Thursday, November 29, 2012

"Stenciling" Walls...


I've been working this week on a detailed project in our computer room. Here's the scoop...


It's taken me about 8 hours to get 2/3 of the wall done, but I love it. This wall in our study has been totally transformed by this stencil. Because we have texture on our wall, called "orange peel", I can't stencil this wall like you might normally -- with a roller. Because the texture lifts the stencil in spots, the paint gets underneath the stencil and creates a disaster with a detailed stencil such as this. Instead, I've put the stencil on the wall, traces around it lightly with a pencil, and then taken a little 3/8" paintbrush and painted the design on the wall. It's been labor intensive, but not difficult, and the result has been worth the time spent. I figure I've got a couple more days worth of work ahead of me and then it will be done! Yay!


Monday, November 26, 2012

This 'n that...


For those in the USA, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We only had one child at home, but we had some wonderful one-on-one time with him so it was great. My husband and I were thrust into the 21st century this weekend when we {finally} purchased a big screen TV. We'd held off on that purchase for years, but we finally succumbed to the pressure and we're loving watching our favorites on a BIG screen. We purchased this sideboard from IKEA to use as the new TV stand. I absolutely love it. It's pale gray and you can hide all the "junk" behind closed doors. Fabulous and economical!
In the last two weeks I've repainted our living room and study. This week I'll be "stenciling" one of the walls in our study. I'm actually going to be using the stencil as a pattern, but I'll be painting the outline with a brush. Should be interesting -- and time consuming -- and tiring, but I hope we'll love the finished product. Here's the stencil I plan on using...


I'll do a subtle tone-on-tone, much like I did in our bedroom (below)...


I also plan on making a few of these for the grandkids this week...


These crayon caddies are a fun gift for little ones. You can find my tutorial here. All in all I have a busy week planned!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving...


Last Thanksgiving we were in California celebrating with extended family. This year we are home with a much smaller gathering. Both are good. We'll be in California for Christmas next month, so I'll enjoy the smaller affair here at home tomorrow. I thought I'd share an idea for a tablescape I put together last year for Thanksgiving. I loved the cinnamon stick "vases" and the hollowed out pumpkin candle holders. They were beautiful and rustic and the cinnamon added a yummy scent to the air! You can go here for the post on how to make them...
 

When I count my blessings I number the friendships that I've made amongst my blog readers as one of my favorites. Thank you for the support and kindness you've shown me. I appreciate it so much.


Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Oh Deer!


Until this year I've never been particularly fond of formerly-live animals on a wall, however, stores like West Elm  and Z Gallerie broadened my horizons when they brought the taxidermy tradition into the twenty-first century with paper mache and resin animal sculptures. I bought this little moose {below} a couple of months ago from Z Gallerie, and he has a place of honor on my family room wall. You can't see it in this picture, but he has an adorable smile that makes me happy every time I look at him!


That's why I was thrilled when I came upon this deer head in Target a couple of weeks ago -- especially since it was such a great price at $30. He's found in their Christmas decor aisle, but as far as I'm concerned this deer could be used as a decoration all year long.

You would have thought my daughter {who I was visiting at the time and had just given birth} wouldn't have had the inclination to think about crafting, but such was not the case. They have some beautiful built-in cabinetry in their family room that was aching for just such a decoration. The cabinetry is white, however, so my daughter suggested I spray paint the deer head gold. She chose Krylon's Brushed Metallic paint in Caramel Latte. These metallic spray paints from Krylon are beautiful. They produce metallic colors that are soft and gorgeous -- not "brassy". Here's the result...


He's beautiful, isn't he?  I loved the goldish version so much that I asked my husband run to the Target by our home in Colorado and snatch one up for me. I'm still trying to decide where to put him permanently and if I want to paint him, but I've had no problem falling in love with him! 

Friday, November 16, 2012

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I'm home...

It feels like I've been away from my blog for months, when it's actually only been three weeks. I've been busy! Babies tend to arrive when they want. They aren't bound by social propriety in that regard. ;o) I was all set to fly out to North Carolina a couple of days before my daughter was due, and then the baby came two weeks early! Reservations were changed, and I sped out a couple of weeks early. For two and a half weeks I got to hold this little angel...


Little "Taitum Monroe" was only 5 pounds 6 ounces when she was born, but two and a half weeks later she tipped the scale at 6 pounds 11 ounces! {A hearty eater to be sure!}

I was also busy with this little guy -- Taitum's big brother -- Miles...


Miles kept me hopping! A sixteen-month-old only has one speed -- fast! I loved every minute of it!

I'm going to be doing a little more painting on my main floor. I hope to get the walls of my living room and study painted before Thanksgiving. Wish me luck. I also have a fabulous craft idea that involves a deer head from Target. I'll post that in a couple of days.


Friday, November 09, 2012

Friday, November 02, 2012

Friday's Fabulous Finds...


I spy with my Etsy eye an...
Indian summer.


Clockwise, starting top left:

Wishing you a beautiful autumn weekend!