Contemplative Thoughts

I am currently up in Wisconsin at my cottage working on a project for an upcoming photoshoot.  Yes I forgot to post something about Father's Day and painting is not as high on the priority list right now.  I feel crazy.  This time in WI is not of rest and relaxation which is normally what this setting entails.  I am working around the clock to finish something that is just easier to work on on our massive dining room table (without a kitty at my feet).  From here I head to a florist's to work on a seating chart, and then home to complete a couple other projects before heading out of town again for my sister's bachelorette party in Michigan.  It feels like a whirlwind that I am standing still in the middle of.  Time and projects, but my brain has a moment to just think as I slowly progress on my work.

It made me think about how I work and the confidence you have to have going into and starting a project made by one's hand.
Trust me….

You have to look ahead, but not too much and know that where you touch down is a good place to start, even if you have to adjust things along the way.  As time progresses, you begin to trust yourself a bit more and become familiar with your surroundings…and you no longer have to fear.

I got all this while painting some words…..and without drugs.  Wow…..maybe I should do drugs instead.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

As you know, I gave in to slowing down on my current painting, rather than college cramming.  I put in some additional time at the Wheaton Wedding Walk this weekend to keep things moving along.  There's really not much left!

One of the projects that occupied some time this week was a special table seating chart for the Bride's Choice event going on tonight from 6pm-9pm at Room 1520.  If you'd still like to get tickets, they are available here.  Clementine Custom Events asked if I would help them out with their display, and I was all too eager to showoff my skills.  Below is a mirror I wrote on with wash-off-able marker.  It's tricky to take a picture of a mirror!

Stop by and see how this Frenchie display fits into Clementine's Parisian inspiration!

Searching for Pots of Gold

Confession:  It has been 20 days since my last post.  Am I a bad person….not really.  Am I a busy person….sort of.  Am I traveling entrepreneur….why yes I am.
Last week I returned to the states from a trip to Ireland.  Crazy, right?  I feel so sneaky about it cause I really kept it under wraps from everyone.  I'd love to shout it from the rooftops that I went to Ireland, but here's the thing….some business stuff is developing and my Ireland trip is content for that development.  So, until things really happen, this is all I will be sharing with you:

In the meantime, I want to catch you up on some of my other projects, events and a new painting this week.  I'm going to make up for my lack of posts earlier this month, promise!

New Year Facelift

Happy New Year from Reenie Rose!!
It's my first post of the new year which will be followed up by the first weekend of 2014.  I feel like having all of the holidays during the week has kind of messed up the flow of the past few weeks….I thought yesterday was Monday!  Maybe it's ok.  We can regroup this weekend and dive into next week with more clarity and focus on starting the year off the way we want it to.
I am personally looking forward to a fresher start to 2014.  I've lived in my condo for over 7 years now, and though I love it, it needs a bit of a facelift.  Luckily, I only need to go as far as a couple of cans of paint and a few diy projects to get me feeling like I am in a newer space.

Another kick in the butt for this room-redo, is that my apartment has been chosen to be featured on the Chicago based blog, The Everygirl.  If you haven't checked out this blog yet, put it on your 2014 list of things to do.  It is chalk full of inspiration…my favorite articles are the career interviews and home tours.  My dear friend and photographer Jennifer Gaudreau (Jennifer Kathryn Photography) is going to come out and re-shoot my space for the new story.  In the meantime, here are a few of the "before" shots that were submitted to be considered for this feature.

All photos courtesy of Jennifer Kathryn Photography

I'll keep you updated on all of my makeover projects.  Haven't decided yet, but this weekend will either involve some charcoal gray or silver paint.  Hope your weekend is productive!!

Pop the Champagne to Celebrate Pantone and DIY!

It has been quite awhile since I posted.  I kind of took a mental holiday break from everything.  Instead of digging myself out of snow, I'm trying to surface out of a pile of catching up which means I have a bunch of content to share with you….all in due time of course.
For starters, I want to go back to about a week and a half ago when a styled shoot I worked on was featured on Style Me Pretty Illinois.  Once again, myself, Jennifer Gaudreau of Jennifer Kathryn Photography and Meghan Andalman of Lovebird Events took on the Pantone color of the year: Emerald Green.  I'm kind of sad to see this one go since it still seems so in season and fresh.  Alas though, I think we paid tribute to this color quite well with our shoot.

Hosted at The Boarding House in their 3rd floor dining room, we couldn't have asked for a better setting and source of inspiration.  From floor to ceiling, myself and the rest of our team used the space as our muse for our individual projects.  I took the wine bottle ceiling and inverted it to create a centerpiece for our table:

Another project I took on was a custom painted table runner.  We decided against the over done chevron and went with a simple wide diagonal charcoal gray stripe.  At the ends I recreated the single letter monogram that was used in several other details.  How appropriate that the letter "L" was chosen too!

You'll have to visit Style Me Pretty Illinois to view the full gallery of images taken by Jennifer Kathryn Photography and to see all of the amazing details our team took on.  Everyone worked so hard:

Photography: Jennifer Kathryn Photography | Wedding Dress: Bella Bridesmaid | Floral Design: Dilly Lily | Cake: Elysia Root | Invitations: Nico & Lala | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bella Bridesmaid | Event Planning: Love Bird Events | Event Design: Reenie Rose | Hair & Makeup: Nika Vaughan Bridal Artists | Groom's Attire: J. Crew | Boarding House Chicago: Boarding House | Linens: BBJ Linen | Sweets: Veruca Chocolates

So with one more day left to enjoy this color of 2013, I thought I might inspire you going into the new year with a video on how to cut your own wine bottles like the piece in our shoot:

Maybe you are looking to create a fun centerpiece for a NYE party or are want to get a bit more creative in the new year.  Whatever your motive, I hope you put all of those champagne bottles to good use!

How to- Cutting Wine Bottles from Reenie Rose on Vimeo.

Happy New Year!!!

How To: Personalized Notebooks

What is everyone talking about right now…the cold and the holidays.  They kind of go hand and hand, and while I'm not a big fan of this extreme cold right now, you've got to make a snowman out of snow (my parallel to making lemonade out of lemons).  I feel like a caved bear with my blinds and shades closed to keep in the heat, but all this coziness plus the holidays makes me crafty too.

If you are still trying to check some people off your list but want to give a gift with a personal touch, say no more.  Welcome to Loreen's craft corner….

I did this project toward the beginning of the year and kind of forgot about it till now, so I thought I'd share.  The Chapel Designers florist group gets together every year for a field trip to the New York flower markets, and this year member Trish Van de Merkt wanted to give each member a little something special.  She approached me about personalizing notebooks with the Chapel Designer's logo, and the game was on!

How cute are these…

Do you love the added Reenie Rose floral touch?

So this is a really easy project to do yourself in an effort to spice up a classic notebook.
Here's your supply list:
-Notebook (with a cover that is compatible with your chosen writing tool…don't want things to smear)
-Graphite paper
-Removable Tape
-Tracing instrument (I use a mechanical pencil without the lead)
-Fine point markers or pens to trace over/color in your design (make sure they won't smear on your cover surface).  For this one I used a black Micron pen and a gold gel pen.
-Ruler
-Eraser

Step 1:  Choose your design and print it out to scale.
Step 2:  Cut a piece of the graphite paper to fit underneath your design.
Step 3:  Place your design where you want it and tape it down to hold it in place.

Step 4:  Use your tracing instrument to go over your entire design.  If needed, use a ruler for straight lines and curved elements for any organic items (I used a glass for the circle).

Step 5:  Once everything is traced in, go over your entire design with your desired marker choices.

And that's it!  Add a fun pen, and you have the perfect gift that says you cared more than just a lil notebook.

The graphite paper is key in this project for giving you the extra umph of confidence to know that you can handle the design you chose no matter what.  Imagine all the fun designs you could use….different fonts, something from a magazine or picture.  It's like going back to tracing in kindergarten!  Easy peasy.
Let me know if you try this and send me a pic of your finished project!

What do Puffy Paint, Chalk, and Stickers all have in Common?

I am currently in painting limbo.  I don't have any projects going on, but there's a lot of potential on the way.  So, what is a girl to do whilst she waits for a painting to come her way?  Sleep till noon and and rewatch the whole Sex and the City series...bah!  Not I!  No, I create work for myself....and I catchup on work that I've been wanting to do for ages.

For instance, I originally bought one of those "paint your own" pressed board picture frames from Michaels to paint for my best friend's daughter when she was born.  Well, she just turned one a few weeks ago.  Missed the newborn boat, but not the first birthday one!  I started painting this frame and then scraped the whole design idea and looked to Martha Stewart for inspiration.  Her scrapbooking line is unbelievable.  Some paper and stickers were purchased along with a bottle of trusty old puffy paint, and voila:

Norah's mom liked it, so hopefully Norah comes to appreciate this gift from Auntie Lo.

I've also been expanding my chalkboard art portfolio, but this is all I can show you for now.  You'll have to wait to see the rest when this photo shoot is published!

Finally, I'm also sprucing up my Reeniebeans Etsy store with some new sticker art.  Here's a preview:

Something a little different going on here.  Get ready for some more exciting things....and new paintings soon!

Emerald Green Pantone Photo Shoot | Sneak Peak

It's taken me all week to come back down off an adrenaline rush I built up for a photo shoot I was involved with on Tuesday.  I'm dragging now, in need of a vacation, but that's besides the point.  I have so much good stuff from this shoot to share with you, but you must be patient.  I can't give away too much until the shoot is published but a little peak never hurt anyone.

Last year I worked on a Tangerine Tango inspiration shoot with Jennifer Kathryn Photography and Meghan of Lovebird Events.  This year, we brought the team together again to attack the Pantone color of the year: Emerald Green.  I'll get into the logistics and additional members of our team at a later date, but for now, I just want to give you a preview of the projects I worked on.  I'll be doing a few DIY posts on each of these individual projects so you can try your hand at creating your own inspiration.  For now, visually enjoy...

Centerpieces

Table runners

Display frame

That's it.  No more.  Stopping asking me to give away more details....you'll just have to wait.  Ok, one more hint....the shoot took place at The Boarding House.  We were inspired by every inch of this place.  You have to take a look at it.  Ok, no more.  Go enjoy your weekend and check out all the awesome links in this post, and be inspired yourself.