cube! I chose a black,white and red colour scheme, Eiffel Towers (of course!), and my own black and white photos from our trip to Europe.

So, here's a look at my cozy little cube a la Francais!

The walls of my cube are an awful eggplant purple, so I brought this scrap of Eiffel Tower toile to "wallpaper" one wall of my cube. The picture is one I took at the Louvre, hung with paper clips and red ribbon. (Those office supplies are handy!)

Here's the other picture, opposite of the previous on the "wallpapered" cube wall, same method with the paper clips and ribbon. Between the photos on my desk top I have an organizer for my pens and such that is black with hounds tooth accents.

Nice close-up of my Eiffel toile! I love this print!

Shot in Macro mode, close-up of London photo with ribbon in foreground, toile in background.

This is the other wall of my cube, to my right. I covered my cork board with crushed red velvet material I had at home. I had bought this velvet for a home decor project that I never did, but now I get to enjoy it everyday at work! It is upholstery weight fabric, so surprisingly it holds up to the push pin holes quite well!

Close up of the crushed red velvet. I love the texture!

I work under florescent lights that kill my eyesight, so I brought a lamp from home! The black base and little crystal accents go perfectly! Behind the lamp is a magazine holder I use to hold daily work projects and paperwork, as well as my small mirror hung on the cube wall.

This is actually a decorative paper clip in the shape of an Eiffel Tower! So cute! I hug it on my computer monitor by red ribbon and strategically placed double-sided tape! It's my little Paris reminder that literally is in my line of sight all day long!

Like It? Merci!

I have a little bloggy makeover and the banner I created using clipart from the Graphics Fairy! Visit her site for beautiful, vintage graphics! She has lots of fun, Frenchy things I love!

This was a vintage Valentine!

My Artistic Side...?

I've never been "artistic" in the ways that one normally thinks of being artistic. Art classes in elementary and middle school were torturous. Let's just say a middle-aged, balding man slapping yardsticks on the desk in front of you so you quit talking does NOT inspire creativity. Or art appreciation, for that matter!

While in high school I discovered scrapbooking, which in the late 1990's was really gaining popularity. My first scrapbook chronicled my experience as a Hoover Belle in high school. I have made many more albums since then! More recently I've been interested in digital scrapbooking, having made storybook-style scrapbook of our 5th Anniversary trip to Europe in 2006.

Other pursuits of creativity began, I guess, when Scott and I were engaged and I had to think about furnishing and decorating a home of my own. I attribute my skills in decorating to my mom and grandmother. They taught me through the years little "rules" of decorating, infusing my developing taste with their own, and giving me an appreciation of beautiful surroundings. I've even been able to use this aspect of creativity in ministry! From Women's Ministry events, to Adoration, to the Jones House, I've been blessed with the opportunity and freedom at SMIC to exercise my creative muscles!

This fall I have also discovered that I actually CAN paint, on a canvas, of all things! I still struggle to make a decent stick figure, but with good instruction at Sips n' Strokes, I have painted a couple things I actually like! If you live in the Birmingham area and have not heard about Sips n' Strokes, well, I don't know where you've been the last year or so. They have studios all over the city! It makes a great girls' nite out too!

So, the point of my post, is a list of What Inspires (or Helps) My Creativity! Have fun, and I hope you'll be inspired too!

Scrapblog.com

This website I stumbled on one day and I love it! They have free templates or you can build pages from scratch. They have digital "paper" for backgrounds, "stickers", text balloons, photo editing...you can actually do more with your digital photos this way, than with traditional photo albums or scrapbooks! And the software is a free download! Did you catch that? FREE! I made our Christmas cards on this site, printed them and mounted them on cardstock. I have started a few "books" and work on them as I have time, so I have not used their publishing services. If you do, please let me know how it turns out!

World Market

I love this store! Most of what I use to create ambiance in Adoration services come from this store! Some of the things are not exactly my taste for my own home, but their eclectic offerings are perfect for Adorations and the Jones House! My favs there include the paper lanterns that I have hung all over the place for Adoration services and the glass lanterns I bought this Christmas! I buy their imported olive oil to use at home and Scott loves their Moka Java coffee. They also have really unique jewelry too and I've picked up pieces here and there! On my list of "wants" from this store is a tiny red loveseat-sleeper to go in our TV room at home. The loveseat folds out into a twin-size bed, which would be handy, since our guest bedroom space is our TV room.

This is a tablescape I did for a Women's Ministry dinner last month. I used my own dishes, glasses and flatware, but everything else is stuff I use for Adoration services or swiped from the Jones House. The Jones House at Christmas! Star lanterns from World Market, also used in Adorations. Photo credit to Rachel Jones Photography.The little loveseat I want!

Sips n' Strokes

I mentioned them earlier in the post! I was soooo nervous when I went for the first time! But all the instructors I've had are great and make it less intimidating! The "sips" part is a BYO, and I usually sip on coffee to keep me going! Check their website out for the monthly calendars. The only painting I do not like is the pumpkin...let's just say I do better when the painting is more interpretive or abstract! With the pumpkin, you had to be really careful how you blended colors and did brush strokes, so you get a dimensional round object. My poor pumpkin is rather 2-dimensional.

Ahh, the sad pumpkin painting...

These turned out a little better!

Paint.NET Software Download

I stumbled on this more recently too. They claim they are similar to Photoshop, which I don't have so I can't compare for myself, but it's been fun to play around with! My little photo banner here on my blog was done on this photo editing program! This is also a FREE product, so the price was certainly right for someone like me who isn't a professional, or aspiring, photographer! This still allows me to crop, edit, adjust and add layers to photos and other media.

I also edited and enhanced this photo, taken in Chattanooga last weekend

Soooo, what about you? What inspires you to be creative?

Christmas Tour of Homes, Part 2

Finally! I finished decorating our house! So here's the other link for Greta's Tour!

Here's pics of the dining room. I kept it pretty simple since the wreaths and garland in the chandelier are really sparklely. I toned the sparkle down with brown and white polka dot ribbon that I hung the wreaths with and ran thru the chandelier. This coordinates nicely with my fall and winter dishes, "Friendly Village" by Johnson Bros. (I use them Sept thru March, not just at the holidays)

This is my kitchen decor! I love my little red kitchen! So I had to buy this cute red tinsel tree and decorate it with cooking-related ornaments! I used a vintage Christmas handkercheif as a tree skirt and a vintage apron as my curtain on the back door. One of my favorite onaments is on this tree, the gingerbread cookie baker in the pic above...isn't she cute?

My tree is pretty traditional, but with a fun twist...leopard! My tree skirt is black plush with leopard trip and my tree topper is leopard plush ribbon. I have the same ribbon running thru the garland on the mantel. I don't have a theme with ornaments, but I like the look of Christopher Radkos, so I have plenty of look-alikes. I also try to collect ornaments from trips we go on. The newest addition is one from Guatemala from my sister's mission trip! Scott and I have velvet-striped stockings that I had monogramed, hung by fleur-de-lis hangers. Here's the piano, which never get decorated the same way year to year. This year i replaced my lamps with lit topiaries and put cute little ornament candles on my stacks of old books. The other pics are in the hall of the ceramic tree that my mom made the year I was born. I was 6 weeks early, so mom actually had not finished the tree, so her ceramics instructor finished it for her. THe first Christmas I was married Mom gave the tree to me!

Oh, Just An Update For Ya!

Its been a while since I blogged about random things, so I thought I'd be random today.

~ Finished my class for the semester. I had to write a paper on Navajo sandpaintings. Thrilling. I didn't actually hate the class though...it was an Anthro class on symbolism. What did I learn, you ask? Um, I'll get back with you on that one. Next semester I'm taking a comparative politics class, which should be really interesting with the new president and senate coming into office next month!

* I still have not finished decorating our house for Christmas...I feel like a failure of a housewife. Tonight, hopefully, I will watch it SNOW and finish decorating. And take pictures for Greta's Tour of Homes! Which, by the way, if you haven't participated, please do!! It's always fun to see other's decorations!~ Current Books I'm reading:

Christy Miller: The College Years by Robin Jones Gunn (3 books in 1 volume)

**I loved Christy Miller books when in high school! Now I can read about her college days! This is really easy reading, of course, but the books are packed with great Godly truths too....perfect if you know a teen who needs some spiritually-uplifting books to read!

God Is The Gospel by John Piper

** Piper has been my choice of devotional reading for the last year or so. I have to read his stuff slowly to absorb it! This little book (only 179 pages) is so crammed full of theology. Even though so much of how salvation works still remains a mystery to me, this book helps me delve into scripture to understand the Gospel, and how to l ive a gospel-centered life in Christ.* Current Music I'm listening to:

Coldplay's Viva La Vida

~~I can't help it. I know its been out for months now, but I just really like it alot still! My favorite track is "Yes"...the music is really cool and I love how deep his voice gets in that song.

Enya's And Winter Came

~~ I love Enya and was super-excited when her holiday CD came out! Got it for my b'day this week! "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanual" is pretty amazing!

~ I went to Sips n Strokes again last night with mom, Abby, Steph, Ashley D, Laura B, Heather and Rach! It went MUCH better than last time when we attempted a pumpkin! You would think a round vegetable would be pretty easy to paint...not so much. We had fun do "Retro Christmas Trees"!

* I cannot find a Nativity set that I like. Well, actually I did, but I bought it for the Jones House last year and I can't even remember where... The ones I find are either too childish, too fancy, too expensive, too small, too big...I need one that's "Just right"! And no, I do not want a Willow Tree set like everyone else. Willow Tree is great and all, but everyone either has it, or wants it.

Had enough randomess from me? Stay tuned...I'll post another "Gift-Giving That Makes a Difference" soon too!

Christmas Tour of Homes...Kinda

Well Greta came up with a great idea about posting links to your blog with your Christmas deco. How fun! Um, except that I am the loser that hasn't decorated yet and it's *gasp* December 6th!

All joking aside, y'all that know us know that we've been swamped right now..so as soon as I post this post, I'll finish my paper, THEN go home and start decorating. If Scottie got the stuff out of the attic that is.

I did manage to decorate my cubicle at work this week and we decorated the Jones house last Sunday. So here's pics of those, and as soon as I decorate MY house, I'll post a link again!My cubicle is decorated in a black, white and red Paris theme (shocking, I know) so I have this small silver tinsel tree with black ornaments and small Eiffel Towers with a red ribbon.Close-up of an ornament.Now for the Jones House, which we use for college ministry, if you don't know. We decorated last Sunday with the Young Adult group who also use the house!I swiped these paper stars from the stuff I use for Adorations and I LOVE them in the windows so much! They may have found a permanent home...Rachel took this shot too and I'm sure hers turned out better! My attempt to be artsy...The mantel.Oooo, artsy shot again.

The ribbon I used here is also on the tree and it's brown and cream window-pane plaid, wired, silky. It doesn't scream "Christmas", and that's what I intended. I wanted a cool, laid, back look for the J House decor.Close-up, but a little blurry, shot of the Nativity.I love this Nativity set, and I want one for my house, but I can't remember where I bought it last year...oh well. I love the figures hands. They seem like they are in awe...