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7.23.2020

up-cycled magazine page floral art

art, art class, boho style, color, crafting, DIY, dollar store crafts, garden art, gift wrapping, magazines, paper, paper crafts, re-purposing, spring, summer, trash to treasure, up-cycling, journals, notebook covers, journal art, mixed media art
you know how people always say 'let me sleep on it'?
that creative solutions come to them in their dreams?
yeah.... not me. my muses come at night and KEEP me from sleeping.

at the end of the day, i climb into bed, 
nestled up with a cup of tea and a good book to read - or my phone to scroll thru.
my goal is to slow my brain down, stop the flow of thoughts and ideas, so i can fall asleep.
and every once in a while, it actually works.
most of the time, though, i see something online or read a description in a book,
and my brain starts imagining wild creations and designs.
so i haul myself out of my comfy nest of a bed, run across the hall,
go into my studio, and scribble a quick sketch or jot a note to capture the idea
before it vanishes into the ether. 

i was today years old when i finally got SMART!
i decided that i need to have a small notepad and pen on my bedside table instead.
  a quick bit of mixed media art fun resulted - and now i've got a solution i can sleep with.

continue reading to see what inspired the design!

7.20.2020

faux painted bamboo mirror

art, beach style, boho style, coastal style, DIY, diy decorating, faux finish, furniture, junk makeover, painting, summer, tiki style, tropical style, wall art, tropical decorating, faux bamboo, bamboo furniture, tiki style, faux painting
 when we moved into this house four years ago,
our decorating modus operandi was truly 'use what you have'...
more than 90% of the furniture we used came from my mom's old house
(1% came from mine - my grandpa's dresser and my farmhouse table!)
the mirror we have in our entry hall came from the guest room at the last house,
where it matched a dresser with a 'bleached oak' finish.

honestly, i love the mirror here...
it bounces light from the kitchen into an area that is lacking light.
but mercy, the original frame! i just haven't been sure about what to DO to it.
i contemplated a simple black satin stain or paint finish at one point,
but ruled it out as being too dark for this area of our home.

then two days ago, a brainstorm hit, and in just a few hours 
that mirror was made completely new using a faux paint treatment.

continue reading to see more details - including the 'before and after' shot... 

7.16.2020

scrap wood tikis

art class, beach style, DIY, diy decorating, junk makeover, just for fun, neutrals, on the porch, outdoors, painting, re-purposing, salvaged, summer, tiki style, trash to treasure, wall art, tropical style, woodcrafts
last winter, i created a lot of tropical & tiki decor
as part of our fun 'Happy HULA-days' Christmas theme.

you've seen posts sharing most of it appearing in our current summertime decor,
bringing a tropical vibe to our home and yard for us to enjoy
during this 'staycation' that is lasting a whole lot longer than anyone anticipated.

one of my projects during quarantine has been the front entry of our home...
which isn't a porch but a 'vestibule' - and is really hard to decorate.
i came up with a simple solution using last December's holiday entry decor:

continue reading to see how i re-used my own tikis made from scrap wood!

7.14.2020

diy galvanized birdbath

DIY, diy decorating, farmhouse, farmhouse style, garden, garden art, industrial, junk makeover, outdoors, re-purposing, rustic style, salvaged, summer, tomato cage crafts, up-cycling, trash to treasure, galvanized metal, birdbath
while songbirds love to come and splash in our backyard salvaged galvanized bucket fountain,
i noticed that the tiny wrens and hummingbirds who visit us don't go near it.
perhaps the bubbling water frightens them, or the buckets are too deep for their use...
it seemed to me that a birdbath was called for.

i went looking around the yard and garage to see what we had that i could use to build one,
and found two items that combined perfectly for this project.

continue reading to see how to make a simple and easy birdbath for your garden!

7.09.2020

scrap paper posies

art, art class, boho style, color, color palettes, crafting, DIY, diy decorating, dollar store crafts, gift wrapping, paper, paper crafts, re-purposing, up-cycling, vintage paper, wall art, paper flowers, quarantine crafts
some days, we just need a break. right? 
a chance to rest, an opportunity to cut loose, a moment to relax.
not every project has to be a ground-breaking new invention. or a massive undertaking.
sometimes - especially during a worldwide shutdown -
we just need some mindless activity to distract ourselves from anxious thoughts.

so while i've completed some big projects over the past few months,
and the muses have been kind enough to lead me in the direction of new creations,
i've also given myself the gift of time to PLAY. as in: projects just for FUN.
not necessarily to blog about, because they aren't always AMAZING,
but to sit back for a time and play around - and see where it goes.
i'll look at something in my studio and think 'what if i.....' 
and then i'm off, trying something new.

no matter what i am making, i always have fun playing with paper, scissors, and glue.
(sometimes my creative life feels like kindergarten....)
my challenge to myself these past four months has been to ONLY use what i have here at home.
(yes, the vintage roll of crepe paper from a recent post broke that rule...
but i hadn't gone out specifically shopping for craft supplies.)
i've got a lot of stuff around here, so there are ample 'art supplies' at hand.
and rarely do i use things the way they were intended to be used.
i just see things.... differently.

take gift wrap paper, for instance.... sure, i wrap gifts with it. 
but it's basically an art supply, right? paper of any kind is an art supply. 
oh, how i love art supplies. always have. even when they aren't from an 'art store'.
even when it's technically trash...
these scrap paper posies turn trash into treasure,
and are a quick project, perfect for de-stressing on a hot summer day!

continue reading to see where the inspiration for these colorful blooms came from...

7.06.2020

repurposed wire lampshade mobile

art, boho style, boho, color, crafting, creative spaces, DIY, diy decorating, found objects, just for fun, junk makeover, re-purposing, tomato cage crafts, trash to treasure, up-cycling, birdcage crafts, lampshades, wire crafts, colorful ribbon crafts
wire has made an appearance in my projects on this blog many times,
from the various ways i have used wire tomato cages and wire lampshade frames,
to the simple crowns, cages, and domes i have fashioned from this inexpensive material.

earlier this summer, i grabbed some wire items that i've created in the past,
and combined them with wire lampshade frames and a few new finds
to create a whimsical wire mobile in my studio.

i love how it adds movement and color to the room
and because it's overhead, it takes up no space at all!

continue reading for the incredibly simple way it is suspended...

7.03.2020

festive 'foo foo faux food' for the fourth!

beach style, coastal style, color, color palettes, crafting, decorating, DIY, diy decorating, dollar store crafts, foofoo Faux Food, Fourth of July, junk makeover, re-purposing, red white and blue, summer, Sweet Sweater Scoops, thrifted, trash to treasure, vintage paper, sweater crafts, paper crafts
a miracle happened yesterday... a thrift store near us was OPEN!
so, masked up with sanitizing wipes in hand, Mom and i tiptoed through the door
and were welcomed by a cheerful young lady who was wiping down the register counter.
only one other person was in the store, so we felt quite safe.

and on the way to the back of the shop, 
where there are many many bookshelves filled with many many books 
- for just ten cents each, which is why we LOVE this thrift shop! - 
i spied a brand new roll of vintage crepe paper (probably from the 70's)
and my weakness for vintage paper ephemera began nagging at me. 
(spurred on by the fact that i haven't been out thrifting since February!)
yes, i bought it. i spent a whole TWENTY FIVE CENTS on it!

nope, i had NO IDEA what i was going to use it for. i just couldn't resist.

but then i came home, sat it on the sideboard in my studio,
 next to a few small bottles holding old paper flags.
and an idea for a 'fast, cheap, & easy' accent for the Fourth of July was born!

click through to see the details...