New Items in My Etsy Shop

I added two new items to my Etsy Shop today. One is a set of four Emerald Green Placemats. They are washable and available for order in other colors.

The second is another iPad Mini case. This one is in a yarn called Zebra, a mix of black and white dyed yarn. This like many of the items in my shop is available for custom order!

How to Pull off an Eclectic Design

There are so many different types of motif's in this one design but yet they are all pulled together. How is that accomplished? The repetition of one individual aspect or motif. Gold. 

The gold splashed around the room is the uniting factor in the design. Walk your eyes from left to right.  Gold turn arm lamp with a trifold leg. Gold frame with a gold lamp for illumination of the artwork. Gold candelabra style urns on the metallic walls as accents. The gold trim around the fireplace opening. Golden legs on the coffee table. And sprinkled throughout are a few accessories in gold. Finally a golden hued piece of art that is dramatically different from the piece on the opposite wall. 

Having the gold follow through in this way allows the eye to find a sense of peace in the chaos of the design mess thus making the visual mess tidy and with purpose. It creates a calming affect to have things or ideas that are familiar in value evenly distributed amongst the non-familiar.

Adding a Little Wine to Your Decor

With so many wine lovers out there, present company included, I wanted to share some great wine decor items I recently came across on Etsy.

Family Heritage Wine Bottle Light

 Vintage Wine Label Coasters

Wine Cork Sculpture        

 Wine Tasting Daily Sign

Wine Label Switch Plate

I Have Pantry Envy

My house is not big enough to have a pantry like this, although I keep scheming on how to re-finagle the kitchen to ad one in. I have a feeling I will be dreaming for a while!

Source: honeyandfitz.blogspot.com.au via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

Thank You, Suggestion and Added Advertisements

First of all I want to thank all my new followers. Over the past couple days my followers on both my Facebook Page and my Pinterest Boards have grown substantially. If you havent ventured over to either I invite you to!

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will notice some subtle changes to my page but some big ones in the future of this blog. In order to keep my daily blog going I have added some advertisements in additions to the Project Wonderful ones I have already. Although they have helped they cannot fully pay for the operating cost of this blog.

At the bottom of my blog you will notice some added links and ad boxes. All the added ads are from places that I endorse and will never be anything that I would not myself, or have not participated in or purchased. All ads are somehow related to what I have and will talk about in this blog.

I also want to take this post to ask you if you have any suggestions for A. Nieman Design going forward. Please feel free to contact me via facebook or email. All questions, comments and suggestions are appreciated!

Have a wonderful Day!
-Alison

Designing With Leaves

Fabric Flowers and Leaves

Felt Leaves Tissue Box Cover

 Teal Blue and Lime Green Pillows

Leaf Design Paper Lamp

Design Trend: Brass

A great design trend that is popping up everywhere is Brass. Brass can be a great accent and it doesn't have to be dated either. When some people think about brass they picture the old door knobs that are a glossy right brass and are not that attractive, and I will  be the first one to admit I'm one of them. So how do you make brass less unattractive? 

Brass that is shinny can be a little harsh, and I believe thats why some people think of it as unattractive. To remedy this try to find an antiqued brass or vintage brass. The difference between bright and brassy and aged and brassy are huge when adding a great deal of it to your room. And lets face it, when it comes to metals they tend to be a large part of a room's appearance. They are on your door knobs, your light fixtures, your drawer pulls, so a less abrasive metal is not only more appealing but more relaxing. 

Here are some different ways to use the Brass design trend in your home with Etsy!

Vintage Swan Brass Figure

 Vintage Brass 4 Piece Utensil Set

 Heavy Vintage Brass Vases

 Vintage Brass Enamel Urn/Vase

 Ornate Brass Vintage Picture Frame

Emerald - the Color of the Year - How to use Etsy to create an Emerald room

Pantone comes out with their colors of the new year each year. For 2013 the color of the year is Emerald. Along with Emerald other colors that are going to be popular in both home and fashion are Jade, Dusk Blue, Lemon Zest and Nectarine to name a few. For the full list visit Pantone's website.

Today I wanted to put together some home accents found on Etsy to help you put together an Emerald room. Changing just your accents and accessories can make a world of change in your home.

A piece of art:

Token of Affection - 11x14 in. Romantic print

A handmade pillow:

Hand Knit Medium Pillow in Grass Green

Some green vintage books:

Vintage Book Collection 7 Shades of Green Home Decor

Etsy Item of the Day 1.8.12 - Vintage Mirror

What a beautiful addition to a traditionally designed home! I would use this mirror as a great accent over a hand painted chest in a hall way. A mirror of this size is meant to be an accent piece. 

It can bring the illusion of more light into a small space and double as a great art piece. Items that double for different functions are essential for smalled homes, dark room etc.

Italian Tarot Mirror

Half Painted Walls

This is a great way to add height to a room or to bring a really tall ceiling down a tad.

Source: athomeinlove.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

Ribbon Organization

I have been meaning to do this with my ribbon. I pinned it a while ago and still have yet to accomplish this one. Right now all my ribbon is sitting in a box, labeled ribbon. Biggest problem with doing it that way is that they don't stay tightly rolled and I can't see everything I have.

 Main reason I love this ribbon organization method is that you can see everything you have! Now I just need someplace to hang it. Having an old house I don't have extra closets for craft stuff. Need to find a independent closet thingy!

Source: creatingkeepsakesblog.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

Organizing

Organizing is a great way to get motivated. An organized home can help anyone be more productive in the new year. I love organizing but when things aren'r organized for ease they can quickly become unorganized again. I find that this is where I often fail in my organizing efforts in my own home.

In an effort to become more organized this year in my home and in my life, I am putting together some of my favorite inspirational organizing tips and projects. My pinterest board Organize has been put together with the goal in mind to get more organized. If you are looking for some inspiration and some motivation follow my board.

Also I wanted to share a sample here of some of my favorite organizing tips. Below are some of my favorite pins.

The Wrapping Station

Source: craftynest.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

The Laundry Station

Source: decorhacks.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

The Cleaning Station

Source: bhg.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

Happy New Years! My New Years Resolutions

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I am glad that you have joined me again in this new year. I am really excited about this year and have many plans for this blog and ANiemanDesign.

Earlier this week I posted on my here a link to a poll I am taking on my Facebook page asking what you would like to see more of from my blog this year. Please take a gander over there and vote if you would! I want to get all the feedback I can get.

This time of year we all think about improving ourselves. I am looking to improve myself and my work. I hope that as you travel with me we can create a dialog on what is working and what is not working.

What improvements are you looking to implement this year?

Please comment below to help us help each other improve and stay on track!

Thank you for reading and welcome to my new readers!
-Alison

Etsy Item of The Day 12.31.12

Source: etsy.com via Lisa Rossiter on Pinterest

Etsy Item of the Day 12.30.12

Source: etsy.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

Etsy Item Of Day 12.29.12

Natural Wood Apple Crate

Etsy Item of the Day 12.28.12

It may say Christmas in the listing, but how cute would these be for V-Day!

Source: etsy.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

Afghan for Grandpa

At the Avante-garde Art and Craft Show, my husband's grandmother ordered an afghan for his grandfather for Christmas. I wanted to wait until after Christmas to post the pictures of the final project.

This is one of my favorite patterns to do and is a widely used pattern as well; Granny Square. Although the pattern is used a lot, the real artistry is in the color coordination, thats where you can play around and use your imagination.

I love to keep my afghans simple in color and pattern. It is one thing that makes my designs, my designs.

If you would like to custom order an afghan, no two are exactly alike. I can use the same colors as this afghan but the pattern and the square placement will be different. Yet another thing that makes my designs, my designs.

I wanted to explain this so you know what you are getting when you purchase one of my creations, they are original and a work of handmade art.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions!
-Alison

The New Year is Coming!

This upcoming year we are always trying to improve ourselves. What I would like to do is improve my blog with posts that you want to see. What questions would you like answered? Ideas for events? Profiles of artists? Photo's, pinterest, etc? What topics should I cover?

What ever it is please visit my Facebook page and vote! I hope that I can make this blog something you truly want to read. 

Thanks for reading this year!

Have a wonderful Holiday and a Happy New Year!

-Alison

Last Minute Gift - Button Ornament

So a couple days ago I posted a great ornament idea for the season. I had to make an ornament for my husbands gift exchange at work so I decided to use my own post as my inspiration.

Below is the inspiration picture:

Source: tethered2home.com via A. Nieman Design on Pinterest

The first thing I did was go to Michaels to pick up the supplies. I already had the ornament balls which I ordered earlier this year for another project. I just needed matching buttons. Most of the buttons I already had were a mismatched assortment. As you see in the picture there are two main colors, purple and green. For mine I found blue and green:

Next I needed something to attach the buttons with. For that I needed something clear and sticky. I found this clear drying tacky glue which is perfect! It does take a little time to dry but is clear and the final hold is fabulous!

Instead of the paper tree I found these really cool sticky trees while rummaging through the clearance section at Michaels.

Next, I sorted the buttons out by color. Green to blue. That way I could just work my way across as I added them on the bulb. 

Once sorted it's time to glue! I started at the bottom and worked my way up the bulb. I used green at the bottom: green = grass. And I used blue at the top: blue = sky. Simple but the affect I wanted to achieve.

Once done putting the buttons on, I hung to dry. I wanted it to dry completely before putting on the tree stickies (approximately a couple hours). The stickies were very easy to use, but once you placed them the stuck and if it wasn's quite dry it will peel the buttons off with it if you need to move the placement.

The final step, I added a bow to finish off the top. I found some clearance blue and white ribbon while shopping and just tied a bow through the top near where the hook goes. 

And Whala!

Very easy and very in expensive to make! Try it as a last minute gift this Xmas or for a new gift next year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-Alison