Seeing the world through a fresh lens

This year I decided I would take a photo every day for a year. It's not an original idea by any stretch of the imagine. A Google search reveals that some 61 million people have had this idea!

But even if it's becoming a cliché to do a 365, it's still teaching me new things. I dove into the project with my old digital point and shoot camera, which I have always enjoyed playing with. And I started looking at more and more photography very quickly, and I feel like so far in 2011 I have done a pretty impressive job (to me anyway) of figuring out my personal aesthetic. When I look at an image, I like to see life, clean lines, edges that pop, and calm. Like this photo I took on my new Sony Alpha A390 DSLR:

Where am I going with this? Well, life, clean lines, edges that pop, and calm are what I like to have in my home. What pleases my eye in a photograph pleases my whole being in my surroundings. I feel like I've been studying to learn how to be inspired, and circularly, I'm inspired to study.

Starting what was meant to be a simple, fun project has set me on a path I hadn't expected. I used a chunk of my holiday bonus from my funstopper job to purchase a beginner digital SLR camera, and I've been studying up on how to create the aforementioned clean lines, edges that pop, calming, life-filled images that please me so much.

A hobby has been born, and I think that this hobby will have a large influence on my day-to-day life in my home. I see each part my dwelling in a new light and in greater detail, and ever photo I take of my home lets me see something I hadn't seen before. I keep getting ideas on how to decorate and rearrange and tidy up that I hadn't had before.

So here's my thought for the Cozy Rustic readers: even if you don't have a "you-paid-HOW-MUCH-for-that-camera?!" camera, go around your home and take photos. Lie on the floor and take photos. Stand on your couch and take photos. Sit at your desk and take photos. Crawl under your dining table and take photos. Zoom all the way out. Zoom in as close as you can. Use the flash. Turn the flash off. Photograph the inside of your fridge. When you sit down to look at your handy work, you might just feel like you're seeing your home sweet home for the very first time! And who knows what you'll learn from the experience!

BONUS: Here are a few shots I took just in my living room tonight. Nothing was placed and set. This is just how the room was.

Craft Submission- Stefanie Estes

"Cork wine holder? Yes! Cozy Rustic endeavor? Perhaps?" asks Stefanie Estes.


I think perhaps we will have to make this! How cute to set out on your holiday table or just to hold that half open bottle in the kitchen. I'm having some neighborhood friends on New Year's Eve and I'm sure there will be corks leftover....

Paper Wreath! A Monday Share

So, Bea and I are kind of obsessed with crafting blogs lately! And it is nice to see what others are making, up-cycling and crafting. I've been loving the cork wreath that Bea made and had been wanting to make a wreath for myself. And I sure did get inspired to make this wreath!

I first saw this wreath over at Curbly, which led me to the directions by Jeffery Rudell over at Craft Stylish where you can see all the directions. I followed them and made a wreath! My color scheme is very bright and I love it! I think it will work for Christmas and New Years and all winter long. I was tempted to hang it inside my apartment so I can look at while I'm home...but now I have something bright to see when I come home.

A couple tips:

1) I used scrap booking paper and come of it didn't hold up to well to the glue gun. So, heavier paper or painting tiles are good ideas. Though I was able to cover up the areas quite nicely with other circles.

2) I like to keep my crafts as Eco as possible. So, i used a bunch of scraps from my scrap booking paper for the circles. I was reluctant to buy a Styrofoam form... but I caved in and did. I bought a "weathered" green form at Michael's that was sturdier and less expensive than the white. And I plan to reuse it over and over again!


3) It got a little tricky to keep all the circles lined up to be the same length because they start to bend... I would just take breaks and wait for the circles to dry. Then I would bend all the circles so they would be flat! I think thicker paper would help with this too. Mine was thick enough that I could bend it pack into place and crease it so it wouldn't bend again.

Here is the finished product before I hung it on my door with red yarn!

Introducing Parsley!

Hello, lovely readers.

Over the past few months I have been chasing my tail attempting to adopt a dog. Endless piles of paperwork, month long games of phone tag, joy, disappointment, more disappointment, three zipcar rentals and about $500 later, I am finally a doggie momma.

Yesterday I drove in the rain (and got lost in Yonkers) to adopt the beautiful Parsley you see below. I found her on petfinder.com at the Elmsford Animal Shelter in Westchester County, New York, and I loved her from the first moment I saw her.

Parsley, previously named Chantelle (but she didn't respond to her name, so I figured it was okay to change it. Judge me not!), has been a complete angel since arriving at our apartment yesterday afternoon. She was mellow and quiet in the car, which I know can be stressful to a dog that's been shipped around from shelter to shelter. She's only had one accident in the house since arriving. I know no one likes to clean up dog mess, but it is completely natural for a dog to want to mark a new space, and the confusion of the move would probably make me pee on the rug, too. Most amazingly, she seems to love us unconditionally even though we just met this weekend. She cuddles up to us and follows us from room to room, and she seems to trust us completely. I was pretty shocked that she didn't put up any fuss when I lifted her into the crate in the car. She hasn't begged at mealtimes, she doesn't jump on the furniture, she is great on the leash, she smiles politely, she hasn't barked (although she howled once while the feller was in the shower this morning; here's hoping separation anxiety doesn't result in all day howling), and she lets us hug and kiss her all over.

I think, thus far, she is a testament to the joy a shelter dog can bring to one's life. I adopted a dog that seemed unwanted, but has already exceeded my expectations. I have had a permasmile on all day, and I think that's definitely worth more than any price tag. I also just feel great knowing I helped an animal.

I've got her first vet check up booked for this weekend so we can make sure she's fit as a fiddle, and I need to call a dog walker to break up her days while I'm at work. I got her a sweater to wear in the cold weather tomorrow.

I know she's not a craft or a DIY project, but I think I might blog about her training and acclimation to life in her new home on here, because family and home is what DIY is all about to me, and she's family and she's helping to make my rental apartment become a home.

Here she is, world.Here's Parsley!

-Bea