About Heather

Hi there!

Thank you for checking out by my blog!  My name is Heather and I am a designer/freelance artist/elementary school librarian with a passion for repurposing and making things. I live by the mountains in gorgeous Colorado with my amazing husband.

 My favorite things include:
candy

adventures in beautiful, inspiring places

teeny, tiny things

everything ridiculous and silly
earrings

gluing things together

naps

my adorable niece Charlotte

vintage/thrift shopping

belly dancing
stray cats

falling in love with a good book

surprises

delicious vegetarian food 

and 

writing DIY tutorials

My love affair with creating and re-creating began long before kindergarten.
 I was born in California, and then moved to Torrejon, Spain.  My earliest memories are of sewing lessons with my mom that involved reconstructing old clothes and absorbing the Spanish culture and rich heritage while exploring with my dad. 

That's me in a village outside of Madrid collecting pretty rocks

 In grade school, my family moved to Michigan where I fell in love with the breathtaking shoreline and became close to my grandmother, who taught me the “old fashioned way” to cook, repair things, and grow food.  Without a television at home (I know – crazy, right?) I embraced books and any opportunity to make art.  I began to view everything as a potential building material. My mind was always churning, creating and re-creating objects and I loved the challenge of transforming unwanted items into something special and new. I went on to attend art school and earn a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and now I am attending grad school for a Master's in Clinical Mental Health.
 Currently, I am a working artist who is inspired by nature, texture, found objects, and stories. 

The name Shades of Tangerine is significant because I see everything in shades: 

At this moment, an item may have one specific purpose. Tomorrow, when it becomes useless, instead of tossing it aside, I hope to encourage you to find another shade or purpose. Take the opportunity to transform it into something incredible and new - give it new life!  If we continue to live in this way, not only are we creating a sustainable environment, but we are allowing ourselves a moment to slow down and make art. Creative expression is good for the soul - even if you don’t consider yourself an “artsy” person. Every single thing you make is beautifully unique to you: nobody else has one, and you’ve given that object a special story and a purpose.
 You can feel good about that.

Let’s make art and inspire each other, and in turn, we’ll make the world a better place.
 Xoxo,
Heather