Guest Blog #49, Entry #450, March 17, 2011
Of all the places in your home, your kid’s environments are the one place that there are no rules. You don’t have to know the latest Pantone color, or the hottest material out there for your couch, it’s all about your child enjoying and learning about life through their environment. I love that!
It’s one place where you and your child can make up a world that is nurturing, fun, educational and of course great looking!!
Today, my Guest Blogger, Ashlee McClung, creator of izzyshare, shares with you how her passion for interior design, and education led her to creating a unique place for you to share your creative kid’s environments, or browse other inspiring spaces to give you ideas for your home.
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Get to Know izzyshare
After being inspired by shows like Trading Spaces and HGTV at the age of 16 I was ripping out the carpet in my bedroom to showcase the oak hardwood flooring, painting the walls a creamy butter yellow, saving money to buy a bed in a bag from Wal-Mart, and sewing curtains to add softness and color to my little abode. Ever since then interior design has been on my mind!
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ashlee and I am an interior designer wannabe and an educational enthusiast! I am passionate about providing children with inspiring spaces to increase motivation and creativity. I’m a former teacher turned editor of izzyshare. What is izzyshare? izzyshare (not an error, we like the lowercase i better) is an online resource for parents and teachers to find and share design ideas for kids. At izzyshare, you’ll find plenty of pictures of bulletin boards, organization, projects, art, and at-home space design ideas just for kids!
These two pictures are from my first year teaching. I was ecstatic to have my first classroom! I spent hours analyzing the layout and looking for other classrooms on the internet to find ideas. This is when the thought of izzyshare began due to the fact I could not find one place on the net with just pictures of classroom design ideas. With limited money to use for decorating, I found many of the items you see in these two pictures at yard sales, thrift shops, and discount stores. The dollar bins at Target were (and still are) my best friend!
Design at-home
We recently added an at-home design section to our site. Let’s say that you’ve just spent a whole weekend working on decorating your child’s playroom or bedroom. You analyzed over paint colors, searched for the perfect fabrics, painted, and finally stepped back to admire the finished project. NOW WHAT? That’s where izzyshare comes in. izzyshare allows you to upload your photos of the spaces you have spent time on so others can oohh and aww over your job well done!
These two photos are from Sonya (izzyhare username greenmommy) and she was kind enough to share with us her daughters’ playroom. Sonya has done a great job of providing her daughters with a wonderful area to play and learn.
The same goes for teachers who put the same thoughtfulness and hard work into their classroom, who often change room decor frequently to correspond with the seasons and holidays. So you put up a bulletin board that received several compliments and you want to make the same display again next year? Take a picture of the space and upload the photo to izzyshare, your digital online design filing cabinet, if you will. Our site also gives us the ability to store photos in a categorized way that makes searching for certain themes effortless.
One izzyshare teacher, Krissy, does an outstanding job of providing a beautiful environment for her students. Krissy pays much attention to detail in her thoughtful classroom designs. We’re pretty sure anyone who walks into Krissy’s classroom will be inspired! Believe me when I say these two pictures are just the tip of the iceberg! Krissy (KTVee is her izzyshare username), has uploaded photos we still can’t get over.
Why the name izzyshare?
The name izzyshare, after months of careful consideration, comes from the name of a little family member whose name is Isabelle. Her nickname is Izzy and my husband and I have always thought it was a sweet name. We wanted the title to be cute and have something to do with sharing, since it is a place for parents and educators to share ideas. Izzy and share were magically connected to form izzyshare.
Does izzyshare have a blog?
Why yes, we do have a blog! The blog is now known as little izzy. little izzy (we really don’t like to capitalize things do we?) mostly consists of pictures and information on trendy kid rooms, classrooms, kid art, and crafts. We also publish eco friendly pieces for the eco-conscious folks (like ourselves) out there. Anything that is related to kid design can usually find a home on our site, especially if it boasts educational value!
Thank you Ronique for giving me the opportunity to be a guest blogger! It is an honor!
Ashlee McClung is a former teacher meshing her love for education and design. I graduated with an elementary education degree and taught first grade and Kindergarten for three years. While planning my classroom designs I would spend much of my time searching on the Internet for classroom ideas that mostly led to sites with pure text or links that had me all over the place. I wanted one place that was full of pictures. That’s when the idea for izzyshare began to form.
I wanted to enroll into an interior design program after high school, but instead I played it safe and went into education. You see, I am from West Virginia and I didn’t think I would be able to find a job in interior design. There isn’t exactly a booming interior design business world where I am from. I never thought I would move out of my home state. I wanted to stay safe and sound tucked into the hills of West Virginia. I met my husband in high school and what do you know, we end up leaving West Virginia a month after I graduated college. We now live near one of the biggest cities in the country.
No could of, should of, would of here. izzyshare has allowed me to peruse my passion for design. I now work full time on izzyshare, which has come a long way from its humble beginnings. izzyshare is a place for anyone who wants to find and share design ideas for kids. izzyshare has grown into a community of educators and parents who have the same love for design and know the importance of providing positive environments for children. Feel free to stop by. We would love to have you!
Ashlee McClung:
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