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 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. 

The Geeksmiths over at The Geek Forge are sharing instructions on how to make your own professional grade superhero gloves.  You could scale them up or down, making them perfect for adults and kids alike. If you want to take their DIY one step further try using multiple colored fabrics to recreate your favorite hero costumes.

With this easy to follow DIY video, Sarza the South from Nsomniaks Dream will help you create a custom eye mask.  These latex wonders are akin to what live actors wear in the superhero movies.   Be sure to check out her YouTube channel for all kinds of hero and otherworldly make-up effects.

Want a great gift for a superhero fan?  Why not make them a one-of-a-kind comic book wallet.  The talented team at ForUsToBe have laid out detailed instructions on how to create a wallet using a standard comic book.  It's a great idea!  Who better to protect your Benjamins than a superhero?

Suddenly, there's a demand for those idle satellite dishes that you see on roofs.  I know I'm guilty of having one parked on my roof.  Seamster from Instructables.com has the ultimate repurposing guide to transform one of those dishes.  Follow the straight forward instructions and you'll have a movie prop quality Captain America shield.

Before you comment that building a cloud is a bit of a superhero stretch, I must remind you that there's quite a few heroes that control the weather.  Plus, I can totally see this in a kids room with an action figure flying by.  Talk about playtime fun!  Serena over at The Farm Chicks takes you step by step, with quality photos.  I suppose at step three you could paint your clouds silver.  That way when things get tough you'll aways have a cloud with a silver lining!  I know, I know.... I had to go there.

Hell bent and intent on finishing my Saturday to-do list I let the day slip by.  Around 8:00pm I finally allowed myself to relax .  I thought I'd treat myself to an adult beverage and sit on the deck.  Having that in mind, I actually opened my eyes to the world around me.  I was awestruck, I put my ale down and had to grab my phone for some spontaneous photos.  The evening golden light had appeared for its brief visit.  My garden lit up like a paradise.  I'm a bit of a plant geek so seeing my man-made tropical oasis light up made me proud so I wanted to share it with you.   Know that its too cold for most sub-tropical plants here in the wet and cold wintered Northwest.  So I worked hard to recreate that look using plants that would survive here.  Some marginally, so I baby them through the winter frosts

Shhhh, just between you and me... I live in a neighborhood that has quite a feral gardeners who grow nothing but native plants and I think the term native is a rebrand of the term weeds and crab grass.  In this high heat summer- a freakishly long stretch of temperatures in the 90's, their yards are burned to a crisp and mine is a lush paradise ,except my lawn. Good thing I planned ahead and planted my yard prepped for global warming.   Now if only I could grow pineapples and coconuts...

These are not the best photos as I really do not know how to use my SLR mimicking cell phone camera.   And the light was dwindling so some are grainy and I apologize.  Thanks for indulging me in my moment of pride as my garden comes into full "tropical" splendor.  As a plant geek, who likes to share, I'd be happy to answer questions. 

Hey there Today's Creative Life friends, welcome!  As a thank you for TCL's love and support in the blogosphere I'm offering Kim's pals a chance to win a $100.00 art shopping spree from my art collection.  Kim at TCL has been kind enough to introduce me to you all over the years.  She and I teamed up awhile back to makeover her son Lucas's bedroom.  You may remember .

Kim challenged me to redo his room with a 300.00 budget.  Boy do I love a good challenge.   Let's just say I squeaked in at about 297.00.  I had just enough left over for a cup of coffee.
That makeover has since become a Pinterest darling and even won best of Houzz 2014, along with one of my nursery designs.  What do ya know...

So here's the skinny on the shopping spree-

#3- SHADOW BOX BASEBALL FLAG


The age old tool brand Craftsman is offering a how to video that will walk you through the steps to create this timeless treasure.  For a kids room friendly variation I'd suggest painting the bats.  Imagine them in a grey toned color scheme or the classics red and white.

#4- BASEBALL LAMP BASE

Kirsten dons her gloves and hopefully protective eyewear to drill some baseballs turning an inexpensive lamp into a custom home run.  She blogs over at Paint Speckled Paw Prints.