Alyssa from Clever Nest

Today we have Alyssa here from Clever Nest, and I love what she chose to share about. Please take a minute to check out her blog. She is kind and funny, and you will love her! Here's Alyssa...

 ’Ello everybody : ). I’m Alyssa Wine of Clever Nest, and I was so excited when Lauren asked me to guest blog for her one year blogversary! I’m  a loyal fan of Lauren’s, I think she’s fantastic, and her entry way make over is the bomb. Lauren, thanks for letting me be part of the fun!

Now, it’s time to confess a dirty little secret of mine.

Self Diagnosis

I follow quite a few awesome DIY blogs (that’s not the confession). The confession is, some days when I’m reading the posts of my blogging friends and the wonderful things they’re up to, I feel… intimidated. Seeing picture after picture of beautiful homes, flawlessly executed crafts, and overly photogenic children I think, “how can I compete with this?”  Everybody but me obviously has perfect lives and spends their time smiling and painting chevrons on things all day long!

This is true for Pinterest as well.

I know I’m being dramatic, but, have you ever felt that way too? I look around my house and see my hubby’s dirty socks on the coffee table, my half finished craft sitting on the dining room table, and the baby smooshing crackers into the tile.

I have named this feeling. I call it,  Comparison Rage And Preoccupation syndrome. Otherwise known as, feeling like C.R.A.P.

Getting’ Real

The first thing I do when I start feeling this way is to remind myself that beautiful pictures show only one side of the room, er, story.

Here’s a real life example. I wrote a post revealing my little guy’s newly finished nursery (you can see the full post here). Before a camera got anywhere near that room,  I dusted, vacuumed, removed half Andrew’s diaper and wipe paraphernalia, fluffed blankets, and styled stuffed critters.  Here’s some of the pics I posted-

Now, here’s the pics I did not show anybody. If you had turned to the right, you’d see why I didn’t show the closet view.

Stunning. We haven’t exactly gotten around to installing closet doors. Thankfully Andrew is still young, and not yet old enough to know how he’s being neglected by his parents. And if you had turned to see the hallway, you’d find even more good stuff. 

Ye lovely Pile O’ Mess. I scooped up everything that wasn’t photo worthy and dumped it out of view! I just walked in the other room and took a picture of what the nursery looks like on a normal, blanket fluffing free day.

 My Andrew sign is wilting... 

That’s the plain, unphotogenic truth. I appreciate it so much when my favorite blogging ladies show their behind the scenes pictures! Their houses on a normal day, the untouched rooms with gloriously high stuff piles, even divulging their secret to making a bathroom towel look extra fluffy in the “after” shot. It reminds me that, they live real life too, just like me.

You Got This

The second thing I do to alleviate feeling like C.R.A.P. is to remember my triumphs. I definitely don’t always knock it out of the park (the time I hung a fish-turkey on the wall!),

but sweet comments by family, friends, and you guys remind me that sometimes I do get it right. We’re all trying to make our lives a little more awesome, and chances are, we underestimate how much what we do means to those around us!

Embrace the Fail

When all else fails, I stop blog surfing and type in this website. CraftFail. I discovered this site a while back and I always leave feeling better about my artsy endeavors (I was not paid to say this, I just think they’re awesome!). Here you can laugh along with fellow crafters who had their project fail hilariously and miserably. You can even see one of my very own flops on there, this lovely thing!

Holy Restickable Gluestick Batman. It wasn’t funny at the time, but now it is! : ) Sometimes a good laugh reminds me not to take it all too seriously.

Craftians, Unite!

Nobody paints chevrons all day, certainly not me. I know that, but sometimes a reminder is good for the soul! My house doesn’t look like a magazine cover 7 days a week, and that’s ok. My crafts sometimes are only fit to amuse. I’m a real human being with a stuff pile just as big as the one I’m sure my favorite bloggers have at their house too.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with cleaning up before you show off your space, or showing off our sweet craft ideas. We all like looking at pretty pictures! BUT-  what I’m saying is, let’s not let those glossy, white balanced, staged pictures fool us. Let them inspire and motivate us to be creative, never make us feel like second class uncraftians. Will you join me in fighting C.R.A.P.?  Pinky swear?

<3 Alyssa

www.myclevernest.com

(Sorry for saying C.R.A.P. so much, mom. It had the letters I needed.)


I know I am guilty of C.R.A.P. from time to time. I am also most definitely not living in a photo ready house in a moments notice. I often find myself taking pictures while trying to avoid a pile of laundry, or toys. I'm in Alyssa! How about the rest of you? 

Color- Part 2

Wednesday we talked about color, and how the color wheel works, and ways you can incorporate different color schemes when decorating. If you missed that post you can find it here.

Today we will finish up our chat on color by talking about achromatic, triadic and harmonious color schemes.

Achromatic

A lot of people shy away from an achromatic scheme because they seem a little tricky, but just like we said with the monochromatic schemes, texture is key to a successful achromatic room.

A room with an achromatic scheme is a room without color. So we are pretty much talking about black and white rooms, as well as any shade of gray in between.

Here are some beautifully done example rooms.

These photos do an amazing job of using texture. The photo above is FULL of texture from the painted brick to the mirrors and glass orbs on top of the mantel. Everything in that room has a different texture.

I don't know about you but when I hear achromatic the first thing I think of is restoration hardware, they are known for there amazingly styled achromatic rooms. Just like the one below.

Ok, let's move on...

triadic

A triadic color scheme uses three colors that are equally spaced in the color wheel. A room using primary colors would be an example of a triadic color scheme.

It is hard to find examples of well done triadic rooms. When I think about this color scheme visions of children's rooms in bright primary colors immediately pop into my head, (not a good thing), but I hunted the web, and here are a few for you to check out. 

this room is beautiful, and I am so impressed with the use of primary colors. 

I almost didn't use it because I couldn't find the legit actual source, but I couldn't find a better one. 

If you know who owns this photo please let me know so I can give proper credit! 

analogous

An analogous scheme uses colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. An example would be red, orange and yellow; or red and violet. This is a fun color scheme to use.

this one has a touch of turquoise which is obviously a complementary color, but it was to great to forget about.

So, that's the gist of what I know about color and design,  I didn't get my notebooks out, so it's quite possible I forgot a detail or two, but hopefully it was helpful and how about those images. Beyond inspiring!

What do you think, would you be interested in more posts on the principles and elements of design?

Color- Part1

Using the color wheel when decorating takes out all of the guess work, and makes decorating and accessorizing fun and much easier.

Let's start with some terminology, so you know what the heck I'm talking about later. (What can I say, I used to be an art education major, I love this stuff!)

This is the color wheel, I'm going to pick it apart and explain the components of it, and how they relate to design.

If you want to purchase a color wheel I really love the options this one has.

OK! Let's get this party started!

Primary Colors

Every color imaginable is made up of a combination of these three colors.

Variances from the base color come from changes in tone.

Tone-  how light or dark a color is

Tint- adding white to a color

Shade- adding black to a color

Secondary Colors- an even mix of two primary colors

Tertiary Colors- an even mix of a primary and a secondary color

This video explains SO much about color!

Now that we have the basics out of the way, let's get to the fun design part

Color Schemes

Complementary- Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. 

When paired together complementary colors really grab your attention, they make each other pop!

I use a lot of turquoise/blue-green in my house, so lately I have been focusing my efforts on finding orange, red and pink accessories.

Gorgeousness!!!

Talk about gorgeous interiors! I don't think it's possible to go wrong when you decide to add accessories in a color that complements your decor.

Monochromatic

A Monochromatic color scheme uses different tints and shades of the same color. I think the most important thing to remember when using a monochromatic color scheme is that texture is key, without it your room could end up looking flat and boring.

Elle at Ellementary Home was spot on when she created this paint chip art!

Wow, so that is a lot of color schemes for one post, so I suppose I will have to continue this one tomorrow, and I will talk about achromatic, triadic and analagous color schemes!

We are now entering the Black HOLE!

So, after finishing up the chevron stripes, and the demilune table in our entry area I knew that I wanted to do something fun and original with the door on that wall. I started hopping around pinterest, and some other favorite web haunts, when I started to notice that black doors were really doing it for me. I showed my sweetie-pie some pictures, and (fingers crossed) asked him what he thought. 

He liked it! (sigh of relief)

So, I pulled out my Sherwin Williams fan deck, and decided that Tricorn Black (SW6258) was going to be our best bet. After a little more inspiration hunting we realized just how much we were loving the black doors, and decided to paint all of our interior doors the same shade.
Since Mike's knee is still pretty swollen, and he's not very mobile, it took  a lot longer than normal, but he got it done regardless, and he did an amazing job!

These are some of the photos that inspired us. Click on the image to be taken to the original source.

We stopped at Sherwin Williams after Mike's physical therapy appointment, and they had the gallon ready for us. We decided to go with ProMar 200- Zero VOC Interior Latex (Ultradeep Base)

I am beyond pleased with this product. I know Mike is always a little bit skeptical when it comes to low or no VOC paints, but he was impressed too. It went up like butta'! No problems at all. 

We didn't take any photos of the process. I know for Mike if he's just doing something like a single door, he uses a brush for the whole thing. He always tell me he has to keep moving to get done before it starts tacking up. This helps to prevent any drag marks. He did two thin and even coats, and we called it a day.

After all, there's only so much you can do while sitting in a chair with your knee elevated. 

I am ecstatic with the finished look, and can't wait to see the rest of the doors done. Sometimes I wish he wasn't such a great painter so I could get in on the black beauty action. I really can't complain though, I mean look at how great it turned out!

The mirror frame and lampshade really tie it all together quite nicely.

I am in door Heaven! It's like it was meant to be this way forever, 

patiently waiting for someone to come along with a brush and a can of black paint.

Here's a before and after for you to show just how dramatic the difference really is.

We are just thrilled with the outcome! I love how it makes the blue stripes pop even more. Before we painted the door it was hard to tell if the stripes were blue or black, now with the black right next to it, the blue becomes brighter.

Now the question is wreath, or no wreath? What do you think?

linked up to: involving color