Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours!

Blog Header Design

A few months ago I got commissioned to design the header for a blog.  It's a hilarious blog and she has the same name as me, so there's that.  Here's the post where I get showered in designer love: http://tobetomars.blogspot.com/2012/09/happy-weekend.html

West Coast Style

So with the promotion and the move I had the wonderful challenge of making our very east coast furniture fit with a much more modern apartment in an area with a huge coastal vibe.  I wanted to bring in the beach but not make it too beachy (think how some Utah's overdo the whole cabin theme or Arizonan's really take the desert theme a little too strongly...Californians can make the beach oh so kitchy sometimes).  We are really happy with the result, I used a few key pieces to update my furniture into the 20th century and add a few very subtle coastal elements.  The Geilman Staycation home is open for visitors!

The chair, coffee table, desk, and couch came with us.  I purchased the bookshelf and floor lamp off craigslist for a steel, the mirror is from Target, and the pendant lamp from IKEA.

The urchin and tray are from target, and the vintage fishing float is from a gift shop down the street.  

This print I found already framed at an antique shop down the street for a steal.  It's what really updated and tied together all my furniture, the old and the new, and it worked in my theme of maps and brought in a bit of the ocean with the blue.  The original frame was silver but I painted it navy blue for a higher contrast.

The table lamp was purchased on Amazon and helped to fix the height problem of the console and bring another modern piece into the mix.  The console is from IKEA.

The floor lamp also helped to update my original pieces and the vertical pleats helped to make those dreadful slat blinds not so hideous.  Both pendant lamps are from IKEA and really help with the lighting in the apartment (it's a back apartment so we don't get much natural light, but it comes with a backyard so I was willing to sacrifice...)

The blue pillow is actually more of a seafoam green and the cream throw (from Target.com) helped to dress up the couch.  The cream and blue pillow were both from IKEA.

I love this couch which we got at a warehouse sale in Philadelphia.  With it's lower cost came an incessant creaking every time anyone sits on it but I still think it was worth it.  The clean lines and grey/brown chenille pattern go with almost any look which was another huge plus since I knew we would be moving someday.

I'm not sure what previous tenants did for a dining area since this apartment seems to lack one but luckily we only use this small table for just the two of us and the high chair will go on the kitchen floor next to the chair (no baby food on the carpet!)

TV/Computer Area

The Nursery!

Nursery Side

Craft/Office Side.

The kitchen.  I'd like to find/make a sign above the window but haven't gotten to it yet.  

Hallway

Bathroom.  I brought in the beach with some seafoam green towels and the oil pump soap dispenser from Target.

I also used the river glass I had collected by a river near our old apartment and displayed it in glass jars as Sea Glass.

I originally wanted to make this a beach getaway but I wanted to focus the funds on our living room so this is what I came up with with our previous stuff.  I painted the barn stars navy blue and the prints are from an old calendar framed with IKEA frames.

The dresser was a steal off craigslist that I fell in love with.

We purchased the bassinet off of craigslist

A big plus of not going with the beach theme was being able to use all of my red stuff (which didn't really work anywhere else)

The backyard!

The back patio, which now has furniture since my parents got rid of theirs!

Before.  Right after the move.

Before.

This is how we like to party.  My parents came up for dinner and I had an excuse to hang up my party lights!  

Patterns!

I've just been going to town on some of these new techniques I've been figuring out, I feel like a child again!  I decided to try out patterns in this little ditty, here ya go.  And Merry Christmas you filthy animal!

For my Sister

So the illustration has continued and I'm trying out new things.  I created this poster for my sister, trying to capture a sort of 1960s-endless-summer-but-for-a-girl vibe.  She tried to play it cool when I gave it to her but I could tell she liked it (for the win!)

Getting back to my Roots

Lately I've been getting back to my roots and doing a lot of illustration.  As much as I love love LOVE design, it has felt good to be creating original things rather than compiling objects, although I love the creative challenge in that as well.  It all started one night when I couldn't sleep and decided to turn my neice into a Christmas elf.  It seems to help me to have a "story" to go along with the picture, even if it's just one line.  Then of course I had to do all her sisters too.  You can see a bit of my evolution as I tried out different techniques between photoshop and illustrator.  I'm excited to see where this takes me.  Also, aren't my nieces the CUTEST??

I Heart Dr. Who

So for the last couple of months Ben and I have fallen in love with the 11th Doctor from the Dr. Who series.  We are totally new to the series but I already know he's the best Doctor.  I'm also having a little baby and woke up in the middle of the night thinking how cool it would be to have some nerdy prints for his someday room.  Nerds are the best.  I finally got around to making them but here is my Dr. Who series:

Theme from Episode "Cold Blood"

Quote also from "Cold Blood" episode that I thought applied easily to babies.

The Doctor says this a lot.  And he wears a fez sometimes.  Fezzes are cool.