Shop Talk

inspiration corner

January 31, 2007 /

Okay, it’s not perfect but I have a corner. Baby Bug says it’s okay that I keep my crap in her room because my crap is interesting. Especially the cup of 52 Sharpie pens. That’s her favorite. Good thing those caps don’t come off easily because she likes to play 52-Sharpie-Pick-Up every day. It’s her favorite game, right up there with eating crayons, messing up the television and climbing up on top of her toy box. Phew, it’s fun being a mom.

I don’t work much in this corner yet but I will on Friday when Super Sitter Number Two comes for a visit. I’m so excited. I shouldn’t be. I should not work. Why do I like to work so much? Toby says I should just design for fun, not money. Which I do. Right here on this blog. But I still like to work because I like to buy cute little outfits for Baby Bug and somebody has to pay for all those grande lattes from Starbucks. Not mention I have grand dreams of getting rich quick and buying a house with a washer and dryer AND an office just for me.

This morning I was wishing I didn’t work because I had to do my resale taxes. I hate doing my taxes. My taxes are easy and I still hate them. I just hate forms. I don’t sell anything other than my non-taxable labor so I just put zero zero zero down the form and send it off with a prayer. But still, just trying to read the form gives me hives. I should just work for free. I’m getting rid of my resale license pronto. It is way more work than it’s worth and I don’t need it anymore. I’ll miss doing flowers for weddings but the paperwork is not worth the hassle. If any bride wants me to do flowers, she can buy them herself and pay me to show up.

I’m rambling. Blame it on that second cup of coffee I’m sipping. What I wanted to blog about is my new inspiration corner. I like it. It’s nice. You don’t see it until you’ve walked all the way in to Baby Bug’s room so it doesn’t really clutter up our house. What? I’ll explain.

I have a Bren Shui rule that I always follow. I blogged about Bren Shui way back in my non-existant archives… maybe you remember. The rule is: everything must look good from when you’re standing in the door. All is well if everything looks okay from there. You can have piles of paper, dirty laundry, shuffled boxes of crap—I don’t care… just don’t put it in view of the door. Hide it in a closet or behind a sheet covered chair, anywhere. Just keep it out of sight. I want to be able to walk through my house quickly and feel as if things are in order. What I can’t see, doesn’t exist. Out of sight, out of mind etc. etc…

The inspiration corner is a nice surprise that you see once you’ve walked into the peaceful serene baby’s room (um, after I’ve picked up all 52 sharpie pens and the other miscellaneous toys of course). Baby Bug likes it too. She always wants me to hold her so she can examine each little piece and if I’m not watching closely so she can snag a push pin and eat it. Mmmmm, push pins are so delicious and pokey and sharp. They stab you in the throat when you swallow them. Don’t worry, she hasn’t swallowed a push pin yet. Cat kibble, yes. Push pins, no.

All of your ideas for space were great… but well, a lot of them won’t work. Mostly because Toby and I are lazy and stubborn and we don’t like change. Or Toby doesn’t like change. You get the picture. The garage idea… fantastic but we’ve already thought about that one a lot and there are too many hurdles. The crazy landlady, the fact that we don’t want to put money into our termite infested tear-down, the crazy landlady who wants to raise our rent, the mice that eat cords, the crazy landlady, the lack of a functioning door and on and on I could go. But feel free to come over and discuss it further with us if you like.

For now I’m holding onto my last little corner in Baby Bug’s room. And I’m also going to work work work and get rich quick so I can buy a real house.

15 Comments

  • mel

    January 31, 2007 at 11:28 am

    Turned out nice! While living in LA, Rt’s nursery was my hubby’s office by day, his room by night. I had him nap in our room in a pack ‘n play. You gotta work with what you got! Enjoy your work day on Friday!

  • studebakerkim

    January 31, 2007 at 11:38 am

    Firstly, sorry for the garage idea, I don’t know what I was thinking. you are right. Very BAD idea. Now, if I remember right, Baby Bug’s room has an art gallery feel. The series of prints are in matching or at least coordinating frames bring a peaceful feeling to the room. What if the inspiration board was hung in an identical frame evenly spaced with the other art pieces. The flow of the room would not be interupted.
    Or, cover a bottomless box in a rich chocolate brown fabric and cover your printer.This will keep dust off your equipment. Use the fabric and spray adhesive to cover other boxes in various shapes to hold your office supplies. this idea was inspired by your diaper changing suitcase which i just love. Stylish, inconspicuous, and practical. Out of sight, out of mind is a great way to go! Then, cover the cork portion of the inspiration board with the same fabric to make a unified feel to the room.
    Again, sorry for the garage idea. i’m a big dumb!

  • MamaBear

    January 31, 2007 at 11:42 am

    Beautiful inspiration board! I might just get one too. So far I was treating Flickr Favorites as my inspiration. But this is visual in the room, so it’s better.

    Just wondering, how much would a house cost around your area, you know the standard 3 bedroom, 2 car garage in a middle-class neighborhood?
    I’m live in a mid-size city in Midwest so you can buy a house like that less then 10 years old for about $200K to $250. I always wanted to move to Cali but the stories about house prices scared me off. Tahnks

  • josephine

    January 31, 2007 at 11:55 am

    Big Dumb I think not. I’m soooooo all over your fabric covered printer box idea. Why didn’t I think of that?! That’s going to be my next big project. I can’t wait!

    If we wanted to buy our dump of a flat that is on half of a concrete lot, behind a rat riddled restaurant and near an intersection where busses pant and gasp and make smog and where motorcycles cruise by so loudly we can’t even hear key dialogue parts in a movie and where sirens wail and scream and wake the baby up every time she’s napping…. we would have to pay about a million dollars and then we’d have to pay property taxes and tear the whole thing down because it’s about to fall down from termite infestation. But hey, we’re three blocks from the beach!

  • OMSH

    January 31, 2007 at 12:15 pm

    Well, I do love your board and am jealous yours is up before mine. But MINE WILL BE. I need to stop being a planner and be a doer. Y’know, like have Jeff come home and the entire bedroom is switched around! YES! That is what I should do!

    I’m so inspired by your inspiration board! Primarily the clocks on it that tell me time, time, time is TICKING AWAY!

    Can you hear it? It is YELLING at me.

  • Kuky

    January 31, 2007 at 1:43 pm

    It looks good. My inspiration board is in my computer. I don’t have an actual real tangible one. But that’s because everything I look at is online. I rarely have magazines or catalogs to pull apart. Hmmm…now I want a real inspiration board!!

    And I like your idea of Bren Shui. I need that in my house. Right now I am looking at piles and piles and piles. It’s overwhelming.

  • beck

    January 31, 2007 at 2:22 pm

    I love that you love to work. You’re talented as a mom and as a “career woman.” It looks like I’ll be going back to work after the baby is born and I’ve struggled so much with the thought of it. Like I’m somehow worse of a mother for doing it. Yes I prefer to stay home, but financially I need to work AND I LOVE my work. So it could be worse. But I feel like a better mom, knowing that a perfectly great mom like you still misses your “other job.”

  • LVGurl

    January 31, 2007 at 3:09 pm

    I keep up with my long-term career goals, too. It’s part of who I am. I’m fortunate to be able to stay home with the two littluns, but my girls will grow up fast! I love doing freelance projects and English tutoring in the meantime.

    I’m stepping onto my soapbox now, so forgive me… It’s important that we women stay viable on the career front. You never know what life will throw us, and that extra side income may become a necessary part of the family’s financial survival. Okay, I’m done now! :)

    Keep up the good work!

  • sarah gilbert

    January 31, 2007 at 4:34 pm

    i *love* Bren Shui. I immediately claim it as my own and will live by its example! well… slowly… guess that means i have to clean up my office.

    your inspiration board is great, great, great and it makes me want a better one. I had a beautiful, beautiful board I’d made of things from my business school travels (when I was living on loans and was, therefore, fabulously wealthy ;) but i lost it when i moved out of ex-boyfriend’s apartment. now i just have a little 12×12 cork board to which I pin knitting swatches and tiny bits of fabric. your inspiration is an inspiration to me to do better! :)

  • BeachMama

    January 31, 2007 at 5:18 pm

    I love it! As you start to do some work you may find that it works out better to be in Baby Bugs room anyway. With a sitter there at least you can close the door and let her play in the living room instead of the other way around. Just make sure you bring out everything you need before she goes down for the night or takes a nap and you want to get some work done.

    You are fabulous and kudos to Toby for encouraging you continue for fun and not put so much pressure on yourself. Things will fall into place and then you will be happy and shopping… for your new house :).

  • irish mistery

    January 31, 2007 at 7:16 pm

    You have inspired me to try out an inspiration board…I am actually thinking of my entire office but I think starting with a board is more realistic. What a great idea! Thank you.

  • DeeJay

    February 1, 2007 at 1:21 pm

    Love the swing picture in your inspiration corner. It’s way coolio.

    Did you doodle a lot as a child? Do you do most of your creating on the computer or do you draw and then scan the pictures in?

  • josephine

    February 1, 2007 at 3:43 pm

    Whoorl got that for Baby Bug for her birthday. I’m supposed to be framing it for her wall (which I will do). It’s just temporariliy residing on my inspiration board because it’s sooo cool. She bought it from an artist on Etsy.