Operation Move - Step Three

Part Three has involved quite a few purchases. Hmm. Not really good considering I have no money. But hey, I am selling old stuff and using the money from that to buy new stuff. Isn't that the responsible way to do it? It is in my book!

My lovely cousin, Sabrina, has been helping me loads with getting ready for the move. We love hanging out and have so many things in common. She recently moved back home after having lived in Copenhagen for a few years. It's great to have her close by again. As you can see we heart hanging out! She helps carry moving boxes, she helps clean and drives me all over town. Well, today was a longer drive to get to a destination we both love so dearly: IKEA!


Ikea is my best friend! At least when I have money to spend there. Otherwise I hate the cheap cheating slag waving all the cheap furniture and great deals in my face! Uh, easy now... Ikea is a good place, don't taint it!

Anyway, getting away from the point. We went to Ikea today, and I think my husband, Martin, was really glad that we chose to go alone and not insisting he came with us. He, like any other man on the planet I guess, hates Ikea. So off we went in Sabrina's massive Ford station car, ready to load it to the max. In my attempt to be responsible and cost effective, I had written a list of things I needed and done calculations of how much money I would need to spend. Needless to say, the list didn't resurface from my bag until the ride home. I actually didn't buy a whole lot of stuff I didn't need. Sure?! No, really!

The things I had to buy were shelves for DVD's - which we have loads of, another carpet, bed sheets, a bath curtain and cheap boxes for my closet for all my delicates :) I got all of that, being the list follower that I am. What I didn't need to buy I bought as well. I bought extra shelves for DVD's - one would never be enough. Also, my earlier mentioned Shepard Fairey posters needed frames as well. They were hella expensive, because the posters are so big. But it will look absolutely amazing! And it is the one thing my husband would really like to put up on the walls of our apartment, so of course they need proper fitting and they can be put up. Then I bought new umbrellas, because we walk quite a lot since we sold our car, and there is "no such thing as bad weather", apparently. Inspired by the ever cool Jessica Jones of howaboutorange.blogspot.com, I chose the orange ones. Then I bought small things like gift wrapping supplies, stickers, toilet brush - you know, the essentials!

Our local Ikea closed down its gift wrapping department quite a while ago. It has been impossible to find any cool gift paper, ribbon or anything, really. But now they have reopened that "department" with a small, but cool and essential collection. Last time I bought these green delights! Gift paper, ribbon, silk paper, masking tape, a book and gift tags. Such a cool design. On my visit to Ikea today I went with the pink version. Green and pink look cool together, so I can mix and match, and the colours are for boys and girls.

I feel like I have done a great job and that we really needed these things in order for us to make the apartment extra cool. All the black frames with cool posters, the green carpets under the dining table and the sofa table will look absolutely amazing. I wish we could afford a new couch that would fit the style a bit better, but money doesn't grow on trees! Who knew?!

Also buying the stuff to fill your apartment with is such a cool process. Before you can decorate a place, you need to buy the stuff to decorate with. Mission accomplished!

Now bring on the pasta and the oatmeal for the rest of the month!

Love VS. Design - free printable heaven!

This blog is so creative. If you do not know it, please visit their site!

The primary areas of focus on this website are weddings and parties, to put it simple. But they also offer gift tags and greeting cards for different occasions.

They offer the most beautiful design pieces that I have seen in a long time. This is exactly how I wanted my wedding invitations, programs, menus and place cards to look! I am sure my wedding would have been much more perfect if I had known this website existed then. Oh, who am I kidding? My - well, our - wedding party was perfect down to the last raindrop and I have never had a more wonderful day! It was off the chain, so to speak :) Also, I would have never been able to pick one single design out of this huge range of lovely and creative designs.

But the thing we are interested in is the freebies! So check out some of the cool free stuff they offer.

First up: The Ticket Line. I really like this concept. There is something very vintage about this. There is an invitation and place cards as a free download on the website. The third picture is a Valentines Day Coupon set that is also available at www.lovevsdesign.com. I thought that they complemented each other quite well. Personally, I absolutely adore the Valentines Day Coupon set, and it makes me hate that Valentines isn't such a big thing here in Denmark. At least not in our family -.- ! I am definitely making this for next years valentine, and then my husband will just have to put up with it! Oh my god, I have already found so many wonderful Valentines Day free downloads.. I'll have to start preparing them now if I want to get them in some kind of order for next year. There are so many!

Next: Mad Libs. I did not know what this was - Mad Libs. But of course I know the concept and these pre-printed templates are so cool and can be used in so many ways. Most of these are occasion specific, but who cares, right? The first photo is an Activity Sheet that matches the Confetti Line of the Bride&Groom Mad Libs in the second photo. The third photo is the Teepee Mad Libs part of love vs. designs children's line designed for baby showers and announcements. This is so cool and what a great thing to have from a baby shower to look back on. The same goes for the wedding edition, of course! Some of our family friends actually did something similar for us at our wedding. They had brought little pieces of paper, and told every guest to write something for us, and then they collected them in a lovely box and sealed it. We were then told to wait till our first anniversary to break the seal and read all the lovely notes from our friends and family. What a great idea, and let me tell you, someone was crying her eyes out! Not telling you who, though!

Now: Gift Tags. I am sucker for gift tags. There is nothing more satisfying for me than to wrap a gorgeous looking gift and give it to someone. The wrapping is half the gift, sometimes! This also means that I fall in love with everything gifty! Like these gift tags. Obviously, most of the gift tags in the world are designed for Christmas. The coolest of love vs. design's gift tags are also for Christmas. The first photo here is a children's one, which I will use on every gift the next couple of months, because they are not season specific. I love it, it's too cute. The second photo is of feather holiday gift tags. These are some of the coolest gift tags I have seen in forever. I love them. So different and cool. The third picture is also such a clever design. I mean, who hasn't at one point gotten a horrible sweater for Christmas that they hated? I know I have! And they make me think of the sweaters Ron and Harry got from Ron's mom in the first Harry Potter movie.
There are a few more gift tags in the free printable section, like the Simple Sweet Gift Tags, Holiday Gift Tags, Kraft Gift Tags, New Baby Gift Tags, and finally the Bright Holiday Gift Tags. Download them all and use them well!

Last: Recipe Cards. Last year I bought a traditional American recipe box with a few recipe cards and dividers for Baking, Salads, Meats, and so on. I'd post a photo if it wasn't packed away in moving-box-hell! I never cook. So I don't know why I wanted a recipe box, because I'll never use it. But it was just so cute and fits so well into my wannabe-vintage style home, and it had lovely colours and there is a singing bird on it and it has dots and the font is just right and the font is turquoise and, and, and... I am dumb! But! Me having a recipe box has made me look for recipe cards, and my, do I love them. The ones that love vs. design offer are great, and they recently added another one. Green. I love green! The first photo is of the green classic recipe cards and they are just lovely, and even feature a backside for further instructions. The second photo shows matching recipe cards and dividers. There is another version of these here. The last one is another cool favourite with a classic vintage font and a cool backside print that completes the vintage look. Had it been in a more vibrant colour, I would have been ecstatic. Still cool, though!

That was what I wanted to share today from the lovely website of www.lovevsdesign.com. Go there, buy stuff, support them, and print all the free downloads! There are many other free downloads, so go check them out!

Cheers!

Creativity has finally found me!

After all of these years wishing I would do something creative, I am suddenly finding myself doing almost too many things, considering the amount of time I have during the day.

I should be looking for jobs... I should be cleaning the house... I should be walking the dog... I should be keeping my husband company... I should go for a run... I am not doing these wonderful (-.-) things!

I have begun drawing, making earrings, painting, folding things.. I am contemplating bigger projects, like learning to sew and making cool and lovely things for myself and my friends.. I have even been shopping for this.. My mum took me to a "creative" fair this past weekend, and I almost collapsed with all the cool and fun impressions, and my mind almost blew up for all the ideas that sprang to my head. I wanted to do it all, learn it all and own it all NOW! I bought a few things to get the earring-thing going.. And now I just ordered a buck-load of materials.. But who am I kidding?! I can't wear 25-30 earrings!! And I can't keep finding free spaces on my walls for all the 13x18 cm drawings I keep making.. Soo.. I am going to have to start selling all of my lovely projects! I already sold drawings to my parents and parents-in-law, but, you know, they have to support and encourage me! So as I make more and more things, I will post them here for sale at a very reasonable price, and if you should be interested, please write me an e-mail, and we'll figure all the details out :) oh, my e-mail is stinne-b@hotmail.com :)

So, as it turns out, this is going to be a blog about creativity! And I am loving it. Even in this very moment I am torn between sitting at the computer, writing, and being upstairs drawing a new picture..

So inspired!

I wish I was a creative girl! I just visited www.lovevsdesign.com and followed the blog howaboutorange.blogspot.com, and I am amazed!! These people are soooo creative!

If things were different - like if I won the lottery - I would not be spending my time and energy on finding a job to pay my bills. I would spend all day - and, to be honest, all night - looking at websites like the ones I just mentioned. I would learn how to sow, how to draw and how to design all sorts of weird things.. That is one of the things I am really looking forward to when I, at some point in the apparently distant future, get pregnant. Of course I will give birth to the easiest child in the world, which would allow me to spend some of my maternity leave on learning all of these things.
I have already taken up knitting! My mum has always knitted. If I would have worn it, she would have knitted me underwear.. Not kidding, btw!! So I am now knitting myself a scarf. The easiest thing in the world - according to my mum - but I have made so many holes, knitted in uneven loops and it doesn't look like a scarf my mum would have made!
Anyway, I plan to throw all my creativity at this scarf, once I am done knitting it. I will sow pearls, buttons and tinker on the scarf.. At least one of the things! If it turns out allright, I will be sure to post a photo of it.. And maybe open up a small business of scarf production... As if -.-