gratitude

This year I am spending Thanksgiving alone.  Well, not alone, my kitty Monster is here keeping me company. This is one of the consequences of both moving half way across the county from your family, and working the day before and the day after a holiday.

I’ve decided that although I will not be shoveling ungodly amounts of food onto my plate, and ultimately into my belly that today will be dedicated to giving thanks all the same.

Here are a few Inspirational posters by artist Sarah Gardner of Black Lark Gallery Fame.

You can view her flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/people/sarah_gardner/

or The Black Lark Gallery Blog:

http://blacklark.blogspot.com

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” -BUDDHA

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

and a link to an article written by my very own spiritual and emotional inspiration fairy, Chris Naylor.  So many ways to find a means for celebrating our gratitude and relishing in all its glory!

Gratitude: A Powerful Magnet For Happiness And Success
by Chris Naylor, read here: http://www.edgelife.net/article.php?id=965

Happy Thanksgiving from me to you!  Here’s wishing you all the blessings your heart can hold, and a beautiful day with your family and friends.

Time for me to go curl up with the little monster some more so I can give some thanks to him.

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Where to recycle electronics, paint, and carpet?

My boyfriend Jacob and I recycle just about anything that we can from computer ink cartridges to old cell phones, computers, PAINT, and carpet.  If your wondering about websites to lead you in the right direction, here are a few of my favorites.

Carpets: carpetrecovery.org

electronics: mygreenelectronics.org

PAINT: earth911.org or you can post an ad on craigslist.org for artists or Environmentally conscious home owners.

cellphones: rbrc.org

computers: sharetechnology.org or you can see if the folks over at STRIKE TWICE: http://www.striketwice.com will give you store credit to take your old PCs off your hands.  Thanks to this method I was able to get Word and Excel for trade in on my new computer!

Running shoes: nike.com/nikebiz/reuseashoe they may not be good enough for your tired toes but this doesn’t mean that “Nike Grind” cant benefit from them.  They will take your old kicks and make them into running tracks or tennis courts to say the least.  Nike also donates the materials to various children’s organizations.  Or if you want to keep it more local you can recycle your shoes in MN at www.Wipers Recycling.com They will take your shoes and grind them up and turn them into sorbent material for oil spill cleanup kits to be used around the world.

Recycle people… there are so many resources out there for us, if we are only willing to take the few extra minutes it takes to locate and maybe drop off old items.

warmly,

LULU

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Oooo oooo Oprah

A few words of wisdom from the woman who so gracefully does it all… 

” Maintaining a gorgeous home or apartment is about respecting the very important person who lives in it. YOU!” – Oprah Winfrey

I love love LOVE how she had her guest house kitchen ceiling painted.  It really gives the room a very cozy and humble hug.  I have stenciled many walls in my day, but never a ceiling to date.  I can just imagine how labor intensive this project must have been.  It makes my neck ache even thinking of it.  If I were to do something like this I have a feeling that I would have to get creative in my efforts to save my neck from the pains of staring upwards for hours on end. I’d probably try to  break the project up into a few different days… or, perhaps I could stencil from scaffolding that is high enough so that I could lay down. Maybe that is just a tad too lazy for my industry.

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Painted Headboards

Recently I have been seeing quite a few painted headboards in my monthly magazines.  I’m really inspired by this idea for a few different reasons.  One being that It involves paint and walls…two of my favorite things to play with.  Another is that it such a creative and lower cost alternative to an expensive, and flashy headboard.  I have one client who spent over a $1,000 on a stunning headboard for her younger daughter after showing her fabrics and not knowing the actual costs.  The headboard is certainly a masterpiece that will live in there family for many lifetimes, but for those of you with out the extra cash during these wild economic times, Painting a headboard can be an excellent alternative.

Jacob and I have an idea in mind for our bedroom in which we are going to tape off a framed rectangle with 3M Blue tape, and then hang a painted white mirror in the middle for a little more decadance.  I’ll be sure to post the final results once we get this finished.  All its going to cost is the total of a bucket of paint, a small roll of tape, roller, tray, and roller nap.  So roughly, $50.00 and little bit of time.

Can’t wait to see how it turns out!  If you have a painted headboard that you would like to share please email them over to me @ lulupainting@gmail.com.

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Racing Headboard

I am such a sucker for the magic that can be created simply by placing tape on walls and then painting ever so carefully over it.  What a creative idea to encapsulate this long master bedroom.

This is just another one of the reasons that I love my job so very much.  The simplest things can add the biggest impact to a design.  As a painter, I’m mostly moved by color selections, pairings, and the incorporation of those elements into each room.  Accessories are seriously beyond me, I love them, but I’m more of a color gal than anything… give me some stripes and some pretty color on the wall and I start doing aerobic celebratory dance moves like I do.

(image from Burnham Design and Instant Space, and may i say BRAVO!)

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Electric Blue envy

Love Love LOVE Carrie Bradshaw’s chic and giddy apartment face lift in this years SATC movie.  Its a much needed upgrade from her previous style, and I mean ‘of the home’ of coarse!  We know the girl has style from head to toe, but her apartment was always left such a blank canvas on which her life exploded upon.  It was quite  refreshing to see she got the memo that her apartment should be fabulous and at long last mirror her playful personality.  The color is from the Benjamin Moore Deck, Electric Blue 2061-40.  It would be lovely in an eggshell or matte finish in a crisp white kitchen or powder room as well.  Oh colors I love you so…

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Fiber Optics wallpaper

Designer Camilla Diedrich has designed a line of fiber optic wallpapers.  Yes that’s right, FIBER OPTIC WALLPAPER!!!  Her Nature Ray Charles series comes in several different colors and can be purchased for about $231 a roll.  Because we mortals need a constant means for overstimulation on every level.    I think this would be great for a restaurant or a nightclub but I am having a difficult time trying to figure out which one of my “mom” clients would be interested in having a glowing wall in there lovely home.  Dont get me wrong though…if the budget allowed, i would definitly be investing in a glowing accent wall for mi casa.  Its too cute not too love!

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Stenciled Stair cases Oh my!

I stumbled across this picture today and have become instantly inspired.  Firstly, It makes me desperate to rip up the yucky carpet adorning our stairs and get to stenciling.  But, alas, we are currently renting, and I question my landlords desire to have a chic set of stenciled stairs depsite her brave bold choice of  grape juice purple painted walls.

So now I am looking for a brave, bold client, who is ready to take on a whole new arena for painting.  Any takers?

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