AE Projects In Progress | The Office, Part IV + A $150 Minted Giveaway

Things are coming along here in the office.

And as you can probably tell we are definitely taking our time putting things together. This was my intent all along - to take it slow and not bring anything back in that I don't absolutely need or love. Our pace has also been dictated by other projects that are taking precedence over a put-together space.

Read more about the transformation and the process here and here and here.

We recently added two of the 1/2 size Expedit shelving units from Ikea and the plan is now to get two more because they are just right for this space. I especially love that they are on wheels (these are a separate component you can purchase) and we can move them around as needed.

We also started putting a few things up on the walls (man I love the white).

These three lovely prints are from Minted's awesome collection of Art Prints (read more about entering the generous giveaway below - there's a different process this time):

• The Worldwide Web


• Organic Pebbles


• You Are My Rising Sunshine

I chose these three because:

• (1) I love looking at the connected lines on the world map. It represents the travel I've done and the travel I dream of doing and the interconnectedness of the world in which we live.


• (2) Three organic circles for me, Simon and Anna. And it includes orange.


• (3) The lyrics to "you are my sunshine" have been a part of my life since I was tiny. One of my first toys was a little yellow lion ("Sunny") that when wound up would play that song. Anna has that lion now. Love the hand-drawn lyrics and the shape.

I also moved the lockers back in and decided to leave them the way I bought them vs. painting. The lockers hold things like art supplies I use less often, ribbon, cards & envelopes, a small crockpot that I use for melting wax for collage projects, etc.

You can see the other 1/2 Expedit there along the wall. One of the things I love about those is that it acts as another table top. Right now there's a layer of papers on the top - ones I'm reaching for as I put together the layouts for Hello Story.

Inside the shelves I've currently got some 12x12 paper trays from Display Dynamics. I have had these trays for years - they've moved with me from house to house and are still so totally useful. I think I'm going to go back to organizing by manufacturer - for the last few years I have been organizing my pattern papers by color. The fact that those trays fit perfectly inside the shelves is awesome.

In addition to the trays I'm also including baskets from Ikea. The baskets hold things like punches, wood-mounted stamps, etc. I'll share more on those as we figure out what makes the most sense.

Basically we like to put things into other things.

And I still make piles. Lots and lots of piles.

And everyday I walk in here and am thankful for the bright white space.

GIVEAWAY | Today we're partnering with Minted to offer a $150 store credit giveaway. US residents only.

That $150 can be used towards anything Minted offers: art prints, holiday cards, wedding invitations, save the dates, announcements, journals, etc.

PLEASE READ | This giveaway is going to be run a little different than we have in the past. Instead of leaving a comment to enter what you need to do is click here to enter via Minted's website. When you click over it should take you to a page that looks like this:

This giveaway will run from today through Sunday, July 7th, 2013 and I'll post the winner when I receive the name back from Minted.