Busy, busy week!

Well, it's finally Saturday. This week's felt so long. I don't remember the last time I had such an eventful week.

Let's break it down for you.

1.) Judi Betts!

You may or may not know who she is, but I'll never forget. Judi Betts is a watercolor artist, located in Baton Rouge (where I go to college - yay!). This week she came in for a four-day watercolor workshop. At first I was quite skeptical, of course, wondering why I'd ever need watercolor as an interior design major; but it ended up being tons of fun, and she's just too cute.

For these four days she got to know us, and had us do some uniquely awesome paintings (pictures of which I'll post as soon as I can snap them). First, we practiced the art of watercolor in a "C" assignment that I'll explain when I've found a picture. The next day she brought in a "surprise" subject for our paintings, one that made us all ecstatically happy: DONUTS! After that we painted chairs, made pop-up couches in our sketchbooks, and were left with an assignment to paint a livingroom scene.

I was fortunate enough to share the elevator with her as she left on the last day, and was rather flattered when she looked past the professors she was with, right at me, and grinned, saying "You did so well this week!" It was adorable.

2.) Interview!

Recently I applied for a Resident Assistant (RA) position on campus. The application process was long and vigorous, beginning with a two-hour Open House, where we went around and learned about the various communities we could work in. The whole time, however, we were watched for how personable we were and how proactive in starting the activities (since no "welcome" was had, they wanted to see how quickly we'd jump into moseying around).

Less than a week later each applicant had to attend a mandatory, two-day "group process". We were split up into large groups, and went around from room to room, participating in different group activities (both as a large group and broken off into smaller teams) to learn about the responsibilities of an RA and to get a taste of some of the things we'd be dealing with if we were chosen.

After that, they said they'd be in contact for interviews, but didn't say much else. Through the week following, each community got together to discuss applicants and choose which would be best to interview. Within the week I received two emails, each an invitation for interviews with two different communities. The first interview was Tuesday, the next is this week. And I am EXCITED.

3.) 10 Years!

For an English class I'm taking, an upcoming assignment is to attend a musical performance, and then write a review for it. The deadline is coming up for attending the performance, so I decided to give up the $15 and go see a band I actually enjoyed. It just so happened that 10 Years would be playing at a little theater right off campus. Bingo. With Mason in tow, we made our way there earlier than the doors were scheduled to open. The two opening acts were all right, but we were really waiting for the big event.

10 Years habitually begins their tours at this little theater in Baton Rouge, so it was something of a treat to be at their first tour stop this year. It was great to see them so fired up for their show. I've never seen quite so much enthusiasm, body paint, and facial expressions all in one show.

Sound weird? It was, but also awesome. Check them out on their current tour if you can. This tour is based on their new album, Feeding the Wolves:

4.) Crafts!

What? Crafts? But Ash, you've been so busy this week, where on Earth did you find time for crafts?

I know, right? But I managed. Well, partially managed. Mason did most of the work, but that's ok. :) I'm hoping you'll remember my sneak peek from last week, yes? Welllll....

The finished product:

Art!

Mason's walls were looking pretty bare, so we found a stencil tutorial online and decided to give it a go! All three images are not originals, and were found from various places online. Ozzy, Layne Staley from Alice in Chains, and Marilyn Manson now take up a good chunk of wall space. And so gorgeously, too!

The process was actually quite simple. The tutorial can be found here at the 8th Continent Soymilk Blog. Thanks for the great idea!!

Though the wall won't be bare for much longer. Mason and I happened upon the university's poster sale on Friday, and just...couldn't resist. Mason came back with a beautiful Van Gogh print, and I couldn't stop myself from buying a gorgeous butterfly tapestry. (Hey, it was 20% off!) Pics to come soon!

But for now, I really should get back to this homework.

Until next time,

Happy Crafting!

Ashi

The Workspace

Well, I've been busy. :)

The semester has started off quite well, and I feel way more into my work this time around than I was last semester. So, of course that's good. Also, my workstation seems to..."show" it more this time around.

Don't know what I mean? Check it out.

This would be a part of my desk. We're each given a workstation that we'll use all semester. It's only ours (as in no other class comes in) so we're encouraged to make it "homey".

Each station has a metal "desk" and a "rack". This is my happy little corner. I had my eye on this station last semester, but a classmate nabbed it before I could. It's a bit secluded, which is sometimes sad but mostly nice (it keeps me focused) and is in the corner of the classroom that opens out to the balcony. The door is literally in my space, to the left there where the quality of the picture turns fuzzy.

There are more than a few "key" things to look at here, things I'm quite proud of.

First of all, the projects.

The tree in the back, I regret to say was not an original idea, but I love it just the same. The idea comes from Apartment Therapy / Re-Nest, and can be found here. I'd much prefer my tree (and other decor elements) to extend farther up on the wall, but being only 5', I thought against it... But thanks Re-Nest for the brilliant idea! I've gotten more than a few compliments on my tree, everyone asking how I did it. So super simple, other than the leaves it's nothing but yarn and push pins. :)

The leaves, though, were my own idea. They act as something of a calendar, marking the days of the month and soon (when March finally shows up) each leaf that represents a date that a project is due will have a flower-shaped paper clip attached to mark upcoming events. Cute, I know.

I should have taken a better photo of it, but if you look closely there's a little box on the metal desk, green with a blue top. Yep, another hand-made accent. This one's idea was found at Life As Lou. I fell in love with the idea as soon as I saw it. It's a rather simple project, but the results are absolutely adorable. I definitely recommend it for all ages.

The rest was more of my ideas and creations. I covered old pink bulletin boards with green printed contact paper so it would better match, and strung leftover brown yarn through the "rungs" (I guess you would call them) of the rack to make more room to hang important papers and assignment sheets. I can't stand the clutter and this way every piece or specific stack is easy to get to and see all at once.

Also...there were a few more..cute touches to my studio. Have some pictures. :)

A little bee, guarding the yarn hung on the rack. There's another of those little buggers buzzing around somewhere in the pics above. See if you can find him!

Also, meet Rufus. He was introduced to my studio decor last semester, and while I changed up my ideas for decoration and personalization this year - he seemed to fit in seamlessly without me giving it much thought.

But, a workstation is not a workstation without Rufus! Someone has to keep me (and the rest of the studio) in line!

But I'm sure you've got to be wondering by now: if I have all this time to decorate my studio, where's all the schoolwork? Well, worry-not readers! Just last night I completed my most recent assignment: a name tag. Odd, right? I thought so too. But this week we're being visited by the one and only Judy Betts for a four-day water-color workshop, and of course she should be able to easily read our names. And so the assignment was born.

I'm rather proud of how mine came out. My strategy was...non-existent and it was difficult to brainstorm ideas in the middle of hobby lobby with a rumbling belly, the promise of Joe's Crab Shack (YUM!), and the persistent pelting of a foam sword that Mason found. But, I managed, buzzing through the store and picking up things here and there with only a loose idea of what I wanted to do.

The result?

And before your face scrunches, I promise the rest is readable. I just don't need any stalkers! I've got enough stress! :P Anywho. The name tag was supposed to be readable and express ourselves a bit while also being creative. (I am getting graded on it, too. Couldn't get by with a "Hello, my name is ____" ripoff.

This name tag took approximately three hours (I know, right!?) and a lot of love. The actual tag is felt (a bright green and a light tan paisley-ish pattern) The "frame" of the tag was cut to overlap the green tag, and sewed together. (Don't look too close, I've never sewn anything before in my life. But it holds together, and that was the goal...) The flowers are attached with leather cord, tied both through the centers of the flowers and behind the tag itself. The bee and his little perch are held on by the metal wires the bees came on, and there is a safety pin sewn on to the back. (I must say, for never sewing anything - I did a pretty good job of hiding that stitching underneath the frame. :P Go me)

All in all, the name tag ended up an entirely glue-free project. Which is always a win in my book.

Stay tuned, though, because Mason and I have hatched a devious plan for new wall decor. Here's a very ambiguous sneak-peek.

Happy crafting!

~Ashi

Oh, the possibilities!

So I know I intended to post daily, but I have a good reason I swear!

This past week and weekend has been quite rough. Mason lost his job Wednesday, and the busy-ness has just gone on and on since. In losing his job he was forced to move out of his dorm, so we immediately began the search for a new place for him to stay.

His first option? A house off campus. No six month lease, about $400 a month. The deal seemed shady before we even went, and just got worse. Four roommates, shady neighborhood. Dirty house. The entire time I prayed Mason wouldn't pull out the checkbook and sign his life away before consulting my opinion.

But as luck would have it he agreed with me, and believed he'd be miserable in that damned house, so the search continued. He met with his previous employer, who was somewhat obligated to tell him what was available on campus and help him move. The two options Mason came away with were both on-campus apartments. One four bedroom, with two athletic students (football players?) and an International student. The other was a three bedroom with only one resident. Or so we thought.

After consulting with his parents, Mason decided on the "three-bedroom". However, once Mason registered for the room and payments were made, we found out that it was actually a two-bedroom, empty.

Oh, I cannot express how exciting that was.

Friday I went with Mason to check out the place. You know, to get a key and have an RA inspect it. It's gorgeous. This past weekend was spent moving in, unpacking, and organizing. I wish I'd been there for the entire process, but had applied for the very job Mason had just lost (not his position, of course, but the same organization) and had to attend group processes all weekend. But regardless, by midday Sunday he was all moved in.

Here are some photos I snapped to share his new "crib" with the world:

The kitchen: this makes me a very happy cat.

The living room, very cozy!

Another view of the living room.

Mason enjoying his new bedroom.

A bedroom that's actually a bedroom and not an everything room!

But as you can see there's still a lot to do. Moving in was the easy part. Decorating will be the challenge. Look at those bare walls! I'd better start crafting it up!

~Ashi

Shopping Spree!

Well, I say spree, but really I budgeted myself very well and got a lot of things for my various projects!

My friend Maegan and I decided to go on a little adventure today. Being that a week from today is Valentines, I had to get my hunny something, but didn't want that to be the focus of the trip. So we went craft shopping too!

Valentines shopping took all of maybe twenty minutes. I'm a specific gift shopper, and I know what he will and won't like. Easy peasy. Craft shopping, however? Now that's a horse of an entirely different color.

Dollar Tree was first on our list, and I'm so glad it was. From that one stop we managed to score a photo frame, large round marbles, two organizational bins, and two rolls of adhesive (and easy to remove) paper for my studio. (As well as some heart-shaped marshmallows, I knew my Mason would love them, but anyway) I only spent $7, and got really useful stuff that I can't wait to craft up!

Second stop? Hobby Lobby. It is SO easy to get carried away in that store and buy up everything. But I'm rather proud of my self-control, and managed to snag a lot of 50% off items! The list from this stop included magnet tape, 6 LED tea lights (for my amazing soda can lamps), recycled fabric (CHEAP), the cheapest brown yarn I could find, googly eyes, and scrapbook paper.

I can't even begin to describe how excited I am, and anxious to start some crafts! I had intended to document and post pictures of our little adventure, but Maegan had a class at 8:30, and while we had three hours to kill, the shopping turned out to be somewhat daunting near the end and my hands were too full to even reply to texts, much less snap photos.

I will, however, compile all of my goodies and take a few snapshots for you guys. Or maybe I'll just make you wait until it's all finished. :)

That's all for now! I really should get back to doing something school-related, right?

First Post! :)

In the past I've started numerous blogs, xangas, etc. And seem to have abandoned most of them, which is quite the sad.

This one, however, I do hope to keep up with. While I'd love to say "I'm going to focus on this, this and this" that's never going to work out. So this little corner will be used for anything I think to add to it. THOUGH, I will definitely try to stick to school and art and all those cute things in between.

Being an Interior Design student, I'll have plenty of projects (and therefore much frustration) for this semester and all those that follow. With this blog I'll try to keep up with my projects and thoughts throughout college. Who knows, maybe it'll be fun to look back on later in life, and maybe it'll help other ID students out there. Only time will tell. :)

So welcome to my little corner of the world. I'm Ashi, and I'm here to entertain you!

Edit!

I forgot to include my current list of projects that I hope to include you all in!

I've gone ahead and separated them into categories, for easy sorting. As my blog grows and develops, check back for projects that have been completed!

Studio:

-Tree mural

-Tiny owls

-Stool cushion

-Leaf to-dos

-Paper organizer

-Can lamps

Dorm:

-Menu picture frame

-Personalized mugs

-Light-bulb terrarium

Home:

-Mug for mom

-Dish-ware set

-Terrarium