All you need is LOVE

Happy New Year everyone!! Ah, I just wanted to share a quick little update about how I completed my yarn letter project. The "V" was bought, covered and now proudly sits displayed in my hallway. Moral of the story: At least start a project...you are more likely to finish it than if you never start at all. Amen!

My LOVE is done!!

Simple and Cheap...

Hello world...I have been MIA, because I have had some fun-crazy stuff happening lately....SO here I am!! Anyway, now to the blog: When living in an apartment (and NOT allowed to paint the walls), one must come up with creative ways to fill the wall space. It must be simple, cheap and most importantly fill a lot of this empty space on the wall!!!

Low and behold...the project below for under $20!! (the stuff on the wall...please ignore the stuff on the table).

I high-lighted this briefly before, but people have requested I give a quick how-to.

I bought six random size frames at my favorite local thrift store, went to Lowes and bought those itty bitty sample paints (I bought them in two colors, one light aqua and one dark aqua. They are behind the paint counter and around $2 a piece) and then I bought four peacock feathers from a craft store. I took the glass out of the frames, sanded them down lightly (so the paint sticks better), then painted them random shades between my light aqua and dark aqua. I hung them on the wall (a level is key here, unless you have a perfect eye!)...and then added the peacock feathers afterwards...I just added them by taping them to the back edge of the frames. KEY: I laid this little collage out on the floor first to figure out where I wanted each frame to save my wall from multiple holes.

Lastly, you can use anything...not just peacock feathers.

Good luck and hopefully you have a bare little wall, this might be an idea for you!!

This is in my dinning room and adds the perfect detail to an otherwise blank wall.

DIY...and DIY quickly!

Okay, I admit it...I have a problem. I start things and have trouble finishing them. For instance, I have been working on the same oil painting for almost a year now. UGH! I like details and enjoy even more taking my time working on details. I am able to do this, because let's face it, I have nothing else to do with my time. BUT, just because you have the time to work FOREVER on a DIY-project doesn't always mean you have to. It's often times the most rewarding to have a project done quickly to show off the creation you just made!! Let me share with you a very quick and AH-amazing paint project!

If you haven't noticed, I am still highlighting some of my mom's projects. I have stacks of things of my own to share with the world, but thought her ideas are just too great to wait!! In the basement of my parent's home is where you could almost always find someone. It's a great hangout place! It has a big screen, recliner chairs in a row, a fireplace and a pool table. It's the place to be in this amazing house!!

Along the walls sits five rectangular pieces of black metal. (You could also use canvas) From afar, you see lines of fall-foliage-colored trees. Up close, you see paint dripping and the brush-blots. I LOVE IT!!!! What the great one did: lined up the canvas/metal in a straight row, stood them tilted on the ground (so the paint would drip), put a little dab of paint on each one so the dripping would begin, then just blotted the bristles of the brush to create the tops of the trees. See below. It's a stunning piece that sits along the wall of the basement. AND, the very best thing about this project is: it's fast!!!

The view from across the room of this amazing DIY artwork!

Back to the Most Creative House in the World...

I have taken a few days off from sharing ideas from my parent's house. I didn't want to overwhelm you with all the good home-decorating ideas at once, so I am spreading the creativity out! Now, back to the home:

I am high-lighting something very small today, but it warms my heart like nothing else...it's seriously amazing! Please glance at the picture below and what catches your eye most?

Yes, you might say the coke bottle (I took a picture in the middle of us eating dinner when I was visiting, so pardon any mess you see...It's my fault!). Or you might say the tile wall that she helped design herself. Or you might say the fresh looking cabinets, which she redid and painted herself. You might even say the turquoise/aqua painted back splashes in the openings in the cabinets. But, my focus right now is of the rectangle art at the top of the wall. I am so mad at myself for not taking a picture of this same exact room when the lights were off, because it would just blow your mind...SERIOUSLY!

Here is a close-up:

You might be thinking, what does that say? It says "Love always protects." Around the top of my parent's kitchen on pieces of leather (left-over from the leather wall in the bedroom, I am sure) are embroidered verses from 1 Corinthians 13...and they are embroidered in GLOW IN THE DARK THREAD!! Oh my amazing! We always need reminders of what the Bible says...especially when it is the darkest. Even if these didn't glow in the dark, they would still be fabulous...but they DO, so wowzers!

Morals of this creative little lesson: 1. Put God's word everywhere. I mean, really, can you ever go wrong with that? 2. Save your left-overs from other projects, because you will find another use for them, I promise! 3. If there is a spot on the wall that is bare, even if it's small, you can put something creative and unique there!

Leather Walls? Yes Please!

You have an entire wall. You don't want to paint AGAIN. You don't want to buy expensive wall art that you don't really like anyways. You definitely don't want to leave it white.

What is a person to do? Leather!?!?!

On one of my parent's bedroom's walls, the entire wall is covered with leather. She went to a fabric store, bought a leather bolt. She didn't want the fabric to overlap in an unattractive way, so she bought pieces of wood trim, painted it silver and then added/mosaiced mini-mirrors to the center of each piece of wood. She then added silver studs throughout the leather to keep it attached to the wall. Oh, I just love it! When described, it sounds 'cowboy.' However, when you see it, it just looks classy, original and all sorts of good.

Their room is done in brown, silver and red and it is FABULOUS!

Below are some pictures of this leather-covered wall!

A view of the leather wall.

A close-up view of this leather wall with the silver trim dividers covered in mirrors! Ah, how creative!

A spunk of a thing!

What do you see when you look at this thing above? A funky flower?! Some really prickly little thing? A sun? If I were to see these at a store, I would have to think really hard to find a place for this guy in my home (But, don't get me wrong, I LOVE this spunk of a thing!!).

I am yet again writing about my parent's home (I warned you!)...and this little guy...and how my mom used this small piece of art in such a cute way!!! I was inspired. If you recall a few entries back, I told ya'll about the new amazing orange retro room. On one of the walls, sits five of these little spunks....and four 'X's. Hmmm, what could this be?! TIC-TAC-TOE!!!

How did she do it?

She saw these amazing little spunks (my official name for them) at a store and bought them, thinking that she would create an over-sized tic-tac-toe game on the wall. To complete this game, she bought cardboard cutouts of 'X's and then bought scrapbook paper to cover them. She finished off the game board with thin pieces of wood that made the lines. She painted them brown, put them together and there you go....project complete!!!

The moral of the story?! If see something that is interesting, unique and just all sorts of cool at a store....BUY IT! You may not have the place for it yet, or even the perfect idea for it yet...but you will....it'll come!! And if the idea doesn't come, I can give you my mom's number! :)

Tissue-Paper?!?

So, when one wants something completely outside of the box, one has to think completely outside of the box. My mom (the creative genius) wanted textured walls...not faux-textured walls, but the real thing. She used tissue paper...Yep, tissue paper! She put a little paint on the wall, then laid the tissue paper on top. Then, she later painted over it.

I wish I would have taken more pictures of this, but I forgot. If you look at the wall here, you will notice an awesome tissue-paper texture...because it actually IS tissue paper underneath there. I LOVE this inexpensive way to get a unique look for the wall! Has she figured out what to do if she no longer wants this tissue-paper look?! Hmmm, knowing her, she'll probably just tear down the whole wall. :)




I was actually taking picture of this 'home-made' art in these pictures, but please notice the TISSUE-PAPER textured wall in the background. Amazing!!!