As a renter, sometimes it can be difficult to personalize your home without a ton of work and rework. We could paint our walls different colors, but we would have to repaint them white when we decided to move out. I am not prepared to make that kind of commitment and effort so for a long time we have had bare white walls. I find it difficult to spend a lot of money on wall art as well, so now that I have become more adept and interested in crafting myself, creating beautiful things to hang on the wall is now a hobby of mine.
I have seen a lot of ideas for creating a gallery of photos and art on your walls, but only recently have I decided that I could do it myself. I follow the blog Young House Love (you should too!) and when I read this post, I found my inspiration.
We have a much shorter wall that extends from our bathroom door to the entrance to our kitchen. I consider it part of our "hallway" although you can see all of it from the living room and the "hallway" is really a collection of doorways that come together (the two bedrooms and the bathroom). Still, there is potential for a wonderful wall full of art and photos that can be seen from many angles.
I'll keep you posted on how this project plays out.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Handmade Calendar - March
My procrastinating ways are showing with this project and post. Until a few days ago, we still had our old 2010 calendar hanging on the wall perpetually marking the days as January. I finally decided enough was enough and created a calendar using a Microsoft Excel template, fun and interesting scrapbook paper and grey baker's twine.
I printed out a page for each month from an Excel template that I had customized using the font of my choice and different colors. I printed them on white cardstock and then chose a different patterned scrapbook paper that coordinated with each month's color. I organized all the pages and glued the alternating top and bottom pages together so they would stay together when you flip to the next month. I punched one small whole on the top of each set of pages to hang the calendar and 10 holes along the bottom of each set. I sewed the 10 holes of each set together with grey baker's twine so that the pages were together and the calendar was created.
Here's March!
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
I printed out a page for each month from an Excel template that I had customized using the font of my choice and different colors. I printed them on white cardstock and then chose a different patterned scrapbook paper that coordinated with each month's color. I organized all the pages and glued the alternating top and bottom pages together so they would stay together when you flip to the next month. I punched one small whole on the top of each set of pages to hang the calendar and 10 holes along the bottom of each set. I sewed the 10 holes of each set together with grey baker's twine so that the pages were together and the calendar was created.
Here's March!
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wall Art
In previous years, I have gone through crafting phases. I get completely obssessed with a technique or project and that's all I focus on. Since then I have become more versatile in my crafting and I have a ton of projects going on at one time. As a kid, I started with collages, moved to cross-stitch, then as a young adult got into painting.
By painting, I mean acrylic on canvas, but mostly simple shapes, designs and patterns. I cannot draw to save my life so pattern and color were how I expressed myself. I just enjoy the brushstroke and the act of paint on canvas. I'm also pretty good at painting walls/rooms as I spent one summer in college painting the majority of the rooms in my parent's house. I did 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, the dining room, the living room and the kitchen. I didn't have a job at the time so they paid me to paint and gosh darn it if I didn't enjoy it.
I have recently combined my love of blue painter's tape and acrylic on canvas to create some graphic wall art. Michael's was having a sale on canvases, so I picked up two 20" x 20", broke out my blue tape and acrylic paint and got to work. On the first canvas, I created a chevron pattern with tape in varying widths. I decided to be somewhat random so that if they weren't exact you wouldn't be able to notice as easily. I have some issues being precise, especially if my patience is low, so I usually try to find the easiest and simplest way to create my vision. I love the color green, so I painted the non-taped sections in a limey, appley green.
I wanted do another graphic pattern using the tape, so I decided to create a mosaic or block pattern using alternating colors to add some more punch. I was planning to hang both canvases on our extremely blank kitchen wall so I decided to use the limey, appley green along with grey, pink and turqoise to bring some more color, but also tie the two pieces together.
My husband says that this one reminds him of frogger. This is a typical observation from him (remember the lettuce wreath?), but I agree that each block could be a car or a truck for that little frog to dodge.
Here they are together on the wall. They bring so much more pizazz to the kitchen, plus the green color matches the color of our stand mixer and a few other details in our decor.
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
By painting, I mean acrylic on canvas, but mostly simple shapes, designs and patterns. I cannot draw to save my life so pattern and color were how I expressed myself. I just enjoy the brushstroke and the act of paint on canvas. I'm also pretty good at painting walls/rooms as I spent one summer in college painting the majority of the rooms in my parent's house. I did 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, the dining room, the living room and the kitchen. I didn't have a job at the time so they paid me to paint and gosh darn it if I didn't enjoy it.
I have recently combined my love of blue painter's tape and acrylic on canvas to create some graphic wall art. Michael's was having a sale on canvases, so I picked up two 20" x 20", broke out my blue tape and acrylic paint and got to work. On the first canvas, I created a chevron pattern with tape in varying widths. I decided to be somewhat random so that if they weren't exact you wouldn't be able to notice as easily. I have some issues being precise, especially if my patience is low, so I usually try to find the easiest and simplest way to create my vision. I love the color green, so I painted the non-taped sections in a limey, appley green.
I wanted do another graphic pattern using the tape, so I decided to create a mosaic or block pattern using alternating colors to add some more punch. I was planning to hang both canvases on our extremely blank kitchen wall so I decided to use the limey, appley green along with grey, pink and turqoise to bring some more color, but also tie the two pieces together.
My husband says that this one reminds him of frogger. This is a typical observation from him (remember the lettuce wreath?), but I agree that each block could be a car or a truck for that little frog to dodge.
Here they are together on the wall. They bring so much more pizazz to the kitchen, plus the green color matches the color of our stand mixer and a few other details in our decor.
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Allow Me To Introduce... Miss Olive
I decided to take a little break from the crafting and introduce you to our sweet little pup, Olive. You may have seen her make an appearance in a couple of previous posts, so I thought I would give you a little background on this small, furry member of our family.
My husband and I adopted Olive almost two and half years ago when she was just a tiny puppy. We adopted her from a shelter in New Hampshire where she was living with her brothers and sisters. She was just a tiny thing with a ton of energy and we fell in love immediately.
Olive is some kind of terrier and chihuahua mix and will be 3 years old in August (we think). She is only about 10 pounds and she loves swimming, taking walks, playing with her doggy friends and cuddling. She is very smart, sometimes too smart for her own good and will often get into mischief tearing through kleenexes and ripping the stuffing out of her toys. I have a lot of sewing to do with all her little stuffed animals.
She is my cuddle monkey and loves sleeping under a blanket on the couch in between my legs while we watch TV or next to us under the covers in bed. We call her monkey because she is all black with very little hair under her armpits. When you hold her up by her front paws on two legs, she looks like a little monkey.
She loves to stretch and crawl under the couch when she's too hot. Sometimes she gets lonely under there and if she can't see our feet she will start to whine until we pull her out.
Olive goes nuts for popcorn, carrots, apples, tomatoes, basically any fruit or vegetable that she is allowed to eat. She is a wonderful craft partner (although non-participating) and our funny little baby. We love her so much! Keep following the blog for more peeks at Olive and her antics.
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
My husband and I adopted Olive almost two and half years ago when she was just a tiny puppy. We adopted her from a shelter in New Hampshire where she was living with her brothers and sisters. She was just a tiny thing with a ton of energy and we fell in love immediately.
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| First day we brought her home, hiding behind Mom |
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| Baby's 1st Hoodie |
Olive is some kind of terrier and chihuahua mix and will be 3 years old in August (we think). She is only about 10 pounds and she loves swimming, taking walks, playing with her doggy friends and cuddling. She is very smart, sometimes too smart for her own good and will often get into mischief tearing through kleenexes and ripping the stuffing out of her toys. I have a lot of sewing to do with all her little stuffed animals.
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| Olive swimming with her cousin Bella |
She is my cuddle monkey and loves sleeping under a blanket on the couch in between my legs while we watch TV or next to us under the covers in bed. We call her monkey because she is all black with very little hair under her armpits. When you hold her up by her front paws on two legs, she looks like a little monkey.
She loves to stretch and crawl under the couch when she's too hot. Sometimes she gets lonely under there and if she can't see our feet she will start to whine until we pull her out.
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| Stretching on Dad's leg |
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| Helping Mom do some work |
Olive goes nuts for popcorn, carrots, apples, tomatoes, basically any fruit or vegetable that she is allowed to eat. She is a wonderful craft partner (although non-participating) and our funny little baby. We love her so much! Keep following the blog for more peeks at Olive and her antics.
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
Monday, March 7, 2011
Pom Pom Garland
You remember the pom poms I showed you how to make here? Well I found a new way to use those poms other than cute, modern flowers. How about cute, modern garlands? Great for parties, events, even your home. I have them strewn around our office/craft room.
The first one I made out of leftover green and aqua poms from our wedding. I used aqua baker's twine from Divine Twine and threaded it through the center of each pom using a large embroidery needle and spacing them along the twine. It's hanging above the large window in our office/craft room.
For the second one, I created new poms out of bold, rich colors. Peacock blue, lime green, deep purple and magenta, they remind me of peacock feathers and they're currently my favorite colors for just about anything. I threaded them with gray baker's twine also from Divine Twine. It's hanging above the closet in our office/craft room.
Aren't they pretty and fun?
I have to admit that this project led to some frustration for me as the poms can be difficult to thread sometimes. Certain poms I made were threaded on the first try with no problems, but others would not go through after many tries and eventually fell apart. I really have no idea what I did differently either time to make it work (or not work).
If anyone has experience threading these poms to make a garland, please share with us the correct way to thread them easily everytime. I would love to know and I'm sure anyone else wanting to try this project would too.
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
The first one I made out of leftover green and aqua poms from our wedding. I used aqua baker's twine from Divine Twine and threaded it through the center of each pom using a large embroidery needle and spacing them along the twine. It's hanging above the large window in our office/craft room.
For the second one, I created new poms out of bold, rich colors. Peacock blue, lime green, deep purple and magenta, they remind me of peacock feathers and they're currently my favorite colors for just about anything. I threaded them with gray baker's twine also from Divine Twine. It's hanging above the closet in our office/craft room.
Aren't they pretty and fun?
I have to admit that this project led to some frustration for me as the poms can be difficult to thread sometimes. Certain poms I made were threaded on the first try with no problems, but others would not go through after many tries and eventually fell apart. I really have no idea what I did differently either time to make it work (or not work).
If anyone has experience threading these poms to make a garland, please share with us the correct way to thread them easily everytime. I would love to know and I'm sure anyone else wanting to try this project would too.
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
Friday, March 4, 2011
March is Here!
Sometimes I get on crafting kicks and cannot stop myself from creating the same project again and again. The felt rosette wreaths (here) that I created last month called to me again and I had supplies for at least three more wreaths. This time though, I used circle styrofoam wreaths instead of heart-shaped ones.
I decided to create two wreaths for two very different March themes. The first one I created with lime green felt for St. Patricks's Day!
The luck of the Irish! Or as my husband put it, "It looks like lettuce." I take that as a compliment as I am a salad fan, plus it could also represent cabbage and therefore translate once again to St. Patty's Day.
Side note: Our pup, Olive, loves when Dad takes pictures. She is always up in his business...
The second wreath I made is for my mom (and dad) in honor of the Kansas State Wildcats (their alma mater) and March Madness.
College hoops and crafting? Who would of thought the two would mix, but I found a way. I love basketball and I love crafts so why the heck not? Besides simply choosing the school colors isn't that crazy of an idea, mostly just an excuse to use my purple felt.
What unusual themes or hobbies have you incorporated into your crafts or designs? Are you creating anything fun in preparation for St. Patrick's Day?
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
I decided to create two wreaths for two very different March themes. The first one I created with lime green felt for St. Patricks's Day!
The luck of the Irish! Or as my husband put it, "It looks like lettuce." I take that as a compliment as I am a salad fan, plus it could also represent cabbage and therefore translate once again to St. Patty's Day.
Side note: Our pup, Olive, loves when Dad takes pictures. She is always up in his business...
The second wreath I made is for my mom (and dad) in honor of the Kansas State Wildcats (their alma mater) and March Madness.
College hoops and crafting? Who would of thought the two would mix, but I found a way. I love basketball and I love crafts so why the heck not? Besides simply choosing the school colors isn't that crazy of an idea, mostly just an excuse to use my purple felt.
What unusual themes or hobbies have you incorporated into your crafts or designs? Are you creating anything fun in preparation for St. Patrick's Day?
Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Daily Inspiration
Today I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite artists, crafters, and designers that inspire me on a daily basis. I love experiencing other people's work and learning about their process. I love finding new projects to try, new techniques to master and new ways to use what I already know to be creative. Following and supporting their blogs and products not only supports a handmade community, but inspires me to create as well.
Here are some of my favorites, check them out!
Princess Lasertron
I've discussed the awesomeness that is Princess Lasertron in previous posts. I found her during our wedding planning process and commissioned her to do our bouquets and boutonnieres. I started following her blog and found not only inspiration for projects and design, but for being a strong woman and entrepreneur.
The L Blog
Mod Podge Rocks!
This blog is all about the love of Mod Podge, as the title obviously shows. I came across other decoupage projects prior to finding this blog, but this is the end all, be all site for this fabulous technique. So many new ways to try this product and so little time. A true decoupage inspiration.
Here are some of my favorites, check them out!
Princess Lasertron
I've discussed the awesomeness that is Princess Lasertron in previous posts. I found her during our wedding planning process and commissioned her to do our bouquets and boutonnieres. I started following her blog and found not only inspiration for projects and design, but for being a strong woman and entrepreneur.
The L Blog
Just recently I talked about my L Letterpress Kit and showed you some handmade cards I created using this fabulous machine. Well, the company behind this device also has a wonderful blog with a ton of project ideas, inspiration and tips on using their products.
This blog is all about the love of Mod Podge, as the title obviously shows. I came across other decoupage projects prior to finding this blog, but this is the end all, be all site for this fabulous technique. So many new ways to try this product and so little time. A true decoupage inspiration.
I have mentioned Divine Twine in previous posts and my adoration for their colored baker's twine. This is the company and blog behind this awesome twine and provides endless joy and inspiration for designers and crafters alike. A ton of inspirational ideas using their products and free printables to make your own. LOVE!
Additional inspiration:
What are your favorite blogs? Who inspires you? Please share! I'm always looking for new sources of inspiration. Maybe the DPD blog will inspire others to create as well.
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