DIY Artwork – Canvas and Coffee Filters

E very time someone tells me I am creative I think “no, not really…I just know something good when I see it and am brave enough to try to duplicate it.” My living room is mostly neutral with pops of accent colors (mainly, turquoise/teal, green, and cranberry).  But recently I decided I wanted to de-emphasize the warm reddish tones for spring and summer and feature the blue and green colors more prominently.  With that in mind I needed to replace a piece of artwork for 6 months of the year.  I spotted something on line I thought would be perfect – and it was on sale for $89 {reg. $150} – not bad, but not in the budget.  It was simple and a bit modern with 2 large white flowers and as I looked at it White Coffee Filters popped into my head as an easy way to create the flower petals…and they would add texture!  So here is what I ended up with:

{going to paint this oak buffet some day soon :) }

I started with a primed blank canvas – had a 50% off Michael’s coupon and got one that was stapled in the back for $8. {You can get them even cheaper with staples on the side, and maybe cover with ribbon or something}.

I got out a dinner plate and chose a location for my 2 flowers {this would serve as a reference point for my first layer of petals} and then painted my turquoise centers.  EASY, right?



Next is the part I forgot to photograph with the large white coffee filters, so I re-created here with my smaller unbleached filters.  Fold the filter in half, then quarters.  Cut out the center of the filter {no need to draw the line first}, then cut the 3 folds to yield 4 pieces.
 

Next I did a little pre-shaping by gathering the inner curved edge and pinching with my fingers.  As I went along I realized I wanted a little shaping on the outer edge, too, so I started doing a little “pinching of the outer curve here and there.

Now, for the fun and messy part! Starting with the outer most part of the flower {using my dinner plate circles as a reference} I started puttin’ down the petals.  I brushed some ModPodge on the canvas, placed my shaped pieces of coffee filter down, then brushed more ModPodge over the top.  I repeated around the circle {overlapping the edges}, then started moving toward the center overlapping each subsequent circle slightly over the previous one.

After the ModPodge dried I realized that my pencil lines were showing through, so I decided to paint over my flower petals with 2 coats of white acrylic paint.And that’s where the photos stopped…after allowing the last coat of paint to dry overnight the next step needed to go quickly, so I couldn’t photograph it myself and just didn’t think to ask the hubby to do it for me.  SO, I brushed the java-tinted glaze I had leftover from this project {equal parts mixing glaze and paint} over the blank areas of the canvas, including the sides, wiping excess off with a dry rag* and reapplying until I got the look I wanted {*if I did it again, I might used a damp rag to mute the brush strokes even more}.  Then, using the same glaze I dry-brushed over the flowers {dip the tip of the brush in the glaze, then dab excess off onto a rag or paper towel before lightly brushing on the flowers}.  The FINAL step was a quick spray of non-yellowing satin clear coat.  Here are some “after” shots:

   











 


Voila…a 22 x 28 inch piece of spring/summer artwork for about 10 bucks! My family and I love it {and we’re the ones who have to look at it every day}.

I’m linking up with Layla over at the Lettered Cottage…so go check out some more fun How To’s!

{She’s got a great one herself today!!}

Thanks for visiting...have a Beautiful day {especially if it gets a little Crazy}!

Now I “Umber”stand – Mixing Custom Paint Colors

Actually, I already knew this from waaaayyy back when I considered myself more of a “crafter”…but Burnt Umber is my new best friend!  I LOVE color…and I always feel happy when I see bright bold colors, but when it comes to the ones I surround myself with on a daily basis I want them a little more muted.   So, while working on recent projects and not finding the perfect colors the light bulb re-lit and I remembered I could mix my own. Eureka!!

Here’s an example from my current project:

I wanted a light-to-medium teal/turquoisey  color.  I had a small bottle of turquoise, but it is too dark and too bright.  If I just mixed white with it, it would be lighter but still too bright.  Enter a little Burnt Umber…and voila! Just what I was looking for.  Here’s a close up to give you a better idea of the colors.

 This mixture was 1 part Burnt Umber, 3 parts Turquoise, 6 parts White

And here’s a picture of my project-in-progress…can you tell what it’s going to say?

Enjoy a Blessed Cross-to-Empty-Tomb Weekend Everyone!!

Thanks for visiting...have a Beautiful day {especially if it gets a little Crazy}!

Get Inspired and Take a Leap

If this is your idea of “living dangerously” then please, do it!!  Life is too short not to take a risk every now and then.  During our interview as a couple before husband was called to be Associate Pastor I think I made a statement similar to this: “If it’s not at least a little scary, it’s probably not worth doing”.  This drew a chuckle and a raised eyebrow or two…but I believe it!

I can’t believe the last 12 days have passed so quickly {and without posting} but I’ve been finishing up some “risky” projects.  There is so much around us to inspire – especially on the internet.  Our dreams, relationships and circumstances can inspire us, too…but we need to take a leap, take a chance and make that inspiration into something.

A desire for less boring, padded chairs around my black kitchen table, tight budget, and finding 4 of these pathetic, rescued-from-a-fire-damaged-house arm chairs for $50 on Craigslist (ick)…
…and lots of encouraging tutorials & inspiration from DIY bloggers all over the place inspired these sassy little numbers:
A pretty piece of artwork I saw online and some white coffee filters inspired this {How-to post later}…
This 15-year old Birthday Girl niece…
…and this awesome tutorial from a fellow blogger {man, I want a Silhouette – I traced & cut my letters by hand} inspired this…
None of these projects came out perfect, and I didn’t go into any of them 100% sure I could adequately accomplish them, but stretching yourself is exciting and makes the outcome that much more satisfying.  I love how my projects came out and it really doesn’t matter if anyone else does {except my niece, and I think she loved her gift}.

Maybe it seems a little silly to apply this concept to art & decorating projects…but when I hear someone say, “Oh, I could never {insert some skill, adventure or challenge here}” I am always tempted to remind them {and sometimes do"}, “Aren’t you really saying ‘God could never’? And you KNOW that’s not true!”  I marvel every time someone stretches beyond their self-perceived abilities {even my own} because that is when God’s glory is revealed…and I think that is just as true in the small things as in the big ones!!

So think about where you can stretch, take a little risk {or a big one} and watch God shine!
Thanks for visiting...have a Beautiful day {especially if it gets a little Crazy}!

Make Your Own Dishwasher Detergent

About a year or so ago I started researching homemade cleaning products, mostly to save money…but also to use fewer chemicals.  A web search will lead you to many different posts on the subject.  I finally settled on a Dishwasher Detergent recipe that works for me, so I thought I would share it…along with my newest suggestion for making it work better. {Disclaimer: This recipe contains Borax – which you shouldn’t go eating, drinking, or inhaling as a rule – but is actually a “natural” product.  The ultra-purists will want to tell me why it’s bad and if you are one of them I do respect your opinion, but humbly make this choice for myself and family}.

Here’s the one I started with…which worked really well, except for one issue I’ll mention in a minute:

1 cup borax – 3/4 c. baking soda – 3 Tbs. Citric Acid – 2 1/2 Tbs. ground castile bar soap.

It worked great {we have a 13 yr. old dishwasher & use a whole home water softener}…except that it would clump in the jar {maybe from the moisture in the soap???}.  We tried it without the castile soap, but it still clumped, and didn’t work quite as well for us.  So I came up with a solution that we are now loving! Same ingredients, I now just keep them in separate containers – No Clumping!



The Citric Acid was the trickiest ingredient for me {but I think necessary for sparkly clean dishes}.  You want to use food grade citric acid.  Because I had to pay shipping anyway, I ordered 5 lbs. from Mountain Rose Herbs…and when you see how much I use per load, you’ll know why it should last us for years!! Some say they have found it in the canning section of their grocery or discount stores – but not around here.

Castile Soap – I use Dr. Bronner’s because I can get it in 2 different stores without having to leave my suburb :).  I actually prefer the Citrus Orange, but my local stores don’t carry it any more so I switched to peppermint {my daughter loves that}. I first grate one bar of the soap in my food processor, then I switch to the cutting blade to grind it up finer.

I used a tag image from a digital scrapbooking kit and a cute font & made these little labels, glued them to some thin cardboard I recycled from the back of a notepad, cut them with my exacto and tied them on to the jars with some polished hemp twine and voila…there they sit above my dishwasher ready to go!




 

My new per-load recipe is:

1 Tbs. Borax – 2 tsp. Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp. citric acid – 1/4 tsp. soap

NOTE:  I also fill the rinse agent dispenser with distilled white vinegar & check it once a week – great for clean rinsing and cutting down on spots!!

I realize a few of you will be shaking your heads now because we actually have to scoop out of 4 separate containers, but this works for us splendidly…and I’ve had no complaints from my husband or daughter that it is “extra work”.

Hope this helps someone!

Thanks for visiting...have a Beautiful day {especially if it gets a little Crazy}!

F-F-F-Friday!

Flava

A new Spangles (it's a Kansas thing) restaurant opened here, so hubby went and picked up a 4-pack of Yoder cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Four Dollars

That's how much I paid for the cute bird plate, and also what I paid for the pineapple (love) finial.  The finial was originally $40 and gold, but I love me the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle & white matte spray paint!

Faux (not usually a Fave)

I don't love silk flowers & "faux"liage, but I thought these faux dogwood branches might look a little better with some real sticks thrown in.

Free!

I've had this little guy for years (in fact, until last night he had been sitting on my kitchen windowsill for several years - looking out, of course) but he used to be beige resin. He got a Spring makeover with the same matte white spray paint!

"Feathered" Friends

I found these 2 little darlin's at different stores.  One is iron and the other is ceramic...and I think they were destined to hang out together, don't you?

Flecks

(I like "speckled" better, but it doesn't start with F) Aren't these just so cute and Spring-y? Hubby spotted them at Pier 1 and I just had to get them.

Fun

Darling Daughter and I just finished a game of dominoes.  She is texting her cousin Abigail, who said we are the Game-Playingist people she knows...to which we replied she and her family are the Movie-Watchingist. (And if you look at the background of this pic it leads me to the last F)

Flames!!

I think that would be the most Fitting end to these curtains (which were oh-so-cute and clever when I bought them for our new house in 1997) How very country - and notice how "designerly" I was alternating the big hydrangea floral and the buffalo-check panels??  They are not long for this world...

It has been a fun and productive Spring Break week!  Brad is outside building new wood shelves for my baker's rack (the wire ones have been giving me fits for a long time), which he will paint black to coordinate with our kitchen table.  And, I can't wait to see how all my Spring organizing/decorating projects come out.

Have a beautiful weekend! (We have SNOW in our forecast!)