Blogging the Art-Full Life

I love my blog, I really do, but there are millions of other bloggers out there and some of them are just crazy-good.  Today's Art-Full Life spotlight is on three of my favorite blogs.

I have been thinking of making this a monthly feature so let me know what you think!

StyleLikeU is an incredible site for anyone who loves fashion and closet voyeurism (and by that I mean spying in people's closets).  Sometimes weird, sometimes inspiring and always interesting, everyone featured on this site has one thing in common - they are living an art-full life.

My new "must check every day" blog is Domestic Sluttery the "Home and Lifestyle Blog for Women Who Have Better Things To Do." They cover everything - fashion, interior design, cooking, shopping and they do it with humor and the pefect amount of girliness.  They are what my site would like to grow up to be!

Finally, a local blog has caught my attention - and completely frustrated me all at the same time lol. I am including it with the hopes that one of my South Florida friends will help me on my quest.

Tile Fort Lauderdale, run by one Mary Tiler More (so cute!),  is a perfect example of the Art-Full Life.  The artist paints tiles and hides them around Fort Lauderdale giving hints to their locations. Thus far I haven't been able to find any so I am hoping maybe one of you can!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter for even more great stuff: www.twitter.com/Emilyontheave

My Art-Full Life - Home Decor

I love decorating and I love being crafty. Sometimes the two combine.  In honor of Friday's Living the Art-Full Life posts, I thought I would share with you some of the artsy-crafty goodness that I have been working on in our house:

This was a dark wood, vintage credenza style record player that was all busted up, but the player still worked.  Got it at a garage sale for $20 and created this:
 

Guitar Picks cover the two outer panels

Still working on the side piece. Not quite sure what I plan to do yet!

I also worked on creating a stained glass looking creation on my TV stand.  It is actually just black paint on the outside glass and colored glass painted inside to create the stained glass effect.

An old IKEA lamp became the perfect place to use all the leftover glass bead pieces I have been making over the years.

And below is what may become the newest addition to my site http://www.prettyusefulstuff.com/.  Just need to finish it and decide if I like it as a card or a print:

Are YOU living the Art-Full Life? Tell us all about it - we'd love to feature you and your work!

Cleaning up my Act

Every weekend I try to create something new but sometimes life gets in the way of that. Between work, friends, family, my husband and general day-to-day happenings, the art tends to get pushed aside.  This weekend we spring cleaned the house, which meant organizing the art room (insert ominous music here).  To block out the sound of impending dread we cranked up the Sam Cooke music and got to work. 

Beneath piles of sequins, fabric and paint I found a couple of pieces that had been started and never completed.  It made me realize that several things need to happen:

1. I need to nurture my creativity more and realize that creating is just as important as working (at least to maintain my sanity!)
2. I need to stay better organized in the art room so I don't "lose" art pieces
3. I should clean more often

Inspired by all of this, I took a break from cleaning (maybe step 4 should be to stop procrastinating!) and I found some killer organizational accessories and cleaning supplies that are funky, stylish and will hopefully inspire me to clean up my act once and for all.

Laundry is always one of my least favorite chores (My VERY least favorite being vacuuming, but we just moved into a house with hardwood floors to avoid it).  I feel like I should like doing laundry. You get a break in between steps which is always a nice and lazy way of cleaning, but it just feels tedious to me.  However, maybe if my hamper was cuter, I would be more excited about making more trips over to it.

http://www.hoohobbers.com/  offers some of the most adorable hampers on the market:

Poppy Hamper by HooHobbers

I am lucky that my husband actually finds doing dishes relaxing (freak, lol) so it doesn't come up often that I have my hands in sink water, but if I did - you can be sure I would be rocking these kitchy retro gloves from Julie Meyer on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/JulieMeyer

Clean InStyle Tulip Gloves by Julie Meyers

When possible, I also recommend using vinegar, lemon juice and all-natural cleaning products in the home. They are safer for the family and the environment and easier on the wallet too.  However, if you are going to be purchasing cleaning supplies a few that make the top of my list are:

1. Method - available at Target and eco-friendly. Love it for ease of access, good fragrance choices and sleek/ modern bottles

2. Mrs. Meyers - available at http://www.mrsmeyers.com/. Also eco-friendly, Mrs. Meyers offers more concentrated scents than Method (not scientific, just my humble opinion).  For me - nothing beats their Geranium cleaner.

3. Newsoap.org - new liquid soap packaged in recycled plastic and glass bottles.  Very modern and VERY environmentally friendly.  Love the "labels" on these. 

Soap in an old Heineken Bottle at Newsoap.org

Stay clean my friends!