Tuesday, January 20, 2009

remember this stuff....

this sad excuse for kitchen cupboard decor was EVERYWHERE in the early 90's! but if you lived in the northern parts of the state (utah that is!), its abundance was even more recognizable! the saddest part about these dust infested twigs was it took some prying to get them off my mothers entertainment center. (in 2001!!) but as i was cleaning out my own belongings in her basement one night i decided to give the poor thing another chance. and this is what i came up with.....

a simple round wreath for my simple style. i think i like it. what do you think. now instead of screaming to the world "Utahn from the 90's" maybe it can say..."eco-friendly, earth-loving, goin'-green winter wreath!"

Thursday, January 15, 2009

lost in good design...

him and i decided it's time for a few changes. change #1: the living room. i've been searching for months and months to find an entertainment center/armoire for our living room. my pocket book is now large enough, but i still can't find one i love:( so i'm ready to get serious about it. the one we have in our living room now was given to us by our renters. when they moved out, they asked if we could take it to the D.I. and since we'd been married only a few weeks we didn't have much and decided to keep it. {i'll leave it to your imagination for what it looks like now!} i also want new drapes in a nutral color {maybe the ivory nailheaded ones at west elm} and want to hang up the new pictures {i got for Christmas} i have hiding behind the couch. change #2: our bedroom. it's officially time for a king-size bed! i never thought it would be necessary but it is! so the deciding begins... upholstered? platform? dark? bedding? should i just splurge and get the one i love at PB? can i find something similar somewhere cheaper? and the questions continue. so today as i was wandering though the wonderful world of online design i ended up wasting an entire hour of my time {don't worry, baby's asleep} enjoying rooms that made me feel at peace. and not answering ANY of my own questions.




so i'm enlisting the help on my e-friends (that's you!) do you know where i can find good furniture, at great prices, with clean and somewhat contemporary lines? if so, let me know!! and if you would like to anwer any of my unanswered questions, oh how i wish you would!

Friday, January 9, 2009

a project!

since when did colds last three weeks? i started to think it was gone {completely} besides the fact that i coughed all through my kickboxing class. but i woke up this morning unable to breath. (i know what you're thinking....'good thing you woke up'! and it's true!) and now my nose is running like a faucet. seriously, i need to find me one of those tp hats. but enough about my cold. i did manage to pull out ONE PROJECT during it all! it was a first and i think this is one of those projects that i'll get better at with practice. so i think i'll try it again. {later}

here are all the supplies needed:
1. canvas, 2. enlarged photo to fit canvas, 3. the cheapo black foam brushes, and 4. liquitex medium matt finish.
paint the canvas with the 'perfect amount' of matt finish. (i know, it's a trial and error kinda thing) lay picture face down on canvas and make sure there are NO bubbles. let dry for 24 hours. (ALL 24 hours!) then spray with water bottle and press until you start to see the picture through the paper. peel off the paper, and wala!

i was only a little disappointed because of the scuffs and scraps on all our faces. but maybe it's just a vintage look. so tell me what you think. should i use this one to hang on my wall, or start over and try not to get so many scuffs? and, should i get a black frame, dark brown frame, or no frame at all?

help me out fellow crafters!

to the comments: for those of you who asked about the cost, and i'm so sorry i didn't say it before. here's the breakdown.

photo: FREE! (i have good friends!)

enlarged photo: $20.00 (i have since called around and you can do it a couple dollars cheaper, i went to kinkos for this one!)

canvas: $8.99 at hobby lobby.

matt finish: $10.99 at hobby lobby. there is plenty left over for other projects!

brushes: 4 for $3.00 at hobby lobby.

Friday, January 2, 2009

the reason for the lack of posting..

reason number 1: i started looking like this lil' guy. you can imagine how that feels.
reason number 2: i was seriously trying to figure out how to make this.
hopefully 2009 will be better to me, and i can get back to being creative!