Jul 26, 2012

And the winner is....


Thanks Gretchen, Egan, Morgan, and Brittany for entering and your comments, they were so fun to read. :)  Brittany, can you email me your home address roxymarjdesign@gmail.com?  I will be out of town tomorrow and Saturday, so I will mail your painting on Monday. :) Thanks again ladies!

p.s. due to the small amount of entries [should I feel like a looser artist for this? juuust kidding] I just fold up paper with your names and then literally shook them in my hand and dropped them on the table, and chose one w/ my eyes closed. :] Can't get any more basic than that. 

I know I said I wouldn't be blogging for the next couple of days, but I just saw this band  DMK  A Depeche Mode cover band from Bogota, Colombia on Lost Bird Found and had to share before I forgot....oh my gosh, this is probably the coolest thing, and most inspiring thing I have seen in a long time! Don't you want to see this family in concert?!

Jul 25, 2012

Before taking a couple days off from blogging, I thought it best to do another giveaway.

Up for grabs is one of my mini Home Cozy Home paintings. It measures 4.25"x5.5" <- surely you have space on your wall for this little fellow. Painting comes in 5 different shades: Black, Red, Mustard, Gray/Blue & Sage. Winner chooses his/her favorite color.

Just leave a comment telling me your dream house, i.e.  Tudor, A-frame, Bungalow, Apt. etc.  I am always interested in the why's of things, but you don't need to get detailed if you don't want to. :)

OR...if you don't want to cross your fingers and hope that you win,
 they are available for purchase in my shop. Thanks! xo

Winner will be chosen tomorrow at 5pm mountain time.



My favorite season [Fall] is coming up and it's totally on the brain folks.  I sooo miss those first days of school growing up...and college too! I know i'm not the only one who would get mega excited about buying school supplies, right? And getting new clothes for school even if they were hand-me-downs or from the goodwill...I loved it.

These new prints are with Fall in mind, and those first days of school, organizing your supplies, and the crisp air that soon meant it was almost time for sweater weather! Ahh...I can't wait! :)




And do you ever find yourself picking up small random objects? NO?! 
Okay...well, for those of you who DO, keep in mind, a Roxy Marj clutch is a perfect home for those orphaned items




Nope, these are not  Mast Brothers Chocolate Bars

These packages are just some of the orders that were shipped the other day.  As cheesy as it sounds, I get really emotional every time an order is placed for one of my items.  I want to hug, kiss, and thank those of you who see the value in supporting independent designers. I love every step that goes into making a clutch, a pillow, or painting a picture...all the way down to the packaging. I designed the floral paper you see below and purposely wrap my packages in such a way that everything can be reused again if desired. 

I also want to especially thank Lena, Joy & Jeff [Booooooom]
 for posting about my items. You 3 have brought me a lot of traffic & buyers/fans to my shop. 


and if I had gobs of money right now, I would most definitely send you guys some chocolate bars.

Don't you just love Mast Brother's packaging though?
Makes 5 bars for $40 seem well worth it to me.


Jul 24, 2012

Do you read Selvedge? If you appreciate textiles and learning more about them as well as old and new designers in the fashion/textile/print industry then this is a magazine you would most probably love. Last night I was reading in it about when the color purple originated and its history behind it. So fascinating! You can find Selvedge at most Barnes & Noble Bookstores.


This article "Why the brain likes handmade textiles" was soo interesting and made so much sense.


The artist to the left is Teresa Green of Teresa Green Design <- She owns her own handprinted linen company...  :::: pause :::: okay i'm back, I had to swoon there for a second.  Anywaaays, don't you just love her little space there and her typewriter?! Gosh, to have something like that in one's own home would be awesome!



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I recently found this ceramic floral fabric frame at the thrift store a couple weeks ago.  I really love it with this old postcard my sister gave me a while back of some Fort Hall Native Americans and their teepee.  But the frame itself is so sweet, and I haven't really seen a lot of this style frame around: fabric wrapped and then coated with many layers of varnish? Do you know of this and perhaps where to get more? Having a mix of different printed fabrics with old black and white photos on a console would look so pretty. :)

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Lastly, I just saw these 1930's milk glass spice jars over at uncovet. I am in love.  Milk glass + red.... and their so small and hearty... these are really something. As of right now, there is 1 set left and you can purchase it HERE. 












Jul 23, 2012

There's nothing I dislike more than eating by myself.... :/ It definitely is some sort of eating disorder I believe because if I am alone for lunch [like today] I normally just snack on food, rarely do I take the time to prepare an actual meal.  This is not good and in my personal opinion, it's not healthy to snack because I am lonely. The last couple of weeks i've really been trying to hunker down on this issue. And I think I just found the solution: salty images of easy prep food on Pinterest.  This Zucchini Tart literally has my tastebuds salivating and since it's my lunch time right now, I think I am going to take a break from work and try and make this. Doesn't it sound so delicious?! I think you could even replace the goat cheese [if you're not a fan] with spreadable garlic herb cheese! Seriously...yummmmehh!

get the full recipe from Marthat Stewart right HERE.


For those of you who still hand write letters and who like to receive them,  these are for you. :) 

New  handpainted  Roxy Marj Stationary


Roxy Marj Spotted Envelopes and Ruthie Flower Notecards

Roxy Marj Ruthie Flower Notecards & Multi Pattern Envelopes


Jul 20, 2012

Hope you have a great weekend. I am headed to the post here in a bit and very thankful to have packages to mail off. Thanks for your orders, custom orders, and for posting about my shop... be checking your mailbox friends. :)


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 Our fireplace mantel is nonexistent right now... and probably won't be started on for a quite some time. Which isn't bad, this then allows for time to design up something really special and that goes well with the style of our home.



 So awhile ago I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to design a mantle that was tramp art inspired...if you haven't heard of tramp art definitely look into this movement. Anyways, my Mom happened to find a book on just that subject at the library book store and gave this to me for my birthday! Thanks Mom. :)


How amazing are these piece!?! Don't you want them all? :)  Ironically, a lot of tramp art was/is created using popsicle sticks. I love the layering of the wood, the depth and the heartiness of tramp art. Such amazing work and craftsmanship. 


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Lastly, on a whim...I thought it best to add a couple faces to some plants. :)  It was about time
we had some sort of greeting outside our door...better to have the plant say it than me....she has a better voice. 


and this lil lady I am digging....she seems really content... but don't you think the pot looks better with a face than without? PEOPLE our plants need faces!!!! <- I highly suggest you go paint some now!



Jul 19, 2012

And the winner is....


Thanks everyone for entering AND telling about your favorite band/book! I learned about some new groups that I plan on posting here soon and linking to your blog, if you have one.

Check back for next week's giveaway, 
especially since the odds of winning  here are pretty high ... OR 

go visit BOOOOOOOM and enter for a chance to win two of my Home Cozy Home Pillows!


Jul 18, 2012

 About time, right? I think it's been over a year since I last had a giveaway. And that's all about to change. To get more traffic to my etsy shop I plan on making this a weekly occurrence.  ALSO, for those of you who have posted on your blog about an item of mine. THANK  YOU so much! :) I regularly check my blog and etsy stats and it shows me where traffic is coming from. It's so nice to come upon a blog and/or site that has mentioned an item of mine in some way without me even asking. And to show my thank you, I will be contacting bloggers  for their home address's to send you a lil something {for the next two weeks} dto show my appreciation... today I found out about Julia Wheeler and her blog SandiegoSongBird through my etsy stats. Thanks for posting about me! I will be in contact. :)

Okay, now the fun part! 

Up for grabs are two items for someone to win. An original 8'x10"painting I did {isn't that quote great?} and one of my new envelope clutch's in the Samson print.  All you have to do is tell me what song or book you are in love with at the moment. Open to all countries, and the winner will be drawn randomly tomorrow at 5pm mountain time. :-[)  p.s. if you don't win...perhaps next week? :/ OR you could always just buy the clutch. :-[) eh eh? Also, the Mark Twain print will be up in shop in a couple days. 




Days of the week knickers from Stella McCartney !?! Too too cute! Seen via Dulci.  guess what though, they're over $200... i'd frame them instead. :-{)


Before posting my giveaway [in a couple of hours] 
 I wanted to be sure to showcase this new favorite artist: ohchalet

I don't know what it is about miniature paintings, but I adore them. I guess anything in mini is cute huh! :)




Dear...Ali Wentworth, <- guys...this lady is HILARIOUS!!!

I have become a HUUUUUGE fan of yours, so much so that I am considering getting on twitter just to read your tweats. I only recently found out about Ali's Daily Shot videos over at Babble and I am obsessed.


This video is of Ali talking about the "possibility" of her going under the knife. 


This one though, cracks me up!

I've watched it about 5 times just because I love watching her facial expressions... 
It talks about her daughter who told her that she hated her and her thoughts about that...soo funny but sadly I can't seem to find the embed link, so you will have to go HERE to watch it. 

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Coming up:  Roxy Marj Giveaway!!!! YEE HAW to that!... and some new items for my shop! 



Jul 15, 2012

The fact that these decals are so easy to make and very inexpensive has my wheels spinning. I can only imagine all the creative things you could do aside from just labeling... tutorial found via pinterest via The Painted Hive.


Jul 14, 2012

Kitchen by Mike looks so amazing! Mike McEnearny and Koskela teamed up and together they created a unique canteen style dining experience! Looks so good....and Koskela itself is such an amazing space...I really love the styling.

Jul 13, 2012

I've got a couple new Envelope clutch's up in the SHOP and along with a new bunting banner! I am really excited about this item because it's definitely not your traditional triangle bunting that you've been seeing everywhere these days. A couple more styles and colors to come here soon. :)




We spent our 4th [my birthday] here in Centerville this year with some of my family. We had the pleasure of my brother and sister-in-law and their two kids stay with us which made for an even better holiday. It was so much fun and very relaxing! This little town really knows how to celebrate. Big breakfast in the park, followed by the cutest small town parade, and then music, games, and some little pop-up shops all in the park. The walk to everything is so close and through a beautiful and quaint historic neighborhood. It was so pretty and I almost felt like I was in a Nora Ephron movie... side note: I am sooo sad that she has passed away, one of my very favorite directors...she will be missed. :(

For my birthday Jesse asked what I would like to have and I asked for some  little lantern lights to hang in our walnut tree. It looks so pretty at night, I need to remember to take a picture with them on.  And then I also asked if he could rebuild me the swing. The first attempt broke due to faulty rope.  And then I got a little metal chandelier type thing from some friends a couple summers ago [ I think they got it from Ikea?] anyways, I wrapped some twinkle lights around that to hang above our little table outside...it all looks so magical at night. :)  p.s. the lantern lights are from Target!



Then that coming weekend, my little sister Mari got married! :-[) Doesn't she look beautiful?!
 Here I am with all my siblings but one brother [Joseph] who had stay in Alaska for a job.
She got married at the Cathedral of the Madeline in downtown Salt Lake. It was a beautiful wedding.


And because of the wedding, our neice's and nephew were in town from Vegas and so they got to stay two nights with Jesse and I this week. We crafted it up and watched some really great movies...like The Witches! <- Such a funny and quotable movie...not to mention, slightly creepy but in a funny way. :) You have to see it to understand what I am talking about.

If there is one thing that I really enjoy making with kids, that is stuffed animals. Here are the 3 that we made together, and boy do they have such personalities!


My nephew Wilson suggested adding a mustache to his bear. Brilliant! And Spring [one of my neice's] wanted to make a duck. The fabric came from a top that she bought from the thrift store the other day and cut up. Spring named her duck Phoebe....and what a duck she is! She ate waaay too much sugar while she was here, every time we left her out of our site...there'd be phoebe, her leather bill in the jam, her wing dipping into the caramel sauce, or like here...eating the marshmallows that were supposed to be for smores! Whadda duck! lol 


I was just happy to find this unique looking pine cone [?] That was picked up on our walk to the D.I. [thrift store] just the other day...I am hoping to find more of these...does anyone know their exact name, or to be more precise...what tree they come from?


And then yesterday after the kids left... I found a random raspberry plant in our backyard!


Lastly, I received a sweet postcard the other day from a friend who is studying abroad right now. I am in looooooove with this outfit that the model is wearing, mixing prints is definitely a favorite of mine. :)
The outfit is from Suno's Spring/Summer 2011 collection.  Love them.


p.s. have you seen "Woody Allen : A Documentary"? Ah! I just finished watching it this morning and if you love Woody Allen, then you will love this! It was so inspiring and interesting to hear his thoughts behind so many of his movies, definitely a movie worth owning in my opinion! 




Jul 2, 2012

Last week I got to enjoy the comfort of our bed 24/7, 6 days straight! Jealous??? Don't be! I was sick with thee nastiest head cold most most likely sent from the slug snot gods themselves. I won't go into all the grossness that came over me last week, however...I had never taken so much medicine in those 6 days than I have in my entire life...and that just didn't feel right. There were little pockets here and there where I had a little energy and opted to read instead of more tv.  This book is currently on my nightstand. Please tell me you have read this book or at least parts of it?!


I have become obsessed all over again with Dr. Laura. Funny thing about her is that I only meet people who also really love her or really hate her....no real in between there. And when I was a teenager I would often wonder why, this book has made it clear to me why it's so black and white with her, because she herself is black and white...AND she says what you don't want to hear. I love it. 

This book is chock full of stories from callers to Dr. Laura and the conversations between the two...I feel like a fly on the wall while reading this book. I've learned so much more about why I keep the belief system I do and the importance of values.  Here is something I thought was so great that she shared:

[Page 75. Below]  "Dr. Viktor Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning elaborated on this idea: "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms ---to choose one's attitude in ANY given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."



[pg. 18 below]  I especially LOVED this question asked:  "Why do all religions have firm rules about behavior? Just to cut into your fun? Just to control you? No, it is as a guide to help individuals in their "human" struggle between immediate self-gratification and the positioning of their behaviors in special circumstances, like reserving sex for a committed love relationship, which then elevates human sexuality above crickets and termites and other animals responding mindlessly to instinctive, built-in reproductive urges.   

I appreciated that because of all the slack that Mormons get for not having sex whenever we want. There is something so valuable in waiting for something. Especially something that can bring you closer.  I can speak from experience on both sides, and the TRUE waiting to have sex builds an unbelievable foundation that you won't believe. The friendship is already there, and then the intimacy becomes an awesome perk! :) Annnnyways, this is a book I highly recommend.


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Update on our house progress: 

We got our living room about 80% complete...the 20% will probably happen over the course of two years I imagine....the gallery wall is almost complete. I confess: I love sitting in our living room and just staring at it. I think this stems from the fact that I love so much how each room is turning out and it's literally on a shoestring budget. No fancy designer anythings here, no labels or names to drop, nothing to make you wish you could afford what we have, because everything we have anyone can afford, and that's a nice feeling. :] 


The sconces on the gallery wall are from Lowes. And I love them...but at first I was not sold. Jesse had these picked out and I had the more nautical oval shaped lights chosen. My reason for not wanting those lights in our home was because we had one outside our front door growing up and I never liked it, I didn't think it was fancy enough. But then Jesse said he liked them because he thought they looked like Mason Jars.  "OH! yeah...." was my response, now I saw his vision! lol I told this to my lil sister yesterday and she laughed and said that's probably why we did have it on our porch. Our mother was a hard-core canner.....anyways, the even better thing about these light fixtures though is that they were only $5! Amazing huh! And then instead of your standard light bulb, we opted for the carbon-filament kind which gives off such a pretty glow.


Yesterday I was wishing that we were financially in a place where I could afford to buy fresh flowers every single day. But while sitting on our couch looking at our wall [again] and wanting to see flowers on our console, I thought " Roxy, be creative you silly! Just cut some branches from outside!" I looove this soo much. Sometimes [actually, a lot] I forget to think outside of the box and rely often on money to get me the things that I want, when really want I want could easily be in my yard for free. :)


Below is a basket in the bookshelf  that holds a lot of the smaller games, I thought spraying it half gray would break up all the brown going on. I am on the fence about painting just the inside back of the shelf white.  The top of the shelf is designated for our board games. Because they aren't visually appealing to look at, I have been looking for baskets at the thrift stores to put them in, no luck yet.


Our trunk by the window [which was given to my mom from her dad and now us] is now Harley's little resting spot so he can easily look out the window. I put my sheepskin rug on the trunk for him to lay on...he has really taken to it. Every morning Harley and I sit on the trunk and wave goodbye to Jesse as he leaves for work..it's pretty funny.


Believe it or not, trying to find curtain rods and curtains that I would really be happy with is such a challenge for me. Ironically we found some rods that we LOVE and guess where we found them... Smiths Marketplace my friends! YEAH! For those who don't know Smiths, it's basically a really big all you can find grocery store. They weren't cheap, but not expensive either, only $25...and they fit with our style so well. The curtains, from Target....i'm not crazy about the fabric, they are a blend, I would prefer a heavy linen curtain, but these one's surprisingly look and feel good. I imagine they will look even nicer once washed and get a slightly tighter weave.



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Lastly, I just want to do a shout out to my sister in law Megan's blog Meg Farfalla. There you can find tons of tips about how to do makeup among other things.  Megan is doing my lil sister Mari's make up for her wedding THIS SATURDAY! :-[) So excited.  Megan's services are affordable and well worth your wedding, prom, anniversary, tv or whatever it is investment... what's my point? If you live in the Salt Lake area, hire this lady! You won't regret it. :)

I love this tip she gives about brows because I know NOTHING about those things...all I do is tweeze
them and cross my fingers they look okay...I do want to try this though.


and then some helpful tips on cleaning your brushes.....so important and I find that most women don't do this easy task.







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