let's keep it simple

As much as I love to sit down and admire lovely and wonderful blogs, I sometimes get overwhelmed by all the amazingness out there and wish design glimpse could get a little (or a very big) upgrade.  –Sigh-

And then I land back into reality. Santi is trying to get control of the keyboard, the mouse and everything else his little hands can reach…. Seriously, try to keep a 15 month old still while you try to figure out how to write a code (I believe that is how they’re called) to make your blog look nice.  It is not easy at all!! Then add my OCD to the mix and somehow I end up sitting on the floor coloring with little S and trying really hard not to get upset about my blog.

This has been how I have spent the last few days:

I’m trying to blog and upgrade design glimpse. Santi wants to sit on my lap and type or use the mouse or grab a pen or just do whatever a 15 month old can do with a computer. I put Santi on the floor and bring lots of toys for him to play. Pekka gets frustrated nobody is throwing her rat at her so she can play and starts barking. Pekka ends up sitting behind the safety gate at the stairs. Santi is walking all around the place carrying things from one room to the other. My computer is about to go to sleep and I’m still staring at my blog’s “template” design page trying to figure out how to make it work. .... It’s never ending.

So I’m keeping it very simple and I will not worry about the template, the codes and whatever else I was worrying about.

Besides nothing beats coloring with little S! (Even Pekka is starting to like that activity and she sits next to us and takes little naps while we are just having fun.)

ps. I've been working on some crochet cushions for my bedroom... I'll post pictures soon!

keep on bloggin'

For the last couple of months I've been trying to decide if I should keep design glimpse or not.

I kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking about it. I still couldn't make up my mind. 

Yes, I enjoy blogging. Yes, I like to share. No, I'm not good at being constant about it. 

So should I or shouldn't I continue with this project? ... decisions, decisions.

Yesterday, as I was unloading the dishwasher, I was making a mental list of things I want to post on the blog... and then I got my answer. I haven't blogged in like forever but I have a little notebook (yes, I'm the kind of girl that carries a Moleskine and a pen everywhere) full of ideas for the blog. 

Some doodles and silly things I like to draw just because!

Yes. I will continue blogging. 

I like it, it makes me happy, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

almost thanksgiving

I can not believe it's been almost two years now since I started blogging!

Having this project has been amazing and I have enjoyed everything I've done and posted on the blog so far! 

Thanks to all of you who read and follow the blog, I really enjoy sharing my thoughts, ideas and projects with others.

Have a great weekend everyone!! 

Two fabulous blog discoveries from last week

I have no idea what I was actually looking for when I came across Craft Snob… and I say I have no idea because it is clear to me that whatever I was looking for was not important at all! As soon as I entered this blog I totally forgot about everything else and was just so happy!

Obviously my first pick was the “knitting 101 with Elisa McLaughlin”… I already know how to knit, but the picture of that headband / cowl on the button was just fascinating to me… I read all of the 4 posts, downloaded the “it’s a cinch” pattern, looked for my smallest needles and started knitting! Two days later I had my own headband which I really want to wear but haven’t had the proper weather to be wearing such a warm headband…

Obviously I am now following Sara’s and Elisa’s blogs! 

Stripe Mania party @decor8

Many of you may not know this but one of my favorite blogs is decor8... and I also follow Holly on pinterest and for the last couple of days I have been seeing all this pictures of people wearing stripes going into one of her boards called "stripe mania"

So I got a little curious and decided to have a look at her blog and see what I've been missing and came across with #stripemania  virtual party!... Seriously, I just have to be in it! I love stripes!!!!

So I asked the hubby to be my photographer for the day and here are the pictures we came up with!

(oh yes, I forgot to let you know that Pekka decided she should be joining the party, guess she left little space for us to participate!)

don't you love stripes?

back to blogging

So… the baby is finally here!

On March 28 we welcomed a gorgeous little boy to our family, and since that day it has been non-stop activity for me!

We had our baby in Vancouver, B.C. and 15 days later moved to Mississauga, ON. (my husband got a job here so we had to leave Vancouver which has been really hard!) and let me tell you this: being a first time mom and trying to decorate/arrange a new household is not as easy as I thought it would be… specially with all the sleep deprivation going on!

Between motherhood and our home, I had to give up blogging and crafting and pretty much everything else (which I happily did… I love to have “nothing” to do but stare at our little boy!)  but now that the baby and I have established a routine, and my house isn’t packed with boxes anymore, I decided it was time to get back to blogging.

For my back-to-blogging post I decided to share with all of you (assuming there is someone reading this!) a ripple blanket I did for the baby!

Here are some pics of the process and the final results! 

as always Pekka was my supporter all the way through the end!

I loved working on this pattern… it was a little hard to get started because I kept getting distracted and didn’t keep the count… but once I had the two first rows ready it was actually very nice and relaxing! As for the colors, I went with teal and white since we chose not to know the sex of the baby… those 2 colors work great for a girl or a boy.

Oh well, I hope you enjoy! I’m very happy to be back!

I know this girl from New Zealand... and she designed this lamp!

As I’ve said before… design is everywhere and everything is design!

When I started working at designhouse and Marimekko I met Monique, a wonderful girl from New Zealand that was living in Vancouver with her fiancee (now husband!!!!!)Scott.

Monique is also a designer and we kind of understood each other’s obsession for chairs! so, when she moved back to New Zealand I asked her to share with design glimpse some of her work… specially her Lotus Lamp!

I’m completely in love with the lamp, it’s like having an art installation at home… I love great design and specially design that looks as beautiful as this lamp!

I asked Monique to tell us a little bit about the lamp, and if you happen to have any questions or a particular interest on her work you can also contact her at mcfurnituredesign@hotmail.com .

Monique, would you mind telling me more about the lamp? When did you come up with the design? What inspired you?

OK, so I designed the lamp in late 2005 and actually exhibited it at a store called the Urban Lounge when it was still a hand cut prototype.  Not long afterwards I was accepted to exhibit them at The 2006 Australian International Furniture Fair in Sydney in an up and coming designers section of the show called "The Edge".

The lamp was featured in Urbis (a NZ design mag) and Australian House and Garden Magazine.  

Then I left NZ to go travelling and put everything on hold.  I had hoped to try and get some Canadian stockists but my original bracket inside it doesn't fit many light fittings in North America, so now that I am back home and designing again I will work out a new North American bracket.  

I have no idea what inspired my lamp it sort of came out of nowhere, I did want to design something flat packed and easy to take to exhibitions overseas, and all of my work is quite multifunctional either you can use it for an entirely different purpose or you can change it around.

Currently the Lotus lamp is on display at Statements Gallery in Napier New Zealand along with my most recent design the Library Chair.

** thanks Monique for sharing with design glimpse!!! please keep me updated with your projects and feel free to keep sharing :)

LoveCake's 1st anniversary!!!

LoveCake is turning 1!!!! 

... And since Lindsey is celebrating this month, LoveCake will be hosting some pretty amazing giveaways and of course I couldn't miss the opportunity to share with all of you this amazing blog!

So I asked Lindsey to share with us a little bit of her blogging, crafting and life experiences as the creator of LoveCake!

** Thanks Lindsey for taking the time and being part of design glimpse! I hope you enjoy the post! **

Behind LoveCake there is ... a 26 year old woman, mom & wife who is embracing her creative self again while navigating the land of raising a toddler, Master E and being a great wife to a supportive hubby.

My expectations of LoveCake ... Hmm... It's hard to say because one minute I felt like I wasn't going to ask much of this blog and the next I was thinking it could be something really fantastic. But it had to always be something that would evolve and grow and feel like me throughout.. I wanted it to be my blank "blog canvas". So, to me that meant that if I wanted to bring awareness to bullying { like I did in my 4th or 5th post } or talk about how some days I'll be getting out of my pj's and brushing my teeth just as my husband comes home from work, I could. It's a no guilt, frilly around the edges, fluffy in the center, sweet and salty kinda blog. 

LoveCake's 1st year in a paragraph... I think I summed it up above. However, I will add that there were days it was hard to find something to blog about or I just didn't want to. LoveCake luckily was kind to me and adapted to how I felt... it was still there if I spent 3 weeks tending to a teething boy and suffering sleepless nights. And thankfully, it didn't ask me to blog about it.. 

What's next for LoveCake... LOTS of giveaways this month. I've also started a little range of felt hair pins - super adorable. And I'm hoping to incorporate more of my artwork into LoveCake's etsy shop and I'd love to do some guest blogging. Any takers? Ha. More cooking/craft tutorials... cake decorating...maybe even a little party planning…

I feel so lucky to have reconnected with an old friend from school. That's the power of blogs and social networking. Carmen and I go all the way back to grade 8 and it's pretty awesome that 10+ years later we find ourselves blogging and becoming moms! Happy 1st LoveCake and Happy Motherhood Carmen!! XXOO

ps. don't forget to enter LoveCake's giveaway! 

http://lovecake.ca/2011/03/10/1stitch2stitch-giveaway/

Spring is here! and so am I.

I know I haven’t been a very consistent blogger, but sometimes I just need a fresh start.

Like when you are in the middle of your design process and suddenly you realize that what you’re doing is completely not what you pictured, maybe it was in the beginning but then as you move forward it’s just kind of a mess. That’s how I feel sometimes about things, have you ever had that sensation? Have you ever felt that something was lost in the process?

I read this “ugly phase of creativity” post and came to realize it’s not only me hating what I’m doing and getting all frustrated sometimes… that happens to others as well. So the post made me think (yes… I do think sometimes) that I’m going through this phase with design glimpse…, at the beginning I just wanted to blog about design, but then I happened and I started mixing design with my own experiences, and then I took some time off because I didn’t know if I should continue writing or not. And today I finally came to realize that I can’t separate myself from design because I truly believe we’re connected. Design connects me with others and connects me with myself. Am I making sense at all? Maybe not; I don’t always do.

The thing is that I believe architects, artists, designers and creative people in general are not able to just be creative with some stuff and don’t be creative in other aspects. I think we perceive and feel the world in a different way. That is why I if I want to continue with this blog, you’ll have to read some stuff about me from time to time, because who I am affects not only what I design but also the designs I like or dislike, if that makes any sense at all.

Maybe what I should have said from the beginning was that I’m going to continue with design glimpse as my personal, design inspirational blog.