The Weary Traveler and his trusty sidekick.

WIP 

I'm making my finishing touches on this guy and gal. 

 ♥ I'm loving how this is turning out. ♥ 

Comic: Broken Heart, Part Two

Finally! The second panel to this one that I posted in November is complete.

He really wants to fix that broken heart. :( 

Now, I need your help. 

I would love for you to decide this couples future. 

Choose one of the scenarios below and leave it in the comments section. 

The most popular choice will become the final comic panel. 

A. He fixes the broken heart and offers it back to her. He asks for her forgiveness and promises that he will never hurt her like that again. She accepts his apology and they live happily ever after. 

B. He fixes the broken heart and offers it back to her but the damage is already done. She isn't able to forgive him and they part ways.

C.  He can't fix the broken heart and realizes that he never really cared that he broke it in the first place. He decides to have a beer and watch TV instead.   

Building Spelunking done wrong.

Spot Coffee, Buffalo NY

A few weeks ago, Mark and I decided to have a date "day" instead of a date night. Our plan? To explore an old, abandoned building. So, we packed ourselves up and set off on our adventure.

Here is what you shouldn't do if you are going to "explore" an old, abandoned building:

1. Don't go during the day, during the week.
This was my first time and I was terrified scared. I scare easily and I just spent last year watching American Horror Story Season 2 Asylum (I know, I'm way behind), so I know exactly what happens in a decrepit, ghost-ridden building. It was bad enough that the interior was going to be dark and creepy, I most certainly did not need the outside world to be dark and creepy too. The problem with daytime exploration is that people are out and about, you know, working and stuff. They see you. They ask you questions. They want to know what you are doing on private property. They follow you in there big, work trucks to be sure you don't come back. It is all very complicated. Go at night.

2. Don't wear bright red sweatpants when trying to enter an old, abandoned building during the daytime.
Again, this was my first time, you know, breaking and entering (which never happened so just relax). Wear all black or brown.

3. Don't pick a building that is near a populated area. 
See number 1 above.

Anyway, despite our failure to actually do any building spelunking, we had a great date day. We walked some pretty trails during a beautiful season, we ate good food, we laughed, and best of all we were together.

Tifft Nature Preserve, Buffalo NY

I see a face, do you?

Tifft Nature Preserve, Buffalo NY

Spot Coffee, Buffalo NY

Comic: Broken Heart

We have all done it and we have all been on the receiving end of it...the broken heart. 

Why do we hurt the ones that love us the most? :( 

I was hoping to get this done for inktober but I've been learning to knit making a big mess with a ball of yarn and some needles, and well, starting my SIMPLE, BEGINNER knitting project over and over again because I didn't know how to fix my mistakes mixed with my OCD took up a lot of my time.

Anyway, this is the first panel of a three panel comic. Their story does get better, I promise. Time really does heal everything. :)

#inktober #MineIsBroken #Week 2

Poor elephant, why aren't his working?

#inktober #week 2

#Inktober #Love Giraffes

The month of October in the art world is known as Inktober, it is a 31 day drawing challenge created by Jake Parker. 

Anybody can participate. Here are the rules:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it on your blog (or tumblr, instagram, twitter, facebook, flickr, Pinterest or just pin it on your wall.)

3) Hashtag it with #inktober

4) Repeat

I have been wanting to work on some ink drawings to create greeting cards for my Etsy shop, so this challenge comes at the perfect time for me. It is time to get off of my butt and ink some pictures! I don't know that I will have the time to create one drawing a day but I will do my best to ink at least one drawing a week. 

But if my Midnight love doesn't give me some room, I'm not sure I will be able to complete much of anything. He is too sweet. :)

♥ Love Giraffes is my first drawing for the first week of October ♥

Sharing is caring is love.

I'm not sure if you can tell what has changed in my drawing studio. 

Can you see it? 

I will give you a clue. Ready? 

I drew a big heart around it because it is my new favorite thing in the room (besides Teddy and my cat, Midnight).

That's right! It's my handsome husband. :)

I have a large room and it gets lonely hanging out in here all by myself, so I asked Mark if he would move in and he said Yes!

This is going to be great fun! 

Working side by side, talking with each other, and thinking about one another. I'm a very lucky girl. 

Our 7 year old son took this picture of us. I think he did a pretty good job.

Working on...

I'm still working on this guy...but I'm thinking of switching gears to sort of reboot my creative flow, cuz' I haven't had one. :)

So, I started sketching out this...

I realize these sketches are very rough, my frog needs much improvement. They're more about getting a vibe to see if it is something I want to pursue. I'm thinking a steampunk style to the drawing. The top sketch is the one that I'm leaning toward.

What do you think?

Weathering the Storm

Wow! Where has the time gone? I am sorry that I have been absent for so long, I have been dealing with personal issues...nothing that I can't handle though. ;-)

Let's see, back on July 29th I wrote a post about following your inspiration, but I never followed up with the finished painting to that post. 

This painting is dedicated to my husband, Mark. 
Together, we can weather any storm.

It's a moment defined by a feeling. That moment of happiness, sadness, hurt, joy, pain, surprise, anger. It is that minute of uncertainty, that hour of doubt, that year of struggle. It can be fleeting, and other times it decides to settle in and stay for a while. Some moments we can see approaching on the horizon, other moments strike quickly and wildly on a random Thursday. However the moment arrives or why, slow down, take solace in each other, and be still. Storms will come and go, there will always be bright days and dark days, the one constant will be love. Embrace the love and hold on. 

Share your most memorable moment in the comments. I would love to hear about it. 


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Following your inspiration

So often I wake up in the morning and I have this great desire to draw or paint, and so often I put it off feeling obligated to get the chores done first.  The problem is that when I do my "other" work first, by the time I have the opportunity to be creative, the inspiration has vanished.

It has been this way for as long as I can remember. I blame the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper. That story terrified me when I was a child. I don't want to starve to death!  

Don't get me wrong, there isn't anything wrong with "work before play". It is a good lesson to teach and to live by, but once in a while you need to break the rules and chase after that inspiration. It is good for the soul. :) Sort of like having pancakes or cereal for dinner.

Starting today, I'm going to change the way I prioritize my time. I am going to "give in" more often to my whims and follow my inspiration.

Inspiration

I haven't done a watercolor in almost four years. I woke up this morning and all I could think about was coffee painting with watercolor. The dishes aren't done, the cats and my son are hungry <-I'm kidding, what kind of monster do you think I am? I fed the cats! :-P, the laundry isn't folded, and that's okay. ♥ I'm too busy giving in to my inspiration. ♥

Tada!

Last week, I posted the below images to the nikkiMdesign Facebook Page. I was hopeful that this past weekend would bring me lots of time to work on turning this heaping mess of a bedroom into my art studio.

Stuff, stuff, stuff, and more stuff, and toys, and...

Is that dirty underwear on the floor?! Haha! Made you look!

I had old furniture to dismantle and move out, shelves to hang, things to organize, and a very large, heavy table that had to be hauled from the basement to the upstairs (sorry honey!) to create a space that was all mine.

After several hours of hard work and a lot of assistance from a very patient husband, there was progress.

One of these days I will paint the walls, add some better lighting, and put up some more shelves, but for now, this ♥ will do perfectly ♥ 

The Hitchhiker WIP

I have been busy lately and haven't been able to do much drawing. So this morning I decided that instead of doing the usual cleaning up the house work, I would get busy on the Hitchhiker. I also carved out a little bit of time to do some reading from Taproot, a wonderful, ad-free magazine filled with stories, poems, art, and crafts.

I should start everyday this way. <-Wishful thinking.

My experience drawing beards is very limited. I found several great tutorials for drawing facial hair, now I have to put that knowledge to paper. Eeek! I'm nervous! 

Notice the left eye, yeah, I overworked the paper. I shouldn't have drawn him on sketch pad paper, there isn't any substance to it and I like to erase, a lot. I'm not too worried about it though. You don't notice it as much in person, it is far more noticeable in a photo. Lesson learned. :) 

I'm thinking about making him a smoker. What do you think he is... a pipe or cigarette smoker?

Crochet Fish Soap Saver Pattern now available for download

Something you may or may not know about me is that in my spare time I love to crochet. At any given moment I have several crochet projects going and I am always playing around with different crochet ideas. Which brings me to the reason for my post, sometime last year I was looking for a simple, cute crochet pattern for a children's soap saver but I wasn't finding the right pattern, so I created my own.

You can purchase it at my Etsy Shop

Interested in purchasing the product rather than the pattern? You can do that too, click here.  

♥ Happy hooking! ♥

Donut Kraze gets an update

Friends of mine own Donut Kraze,  a delicious doughnut shop on Dingens Street in Buffalo. Last fall, a car ran through the front of their establishment  causing significant damages to the exterior and interior of the store. Since they were going to be making repairs to the building, they decided to update the space and asked me to assist with the design.

Their doughnuts are delicious, which made this project especially enjoyable. ;-) 

Before:

During:

After:

♥ Support local! Swing by for some of their doughnuts. You won't be disappointed! ♥

Donut Kraze

406 Dingens Street

Buffalo, NY 14206

716-824-4527

Sneak Peek: Buffalo Home & Garden Show 2013

This is the week that all the designers paint and set up their White Rooms for this years Home and Garden Show. So exciting! Heather and I have been working hard to create an eclectic and bold room. Be sure to stop downtown this weekend or the 15, 16, 17th and say "hi". ♥

Sneak Peek: Buffalo, NY Home and Garden Show 2013

Buffalo's Home & Garden Show of 2013 is quickly approaching. This year, the Interior Design Association of WNY is hosting a White Room Challenge for seven of Buffalo's finest interior designers. nikkiMdesign is participating in the contest and Heather Benson and I are having an absolute blast prepping for the upcoming show. Below is a sneak peek at what you might find in our room... 

Check back often to see more! ♥

nikkiMdesign's interview with arearugs.com

My interview with arearugs.com

The Buffalo winters can be harsh, but Nikki Milley keeps it warm with great interior designs that feature plenty of floor coverings!

Thanks for joining us, Nikki! Tell us a little bit about your training in interior design and how you came to choose both the profession and location.

I've always been interested in interior design and how your environment can actually affect the way you think and behave. A number of years ago, I was considering going back to school to change my career path. I have a number of other interests, including sociology and psychology, but I couldn't really find the right fit. I remember talking about this with my husband; there I was, a paint brush in one hand, a home & garden magazine in my other hand, and HGTV blaring in the next room. He suggested that I study Interior Design, as I looked at him blankly, he told me to go and take a look at myself in the mirror…the rest is history!

Is Buffalo a challenging market for interior decorating? What are some of the major influences for the area?

Buffalo is renowned worldwide for our beautiful architecture, including famous works by Frank Lloyd Wright, HH Richardson, and Eliel and Eero Saarinen. Our City Hall is an art deco masterpiece. Buffalo does its best to blend new construction with these timeless masterpieces, and this unique blend of old and new is steeped into the culture and interior design as well.

Buffalo is also a haven for artists; we have two of the largest Art Festivals in the region, a rich theater foundation, and a burgeoning advertising industry. In addition, our region is quickly becoming a leader in the fields of bioinformatics and technology. Buffalo is on the cusp of becoming a shining example of rust-belt recovery, and is truly attracting the most creative and intelligent minds these days.

Having such a talented client base as well as our rich culture really creates a demand for high quality, clean, and beautiful design. It’s a challenge, but it’s one I’m glad to take!

What’s you design philosophy? How do you try and implement it in your work?

Stylish, simple and smart design is a rule that I live by–I like to think of it as sophisticated simplicity. When designing I look for pieces and furnishings that will provide a timeless interior for the client to enjoy. Good design is durable and functional as well as stylish. I prefer to use”trends” with items that are affordable and easily swapped, like pillows and lamp shades, an ottoman or pouf.

Are your clients typically looking for big jobs, or a room-by-room type thing?

I work with a wide range of clients, from commercial clients who need everything from floor to ceiling, to residential clients who need a color consultation, sample tips and accessory shopping. Of course my favorite are complete rebuilds and remodels, but I love having the opportunity to use my design skills at any stage of the design process. Any project keeps my perspective fresh, allows me to hone my skills, and promotes my growth as a designer.

When it comes to floor coverings, tell us how you incorporate area rugs into your designs.

Generally speaking, the trend these days is towards having hardwood floors installed or refinished, so area rugs play a large role in my design aesthetic. I use rugs in a space to pull together the elements of the room to create a fun and artistic place.

Buffalo is a cold climate 8-9 months of the year. Don’t area rugs add some warmth to the space?

Of course, not just for colder climates. Area rugs are an important tool in the designers toolbox. They can be used to create a more intimate space within a larger space, group seating arrangements, protect floors from dirt, and of course be used as a visual statement in a room. Area rugs are artwork for your floor. Have fun with them!

Do you have any types of rugs you use more often than others in Buffalo?

I particularly like wool and wool blend area rugs for their durability. White Orchard Home Furnishings has a line of area rugs that I use frequently in my designs. They offer several styles and colors and their prices are very reasonable.

Any other tips or tricks for using area rugs?

Area rugs are very versatile, you can move them from room to room to create a whole new look, switch them out for seasonal/holiday changes, and use them to soften a space. They can also help with dampening noise.

Where can readers find your work, or make a booking for an estimate?

Some of my work is showcased on my website, nikkimdesign.com. I am also an accomplished artist so be sure to check out the fine arts section on my website.

You can also find me on Houzz and Etsy, and read about my antics at my blogs, http://nikkimdesign.blogspot.com/,http://underthespaghettitree.blogspot.com/

Gossamer furniture? Maybe.

While poking through the internet this morning, I came across this...

My first thought? The monster from Looney Tunes, Gossamer!

http://disneycharacter.net/r-gossamer-red-monster-wallpaper-355.htm

As a child, I ♥'d Gossamer! And I would've ♥'d having that ottoman for my bedroom.