a lovely home: workspace design board

So...I have been a bit preoccupied with this whole "fantasy office space" thing. All of my choices are affordable, though! So I don't feel like I'm completely delirious. 

The color pallet is the one from my previous blog. The rug is from Urban Outfitters. I want something bold and especially floral-something I wouldn't be allowed to have in the living room =) The chairs are from Target. We have the green and white ones from the collection as our dining room chairs and we love them. I saw the pink filing cabinet at Wal-Mart a while back and I instantly wanted it-just now I have a reason to use it! The desk lamp is from Target, but I'm not really sold on it. I just don't want anything that uses a lot of visual space. I have a paper lantern already, but I think the way the one in the board has flowers added is really great. And I am IN LOVE with the pug illustration by Donna McKenzie. 

Lisa and I are going to likely share the studio space so we were thinking we should get a pretty sweet inflatable couch. I had an inflatable arm chair when I was in like 4th grade and I loved it. What a great piece of nostalgia that would bring me to my studio! 

I'm going to start cleaning out the space tomorrow and I'll post the "before" photos!

Stay tuned, and be lovely!

a lovely home: workspace

 

Confession: I am quite a messy gal. When I have a project, whether it be sewing my bag collection or simply doing school work, I tend to explode wherever I am. Books, paper, pencils, thread, needles, scrap fabric-among other things-are taking up my kitchen and living room at the moment.  In a vicious kind of way, that makes me less productive.  I feel really uneasy and not at all creative when my environment is a mess. Fortunately, the duplex we live in has a basement that is all our own. It is unfinished and kind of musty, so we haven't set up any living or working spaces down there, but it is becoming increasingly necessary. So, I will be working on a studio space-Yay! 

I know there are a few things to take care of before any decorating comes into play (cleaning out my space, finding materials to hang on the walls to disguise the unfinished wall) but, let's face it-color is the most fun part. There is a really amazing blog called Color Collective.

She features all kinds of yummy color pallets like the one above.

I especially like these two because I have a big lamp about the color of the green in each pallet. I would love to get lots of scrap lumber and paint them these colors to really brighten up the space. The only delimma I have at this point is which color pallette I like best. What do you think? 

I'm leaning toward the first one because I am currently in love with that cool grey. One wall in the soon-to-be workspace is white brick which I really like. I want the space to feel bright but calm and inspiring. I can't wait to get this project going!

a lovely home: master bedroom

We recently moved (again) and are finally feeling a bit settled.  A few things are still out of place, but the living room, kitchen, and the baby's room feel like home.  Our master bedroom, however, just feels so empty (except when there are dirty clothes on the floor).  My parents recently bought us a white down duvet set, which we love! It feels like you're sleeping with a billion marshmallows.  And a couple weekends ago we bought some grey sheets from Target, a gray throw pillow, and 2 matching side-table lamps.  I really love the medium grey and white together. It looks so calm and clean.  

Here is a picture I took with my phone the night we put our new goods together:

There is nothing on the walls, and we don't have curtains yet.  We need to remedy that.  So, I

have come up with some items from the wonderful, Etsy (no shock there)!

Because I want our bedroom to be soothing and sleepy-making, I thought these paintings from tastes orangey would be perfect.  They're fairly small, but I think they would be great flanking the window, maybe.  

I like how the greys in the paintings would coordinate with the grey of our sheets.  Don't they make you want to curl up in bed?

We have 6 regular sized pillows on our bed now, plus the throw pillow in the middle.  It makes the bed look really fluffy and I like that.  But, how great is this moth pillow from utilitarian franchise?  

I know, moths are kind of creepy, but they are also associated with night time so they seem kind of sleepy to me. And hey, it's my bedroom! =)

Now, curtains.  My hubby and I have a hard time agreeing on curtains.  Grey curtains would be fine, but it is pretty difficult to match greys.  We found some at Target, but they had almost a silky sheen to them and that seem a little too "honeymoon suite" to me.  They would've worked, but they weren't perfect.  White sheers would be fine with me, but I don't think the hubby is down with that.  Or we could integrate the navy into the room.  You know what they say about 3s with color.  That would work! What do you guys think?  Fill out the opinion poll to the left and let me know!

As always, be lovely!

lovely tunes: i heard a lion

Today's musical spotlight on lovely tunes is I Heard A Lion.  I may be bias, but I'm not lyin'-they're really great. The band consists of Rusty Blanchard (lead vocals and guitar), Adam Mercado (back up vocals and bass) and Josh Hawkes (drums). I sat down tonight with Rusty (who, in interest of full disclosure, also happens to be my hubby) and got the exclusive.

BL: Who are you influenced/inspired by?

R: "Manchester Orchestra, Dignan, Soil and the Sun".

BL: How long has the band been together?

R: Adam and I have been together one year this month and Josh has been in the band about 6 months.

BL: What is your dream venue?

R: I'd like to play some good house shows but I don't know of many

 venues outside the state of Kansas. In the state of Kansas, probably The Jackpot Saloon or The Granada (both in Lawrence, KS).

BL: Tell me about the EP you guys recently recorded.

R: We went to KC and recorded with our friend Alex Chapman. We were in the studio for three days. The studio was called LA Audio-it was in the country outside of Kansas City, in Olathe. We had a really great time and hung out with some really good friends, made some really good friends.  

BL: Anything else you want to add?

R: We really love being a band and we can't wait for people outside of McPherson to hear and be able to have our music and we're excited for what the future holds. Hopefully a full-length in the near future will be recorded with Alex Chapman and Ryan Cork.

I Heard A Lion will be playing this weekend, Sunday at 4pm, at the Pond Party at Vertical Violet in Wichita.  Their 5-song EP will be available at the show.  

For booking information you can contact the guys at iheardalion@gmail.com or "find us on the street".

Be listening and watching for these guys to come near you.  They're a real treat-if I do say so, myself.

Be Lovely!

lovely recipes: sweet sangria!

Hey everyone! So, there was a bridal shower held for my cousin Bonnie this weekend, and my cousin Jamie and I had the pleasure of making homemade sangria for the event! It’s super easy, and a great beverage for a summer get-together.

Here’s how:

You’ll need:

-Pineapple Juice

-Orange Juice

-Lemon or Lime Juice

-Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon goes really well.)

-Lots of fruit! Pick your favorites, this is what we used:

-Mango

-Grapes

-Blueberries

-Watermelon

-Apples

-Kiwi

-Strawberries

-Grape Fruit

More ‘exotic’ fruits go best. Depending on how many people you may be serving, you’ll have to use your judgement on how much fruit and juice you’ll need.

What to do:

-Cut fruit into very small pieces. Particularly for the grape fruit, make sure you don’t have any skin or pulp. (Remember, the fruit will actually be in the drink, so keep everything small enough to sip.)

-Throw everything into one bowl and stir it up!

-Mix pineapple juice and orange juice into container or pitcher. Keep it about 3/4 pineapple juice and 1/4 orange. Put just a splash of lemon or lime juice in.

-Pour fruit into juice mixture. Everything should even out to be about 1/2 juice, 1/2 fruit.

Now, when it comes to this tasty drink, it’s really your preference on whether or not you want to add the wine. The juice by itself is still phenomenal! At the bridal shower, we put the sangria juice in a container with a ladle (pretty much like fruit punch), with the wine right next to it, for guests to add the alcohol only if the wanted. If you choose to just mix it prior, and simply serve it alcoholic, keep it about 1/2 juice and fruit and 1/2 wine.

lovely crafts: my line of bags

Hello! I have been keeping myself busy all day preparing for the Pond Party this weekend. So busy, in fact, that I neglected to post today! But, the way I see it, I still have about an hour and a half until it is officially Tuesday so I am still safe (be sure to stay tuned for tomorrow, btw, Lisa will be sharing a lovely recipe with us!).  

I will be selling some homemade totes, clutches, and a big all-day bag at the event this weekend. I'm really hoping to do well not just to rake in some extra money, but also because if the bags go over well this weekend I am considering selling them online at Etsy! 

This photo is of some of the hand-embroidery I have used on the clutches. Also, some of the bags feature a pretty tulle flower!  Because I am who I am, I had to have a common theme for the collection as a whole.  The bags are all made with cotton muslin outside, and white cotton lining.  They each feature a one-of-a-kind touch-whether it be an embroidery or a flower, each is unique.  The color scheme I used was beige, white, brown, silver and, of course, pink! I'm really excited for the way they are turning out and am really hopeful for a good response!

If anyone is interested in purchasing a bag (or bags) please let me know! As of now, the clutches are $8, the small totes are $10, and the all-day-bag is $20.  I am planning on offering more styles and sizes if the response this weekend is good. Please leave me a comment, or email me here.

I used some patterns from Sublime Stitching. The thing I love most about embroidery is how relaxing it can be. Yes, there are times when your floss may get tangled or your stitches will look a-mess, but it is always so possible and easy to start over. And, some of Sublime Stitching's patterns are so easy, they only take about ten minutes to complete. Embroidered items can be such neat and personal gifts, too!  Sublime Stitching offers some really modern and fresh patterns (so long farm houses).  I would really encourage any fellow crafters to dive into hand embroidery!  I was also really inspired by Lotta Jansdotter's book.  It is full of simple sewing projects that don't look so "home-sewn".  I used the tote bag pattern from her book about 2 years ago and found it so simple.  That is what I base my tote bags from now.  I would love to try to complete every project in her book (an idea for a series, perhaps?).

For now, I will embark on this bag-making business with a grain of salt.  I am a busy chic, goodness knows I don't need more on my plate.  But, I really love sewing and creating.  And I love it even more when someone receives what I've made and enjoys it too.  So why not make a few bucks while I'm at it?

Be lovely and goodnight!

Kellory Jeannette

New Kid on the Block

Hey guys!

Lisa here! So, you must forgive me, I haven't blogged since Xanga (talk about old school). I kinda feel like I'm learning to ride bike again... but no matter. I'll be joining Kellory on Be Lovely.

Just a little bit about me, I was raised on the Southern New Jersey coast. I love anything concerning the sea, so my posts may sometimes have a slight nautical spin to them. I go to college in Kansas and (like Kellory) I have a huge place in my heart for music, which is also what I study out at school. I love capturing creation on my little SD card :) I make a bit of jewelry here and there... and I TRY the occasional sewing project (please note the emphasis on "try." haha)

I'm pretty pumped to be writing with Kellory about all our artsy-fartsy adventures, so I guess you'll be hearing from me soon! :)

Peace out, girl scouts!

Lisa

New Launch Date

Hello, readers! Be Lovely will be re-launching Monday, July 19th.  I am excited to introduce a guest writer, as well! Lisa Salasin will be contributing with occasional posts from the east-coast (until she moves back to the mid-west, that is)! Stay tuned for an introduction from Lisa!

Be Lovely!

It'll Be Worth the Wait!

Be Lovely is temporarily on hold. I will be "re-launching" on Monday, July 19 with guest-bloggers and daily posts! Promise :)
I have finally ordered Internet so things will be MUCH easier. Plus, we're all moved in now and the stress of unpacking is almost gone!
Hope you'll stay tuned!
Be lovely, everyone.
Kellory

Please Hold...

Hello, all! You may have noticed I haven't been posting.  We are just now getting settled into our new home, still don't have internet and we are preparing to leave town this evening.

Also, I am trying to get caught up with some online classes so when I have internet connection, that is where my energy is going.  I hope that after the July 4th holiday, I will be back on track and ready to post consistently.

Until then, be lovely!!