Canvas Art - Not as easy as it looks

Well, I've finally finished painting the living room and most of the kitchen, with the exception of the backsplash, which is proving to be difficult. Straight lines on textured walls are difficult to come by, especially when you want those lines to be a mere quarter of an inch wide. Someone forgot to let The Home Depot know the importance of stocking painter's tape in quarter inch rolls just for me. So I've several other projects going at the same time because a girl gets bored watching paint dry, and if the mess is already made, well, it should be utilized. That, and my mantra has become, "Less Pinning, More Doing." So, I did.

Here is a canvas I painted. I just used the same colors of my kitchen and living areas, but I can't figure out where to hang it. I used Kaleb's hands and feet because they seemed to be the most correct size. In restrospect, Jaylan was probably the better muse, but I still like the way it turned out.

This was the other one. It looks a lot like a third grader did it, so that may be what I let people believe, if need be. This one is all my own, as in I thought it up myself. Next time I'll be sure and utilize a paint pen instead of a paint brush. I love the way Jaylan's hand turned out (in blue) and I love that mine had a smidgeon of paint from my wedding band that got on there. Otherwise, this will likely be a wall hanger somewhere it won't be seen often. It will look good on a brown wall, however. The little cut out with the heart says '12. I'd do my whole house in stuff like this if I thought people wouldn't laugh at me behind my back ;)


So, as it turns out, all that canvas art you see on Pinterest....it's not as easy as it looks. I keep promise pics of my house remodel via paint, and it's coming. I started the backsplash yesterday, so in two weeks or so, I ought to be done. sigh

My next DIY

Project: FAIL!

I even took pictures to post along the way. Bawahaha! What a joke! Turns out you have to sand or at least put that neato "you don't have to sand it first paint" paint in order to spray paint a table. So now, what was a well intentioned table, turned into a DIYer's lesson learned.

So I moved to THESE BEAUTIES!




Yeah, I so did that myself, and I'm pretty darn proud of them. So proud, in fact, I'm pretty sure I'm making some more in "the most fabulous for my bedroom" fabric I've ever seen!! I think I'm only super proud because I'm basically a self-taught seamstress. And I used the word "seamstress" as loosely as possible. In fact, I only use "seamstress" because I've no idea of a synonym for such a word....a synonym that, by it's use, indicates less....much less.... ability and talent. I did, once, ask a friend (with amazing talent) to come and teach me the basics of my mom's sewing machine. From there, I was on my own. And I can still only sew an almost straight line, but I've learned a few tricks (taught in probably ever home-ec class ever given....but I was a jock WAY too cool for home-ec......oh, if I'd have only known how useless basketball would be and how useful home-ec would have been!!) along the path of self-teaching. I did put forth a grand effort (which I rarely do), have some curtains in another room that I was able to reference and copy, and, as I've said before, I'm a great copier!

I still have yet to tackle the backsplash, but I've picked colors out, so I'm getting there. There are a few things I have to get off my "to-do" list before I feel like I can start that.

That last sentence is a foreshadowing to my boy's "Science Fair' projects. Pray for me because I'd like them to be THEIR'S so THEY can be proud, and it will take every ounce of self-restraint to HELP rather than to DO! Of course, if previous class projects are any indication, my desire to restrain myself from doing it for them is a far-cry from most of these parent's complete willingness to do their child's homework for them. I just want my child to feel accomplished at the end for something other than writing their name.

So apparently I love DIY

My new love for Pinterest has made me realize, I'm no blogger, I'm a DIYer!!! So DIY I will! My husband will lose his mind in the process of me decorating and redecorating every room, but I will decorate and redecorate like crazy....so we'll both be crazy together!

I thought I'd blog my DIY projects, most of all of which, I will be copying from something I saw on Pinterest. So don't go thinking I'm crafty or creative. Neither of those am I. However I am a genius copycat! My two most recent productions:

The first inspired by Pinterest and, "Mooooom, what is for dinner?" said by at least one if not three children almost every single day. My mom had me over for the weekend so I could clean and organize my dad's office. I figured this was a great way to score some junk for a couple of DIY projects. Turns out the joke was on me, because all I got was a bunch of sneezing, a runny nose, a nice dinner, a grateful mom, and this ugly old nicely framed picture of a drilling rig....of course that nice frame was 35 years old at least! Also perfect for this DIY project! Counting paint and those expensive little sticker letters, this redo cost me less than $10.




The second is the finale to Jeremy throwing out a frame I literally cried over. It was a big misunderstanding brought on by the fact that we both only about half listen to each other when the kids are awake. Ok, ok, it's really just me that only listens about 50%, he listens about 85%. Anyway, I'm not a sentimental person (much to my mother's dismay and repeated preaching about how I'll regret that one day.....whatever) so I don't typically get upset about broken, lost, or missing things. This frame, however, was special to me (ironically, it was given to me by someone I'm not particularly fond of, but that's another story). It has a verse on it that I liked, and it held the very first picture of my family of 5. With this particular verse, which became Georgia's, it was something that reminded me of trial and victory both at the same time. You know, just the way God turns your deepest hurt and sorrow into something beautiful and wonderful and you are all the better for it. It's a long story how that came to be, but the point is that frame, holding that picture was very important to me. The piece that made it stand up broke, and I asked Jeremy to try and fix it. It wasn't fixable, and he didn't know I would have kept it and figured out another way to use it, so he chucked it. I didn't realize this until a day or two later and it was gone, gone, gone by then :( I cried. I admit it. I wasn't even hormonal or anything. I cried about a thing. Pathetic, I know. I didn't even cry when I lost the diamond to my engagement ring, but I cried over this stupid frame. Perspective. Anyway, this was the remake. I had this shadow box frame, and this was the remake of that frame. It isn't the same, but it's almost as good, and honestly, MUCH better looking.



Yes, that is a diaper....a tiny little diaper I kept from the dozen or so I'd already bought for the baby we lost.

Next up: I paint the backsplash and start redoing my kitchen! Jeremy won't love the process, but he's starting to like the stuff I do...when it is finished....as if finished is ever possible ;)