Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well let me ‘splain it.
I follow Young House Love. I bought the book, and waited in line for 3 hours in the cold to get it signed by John and Sherry Petersik. I gave them one of my planners. I wonder if they ever used it?
This morning, after a 30 day absence from the blog, they posted this. It’s official Young House Love just broke up with me. And you. And the interwebs. All we have now are archives to remember the way things were. Memories….(in my best Barbara Streisand voice)
They were in our lives for 80 months. Pretty much common law marriage. So any feelings of abandonment are totally understandable. Most of us are in the denial stage anyways.
This young couple shared their house (and lives) and we fell in love.
But all I hear is “it’s not you, it’s me”.
Young House Love, you’ve broken our hearts and decorated our houses. And just for that I’ve written a ridiculous rhyme to say farewell.
Ode To YHL:
It’s been real,
it’s been fun.
I’ll miss Sherry’s raps
and all those 80’s puns.
You designed houses, hospitals, and hooks
OMG, remember Burger’s photo-bombing looks.
Dear, Clara and Teddy
it’s all up to you.
To show mommy and daddy
just how much they mean to you.
We’ll stand back and let your family have their space
and we’ll pray that your mommy and daddy
will once again write in the Young House Love space.
Happy Labor Day! I hope you’re kicking back and enjoying some down time with friends and family. Yesterday I was with my family and Big Daddy and I were able to share some of the 6k+ pictures we took during our Big Trip Out West.
Today I’m participating in the Tour Through Blogland. That’s when each Monday bloggers first introduce the blogger who invited them, answer four questions about themselves, and then introduce the 3 additional bloggers that they have invited!
I’ll tell you right up front I broke the rules. I’ll only be introducing you to the super groovy blogger who invited me and one ah-mazing lady blogger I met while attending a blogger conference a couple of months ago. I sure hope this isn’t like a chain letter where you receive bad luck for eleven hundred years if you don’t forward the letter.
I did try to follow the rules. It turns out this Blogland tour is like the Macarena circa 1996. Everyone is doing it.
On with the tour!
First up, one cool lady from Reinvented invited me to answer 4 questions, which I’ll get to in a minute, but first let’s talk about the idea factory going on over at Kimm’s blog! Here are a few sweet ideas:
So do me a solid and give Kimm some Let’s Get Crafty love by visiting her bloggie bit of land.
Ok, here are the 4 questions and answers!
1. What am I working on right now?
Well, I’m working on about a billion things at once. That’s just how I roll. I’m working on some watercolor painting to hang in frames. I’m also working on a gallery wall but so far I’m sucking at it. I’ve been reading tips and tricks about how to create a successful gallery wall so I hope to re-evaluate my choices and create something fantastic. I’m also working on creating more messes around my house. That’s one thing I totally rock.
Watercolor madness. I’m hoping that my paintings will be slightly better than your 3rd grader’s art.
Gallery wall fiasco. Help!
One of many hot messes I’m working on.
I’m on a vintage camera kick. My printer is getting a workout. What can I do with these?
This doesn’t even scratch the surface of “what I’m working on” which is like a super motivating way of saying, “tell us about all of your unfinished projects.” There are many. Valance upholstery, headboard for guest room, painting the bed side table….oh dear I’m getting overwhelmed.
Moving on.
2. How does my work differ from others in the same genre?
Short answer. It doesn’t.
I’m not concerned with inventing anything. When I was in high school I had a very interesting art teacher. His name was G. He told me once that there are no new ideas. With the introduction of design/diy blogs and Pinterest that little statement makes G sound like a freaky fortune teller. I agree with G. And I’m ok with it. I think Blogland demands this intense level of original design and yet the things that were trending 20 or 30 years ago are still trending. Don’t believe me? Check out the set of The Golden Girls. Love those kitchen dining chairs. Compare those bamboo beauties with the chair being sold by Frontgate for $1,000! Whaaat!?
Hi, it’s me Stan.
Frontgate is selling one chair for $1,020.
I actually count on the fact that you and I are similar. That you’re insecure about handling power tools or even a glue gun. I think that isn’t original either. Even as adults we continue to traverse new skills, experiences, and even DIY with the same shaky legs of a toddler learning to walk. And that is something that is not new. I hope you read my blog because you like me (or my writing voice) and that my projects make it easier for you to try them. Passing on information in a story. That’s what I do. It’s not new or different.
3. Why do I create/write what I do?
Let me tell you something. I love school. But after tens of thousands of dollars paid to said schools I can no longer learn the way I use to learn. Now I hang out on blogs for free, learning totally new things like how to build a desk or a chair. And that’s exciting. I’m a good deal junkie too so I love the challenge of finding the cheapest piece of furniture and making it chic. The fact that I get to share my experiences with others is thrilling.
4. How does my writing/creative process work?
The process is a combination of carefully crafted words and little regard for proper grammar. I don’t write posts ahead of time or schedule ideas. I don’t start to finish many projects in one day. I like to hang a picture and then stare at it for a few days to see if I like it. I don’t feel the need to produce content for you so I just roll when I want to roll.
The end.
Are you surprised at my answers? Did you learn anything new?
Now, let’s talk about Shannon. Shannon and I were roomies at Haven (a conference for bloggers) and she is fantastic! She blogs at Bohemian Junktion and when she’s not blogging she’s some kind of genius engineer. This lady is not afraid of power tools or precision cuts. Both of which I have yet to master #gallerywallfail.
Let’s check out some of her projects, shall we?
Make sure you visit Shannon’s bedroom reveal for all the details on the many projects in this room! Did you notice the lights on the ceiling are being hung by a bed spring!
The other thing I love is all of her flea market finds! Check out this flea market!
Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin.
Shannon will be posting her answers to the same 4 questions and inviting 3 bloggers! Look for her post to go live on Monday, September 8.
Okay, I’m pretty gnarled up inside thinking about the possibility of being nominated for this Blogger Award from Better Home & Gardens! ACK!
I luuuvvve me some BHG and today while I was enjoying getting lost in the great ideas and crush-worthy homes I saw a little announcement:
We want to know which blogs you look to for delicious recipes, inspiring decor and creative projects! Nominate the bloggers you love for our first-annual blogger awards now through February 7th at noon CST. Our editors will narrow down their top five finalists in each category and then it’s up to you to cast your vote for this year’s reader choice best bloggers February 19th through March 5th. There will also be an editors’ favorite blogger selected and announced on March 7th.
Dudes, (when I’m excited I channel my inner Wayne’s World voice) do you know what this means? It means that if you like me, I mean really like me, you can nominate me and my little blog for BHG First Annual Blogger Award!!!!!!!!
The Atlanta bloggers are having a little get together on Saturday which I’m really excited about! I’m giving away one of my Ultimate Blog Planners to one lucky blogger!
Since this is a business meeting I thought I would whip up my own bloggy business cards. I got mine from Zazzle.com. In fact, I have a little Zazzle shop called Teal & Tush Designs if you want business cards like mine. I’ll be adding new designs and when I do I’ll be sure to let you know.
Anyways, I got my cards the other day and I really wanted to give them the bling bling treatment via DIY style. So I got my Sharpie Gold pen and colored the edges of the cards.
I was digging the slight shimmer. I was congratulating myself as I envisioned handing these out to every. single. blogger. because my blinged out business cards were the talk of the DIY town.
And then I arrived back at reality.
One thing’s for sure. If I show up with this hot mess I’ll be the talk of the DIY town.
What did I do wrong? Has anyone else tried to achieve the gold edged look? My meeting is Saturday so ya’ll better get cracking on some how-to help for me.
Hey guys! Well, obviously the site is receiving a makeover! It happened by accident really. I was investigating the health of my site which has been poor. Essentially, I look at statistics and where my site is ranked in the mix of the millions of sites on the web. My most troubling symptom was slow load time. You may have noticed. I sure have. There are lots of reasons why a site might be slow some of which are hard to avoid when your site is photo intensive. As I continue to find my voice I’m also coming to terms with advertising. Those ads in my side bar are attempting to make me money. Generally it’s a mere few cents a day.
But as my blog grows and the health of my site improves the ads will improve, potentially earning me enough money to pay for all the crafty madness that goes on here. Anyways, a couple of days ago I was trying to locate updates to my site when I discovered that the company who created the theme I use has decided to close up shop. Gasp! Fortunately, another well known web company is taking my theme and offering to provide bug fixes and updates for the next year. My theme was taking on water and I needed to bail out. This weekend I did and now I’m in the process of rebuilding. You’ll continue to see changes so don’t freak out. Just look at this like you’d watch a window designer dress the Macy’s department store window. I won’t draw the curtain and you’ll be able to see the changes in real time. I’m working on creating more gallery pages so when you want ideas about furniture they’ll all be on one page. Won’t that be super groovy? Take a look at what’s happening so far. I have sooooo much more work to do but at least it’s functional. Since I’m in the midst of a redesign I thought it might be fun to hear from you as to what you like and don’t like. What color palette would you like to see? I of course go to blue (you guys should intervene) but I’d really like to try some other things. Do you have a favorite font? What kind of categories would you like to see separated out for easy browsing?
I hope your experience on my blog will continue to be a good one!
P.S. Can we still be friends?
