merry christmas!

I hope you enjoy the holiday weekend with your family and friends! I'm having a ball in Raleigh with mine. I'll be traveling to NYC tomorrow to see more of my family there, and I'll be back on the blog after the New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

fabulous furbish

My friend Claire told me before I left Atlanta on Tuesday that I HAD to find the store Furbish while I'm visiting my family and friends in Raleigh this week. After grabbing some delish lunch from Cafe Carolina, my sister & I headed on over to Glenwood Avenue to check out this uber cute boutique. I snapped a few pictures and chatted with the owner, designer Jamie Meares.




Loved the cute holiday windows!


The store was layered with goodies; furniture, home accessories, jewelry, and she does full service design too!


This was my favorite vignette - that couch was gorgeous!! And the art above too.


One of the many inspiration boards that decorated the walls of the shop. If you're ever in Raleigh please go check out this store! I wanted to buy one of everything, the selection is that great & Jamie couldn't be any sweeter.

last minute gifts for the nest

Originally posted on Nesting Newbies blog.

If you're anything like me, finding time to shop for the perfect gift is always a challenge. My strategy is to have a few things on hand that are great gifts for almost anyone, so I'm always prepared. Since you're reading Nesting Newbies blog I know that you love nesting as much as I do, so above you'll find last minute gift ideas "For the Nest"!


1. Add a luxurious aroma to someone's home with a Jo Malone candle. 2. For the Twitter fanatic who keeps a neat desk, this magnetic paper clip holder is absolutely adorable.3. Your favorite interior designer will love these miniatures of classic chairs! 4. Store things in style with a chic & modern shelf system from CB2. 5. Foodies can never have enough dinnerware, and these bright bowls from Anthropologie are perfect for their homemade soups. 6. Your eco-friendly friend will adore this gorgeous pillow made with green materials. 7. Keep your loved one's flowers looking great all year long with this svelte vase. Tip: Fill it with candy cans and tie a bow on it! 8. And for the vintage glamazon in your life, grab this art deco metallic pillow!

what she wore

Loyal SBP reader Jasmine commissioned me to do this 'What She Wore' of her beautiful sister! I'm so glad that this is the last one of the series for the year, because I thought it was such a sweet gesture for her to have this done for her sister, and I couldn't be more grateful for awesome readers like Jasmine! She has been reading my blog for as long as I can remember, and I can't tell you how much that means to me.

playing catch up

artwork by Odili Donald Odita; found on Out & About Africa
My weekend was a whirlwind with the Chic Boutique Tour "Holiday Soiree", preparing to travel for the holidays and hosting an early Christmas dinner for four guys last night, I'm pooped!

While I play catch up, check out these two great recaps of the Chic Boutique Tour! One from Dana and another Teodora.

give & receive this holiday season at Pier 1

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are 100% mine.

Here's a company that gets the spirit of the season. Right now at Pier 1, you can support Toys for Tots by dropping off an unwrapped toy or making a cash donation. In addition, Pier 1 is donating $1 for every new Facebook fan they get in November & December. With such a great selection of eclectic and affordable housewares, who doesn't love this store? I know I stop in every time I pass by and find at least one thing that I love. Here are a few of my current favorites to add some sparkle to your holiday parties!

When I decorate for the holidays, I like to keep my decor centered around 2 or 3 colors create a cohesive look. In this case, I chose the tradition Christmas red with metallic accents! I absolutely love that wreath; wish I had it on my door right now! I love to choose things that can last beyond the holiday season too, like those fab vases & beautiful gold serving tray; so luxe!

Don't forget to bring your donation for Toys for Tots when you visit a local Pier 1 for holiday gifts! And like their Facebook page to instantly donate $1 too.

behind the design

An unexpected but welcomed new element to my career this year I has been the increase in freelance graphic design projects coming my way. Most SBP readers know that I went to school for interior design, not graphic design but I've always been a techie & an artist so graphic design just fits me naturally; I get it! I've been studying it, and learning the necessary software for years now. By no means am I the best out there, in fact, I feel that my abilities are still in the incubation phase, but nevertheless, I love working with clients to make their visions reality.

One of the many challenges of freelancing, however, is effectively discerning the vision of your client right away, to save yourself time & make your client happy as quickly as possible. I thought it would be cool to show you a behind the scenes of the development of a logo for one of my recent clients.

This client has an online magazine in the works called 'Sweet Tooth'. When we spoke she indicated that she wanted the logo to be feminine & fun, with pink & stylish font. Immediately I thought of candy wrappers and started sketching. I always sketch out ideas on a sheet of paper, which unfortunately I wasn't able to scan for this post.


Then I take those notes and translate them into Photoshop. I spent a lot of time on these, creating texture and pattern, playing with fonts, getting the pink exactly right....


You can click to see larger versions

When I sent these off to her I just knew she would love at least one of them! But here's the thing... Although she liked them a lot... They weren't what she wanted at all! She was thinking of a logo style more inline with print magazines like Essence, In Style or Glamour. I was thinking of a logo in the sense of a brand or company; my mistake! So, after a brief convo and exchanging of links we love, I head back to the drawing board with a clearer vision.




Which do you think she chose? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! Which one do you like the best?

I hope that this gave you some insight into how much goes into creating a logo. Sometimes when clients here the quoted price for a project they think it doesn't merit that number, because they don't know how much work goes into it!

be crafty & stay warm!

About this time last year I created a crocheted neck warmer and posted the instructions on the blog. Since then, that post always gets tons of hits so people must really love it! With the weather stuck on freezing here in Atlanta, I thought it might be a good idea to share it again. Click here to see the original post with detailed instructions!

One of my goals for 2011: Be more crafty! I don't know about you, but I sometimes get too focused on what I want to buy and not what I can make. There's something so fulfilling about saying, "I made that!" and I need to do more.

artist spotlight: stella im hultberg

Artist Stella Im Hultberg lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. With the temperatures in Atlanta less than 20 degrees today, I'm totally feeling the first of these pieces; I wish I looked that regal when I'm wrapped up from head to toe! I'm not made for the cold, but Stella was surely made to be a painter. Enjoy the paintings below and then check out her website for more goodness.





Photos via my modern met

One of my goals for 2011: Push myself farther than ever as an artist! I'm determined to finish the series of paintings I started and have them shown somewhere. Stay tuned!

simply inspired

Today marks the first day of my LAST week of working my day job for the year and I have to say, after attending Lavish! this weekend I am sooo inspired! The conference really made me stop to think about why I blog, the direction my blog has taken since 2007 and where I want to go in the future. The blogging community, particularly lifestyle bloggers, is so amazing and supportive. I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. Look for my '5 Takeaways from Lavish' post for Nesting Newbies very soon....

In addition to the conference, I've also been reading a phenomenal book sent to me by my blogging buddy Maya called The War of Art. For anybody that has a dream or a talent that they are putting on hold, this book is for you. It breaks down the symptoms & causes of Resistance; that force that keeps us from doing what we really want to do. In straightforward words, the author breaks down the myth of the "starving artist" or "intangible dreams" and gives you tools to make your vision for your creative career reality. If you know someone that is making a career in the creative arts, this would be a great gift!



So many of my friends are on the brink of making a living doing exactly what they want to do. If we all support each other and hold ourselves accountable, we can do it! I hope that your week has started off wonderfully and you're feeling as inspired as I am. I'm going to continue this theme of inspiration throughout this week by posting a few of my Goals for 2011 in each post. I hope you'll share some of yours too in the comments!

5 Takeaways from Lavish! Unconference

Dana & I in the Sokenbicha sponsored HaloBooth


Head on over to Nesting Newbies and read my 5 takeaways from Lavish! I gained so much insight it was hard to narrow it down but these are great points you don't wanna miss! CLICK HERE.

see you at lavish!

I'm really excited to be a part of the first unconference for lifestyle bloggers being held here in Atlanta this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to meet some of my blog readers and Twitter buddies in person, and I'm sure the workshops will be very valuable.

Nesting Newbies magazine asked me to do some reporting on the event since they won't be making it all the way from California. I'll be gathering attendee feedback and snapping some photos too!

I'm really excited about the sessions from Rue magazine founders as well as Design Sponge. Plus, my Atlanta design friends Erika, Cristi & Capella are doing a workshop on interior design blogging and my boss Brian is teaching a session on creating beautiful editorial content. Blayne will be giving her expert tips on photography in a session of her own too!

If you're attending, please let me know! I'll be there Friday night and all day on Saturday. What sessions are you looking forward to?

sponsor post: holiday soiree

This is a special message from our sponsor Chic Boutique Tour! If you're looking for a way to give back this holiday season - this is a great opportunity to do so!

With the holiday season upon us, everyone is in such a giving mood. At this time of year people go out of their way to help others who are in need, especially children. In the midst of the cheerful giving, people often forget about the mothers of these children, particularly the single ones.

Single mothers constantly endure the duties of what should be for two parents. They sacrifice so much to give their children the life that would be expected of a dual family home. At the end of the day they rarely get a pat on the back or a simple, “Good Job!” Most often their hard work and sacrifices are overlooked. For this reason, Chic Boutique Tour would like to give 2-5 single mothers a few hours off “mommy duty” due to attendance at the Chic Boutique Tour “Holiday Soiree”.

With your donation the mothers will be given a ticket to Chic Boutique Tour’s Holiday Soiree and a $100 gift card to go towards shopping. On the tour they will receive a 3-course meal provided by our on-board chef, unlimited cocktails, giveaways, prizes and a 20% discount at all of the shopping destinations which include Coposhi, Fab’rik, Merino, Plush Boutique and Off Broadway Shoes. The ladies will also enjoy a wine tasting at The Wine Shoe.

We are asking for YOU to nominate a single mother by emailing her name and a brief statement of why you are nominating her to info@chicboutiquetour.com. We are also requesting donations to go towards this experience for the ladies. $150 will cover the ticket and gift card for mothers but any and all donations are accepted. Donations can be made through the ticket tab on www.chicboutiquetour.com.

Thank you in advance for any assistance that you can provide.

-Rosalynn Wilson
Founder

fabric walls + license plates

Check out the latest videos from Brian Patrick Flynn for HGTV.com. These two projects were some of the most involved for me! It's so cool to see the final production after all the behind the scenes work.


I absolutely love how the fabric wall video came out! The homeowners already had a gorgeous mid-century space and the fabric that Brian chose looked like it was made for their room. A little behind the scenes surprise challenge: painting the dark charcoal wall above the fireplace! That beautiful mantle made it very difficult to reach the very top of the wall; and with such a dark color against the white molding - the edge needed to be perfect! I wound up hand painting the edges because we couldn't get up there with blue tape.

Here's a shot of what the wall looked like before the fabric application:


The fabric walls made such a dramatic difference!

Next up: Creating a License Plate Divider Screen


For anybody that hates the standard room divider but needs that function, this is such a creative and fun project. But I have to confess, putting this screen together was NOT easy! I actually called Dayka at one point and told her I didn't think I could do it. But it came together nicely and Brian makes it look like a breeze in the video. The finished product is a one-of-a-kind, very cool piece, and I'm sure someone with better skills with tools could complete this with ease.

I really hope you enjoyed these and please pass them along! For more videos from HGTV.com by BPF, click here. And if you haven't already, check out his latest Decor Demon posts!

illustrator nuno dacosta

Nuno DaCosta is a self-taught illustrator whose fashion imagery has been featured in Vogue, Loreal Paris ads and more. I love her painterly style and the way she exaggerates the form to make the clothing stand out!

images via greedmontpark

See more of Nuno Dacosta's work here.

manish arora

I spotted this perfectly styled Kerry Washington photoshoot over the weekend and was immediately drawn in to the futuristic pieces she's wearing. Turns out, the designer behind these gorgeous looks is Manish Arora, an Indian designer who creates extraordinary bright looks with silhouettes that remind me of the late great Alexander McQueen.




photos via just jared

Check out some of the Autumn/Winder 2011 collection below:










I love how they look like they're made of candy! Click here to see more of Manish Arora.

Happy Monday folks!