Saturday, January 22, 2011

One of a Kind Vintage Jeweled Floral Bridal Bouquet

One of a kind custom vintage jewelry, made by the wonderfully talented artist, Kelly Eckles. This amazing piece is going to make for one stunning bridal arrangement! This is dripping with flower jewels, and customized with an initial. Want to use a family heirloom? These can be customized with your special piece of jewelry! This bouquet covers something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Real flower arrangements cost $300 and up, then they brown and dry out. Use this one of a kind jeweled bouquet at your wedding and treasure your gorgeous bouquet forever!




Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Junk Mail & Other Clutter

Some of you that know me will likely laugh at me for posting about a clean house. I have four children (3 are boys) and as an artist, I create at home, and have my office at home as well. Translation: my home is sometimes organized chaos. Recently however, I have been tackling a room at a time. I have lost weight and went through my closet and donated 20 bags of clothes, shoes, purses, belts and hangers to the Goodwill. All my thinner clothes were out of style and I decided to treat myself to some new items. My closet is very bare but since I am still losing weight I am waiting to buy more new pieces. I have since moved on to other rooms in our house and am working really hard at clearing out the clutter. I had my children donate old toys, games and stuffed animals that they no longer use.



When I went to my mailbox today, I had a ton of junk mail. I wanted to share this little tip with you because this is a habit worth thinking about adopting. Up until a few years ago I would always bring everything inside from the mailbox and the junk mail would either sit on my table, my counter top or I’d throw it away in my kitchen trash can eventually. Well one day I decided why not sort my mail outside, next to my outdoor garbage can, before bringing it inside. Today I threw away probably 15 newspaper ads, junk mailers and free catalogues. I ended up with only one financial document, and I walked it right up to my office shredder and got rid of it after reviewing it. I know you don’t all have the luxury of living in California where the weather is good, but even if you grabbed your mail, sat in your car for a minute to sort it, and tossed the junk mail right away, I think you’ll find this is a small but helpful way to reduce your household clutter.


Another tip is to plan a party. I volunteered to host a baby shower in February and I am very motivated to get my house party ready. I donated an old stereo, the speakers and 5 disk player to the Goodwill because I never use it anymore. I also went through all my books and donated the ones I no longer read to our local library. My kids have outgrown a lot of their old DVD’s so I donated those to our local children’s hospital. I still have more areas in our home that I am working on, and it feels great. My shabby chic cabinet has so much more room for family pictures and cottage pretties with the stereo and books cleared out.


I’d love to hear what you are doing to clear your spaces!