Becoming REinspired

I've been feeling less than inspired lately.  Who am I kidding?  I've been down right UNINSPIRED for weeks (months?)  Last night while at dinner, I confessed to my hubby over wine and some tears that I have lost my creativity.

While I am truly HAPPY in my personal life, my head is no longer swimming with ideas.  The words that couldn't wait to tumble from my fingers to the page have simply ceased to exist.  My son turned 14 last week and the most decor I could muster up for his birthday dinner was a plastic tablecloth and some utensils wrapped in a napkin.

My brand new sewing machines sit basically untouched. I can't even remember the last time I purchased a yard of fabric. I have a gorgeous vintage French Provincial dresser, begging to be rehabbed, parked in the middle of my garage since September. (I haven't stepped foot in a thrift store in weeks.) I've barely even used the DSLR camera hubby gave me for Christmas.

Two years ago, if I would have had all the tools at my disposal that I have today, I would have been unstoppable!  So what's wrong with me?  Hubby assured me that I have not lost my creativity, but likely I had misplaced my motivation and inspiration.  Of course, he is right.

Since moving back to Florida and getting a job outside of the home, AquaSeventy6 has taken a backseat. It's been hard to juggle working, shuttling the kids to and from school, cleaning, laundry, family commitments, and more, while hubby works loooong hours. I don't have an assistant, a housekeeper, nor am I part of a carpool. It's just me.  The days I do get something on the blog or on Facebook can be discouraging.  The new Facebook filters on business pages only distribute my posts to 10% of my followers.

BUT, the truth is that I've worked too hard on this endeavor to let it die. 

I decided to go through my old blog posts and photo albums in attempt to become REinspired.

The REinspiration:

I began my creative career in 2009 writing for local online parenting sites. That same year, my friends Autumn and Kara started a business hosting social events for moms. Their goal was to inspire, and that they did!  The idea of owning my own business was planted, and immediately I knew it would be called AquaSeventy6 (although I didn't quite know what kind of business it would be.)

September 2009, Mommyista Big Bash

A year later Autumn and our friend Holly invited me to join them at a holiday craft fair.  They loved the Vintage Dish serving tower I had created for my MIL's 60th birthday party and thought they would sell well. Although the craft fair was cancelled, Autumn and I went on to create this blog. We made a myriad of super cool accessories, gifts and housewares (including The Vintage Dish) which we sold by hosting our own show-- the first annual Holiday Shop & Sip, and eventually AquaSeventy6 became a business.

What kept me motivated over these years were my friends and clients.  I loved getting positive feedback and inspiring others to take on a DIY project, hit the thrift stores, start a new hobby, or even turn their passion into a business

Soon after AquaSeventy6's birth, several other mom-owned, handmade businesses started popping up in the area.  It was awesome to be surrounded by a group of friends with so many ideas such as Marcy from Kaiya Designs, who was recently featured in the Tampa Bay Times, Jasmine from R&E Avenue who has clients all over the country, and Kara who now owns Simply Vintage Candles, was featured in Smart Retailer, and just this week shipped a PALLET of her hand-poured soy candles to Pennsylvania.

2013 Spring Shop & Sip

I've met even more creative women throughout the years, from writers to photographers, artists to designers. I've listed some of them on my sidebar under (appropriately enough) INSPIRATION.

I'm feeling it now...the beginning of my REinspiration. I don't know where it will take me, but I am ready for the ride.

Neck Tie Diaper {and wipes} Pouch

Here is the newest item created for my soon-to-arrive twin grandnephews.

I was inspired by the diaper clutch tutorial over at A Lemon Squeezy Home. If you haven't stopped by Christie's blog, do it (but after you read this post, pin your favorite photos, and share it with all of your friends!) ;)

I added the matching neck tie applique pattern I used for my Neck Tie Burp Cloths but I changed the look up a little by using a football print in coordinating colors.

I used the same football fabric as the lining and added a hook and loop closure.  (Forgive the purple pull-up diaper.  With a 9 and 12-year-old at home, this was the only diaper I could dig up from the back of the bathroom cabinet---it was either this or an adult diaper--don't ask me why I have one!)

There is easily enough room for another diaper and a portable wipes case.  Perfect for tossing into your handbag for a quick trip to the grocery store!  I bet it could hold a folding changing pad, as well...hmmmm...I think I found my next project!!

This was so easy, thanks to Christie's tutorial! 

I will be adding more of my handmade items for the twins soon.  In the meantime, if you like what you see,  "like" my my Facebook page!

Click here to see where this and my other posts are linked!


BTW, have you entered my 300 Facebook Follower giveaway?  If not, click here!

Follower Features

Us Aqua Gals sure love our followers! Their support means a ton and their talent is inspiring.Here are a few projects from some of our fab followers!
Wall decor project from Champagne Taste Beer Budget
DIY kid's room canvas from Room with a View
Fall inspired shelves by Less Than Perfect Life of BlissPS- be sure to check out the close up on the book covers - brilliant!  Thank you, ladies, for sharing these ideas. They are truly smart and inspiring! Follow or "Like" our blog? Email us your projects so we can feature you too! If you have been featured, feel free to pick up a button from our Button Up page!

Signs of Inspiration

My latest obsession - well one of them-  is vintage wooden signs.
I have always been drawn to typography and so these old signs just make my heart happy.

I have been searching around the blog universe to find some good tutorials for making a custom sign with that vintage feel. Something to display in my home. Here are the ones I will be drawing inspiration and instructions from. Once I get around to making one (or 10) I'll post some pictures!

lil blue boo

Mrs. Adventure

They make it look so easy! Now...what will my sign(s) say? 

Man's Dress Shirt Becomes Flirty Skirt!

I just love repurposing and upcycling!! Last week I came across a tutorial that I knew I just had to follow.  I started out with a man's dress shirt. 

Hubs would have killed me if I used one of his, so this was $4.99 at my local Goodwill.

A little nip and tuck, and an hour later I had this:

Cute, huh?

Here I am in an attempt to model my new skirt:

It's not easy to get an 8-year-old to take a clear photo!

The only thing I did differently from the tutorial is that I didn't make the belt loops. I used a 15x33 men's shirt, and if I were to make this again I would probably look for a 16x35 (I normally wear a size 6 or 8 skirt) to have a bit of a fuller skirt and more sleeve length to work with for the belt/sash. I would also probably make the skirt a couple of inches shorter by cutting the waistband a little lower.  I didn't do it this time around because I wanted to keep the pocket in tact.

Aqua Seventy 6 hopes you are having a great week.  Make it a better one by becoming a follower! Comment and let us know that you are a follower and we will follow you back!

Dish Towels By Necessity

I was inspired today.  First by some cute shops on Strawberry Street in The Fan here in Richmond, and second by sheer necessity.  My new (to me) kitchen is, how do I put this nicely? Vintage-ish? None of my existing dish towels could come close to matching the fantabulous RED laminate counter tops and simply gorgeous forest green bath tile back splash.  So, I dug through my stash of fabrics and came up with this:

Just the thing to funkify my unique kitchen.

Linking to:

Cottage-Style Dresser Chalk Paint Makeover

My original chalk painted dresser was intended for use in my new Richmond bedroom.  My daughter loved it so much that we went out in search of something similar for her room. In our very first stop at our local Goodwill, she and I came across this cottage-style dresser.  Not the French-Provincial we'd had in mind, but for $15, this was a deal we could not pass up!

The drawers were bigger than the French dresser, so I decided that I would keep this one for me and my daughter could have the first one she had been admiring.


Since I had chosen the paint color based on my bedroom, I decided this new dresser would also be Annie Sloan's Paris Gray.  And, as luck would have it, I still had plenty paint left from the quart I had purchased.

 

The drawers drying in the sun.

Waxing the paint after it dried. The color darkens slightly after waxing.

Sanding a little after waxing brings a nice texture from the brush strokes.

The knobs I purchased at Hobby Lobby were a little too long,
so I enlisted Hubs to trim them.

I did just a little distressing along the leaf pattern.

Here is the finished product!

The knobs I purchased at Hobby Lobby.

I chose one with a leaf pattern to match the dresser's original detail.

...and mixed it up with a flower ceramic knob.

Kind of digging it, if I do say so myself!

Have you used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?  What tips do you have for our readers?




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We've Been Featured + A Visit With Robyn Story

We are thrilled to announce our latest feature!  Our Annie Sloan Chalk Painted Dresser was featured at DIY By Design's "Swing Into Spring Party" this week.



Speaking of Annie Sloan Chalk Paints...

We were having our very last "Tampa Bay" based AquaSeventy6 "business brunch" yesterday morning (Autumn is in town from Nashville, and Yvette will be relocating to Richmond, VA next week) when we decided to check out our local Annie Sloan Stockist, Robyn Story Designs and Boutique.

Besides all of the amazing finds at Robyn Story Designs, the customer service (by Robyn herself) could not be beat.  Robyn's Annie Sloan Paint room took our breath away.  She had pieces painted in countless Annie Sloan colors and techniques.  We almost cried when we entered her workshop studio and saw pieces being transformed right in front of our eyes.  OK, so we (Yvette) are being a little melodramatic today.  It's our dream, what can we say??

We each left with a bag full of goodies and couldn't be happier with our experience at Robyn Story Designs and Boutique.


Autumn, Robyn and Yvette

Project Inspired By...Photo Display

Last week's search for innovative photo displays inspired the following:

I started with16x20 frame that I bought for $6.99 at Ross last year.  It is plastic, but has an intricate design.  I painted it using my favorite Krylon spray paint, "Pebble".

Next, I used batting and a muted floral cotton fabric to cover the backing of the frame, gluing it to the backside.  I wound twine around the newly covered board and secured it tightly in the back.

My intention was just to slip in some old photos, but...

The twine wasn't strong enough, so I ended up using these mini clothespins I found at Pottery Barn last year to hold the photos in place.

And now you have it...my very own innovative photo display!

Enjoy!