Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Tis the Season for Cranberry Mojitos


Cranberry Mojitos

Ingredients
8oz fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
20 mint leaves
2 T lime juice
ice
4oz rum
4-6oz soda water

Instructions
1) Place cranberries, sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Then lower the heat a bit to medium-low and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, before the berries start bursting.  Remove from heat.
2) Once the berry mixture has cooled, you can strain them.  If you prefer, you can keep the mixture in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight before straining.
3) Place about 10 leaves of mint and a T of lime juice in each glass.  With the back of a wooden spoon or a muddler mash up the mint.
4) Put the ice in each glass and pour 2 oz of the cranberry syrup and 2 oz run into each glass.
5) Top off each glass with soda water.  Sprinkle some fresh cranberries in for garnish.

Makes 2 drinks.. with some leftover cranberry syrup.
The original recipe can be found here
My mojitos came out a little more rustic than the original recipe.  My cranberry syrup was a little more like cranberry sauce.  I also used real limes and muddles chunks of limes with the mint, like a caipirinha, and I left some of the lime peels in to contrast the red cranberries and make it more festive!
Now cuddle up by a nice roaring fire and enjoy the rest of your holiday season!

Be Merry and Bright.  Happy New Years!

peace&love
Rebecca

Friday, December 27, 2013

ZerbyPaint.. Ivy Lounge final part

The Final Product.  It was chilly at times but I loved every minute of it.  This was such a great opportunity to be able to collaborate in the design process and use my artistic liberty on site.  Its great to work with a designer because she had a clear vision, which some clients take a little longer to see, and everything got accomplished very efficiently.  Its a very cool feeling to have my design for everyone to see!  So if your ever in Riverdale Park/Hyattsville go check it out!!








Be Bold in your Design.

peace&love
Rebecca

Saturday, December 21, 2013

ZerbyPaint.. Ivy Lounge part two

Progress is being made, slowly but surely.  It is so much fun covering his building with bold, bright leaves!  This is truly my dream come true!  Still a lot of work to go, needs a second coat but I am enjoying every minute of this project.





Be Bold in your Designs.

peace&love
Rebecca

Friday, December 20, 2013

ZerbyPaint.. Ivy Lounge part one

This is a first for Zerby Painting Co, a commercial project!  Designer Erica Riggio from Riggio Design introduced this great project to me, designing a mural pattern for Ivy lounge. She wanted a ivy pattern on the exterior of the building that was bold and fresh to go with the interior of the freshly renovated interior of the salon.  She picked colors that incorporated colors from the interior and I went from there.
This has really been my dream, to paint my leaf patterns that I have done so many times before as paintings and murals in my own home.  I was so pleased that I could use my own pattern, and that it would fit perfectly to the concept of the salon.
This is the progress after day one.  I got the pattern down on the wall below the windows.  After seeing how this looks I definitely want to continue onto the step.  It will make a bold statement and hopefully attract attention to the salon.
I have always wanted my artwork to be set on public display and what better way than a mural for all to see and enjoy!
I can't wait to get working on it again.  There's so much wall space to cover, I'm so impatient to finish it!
stay tuned..

Be Bold in your Design.

peace&love
Rebecca

Thursday, December 19, 2013

ZerbyPaint.. ZebraPrint.. the final product

Here it is, the final product.  For all the people afraid of color or pattern, if a pattern is done in the right color, the pattern can really be made subtle.  This of course is very bold but in this interior it works great.  The black is actually a granite color with a slight sheen so it works perfectly against the white background.  I hope you will experiment with more patterns in your life!





Be Bold in your Designs.

peace&love
Rebecca

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

ZerbyPaint.. ZebraPrint.. in progress

A blank slate.  Lets be unique and create the boldest pattern..
With white walls like these, anything is possible, and this time lets go for something different.
This hallway is small but it has great tall ceilings.  This house has a great bone structure and is topped with beautiful moldings and details.
The start of the pattern.  I have outlined the pattern (after sketching it out in chalk first) to make sure the sizing and placement it right.  I will then fill it in.
Bold patterns work best in small spaces, don't listen to anyone else otherwise.
The inspiration was a zebra print that sort of morphed into thicker shapes.  This is my interpretation of a zebra print.
This was a great project, I got to work with a great designer, Erica Riggio of Riggio Designs.  She wanted something bold and loves the zebra print.  I came up with this bold print and it really makes a bold statement!  Life is more fun with a splash of animal prints!

Stay tuned for the final product later today!

Be Bold in your Designs.

peace&love
Rebecca

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Pine in the Wintertime







This grand tree looks so majestic and beautiful covered in ice and snow.


be Merry and Bright

peace&love
Rebecca

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Tis the Season to Decorate

Need some last minute decorating ideas?  Here are some simple ideas with objects already in your house!  And don't forget the gold spray paint!

For this holiday season I wanted to create a winter wonder land inside.  I picked  a color scheme of white, gold, silver and browns (with touches of green).  I had fun mixing colors and textures, shiny and rustic, living with dead (or dried).  Here is what I came up with..
 On this windowsill I mixed different floras, a green poinsettia (it had survived from last year!), a white poinsettia and some cacti with some freshly cut pine branches.  I kept the vases simple, clean and crisp by using tall glasses and a salsa jar wrapped in twine.  Go through your cabinets and find glasses of all shapes and sizes and start filling them with cut branches and flowers.
 At another window I followed with the same theme mixing succulents and a white poinsettia.  Here I filled a glass with small gold ornaments.  As you will see I went a little crazy filling jars and glasses with random objects, but its a fun way to get a pop of color into a room!
 Next to my white poinsettia I have two glasses filled with gold light bulbs.  I took the burnt out light bulbs from our outdoor lighting and sprayed them gold.  They also look nice unsprayed and you can mix and match depending on your color scheme.  Some years I do all red and others all white and sometimes all the colors!  I also have a square glass container filled with small pinecones that were sprayed gold and sprinkled with gold glitter.
 I'm loving my mantle this year.  It was one of the first of the decorations I put up and it acted as my inspiration for the rest of the decorations.  It is the mixing of natural and sparkly that I wanted to capture through out the house.  In every arrangement I tried to include a living green element with a gold, glittery, sparkly element.  And the conch shell just tops it off!
 I also went a little crazy with the garlands.  I used a lot of gold and silver garlands mixed with some hand made garlands.  Here I took the gold painted light bulbs and put some wire on them to make them into an ornament, then tied them to a piece of twine, and voila, a garland!  All these supplies I had lying around and almost anything can be made into a garland with some wire and string!
Don't forget to string some lights throughout the house.  On a snowy winters night, its nice to turn off all the lights, plug in all the strands of lights, and the perfect mood is set!  I also have pinecones scattered throughout the house.

I hope this sparked some inspiration for your holiday decorating.  It's the holidays, why not go big!

be Merry and Bright.
Be Bold in your Designs.

peace&love
Rebecca

Friday, December 13, 2013

ID104 Bar Design

My final project in my design class was to design a bar/night club.  I was very excited about this project and who wouldn't be.  I present to you the BlackPalm.  Inspired by the beach at night, silhouettes of palm trees line the starry sky.  I designed a mural pattern that surrounds the entire club and is contrasted with brass strips.  Hand crafted glass blown lights light the sky as a twinkling starry sky.
 The bar is made from reclaimed drift wood and is topped with a beautiful black marble.  I wanted to create a classy and rustic atmosphere to relax and enjoy the live band music of jazz, samba, reggae, and salsa.



Be Bold in your Design.

peace&love
Rebecca

Sunday, December 8, 2013

A Winter Wonderland

Nothings better than a snowy Sunday morning.  It's not often I get this view, living in Maryland, but when I do I enjoy it to its fullest.  It's just the thing to get me in the holiday spirit.  Now I have a winter wonderland inside and out!


Be Merry and Bright.

peace&love
Rebecca

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Rug.. Final Product

I am so pleased with how this turned out.  It took me about 7 hours to complete the weaving.


Now to finish the hem and the fringe and it's complete!

Be Bold in your Designs.

peace&love
Rebecca