Signs of Spring

OK, I am soooo excited about the weather we are going to have this weekend, high 60's-mid 70's!!  

I cannot wait! I have several things I want to get done and accomplished.

One is to go to a feed store and pick up some bird seed and various other grains, I will fill you in on this as it is a project as well!

I also want to get some art done for my home that I have been putting off for some time now.
Remember this?

And last but not least, get some pillows made for our porch entry, and for our upstairs Loft area. 
(Not that the Loft area is even anywhere near being ready for them, I'm just antsy to get them made and the bolt of fabric out of the way!)

Full weekend of little projects to do! See you Monday! Check back for these updates, of which I hope I've gotten them all done to show you!!

Dealing with frustration..what do you do?

Well, to say the least, these past few weeks have been more than frustrating for me. Im dealing with a job that is sometimes less than thrilling, a full weekend schedule of things to do and on my plate, and then the simple things all go sour.

For example, I treated myself to a Silhouette SD machine. These are pretty pricey little machines, but I have heard everyone in blogland raving of all the neat things that you could do, and I was so thrilled to purchase one for myself!!...........Only to get it in the mail, and it be a dud. It had a manufacturer defect, and had to be sent back because it would hardly scratch the surface of paper, much less cut it! And this little machine seems incredible, so yet Im still waiting on the replacement one after waiting almost a month for a functioning one! Frustrating. (But I will give the Silhouette company and the retailer I purchased it from credit for being so willing to help get it all straightened out)

Then, I have to get up and drive the rental car everyday, yet again because my car was hit! I mean really? Do I have a sign on my car that says I like to visit the collision place? I am starting to think a little black cloud is hovering over it? So Im still waiting on my car from the collision place after almost 4 weeks of driving an HHR!! Ugh (No offense to those who drive these, but I would rather have my own car back honestly)

These are a few of my frustrations and things that are bothering me right now, and when Im frustrated or bothered the best thing for me to do is paint! So Im probably going to have some goodies to show soon!

How do you deal with frustrations or stress? Im always intrigued!

A few pieces here and there..

I know, I know..I have kind of been slacking on my art orders here lately. Well, I got back in the swing of things with two orders.

One order was for a key and and heart. This was going to be part of a Valentines present they were giving. "He holds the key to my Heart" were her words, and this is something she says to him often, so here are the  finished pieces. I came up with the idea to do a textured wood-grain background on these so that they wouldn't be a flat backdrop, so the canvas actually feels like wood-grain. And I do think it lends to the idea of being masculine, she didn't want them too feminine.

These pieces were $35 each.

The other was for a family member, for her little girls room. The Mom wanted something similar to what she had seen online, but really didn't want to spend that amount on art that was simply a photocopy that had been decoupaged onto a canvas(nothing against decoupage, it can just be improved upon).

Absolutely no personalizing, or any special details offered by that company, meant for an uninteresting piece of art. She wanted something personalized, that's where I come in!

I took these as the inspirations for the art, and this is what I created. I am such a perfectionist, is was hard to be as messy looking as the inspiration art...but I am partial, I like mine better! and it has embellishments on the canvas such as pearls, buttons, and rhinestones! Cant get that from a catalog and still have some moolah in the pocket!



Inspiration Image



My version 

 Some close ups on details

What do you think?

 

The Wing Backs are getting a Makeover!

I'm sooo excited about finally getting my wing back chairs recovered. I acquired these from my hairdresser because she knew how much I had always wanted to fix them up. She was redecorating her house and couldn't find a place for them, so offered them to me! 

I am so thrilled to be getting these on the upholstery list! They have waited their turn behind many projects including this one!

I have had them since we moved to our new house, which is almost 3 years now and its their time! I cant wait to post the makeover!

This is who usually enjoys the chairs, as you can see!

I am putting white leather on them with nailhead trim around some of the piping areas. I am also going to strip the legs of the dark finish and pickle the legs.

So I'm hoping they turn out similar to these!

{source}

(yes, I know the legs are different, but Im looking for something similar to the finish on the legs and the nail heads, this is just an inspiration idea)

Stay tuned!

And so it BEGINS!!!

OK, the official start to the upstairs LOFT has begun! I am so excited I cant even tell you!

So, I have started by gathering some of the items and decor pieces that I want up in the upstairs attic space that I am calling the LOFT.

So far I have the light fixtures purchased, two lounge(over sized bean bags) and some accessories. I will need to save up for the other items as we get near the end. So for now I'm holding off until the entire build out is complete before buying anything else!

I have changed the furniture items up a bit seeing as how the actual space has to be framed out to support the roof!! Because we all know that I don't want a leaking roof by any means! or a caved in one for that matter either.

We have basically got a 300-450ft sq. space to work with, so I have to be creative in making room for everything. I love to organize, but this may get the best of me! (let's hope not)

 Me and Keith have had many discussions on how to proceed, and for the most part agree on everything.

View from Staircase leading up



I want a casual space, but inviting place to watch movies with friends and family, and also have a creative space for both Keith and I. We also want this space to function as a movie room, gaming area and possibly guest bedroom if needed. Here's what were looking at right now, and its being framed up as we speak!




View from left side Front View

View looking at TV wall

Front View