Friday, April 29, 2011

Etsy Finds


1. Love Pillow - I love the aqua fabric and script felt on this pillow. Love.
2. Keep Calm and Carry On - I've always loved this British motto. I have it hanging in my office cubicle, and am thinking of making one for home. I like how they printed this one fabric.
3. 40 Reasons Why I Love You - this would make the sweetest gift for your honey on Valentines Day, anniversary, birthday, or just because.
4. Fun in the Sun - I love the look and feel of this print. Can't wait for summer and the fair to get here!
5. Mason Jar Soap Dispenser - this would look cute in the kitchen or bathroom.
6. Vintage Paper Garland -  yet another reason to tear out the pages from an old book.


Tomorrow I get to surround myself with craftiness! I'm attending my friend Tiffani's fundraiser crop (crafty term for gathering) at the school she teaches at, which allows me to a) be crafty and visit with my crafty friends, and b) help raise money for Tiffani's school. It's a win win!

Happy Friday :)

Jenny


Thursday, April 28, 2011

Blonde & Painting Joke -- it's a twofer!

This joke comes compliments of my Father In-law. 
He knows I appreciate a good joke, even the blonde jokes. 
And he knows how I have been on a painting frenzy lately...and that I would probably get a chuckle out of this.  I'm sure you will too :)


The Grandmother of all Blonde Jokes:
This blonde decides one day that she is sick and tired of all these
blonde jokes and how all blondes are perceived as stupid So, she
decides to show her husband that blondes really are smart.

While her husband is off at work, she decides that she is going to
paint a couple of rooms in the house. The next day, right after her
husband leaves for work, she gets down to the task at hand.

Her husband arrives home at 5:30 and smells the distinctive smell of
paint. He walks into the living room and finds his wife lying on the
floor in a pool of sweat. He notices that she is wearing a heavy
parka and a leather jacket at the same time. He goes over and asks
her if she if OK. She replies yes. He asks what she is doing and she
replies that she wanted to prove to him that not all blonde women are
dumb, and she wanted to do it by painting the house..

He then asks her why she has a parka over her leather jacket. She
replies that she was reading the directions on the paint can and it
said...

(You'll love this...)

(I know you will...)
.
.
.
.
.

"FOR BEST RESULTS, PUT ON TWO COATS."

However, I am really good at painting....and sometimes get away with just one coat ;-)

Jenny

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Stencil Project Sneak Peek

I finished my stencil project in our bedroom this last weekend, and can't wait to show you, because it turned out AWESOME!! But I'm waiting to add a few last pieces to our bedroom before showing you the final reveal.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of how the stencil turned out....


Jenny

Inspiration for Family Room

The easiest and cheapest way to make-over a room, is with new paint and accessories. I guess that's why I like to paint so much. Because it instantly gives a room a fresh new look, all in a weekends time! I guess you could say I'm an instant gratification kind of girl.

Now that I have breathed new life into our bedroom (I will post pictures soon!), my next target is our family room. The family room was the first room I painted when we finished building our house...which was back in 2001. That's like 10 years. No other room has made it that long without a change of color on the walls. But I'm tired of the latte colored Ralph Lauren Suede paint. And it must go!

In addition to paint, I am thinking of adding some new pillows to our green couches, and maybe a new lamp. I'd also love a new rug. The latest Pottery Barn catalog hit my mailbox on Friday and I must have looked through it a half a dozen times already.


Here are some pillows that would look great on our couch. However the prices are a little more than I want to shell out, so I am on the hunt for similar fabric, if I can find it.


I especially LOVE this teal fabric..


and these floral pillows are pretty...



and here are some lamps that caught my eye....


I am totally head over heels in love with this mercury table lamp...


these are cool too....



And this rug would be a nice contrast against our green couches....


and these pillars would look pretty on the fireplace mantle....


Yep, lots of eye candy in the latest edition of Pottery Barn!

Jenny

P.S. I think I found some fabric at Joann's today that might work with our couches! I still want those last two pillows though....I don't think I'll be able to find fabric even close to them.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Etsy Finds


1. The Modern Necklace No. 1 - love this fabric button necklace. So vibrant and fun!
2. Orange Leather Clutch - oh, how I have a crush on this orange clutch!
3. Vintage 1960's Rotary Phone - I want one of these for my bedroom. Maybe in a fun aqua color.
4. Pickpockets & Loose Women - this sign makes me laugh.
5. Amazonite Ring - I've been digging oversized chunky rings lately.
6. Crepe Paper Flowers - this would look pretty in my bedroom or bathroom.

In honor of Earth Day, I leave you with this little gem...

"The earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. We did not weave the web of life, we are merely strands in it. Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves." — Chief Seattle
 Happy Friday, Earth Day and Easter Weekend!

Jenny

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Design Crush ~ Sunburst Mirrors

I have many design crushes...
but one of my biggest crushes right now are sunburst mirrors.

Traditional Home

spotted here
Ballard Designs

This DIY sunburst is made out of bamboo sticks. Isn't it pretty?
Isabella & Max Rooms
DIY sunburst made from the wood of a wine barrel. I might have to make one of these, since I'm a wine lover and all!
Cottage on Rosewood
DIY sunburst made out of paint stir sticks. YES, Paint Stir Sticks!
Centsational Girl

And here is the one I purchased to go above our bed. Which will look FABULOUS against my new stenciled wall...which I hope to tackle this weekend!
Ballard Designs
Do I have you lusting after sunburst mirrors now? If so, you're welcome :)

Jenny

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Stencil Project

So I purchased this gorgeous, over-sized damask stencil on-line the other day....


....AND suddenly my plans go from simply stenciling over the current wall color,
TO a new fresh coat of "shabby chic" blue paint on the walls.

I have to say I'm totally loving the new blue paint and will reveal my re-vamped bedroom once I tackle this little stencil project of mine. I'm only stenciling the wall behind our bed....but since I haven't stenciled much.....it could take me a few days. 
So wish me luck!


Jenny

Friday, April 15, 2011

Etsy Finds

I heart Etsy! I could browse that site for hours on end. It's a treasure chest of inspiration and goodness!
Because I'm the sharing kinda girl,  
I plan to share my favorite Etsy finds with you every week.
I hope you enjoy this week's finds....



1. Ocean's Whisper earrings  - I love the combination of orange and turquoise!
2. WhAtEvER - my kind of sassy!
3. Citron Yellow handbag - love the color, love the pattern, love!
4. @ sign - I just want this. Period.
5. Heart My Book - need to try and re-create this with that fancy camera of mine.
6. Vintage Inspired Paris Pillow - I have been on the hunt for vintage french clip art lately so I can make my own pillows like this!

Have a great weekend!

Jenny

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Go Yellow or Not? That is the question...

As I was picking up some paint samples at Home Depot tonight, (because I just can't keep away from the paint aisle!) I spied a yellow can of spray paint.

and this yellow chair instantly popped into my head...
  
I just can't seem to get this cutie out of my head!


To paint, or not to paint? That is the question, and I am asking for your help!

I PhotoShopped my stools yellow.
 (probably a little brighter than the actual spray paint)

What do you think?

YES - go yellow!!
NO - the yellow is all wrong!



Your 2 cents really do matter in this matter!

Jenny

Tray Magnific!

This tray did not start out this way. In fact, this wasn't even the original color of spray paint I chose. Sometimes it takes me multiple tries before I get something right. The story of my life!

Here is how the tray started out. While the little birdie was cute, it wasn't the look I was going for in our bathroom. I think I only paid $10 for the tray at the Beverly Crafts Outlet store, so I didn't feel too terrible spray painting  over it.

I spray painted the tray a nice shiny silver. But it felt "flat" to me. So back to the drawing board I went!

I gathered up a few art supplies and got to work on Plan B...

1. Ephemera & Liquid Glass glue, 2.  I glued a crown ephemera to one side of the tray, 3. And a flower ephemera to the other side of the tray, that way I could rotate the tray and get a new look, 4. I got out my Gold Leaf pen, which I have had for years and it still hasn't dried out, 5 & 6. After spray painting the tray a crisp white, I colored over the ephemera with my gold leaf pen, as well as outlined the top and bottom lip of the tray.

But wait, as if the gold leaf wasn't enough...I cut out some hot pink felt paper and lined the bottom of my tray for a bit of wow factor. I like it! I like it a lot!

Here are the before and after photos:

Now I have somewhere to put my vitamins, face cream, contacts case, and q-tips & cotton balls (hidden in the jars) all neatly contained on the bathroom counter. Tray Magnific!

Jenny

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

DIY: Tiny Polaroid Magnets

I think I'm in love! When I was a little girl, I was fascinated with all things miniature. And I guess that I kinda still am. I spotted these DIY Tiny Polaroid Magnets over on Creature Comforts (via Ambrosia Girl). I think I just might need to make some of these pronto! Check out the full tutorial here.

Jenny

Monday, April 11, 2011

Words for Monday

spotted here
Happy Monday :)

Jenny

Words for Monday

spotted here
Happy Monday and 4th of July! Today we're headed to Truckee for a 3 week vacation. If you've never heard of Truckee, it's a cute little town 30 minutes outside Lake Tahoe. Tonight we plan to catch the fireworks overlooking Donner Lake. I'll try and squeeze in some posts while on vacation of our trip.

Jenny


Sunday, April 10, 2011

DIY: Subway Art

I am so, SO pleased with how my subway art sign turned out! Seriously, I can't stop looking at it. Reading it over and over again. And I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to create my sign!




Here is how I arrived at my "master piece"

Originally, I was going to use plywood or canvas as the base for my sign. But then I came across this PERFECT beach artwork at my local Beverly's Outlet store. It was originally priced at $49.99, marked down to $15, and then 50% off on top of that. So I paid a mere $7.50! And it was the EXACT size that I needed. 12" x 3'. Talk about hitting the jackpot!

I applied two coats of black paint to the front. The sides and back were already painted black. Again, SCORE!




This next step was KEY to the design of my sign.

I printed my inspiration piece onto a piece of copier paper and drew and numbered how many lines there were.
There were 19 lines total.
I then divided the length of my sign by the number of lines: 36 / 19 = 1.89.
This gave me a general idea of how tall each line was.
There were three different sized letters in my inspiration piece.
Small, Medium, and Large.
After playing around with my Cricut Expression (die-cut machine). I came up with the following sized letters:
Small = 1", Medium = 1 3/4", Large = 3".


I used Vinyl sheets from Cricut to cut my letters out of. It is important to remember to purchase both the Vinyl and the Transfer paper, as you will need the transfer paper to pick up and transfer the vinyl to your piece with.


I love how the Cricut Expression allows you to spell out a word and view the image prior to cutting.


So as not to waste too much vinyl, I cut out a block of 1" letters, then moved on to cutting out a block of 1 3/4" letters, and so on. I then cut out a strip of the transfer paper, placed it over the vinyl letters of one word, and lifted the word off the cutting pad.


I used two rulers to get the spacing just so. It was key that the first line be level.


For the words where the letters were spaced far apart, I cut each letter out of the transfer paper before laying it down along my guide. Once I had the letters spaced just so, I peeled the backing off letter by letter and laid them down onto my sign.


Using the popsicle stick that came with the vinyl, I rubbed each letter into place before peeling off the transfer sheet.


Voila! The first row is done.....now 18 more to go....



As I continued down my sign, I measured the space beneath the last row of letters to figure out where I needed my next row to start. This part took a "good eye" and a lot of double checking. As carpenters like to say "Measure twice, cut once". This same rule applies when creating your Subway Art.


I decided to hang my sign on the wall between the family room and kitchen where I could appreciate it.


And so that  I could be reminded that "Here lives the most magical of creatures and super heroes living the greatest love story of all time."  I LOVE THAT LINE.




Project Cost Breakdown:
Sign Base - $7.50
Vinyl - $9.99
Transfer Paper - $9.99
Black Paint - leftover from painting the front door
Total Cost of Project  = under $30. 
Priceless!

I hope that your weekend was great :)

Jenny
 
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