Saturday, October 4, 2014

Be Our Guest

Recently my cousin Amanda came to visit from Buffalo and in the next couple weekends we are going to have more guest from out of town.  We usually have guests coming to our home every couple of months since both myself and my fiance are from out of state.  So I thought it would be a great post to share some of the little things I do to make sure that our guests feel welcome.  Our guest room isn't completely done (lacking some curtains and maybe a little table or luggage stand) but I thought it was well enough along to share.


One of my favorite things to do is have a frame on the nightstand that I change out with pictures depending on the guests.  I try to find pictures of a great time that we had with our guests or for my grandma I like to find older pictures of her and I, it always begins a reminiscing story.  Its kind of hard to see in the picture but the frame behind it was our house warming card from my grandma, it's a watercolor painting she did of our house.


A little DIY project I did not to long ago (pre-blogging) was the three canvas paintings.  With a little painters tape, acrylic paints, and canvases you can make some great, budget friendly art work for any place in your home.  I was needing something to spruce up the guest room walls and thought they would work perfect.  


Always stock the bed with a lot of pillows, our guests can always take some off the bed but I want to make sure that they have enough.  Of course, after each guest we wash the pillows, sheets and blankets and sometimes again before the come since our cat thinks its her room when we don't have guests.


Depending on how long the guests are staying I put together a little set of essentials, the channel guide (cause its different in each state / cable provider), the remote, a nice scented candle, and a basket of some toiletries.  Each time I'm in a hotel or have a chance at free samples I snag them! They make great use for guests and after a while of collecting you build up a great variety. 



Finally, a great idea (that I of course found on Pinterest) is a nice framed print of the Wi-Fi password! Sometimes if you haven't made your password a cute phrase or word (as we clearly haven't) its hard to tell or show your guests.  By printing it out clearly it helps them get connected quicker and makes for cute guest room decor.  
You can find this one in my Wamp Designs Shop HERE.

I hope you found some of my tips useful.  What do you equip your guest room with?



Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Paddle Boarding

My cousin Amanda came down from Buffalo this past weekend to go wedding dress shopping with me and some of my other bridesmaids .. and I did say YES to a dress!! However when she comes to town I like to plan something a little different for us to try together.  We have stories upon stories of all the things that we have experienced together so I wanted to add one more especially as life is getting more hectic by the second.

I found a deal on Amazon Local (which I love so much more that Groupon or any other sites, its just seems easier and more informative ... so a shout out to them!!) for Paddle Boarding.  Down here in Sarasota its really popular and it was only $19 per person for two hours.  We invited some other friends ... Chelsea (another bridesmaid) her husband Dan and their sister Diana to come along too.



It was a beautiful morning, we took the 9am time slot because anything after 11 out in the Florida sun and we'd be toast.  The water was calm and there was a breeze, I was really happy because the weather during her visit so far (and even after) had been miserable ... rain rain rain.  It was a little nerve wreaking at first, you have to get used to balancing and rowing at the same time but after about 5 minutes I think we had it down.  I'm not going to lie though, sitting on it was a lot easier and you could go faster, but that defeated the purpose.   
Overall she said it was a lot calmer experience than some of our other adventures but something we both had fun with.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has been thinking about giving it a try or is looking for some fun new things to try.







Have you tried any new adventures lately?



Thursday, September 25, 2014

Industrial Style Baskets

I have been on the look out for some industrial style wire baskets to use in my closet for some time now.  I have seen them a few different places but they either weren't the right size or the right price.  Much to my excitement I came across the perfect size wire baskets with the best price I've seen.  One problem .... They were shocking blue.  Luckily I remembered my handy friend Rust-Oleum "Oil Rubbed Bronze" Spray Paint.  This trusty  spray paint has created many a beautiful things in my home as well as saved me money and sanity always looking for that "perfect" piece.  Why not create it?

 

I found these at the Dollar General Store for $5 even better, that day everything with a little red dot was on additional clearance and I walked away with four baskets for $3.50 each.  Add in the cost of the spray paint, each basket cost me roughly $5.  I mean you just can't beat that!


It was a beautiful day so I set up shop outside and began to spray paint.  Make sure that when you are spraying these types of baskets you look at it from all angles.  With the original color being so bright it was easy for me to spot the areas that needed more paint.


So for $20 and about 20 min worth of work I now have great Industrial Style Baskets to help organize my closet.  For drying time sake I leave you with one of finished products below.  I plan to use them for scarves, clutches, belts, and other accessories.  



What would you use yours for? 




Monday, September 22, 2014

Holiday Decorating - Halloween

I often get frustrated when Christmas Decorations start showing up in stores in the beginning of September, if not sooner.  I mean whats the rush? Not to mention your skipping over two holidays that deserve some decorations too!  I know that Christmas is usually the most fun and the most decked out but I like to pay homage to Halloween and Thanksgiving (Fall) for a little while.  I decided quite a while ago I would decorate for Halloween on October 1st, Thanksgiving on November 1st and Christmas on December 1st.  That way each holiday gets a fair share.

Now having said that, I don't really go all out for Halloween.  In the future when I have children I'm sure I will do so for them but for now I just like to add a few pieces around the house for spooky sake.  One of the things I like to do is frame some of my Halloween Printables (Found Here) in already existing frames around my home.



During the after holiday clearance sales I picked up some little Halloween trinkets that weren't overtly "HALLOWEEN" and I like to put those in place of some of my everyday trinkets. 



Its a really easy and cheap way to put some touches of Halloween around your home.  What do you do for the Halloween Holiday? 



Thursday, September 18, 2014

Finally ... My Herbs Are Back

Living in Florida has its pros and cons, as any state does I'm sure.  I love having fresh herbs at my fingertips so when we moved into our home I had my (soon-to-be) handy brother in-law build me a raised herb garden.  We had this perfect little spot on the side of our deck and I couldn't picture anything else going there.  Its right by the side door for easy access and it is on the side of the house that gets morning light.  Did you know herbs prefer morning light?

Back to that con of living in Florida, during the summer it rains ... a lot.  Every afternoon you can pretty much bet your life that there will be a thunder storm.  While herbs should be able to grow year round, mine drown in the summer months.  So after fighting soggy basil and cilantro soup I decided to scrap the whole thing mid July.

Now that we've approached mid September I think that I am ready to start replenishing my stock.  I cleaned out all the left over weeds and leaves and turned all the soil.  I did leave my rosemary though, it was hardy enough to make it through the weather, and on the right you'll see my pot of Aloe Vera.  Aloe seems to grow abundantly anywhere I put it, and it has come to the rescue many times for our visitors that forget how important sunblock is down here. (Its also great for breakouts, especially ones you couldn't keep your hands off.  Rub some aloe on the trouble area, let sit for an hour, and wash off.  Great healing power.)



I was planning to go to Home Depot to see what they had in stock, I just hadn't made it there quite yet.  Which I'm glad I didn't because last weekend my fiance and I decided to go to our local farmers market (Sarasota Farmers Market).  I honestly was going to see if the prices were better on the fruits and veggies than our local grocery store - they seemed about the same on most items.  When much to my surprise there was a tent there selling herbs! They even had their basil (my favorite) on sale for $2 a plant.  These plants looked much healthier and fuller than what I usually find at Home Depot.  I bought three Basil and two Cilantro (the herbs I use the most) for only $12!




I'm so excited to see the herb garden taking shape, I do need to get a few more plants, perhaps some parsley or chives would be good.  We also love jalapenos, which I usually start as small plants in the herb box and then move them to larger containers.  The guy at the farmers market said he should have some in a couple weeks.  So I will be checking back for sure!

What do you have in your herb garden?


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Jumpin' In With Both Feet

I've decided recently that I'm a thinker and a dreamer, which is great because the things I love most in life have to do with my creative side.  However what I need to work on is being a doer, because as much as I love to think about things I'd like to do and dream about how I'd like things to look it does no good until I do them.  Cue: Wamp Designs.

My name is Jessica Sweeney and I love all things creative, from home decor, to DIY projects, to holiday and party decor.  I've spent the past couple of years creating things for my home, family and friends and often get told that I should start a blog or an Etsy shop.  So I have taken the plunge and decided to DO both!

THE BLOG: I'm not new to blogging, I dabbled a little in it a few years ago with a blog that - will remain nameless - for embarrassment sake and have read tons of blogs that I've found through your best friend and mine, Pinterest.  So I hope the learning curve to bring me up to date isn't too steep.  I want to share all the fun things that I create and think this is a great platform to do so.

THE SHOP: Etsy is quite a new idea to me but I have been working at it diligently.  My shop (Wamp Designs) focuses mainly on custom printables: Invitations, Holiday Decor, Party Decor, etc. I have had the great pleasure of having close friends that look to me for help when it comes to Bridal Showers, Baby Showers, Birthday Parties and so on.  So I figure if I can DO it for them I can DO it for anyone.

THE NAME: Wamp ... W - (ah) - MP .. What the heck is that right? Well the idea behind Wamp Designs (the blog and the shop) is to share beautiful things, so I went straight to the source of my most beautiful thing.



Please excuse the remote from an otherwise adorable picture.  Her real name is Lola but a nickname of Kitty Wampas turned Wampy turned to just plain Wamp stuck and hasn't left her since.  She is greatly loved by all, even the ones that get the sniffles around her so I thought the name would be fitting.  After all who wouldn't want their work to be beautiful and loved by all? 

So as I decided this morning that I am not longer going to think or dream about this blog that I'm actually going to DO it, I have competed my first post.  I feel quite accomplished! Next thing on my To DO list ... create a cute signature for these post.

Jessica 

Side Note: As you can see I have some previous posts on this site, I had secured the name a little while ago thinking I would use it as a living portfolio for my graphic design work, however decided to take a different route but thought it couldn't hurt just to leave a few things up ... so I did :) 

Monday, May 12, 2014

Brandy Rose Photography

One of my very best friends has recently started a new adventure in photography.  She launched Brandy Rose Photography just a few short months ago and has been capturing beautiful moments ever since.  I had the honor to create her logo and get a little excited every time I see it on one of her beautiful photos.

Check out her work HERE







Saturday, May 3, 2014

Signage!

My company puts on an annual trade show in Las Vegas each year for the Buy-Here Pay-Here car industry.  I was asked to help design some of the signage.   While there were some guidelines that must be followed I was able to put a little of my own creative spin on them.

Also received a great compliment from the Freeman Art Department for being one of the most organized designer's they've worked with in a while ;)




Golf Tournament - Fantasy Football - What's Next?

My Fiance (first time I get to write that!) host's a golf outing each year in Michigan and this year asked for my help in making an invitation! What I thought would be a fun little project has now inspired a Fantasy Football invite (work in progress) ..... this could catch on!


Left Side - Front | Right Side - Back



A Little Sprinkle

I have been fortunate enough to have a best friend of 20 years now, and she has given me the great privilege of creating many things for her through her wedding planning and children's births and birthdays.  One of my favorites was an invitation to a "Sprinkle" (in lieu of a shower) before her beautiful baby girl Cali Rose was born.