Pinspiration Monday

Pinspiration Monday: Travel Keepsake Box

May 20, 2013 4 Comments

Well, we are back safe and sound from the beach! “Safe and sound” but also more than a little depressed to have traded in our shorts and sandals for work appropriate slacks and flats…There is very little worse than driving back over the bridge towards home when it feels like we were just driving OVER it towards our island oasis. Yet, on a happy note, I’ve been reunited with my lovable hubby and our three furry kiddos so life ain’t all that bad.

I’ll be recapping our trip throughout the week, including a full tour of the house we rented and a review of one fun, HANDY new product I tested out, but today I’m sharing a little project I managed to whip up yesterday afternoon after everything was unpacked and I was ready to do a little reminiscing…

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Source: Martha Stewart

The inspiration image above (snagged from Pinterest, of course) caught my eye right away. I’m definitely the sentimental sort, saving everything from receipts and candy wrappers, to ticket stubs and those little cardboard restaurant coasters – Anything to encourage a little walk down memory lane. As I’m sure you can imagine, I came home with quite a few new pieces of memorabilia to commemorate our latest trip to South Carolina.

Although this is something like the 12th time we’ve visited Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, a quaint southern plantation my parents discovered on their honeymoon almost 30 years ago, we’re always discovering new places and picking up new treasures. Instead of tossing it all, I loved the idea of filing it all away in a special labeled box. Luckily, I was able to pick up all of my supplies pre-vacation and just had to set aside 15 minutes of my Sunday afternoon to put it all together.

As to those supplies, I bought two hinged wooden boxes for less than $5 apiece at my local craft store, one for this recent trip to Hilton Head and another for our honeymoon to Punta Cana last May. The stencil I also picked up cost next to nothing and helped my confidence to stay on point as I drew out the letters on my first travel keepsake box.

To label my box with “HHI” (for “Hilton Head Island”), I simply held the stencil in place and traced the shape with a pencil. Now here’s where I know a lot of you will think I’m crazy, but really I’m just impatient…I knew that black paint would have given me a cleaner look, but I had just finished cleaning up from a spontaneous closet purge and didn’t have the energy to paint my letters. So instead I grabbed a Sharpie pen and merely colored inside my traced lines.

Sure it bled a little bit but, since it only took me .5 seconds to complete whereas it would have taken me at least 20 minutes to paint it on, the uneven lines were worth it. I can always go back over with black paint to clean up the edges if I feel like it, but frankly, I don’t mind the drawn on look. This is one of those projects that’s just for me and my desire to remember a wonderful family vacation – Perfection was never my goal.

That said, my ultimate goal of creating a special sanctuary for all of my collected paper memories was easily met, and I can’t wait to move on to my second box reserved for Punta Cana memories!

How do you make the most of YOUR vacation memories?

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Features, Inspired, Life Tagged With: Family, Gift Ideas, Holiday, New Uses, Organization, Pinspiration Monday, Simplify, Tips and Tricks

Pinspiration Monday: Top 10 Best Pinners

May 13, 2013 2 Comments

Try saying that 5 times fast…

Welp, SURPISE!! My family and I (minus John, who didn’t have enough vacay time…) are off to the beach for an entire blissful week. We are already a couple of days into it and having a blast. The house that we rented has this fabulous courtyard pool that my sis and I have been lounging around all day every day. Follow me on Instagram for ALL the updates, although prepare to be jealous!

And before you start feeling bad for John, I think he’s looking forward to a nice relaxing girl-free week. He’s not much of a fan of the beach anyway. Don’t try to figure that one out, by the way – I already have and am left cross eyed.

But now that that little sidebar is out of the way, I wanted to share a little something different this “Pinspiration Monday” morning. It’s high time that I give a little run down on my top ten pinners and why they made the cut. So much of this blog is made possible because of inspiration gleaned from this website, so I want to turn the spotlight on the individuals whose instincts keep my creativity on its toes.

Top 10 Pinners

Glitter Guide: The Glitter Guide has ALWAYS been an incredible resource for me, even before I started writing features for them. Every morning (and afternoon and evening) I jump at the chance to “bookmark” their inspiring pins on fashion, food and home design.
Apartment Therapy: My favorite things to pin from the Apartment Therapy board are (of course) the homes they feature. The small space pins are especially interesting to me as we work to decorate our OWN small space.
Lily /Birch + Bird: Lily (of the blog Birch and Bird) is definitely one my most repinned Pinterest users. Scrolling through her latest pins is like looking through my favorite magazine – A beautifully curated collection of photography and bookmarkable resources.
Bri Emery / designlovefest: This oober talented graphic designer is constantly keeping me on my toes with her glamorous throw back lifestyle and gutsy use of color.
N C (i.e. Nest Design Studio): I definitely feel like Natalie and I just repin each others pins all day. She and I must be kindred spirits when it comes to taste and style, because there’s hardly a pin of hers that I don’t file away for myself.
Tanya from Dans le Townhouse: This board is one of my favorites for mid-century inspiration and geometric patterns. Tanya has wonderful taste in vintage products and spaces, and I so value following her boards (especially her “DIY to TRY” board!).
The Everygirl: Like The Glitter Guide, The Everygirl Pinterest account is my go-to for all things fashion, food and decor. Their career features are some of my favorites to file away for future reference too.
Emily Henderson: Hands down my favorite designer/stylist, Emily Henderson has THE best taste in all things beautiful. She all but dominates my “Styling 101″ board, with examples of her own work and the work of those she admires.
Jillianne: John and I have actually known and loved Jill since high school. Her perky and whimsical personality is one of those that shines through so perfectly from her Pinterest account. I particularly love her taste in jewelry.
Better Homes and Gardens: Since this post is getting a bit overstated, I’ll keep my description for this pinner brief and matter of fact. One word: DUH!!

Who are YOUR favorite pinners?

Filed Under: Features, Inspired Tagged With: Blog, Pinspiration Monday, Tips and Tricks

Pinspiration Monday: Yellow bench

May 6, 2013 6 Comments

Although I’ve completed my fair share of them, I’m actually not too big on major furniture makeovers. They require a TON of work and although it’s almost always worth it in the end, it’s definitely the type of project that tends to get put off until the last minute – Or it waits for a gutsy or adventurous whim. Yet, when I saw this bright canary yellow chair on Pinterest, it lit a fire under my bum and I couldn’t help but dive head first into a brand new furniture redo.

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Source: Better Homes and Gardens

While my “Pinspiration” project used a chair as the foundation, I didn’t happen to have one available. But I DID happen to have a pretty vanity stool in desperate need for a makeover. It had the same curvy silhouette as the chair, so I figured it would have the same effect when completed. As you can tell, my little thrifted bench (pre blog) was in desperate need of some TLC.

Between the paint stained fabric seat and scratched wood finish, it was time for new fabric AND new paint. As for the fabric, I picked up a yard of this adorable gray, white, yellow and black fabric from JoAnn’s for less than $7. Truth be told, I didn’t really have any plans for the fabric when I bought it – I just loved it too much to leave it behind on the shelf. But after deciding that the old vanity bench needed a fresh coat of yellow paint, it just made sense to break out the bird print for the upholstery.

The first step, obviously, was paint. I went with a bright yellow Valspar spray paint this time, which was layered on in two coats after I gave the entire frame a good sanding with our Black and Decker Mouse Sander. The wood was a little more beat up than I had anticipated though and I quickly ran out of sanding sheets, so it’s not as smooth as I would have liked…But it makes the piece look rustic, which isn’t the end of the world for me. It gives it character!

And the final step? Ripping the old fabric off the now detached seat cushion, and replacing it with the new bird print. I decided to remove the old fabric rather than simply covering it because the seat was looking a little strained and puckered around the edges because of the many layers underneath. This stool had seen one too many makeovers it seemed, so I simply took it back in time.

To “measure” my new fabric, I laid the bench seat upside down on top of the also upside down bird fabric. Then I just cut it down, leaving a good 2-3 inches on each side for wrapping. (Did you catch Ginny’s kitty paw photo bomb?)

A few quick pulls and staples around the edges and corners, and we were all done! I plopped the seat back on the frame, screwed it in and promptly styled it for its closeup downstairs in the entry way. It’s the perfect little spot for us to sit to put on shoes, or to drop purses, dog leashes and springtime scarves.

I’m in love with the happy new yellow color and that print makes me smile every time I walk by – No, really. Every time…

Hope you have a great Monday!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Features, Inspired, Thrifted Tagged With: Before and After, Pinspiration Monday, Tips and Tricks

Pinspiration Monday: Gold dipped vase

April 29, 2013 4 Comments

Settling into a routine now that a new job has been incorporated into the mix has proved to be a bit of a struggle, especially after having worked as an at-home freelancer for 2 and a half months. So, when it comes to DIY projects here at the house, I’ve been keeping an eye out for simple tutorials that have great impact without sucking up too much precious time. Today’s “Pinspiration” project fit all of my needs, and left me with a little something special to gaze at.

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Source: Two Twenty One

The concept is as simple as it looks – Take a glass vase, tape off the bottom and spray paint the heck out of it with metallic paint. Fill with water, add a bunch of flowers and you have a very pretty, swanky new vase to take center stage.

Supplies:

Glass vase
Gold spray paint (I used Valspar Metallic in gold)
Masking tape
Plastic bag

To mask my vase, I carefully wrapped a line of masking tape around the middle of the glass vessel, putting my “stop” line about 4 inches from the bottom. I just eye balled the line as I went, making sure that it didn’t get too wonky or uneven. Once the demarcation line was masked, I slipped the plastic bag over the top and taped that to the vase, taking care not to go beyond my initial clean line of tape.

After that, it was moment of truth time – I took the masked vase outside and gave it a few quick and even coats of the gold spray paint. Then I carefully removed the masking tape and plastic bag to reveal the clean edge. There were a FEW bleed marks from where the tape puckered up a bit during masking so, if you try this at home, do your best to smooth out all of the wrinkles in your tape. Luckily, it was nothing a razor blade couldn’t clean up after the paint dried (which I still need to do).

Once the paint was fully dried and cured (I waited until the next day), I turned it right side up, filled it with water and added two bunches of alstroemeria. I love the way the gold looks, turning my boring glass vase into something really special. My only regret is that I didn’t take the gold up higher. If I redid this project, I would probably come up at least 6 inches from the bottom instead of just 4. Live and learn!

I still love the look and can’t wait to plop these pretties on my desk at work this morning.

Have a great Monday!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Features, Inspired Tagged With: Before and After, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Pinspiration Monday, Simplify, Tips and Tricks

Pinspiration Monday: Printable art

April 22, 2013 4 Comments

I enjoy a great free printable as much as the next gal. Lately I’ve been a little enamored with typography, so a sweet sentimental quote done up in fancy lettering and bright colors is definitely going to grab my attention. But I recently came across a free printable that not only combines great lettering and color, but ALSO features complete customization.

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Source | On To Baby

At first, I remember pinning this baby-oriented printable thinking it would make a great baby shower gift, but later took a second look and decided to click through for our own adult purposes. My initial intent was to do a “W is for Waller” printable to declare our household name, but I quickly found out that the realm of possibilities was much wider than assumed. It turns out that you can do ANY kind of “letter is for word” combo – “L is for Laughter,” “E is for Eat,” “P is for Pink” and so on.

After making this fun discovery, I immediately started playing. I made templates for my studio (“C is for Create”), the kitchen (“Y is for Yum!”) and the laundry room (“W is for Wash”). And now that I’m sitting here, I’d love to do one for our bar cart – “C is for Cheers!” Aren’t the possibilities just too much fun to consider??

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As you can see, you also have complete control over the colors. There are over a dozen options, from mint to antique rose, and gray to Tiffany blue. For my final printable I chose a slightly cheesy (yet no less true) “L is for Love” to hang in our master bedroom retreat. As to the color, I went with my favorite shade of mustard yellow, which perfectly suites our whole house color scheme.

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After generating my free printable, I printed it on heavy cardstock paper (although I think regular computer paper would have been just fine) and stuck it behind the glass of an IKEA Ribba frame that I already had on hand, no trimming required (it automatically prints as an 8×10 print).

After situating it above our bed, I couldn’t be more pleased – In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I just L-O-V-E how it turned out (pun intended).

What would you have YOUR printable say?

P.S. If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know – But just in case you don’t, I’m happy to report that I start a brand new job today! As you may remember, I took the leap of faith back in January to quit a terrible job in pursuit of something that was more creative and fulfilling. I’ve since taken my time choosing positions to apply for, both in town and across the country, leaving our final resting place up to fate. I considered marketing positions in Chicago, graphic design openings in Colorado and some promising writing positions right here in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Finally, I received a call back two weeks ago from a company based less than 10 minutes from our home for a position that can only be described as a dream. Several anxious days later, I found out that I got the job…Words can’t describe my excitement for the future and the possibilities ahead!

As to the job I’ll be doing, it’s a graphic design, blogging and social media management position with a local construction company. Yup! That means I’ll be doing exactly what I love, all while focusing my attention on home design!! I honestly can’t wait to pour my heart and soul into this opportunity. The future is finally looking much brighter…

Wish me luck!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Features, Inspired Tagged With: Art, Gift Ideas, New Uses, Pinspiration Monday

Pinspiration Monday: My Better Homes and Gardens Photoshoot

April 15, 2013 24 Comments

Yup, you read that right! I’m so excited to announce that my smiling face will be featured in an upcoming issue of Better Homes and Gardens! Definitely a “pinch me!” moment, one that hasn’t really even hit me yet…I’m not going to give away too many details because I so love surprises, but I will tell you that my feature will be published sometime this summer and will show me alongside a project that you’ve seen on my blog in the past. Have fun guessing!

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Spring Cover

So with this incredibly exciting honor comes a full fledged photoshoot! A stylist from LA and a photographer from New York are both flying in at the end of the week and, as I’m sure you can imagine, I’ve been losing sleep at night drafting up my to-do’s before Friday rolls around: mop the floors, vacuum the bedrooms, dust, declutter, prepare an extra room for equipment. And the most important to-do of all?

What the heck am I going to wear?!

I’ve been studying my “Style” Pinterest board with a figurative magnifying glass ever since I heard from the magazine, doing my best to visualize options. Do I try to use what I have? Do I go shopping? Do I have time to pull all of this together?? In the end, I’m succumbing to the fact that I need help…

Mint and Mustard

Obviously my focus is on an outfit that will photograph well (I dread those camera-added extra 10 pounds…) – The BHG editor I’ve been back and forth with let me know from the get-go that pants and form fitted tops were the best bets. As soon as I spotted that outfit above on Pinterest, I felt like it was on the right track. I already own a similar pair of mustard pants that could be a fun pop of color, alongside a simple white button up and mint sweater. It reads “summer” to me without revealing too much skin. (P.S. No, I don’t plan on wearing shades or a bag, but I included them just in case you want to recreate the full look on your own!)

Jeans and Blazer

Another thought was to wear a blazer. Blazers tend to curve in at all the right places, giving your body some shape on camera, and this camel tweed version is a gorgeous execution of that trick. To achieve the same glitzy gold look as the “Pinspiration” image, I added a sparkly gold necklace. A few more gold accessories, skinny jeans and a pair of Madewell polka dot flats that I already own, make this look a definite contender…

Navy and Coral

Inspiration Outfit
Navy Cardigan | Leather Belt | Canvas Tote | Boyfriend Jeans
Floral Pin | Suede/Leather Flats

Here’s a simplified option – Rather than the navy blazer in the inspiration outfit, I chose a tailored navy cardigan with gold buttons that’s cinched in at the waist with a thin leather belt. I adore that pop of coral color at the lapel with a floral brooch, so I tracked down a similar option on Etsy. Nude peep toe flats and a canvas tote finish this springy look.

So. What do YOU think I should wear? I’m hoping that the photo stylist can help weed through my closet and come up with just the thing to make me look like, sayyyyyy, Gwyneth Paltrow in the magazine. Finger’s crossed! ::wink::

Filed Under: Events, Features, Inspired Tagged With: Pinspiration Monday

Pinspiration Monday: Gold tray

April 1, 2013 2 Comments

I have somehow unconsciously made it my mission to add metallic accents and mirrored finishes to every room in our house. There’s just something about the way light plays with these types of finishes that I can’t get enough of, so I’ve incorporated things like brass lamps and figurines, wall mirrors and also a mirrored tray or two – Sort of like the one below, which I found on Pinterest.

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Source | The Glitter Guide

Yet where my “Pinspiration” image is a gorgeous bright yellow gold, my OWN oval mirrored tray was a tarnished disaster. Seeing as I picked it up from a thrift store way back when, I have no idea if it ever once looked like that shiny beauty above, but I knew just how to imitate it once and for all.

It was time to introduce my old mirrored tray to a can of metallic gold spray paint. Sure, I may have been able to grab some special metal cleaner to clean and buff this frame back into shape, but (1) I’m trying to use what I already have on hand to stay on a currently unemployed budget, and (2) my tray is no where near as solid and pristine as the Pinterest tray. It’s pretty cheap, and sports a slightly warped construction that didn’t really warrant any kind of special treatment. My hope was that, with a fresh coat of spray paint, I could at least attempt to mimic the look of a high-end tray.

Masking for spray paint is not an activity that I relish, but thankfully this tray didn’t require that I bother. A series of bendable tabs around the edges of the metal frame allowed me to remove the inner mirror so that I could take the empty frame outside, plop it on a piece of cardboard and go to town with my spray paint. Done and done.

But before we get to the “After” shots, I just had to share a few closeups of what it was before – Notice the tiny spots of rust. I doubt that metal cleaner would have even been able to save this piece from a spray paint job…

Ten minutes of thin and even spray painting and 24 hours of curing later, my tray was looking refreshed and renewed. The gold top coat has given this old rusty tray an entirely new lease on life, and finally looks chic enough for prime real estate on our bathroom countertop. I just wonder why it took me so long to do this project in the first place!

I know not all of you are fans of spray paint, but its powers of transformation put a BIG ol’ spring in my step. What’s your favorite go-to DIY tool?

Le-Papier-Studio-Blog-Header

P.S. I’m excited to announce a new collaboration with Le Papier Studio! I was recently selected as Social Media Intern for the paper design company, and couldn’t be more excited to work with Vana and the other new team members. Ever since I started this blog and began to really dive deep into the online creative world, I’ve wanted to connect, work for and grow with a good brand – I couldn’t have asked for a better one than Le Papier Studio. I truly feel like this is my chance to really shine and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

In addition to managing LPS’s social media, I’ll also be contributing weekly blog posts. I invite you to click over and take a look at my first one, published just this morning. Enjoy!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Features, Inspired, Thrifted Tagged With: Art, Before and After, Organization, Pinspiration Monday, Simplify, Tips and Tricks

Pinspiration Monday: DIY gold urchin

March 25, 2013 6 Comments

I’ve got another installment of “Employing my DIY Discount” for you! See the first here, but essentially the idea is to use what you have (or stick to purchasing really, really cheap materials) to recreate a big ticket item – I’ve taken to calling this my DIY discount.

Now, I know I can’t be the only one craving designer brass sea urchins as of late. They have kind of hit the ground running throughout Pinterest, blogs and magazines, turning up on entryway tables, lucite bookshelves and even hung in clusters on the wall.

If by chance you HAVEN’T seen these trendy accessories, allow me to introduce you. They really serve no purpose other than being the beautiful, sculptural pieces of art that they are. Maybe it’s the unique shape, maybe it’s the shiny gold finish, but either way, I wanted one (or three) for myself and I wanted it bad.

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Source | DecorPad

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Source | You’re Welcome Savannah

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Source | Marcus Design

The problem with this particularly strong craving was that each one cost $38 - and that’s just for the smallest size. As you can imagine, I had trouble stomaching that price tag for something purely decorative. Thankfully, Pinterest stepped in to save the day once again with an affordable DIY alternative using nothing but a styrofoam ball, a handful of toothpicks and a little gold spray paint.

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Source | The Sweetest Occasion

With the DIY project in mind, I picked up this bag of 1 1/2 inch styrofoam spheres from a local craft store that was closing down – This was actually months and months ago, but the clearance price tag meant that I could buy them and save them for a rainy day project in the future. And that’s exactly what I did.

Several weeks later, with my to-do list finally cleared out, I had the time and opportunity to knock this easy DIY out. After grabbing one of my clearance styrofoam balls and a box of wooden toothpicks, I parked myself on the living room couch and got to piercing. Working my way around the ball, I sunk my toothpicks about half an inch into the soft material one after the other. I didn’t bother covering the very bottom because I wanted it to sit a little closer to the tabletop, almost as though it was cut in half like the real deal gold urchins but without the hassle of sawing the styrofoam down. It worked like a charm, which you’ll see in the final photos.

As I filled my ball in with the toothpick spikes, I found that more was definitely better. Just when I thought that I was getting close to being done, I would work my way back around with more and more toothpicks. Hardly a spot of styrofoam was safe from the toothpicks. By packing them in tightly, I was able to hide most of the styrofoam center from view.

Once I felt like I was at a good stopping point, I took the urchin outside and sprayed it with a few thin and even coats of metallic gold spray paint, which I already had on hand. After giving it about an hour to dry, I gingerly flipped it over onto its top side and sprayed a few more thin coats on the underside just to make sure I had full coverage. After another hour, I took the DIYed urchin indoors for an overnight dry session on the shelf in the laundry room, away from curious husband fingers and pet paws.

I’m so in love with the glittery finish, and even MORE in love with the $4 price tag (just for the bag of styrofoam balls). The great thing is that, with maybe another box of toothpicks, I have enough material to make 11 more of these DIY urchins. A large cluster of them could be really fun on a tabletop or even a party buffet. Maybe I could even branch away from the gold with neon yellow and pink next time, or keep it metallic but go with silver AND gold. The options are endless…

For now, I set my loan ranger up on the shelves in our living room. I love the unique sculptural effect and how it carries that shimmery gold look throughout the vertically centered vignette created by the metallic vase, apple and swans.

Oddly enough, that round styrofoam center is a whole lot more obvious in photographs than in person. I have no clue why that is – Any photogs out there know why? At any rate, don’t let that visible rounded center deter you from tackling this mini project. You’ll be surprised by how sleek it is in person.

Bottom line – I sure am glad that I got to keep my $38 by creating something with my own two hands. What have you guys successfully DIYed lately?

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Features, Inspired, Products & Reviews Tagged With: Art, Gift Ideas, New Uses, Pinspiration Monday, Simplify, Tips and Tricks

Pinspiration Monday: Easy DIY color stripe art

March 18, 2013 14 Comments

Sometimes I feel that the ability to create art from supplies lying around the house is one of the most profound things we DIY-ers are able to do. This may sound totally pretentious (and I apologize in advance if it does), but I think a home without art is hardly a home at all. Art brings color, it infuses a space with so much warmth and it offers guests a glimpse at the heart and personality of those who live there. Now despite that monumental (possibly taboo) opinion, art is also one of the easiest things a person can make themselves. A little paint, some paper, maybe a frame or stencil, and you’ve got the beginnings of your own masterpiece.

One DIY-able art trend I’ve seen fairly often as of late is the paint swatch series. It’s just a few different colors slapped in a row across a sheet of paper but, once framed, it’s a really gorgeous way to show off a color scheme.

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Source for both | Cocoa & Hearts

I really wanted to do some DIY art in our newly painted and styled bathroom, and thought the simple swatch technique would be the perfect solution. All I needed was a frame, and luckily I was able to pick one up during my last trip to IKEA for only $9.99. To make sure that my series of paint colors could span a wide area, I removed the matting (which had 3 openings in it) from my IKEA frame – This gave me the long and short surface area I had envisioned.

As for my color scheme, I took the colors straight from my new curtain in the bathroom. A lot of light- and mid-tone grays, black and strategically placed hits of mustard.

The project itself was as easy as you’d imagine. Squeeze some acrylic paint onto a palette, add a few drops of water to make it workable and then paint organic stripes across the paper (I used thick printmaking paper for my foundation, in case you were wondering!).

I didn’t fuss with making straight lines, in fact I TRIED to make them a little imperfect, not worrying about the edges or the ends. Like my “Pinspiration” image, I wanted the top and bottom of each stroke to look a little frayed, with paint brush lines visible in that last sweep off the page.

24 hours of dry time later, I popped it in the frame, hung it on the wall over the towel rack and stepped back to smile at the finished painting…

It’s pieces like these that make me proud to be both an artist and an avid DIY-er – Not because I think the painting is anything profound or worth showing off, but because I got to get my hands dirty with materials that I know and love, AND because every time I walk by I remember that carefree afternoon of creating something using what I have.

Just because something was free (excepting the frame) doesn’t make it matter any less. I’m so thankful that so many of you guys can relate to that with your OWN beautiful DIY-ed creations!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Features, Inspired Tagged With: Art, Big Box Store SCORE!, Gift Ideas, Pinspiration Monday, Simplify, Tips and Tricks

Pinspiration Monday: Dipped clay pots

March 11, 2013 8 Comments

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Click here to see if you’ve won the prize pack from The Green Daisy or See Jane Work!

It’s high time I expanded on a quick project that was mentioned in passing a couple of weeks ago…It all started with a trip to IKEA, where I picked up two clay pots – I liked the lines better than the standard wide rimmed garden center terra cotta pots, plus they were cheaper by about fifty cents or so. Sold!

The reason for this plant based purchase in the midst of winter? Pinterest, of course! I had caught sight of the images below, which feature dipped terra cotta pots planted with succulents, and couldn’t resist. I loved the idea of transforming a fairly bland container using nothing but a straight forward color blocking technique.

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Source | Armelle Blog

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Source | A Beautiful Mess

Truth be told, this was to be my first experience with dip painting. I had seen so many people tackle the trendy finish, but had never set aside the time to try it myself. Unemployment though gave me the perfect excuse to sit down one afternoon and check this bucket list item off.

First, a bowl of paint. I decided to dip one pot in the minty wall color I used in my studio/office, so I simply stirred up the can and poured a hefty amount into the bowl. I actually ended up pouring what was left of the quart sized can into the bowl, but it still only left me with about an inch of depth (what I didn’t use was poured back into the can at the end of the project).

After that first initial pour, I remember gazing down into the tiny puddle of paint tapping my finger nail against the rim of the bowl – It sure didn’t look like enough to me, but I had already begun so into the bowl my clay pot went to settle into the depths. After giving it a moment to soak up some paint and then gently lifting it from the bowl, it really WAS such a minuscule dip – An inch of color did not quite give me the dramatic effect I was going for.

So I tried a different tactic – I gently tilted the bowl so that the paint pooled into a deeper section and spun the pot slowly around in place to give it more coverage. This allowed the paint to reach far beyond that measly one inch. After that, I lifted the pot out of the paint and sort of stamped it across a piece of scrap paper to remove the access paint.

After doing the same thing to the other larger pot (this time with the same light yellow I used on our front door), I put both vessels up on a shelf for a few days to dry completely. Once the paint was set, I took the pair down to investigate my progress. The high quality wall paint was rock solid against the pot walls, but all that stamping left the bottom edges a little ragged…Thankfully, it was nothing a few gentle swipes with a razor blade couldn’t clean up.

Once that requisite clean up phase was complete, I set my pots back to take a good, hard, critical look at the new dipped finish. LOVED the colors. HATED the uneven dip. In typical fashion, my impatience to get more color left me with a less-than-perfect application.

Luckily, this tiny little project was HARDLY worth beating myself up over, so I simply smiled, shrugged and added a few extra steps to rectify the situation. My new plan of action was to carefully (CAREFULLY) tape up a new rip around the middle of both pots so that a fresh coat of spray paint would cover up the wobbly line. I first drew two lines going around the middle and then traced them with masking tape to mark the perimeters for my spray paint. Afterwards, I used even more tape and a couple of plastic grocery bags to cover the rest of the pots plus the insides for protection against the spray (not pictured).

A couple quick coats of metallic gold paint later and removal of alllllllll that masking tape, and this duo was ready for display. Because it’s still a bit too cold for my succulents to live outdoors, I’m keeping them inside on our bar cart temporarily. I look forward to setting them outside come spring though, where our back deck can benefit from the spiffy new colors and (happily unplanned) gold shine.

Sure, you can still see that waving edge beneath the gold paint, but I actually really LIKE the texture it gives the pots. I think perfection is highly overrated, and ultimately adore my new “dipped” planters.

Have you ever dip painted or dyed anything? I’d love to see your finished product!