RETRO iDEAS FOR YOUR KiTCHEN

As you know we are currently working on our home and will be renovating more areas as soon as we can. One that we definitely would like to update is our kitchen. Unfortunately it's not an option just yet but as soon as we are able, there will be some changes made. Nothing too drastic but upgrades need to be made. Our appliances are on the list to replace and I'm always on the lookout for unique products. One of my favorites on our wish list is retro inspired refrigerator. One company I love is Big Chill. They have a huge selection of custom color options which is awesome for someone like me that has to match everything! I recently partnered with BigChill to share their very cool products. If you're in the market for appliances or just want to dream up colorful kitchen ideas, go check them out! Also be sure to check out my Pinterest for other retro home ideas.

"The fact that most families spend the greatest part of their day together in the kitchen proves how vital a part it plays in the household. The most well known tenant of every family kitchen, the refrigerator, will always tell a story of its owner’s if we give it enough attention. The time of simple iceboxes has long passed and newer refrigerators have become so diverse in their designs that there is one for everyone’s taste. BigChill.com have been compiling all the different faces of refrigerators in order to recreate a classic refrigerator that could fit in the modern kitchen. Let us show you the different designs that represented breakthroughs in refrigerator design history and you can tell us about the one that you consider."

BIG CHILL

PINTEREST

Have a great evening!

Sara

ART PRINTED SCARVES

Happy Wednesday! So next up on my products I wanted to share from Redbubble is this beautiful scarf with artwork by Karl James Mountford. I'm in love with it. I've been wearing more scarves over the years and I'm excited about this one because I love the illustration. I really wanted to see how these printed and looked in person and I'm so pleased with the quality. Any artist or designer looking to print your work on products, be sure to check them out. It's totally worth trying. There are so many amazing artist whose work you can get printed on these and now I'm obsessed with what to get next and how I can style it. I made this one into a quick skirt over my dress because I wanted to be able to see the fun print but there are so many ways to wear it or just hang one on your wall as art. It looked really nice on my bed as a way to change up your decor as well. 

Once again, have a wonderful night!

xoxo

Sara

WHAT I WORE // COLOR BLOCK

I'm excited to getting back to posting outfits. I will be posting other things soon as well because I know not everyone is interesting in what I'm wearing each day, ha! So Here is the other beautiful bag I received from MeDusa. I love the blue color. It's the same color as my favorite car I had growing up which was a bright blue Dodge Neon and the key would glow in the dark! Man I miss that car... anyway, I always unintentionally dress in very primary colors sometimes. I can't help it. It just happens. They go so well together.

DETAiLS
CARDIGAN : ModCloth

BAG : MeDusa

Just recently I was able to find all my clothing and I've currently been sorting through all of it to let go of some more things. I don't wear a lot of it and the weather here is different than what I'm use to so I'm really needing to update my wardrobe. I will be selling some things soon on the app Depop. Check it out if you've never heard of it. It's a great source for buying things from others with Instagram type of images. I will share more information when I have those up.

Hope your week is going well. We're half way done! 

xoxo

Sara

WHAT i WORE // MEDUSA BAGS

Happy Friday! Woo hoo! I'm finally able to take some time to post more outfit photos again and I wanted to share some awesome bags from MeDusa. I love the bright colors they have and there is a rainbow of colors to choose from. I'm also a huge fan the embossed designs they have in the material used. I had a really difficult time picking my favorites. If you check out their instagram account you can see how that pattern was used to press into cookies! How cool! I love when people create things using something you wouldn't normally think of. The quality is great as well and I have been using both of mine all the time recently with no problems so far. 

I didn't want to post all the photos at once because it was just too much. I will have a new post up here soon with the other bag. But first up, this really fun backpack that's perfect for a laptop and sketchbooks! I've been looking for some backpacks recently and this one is definitely unique.

(Outdoor photos by Doug Smith, edited by me.)

DETAiLS
CARDIGAN : ModCloth

SHORTS : Forever21
SOCKS : ModCloth

SHOES : LeBunny Bleu
BAG : MeDusa

I hope you have a great weekend! We are finally getting the floors replaced in our home so I will be getting furnture out soon! I'm so excited. We've been living on a mattress and rugs but at least we have a tv installed so I can watch HGTV and cartoons all day! ha!

xoxo

Sara

EYE PROTECTiON OBSESSiON

I can't see. Okay, that's not true, I can see but you take my glasses away and I can only focus on something 2 inches from my face. I'm use to having a really high prescription of glasses and up until recently I was only wearing glasses. (I got lazy in college with contacts and just stopped wearing them.) Sunglasses just were not something I wore and I tried those "awesome" transition lenses but always got stuck with dark lenses for awhile after I came back inside from the sun. It's super cool to be in a dark office building with sunglasses on while you wait for them to turn back to clear lenses. I'm pretty sure I've tripped walking up some stairs.

For many years I did't go outside during the day much so I think my eyes got really sensitive to light. My skin is already super sensitive. I really do feel like a vampire with my eyes and skin sizzling the second I'm in sunlight. So now I live in California! The sun is always out! And I actually really love it but my eyes and skin don't, so I've been searching for lots of sun protecting products lately. I think I may have a small obsession with sunglasses now. I'm on the hunt so if you have any companies you like please leave me a comment. I would love to find new products to share.

I just ordered these shades from Nasy Gal. These are made by Quay and I love the shape and color. Because it wouldn't be me if I didn't do this, I've added a list of sunglasses of all prices, shapes, and colors that I found while hunting around.

Quay Mia Shades available here

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. / 10. / 11. / 12. / 13. / 14. / 15. / 16. / 17. / 18. / 19. / 20.

Hope you're having a great day!

XOXO

Sara

TAKiNG DOWN THE RAiNBOW

A few months ago when I was taking down my collections and packing up my home I took a time lapse of the rainbow wall coming down. It took me awhile to put it together because I didn't have the right program to create it but lucky for me Doug was able to make it for me so I could finally share it. So here it is :) Something that took me years to put up (I added a lot of toys over the years) took no time to take down. I'm not even going to go into how long it was to pack everything up in boxes. Eek! Thankfully I had saved most of them which helped a lot with packing.

Happy Saturday!

XOXO

Sara

WHAT i WORE // MiNTY FRESH

A couple weeks ago we were driving around the neighborhood and past a Greyhound station. I'm always on the lookout for cool places to take photos and fun walls to use as a backdrop. This particular station was painted in two of my favorite colors, a mint/teal color and bright blue. It also was covered in teal tile in the front of the station. My head goes instantly to what I could do with the environment around me. Most of the time it comes in the form of creating an outfit and making my own world or story with those surroundings. I create characters for myself in these environments. Since my hair is teal right now and I have a teal vintage dress that I love I thought it would be fun to go all out in the color for some photos. Lucky for me I have a partner who loves to take photos as well and is amazing at it. Before now, it was just me and my tripod, usually in my house, and I would just get lucky if a photo turned out how I wanted. 

It took me awhile to get these photos together but I finally took some time out of my day to create this post because I love the photos Doug took. I'm actually really awkward and get uncomfortable when someone takes my photo so I'm kind of amazed any came out not looking like I was a crazy person matching the wall at a train station. 

DRESS : Vintage
SLIP : Vintage

SHOES : MelShoes

Have a wonderful day!

XOXO

Sara

PENDLETON, SF, AND MY BLUE HAIR

On Saturday Doug and I hung out with a friend who had this awesome Pendleton throw I loved. I mean look at those colors and that pattern! Ugh! I'm sad I don't own one of these myself! <3 They brought their cameras out with us and although I love taking photos, I left mine at home and decided to just enjoy the amazing view from Bernal Heights Summit in SF without a camera in my hand. I ended up as a "model" in their photos. I'm okay with this because it get us out of the house and gives me more opportunities to see more cool places around me. I never had much chance to document my life in the past. There is a huge number of years I'm not really even in any photos. Because of this I want to make sure I make everyday count and document it when I can. I love being able to look back at such wonderful memories. 

A photo Doug posted made some rounds on Instagram the other day after Pendleton, Jansport, and Benny Gold reposted it. The throw was a collaboration among them. This morning we saw that another artist, Aly McKnight, painted the photo. It's pretty flattering to see when others feel inspired by something Doug or I created. So happy for Doug because I think more people should see his photos and I love helping him share them more.

(© Doug Smith)

(© Aly McKnight)

It's still taking me some time to get to know my surroundings. I've lived most of the past 5+ years not getting out much or seeing the world around me. To be completely honesty I'm also still dealing with anxieties I have always had. One of which is social anxiety but I'm pretty proud of myself lately for pushing through it and exploring some on my own.

Hope your week is going well and if it isn't, you're half way through! 

XOXO

-Sara

WHAT I WORE // CAT SOCKS

Good morning and happy Monday! I wanted to post some outfits from over this past weekend. I've met a lot of my friends and people in my life through the internet because for many years I wasn't able to get out of my house that often so it was my connection to the rest of the world. Well I've meet some truly wonderful caring people and quite a lot of those people I met through Instagram! I've always loved taking photos so it was just natural that I would get quite obsessed with this app on my phone. Well one of those friends was so kind and sent me an awesome package filled with wonderful surprises! One of them were these awesome cat socks!!! It's no secret I love cats and I love cute products that have cats on them. I have a nice collection of socks that keep growing and these might be my favorite so far. They even have little ears! Thank you SO much Laura! You are the sweetest! 

I always layer clothing to add color, length or just because its getting colder and I want more clothing on :) So what you're seeing in the above photo is actually a skirt under my dress. I do this a lot.

DETAiLS

DRESS : ModCloth
CARDIGAN : ModCloth

SKIRT : (old) Urban Outfitters
SHOES: LeBunny Bleu
SOCKS: Target

Have a wonderful day!

-Sara

WHAT I WORE // FANCY GREEN SQUIRREL

I had to match my outfit to my color palette I posted earlier today! 

DETAiLS

DRESS : Choies
CARDIGAN : H&M

NECKLACE/BRACELET : Vintage
SQUIRREL: Vintage

xoxo

-Sara

COLOR PALETTE // MOODY START OF FALL

Unfortunately over the past few weeks I was a bit under the weather and then had a lot of catching up to do with my home and work. I just was not able to give my blog much attention but I really want to make it a priority to try and post something everyday if possible. 

One way I decided might help me do that is sharing color palettes more regularly. My past career involved a lot of color palette creating. It was important that I kept up with trends and created new ones. I had to be on top of what was going on out in the world of fashion, design, and products. I have always been passionate about color. The name of my blog is Bleed in Colors for a reason. Although I have multiple meanings for why I chose that as my blogs name, colors is and has always been a huge part of my life for everything I do. I get really excited when I see combinations of color that are fun, unexpected, and just work really well together. Many years ago, when I was a production artist for Hallmark, I had to be very accurate with color. I can match exact colors by eye very quickly and easily and mixing exact colors is just some weird talent I have. I know exactly how much of a certain color needs to be added to create another color. I don't know if I see things differently than others but I can be overwhelmed with the emotions I feel from color combinations. I absolutely love it and love to share it with others.

In all honesty I usually like to create my own palettes without a starting point, just me and a pantone book or swatch color book. Sometimes I just open Photoshop and start playing. In order to make it more fun a visual though, pulling research is something I try to do to show how to combine those colors and how much of each color should be used to create a certain feeling or mood.

So all of that has brought me to here, wanting to create colors stories and pallets for others to use for their art, crafts, or ever if you just want to be more adventurous with your home or clothing. I love to give people starting points of how to combine color that you may not have thought of. I decided to start with some things I have saved in my Pinterest boards for ages now. There is no reason they should just sit there and not be serving more purpose to inspire others. 

So here is my first color palette for fall. I know it's not actually fall just yet, I think we have until September 22 until Summer is officially over, but it's feeling like fall where I live already so I'm in the mood! I hope these can help you start looking at color more differently and adding it more into your life. Enjoy!

(From upper left to right 1. PInterest 2. Kinky Blue Fairy 3. Victor Eredel 4. via the Cocktail Ring 5. Natasha 6. Thomas Howes 7. Michelle Beaulieu)

You can also break this palette down to fewer colors. I will start adding more options here soon. Remember that when combining colors like in this palette, your neutral and less saturated colors should be used as the base for everything then bring in the greens followed by warmer red/orange colors. Brighter colors in a palette like this work better when you use them as pops of color because they can be a bit overwhelming if used too much. It can work you are just not going to have the same mood or feeling. Most importantly, have fun and be creative! 

xoxo

-Sara

(images used for inspiration ONLY. I do not own the rights nor created the images above. All sources are listed if possible.)

TOY A DAY'S

Years ago I started a Tumblr that was entirely for my toy collection. I've collected toys pretty much my entire life. I was the kid that could never get rid of anything so I guess technically I was a child hoarder. My collection didn't really turn into a collection until I left for college and had more of my own space to display them. Most of what I collected back then were Todd McFarlane toys and action figures but as the years went by and more designer toys were being created, my collection started expanding. I collect all types of objects but toy are my favorite. Currently I have over...honestly I have no idea how many I have. If I were to guess, it's in the thousands. 

When I started posting a toy a day post on my Tumblr, it was for the purpose of documenting my collection and I had started numbering them so I could count them all. That became a bit overwhelming to keep up with so I stopped counting but still continued to post toys. Then that migrated to Instagram where the photos are currently just the toy in front of a white background and me holding it so you can see size relation. 

I organize everything into a rainbow whenever possible so it was just a matter of time before this happened. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful rainbow toy Tuesday!

-Sara

STYLING // FASHION

Styling photos based around color, patterns and products is one of my favorite things to do! I totally just do it for fun. For me, it's making art with my clothes :) I really want to do this more so I will be posting more regularly and also adding the color palettes I used because color is huge for me in everything I do. 

Lots of new fashion color photos coming soon.

Happy Thursday :)

-Sara

ARTIST // MARY BLAIR

A few weeks ago I was California visiting my boyfriend and after three attempts to see The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco (we didn't plan so well and they are not open on Tuesday which was a bit random I thought) we finally made it on a Thursday. We purchased tickets for the museum and the Mary Blair exhibit they currently have right now that goes until September 7th if anyone is interested in visiting. If you're wanting to see the museum and any of the artist exhibits, give yourself about 4 hours to go through everything if you're like me and want to take lots of photos and see all the rooms. The museum itself is quite wonderful but for me, my favorite part and the reason I wanted to go, was to see the Mary Blair exhibit.

If you are not familiar with Mary, she was an artist for Walt Disney from around 1940 to the 1960's creating amazing concept art, character design, and art direction for many films including Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Cinderella, along with many other projects as well as children books. If you would like to read more info about her and her life the Magic of Mary Blair site is a good one. 

For me and many other artists and designers, she has been a huge source of inspiration throughout my life with her amazing use of color and design. I did my best to get some good photos of the exhibit to post but unfortunately due to really low light in the museum most of my photos came out really blurry (insert sad face). Here are a few that were somewhat good enough to post. 

Be sure to check out her work on line to see a better representation of her use of color and design. I may pull some of my favorites to post that didn't come out in photos very well.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

-Sara

(Image of Mary Blair and exhibit show info banner from The Walt Disney Family Museum.)