Get Organized

     If you are thinking about remodeling a space, one of the first people I would call, after calling a designer (wink wink) is a personal organizer.  When we decided to remodel our kitchen, I discovered that I was more of a fan of "form" than "function."  I wanted it to look pretty.  Since this was my one shot for a new kitchen, I knew I had to get it right.  No regrets!  I began talking to a cabinet maker and we decided on a layout.  During demolition, we took all of the old cabinetry out.  When the upper cabinets were removed, my once dark kitchen all of a sudden was filled with light.  I knew at that point that I would not be putting any upper cabinetry back in.  So, yikes, round two of planning began.  With no uppers, I knew that I would have to make the most of all of the base cabinets.  I started getting a little scared.  The new kitchen had to be more functional than the old one.  The cabinet maker and I quickly worked on the plans--remember, at this point, we had no kitchen!  Once I had a mock-up blueprint for my kitchen I called my good friend Vicki Manning, who just so happens to be a personal organizer, to run things by her.  With the plan in hand, we took stock of my entire kitchen and found a home for everything.  It was then that form and function collided.  We came up with the perfect plan.  We had to tweak a few more things on the blueprint, but what I ended up with is a kitchen that I love.  I wouldn't change anything about it.

Etsy

I know that everyone already knows about and loves Etsy, but I  want to talk about it today.  It has been such a valuable resource to me.  What an array of goods and talents are available to purchase and enjoy.  It is like an arts and crafts fair times 1,000 right at your fingertips.  I want to share with you a few things that I have purchased...

I hosted a garden club meeting at my house in the fall.  The meeting was about repurposing things.  Everyone went on a tour of my home looking for the things that were repurposed.  I had labels on each of the items with a description of how they had been "rejuvenated."  I found this pretty little chair when I was looking for a way to make the labels a little more interesting.  I printed it on each label.  I was so happy with the way it turned out.  It would also be great for stationery.

This is the first piece of art that I bought on Etsy.  The artist is Jayme McGowan.  The piece is made out of paper and is 3-D and I love it!  It makes me so happy whenever I see it.  It is called "Carried By Birds."  I liked this artist so much that I purchased a pocket theater that is a smaller printed version of one of her originals called "Night Journey."  You can see more of her art here.

Isn't that whimsical and fun!

I ran across this monogram that I purchased and used for a fundraiser event that I was helping with.  It became the logo for the entire event--programs, posters, etc...They were able to change the color and personalize it for us.  Salama is the organization.  It is a wonderful non-profit serving inner city youth in Nashville. You can find out more about it here.

I even found my blog header on Etsy!  I knew that I wanted to do it all by myself but I did not have the skills or resources to make it look very good.  This company was so easy to work with.   Through this process, I discovered how much I really enjoy creating this blog!

Thanks so much for reading!