Photographs: My favorite art

Well hello all! Can you believe it�s almost the weekend already? I swear this week has absolutely flown by.

I got one project completed this week that I�m really, really happy with. (GLEE!!) And I did most of it with what I had, which is always a bonus in my book. :)

When it comes to filling wall space, we don�t have much real art in our home. OK, let me rephrase�we have ZERO real art. :)

An outlet Ballard Designs piece is the closest we get to actual art. Instead I�ve fill our walls with a bunch of molding and lots and LOTS of pictures. Bunches. Gaggles. :)

Photographs are my very favorite art. They�re cheap (most of the time I print them out at home and almost all frames are from Goodwill), they�re easy, and they add a personal touch to our home that no art could.

I�ve grouped framed pictures in almost every room in our house. The playroom:

See that squishy face? That�s my baby:

The cowboy is my Dad as a boy. I could die. :)

That wall of photos is getting a redo soon. I may move the shelves around and am definitely adding new photos throughout.

I filled an empty wall on our stairwell with photos as well:

Don�t worry�the mice are gone. As much as I HEART them. :)

And I used photos in a wall in our bedroom as well:

You can see they�re usually hung willy nilly. I like the scattered look when it comes to framed photos, which is REALLY weird for me, since I�m the symmetrical queen.

When I started the impromptu redo of the living room, I knew exactly how I wanted to fill the space between the windows. I took at look at the colorway on the fabric I picked for the drapes for some color inspiration:

I big fat LOVE when they do that! It makes it so easy to work with. You�ll notice there�s 16 different colors in this beautiful fabric, which gave me plenty of options to choose from.

And it turns out, I already had exactly what I needed. :) About eight months ago, I started collecting frames at Goodwill for an idea I had for the living room. I even spray painted them months ago � I bet it�s been about six months.

But when I tried my idea in the room, I didn�t care for it (more about that later!) and left it sitting for months. And wouldn�t you know it � the colors I had already painted the frames worked perfectly for my new idea:

I love using what I have. And I love it even more when the spray painting is already done. ;)

I started finishing off this spot with a Goodwill lamp � it was blinding me with it�s brassiness at the store, but I knew it could be a beauty:

Doesn�t it have the loveliest curves? Oh, she�s so darn pretty. :) I sprayed it with a primer and then a couple coats of Rustoleum�s Heirloom White. I had the shade, and added a ribbon from my stash around the bottom. I love how the color in the ribbon is an exact match to the light brown in the drapes.

That is what I�m talkin� about! Totally by accident and it worked great. Whooeee!!

I kept the accessories in the HomeGoods tray simple. I didn�t want them to compete with the art:

The rattan ball was a couple bucks on clearance at Pottery Barn years ago. The books are those faux books, and I covered them with a linen fabric last year.

The art is my very favorite part! They�re all shots I took (with my point and shoot camera by the way) last year:

I used a few of the wildflower shots (from our neighborhood) and a leaf from a hike last fall. I was going for bright colors that worked with the drapes. LOVE.

I don�t even use mats most of the time � I just cut out white paper and use spray adhesive or double-sided tape to mount the photos right on top. You can�t even tell they�re not the real thing!

Like I mentioned, I usually print my photos out at home (and usually just on basic printer paper), but this time I splurged a little bit. I uploaded them to Walgreens.com and picked them up an hour later.

Uhh, hello?? How have I missed this fabulousness all these years? I knew about it, just never did it. And I�m now hooked. I think the five pictures were about $12.

The new art is the perfect finishing touch for that part of the room:

I�m so in love with it. I smile every time I walk in this space.

There�s still much I want to do � not sure that mirror is staying on the right (it�s a little small). You�ll see a peek of a Goodwill coffee table that�s waiting for a redo. And there�s pillows to make as well. (I am going to attempt to make a pillow with a zipper people.)  ;)

And if you look close enough, you�ll notice the drapes are different lengths, still aren�t hemmed (will they ever be? I don�t know, I don�t know!), and there�s a few holes in the wall I need to paint over.

I was able cover most of those with the frames though. YESSSS.

Because you know I�m a lovah of before and after pics, let�s check out the difference so far, shall we? The dark before:

And with new drapes and a little reworking, the now:

BOO.yah. LOVE it.

I know many of you are loving the fabric as much as I am � I got it from Calico Corners and it�s P. Kaufman fabric:

I�m trying to find it online and haven�t come up with anything yet. I�ll let you know if I find a link!

So, do you use photos as art in your home? I know one thing � if we ever sell our house, the realtor is going to have a heyday with us. Aren�t you supposed to depersonalize? We�ll have LOTS of empty walls! Or they�ll just have to deal.  :)

P.S. The lamp shade on the side table was a vintage find years ago. Isn�t is perfect?

P.P.S. The spray paints/colors I used on the frames were Rustoleum�s Heirloom White and Espresso and Valspar�s Everglade.

February Before & After: A pretty pitcher

Hello all! I�m back this month with a very simple but beautiful (I think so anyway) before and after project!

It started with a recent trip to Goodwill � I don�t go as often as I used to (see my STUFF post), so I haven�t found nearly as much good stuff as I used to. (You have to go fairly often to get the good pickins.)

But that day, the heavens shined down on this beauty on the top shelf:

Ummm�OK, well the shape was beautiful. I guess the flowers weren�t that bad, they just weren�t what I was  going for. :)

But the size, the lovely lines, the beautiful spout � they had me at Hello.

I knew I could spruce her up with a few coats of spray paint. And a �few� coats turned into about eleventy billion. Or so. Maybe about seven. Whatever.

It took five coats of spray primer to get those purdy flowers covered up. I did an additional two coats of a glossy white on top.

After trip to Trader Joe�s for some (fairly) cheap tulips, I was able to bring my vision for this cutie to life:

Oh SWOON. Just�swoon. I am so ready for tulips people. I actually don�t mind the snow that much � but we�ve been hammered with it and ice over the past couple of months (way more than usual) and I�m really starting to miss green grass.

Will I ever see it again?

I don�t care what Punxsutawney Phil says, I think it�s gonna be awhile.  :)

Even with the meeeellion coats of spray paint, this is one of my easiest and favorite spray paint transformations yet:

I wish I could have gotten some shots in the daylight, but we got home from dinner too late. I�m ready for more photo taking hours in the day too, while we�re talking about spring. :)

I absolutely love the pretty shape � looks like it came out of a Pottery Barn catalog doesn�t it?

Only their version -- $39. Mine? A whole five buckaroos. :)

WHOO HOO!

Now, I won�t be pouring any lemonade with mine � it�s just for holding beautiful flowers. And I�m totally OK with that.

I just LOVE IT.

Soooo�my before and after for the month � a Goodwill find transformed with my beloved. My BFF. Spray paint:

Now it�s time to see what you�ve been up to!

Be sure to link up to your post, not your blog. And I�d love it if you�d include this pretty little button and a link back to this post:

I�m trying a new linky this time, so I hope this works! :)

Have fun � I�ll leave this open for a week, so link. it. up!

 

A DIY memo board

Well hello there!! I am just overwhelmed at your response to my last post. You made me feel SO much better! :) I was so happy to read your comments and to hear many of you are making time to take care of YOU! It made my week! (Really.)

Because of I�ve been organizing like mad, and throwing in a few more work outs in here and there lately � my DIY/crafty/decorating time has been suffering. :) I rectified that today with a project I�ve been meaning to do forEVER.

I needed a new memo board for the light and bright office redo I�ve been working on. I made this one years ago:

It�s looking a little sad now. :) To make it, I just covered a piece of insulation foam with fabric. I wrapped the ribbon around it and hung it -- done!

I wanted something huge and it worked perfect! (See that squishy face in the picture on top? That�s my Bub�s birth announcements. Still LOVE.)

Well, about a year ago (yes, a YEAR) I found this huge frame for $10 at Goodwill:

I think it was even half off � it�s been so long I can�t remember! I knew it would work perfect for a new memo board. (I was planning ahead.)

I liked how chunky the frame was, but it wasn�t in the best shape:

It also had a band of linen-type fabric that I actually quite liked.

I had a plan in mind for this baby and I absolutely luuuurve how it turned out! Not just love � LURVE.

First step was to prime the heck out of the sucker. I laid it down on my �spray painting� sheet on the garage floor and did a couple quick coats.

I need to mention that it was NINE degrees outside when I did this. It was unreal, it was so cold.

I am nothing if not dedicated! :)

Once I got feeling back in my hands, I brought it inside to dry. (Spray paint takes forever to dry in extreme temps.)

After that it was ready for paint. Because I wanted to use only what I had, I painted it the blue ceiling paint I used in the office. While it was drying, I moved onto the �memo� part:

This stuff is that thick foam insulation you can get at the hardware store. I love it! I got a few sheets to cover our crawl space openings into the basement years ago. It works GREAT � keeps the cold and the spiders out! Eww!

Anyhoo, I wanted to reuse the foamy stuff for this memo board as well. I measured the size I needed, then used my Dremel to cut it out:

Awe-some!! (Said in a sing song voice.)

I wrapped it with my fabric, securing it to the back with hot glue:

I nail gunned it to the back of the frame and it worked like a charm!

For now it's hanging right behind the desk:

I think it will stay on that wall, but not sure where exactly. :) My plan for the board and batten includes a small ledge, so after that�s done I�ll have to play around with the memo board.

Of course I used the stripe fabric, which is a pain in the booty to get just right:

It has to be perfectly straight or it will drive. you. MAD. Or maybe it just drives me mad. :)

When I primed the frame, I sprayed right over the linen fabric (one word: L.A.Z.Y.) and the primer didn�t even cover it. So weird � it looks just like it did before!:

I just left the little gold strip inside the frame primed. Again�laaaaazy.

I got the fabric pretty straight:

Enough that it doesn�t give my hives to look at it. :) It�ll be covered with notes anyway. That�s what I keep telling myself.

Did you notice my little addition to the DIY drum shade fixture?:

A picture in a magazine inspired it � I saw a beautiful drum shade trimmed out with beautiful, large glass beads. It was GORG. I searched ev.er.y.where. online and couldn�t find anything that looked like it � and then one day I checked out Hobby Lobby and found this.

It is just a precious little beaded trim � I adore it:

Is it possible to be in love with cute beaded trim? Is it normal to be in love with cute beaded trim? I don�t care � I am. :)

I am loving how the room is coming along! The time has come though � I need to buck up buttercup and just get that board and batten DONE.

I still can�t believe the transformation so far. The office before:

And after:

WHOO! Love it! And my office will be extra insulated now. ;)

**I still don�t know what I�m doing with that chair � the cover I had was the wrong blue, (total clash with the memo board) so I took it off for now. I think I have something in mind. (Do you hear my mind crankin�?)

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!!

Spooky in the house

Well, it�s about time for some Halloween decorating up in here!

At least that�s what the Bub said � without the �up in here� lingo. OH my goodness � he is SO exited about Halloween this year! He�s been decorating all over the place. Which in his way is pulling everything out of the bins and lining it up along every. single. surface. in the house.

Adorable. :)

It feels like I just put the fall mantel together yesterday � I never know how to do the whole fall/Halloween decor. I usually pull fall out, then do Halloween, then put fall back out on November 1. Seems like so much extra work, so next year I think I�ll just start with Halloween. Decor is so confusing.

Our spooky mantel hasn�t changed much from last year when I ended up taking a few Goodwill frames:

And spray painted them black, then filled them with various graphics I printed out:

This year I added some height by adding my $3.50 (originally $20!) sparkly haunted house to the middle:

It�s stacked up on box you can�t see. Sneaky, I am.

Do you see the adorable addition Stink Eye Sis added?:

UGH! I could DIE from the cuteness!!

Then I just continued to layer the frames:

I showed you how I made these cutie little spooky votives here:

  

I absolutely love those little eyes. ;) I used my LED candles again � you can find them just about anywhere now!

They�re all nestled in black tulle and a string of lights. Just wish they made black Christmas tree lights, but I don�t see that happening anytime soon.

Would it be wrong if I spray painted the white cord black? Nah�even that�s a little much for me.

Maybe.

The glass jar is filled with some netting and a glittery skull � both from the Dollar Tree:

The sparkly spiders were from Pier 1 � I think eight for $1.50? Ewww�they are so grody.  But cool.

And of course, the crows are from the Dollar Tree too. That place rocks!

For a little finishing touch, I cut out some bats with my Silhouette and placed them here and there:

    

My friend Jen did it on her mantel and I just had to copy it. How fun is that?

It�s got a lot more going on than I would usually do � but Halloween is the one time of year I�m OK with that. And it�s only up for two more weeks anyway � when the fall decor comes back out. Gah! (At least I didn�t say Christmas decor � wink wink.)

I�m also working on our foyer as well � it started with a little friend on the mirror:

He�s just a cut out made of the vinyl texture stuff for windows. ;) I�ll show you the foyer when the Bub�s I�m done decorating it. ;)

** I�m linking this up to Beth�s Halloween mantel party �- uhhhh�my mantel is child�s play compared to some of these. Gorgeous!!

Thanks to this week�s sponsor!: