michelle my belle

stick stars, holiday decorating & craft

getting a bit crafty around here.
and on the cheap.
i think these stick stars will make an awesome window display... we'll soon see.
was inspired by this and this.

so far, a little more time consuming than i had counted on.
the story of my life!

aqua blue & orange studio happiness

slowly trying to get our studio ready for our annual Allen Designs Studio Sale here in Vancouver, WA.
if you're interested, sign up for our newsletter (in the right column), we send our invites by email.

as soon as we moved into our new studio i painted one whole wall orange.
the orange quickly wore on me and hence decided it needed some pretty aqua blue to go with it!
honestly, i was set to paint over all the orange but saw how yummy the two colors were together.

here's a glimpse from outside.
i like how the leaf shapes kind of hide the ugly fire alarm stuff... i said kind of...

my baby is growing up too fast!
at a mere 11 years old, she's officially taller than me now.

hope you're having a wonderful weekend. :)

blue lights

pretty blue lights... anxious to see these babies up!
notice the aqua colored ceiling that will be complimenting them?
some people believe that painting your porch ceiling sky blue will ward off spiders & such.
not so sure aqua blue counts!

i've ventured into a lot more color on this remodel.
our current place is almost completely nuetral.
funny that i would be scared of color, given the art that i create.

and the stairs... still hiding. :(
with a little addition of a green door, which i love.

mainly house remodel stuff

my weekend was filled with lot's of soccer (my youngest-not myself!), returning emails, family dinner and house remodel stuff.
the one kinda crafty DIY thing i did - was spray paint an outdoor light fixture.
i found some killer ones i really, REALLY wanted on the barn light electric site but, they were going to be about $200 ea. oy!
i think we have like 10 of them around the outside of the house... cha-ching!
so to lowe's we ventured, and found this-

definitely not as cool as barn light electric's...

but with a couple coats of spray paint...just beautiful!
and at savings of about $187 ea.
i think i can deal.

this is a cabinet we found that we're in the process of making into a vanity for the guest bath.

and my $3 shade i found at junkyard bonanza!!!
also going in the guest bath.
it's getting close! 2 weeks & counting.

hope you also had a great & productive weekend. happy monday to you!

house remodel decisions & lunch

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all your sweet comments and FB shares on my stairs!

since i'm devoted to blogging more frequently you are going to have to put up with some of my less creative days...

today many decisions were made on the new/remodeled house.
we're coming down to the wire and it's really starting to get exciting.
we'll be moving in approx. 2 weeks!
can't wait to have neighbors & live in town with a coffee shop and a grocery within walking distance!
more on all of that later.


something fun... i had lunch in portland with this lovely lady today.
she's just like her blog-
sweet as honey, very smart & savvy, uber talented in so many ways my head was spinning-
and has an AMAZING house with all kinds of killer art.
i could have spent a few hours walking around drooling!

i'm planning on having a creative day tomorrow! you?
happy friday!

***i can happily report that i've been off diet pepsi for 2 whole weeks now!

stairs. stairs. magical stairs!

i am absolutely dying to show you the colorful and fun stairs project!
and... the paper is STILL on them from painting the trim. ugh.

therefore, here's a mediocre picture taken right before installation.
...the look will also change once the stair treads are on.

the quote is by john maxwell.

i super-duper love them!
i'll make sure to show a finished picture too.
promise.

warning: i'm so excited about these, you may well get sick of seeing them in all my pictures!

super love pinterest

i am totally hooked on pinterest!
it is pure eye candy like you've never seen before.
and such a great way to save inspirational & creative ideas!
below are few examples of my boards.

are you on?

can i just mention...this is sounding REALLY good to me right now.

happy bday to me!

yes, i'm 39 years old today.
i'm fine with it.
it's just a number.
but just to make sure that i don't let that number get to my head...
i'm writing out my 39 things before i'm 40 list! i want to make sure i'm getting every little moment out of life!
being physical till my body tells me otherwise.
having fun... till the end!
being adventurous.
encouraging others on a daily basis.

here's the beginnings of my list.
i decided, this year to do it as an actual piece of art that i can hang somewhere prominent.
so i remember.
and conquer.

a few of the things on my list so far:

sustain my NO DIET PEPSI (i just started a few days ago & it's HARD!)
cut a large stencil
switch to wordpress
ride my bike to work
meet other downtown artist
creative connection 2012
visit april & steve in mi
new purse line w/allen designs

okay, off to one of jess' soccer games!
then to my parents for lunch. :)

cute & colorful popcorn balls

i love to look back at what i was doing at this time last year...
like, for one, i was making these super cute popcorn balls.
super easy to make and fun!


hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
may i suggest a game of spongebob uno? :)

the waiting game

now we wait...
the hand-painted stairs are installed.
but, the painters are painting around them and now have them masked off. boo :(
patience - it's not my virtue.

pic i took at the junk bonanza in MN.
old schoolhouse clocks = instant memories!

happy friday my friends!
xo-m