May 1
One of the benefits of organizing my craft space, an ordeal chronicled in Hoarder to Order, was rediscovering a lot of prints and frames that I had been squirreling away. Once I realized how much art I had just lying around I decided it was time to finally tackle a project that had sort of intimidated me, a framed art collage.
Apr 26
Like gorgeous spring days, it feels like you can never appreciate good neighbors enough. We had wonderful neighbors during the first two years in our first home. A friendly older couple and with around 170 years of living between them, it’s no surprise that both Mr. and Mrs. M led extraordinary lives. Mr. M was a WWII Prisoner of War and was one of thousands in the Bataan Death March. Mrs. M was a photographer and artist who added color to black and white pictures before cameras had that ability.
In the past 12 months, both Mr. and Mrs. M passed away. We’ve missed having them next door – I learned something new every time we talked. Their daughter came by yesterday to tend to estate matters and asked if I’d like anything to remember them by. Even with Mrs. M gone, I’m still learning more about her – she had great style.
Apr 17
In so many aspects of life, it’s important to find a way to balance past and present – whether in your relationships, your wardrobe (still waiting for the right moment to break out my scardigan), or your home.
Our house is a few months shy of being a centurion, so I try to respect its age while maintaining a semi-modern style. This very easy $15/15 minute DIY art piece is a great example of how past and present can be a perfect pair.
Here’s what I did…
With the onslaught of holidays approaching, it can be a little daunting to think of all the decor, dinners, presents, and parties. So, I thought I’d start off with something simple to get me into the first of many holiday mini-projects. And, it doesn’t get much simpler than a girl with some gourds, glue and glitter.
{simple & sparkling}
I was looking for some art work to put on the long wall in my guest bedroom, but everything I found was either too expensive or felt too impersonal. Then, I remembered that my husband took this great panoramic picture of where we got engaged and I thought it would be perfect for the space.
{the original picture}
The first thing I did was go to Ikea for the frames. If you’re creating a photo wall and have control over how big the prints are going to be, I strongly recommend getting your frames before printing – it’ll save you money and time. I got four 12″x18″ frames and I chose a very clean design because I didn’t want anything to take away from the individual pictures connecting to one another. Then, I edited the photo to make it all one hue and took it to Kinko’s where I had it printed on four sheets. This whole project took a couple hours and $80.
The final result is something that not only balances the space nicely; but every time I go into the room, it reminds me of a fantastic day.
So Pretty is as Pretty Does. 