An artistic way to Go Green..

Over the summer I read an article in an artistic quilting magazine that talked about water soluble crayons, I was intrigued by the thought and have wanted to try out this medium since.   While at a local craft store this weekend with my girls, in search of something artistic for them to do on an upcoming holiday weekend, I found the lone remaining package of water soluble wax pastels and instantly placed them in my shopping cart.  That done we went in search of a small fabric project we could each use to try them on and purchased three canvas tote bags.  I am one who typically likes to lay out my design before beginning, especially when doing a harlequin pattern in the background; I penciled my design directly onto the canvas bag.  Usually I chalk out my designs and then whatever medium I’m using the chalk simply washes away when finished, this would have been a good idea this time as well because my pencil marks can be seen through my final design.  However, having been told and having said for years that there are “no mistakes in art” I have accepted the pencil marks (this time) as part of my design plan.  Once the design was lightly sketched I began coloring, just as you would on paper with normal crayons, light in some places, heavy in others and multiple colors of shading and layering.  Finally it was time to paint water onto my design and watch it magically transform from a canvas coloring page into a painting.  If you try this at home the only thing I might change would be to paint in layers of color to minimize the colors becoming murky (unless of course that’s the look you’re going for).  I had a wonderful time experimenting with a new to me technique and am looking forward to using this again on many other pieces of fabric art to come.  Once I was happy with the overall look I added a bit more detail with the crayons on top of the wet fabric. I let it dry completely, set the color by ironing it and then washed it (in cold) to make sure the artwork would stay on the fabric.  Here are two pictures from this fun (kid friendly) weekend project.  The first one shows the design almost completely colored in and the second one is the image after it was completed.  I can see myself having an entire set of colorful, artistic and unique earth friendly shopping bags in no time!

FREE TO A GOOD HOME...

I am a bargain kind of gal, if there is a way to do something for less than others think humanly possible then I am all for it.  So, one day when I received a text from a friend of mine asking if I wanted an old cabinet that she had stored in her garage, I naturally said YES and drove right over to take a look at it.  It was FREE to a good home as her husband was sick of looking at it and having to move it, park next to it…well, you get the picture.  This little once white hutch had two crumbling drawers and 4 cabinet doors, two solid ones below and two with glass inserts above along with several pealing layers of paint.  Naturally I was excited and instantly determined where its new place in my home would be.  Emily would become the lucky recipient of this new treasure upon its completion.  Here is the basic process used to come up with the end result:  Take off the old hardware only to discover the only thing holding this hutch together was a little old paint because all the original nails had rusted.  Nail gun the hutch back to a reliable piece of furniture and sand it down.  Not too much, just enough to get all the chipped paint off but still leave the integrity of the beautiful aged piece intact.  The color scheme for this piece was to be turquoise and white so, apply turquoise paint around the edges of the cabinets and around the layers of paint then let it dry.  Paint over the entire thing with several coats of white paint and hand sand it down until just the right about of turquoise shows through each section.  Next was a light wash with watered down turquoise paint over the entire hutch and to finish it off I dry brushed fresh coats of white on top of that to enhance the layered look.  My intention al along with this piece was to still have it look just as old as when it arrived to me but be fresh and in usable condition. The door treatments were a little more complicated but I love that you can draw (literally) inspiration for a piece from ANYWHERE!  This particular pattern came from a car I say at the Starbucks drive through one day while running errands.  After tracing out a mini example of the design I cut it out of a piece of cardboard and began to trace and layout the pattern on the door panels.  I repeated the same process on the glass doors but traced it onto clear contact paper that I covered the doors with and then used an etching paint to frost the design onto the glass.  The effect was everything I hoped it would be.  Finally time to reassemble with original hinges and then add new knobs.  I choose brushed nickel for the drawers and crystal for all of the cabinet doors.  All in all the grand total for this project was right at $6 and that was for the clear contact paper that I did not already have on hand.  Each time I refinish a new piece of furniture whether it is for my home or someone else’s it becomes my new favorite piece, the same is true in this case.  I just LOVE the end result and hope that you al do too.  If you have anything that you would like re-done for your home please keep me in mind, I would love to create something new out of an old treasure for you!

A work in progress…

One of the many things that my daughter Emily and I have in common is that we don’t do bored very well.  This weekend after doing most of the things that every weekend holds she found herself bored and in need of something to do, little did she know that I was bored and wishing to release a little creativity.  When she asked if we could purchase the paint for her room at 4pm on Saturday we quickly loaded into the car and set off for the home improvement stores paint section.  After looking at rows and rows of purple color choices we managed to pick two that we agreed on, purchased the paint and returned home to begin our “little” project.  How to accomplish an unplanned painting of a child’s bedroom in one (half) of a weekend, clear half of the room by piling it onto the un-empty side of the room, pour paint for your roller and begin.   Emily has been helping me roll her room since she was about 4, drop cloths were very important then but not as needed now, she rolls while I cut in around the room and when I’m finished I complete whatever rolling still needs to be done (mostly the top half of the walls).  By Saturday night half of the room was complete and we decided there was not enough light or energy to move everything again until the next day.  I took advantage of the clear side of the room with its freshly painted walls and began chalking out her new feature wall, Purple on Purple Zebra Stripes!  I usually like to look at some form of inspiration when I chalk out a design.  Sometimes it’s a small picture of what is wanted that I free hand and enlarge, this time I pulled the black and white zebra rug out of the girls bathroom and chalk in hand began drawing out the zebra design.  Finding the center of the wall was key for this design and while my wall is not an exact copy of the rugs design it was the perfect jumping off point so that the wall looked planned yet random and other than the fact that it is purple, like a real zebra might look.  Sunday afternoon we moved all the contents of the room to the dry freshly painted side and repeated the painting process and then the only thing left to do was put the room back together.  Lucky for me Emily is the daughter who thrives on order and she was very helpful in quickly returning the room to its previous tidy state.  While the painting is finished and we are VERY pleased with how the zebra wall turned out we are not entirely finished with this room redo.  Next we will begin changing out the window treatments, refinishing a shelving piece and eventually deciding on a grand headboard treatment and replacing the light fixture, I will as always keep you posted with our progress and hope you enjoy the journey with me.

Monkeying Around

Like most do it yourselfers I love to garage sale!  On a nice Saturday morning my youngest and I will head out for a few early morning hours spent looking through other peoples things.  Trash to Treasure!  I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have picked something up for .50 – 10.00 and refinished and repurposed it.  It’s truly an addiction, the cheaper the item and the worse shape it’s in the more excited I get to redo it.   Here is a look at my latest find, a plaster monkey table base with a glass top.  You see, I am currently still in the process of designing a room makeover for my youngest who just happens to have a thing for monkeys.  We took one look at it and instantly knew how GREAT it would be as a bedside table on the side of the bed that did not already have a nightstand.  The room is a work in progress and eventually will be painted purple with some form of wall mural (possibly purple on purple zebra stripes) and accents of white and turquoise accessories will fill the space.  Em is very eclectic (mom calls it bohemian) and loves a wide array of bright cheery colors as well as lots of textures and patterns.  After arriving home with our find it didn’t take long for the fun to begin, I cleaned the plaster monkey base with a disinfectant wipe let it dry while I mixed some paint and got to work.  We decided that to make it really pop and stand out in the space in a funky way (because a plaster monkey nightstand doesn’t stand out enough on its own already) that we would paint it turquoise and finish it off with a high gloss.  Knowing that the future room will have some zebra print in it we decided to add a touch of that to the top edge of the table and to the very top we added a stencil design that can be seen through the glass top of the table.  A few hours later the end result was just as amazing as we had hoped it would be!  Take a look for yourself and be sure to leave a comment on this blog to let me know how wild and crazy (I mean wonderful) you think this latest DIY redesign turned out.

Mirror Mirror on the wall…

We all have mirrors hung somewhere in our home.  They are a great decorating choice to reflect light into a dark space or make a small room appear larger.  I have found that mirrors tend to be a little pricey at least the ones that I am always drawn to so, I decided to work with what I already had.  Here is a look a two mirror updates that have really refreshed the look of my home.  The first one is in the entry way of my home and adds a great focal point upon entering and also a great place to check your makeup and hair before you head out the door.  This particular mirror has already had many updates, it began its life in my home over my oldest daughters changing table in her nursery 15 years ago and was done in a whimsical polka dot.   Its next home was to my entryway about 10 years ago where I painted it brown and distressed it to have a slightly leather look to it.  However, recently I painted my entryway a dark chocolate brown and discovered that the mirror was lost on the wall and in desperate need of yet another update.  I was inspired by an imported Spanish mirror done in mosaic tile that I had recently seen in a friend’s home, I was determined to pull off a similar look on a much lower budget.  The search for the right color mosaics began and I decided on square glass pieces from a local craft store.  I painted the frame of the mirror a light blue to reflect light once the glass pieces were attached.  Next I hot glued each mosaic piece around the frame in a random pattern and the final step was to grout.  The end result is a wonderful updated mirror that really pops on the chocolate brown entryway walls and not only reflects a lot of light but draws your eye to its beauty. 

The second mirror is one that hangs in the small entryway to the master bedroom and was originally my grandmothers.  While I’m not an overly sentimental person as my family will tell you, I do have one piece of furniture or glassware from each grandparent thats become a daily part of my home.  This mirror was originally framed in cherry wood and more ornate than the first and yet it too was recently lost on a dark wall after repainting.  This time I went for a distressed painted look and used several shades of green and beige dry brushed on and sanded down in places to update the mirrors look.  I adore how it looks on the wall now and think that the details of the mirror actually stand out more with its new finish than originally. 

I look forward to hearing what you think of my recent mirror updates and would also love to know if you own a mirror you wished had new life

Graffiti

It seems that somewhere between the ages of 10 & 16 most parents are willing to give into their child’s desires to update their bedrooms from childish to modern; I have had the pleasure of helping with many such transformations.  The process is always about the same, a fine line between the tween/teen’s independent views of a “dream room” and the parents need for something more timeless.  Those who know me well can already tell you what I would say; Paint is Paint, you can always change your mind and paint again.  I do realize however that many are intimidated by the task of repainting a room and many suffer from a condition I rarely have, being sentimental, and therefore are hesitant to paint over a custom mural or room design. 

I have one daughter who is more sentimental and adapts to change more slowly, she has only had her room redone 4 times in fifteen years from nursery to child’s room, to a new child’s room only because we moved and then finally to a funky, fun, modern yet timeless teen space.  Her room will likely remain this way long after she graduates and moves out on her own.  My other daughter however, the younger of the two has had her room redone more times than I can accurately recall, perhaps somewhere between 6-8 times already with no end in sight.  She loves change, loves bright colors and being in a space full of fun imaginative things.  She also knows how easy it is to excite me about a room makeover, after all it is a new opportunity to paint and create.  After several room designs that lasted only six months I did finally take somewhat drastic measures and have her sign a two year contract stating there would be no major room makeovers for two years.  That said, I have added two small wall art murals to her room over those two years.  What can I say; I am unable to resist her creative spirit.  Currently she and I are trying to reach an agreement on a teen space that can evolve with her while remaining somewhat timeless.  I will certainly keep you posted as decisions are made, paint purchased and the remodel project begins in her space. 

However, today I would like to highlight two tween spaces I did for brave clients who let their children have the majority say in the style of their murals and who both chose graffiti for their spaces.  The first was for a tween girl who had classic bones to her room, neutral walls, a matching bedroom set and fun yet classic and non-themed bedding.  To freshen up her space we adder her name in graffiti that included some light activated glow in the dark paint.  The result was a fun fresh update to her space and the polka dots from her comforter where repeated in the overall design of the graffiti style.  We selected a bubble style font to keep it softer than most graffiti designs and more on the feminine side.  The second feature room was that of a tween boy who also had neutral walls and classic bedding.  He was going for more of a skateboarder theme and wanted a harsher lined graffiti font while mom wanted to be sure it was legible.  After consulting with them about the space and getting a feel for the rest of their home I decided to add a tattoo/graffiti style cross to the background of his name.  It fills up the space of the feature wall in his room nicely and the end result was a custom graffiti wall that both mom and son are very pleased with.  Here is what each client had to say after their rooms were completed. 

Has brush, will travel! During Elizabeth's recent trip to the Dallas area, we were lucky enough to schedule some of her time to come over and do some artwork on two of our kids' walls. She hit the nail on the head - both rooms turned out beautifully! Elizabeth was quick, professional and reasonable. We plan on asking her back to do something for our little guy during her next trip south.
- E. Smith

Thanks so much for blessing us with your artistic abilities!  Dallas loves his "graffiti" and I know he will for YEARS to come.  You're awesome!
- Arnold Family

Something Old, Something New

Something old, something new… How fun is it to re-purpose something old to have a completely new function in your home?  After making over my daughter’s room this spring we were left with one wall that we decided to use to display her artwork.  The problem was we didn’t know how best to display it so the wall remained blank and the artwork remained in a pile.  Frames seemed the most likely choice in all sizes and I envisioned them painted black with hinges to easily change out the work.  However I did not have an overabundance of frames on hand and the more I thought about it the more unsure I was that this would be the best solution.  Unexpectedly I was given some old things to re-purpose and among them were two 5 foot old screens framed in wood. Driving home with them in the car I just couldn’t get my mind off the possibility that this could somehow be the answer to my design dilemma.  The frames were old with lots of character I could see them adding the perfect blend of rustic meets modern to my daughter’s room.  Wheels turning in my mind I called my mom and within a few minutes the design was coming together crystal clear in my mind and hers.  You just gotta LOVE moms!  I couldn’t wait to get home and as soon as I unloaded the screens I pulled out my paint and went to work.  I painted the Eiffel Tower and several French words/sayings directly onto the screens in different shades of the same color and in different fonts.  As luck would have it the wooden frames of the screens already had a crackle finish in just the right color for the room I would be using them in.  However, this would have been a simple step to complete for this particular project, just in case you want to try this at home.  After painting on the design I added 4 sets of picture wires and hooks to the front of the frames and added picture hangers to the back of the frames.  Just like that the project was complete and ready for display.  Small close pins were painted with an accent color and used on the picture wire to hang artwork.  I think you will like the results and how easy and fun it will be to change the artwork up without having to worry about what size it is.  This is the perfect solution to our dilemma and looks great when displaying artwork or as a work of art itself.