The task:   Create a loft bed, fort, reading nook incorporating two double beds.

The clients:  Two young twins- one drawn to performance arts, the other drawn to horseback riding.  One wants pink, the other says yuck.  Ones a bit tidy the other not so much.

The challenge:   The mom wants something unique, more fort than furniture!  She loves modern yet has a rustic touch to her style.   The girls need organizers bulletin boards, space to stash their collections of things and an extra bed for sleepovers.

The result:   A studio built grey and white washed horizontal planked custom bed loft fort unit.  Custom wall organizers with pegs, dry erase, paper and storage.  Extras:  a display wall for art and a whimsical mount of their senior aged basset hound Clementine.

I needed a few New Years Eve poppers to display as a centerpiece, so I scraped up some of my holiday craft left overs and cranked up the computer.  Rather than have to adorn them with sequins, go glitter crazy and go through great efforts to use a  lot of fabric colors and textures, I scanned the ingredients and printed them.  The prints were super easy to cut up, fold, fan and glue.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that stuff like beads, glitter, tinsel ribbon and glass crystals were added to finish them off.

Prior to tying them off you could fill them with candy, glitter or encouraging notes for the new year.   If you're like me.... hiding treats in these might prevent bad snacking.  After all the New Years Resolutions start in less than a week. {yikes}

So don't recycle those empty  wrapping paper tubes and download yourself a set of the papers below.      

My younger self was a professional window and holiday display designer and visual merchandiser for high end department stores.    20 years ago when I left that world to start Embellishments Studio, I retained a few of my freelance clients.  Flash forward to 2016, I've created dozens of trims for several clients.   The trims that quickly comes to nostalgic memory are the ones I've created for my client in Vancouver, Washington called Willows.   It's a clothing and accessories boutique.

Just for fun!  I'm sharing my original Holiday spray labels.  For me they represent all the years I've spent creating retail Holiday trims.  I think of them as mementos.  For you, they can be a fun item to display, create hijinx with your Elf on a Shelf or beef up your Jack Frost street credibility. 
The images are sized for a traditional spray can.  If you need them larger just dial up your print percentage.  I recommend using empty spray cans of course.  You wouldn't want lil' ones spraying black spray on your frosty windows.

By popular demand, I've added a new series to my Speedway Racing Collection of wall art.  The new pieces explore the thrill of speed with images of a race car, mx motorcycle, mechanic type ephemera, vintage signage and more.  The works are available as individual images or combined into a nine image collage with either a cream or black grid border. 

Visit my shop's Transportation category to see this piece and many more race inspired pieces perfect for boy's rooms, teen spaces and of course the man cave. 

Often when I design props for store displays or fixtures for merchandising they are purely from my imagination.  The challenge lies in bringing those ideas to life.  I recently proposed a farmhouse chic style trim for one of my apparel boutiques.  In my mind I saw old water/wind mills, old barn doors and abandoned relics.

 To create vintage look props its easiest to find old wood and supplies to build them out of.  One of my local haunts, The Rebuilding Center serves me well.  There I can find treasures to build my ideas from.  For this particular trim I came across old packing crate supports, degraded galvanized flashing and oddities, old cast wheels and a ton of reclaimed  bits of wood.

Staring at the items in my checkout cart I decided to build a windmill out of the flashing, an old hoe and the packing crate supports which were rich with rusty character.

The wheels, some old mahogany wheelbarrow handles, old galvanized  channel and 2 x 12's  would become a vintage look florists  or fruit vendors merchandising cart.

Random chair parts, old wood, part of a tv roof antennae and miscellaneous bits of hardware would become an abandoned swift bird house.

Flash forward four and half years, they called me back to help them with their backyard eyesore, a cinder block garage wall.  Their fresh landscape and beautiful hot tub gazebo and deck built by a friend of mine, Dave Izer were fantastic.  The backside of the neighbors wall not so much.  It was decided to cover the wall with a landscape that extended their yard visually.  

There of course was a special request by their daughter (who's nursery I painted).  She wanted a unicorn.  With Mom and Dad's nod, I tucked a sleeping one into the painting.   It's a magical surprise when you approach the mural but its not really visible from the house or deck.    That way the illusion wasn't affected by the appearance of a large mythical creature.

Time Lapse Video

Here's one reason I love my job.  When I completed the mural, it happened to be one day before my birthday.   Well, my lil' client brought me a card she drew and a mandala she colored in.   My heart melted.    Good thing it was the last day because nothing could top that moment.  Thank you McClures for your faith in my work and of course treating me like family.  You're amazing!

I hurriedly met with Mr. D as a response  to his heartfelt plea for help.     You see, he and his wife just divorced and their three year old daughter was not adjusting well.  Her world of routines,  togetherness and familiar places had just been turned upside down.  The sale of their home had mom and dad leaving for separate new places.  Mr. D found a quaint farmhouse to rent.  He had one week until Jane's first visit and that's where I come in.  His plea- "will you make her room amazing?"

Finding myself with little notice and a newly divorced man's budget I scoured my retail haunts for furniture and findings that would fit lil' Jane's personality.  She loves to draw, make forts, play dress up, be read to and the colors purple and pink.  The plan was for me to help her  adjust to her new home by making her room "hers".  Outside of a few stuffed animals and some dress up clothes, I had to find treasures to fill the room from floor to ceiling, and stay on budget.

One week later,  the white walled, dark floored room was filled with what I would hope she would come to love  as "her room" and "her things".   The end result....well....

Rather than my babble further,  here's what Mr.D sent me- "Aaron, I wanted to extend to you my sincere appreciation for your hard work with Jane's room.  There are so many wonderful options for Jane and her new room signifies the wonderful girl she is.  At one point while she and I were in the room playing I almost broke down crying because it just felt so right, right for Jane and I in this moment.  She adores her new room and I can't even tell you how special it is to have you come into our life at such a difficult time and help make it better.  We couldn't be happier!"  

I'm happy to report that Jane is doing much better, she and her new kitty "Tiger" are enjoying her and her daddy's new home.  Mr. D, having experienced this makeover, now has me working his new bedroom into a manly refuge. I'll post about it soon.

To fill Jane's room on a modest budget, I relied upon some big bang for the buck items and a few fast and effective fixes.

• Adhered paper pennants around the light fixture to create a starburst.
  
• Spray painted off colored items into golden treasures.
  
• Using adhesive and wire adapts shelf and table top accessories to work in a gallery wall setting.
  
• Went big with the ever popular tissue flowers.
  
• Stuck with the white rental walls the changing of  white accessories to color gave them weight and interest. 
  

Score free shipping on you order* and make Pops happy on Father's Day with some new art!  Enter the code DADS16 at checkout! *on domestic orders over 99.00.

One of my greatest sources of inspiration and joy are my two children.  Although they are technically no longer children but young adults, and very amazing ones at that.  My son, whom defines himself as a creative, is always challenging me to see through his eyes.   He has a great eye for what's important, interesting and meaningful to a generation that I'm purely an observer of due to the age difference.

   This year marks an important milestone for him, as he graduates from COLLEGE.  He's a student at University of Oregon, in Eugene, Oregon.

Four years ago we put together a fun high school graduation party for him that I intended to post about.  Well, here we are four years later and it never quit appeared on the blog.    So to reminisce and enjoy it all again here's the details of that special day.

The goal of the  party was to acknowledge and celebrate his accomplishments in high school and build excitement for his college experience.   One of the very basic things I started with was working out some common ground between the two school's color palettes.  His high school colors were cardinal and gold and his college was green and yellow.  So I tweaked both into my preferred color palette of vintage look colors.  We were now working with burgundy reds, ochre yellows and olivey greens mixed with the neutrals of  parchment, kraft and burlap.

I can't take credit for the concept but I can take credit for the execution of the little suitcase pictured.  His school asked that we create a box keepsake and fill it with insightful and inspirational items, quotes and sentiment.  I covered his in stickers I created that represent many of the stages in his academic journey.  Many were logos I already had on hand from events and projects I had a design hand in through the years.

The box itself contained items that were adorned with small kraft tags.  On each tag we came up with short explanation as to why we chose the item.    Some of the items were toys he had as a boy.

The handsome heads you see are blow ups of my son's face.  We used them as markers to reserve the family and friends seats at graduation.   They we fun to wave in the air during the moments we could get noisy and revel.

At the house I used a lot of props, which as a prop hoarder it wasn't too difficult to do.  Globes, encyclopedias , typewriters, flash cards, things with letters and ones that reflect the 12 in 2012.  A hand painted burlap pennant streamer spans our front porch welcoming guests through the garden.

Small vignettes of photos and props were placed throughout the house.  I used books to create fun shapes and opportunities to stage items.  While its something we don't showcase year round the digital photo frame was a great addition to the displays.  Having k-12 photographs scrolling through time was enjoyed by our guests.

Having a very large backyard gives us many opportunities for merry making.  The problem often becomes scale.  How to make a party look intimate and special on such a large scale is often the issue.  To remedy some of that I strung very long strands of lights to bring the "ceiling" down a little and offer light as the evening waned past sunset.  The combination of clear bulbs and paper lanterns were very handsome.

In the revised color palette, collections of school logo cutouts, paper goods and decorative details bring it all together.   I found some amazing natural leaf made plates that had great texture.  They were combined with the more graphic striped traditional party plates.

A multi layered dimensional height display of suitcases, manipulated books and other props made for a perfect dessert table.  Letters and numbers were cut using my silhouette machine.

Now, we're in the planning stages of his college graduation.  I might revisit some of these props and ideas to create a new but familiar and welcomed look.  Hopefully, I will be good about posting those before another four years passes.

I hope you find a few things inspiring or just fun to look at.  Shoot me over any questions or sentiments for the graduate.  I look forward to your thoughts...
Best,
Aaron
 

I've taken the liberty to host the photos above on Pinterest for your pinning!   Be sure to follow me.

My friends at Boy's Fort in Portland referred a wonderful family to me.  They wanted a loft bed for their daughters room, one that was rustic, modern and that worked well with the other furnishings in the room.  

  After a couple rounds of drawings and pouring over finish samples, the idea came to fruition.  It was to be made of reclaimed old growth fir.  I designed into it a headboard that had a classic shape to it.  The horizontal lines from the boards were highlighted by not butting the boards together.  The finish complimented the bed underneath and drew in the variations of cream and gold around it.

My clients loved being part of the design process.  The final product definitely reflected the points they were enthusiastic about.   I also loved the opportunity to put my personal spin on those elements.

The finishing techniques allowed the grain, vintage saw cuts and character to come through.  Light sanding and application of multiple coats of matte clear and a final waxing assured that the texture would not be rough to  the touch.

It's always great bringing to life the dreams others have.  In a way its like being an interpreter of sorts.  Translating vision into reality.  I love my job.

Here's a DIY I created for sports enthusiasts.  It's perfect for a boy's room or a man cave.  Whether it hosts your favorite teams game schedule, a fan showing of school colors or a personalized homage to your son's player number, my easy to create jersey chalkboard is a great addition to any sports bedroom. It can be customized to support your favorite sport and team colors. This project includes a recipe to create your own customized chalkboard paint. Combine this unique piece with my vintage sports art and you're set to reign as a champion sports room designer.

Be sure to fan, pin, favorite or follow me for more DIY's and get exclusive access to my upcoming new tutorials.

Go Team!
-Aaron

MATERIALS:

- 24 inch x 24 inch 1/2 MDF Board
- 2 cups of flat finish or matte latex paint in your choice of color
- Additional latex or craft paint for decorative stripes and accents
- 4 tablespoons of un-sanded tile grout
- 8 oz. of Dark Brown craft paint
- Mixing Container
- Disposable small roller/tray kit
- Paint brush
- Masking tape
- Optional spray adhesive
- One 80 or rough grit sanding sponge or sheet paper
- One 150 or fine grit sanding sponge or sheet paper
- Sawtooth hanger or picture frame hanging wire kit

TOOLS:

- Jig Saw with Smooth finish blade
- Protective Goggles
This craft requires the use of power tools. Please read and observe the safety instructions provided with your tool. Always wear safety gear.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Determine your color palette and accent designs for the jersey. Remember that chalk is only available in lighter colors so your jersey should be a darker color. The jersey can be tailored to your favorite sport by changing the accents, stripes or details. Utilizing stencils you could also add text or numbers.

Read more for instructions-

A local pediatric office commissioned us to create a treehouse for their lobby.  The office was going through a remodel and a new waiting area was being carved out of obsolete storage areas and halls.

The office has a jungle theme.  There are  creatures in terrariums like a chameleon, turtles and tanks of fish.  The doctor wanted something unusual to tie into the theme.  We discussed lots of options and came up with a tree house.  Now, the word tree house is a bit broad in concept considering 1) there is no tree in the office and 2) the ceiling is low at 8 foot. 

I worked out a way to elevate the play space of the tree house, giving the illusion of a height and created access through a hollowed out pretend tree trunk.         The exterior is designed to look as if it was built using various parts from other structures.      A palm and banana tree were created to look as if they hold up part of the structure.

If you cruise the blog and our social media sites you will see we specialize in creating unusual things.  If your professional office, home or business need something unique to entertain your customers give us a call.  We'll dream something up for you.

The studio is filling up with projects, so I must be better about selling off a few things.  So, heres some gems from previous displays.  They are one-of-a-kinds.

This one-of-a-kind anchor was built by the studio for use in a seasonal display.  It's in pristine but vintage looking shape.  How great would this be used as a photography prop, a signature decor piece or as a theme element in a restaurant.  Due to its size, I'd be hesitant to ship it.  I'd recommend it find a home in the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington metro areas.  For more detailed information:

These mixed whites fabric sales are a perfect photo booth backdrop, prop for a kids room or as an accent in a nautical themed space.  Due to the weight I wouldn't recommend shipping.  But then again anythings is possible.
More details:

The following three lights are available.  They are made from reclaimed glass containers and glass ware.  They're fun, vintage and bohemian.