Pink Love, Happy 2011

For todays post I thought I would do a fun light post to start the year 2010 with Pantones colour of the year for 2011... Pink.   I thought it would be fun to post my random thoughts along with some Pink inspiration.

Last years colour of the year was Turquoise, which actually looks pretty awesome coupled with pink at this wedding table setting.

This colour combination of 2010 and 2011 is also on the book jacket of one of my all time favorite reads... this is a great book for the beach!  Highly recommend if you are looking for a light fun read.

I've been in love with pink for awhile now.  

I especially love wearing it.  These are the newest edition to my never ending footwear fettish...

There is just something about the colour Pink (and shoes) which just says happiness to me.

I was watching the first episode of Sarah 101 last Tuesday night when imagine my surprise that I noticed she and I have the exact same pink sweater.  How funny?

I'm curious now about the colour pink and it's meaning... why do I love it so much?

"Pink is the color of universal love. Pink is a quiet color. Lovers of beauty favor pink".  So I'm thinking that a wedding table setting using pink is most appropriate and so pretty too :)

A pink carnation means "I will never forget you".  So if you don't get roses, pink carnations still have a special meaning however I am quite positive most men giving flowers don't know this.  Let's just smile to ourselves and pretend they do.

This is my all time favorite picture of my lovely niece "Bella".  Pretty adorable in her Pink coat, wellies and hat.

Pantones 18-2120 - Honeysuckle Pink.  The colour of 2011.  "Pink provides feelings of caring, tenderness, self-worth and love, acceptance". G's no wonder it makes me feel happy.

I was first notified of the new years colour trend by several bloggers after I posted pictures of my new master bedroom, which as you know is accented in pink. Not exactly honeysuckle as per pantone.  At this point I had no idea it was about to be the trend of the year ... I just wanted to use it as my accent colour.

  

This is my office bulletin board with pink fabric covering typical beige corkboard.  I had it custom made for my old office circa 2007.

 

As you can see I also have it filled with a few of my favorite quirkly things and inspiration.

Lets do a close up of some of the "very important" items I keep posted on my pink bulletin board.

This is my favorite "pet cat".  I have 3 "pet cats" posted on my office board.  They are birthday cards I received and could never part with.  I like it that the "my cat" numero uno wears a lovely pale pink boa, shades, pearls and is obviously winning at card games.  This cat makes me happy.  She's a winner.

My "other cat",  number two, is very busy getting her hair done :)   You see, my cats like getting service work done, hair, nails, facials, pedis, etc... kind of like me.  It's definitely (always) a nice touch when a service gift certificate is found inside said birthday card.  This cat makes me happy too!

And finally "my cat" number three.  She's a princess :)  I'm sensing my card senders are on to something.  I'm pretty sure (positive) all of these cards came from my boys who know me pretty well.  The fact is, I have never owned a real cat... really? No not ever.  Nada one and for no particular reason. 

While I'm at it, I might as well show you a few other gems of inspiration I have posted to my pink board over the couple of years. 

I HAD TO cut this out of a magazine several years ago as I think it is good advice.  Notice how I have the important stuff/timely advice highlighted in pink ( to match the board of course).  I was never exactly sure how much I should be paying myself until I read this article.  

I cut this horoscope out of the newspaper way back on June 17, 2006 (yes it's true) and it's been on my bulletin board as a reminder.  And I quote "In the year ahead if you work really hard to construct something you will be pleased"

I did ... in fact... work really hard and opened my shop Moving Designz Home & Cottage in July 2007.  Am I pleased? you bet!!! I'm also very good at following direction :)  

Turquoise font... love it!

Another example of the reading material/inspiration that graces my bulletin board.  For some reason it just makes sense to remind myself of these 12 important points.  Thoughts to live by... always.   

On to more pink obsession....

Random picture on the street in Jasper, AB.

  

Even though I have "my cats" I'm a dog person at heart.  This little dog with it's pink harness is ... oh so cute.  She reminds me of Paris for some reason...  Little dog + pink harness + grey fur + foot lifted slightly off the ground = I want to take (steal) it home!  

  One of my favorite blogposts of all time involved this pink cancer curing cupcake from Kelly at Design Ties http://design-ties.blogspot.com/search?q=pink+breast+cancer+cupcake  Please read it, it is so wonderful!  

And also be sure read Kelly's follow up 2010 October post with more beautiful thoughts here.

http://jaxdoesdesign.blogspot.com/2010/10/thing-ma-boob.html

I love this!!!!  Cant say enough!!!

 I was thinking about getting myself a Mac Notepad for Christmas.  This pink model would have been amazing but then common sense took over and I booked a working/pleasure trip to Las Vegas instead.  This year (2011) I am going to step away from my Toronto comfort zone and attend The Las Vegas Market and Gift + Home Shows to buy merchandise for the shop.  I might wear my new pink sandals too :)

My mantra for this year.  Can I have (and do) it all please?  It's all good stuff and makes perfect sense to me.

As I was browsing for wallpaper on the Home Depot site I came across this fantastic new pattern. 

I love this new paintable wallpaper.  I think it will become a favorite for this year.  I cannot wait to use it in one of my projects.  Wall Paintable Wallpaper, Curvy

Model: 17583
Internet/Cat #: 918265

Happy New Year!!! 

Thanks for reading.  Have a wonderful week!

Susan

My Master Sweet...

For todays post I am going to share some before and afters of my new master suite.  Just in case you've been wondering about my sporatic blogging this fall ... wonder no more.

My lately weekend life

I not only moved my business to Charlottetown but I moved too.  From my house to a condo the same week as I was moving the shop/business (call me crazy).  The totally ironic thing about the above image is that all those boxes are stacked in my "old master bedroom" ready to be moved. 

My condo key

Giving me a fresh new start and an amazing decorating opportunity to put my stamp on this brand new empty space! 

This was my new master bedroom, a totally blank slate.  Hmmm .... need to fill with furniture/make pretty.  I have a nice bed and other stuff but my old place had a dressing room with built in closets.  There was no need for a dresser.  In this new place I needed one.  I sensed a DIY project about to happen as my budget was quickly diminishing ...

Enter the antique sideboard I spied at a local second hand shop.  It had great potential, nice curvy lines, plenty of storage and it was in good shape.  It needed a facelift for sure but at $250 I was sold.  

And so ... with Anita's seal of approval (she had to check it out before I bought it) and with Ashley's help (muscles) we dragged it to my storage room at the new condo and had a painting party.

I even ponied up and bought us huge coffees to keep us going ... however... what really got us into it was good music and...

A supply of cold Coors Light, sometimes cold beer just makes everything seem easier.  Wine does too:)

Here's my painting partner and fellow shopgirl Ashley, removing all the old hardware.  She's a trooper!  I'm in the background sanding the dresser in preparation for priming and taking endless pictures.

1 hour later we had the entire dresser sanded and then painted inside and out with a grey primer.

The huge top drawer

No surface was spared as I wanted it to be clean and fresh inside and out.  In fact, after the dresser was completely painted I lined the inside of all of the drawers with white felt. 

After letting the primer cure for 24hrs it was on to the finish colour. 

I chose semi-gloss black for the finish.  Tip - semi gloss is the perfect paint for furniture finishes.  I forgot to mention I could have had it sprayed but at $275 (OMG really?) I declined and decided (budget again) to tackle the project myself with Ashley's help.

Just for fun I thought I would share what my first few nights looked like.  I call it  "college dorm room chic" bed on floor.  Not really chic at all!!! But functional and hey, I had a bed and bedding. 

Enter my finished master suite... 2 months later... done just in time for some Christmas touches.

My colour scheme is white, taupe, black, brown, blue, and cream accented with hot pink.  I like mixing it up... with all my favorite colours. 

I had to have this patterned ottoman from my shop, Moving Designz Home & Cottage.  I've been in love with it for while now.  Accenting my room with hot pink? 

It's a decidedly feminine (princess) room, not hard to tell I'm a single gal.  I don't quite think I could get away with this room otherwise :)  But hey, it's mine so why not?  At least until Prince Charming comes along :)

Table to the left...

Table to the right... with white feather wreath above the bed.  Now that was a great find!

A close up of my bedside table with the lovely carnations(they like last forever) and vase full of pink and silver Christmas bling.

Before view



And my DIY dresser project, here it is with the addition of crystal knob hardware from the shop.  It's the perfect fit!  Total cost with paint and hardware - $475.00.  I still want to add drapes but they will have to wait until the new year.  At least I have real blinds now :)  A fab chandelier would be heavenly too!  Unfortunately there is no electrical outlet for one... drag. 

One last look at the before and after.

I love my "princess" room and sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure this is real... Bed, bedding, tables, ottoman, accessories, artwork - Moving Designz Home & Cottage. 

Sneak Peek of my livingroom... a white tree for me.

I'll be posting on the rest of my condo next weekend. 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great weekend!

Susan