{Repurposed} Jars

I've been saving empty jars for quite some time now and I've finally come up with a great way to put them to use. I've painted them with two coats of black-tinted glaze and decorated them with some of my favorite things: burlap, linen, lace and twine.

 I've added distressed wooden shapes and mother-of-pearl buttons to some of them. The best part of making them: they are each unique. An instant-sort of gratification project! Who doesn't love that?

I love, love, love the jars filled with a handful of twigs. They are the perfect finishing touch.

I'll share more as I get them finished. These are inspiring me to decorate candlesticks and bird houses in a similar fashion! One great project always leads to another. :)

Peacocks and {Pottery Barn Kids}

A friend of mine is getting ready to transition her little girl into her "big girl bed" and is also redecorating her bedroom. She asked me to make three pictures for her room that would coordinate with the new bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. I had so much fun with these three pieces, I thought I'd give a peek into my design process.

 

The Bedding (Brooklyn Lavender at Pottery Barn Kids)

 

 Here are the patterned papers I selected. I next went to Pinterest and pinned a few things for inpiration onto my "Custom Orders: Inspiration" Board.

And here are my initial sketches. This was my first peacock...I was so looking forward to making her! Once I actually got started, I changed the peacock so she was front and center and her feathers were spread out behind her. (I envisioned the Peacock picture hung in the middle of the three pictures). And then it was time to get to work! Here are pictures of each piece:

 

So, that's how I get started! It's been refreshing to see these bright colors...I've been working on Americana-themed projects for the past three weeks....so the only colors I've been looking at are red, white and blue. (I'll share those soon!)

{Good} for the Soul

 We walked outside and something so wonderful happened: we were blinded by the light...of the sunshine which has not dared to peek out from behind the clouds for days now. I was starting to feel as gloomy as it looked outside...and the sunshine was just what I needed. I haven't been able to take any pictures of my work because of the poor light...so while the kids waited anxiously to go for a walk, I had to get my camera out and take advantage of the light.

 With Thursdays on First beginning in June, I have a lot of themed work ahead of me. I made a bunch of Father's Day/ Masculine/ Man Cave pieces and before I started on my next theme of Americana, I got a few non-themed pieces out of my system. This was one of them:

I love that yellow bowl! Sometimes a piece of patterned paper just screams "vase" to me, and this was one of them.

The light was just perfect to capture the bold colors. I'm looking forward to sharing a few more pieces that I photographed today in some future posts. See you then!

{Refresh} Organized and Inspired

 

Long, long ago...before we had kids and before we re-modeled our kitchen, the walls and decorations were pale yellow and light sage green. Sounds weird now, (especially as I sit in my dark cranberry and dark mustard painted kitchen with black cabinetry). But, I loved it then...I was more influenced by cottage styles back then. The new paint went up and and the old yellow and sage decorations went into storage. Also long, long ago we had a porch that was adorably decorated with a cottage and "found objects" vibe. That room had lots of teal and my treasured turquoise glass dishes that I had found way marked down at Target. When our cute porch became our playroom, more of my breakable treasures went into storage.

 

 

 A few weeks ago, during a child-less visit to Target, I dared to roam the end-caps of the back aisles....notorious for their clearance items. I found this 2-tiered green, yellow and white little stand. Love at first sight. And the price? $6.00. No kidding. We (me and my treasure) quickly ran away together...straight to the check-out lane. I must mention that the cashier was not as impressed with find, in fact, I think she thought I was nuts when I handed it to her and said "here's my new treasure!" Nope, not impressed, at all.

When I got home, I dug out my favorite green, yellow and teal goodies and re-decorated and organized my paint desk. This desk finally feels right! My favorite treasures in one place.  What's more inspiring than that?!

My mom bought me the little tile that says "She believed she could so she did" about 2 years ago. This was during a time when I knew I was destined to pursue my big art-related dreams....but I didn't even have a jumping off point, neverless any direction. It was just a whisper in the deapths of my soul. It seemed perfectly fitting that I place that tile where I can see it and read it everyday. I guess it's become a mantra of sorts. Behind my markers is a wine bottle gift case that my mom gave me at Christmas. I removed the lid and put paper towels inside it.

Here's my beautiful collection of Tim Holtz Stains (these are what I watercolor with). Above that is cut-outs of our family's traced hand-prints that I made almost 2 years ago. I found somenew uses for my teal candle holders. On the left, my pens and pencils and on the right, I up-cycled a lysol wipes container and put regular wet wipes inside. I also have an adorable water mug...that I never once used for coffee...that handle doesn't scream comfort, does it?!

Okay, now I just want to run away from this computer and head straight to this desk and start playing!

Happy {Easter}

We had such a nice Easter! It was just the four of us this year, but we still cooked a turkey and made mashed potatoes... and all the other goodies that go along with a big holiday meal. It was too cold to have an egg hunt outside, so the Easter Bunny hid the eggs around the house. Poor Ella had to wait for Cohen to wake up...and he slept in. We colored our eggs and later we made cut-out cookies. And after that big meal and the cookies and the candy, the kids started asking at 6pm where the supper was. By then, I was all done with the idea of being in the kitchen a second longer....but kids thrive on routine and who am I to disrupt it? ;)  So, I whipped up yet another meal from scratch and cooked and cleaned for hours. Just kidding. They had re-heats. :)

{Full} of Color

Lately, I've been inspired by the dark backgrounds I often see with Folk applique designs. I love how it makes the colors pop.

This 11"x14" piece is full of mood-lifting colors! I used a white pen to outline some of the darker areas that got lost in the dark, wood-grain background, such as the stems. The white pen smeared more than I wanted it to- so next time I think I'll try a fine point white paint pen. (Luckily for me, folk art is often beautiful because of it's imperfections).

A few close-ups. (Prints will be available in my Etsy shop soon....the original is already listed).

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you have a color{full} day!

{Exciting} News!!!

 Today is the Day! My friend, Trisha and I just got some exciting news today! We have been accepted as artists/ vendors for downtown Rochester's summer market and music festival! It happens every Thursday throughout the summer (we chose 8 of these dates).

 We had to fill out a lengthy application, including pictures of our work and pictures of us actually making the work... and then we had to wait for a jury to approve our application. Our wait for approval is over, and now production begins! Neither one of us has done a craft show before, so we will learn as we go, which isn't bad when you have someone to do it with. Trisha will be selling decorated windowpanes and signs and chalkboards. We have some friends that will contribute handmade greeting cards, as well.

Trisha and I have broken down each date into themes (like Father's Day, Fourth of July, Christmas in July, etc. This way each Thursday we will have different merchandise to offer. (I'll give those dates and themes closer to the start date, which is in June).

 I love creating...and creating with a purpose is great motivation. I love special orders and I'm going to love following our themes. So, go get to work, girl!!