"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? No. Just as one can never learn how to paint." - Pablo Picasso

Welcome back to Love Your Space Blog! 

I am so excited for what's to come for this blog that I have created. I know that it will stretch it's definition, that's for sure. I will be sharing opinions, inspirations, DIY projects, budget ideas, and the creative processes towards any and all of these topics. 

Check out the About section of this blog to find out more about where I have been and the life journey I have taken to get me where I am today...which is now sunny Orange County, CA!!!!!! 

This post is a re-introduction to Love Your Space {Yay!}

The following pictures were taken by myself while traveling from Canada to Southern California. They are in no particular order of travel. But please, just enjoy the pictures and the colors I created from Sherwin William's ColorSnap app for iPhone. I am really into finding a picture that I love, then creating the colors, then creating the mood, then creating the Space from it. It's all a process...Please enjoy! 

“A house without books is like a room without windows.” - Horace Mann

Book Party!

My dad is a writer. Aside from smoking cigars on the back deck with his laptop in front of him, he also has to throw his own book launch parties. With five thriller novels and one young adult series of six books, my family and I throw launch parties and book signings like no one's business. {Credit: my wonderful Mom is really the brains and the brawns behind all the operations! You rock, Mom.}

This last week, the week I moved back to Colorado for the month, my dad had a huge party at Barnes&Nobles to promote the release of his latest thriller, The 13th Tribe (Thomas Nelson Publishing.)

There was a four day notice and a $130 budget for my mom to get this party rocking. Of course, without asking, I jumped in on this opportunity to help her with the decorations and such. Don't you just love the colors of this cover? Party colors for sure! 

I jumped on Pinterest : my go-to for quick ideas and inspirations (gosh, I love Pinterest.) 

I found this PERFECT book party link to Amelie's House blog {go check it out!} I also found a couple more ideas through random pins on Pinterest. Check out my Partaay board here.

As you know, I am not just an observer... I get things done! A few late nights and a couple trips to  Party City, Costco, and Walmart and.... Let's Take A Look! 

{Photo credit: my mom took all the pictures while working and keeping the snacks stocked up, thanks mom!}

 My dad, Robert Liparulo, signing books. Look at all those books! Notice the colors of the balloons - perfect! 

 I took an old book and cut out the pages to make these little banners to spruce up the table.

 My mom, Jodi Liparulo, made wonderful wedding cake with frosting and blue sprinkles. We then made the little books to stick into the tops.

 The table: black table cloth with green napkins and blue stars, a jar for drawings of books, the wreath I pulled directly from that cute little blog {Amelie's House} and quickly made one with the old book of pages I cut up. Then  there were a few snack foods for everyone (no one needs to be getting cranky!) 

These are the books that were up for the drawings. We wrapped them in clear wrapping with white polka dots and sparkly ribbon and added the "bookworm" candy worms packages to each one. 

That's it! The 13th Tribe book launch party! What I enjoyed the most about this proccess (besides the colors and seeing hard work pay off on a budget) is that my family really knows how to come together and support one another. We supported my dad for his dedication and success of his book, we supoorted my mom for being the backbone to getting things done, and in the car, and set up at the event, and they supported my creativity and inputs about...well...everything. 

If you have time to check out my dad here is his information: 

Website: http://www.robertliparulo.com/thrillers/the-13th-tribe/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.liparulo

I know that this strays a little from my home decorating posts, but so what?! Creative design and decorating is creative design and decorating! And I do believe that there are many ways to put love into ANY kind of SPACE. The table space that my dad needed to 'launch' his party from blah to fabulous (as my Aunt Stacie would say) was much needed and I'd say kicked butt. So...again... no matter where your space is...I hope that this will help you with more ideas to LOVE IT! Love&Light friends. 

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Moving!

Here it is... I am in the last two weeks of my life in Santa Fe, NM.     It's... bittersweet. Truly. I almost don't know what to think. 

I love it here. I love the different people. I love the heritage and history. I love the tourist-town vibe. I love the galleries. I love the turquoise (oh the turquoise.) I love the mountains. But I think what I love more is the love that grew here. In my faith. In myself. And in my relationship. 

This is my view - minus some decorations I took up to Colorado. (I took it with Pano on myiPhone)

I love this space. It's small, simple, and quiet. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, we just finished the guy's t-shirts we printed to help our trip out. Blake's doing a workout and we both are talking about the next move we are about to make.

BITTERSWEET:

{bitter} 

I am loving my natural surroundings here (every season is different.) 

I love riding my bike throught the Plaza to get to work. 

I loved the 15 minute drive to work at the ski shop for the season (the trees along the winding road with white puffy snow clouds on them were breathtaking.) 

I love riding my bike around town with my boyfriend finding new deli's and bistros. 

I love when a storm is coming in and the sunset reflects the bright blues, purples, and oranges across the whole sky. 

I love the friendships I've found here. 

I love that this whole journey has opened my eyes and ears to the things going on around me, and also the inviting feeling to pick up and take my adventerous soul elsewhere...

{sweet}

I don't want to settle down here... I have other places to see and faces to meet. 

I get to be back home in Colorado for a few weeks hanging with my family and friends. 

The place I rent out is month to month and a very temporary set-up. 

I'm itching for change. 

I'm eager and excited to see the growth in all areas of my life because of the move. 

I have all the love and gratitude for this sweet town and I'll be leaving on a great note! 

Dream Big Ride Far:

I'll be posting up a blog about the next trip I'll be going starting around July -----> LOOK for it soon!

I designed and then we screen printed a bunch of these shirts (above)

 We have *****men's t's XL-S for $20***** and *****women's t's L-XS for $20*****, going towards the new journey fund. Please email me (under the about tab) if you're interested.

So, this is it! Two weeks left! I'm taking it all in and saying my goodbyes. I'm learning more and more ways to organize and put away all my belongings into boxes and bins. I'm looking forward to the lessons I'll be learning while having my household items put away for who knows how long. I'll have the time to catch up on a bunch of reading and finishing up my courses online for interior decorating. I also am looking forward to finding my own way to bring nature into my style for home decorating in the future. 

{Here's to the next few months, whether in an empty studio, my family's guest room, and then a bunch of hotels and my new home being in a tent along the Pacific Coast! I know that with the talent I have I will Love My Space, wherever it leads me.}

"As Americans, we have fought hard for the heritage of our beautiful and clean land." - Matt Liparulo

Loving your space backpack

It's hard, isn't it? It's hard for me to imagine it too. I live for decorating walls and organizing closet space, and matching colors, and making any space cozy. 

This blog, today, is dedicated to my bad a** brother, Matt.  He's determined and passionate. He's full of faith and laugher. He's my best friend of all friends. 

Here is the info on his newest project: 

Kickstarter (2 days left!)

Facebook

YouTube

Blogspot

Matt's checklist on how to pack his home away from home into his new space:
Order to pack backpack: Start: bag must be empty, complete pre-made checklist of gear required before begin packing, lay out all gear, have a "spotter."
Begin: bottom large pocket; trash bags, YakTrax, Mechaniz gloves, toe shoes, 6" knife.
Next: main pocket(go in this order); Survival kit, eating utensils, body care, warm weather clothes(assuming its nice out), extra underwear and socks, sleep wear(if not rolled up in sleeping bag), change of clothes. Look! Room for things on "items missing list."
Next: top-inner pocket; for things you may have to whip out and not rummage through your bag, 50' parachord, radio, extra Swiss Army knife, other pair of headphone that didn't go in survival bag, USB charger, ankle band, light sticks.
Next: top-outer pocket or side pockets; book, journal, notepad, maps(iPhone), water bottles.

And a list of EVERYTHING that will be his home for the next few years:
List of items in survival kit: 3 compressed face and body towels, 2 tubes of chapstik, 1 needle kit, 1 bottle of mixed pills (vitamins, allergy, cold and cough, sleep aids, pain killers; label for pills inside bottle), 2 pairs of finger nail clippers, 2 tooth brushes, 1 bottle of biodegradable soap, 1 disposable razor, 1 rubber band, 1 sticky note pad, 1 bottle of gorilla glue, 1 back of matches, 1 orange crayon, 1 pen, 1 fine point Sharpie pen, 1 wallet (to use as $, card, ID holder; don't bring anything else in your wallet, bare minimal), 1 GU pack, 1 red 12hr SnapLight, 1 miniature survival kit (items include: twine, 3 fishing hooks and line, extra small ziplock bags, 3 safety pins, 1 paper clip, 1 square foot of foil (mirror, bowl, stove top), wire (traps), 1 surgical razor, 1 map reading compass, 1 whistle, 2 rolls of duck tape, "Survival Guide" booklet), 3 hand warmers, 1 philips head screw driver, 1 pen LED flashlight, 1, Buck knife w/ flashlight, 1 hat bill flashlight, 1 tent wall and sleeping bag repair kit, 1 bottle of Iodine pills (water filtration), 1 Swiss Army knife, 2 Emergency space blankets, 2 blocks of fire fuel, 1 waterproof bottle full of waterproof matches, 1 lighter with medical tape wrapped around it, 1 ziplock bag (full of gauze pads, bandaids, sanitizer wipes and ointment), 1 bottle of Neosporin, 1 pack of moleskin, 3 packs of EmergenC, a roll of extra ziplock bags, 4 2' cords of utility rope, the bags laid out above the REI bag is for organizing what is spread around.

List of items in backpack: 1 black trash bag, 1 white trash bag, 2 grocery bags, 1 Ebit foldable stove, 1 plastic bowl, 1 set of plastic ware, 1 pot, 3 sticks of SnapLight, 1 reflective ankle band (for walking by a road), 1 radio (with super bright LEDS, FM, AM, WeatherBand, USB plug for music, winder and solar panel to charge batteries), 50' of parachord, 1 pair Mechanix gloves, 1 pair YakTrax, 1 Swiss Army knife, 1 Gerber 6" knife, 1 bottle of sunscreen, 1 tube of deodorant, 2 pairs of earphones, 1 pack of organic meal bars, 1 map (or iPhone in my case), 1 USB battery charger, 1 small Bible, 1 small journal, 1 small draw pad (most pages ripped out to make it smaller).

Clothes (mine are not ideal, but I used them for a visual): 1 pair of REI pants, 1 pair of REI shorts, 1 swim suit, 1 pair of hiking shoes, 1 pair of sandals/toe shoes, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 non-cotton t-shirt, 2 pairs of "workout" or "active" underwear, 1 warm-wind-waterproof jacket(not pictured), 1 pair of warm socks, 2 pairs of "active" sock, 1 warm head cover, 1 pair gloves, SLEEP WEAR; 1 pair underwear, 1 pair pajamas, 1 warm shirt, 1 pair socks (these items NEVER leave your sleeping bag!).

List of items missing in pictures: tent, sleeping bag/pad, hiking poles (optional), 1 week's worth of food, glasses/contacts case, solar charger for phone-camera-iphone(map), camera (lenses, memory cards, batteries), hat, bandana, water bottles.


I wish you all the Love&Light in the world on your new journey, brother! Thank you for sharing with us your new home...Just goes to show no matter where your journey takes you... you will always have the opportunity to Love Your Space.

"Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature." - Gerard De Nerval

CRAFT WITH RECYCLED BOTTLES

I never realized how many glass bottles I actually go through until I set out to do this crafty project. In my mind, I was like "Ok, let's (I am a group, by the way) slowly try to collect some bottles to get going on this project." 

2 days later... I had 9 bottles! It did help I serve plenty of wine at my work, and they just throw the bottles there away, sooooooo...

I had collected dressing bottles, Pellegrino bottles, Corona bottles, and plenty of wine bottles. Since this project I have another 13 random bottles to get going on another few projects. 

STEPS:

1. Stash away any glass bottles you find.

2. Soak them in suddsy water to get the labels and glue off as much as you can.

3. Sand off any unwanted lingering glue.

4. Head on over to Home Depot or Lowe's (they have a larger selection of colors) and pick out the spray paint of your choice for about $4 a can. Get matte, silk, or glossy - whatever you like! 

5. Whip out your trusty glue gun (grabbed one from Hobby Lobby for about $12 - it's wireless.) I chose to write words on my vases. But you can do any kind of design or verse, quote, polka dots, stripes, or name.

6. Let that glue dry and try to peel off any of those crazy glue gun fly-aways. 

7. Take your bottles outside and set up a little station to where it'd be flat to set the bottles upsidedown.

8. Spray away! Avoid the other bottles while spraying one at a time if they are different colors. 

9. Flip the bottles over once there are 3-4 coats DRIED on them. 

10. Spray the top edges and a little in the bottle's opening.

11. I got my fake flowers from Hobby Lobby. I think I paid too much for them, but that was me being in a hurry to get this project rolling. I heard they go on sale about once a month, so look for them there. OR better yet, drop a fresh flower or two into the vase after filling it with water. (Fake is good for me, I don't have the green thumb I wish I did.) 

12. Enjoy your new, home made, recycled vases! Or give them as gifts - which is what I did ( I shipped them out so hopefully my besties get theirs before they check out my post! I color coordinated the vases and flowers to their room colors.) 

 And that's it! You could set them on your fireplace, dresser, in the window, laundry room, kitchen....anywhere you want to bring the colors together in the space you love!

 I am planning on using most of my next 13 bottles all together in one large display.... Wonder how that's going to look. I'll post that as soon as I do it.

Thanks Pinterest, for your many creative ideas!

"Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives." - Tony Robbins

RESOURCES

Websites, blogs, articles, businesses, friends, networks...

There are so many resources in this colorful world of ours that allow us to make decissions about the spaces we love. 

I only PEEKED at some of the opportunities that are available...Check some of them out! 

Lowe's - You can easily create an account for yourself. Why would you need an account at Lowe's? Well, you know that paint color you got two summers ago and threw it onto your dining room walls? And now the messy, old can is sitting in a pile in your shed. And those dings and playful crayon monsters that are now on your walls? Do you remember the exact color you bought to go over those mishaps? Most likely not...Which is why from now on you go to My Lowe's!


- Saves your purchases at any Lowe's
- Finds the closest one to you
- Gain rebates
- Creates Files for continuing projects, wish lists, notes, etc.
- AND reminds you of unfinished projects and deadlines that you created for your home projects


I LOVE that this is available to everyone to use...for FREE! If you are a consistant costumer at Lowe's DO take advantage of this, and if you aren't...well you are now!


Another feature that they have is a Before and After for little projects to do around the house that improves appeal and funcionality.

Home Depot - CHECK OUT what they offer these days...

I picked the style bathroom, flooring, and color on the walls and cabinetry and counter tops - Right from their website and saved it to My Favorites. Just go into their paint department online and choose the Home Inspiration Tool.


Starts you off with what kind of room you are looking at and then takes it from there. In just seconds you are putting different paint samples together on the walls and seeing if the color scheme you wants flows together well. Then it can save your room, if you'd like, and show what you picked out in a shopping cart. Once you go to your shopping cart, it comes up with a calculator to figure how much paint you need based on your room dimensions - BRILLIANT!


And as if you need some more easy access, it can schedule an appoinment for a professional to come get your measurements FOR YOU. Also, if you place your order from your shopping cart, you can get in your car and pick your order up. BAM!


The Home Depot also has a blog you can follow, called The Apron, for updates, in-store tuturials, and sales.

"What color best represents me?"


Great question! And the truth is ANY color! But I understand how it is hard to choose on a color SCHEME (i.e. color theory: the choice of colors used in design for a range of media, style, and appeal.)


I think the first thing to do when you are stuck in this spot is to decide what MOOD you'd like to create. There are PLENTY of websites that go over the psychology of colors. I believe that this is a KEY factor to figure out before have-atting the bathroom with a bright orange (which will wake you up, that's for sure.)


Paint Quality Institute - for a simple, straight forward appoach to getting the basic moods of the primary colors.


In that bathroom for the Home Depot project above, I chose a Blackberry Harvest for my accent wall, which is the deeper purple tone and Schoolhouse Slate for the other walls, appearing as a light gray tone. I chose the purple because it is more of a femine and royal color. By making it darker, it makes it a little bit more masculane (for the man in my life; if you don't have one, then girl, you make it as girly as you like!) I was also thinking of adding images of more hardwear, or cars, or machinery in black and white and in b&w frames. Then I wanted some fresh lavender in vases to add a lighter pop of color and a wonderful scent. They say that the color gray is a "dark state of mind." I tend to disagree, though. Gray is my favorite color. It's not black, it's not white, and it matches everything. Maybe it is leaning towards "gloomy" but thunderstorms are my favorite weather. 

Visually, we usually need something that helps us see the colors together before we buy gallons and gallons of paint to start these projects. 


I have found my new FAVORITE iPHONE APP!!!


Sherwin-Williams - has a free app that lets you either download a picture or take a picture and then you choose what color in that picture you like and it will match the color to one of their hundreds of paint colors! You can choose three different colors for each picture, save it, then find a store closest to you to grab those paint colors. 


Snapfish - After you pick your paint colors based on a sick picture you took, get your picture printed on canvas for $35.

 Design Seeds - Go check it out! The woman behind the wonderful website has worked many different jobs (inspiration for the direction my life is heading!) which have all led her on this journey of passion for color hues and blogging. 

Pinterest - I am so addicted to this website right now. It's a more organized, personal version of Google. I have boards for DIY, Dream House, Sister's Room Ideas, and Space Ideas.

This image above was found off of Pinterest. I added it to one of my boards where I can look back at it and be reminded of creativity that'a in the world and how easy we can make everything personal for our own spaces. 




There are infinate websites that I have been checking out and following to help inspire not only me and my space, but also trying to find ideas to share with my family and friends and you guys. These sites are few of the faves.


A world of colors based off beautiful images and the simple things in life is free for the taking right off the web! There should be nothing stopping us from finding inspiring ideas and following through with creating an elegant, personal, intimate, and vibrant space of our VERY OWN!

"Get people back into the kitchen and combat the trend toward processed food and fast food." - Andrew Weil

ORGANIZING YOUR KITCHEN CUPBOARD

My culinary boyfriend likes to buy more natural foods from Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or The Sunflower. Unfortunately for our small cupboards that means more plastic bags tossed around and either tied up or not tied up again (we all know that leads to beans everywhere!) 

I needed a solution! A quick, cheap, and creative solution of course. I am falling hard for the chalkboard paint! 

I got the Krylon Chalkboard paint from Hobby Lobby for $6 (30% on sale.) I got the chalk for $1 from Hobby Lobby as well. I already had stencil paper and wanted to use that to cut out the correct size of square I wanted on the jars. 

The jars were given to us, so they were a wopping $0!!! They aren't the ones that'd I'd have picked out, but the ones I wanted were $8 each (ouch) so I will do with what I can. 

I origionally made the stencil and used it on a practice jar. The paint bled bad and it was difficult to keep it flat on the round glass. So I decided to use just tapeto make the square I wanted on each jar- that actually worked out better because I could leave it alone to dry. I noticed that there was still a little bit of bleeding. 

So I took an exacto-knife and scraped off the chalk paint that I didn't want. It was easy to scrape off, so it was no problem that the paint bled through the tape. 

WOW!!! What a mess. You know the saying "out of sight out of mind"? So true for the bags that are stashed away in the back of the cupboards. Pulling them out and putting them in glass jars will put your beans, chocolates, snacks, rice, whatever you want out on a pretty display so you will use them all up before hitting the grocery store again. I have mine on the counter for now, but the jars might all end up back in the cupboards for storage space, which is even better! Even this keeps your shelves clean and snack foods in a safe, organized, and labeled space. 

I like the chalk idea because you can change out what you put in the jars and re-label them in two seconds. Easy functionality is the key to organization in the kitchen. New ideas, new food groups, new nationalities, and new diets are in and out of my kitchen all the time, so this is a great idea for us to keep track of things. 

This is also a great idea for desk organization and kids' play rooms. You can stash paper clips, rubber bands, little girls' barrets, boys' lego pieces, scrapbooking items, and so much more into little or big labeled jars. Recycling the jars will also add the the feel-good vibe of the thrifty-ness of this project. 

DON'T be afraid to do this!! Start collecting a few things here and there and soon you will be ready to do this quick, inexpensive project on your own. Make sure you find the jars you like and filling them with things that fit into the space you love.