ike I said before, I am trying to get back into doing art every day. In fact, if I were a bit more ambitious, I’d try to start a movement with just that title. But that is beside the point. I used my new camera (big yay!) to take a picture of Hutson to recreate in pastels. Let’s just say it didn’t turn out as good as the first one I did. Practice makes perfect!
Here is the shot that I used as reference. Isn’t he adorable?
In process…
…and completed. Looks a little cartoonish doesn’t it? This one might not make it to a frame.
He’s got his eye on you!
t’s almost that time of year again to express our inner cupid and spread the love! Who doesn’t love Necco Sweethearts, flowers, homemade cards, and other tokens of affection that mean “I love you”. In preparation of this annual love fest, Hubs and I are sending out cards to our families. I used a photo I had taken of our paperwhites and added some simple text, created a back for text, and then made envelope liners to go with the theme. We are using orange envelopes because 1) that is what I have on hand, and 2) they add an unexpected pop of color. I have attached the PDF if you want to download and print out the front for yourself; I recmmend using a card stock. So in the wise words of Outkast, “Happy Valentine’s Day…It’s February the 14th!”
usted tin has such a gorgeous patina and we had plenty of it left over from our
inishing draping the back basement wall was a bittersweet moment for on one hand one more project was completed, on the other it made us aware of a much more intimidating task. While admiring our handiwork, I noticed one of the electrical boxes on the adjacent wall was starting to pop out of the paneling. This was not an indication of good things to come.
‘ve been trying to get back into the habit of drawing/painting/etc. on a regular basis and so decided to break out the pastels from their dusty hiding place and get to work. My subject for last night’s art fest was our lovely Springer Spaniel, Hutson. Let’s just say he was a less than cooperative subject and did not want to lay/sit still for me while I drew. Oh well! The end result came out okay although my proportions are a little off and weirdly angled. Practice makes perfect and I have a hunch I need a lot more practice. It was still fun!
eading other people’s design blogs is a major source of time wasting & enjoyment for me. I simply love getting the inside glimpse on what types of projects they’re doing and especially the before and afters. These blogs are often sources of inspiration for my own projects. I was reading 
oyful, joyful, Hubs and I finished hanging the curtains along the basement wall. Last week, all I had to show for were these holes:
here are many projects that I don’t complete as quickly as I had planned or would like. Usually this is because some unforseen obstacle blocks the finish line. This happened this past weekend during my drapery project. My plan was to hang drapery panels along the back wall of the basement. 
ave you been shopping for a fire screen lately? Ridiculously expensive! Like upwards of $60+ for a simple screen expensive. Since this is not exactly a spending priority for me, we gladly accepted an old screen from the in-laws. We saved considerable moolah and now have something to properly hold back sparks. Its previous look was black wire mesh with bronze accents, seen here:
have almost completed painting all the rooms in our new house, and I got just a tad step closer to finishing on Monday (yay, holiday pay!). The target of my recent recoloring? The guest bedroom. It, too, was the same drab off-white as the rest of the house when we moved in. Since I have a lot of paint leftover from painting the other rooms, I decided to go with a color I already had on hand. I chose the Coastal Villa color I just used in the Dining Room. 
