shelf analysis & self analysis

Hello, dear readers. Apparently the month of November escaped me. I am so sorry about that! But let's talk art before we talk about me.

The above photo depicts my living room shelves where I play when the decorating mood strikes me. Some of what comes naturally to me does not for others so I thought I would take a moment to look at what I did and tell you why it works.

The key to any lovely arrangement is to make sure there is some repetition. Repeated elements visually send the message "we belong together." And that is always pleasing to the eye!

On the shelf above you will see repetition in:

color (reds and blues are highlighted but I also repeated browns)

shape (circles)

texture (glossy, shiny glass)

I also recommend completely clearing off your shelves and wiping them down before a design re-do. I had not done this in a long time and found it freshened my perspective. I redid several shelves that had been exactly the same for several years when I forced myself to clean house so to speak.

Now, onto the promised self-analysis! As the name of this blog – Make Time, Make Art – indicates I am attempting to document my progress on that very goal. When I don't have anything to write about then I know I am letting one of the most important areas of my life slip in importance. So how am I attempting to remedy it this go round? Well, I am dropping one of my weekly commitments completely. Several others are done for now and won't pick up until January. More time actually physically at home should lead to more art time. The other thing I am attempting to commit to despite crazy baby's (non) sleep schedule is get up before my kiddos and get some art time in the early morning. You will know how I am doing by whether you see posts up here!

shelf style: red and teal and vintage

My mother gifted me with a lovely teal glass vase (an estate sale treasure!) so I created this new shelf arrangement just to show it off.

The blue glass bottle on the left was intended to be upright but it is just a smidge too tall for the shelf. No matter, I laid it on its side.

I have always been a sucker for driftwood so I've got interesting piece in my stash to work with.

The art in the background was created by my oldest daughter when she was two (picture two paint-covered hands swirling circles side by side). The berries are usually a Christmas thing but worked well with all the round objects and to repeat the red color.

Also tipped on its side front left is an antique jar that belonged to my great-grandmother. I am not sure what was in it but I do love the pretty lid.

The milk glass vase comes from my husband's grandmother. And the blue glass vase with stopper is something I have had for quite a while. I think it was ordered from West Elm once upon a time.

show me some spring…

…on your shelf, that is!

Simple collection of yellow and Easter themed items – saved cards, my silly ceramic chicks, a stuffed bunny, and a bit of a bird's nest.

And of course a whole shelf devoted to my nest collection – hee!

little pretties at home

Things that make me smile:

my feather collection upon the kitchen windowsill

my five-year-old daughter bought these at the Farmer's Market for me!

a new arrangement upon the shelf – nature + antiques

shelf refresh

I recently went on a frenzy of shelf decorating. Office type things and children type things were creeping up onto shelves that are supposed to be full of pretty things. Plus I had new family photos to put in the frames. A serious update was in order!

I like to keep color palettes grouped

Feathers on display in a simple glass jar

Round objects grouped together, including natural treasures