Now, We Are Really Upcycling

If you follow Upcycled Education on Instagram, you know about this special present Mr. UpCyclist brought back for me from a jeep trail.  Yes, a trail!  He, Lil O and Jedi were hiking along in Colorado and all of a sudden an old bed spring appeared.  Now, I have something to confess.  I have a thing for old bed springs.  I like their lines and their antique-ness.  I could have worse fetishes, right?

After some serious brainstorming (say, for 15 minutes), Mr. UpCyclist suggested we incorporate paint swatches within the springs.  What?  Did I hear you correctly?  My FAVORITE free item in the world. Pinch me!  

....Then, I feel even more deeply in love with him.

As always, I have a collection of paint swatches on me (or at least nearby).  We played around with a few versions of how to incorporate the swatches.  Mr. U then ran off to our local hardware store to buy the hardware to hang this lovely sweetness.  Ahhh......

As you can see, the swatches are just nestled into the back spring.  Mr. U trimmed them to fit (they are more square now compared to their original rectangle shape).  The colors are vibrant and fun.

Did I mention this bedspring is gigantic?  Which is a great thing as the wall where it hangs is so tall.  See what I mean?

And because it hangs right in the loft by a king-sized bed, I thought this detail would be fun.  I used my alphabet stamps and Staz-on ink (the best ink for stamping paint swatches, in my opinion.).

I love little details like this.

I know I've mentioned this before, but you can rent our condo in Colorado when we are not there.  If you do, you'll see these upcycled bedsprings in all their colorful glory.

Over-the-moon,

Jen

Wake Up + Be Awesome Artwork

This summer, I've been obsessed with painting the town of Breckenridge, Colorado.  See....

But, I didn't always love it.  The artwork, that is.

So, I decided to paint over the sweet town in country red acrylic paint.  Then, I carefully added some adhesive letters - which were not very adhesive at all!  But, I was careful painting over them in bright turquoise - which looks more like slate blue below.  See how the letters barely stick?

After two coats of turquoise and a night of drying, I was quite happy with the finished product.

When we are in Colorado, I will wake up to this sweetness everyday in our loft.

Wake up and be awesome!

Jen

PS - The original saying comes from something I saw on Facebook - a posting by Boulder Cycle Sport.

Instagram Services {for Tech Tuesday}

I think I prefer Instagram over any other social media outlets.  It is visual, tidy, and artistic (most of the time).

To celebrate my admiration of Instagram (IG), I've collected  four of my favorite services related to it.  If you have a fav you think I/we should know about, please add it to the comments section below.

Postagram - Thanks to a blog post over at Crafterhours, I know about this awesome, app-based service.  It is simple to use:  you download the app, click on one of your IG photos and instantly send a hardcopy (a real postcard) to a friend!  Or better yet, send a postcard to a grandparent; You will score instant brownie points with this fee-based service.  Hurray!

Mpix - What makes Mpix so handy is their app.  You just tap on your photo and can order IG-sized photos straight from your phone.  You can do this with the Costco app, too, but their photos are not sized to the lovely, IG square.  I love that square.

Artifact Rising - This company makes beautiful, soft cover books of your IG photos in two sizes and two price points ($13 and $28).  I think their books are great for a gift - say for a teacher - or super if you are on a budget.

Stickygram - When I was in elementary school, I collected stickers.  Stickers + IG photos = Total awesome sauce.  For $15, you can order a sheet of nine sticker photos.  I think this might be my new "I dig you" gift - for faraway friends and family members.

Happy Instagramming!  Come by IG to see what I'm up to at @upcyclededucation.

Best,

Jen

PS - For the next three weeks, I am taking a phoneography class at Under the Sycamore.  Here's to my IG photos getting even better and more clearer! Huzzah!

Featured on CRAFT - Yay!

Silly me!  I forgot to tell you, I'm blogging over at CRAFT as part of their travel series.

Lots of photos, info and Breckenridge love!

Check it out here and big thanks to Jamie for inviting me.

xoxo,

Jen

Focus

Photo: Wildflower spotted on a recent hike with Lil O; We think it is called Woods Rose.

Yet, another great quote from the Joy of Appreciative Living.

This summer, besides my summer goals here, I am really trying to work on a few self things.  You know, things to improve myself - my life, my parenting, my relationships, my level of joy, etc.

I notice I sometimes get hung up on things - things like money, he-said-she-said stuff, old relationship patterns, yadda, yadda, yadda.  Instead of focusing on what is not working or what I don't like, I'm attempting to shift my focus to be more in line with this quote.  

I'm focusing on the stuff that I want to grow.  The positive parts.  The joy.  The ideal - even if that means it is slightly imagined.

Want to join me?  

xoxo,

Jen