Elwin Makes a Difficult Choice
Well, I’ve been thinking long and hard about this whole touring thing and I’ve come to a really tough decision. It’s been a really fascinating journey that I’ve been on for the past few months since I first entered the Kinzville Sings! competition, but everything I’ve been through has made me realize that where I belong is back at home with my sister, designing rooms in Kinzville. So today I told the producers at Kinzville Sings! that when this tour is over I’m done with my recording career and I’m heading home. They were really understanding about it. They said that not everyone is cut out for this life and they could tell that all the stress had been starting to take its toll on me. I haven’t told Hailey yet though. I really want to surprise her. I just hope that she hasn’t hired another designer to take my place.
Ella Interviews Hailey
Ella McWoof: Today I’m here with one of Kinzville’s most well-known designers: Hailey! Hailey: Oh, Ella! I don’t know if I’m THAT well known! Ella: According to my sources, you are! Hailey, you’ve been in the decorating biz for a few years now, am I correct? Hailey: Yes, my brother and I have both been running the Designer Elephants, our decorating business. We’re pretty happy about how popular it has become! Ella: I heard you’ve been hired by the likes of Fluffington St. Bernard – is that true? Hailey: You heard correctly! Fluffington is actually one of our best clients. And his great-aunt Meriwether, of course. Ella: What would you say has been the hardest job you’ve ever done? Hailey: Probably any job at Fluffington’s mansion. It’s just so immaculate – you want to make sure you don’t mess anything up! Ella: And what is your most favorite job? Hailey: It’s so hard to choose a favorite…but one job that sticks out in my mind was helping to redecorate Dr. Quack’s home office. It was an absolute mismatched mess when I first got there, but Elwin and I worked hard and came up with a design that really worked. And … Read more
Postcard from Elwin
Dear Hailey, Wow! I am pumped! We finished the album and I just got to listen to it all the way through for the first time! Oh, Hailey! I can’t wait for you to hear it! This really is the coolest thing that has ever happened to me! I think you’re going to be impressed. Well, I know you’re already impressed. Listen – I don’t want to go all goopy on you or anything, but I thought this would be a good time to let you know how much I appreciate all the support and encouragement you’ve offered me my whole life. I am so lucky to have a sister like you, and being away from you has really shown me just how much I always lean on you. Okay – goopy moment over! Sorry! I hope I can get back to Kinzville soon so I can play you the album. I just know you’re going to love it! Gotta run! We’re doing some promotional photos for the tour and my ‘handlers’ are waiting for me! (Ha ha – can you picture me with handlers?) El
Hailey Interviews Designers
Hailey Interviews Designers Well, I’ve received a pile of resumes from potential design partners so, as part of the interview process, I decided to put forth a design challenge and ask each candidate to design a kitchen. Based on their work experience, the candidates that I asked to provide designs are PJ Collie, Wiggles Pig, and Tabby Von Meow. PJ has a lot of retail experience from working at the KinzStyle Outlet. Tabby seems to be a Jack-of-all-trades after running the Employment Office for so long, and Wiggles Pig is a great designer in his own right. We just need to see if we could forge a partnership. The weirdest thing is that when I received all their design proposals, there was another set of drawings that were submitted. I just found them on my desk and I have no idea where they came from. And the thing about the drawings is that they’re really – well, I’ll let you judge for yourself. So here are the designs submitted by Tabby, PJ, Wiggles and… ? Tabby Tabby decided to go with a country theme for her kitchen. She used the Wind Farm Wallpaper to really capture the country feel. She … Read more
Wanted: One Designer
Hey everyone, Hailey here. I’m having a pretty terrible day. Why? Because my brother Elwin called earlier and he sounded really, really, really happy. Now, I’m not upset because he’s happy (I’m glad he is, really!), but I AM upset because I don’t think he’s going to come back to Kinzville. Based on that call and the post card I received yesterday, I think life on the road is the life for him. He seems to LOVE touring with the Rockerz. So where does that leave me? Alone with our business, that’s where. And I can’t keep up with all the jobs by myself. So I’ve decided: I’m going to hire a new partner. It’s drastic, sure, but what else can I do? I’ve put up some flyers around town and told all my friends to let their friends know – I need someone to fill in for Elwin. I’m having everyone submit designs to me…maybe I’ll share them with you, so you can tell me who you think has the most talent. I wish my brother was coming back…but I just don’t think he is.
Postcard from Elwin
Hey, Hail! Just a quick postcard – things are crazy so haven’t had much time to write. Sorry! Am having a blast! Right now I am sitting in the Craft Services room at the studio enjoying a snack. They have EVERYTHING you could possibly want to eat in here and if they don’t have it, I just need to say the word and they will produce it. A guy could get used to this – I am really getting the star treatment. It’s really fun, recording my album. The only problem is I keep wanting to rearrange all the furniture in the recording studio. I guess I just can’t get the designing bug out of my system! Gotta run – they’re calling me back for more vocals! Later! El
Campkinz Room Challenge
Campkinz Room Design Challenge Hailey here! So I am thinking about maybe working with a new designer since Elwin is gone. I’ve been talking with Wiggles Pig about the possibility of the two of us collaborating on some projects. I also had an application for a summer intern job from a surprisingly young applicant – Plumpy asked me if I would consider letting Nibbles help out around the office while she’s off school. Apparently Nibbles has always had a passion for designing in her own room and Plumpy thought it would be good for her to have something to occupy her while she gets used to the fact that her newlywed big sis wouldn’t be around so much. I could certainly use some help keeping this place in order since I’m on my own now so I thought it was a great idea. I also thought it might be fun to see how my style meshes with both Wiggles and Nibbles by setting us all a design challenge: we are each going to design a Campkinz-themed room! We each started with the same room with Campkinz Flooring and Wallpaper. You can let me know what you think of each design. … Read more
Last Summer’s Design…
‘Tis the season for camping, right friends? Even though it’s been a tough summer for me so far, what with my brother touring and having a BLAST living life as a rock star, I’m still trying my hardest to design rooms. It hasn’t been easy. I just haven’t been very inspired. For inspiration, I decided to take a look back at last year’s cabin design that Elwin and I did. What do you think of it? Ah, those were the good old days. I just miss Elwin so much. Maybe he’ll come home to visit soon. I sure hope so.
Diva Dressing Room
Hailey here with a pretty exciting dressing room makeover. Elwin and I had the challenge of taking a completely empty dressing room at the Henrietta Hippo Theater and transforming it into a room fit for a diva. In fact, it’s meant for none other than Dacey Bryn herself! Since she’s in town helping to judge “Kinzville Sings!” she needed a place to call her own. So – check it out! We designed one half to be a seating area, so if friends are visiting they’ve got a place to chill out. We also added screens so Dacey could get changed. The makeup table and lights are just perfect for a diva, and the stand of purses is Dacey’s own. When she saw the room, she said it was wonderful – hooray!
Roberta’s New Craft Room
So I guess this whole baby thing is turning out pretty well. Our new house is pretty cool, but the best thing about it? I get a whole room JUST for making crafts!!! How awesome is that? There is this room in the basement that used to be the laundry room before they moved the laundry room upstairs. So it’s even got a couple of sinks which is perfect. And you know what else? Because my mom and dad hired Hailey and Elwin to decorate our new house, they are going help me decorate my craft room too! How many kids get to have professional designers come and design their craft room? I am so pumped! Especially with all the cool pieces from the Creative Studio Theme that are in the W Shop! Hailey said that we could try it a few different ways and then I could decide which one I liked best, so Hailey designed it one way, Elwin did another design and then the three of us worked together to come up with a third design. … Read more
Robert Rabbit’s Workshop Makeover
Elwin here, with our second-to-last room makeover at the Rabbit house. Today, we redid Robert’s workshop. Robert loves woodworking and making all kinds of neat things (that’s probably where Molly gets her craftiness). The room had been used as a workshop before, but it wasn’t very well set up. A good workshop needs to have a place for everything, so it doesn’t look too cluttered. Robert was THRILLED to see this set up. He said that he’ll make us a rocking chair for our office. Nice!
Roberta’s Rec Room
The Rabbit family has a lovely, large basement. When we asked Roberta’s parents what they wanted to do with it, they said they only wanted three things down there: 1. A craft room for Roberta 2. A workshop for Robert (Roberta’s dad) 3. A playroom/recreation room for the new baby and Roberta Today, we started with the recreation/playroom. We knew that this room would allow us to be really whimsical and creative. After all, it’s for kids and it’s in the basement. Here’s what we came up with: As you can see, half of the room is for Roberta and her friends, and half is perfect for a little bunny. Pretty awesome, right? Roberta sure thought so! What do you think, friends?
Roberta’s Attic
Hailey here with another fabulous makeover. Today, we tackled the attic. Now, most people just use the attic for storage…or for nothing at all. But the Rabbit family wanted to use it as a library. We knew we’d need to create a peaceful space for the family to relax and unwind. The only thing Roberta’s mom mentioned is that they needed to keep SOME storage up there. So with some clever design, this is what Elwin and I came up with: Tell us what you think!
Backyard: Before & After
Today Elwin and I got to try landscaping – and I think it went pretty well! We actually consulted with Fluffington (who know everything there is to know about fancy plants) before we designed the Rabbit family’s backyard. Elwin and I knew we didn’t want to make their yard as extravagant as Fluffington’s, but we did want to have an area just for the grownups – and an area for the kids. First, here’s the old backyard: We’ve got a fountain, a quiet bench (perfect for reading), and, of course, we added in a swing set and slide for the new baby! What do you think?
Nursery Makeover
Well, as everyone knows, the Rabbit family is expecting a new addition in a couple of months. To prepare for his or her arrival (Hailey says it’s going to be a girl…but I think it’s definitely a boy), we decorated the nursery today. Since we’re not sure if it’s a boy or girl, we kept the color palette neutral (and really, does it matter if a girl has a blue room or a boy has a pink room? Anyone can like any color they want!). Here’s what we came up with: I know the little bunny is going to LOVE this calming, gentle space. It’s just perfect for a baby…and when he or she grows up, we can come back and redecorate again!
