Looking to 2023: Life, Nature, Celebration, Empowerment

It has been a few years since I've set real New Year's Resolutions; in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are just trying focused on survival, making it through, looking forward to an uncertain unknown when maybe life will be better again. The pandemic isn't really over, but we're kind of over it, and the world has almost returned to some semblance of normal, if not a modified new normal which is much of the old but with scars and small reminders of the virus. Instead of resolutions, which so often go uncompleted or forgotten, themes and direction are often more lasting. I often take inspiration from Pantone's announcement of the new Color of the Year, with Pantone's vivid and almost anamorphic descriptions of a (usually) singular color answering the question, what does the world need right now? 

2023's Color of the Year is Viva Magenta, which has even in the name a mantra of life and celebration. Pantone's description of it as the choice for 2023 includes words and notions such as "rooted in nature", "a new signal of strength", "pure joy" and "experimentation and self-expression without restraint," rebellious and audacious. Right now, I feel almost none of those things, and so it’s like the color is calling to me to demand more of my self, my life, my abilities and my vision. 

One very compelling line from Pantone is, "In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real." I recently saw on Twitter a prompt asking what the most impactful technology was in 2022, and I without even looking at the responses, I considered it for a moment and was certain that 2022 was the year of Artificial Intelligence. AI has made some really interesting leaps this year; I've seen the impacts at my work, played around with novel AI apps and read some fascinating stories about AI advancements. In a job market where it seems like there just aren't enough interested and qualified workers to do the work, one must at some point consider how we utilize our current knowledge workers to do more, and telling them to work harder is simply not an option, so amending their abilities with technology like AI seems like the only path forward.

Yet, as Pantone reminds us, we want to live in the real world. Technology like AR and the metaverse has not (yet) absorbed us into its hold in a semi-permanent obsessive state, and we're already seeing the seeds of people wanting more, wanting reality, wanting nature, not tech, to absorb them. 

The theme of empowerment speaks both to the amazing technologies now at our fingertips and the sense of choice people have discovered through the pandemic - having had too much time perhaps to consider what it is we really want in life and adjusting values accordingly, make it difficult, especially in the workplace, to return to what once was normal. Yet that empowerment seems to be tinged with a sense of unknowing - we can make our own choices but what if we're wrong? And I think the inspiration of returning to nature provides the safety net we need to move forward despite the self-doubt. Indeed, the closing line of Pantone's description is that the color, "invoking the forces of nature… galvanizes our spirit, helping us to build our inner strength." 

Taking my queues from the colorful description of an otherwise medium-dark red, and my own observations and desires, I wonder aloud here what I should strive for in 2023. Rather than a list of things to do or end goals to achieve, I have described here themes to work on with some specific ideas on how to feel I've grown in those areas.

Life: Be an active participant

I feel like I've struggled recently with how my life has been going, and the last couple years has felt like my hands aren't on the steering wheel. Circumstances have led to the feeling of being defeated, like things aren't in my control, and I lack the willpower to change things or to fight for what I want. It requires much less resistance to go with the flow and let things happen to me. I remember being so motivated, intentional, ambitious and active in my 20s and I think the thing that scared me the most about my  30s was that I could never be that good again. And perhaps I let that fear become my reality instead of fighting against that notion and raising the bar for myself. Rather than be a passive observer of my life passing before me, there are a few things I need to be more intentional about, and I need to get over myself and my desire for motivation in order to do those things. I feel like I lack purpose, but celebrating life should be purpose enough, and especially rebounding from the pandemic, having a home I feel comfortable in and a job which allows work/life balance, perhaps this is the perfect time to take back my life's direction. 

• Buy my land
• Increase discipline in health routines
• Have a mindfulness weekend retreat
• Do that regularly
• Have a blog-a-thon to write about topics already started
• Book/plan vacation
• Complete >1 from room renovation 
  

 

Nature: Go deeper into outer space 

Space has always been a very casual interest for me, and I've been blessed with many opportunities to explore it in depth which I may not have taken full advantage of in hindsight. I'd like to take a more active interest and utilize the local Griffith Observatory as a support mechanism to do so. Starting with, first and foremost, making an effort to watch the monthly virtual program and an initial visit to the observatory to take in the museum and telescope usage. Ironically, this idea came to me when I asked an AI chatbot, ChatGPT, to create a Los Angeles bucket list. Or perhaps it is not ironic, but compelling, that AI can amend our knowledge of the world around us and the immediate things to empower us to be better versions of ourselves. 

• Listen to Planetary Radio podcast when available
• Watch All Space Considered monthly
• Visit the Griffith Observatory

Celebration: Re-build the lost connections

When I think of celebrating, I think of being around people, and that is another thing the pandemic took from us. Technology, especially social media, hinted at

bringing us closer together while they somehow isolated us more, and I have a strong desire to reconnect with people on a human level, even if I don't quite know how. There are so many wonderful people I've had in my life who may have become relegated to being facebook friends and not much else, and I want to try to re-build those even if it means facing a lot of potential rejection. As joked about recently, it can't be Christmas every day, we have to have the lows in order to celebrate the highs, and I want to bring those highs back. I also want to recoup the connection to writing, journaling and capturing my own life, work and dreams. 

• Start daily journal even if 3-sentence recap
• Plan for and stay on top of sending birthday, anniversary, holiday cards
• Seek advice and ask curious questions of people in my life

Empowerment: Create (and use) the tools to get out of my own way

I recently reviewed the ideas from Bill Gates' "The Road Ahead" from 1995, when the Internet was still a fledgling place for researchers and scientists and "The Information Superhighway" carried promise which has largely been fulfilled in ways

any futurist struggled to foresee. It reminded me of how far we've come, but also, what elements have yet to really come to fruition as predicted. I think the technology is here, but we have to figure out how best to use it. Truly, that has been a philosophy of mine for years, and only becomes truer with more technological advances. The better tech we have in our palms, the harder it is to discern between the best ways to use it and the easiest ways to use it, the latter of which is a trap, what many books and articles are warning us against. While Viva Magenta is a lot about getting back to nature and drawing inspiration from nature, I think it also is about carving our path in this world of technology, which is to say that it doesn't have to work against us but in fact can aide us in our desire to connect with nature and being our best in our own nature. That is what futurists envisioned as these new technologies emerged, and that is for us individually to choose with intention on when and how technology serves us. 

• Auto-add/update calendar with activities of interest
• Utilize AI and scripting to hone trends and market gaps
• 3D print some useful items
• Invest in architecture software and education, and design home of the future
• Influence recruiting at work via communications team - consider TikTok channel
• Develop better graphics and display for my Show Mode

I hope you find some inspiration, or considerations, for the coming year. With all the hopes and aspirations, be kind to yourself, be generous with others, and make 2023 a great year in your own way!

These AI-Generated Bucket Lists Inspired Me

A question was recently posed on Twitter: "What was the most impactful technology of 2022?" and I mentally answered almost instinctively: Artificial Intelligence. While AI has been in development for years and theorized about for decades and even centuries, and is far from the Promised Land of AI even today, I think it made some huge strides in 2022 and also made its way into the public's hands like never before this year. 

From AI-generated artwork based on user inputs, AI morphing selfies into cartoon characters and other stylized self-portraits, to virtual AI "friends" and chatbots to help with anxiety and other wellness concerns, articles surfacing of AI bots having self-realization and sharing human-like beliefs, it just seems to have dominated the technology conversation this year. Most recently, however, my employee turned me onto ChatGPT which writes lengthy bits based on prompts, including writing code or blog posts. Don't worry, I have no intention of using it to write my blog posts here, except as excerpts to demonstrate the technology's prowess and shortcomings. While ChatGPT has known and stated limitations (especially that the data is only current up to 2021), I wanted to share some of the most interesting bits I got out of it (so far). 

Below are the prompts and responses I got from ChatGPT regarding bucket lists. Before presenting the lists, I want to share a few insights that really struck me. 

First of all, I've lived in LA County for over a year and a half, and love space, and I had no awareness or consideration of the Griffith Observatory until this list. This opened up a whole rabbit hole for me of podcasts and planning a trip to the observatory and consideration of becoming a member. All because the AI generated a list which I hadn't yet seen. 

Much of the California Bucket List resonated with me, having either done them intentionally as part of my Life List or as part of my California Bucket List to take advantage of our time here. 

This sort of resource could be a jumping off point for when we move to a new location, generating local and regional bucket lists as well as interest-based bucket lists within a geographic region. The results are both impressively accurate and incredibly compelling and actionable. 

I hope these lists inspire you as well, and if you want to try creating your own, check out ChatGPT while it is available to the public!

DIY Christmas: Stockings Sew Easy!

 

I am a little obsessed with my homemade stockings inspired by the movie, Elf. This was my first time making my own stockings and I was surprised how easy they were! 

Briefly, the steps I took:

1. Fold the fabric in half and cut the shapes using a general pattern or reference, such that there are two pieces which are mirror images of each other. 
2. Sew across the white fur on both "outside" faces of the fabrics. 
3. Place the outsides facing each other and pin in place. 
4. Sew around the sides and flip inside out when done - just like making a pillow! That way, my imperfect sewing is concealed inside, and all you see on the outside are nice seams. 
5. Hot glue decorations - ribbons, belt, bows, etc. Highly recommend this instead of trying to sew decorations on. It seemed to work really well!

Since I had so much fun making these (and honestly, am really proud at how they turned out), I started brainstorming other designs I could make. Take a look at some of my other ideas!  

 

If you prefer the original Jovie color scheme: 

More "Elf" ideas (if you have more humans raised by humans):

...and some more because I just couldn't stop...

Okay, enough of "Elf", what else we got? How about stockings for Lego fans?  Get the fabrics here.

 

I've always adored the patterns from Moana! They could be turned into unique stockings for fans! Check them out in my Dress Up Time collection here.

Speaking of Disney, I plan on making a pullstring backpack with my Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout -inspired fabric, but it could also make a funky stocking!Or use some Tivan-style writing from the Obscure Writing collection.

While there are plenty leopard print designs out there, have you ever seen a giraffe print stocking? Me neither! That's one reason I started my "You Animal" collection - to bring more representation and variation to the animal print options!

The Pantone Color of the Year for 2023 hasn't been announced yet, but it is anticipated to be "Digital Lavender". You can be very fashion forward with these Digital Lavender patterns hanging from your fireplace this year!

Tennes-see the Highlights

For 10 days in September, Jaiman and I visited my sister, Christy, in and around her new home near Nashville, Tennessee. We knocked out some Life List things in the area, ate too much, slept too little, laughed until our eyes teared up and our cheeks hurt, and made ridiculously fun memories and new inside jokes. It was a refreshing break from the stress of a relocation and new job for Christy and a new (stress-inducing) manager for me. Often, when in a slump, just planning a trip is therapeutic, and that was definitely the case with this one. Nashville had, at one time, been a planned destination for us sisters and friends prior to any of us living there, but that trip was spoiled, along with so many other things, with COVID-19. So, actually going on this trip was all the more wonderful! Beyond that, this itinerary could even serve as a Nashville / Tennessee Bucket List!

We flew from LAX on Christy's birthday, and had just a little bit of downtime after landing before we gussied up for dinner and our first Nashville adventure - a show at the Grand Ole Opry featuring a favorite country star of Christy's, Brad Paisley. We had dinner at Paula Dean's where we ordered a number of country-style comfort food which immediately set the tone for our extended trip. Eating too much food, also, established a general theme for the indulgence that is all too typical when the three of us travel together.

Laura's Life List #51 - Attend a performance at the Grand Ole Opry

Getting to the Grand Ole Opry and parking was super easy, and there were lots of great photo ops on the outside. Once in, we scoured the gift shop which had a ton of selections, and then grabbed some beers and drinks for the show. Christy had gotten us fantastic seats in the front row of the balcony, where we sat in church pews which has a kind of hilarious feel. Country music isn't really my thing, but live music is (almost) always fun. We really enjoyed the first few performers and got to see a first-timer's Opry debut which was super neat. 

Before the headliner, Brad Paisley, came on, this goofy trio of older men dressed in chaps came out and sang very Western songs, called Riders in the Sky. One, and for the life of me, I never figured out which one, would periodically whistle and scream "yaaaaah".After the song was over, they bantered a bit and commented on the *whistle* "yaaaah" and then tried it out in "Danny Boy" to the roaring laughter of the audience. Brad Paisley did his thing, including bringing a charity auction winner on stage to sing with him, who was so nervous he was practically crying and sweat through his entire outfit. All in all, it was a fantastic night and great way to kick off our time in Tennessee.

Jaiman's Life List - Dollywood

Pushing through our sleep deprivation, we started out early and headed to Dollywood. We rode just about all the rides, and enjoyed the multitudes of Halloween decorations around the park, including fake jack-o-lanterns which all sorts of fun patterns and themes. We rode Blazing Fury, Dragonflier, FireChaser Express, Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine, Tennessee Tornado, Thunderhead, Wild Eagle, and the water ride Daredevil Falls. As the day wound down, Jaiman and Christy got the infamous cinnamon bread and I got the amusement park obligatory Dippin' Dots. We did some shopping and headed out to grab some dinner and find our AirBnB for the night. A local car show made it difficult to find a place to eat and traffic exhausted our patience, so we opted for our first-ever visit to the oft-ignored Shone's chain. All things considered, we concluded it wasn't too bad - "better than awful!" We found our way to the AirBnB and after exploring the adorable little cabin, we passed out pretty quickly.

Anakeesta

We stayed in the Pigeon Forge area after Dollywood so that we could have a short trip to Anakeesta. The wait was exponentially shorter for the bench-style chair lifts versus the enclosed gondolas. We had hoped to do the alpine coaster but our weight precluded us from doing that. Nevertheless, the drinks flowed, the rope bridges and obstacle course was hilarious, we shopped and dined and had a fabulous time. After leaving the park, we found a wine tasting room serving cotton candy wine, which we obviously had to taste, and proceeded to buy several bottles to take back to Christy's. All things in the area done, we headed back to Christy's apartment outside of Nashville.

 

Work-cation

Christy went into work Monday and Tuesday, while I stayed and worked remotely from the apartment. Monday night we attempted to get into the Bluebird Café where many aspiring musicians get their big break. We didn't make it in for seating, but they did let us in to stand for the length of a song for the experience. We dined at a steakhouse nearby since we didn't get in for dinner. Tuesday night we had burritos from some place called Bubacakbooboo or something like that for dinner. Wednesday was a little different in that I went in to work with Christy and started the morning off with a two hour Excel class for her team and several other party crashers from various functions of the mining company she works for. It went smashingly well, and while I could have taught all day with such a fun and engaged group, we wrapped and I took the car back to start my work day. Jaiman and I picked Christy up at the end of the day and went to the winery near her work for dinner and drinks. We took Thursday off, and Christy took Friday off (I have Fridays off all the time).

Loveless Café

Thursday morning was a perfect time to grab brunch at the adorable and tasty Loveless Café. After putting our names in, we did some shopping and took silly pictures around the property and then got seated soon enough. The food surpassed our expectations, and the ambience was just right. Definitely recommend making the trip out to that restaurant.

Parthenon

It may not be a Nashville icon, but there is a full-scale Parthenon replica is a pretty interesting visit and photo op. We didn't go inside but it seems like its an art museum. Playing with the pillars and shadows and statues outside was sufficient for our amusements.

Kayne Prime

Some of the best steak in town is found at this classy restaurant. Jaiman got the last of the semi-annual shipment of a very special Japanese wagyu ribeye of which only 1600 cows in the world can produce apparently. Obviously, we were sold. Christy also got a wagyu flight of sorts. It was pretty unbelievable!

Honky Tonks on Broadway

Not to be overcome by sleep yet, we took to the street for some barhopping good times. We made our way first into Kid Rock’s Big A, and stood in the crowd rocking out to the adorable live band playing. Then we moved on to Luke Bryan's Luke 32 Bridge. There, we scored some cocktails and a couple seats, and comfortable enjoyed the sights and sounds of a most beautiful guitar player and singer making eyes at Christy. Since he failed to propose to her after several songs and drinks, we moved on. Tootsie's seemed like a must, so we grabbed drinks and propped ourselves on some bar stools there for a bit. We popped into one or two more and finally called it a night.

A day in at last

We stayed in for the most part on Friday, drinking our sweet strawberry wine and watching Hocus Pocus. Our attempt to get candied ribs from the Candied Rib place was foiled by the fact that they did not yet have candying abilities or ribs, but that didn't stop us from getting some pretty decent barbecue from the place. More drinks - mead and martinis - were had back at home, and Mongolian barbecue for dinner.

Tennessee Railroad Museum Train Robbery Excursion Ride

As our visit winded down, we did a silly train ride with a volunteer-based acting troop that "robbed" us for charity. The train was very cool, but the experience left us a little wanting. Nevertheless, food and drinks were had, and with great company, good times were had. Wine slushies and the macarons from Christy's apartment coffee shop made the day completely indulgent.

Prince's (Nashville) Hot Chicken

For a spice lover like me, a trip to Nashville could hardly be complete without some hot chicken. Since I'd had Haddie B's a couple times previously, Prince's was a must. It's hard to compare, but from my amateur point of view, Prince's seems like the real deal. Get it, if you dare! 

Well, that about wrapped up our trip. Nashville was great, and I am so grateful I got to spend the time with my sister, as she may be moving to Knoxville next. Such is the life of great managers seeking great work environments, I suppose! Cheers to promotions, living life to the fullest and adventuring with loved ones.

New(-ish) Hidden Mickeys at Disneyland 2022

 

One of the magical and whimsical things adults love about Disney movies and theme parks is that they aren't just made for kids - there are references and subtleties that really only speak to the adult mind, or take repetition and minute attention to uncover. These mysterious gems can reveal themselves after the 20th time watching a favorite film, or elude us despite spending hours in a queue. They are generically known as Easter Eggs, and specific to Disneyland, we know there are hundreds of Hidden Mickeys.

There are some great reference books available on Kindle that detail the vast majority of known Hidden Mickeys, and I strongly recommend them. (You can get hard copies too, but I recommend the Kindle version because you can always have them with you on your phone, making it very easy to pop open in a queue so you can see what to look forward to for the current and next attraction. Also, many Hidden Mickeys in that book are at the start of the queues, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead towards your next destination.)

This post will not be a repeat of those you can find with the help of those books, but rather, amend the Disneyland book due to the new attractions and park updates which have brought forth new opportunities for crafty Imagineers to work in new Hidden Mickeys, and for regular visitors like my boyfriend and myself to discover them.

First, however, I'd like to outline what we consider to qualify as a legitimate Hidden Mickey. Because some are more obvious than others, there have been many a Mickey which was questionable as we observed and debated. So, here are the rules we play by in our quest for identifying Hidden Mickeys:

1.  The most common Hidden Mickeys are signified by three circles (outlined or filled / found objects), two smaller ones for the ears and one larger one for the head. However, two ears over an arch like a Mickey ears hat are acceptable.  

2.  The ears must be proportional to the head and at the approximate angle. In other words, three same-sized circles do not a Mickey make.

3.  Minimal separation between the circles for the ears and the circle for the head is acceptable, as long as the proportion and angles are accurate. 

 
4.  Repeats of the Mickey shape are no longer hidden unless they are truly well disguised (i.e. it takes a long look before you realize there's a Mickey there).
 

5.  Mickey can be oriented in any direction, could be upside down from the perspective you're allowed!

6.  A Mickey which has lots of detail, accurate coloration and is a prominent figure in whatever structure or piece it is in is not hidden.

Alright, so here are the new Hidden Mickeys I believe I've uncovered in Disneyland and California Adventure.

Queue of Rise of the Resistance at Galaxy's Edge: We often start our day by rope-dropping Rise of the Resistance, so this is a great place to start at Disneyland. At the start of the queue inside the rock formations, look right, there's a cutout that looks like Mickey when you get to the correct angle.

 

 

 

Central Plaza: There's a pond near the entry to Frontierland from the Central Plaza. If you look across the pond to rocks along the edge, there's one set of rocks which looks like a pretty well-proportioned Mickey.

 

 

 

 

 

Avengers Campus' WebSlingers queue: This new attraction had to have a throwback to the Mouse, and indeed, but I knew it wouldn't be as literal as other Hidden Mickeys, likely. While in the queue, take a look around and find the electrical box decorations between the colored brick wall and grey brick wall. The blocky screws seem to form Mickey proportions.

Bonus: Otherwise unreported Easter Egg from a recent Pixar film!

I don't talk about my day job very often on here, but it is not often when the specific knowledge from my work relates to my Disney fandom. One of the products I support at work is the F-22 fighter jet. As I was re-watching Soul one day, I caught a glimpse of a fighter jet that looked awfully familiar. There's a scene in the montage of the main character trying different theoretical "sparks", where a rocket launches. In the foreground on the right side of the screen, there's an airplane. So get this, I think it's an F-22, and the character's called... 22!

A Google image search confirmed it as an F-22, but I haven't seen anyone else confirm this Easter Egg, so, you saw it here first! Actually, I saw it on April 22, '22 in this tweet.

May Be The End

 You know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is the end. Because even when I was trying to help you see how you're hurting me, you somehow managed to BLAME ME for it. So, maybe it's hopeless. Am I thrilled with everything I've ever done? No, of course not. But I've also put up with a lot of shit. The eye-rolling when I remind you to do something that will help you with YOUR goal. Letting to live with me for zero rent for months or years, in exchange for a limited amount of housework and cooking. When I was single before we met, I had given up on love. I had thought that I had achieved so much success and all I wanted was someone to share it with. I think the issue is that my sharing had no bounds, and you took full advantage of that. Did I let you? Sure I did. I excuse it as exhaustion from work, I don't have any energy to fight you. But I'm not sure I'm right about that. You've been passive aggressive in so many ways, I wonder if this was another mental trick you're playing on me. You may not even realize it. Somehow, I have let you walk all over me while I'm too exhausted or confused or befuddled to fight it.

Andrew's relationship with Tiffany is very instructive. It's not the same, but it has similarities. He has been dealing with a ton of crap at work, and having broken up with his last girlfriend, Tiffany managed to snake her way into the position. Andrew allowed it, of course, but even as Tiffany dreamed she could demand Andrew stay here in California, and Andrew insisted he would not, she still somehow became a "love" for him.

Way back in the day, I had pretty shallow criteria for a boyfriend. I wanted him to be tall, like swing dancing, musicals and football, and you fit the bill. Before that, I thought I wanted someone more ambitious, to challenge me, be my other half in a power couple. I know and am grateful that I've been able to move around the country for my job due in large part to the fact that you didn't have a really important job - most of the time you were generally pretty stoked about quitting, even if you weren't sure what you wanted to do. And you helped with the moves, which was super helpful for me.

I guess I'm at a loss now, because none of that other stuff seems super important, whether you like the same things that I do or whatever. I mean, we rarely swing dance anymore, and even that feels like a "chore" I am making you do. We haven't gone to a football game in forever, partially due to COVID but even before then we weren't doing a lot of it, and I actually found weekends plopped in front of the couch watching football to be far too much, too boring, too unproductive, too lazy and the season seemed to last too long. We have gone to see musicals, and I do value that, and your knowledge of the performers.

What seems to be important now is you being a partner and I don't think you've been like that in a long time. I really honestly struggle to remember our first year or two, because it felt like a permanent state of honeymoon fever, we were inseparable and I don't think we fought much. We managed to go on this massively long road trip together without killing each other.

I still want someone to travel with and have fun with on the weekends. Maybe I like being in a relationship because it guarantees a friend and travel buddy, and maybe that's not the right reason to be in a relationship. But honestly, even that has been bothering me - when we're travelling it seems so hard to get you out of bed some mornings - unless it's a theme park and then you are up at the crack of dawn to rope drop. When we were with my family most recently in North Carolina, and the trip pivoted because of Matthew's injury, you seemed to want to make it all about you somehow. It was very selfish. We overrode you, to be sure, but I just couldn't even believe you would suggest things that put your interests ahead of what the group wanted or needed to do.

So I'm sitting trying to think if I'm going to regret breaking up with you. Will my life be that much worse off that I'll want you to come back? I'll probably read more, with the TV not always being on. I would hopefully exercise more, not needing to tiptoe around your sleep schedule and again not being deterred by the TV being on. But I would be lonely. I won't have someone guaranteed to go out to dinner with. I'll have to make plans with friends and colleagues. I won't have someone to give me back massages and foot massages - I'll have to go back to Massage Envy or another place for that. I won't have dinner ready-made for me when I walk in the door, I'll have to plan and cook my own meals - it will probably be a lot more microwaveable stuff. I won't have someone doing the dishes, so I'll have to do that on my own, which sucks because I know that will hurt my back. I won't have someone taking care of spiders and bugs, so I'll have to be brave and toughen up a little. I'll need to hire a gardener and a pool guy, because I know I won't keep that stuff maintained on my own. I'll have an extra empty room, maybe I'll get a roommate? But that would be weird - most people I work with are lower levels and moving in with a "boss" might be strange. I'll probably listen to Christmas music sooner and much more often.

But it will be lonely. I won't have someone to vent to when I get home. I won't have someone to plan weekends with, or projects, or tell about my next crazy idea.

You help me decompress by choosing entertainment things so I don't have to navigate or think through that. That helps. But I also have a big mental burden in carrying all the mental lists of chores, plans, schedules, helping you to achieve your professed goals.

It's kind of ironic timing to break up now. I had visited San Fran a couple times before meeting you, and that was one of those things we always talked about doing, so that you would have a better experience. We just finally went. To me, some of it was repeating the experience with the new person in my life, although we did do some things that were new to me.

How To: Custom Curtains

One of the aspects of the "Long Tail" which the Internet and companies like ebay, Etsy and now Spoonflower ushered in is that there is almost no limit to the ability to find (or make) exactly what you want. In other words, if you can dream it, you can find it (or make it with relative ease). Taking advantage of this, I'm going to talk to you today about designing and buying or making custom curtains. Curtains are, I think, an underrated opportunity in a room to bring a real splash of color, personality, and theming to a space.

In a recent blog, I shared with you how to design and paint a giant Lego mural, a project I undertook as part of my own home project to transform my unused dining room into a Lego gallery! The next phase in my project was to make curtains. While I kept the mural fairly neutral, using only shades of gray, so that the Lego projects themselves would pop, I don't intend to have anything in front of the window so the curtains could afford to be a bit more bold. I'm leaning towards a gray with yellow accents color scheme here, so naturally, I put that pop of yellow in my curtains.

For reference, here's an inspiration picture I am using. While I'm not going to mimic anything specific in it, I like the modern, adult look of the color scheme. My worry is that Lego lends itself to a childish look with the primary colors - yellow, blue and red, being predominant brick colors in most Lego-themed rooms (and indeed at Legoland and Lego stores, etc). I don't have kids - by choice - and therefore I want my Lego gallery to have a little bit of class and maturity about it.

Alright, back to the curtains. I actually got the idea of the fabric design while designing my mural wall. As with all my designs, I had started with sketches (in PowerPoint, my design hack tool of choice) to play with the look and feel of various ideas. So the "winning" design for my mural easily translated to a design I could upload into my Spoonflower shop and buy.

Pick a Design, Have it Made

For the less handy/DIY people out there, this could be where the blog stops. Spoonflower has an array of home goods that can be custom made with any of the 1000s of designs on the site. It is a bit more expensive, than, say, curtains you might find at Ikea or Target, but you get to have the EXACT design and dimensions you want. You can simply browse the Spoonflower fabric designs, and when you find a design you like, straight from a fabric page, click the link that says "Also available in Wallpaper & Home Decor", as shown here.

Alternatively, grab the fabric design number from the URL, as shown above, and add it to this URL:
https://www.spoonflower.com/en/products/
 

 

In the above example, it would be https://www.spoonflower.com/en/products/645453 and
would look like this:

Make a Design, Have it Made

You can take it one step further without being handy still, and upload your own design, and do the same thing! Now, if you're not experienced in designing fabrics, I would strongly recommend that you proof the fabric first ($5 or less per proof, depending on how many you buy), before investing in the full set of curtains or other products.

One of the best things about buying from the Spoonflower products is that the curtains come with both rod pocket and tab hanging options (one on each end). So you get some flexibility in how your curtains will hang, and can even change it up later if you want a slightly different look.

Sew it Yourself

Whether you're picking a design someone made on Spoonflower, or designing it yourself, the rest of this post will talk about the ease of sewing fabric into curtains yourself. For this project, I used my own design "Yellow Brick Road" and bought 6 yards (56" x 216") of Cypress Cotton Canvas. (Fabric page here: https://www.spoonflower.com/designs/13210876-yellow-brick-road-by-lowa84)

For comparison of cost, two 96" panels would have cost $288 from the Spoonflower products page (using the same material - you could also save some by switching to Linen Cotton Canvas). My purchase of raw fabric set me back $204. If you are using someone else's design, it will cost a little more because that designer gets the commission - in this case, instead of paying myself commission, Spoonflower simply knocks that off the price since I was the designer.

Since I already have a sewing machine and all other supplies, I saved about $84 by making the curtains myself. If you're thinking about buying a sewing machine and all the associated supplies ONLY for this project, the savings might not be worth it. But, I also would vouch for the impressive power of inspiration that comes from a small, successful project. I'm a big believer that people enjoy things more when they make them themselves, and that seeing your handiwork empowers and inspires you to do more. If you're a first time crafter and you might want to do more in the future, I say go for it!! Making matching pillows, hand towels, table runners and all sorts of others things are just as easy (or maybe easier)!!

Alright, back to curtains again (also - don't laugh at my craft room, I haven't painted or redone it yet, so it still has awful pink paint from the previous owner's granddaughter, complete with a cringey "Live Laugh Love motif on the wall"). One last thing - I'm going to share here what I actually did, which I'll refer to as "my hack", as well as what the expert advice says. The expert advice should in theory result in a more finished look, especially on the back of the curtains. For my purposes, I have blinds behind the curtains also, and I was a little nervous with sewing such thick fabric, so I went with a less polished look in the back, which still looks great from the front.

Step 1: Cut the fabric to size

Getting started on a new project, especially if it feels a little daunting, is often the hardest part. Once you've measured your windows and decided how big you want the curtains, measure out how much you need from the fabric.

Another consideration before you start cutting is how you want to attach the curtains to the rods. If you use Clip on Rings, you just need to sew a straight panel. Loops or tabs that extend beyond the curtain panel are another approach, and you'll need to consider how to incorporate those into the top of your curtain (a great tutorial for that is here: https://www.onlinefabricstore.com/makersmill/how-to-make-tab-top-curtains/). A fairly straight-forward approach is to leave the sides of your top stich open and put the rod through the entire thing - that's a rod pocket design. For my hack, I made loops or tabs but hid them behind the top of the curtains so they aren't visible from the front.

You'll want to give yourself at least four inches on the bottom and at least two inches on the top, plus and inch or two on both sides (so make sure to double whatever you choose for the sides). Cut the fabric into the rough size panels.
When you get  fabric from Spoonflower, you'll have some white borders around the design. You'll want to trim this off.

For reference, the windows I'm covering span a total of 62" across, and 70" tall. Hanging just above them and reaching close to the ground, the 96" length was the look I opted for.

Step 2: Sew the sides of the panels

Using an iron and pins, fold each side of each panel down about an inch, and iron that seam to make it nice and crisp. The experts recommend you fold the fabric over once more and do that again, however, my hack got away with just one fold on each side.

Curtains are great sewing projects because they involve a lot of straight stiches. Once you have your sides pinned and ironed down (pin optional, but I preferred it given the bulky material and sheer length of the hem), simply sew as straight as you can along the fabric fold. Truth be told, if you're worried about  getting this absolutely straight, I'd advice not to stress to much. The finished product is so much bigger than these small lines, that it will be hard to notice minor flaws like that from afar - and most of your guests won't be examining the stitch lines along every seam - I hope.

Step 3: Make the loops / tabs and sew the top

Again, this part will vary depending on which style you want. I used some of the white border fabric, and cut 10 evenly sized strips about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. They don't have to be perfect, in my hack.

Taking the top of the panel and folding it down a couple inches, just as you did on the sides but with a little more length, I also pinned the loops down so that the tops of the loops were just below the fold. After pinning and ironing all of that, I again just sewed a straight line across, making sure that the loops were straight as I got to them.

Step 4: Pin and sew the bottom

Since in my hack I winged it a little bit, decided to get the bottom length just right, I would hang the curtains to see just how much to fold. So I hung the curtains, selected the length and pinned them right there while they were still hanging. Then I brought them back to my craft room and ironed that fold as before, adding additional pins. While I did this for both panels, it may be most important to do this on the second one, to make sure it lines up with the first.

After ironing and sewing, the final sewing begins, once again straight across, like an old pro by now.

Step 5: Hang the final curtains gloriously and admire your work

With the tab arrangement I used, simply sliding them onto the curtain rod made them look a little frumpy, but it was an easy adjustment to get the top of the curtains to stand up right. Additionally, I adjusted and played with the pleats to make them hang right. In the end, none of the hack choices I made seemed to show or make much of a difference. The bright, bold yellow makes a real statement in the gray room, and I'm darn happy about it.