Singing in the Rain: Canvas Art

Tags

diy art for kids rooms, diy canvas art, mod lodge canvas letter art, music quote art

My three-year-old son loves singing and probably before he was even two, he decided that Gene Kelly’s Singing in the Rain was his favourite song. He loves to watch the clip of Gene Kelly on youtube and has more than once been caught outside with an umbrella singing the song and imitating him… it’s seriously cute, and no, I have not yet been able to catch it on video (his impromptu bursts of song always catch me unprepared). I wanted to somehow incorporate this song into art for his bedroom. I can’t take any credit for this idea – it’s one I pinned from Southern Belle Soul Mountain Bride Heart. I just put my own spin (or tune) on it! I used some of my sons’ favourite lines from the song: I’m laughing at clouds (so dark up above); the sun’s in my heart (and I”m ready for love);  Dancing and singing in the rain.

I had four blank canvases that I had purchased at Michaels’ a while back  - one of which I used for my Pottery Barn Santa. I loved the idea of using wood, but had these available and they were the size I wanted, so I decided to use them instead. I also had on hand one roll of music note wrapping paper that I had picked up from Ikea at Christmas. I love this paper and wish I had bought more… there are so many things you could use it for! I used mod podge to stick it to the canvas and basically wrapped each frame like a present.

As you can see, I tried a few different colours of wrapping paper, but ended up liking the music sheet best and ended up re-doing the other one. I bought some vinyl letters (3 inch I believe) and carefully placed them where I wanted them and painted over top. One word of advice – if you are going to do this, I would strongly recommend buying at least two packages of letters. I only bought one and quickly realized that I did not have enough of the letters I needed, so I had to do the canvas in sections. It was a pain!! All in all I’m happy with how they turned out and I like having something personal like this in my son’s room. I think he does too!Almost time for a haircut!!

I think my favourite part of this project is that the music note paper shows through in words of the song. How fitting!Sharing here:

DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

French Country Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

Another Chair And Some New Chalk Paint

Tags

chalk paint, FAT paint, french upholstered chair, grain sack upholstered chair, shabby chic painted chair, vintage painted chair

I had a lovely visit to New Westminster the other day. For those of you not familiar with Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, New Westminster is well known for it’s antique shops along Front Street. I took the kids bike riding along the Quay and then we stopped in to meet the lovely Victoria at the new FAT Paint flagship store. I absolutely love the space for their new store  - all exposed brick – it’s just beautiful. I picked up a couple of new colours as well, Jute and Antique Wedgewood. We also popped into a thrift store a few blocks away and I found this chair. Here it is crammed into my trunk along with the bikes and stroller (hehe).

I haven’t been entirely happy with my office chair – not only the colour scheme I chose, but I’ve also discovered that it’s a little bit too high for my desk and I’m getting a back ache when working at the computer.

I love the curved lines of this other one and tried it at my desk and it’s a much better height. I decided to try painting this in the Antique Wedgewood. I love this colour and it coordinates really well with my kitchen. I only used one coat and then distressed it and waxed it with clear and dark wax. Like my Baked Freshly sign? I just got it in the mail from Decor Steals. I’m waiting until I repaint the kitchen (a slightly lighter blue) to hang it.I’m loving it. I still think I’m going to paint the other one in a different colour… maybe Jute?!

Happy Easter everyone!!

Linking up here:

The Shabby Art Boutique

DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

PJH Designs

Kathe With An E

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Redoux

French Country Cottage

Miss Mustard Seed

Funky Junk Interiors

Antibes Side Table

Tags

antibes end table, antibes green, antibes green end table, antibes table, ascp antibes table, painted end table green

A few weeks ago I left this table at the thrift store, and when I went back a week later it had been reduced to 50% off, so I picked it up!

I felt like something bright and cheery was in order… antibes is a colour I’ve been wanting to try for a while and it felt like a good choice for spring.I think it looks nice with my fern too! I used dark wax to tone down the green a little and give it some dimension.

Cheery isn’t it?

Sharing at these linky parties:

Debbie Doo’s

Creative Bloggers Party and Hop

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Funky Junk Interiors

French Country Cottage

Miss Mustard Seed

My Chalkboard Backsplash And Some New {Old} Kitchen Chairs

Tags

ASCP chairs and table, chalkboard backsplash, DIY Chalkboard Backsplash, french inspired kitchen, shabby chic chairs, west elm owl salt and pepper shakers

It seems like forever since I last posted. I’m sure it’s been less than two weeks, but in the blog world, that seems like forever. I have been busy working on a few different projects, but just haven’t had the time or energy to upload and edit photos. Sometimes these things just have to be put on hold for awhile (I’m sure you can all relate)!

I thought I’d give you a tour of my kitchen… I’m planning on a few changes in here – the walls and ceiling both need new coats of paint  - I like the colour and think I will stick with a fairly similar shade of blue. The most recent “update” is the new chalkboard backsplash. The backsplash and countertop is laminate that was installed in the 70′s. I’m not a big fan of laminate, and the colour doesn’t make it any more appealing in my opinion. A few years ago, I painted over the laminate with the same paint I used for the walls (sorry, no photo). It held up quite nicely, but was starting to show wear in a few places, so I figured it was time for a change. I applied three coats of chalkboard paint  - no primer! I think it’s a big improvement and am loving my French Menu!! The countertops are really bugging me now though!! I’m not sure what to do with them… I’d love to see some butcher block there and maybe a new farmhouse style sink, but I will have to do some more research. The cupboards also need hardware – I”d like to find some simple black knobs. 

I’m a big Decor Steals addict… like my countertop storage? I’ve also ordered the black and white bakery sign and can’t wait to hang it somewhere in the kitchen. 

I absolutely adore my West Elm owl salt and pepper shakers. 

I realized when I was photographing the kitchen that I forgot to post about my new chairs. I picked these up on Craigslist a couple of months ago and painted them to match my pedestal table.

One of my next projects in here will be a drop cloth ruffle valance for the window. The pictures on the wall also need to go, and the fridge needs to be moved to where my desk is, but I’m getting too far ahead of myself, so we’ll save it for another post!I’m also toying with the idea of installing some Ikea shelves {with drawers} on the wall to house some of my daughters’ art supplies. I’m not super fond of storing it all on top of the fridge, but right now there’s no better alternative. We’ll see…Sharing here:

Miss Mustard Seed

Funky Junk Interiors

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Redoux

French Country Cottage

Cork Trivet Mouse Pad

Tags

cork trivet mouse pad, diy mouse pad, diy stencilled mouse pad, Martha Stewart, Mousepad, Trivet

I love an easy DIY, and this is about as easy as it gets! I’ve been doing without a mouse pad for some time now (I can never find ones I like), and I finally had enough! I picked up a round cork trivet at the Dollar Store and within minutes had this:

This is something you can do even if you have only 10 minutes to spare. I used one of my Martha Stewart Stencils from Michael’s and used Bella Blue chalk paint (FAT paint). I stencilled both sides, which turned out to be a good idea because I quickly discovered that the mouse sticks too much to the cork (pictured above) and the bottom surface of the trivet was sliding around on my desk…. so now I’ve turned it over and use it with the cork side down. The cork sticks nicely! 

I’m still getting used to my new iMac, but I’m slowly figuring it out.

Sharing here:

French Country Cottage

Tatertots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Reverse Stenciled Bulletin Board

Tags

DIY Bulletin board, Reverse Stencil, reverse stencil bulletin board, reverse stenciled cork board

For Christmas I DIY’d this little bulletin board for my sister and her husband for their home office area. I love reverse stencils and wanted to incorporate a “nature” theme, as it fits with their home decor as well as the lovely natural surroundings of Vancouver Island where they have a beautiful new home.
This was an easy DIY. I picked the bulletin board up at a local thrift store, but you can also find cheap cork board at the dollar store, Staples and craft stores. I liked that this one has a substantial wooden frame.

If I were to do this over, I would have painted the frame first… I’m not sure why I didn’t!  I applied the wall decal and carefully pulled it up and re-arranged it until I got it in the right spot. You’ll also notice some holes in the cork, near each corner. I filled these with wood filler and sanded them down.I used 2 to 3 coats of latex eggshell paint to cover the cork and wall decal. Any imperfections in the stencil when I pulled off the decal, were filled in with a small brush.

Still not sure why I decided to paint the frame last! I lightly distressed and waxed the frame.

Here it is! I like the cork showing through, similar to reverse stencils over wood grain on furniture.

Sharing here:

DIY Showoff

Debbie Doos

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Liz Marie Blog

The Shabby Creek Cottage

French Country Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

More Mason Jar Soap Dispensers in Layered Chalk Paint

Tags

chalk paint mason jar, mason jar soap dispensers, mason jars, painted mason jars, painted soap dispenser, shabby chic soap pump, vintage soap dispenser

I posted these on my facebook page last week and thought I’d share them here too. I’ve been making more of my mason jar soap dispensers and playing around a bit with colours and layering chalk paint, instead of spray painting them.

Aqua (my own custom mix) layered with Duck Egg Blue:

Mix of Graphite and Old White with Old White on top:

Aqua layered with Old White:

Mix of Graphite and Old White (No layering):

I think my favourite so far is the Duck Egg Blue. I think next I will try a few with my new FAT Paint in Caribbean Blue and Bella Blue! I’ve added them to my Etsy Store, which I finally got around to adding on the sidebar!

Sharing here:

Coastal Charm

Blackberry Vine

Liz Marie Blog

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

Grain Sack Rocking Chair

Tags

diy painted grain sack chair, diy painted grain sack stripes, french inspired rocking chair, grain sack furniture, grain sack inspired chair, shabby chic children's rocking chair

Well you know what they say… imitation is the best form of flattery! I am a huge fan of European grain sacks, so when I saw this dresser on Pinterest I absolutely fell in love with it… and UMMMM, well… copied it! Isn’t it gorgeous?! Kathleen of Musings From A French Cottage is certainly very talented. I also love the hardware she chose – the black is such a nice contrast with the red and old white. 

The victim for my version was this little rocking chair that my daughter  spotted at one of our thrift store “stops” during the summer.  It was in rough shape. Literally. The seat had a very bumpy surface with many small cracks in the wood. I covered it with a huge amount of wood filler and gave it a good sanding. Can you spot the dead spider?

Little Ugly Duckling Jr. then helped me paint it in ASCP old white. We used painters tape to add the grain sack stripes with red acrylic paint. I distressed the whole thing and then used my new FAT Paint bees wax to finish it off. I also happened to have a No. 7 stencil (similar to the one on the grain sack dresser – although I think the talented Kathleen did it free hand), and I’m loving it!! 

Do you love grain sacks as much as I do?

Sharing here:

Miss Mustard Seed

Tatertots and Jello

French Country Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

French Cutting Board Upcycle

Tags

diy cutting board, french cutting board, French Graphic cutting board, graphic transfers, refinished cutting board, vintage cutting board, wood burning graphic transfer, wood burning tool

Happy New Year everyone! I thought I’d start off the year with a little DIY project using a wood burning image transfer technique. I really hate it when I forget to take BEFORE PHOTOS! It always seems to happen when the “after” is {in my mind anyway} very dramatic. I really could kick myself for NOT snapping a photo of this little cutting board my mom asked me to salvage for her.

It was heavily varnished with some very ugly little flowers painted on it. I wasn’t sure if it was even worth tackling, but I decided to sand it down anyway and at least strip off the varnish and paint. I thought it would look good with a graphic on it, but didn’t want to paint it or use a lot of ink, because I wanted the end product to be food safe. I ended up transferring a the graphic lightly using Citra Solv and then used my Versa Tool to burn the image into the wood (my hope being that this process would burn off the ink and simply leave the darkened wood). The image is one of my favorites from the Graphics Fairy. The wood smelled so nice as I was burning it!

The Versa Tool is very handy. I picked it up last year at Michael’s and it includes a stencil cutting tool (hot) as well as a wood burning attachment. I’ve used it a lot, but this is one of the first times I’ve used the wood burning attachment. I like that the image is REALLY permanent – nothing except some heavy sanding is going to fade the image.

This year one of my goals is to get rid of all the plastic cutting boards in my kitchen and replace them with wooden ones. I think this wood burning tool will come in handy…

Sharing here:

Graphics Fairy

Debbie Doos

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Shabby Creek Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

Ikea Hack – Reverse Stencilled Stepstool

Tags

diy Ikea hacks, diy Ikea painted step stool, ikea hack step stool, Ikea step stool, painted ikea stool, reverse stencilled Ikea step stool, Wall decals

Happy New Year everyone! I’m excited about sharing a few projects that I couldn’t publish before Christmas, because they were gifts (so I had to be hush, hush)! You may all know by now that I love Ikea, so what better way to start off 2013 than by showing you how to hack an Ikea stepstool and really customize it to your decor. This wooden Ikea stool runs about $18 and is real wood, not MDF (woohoo!!).

I wanted to personalize it for my niece, so I went with some branch/bird wall decals that I picked up at the dollar store, and paired those with some CeCe Caldwell paint in a soft Kentucky Mint green. The stool did not need any sanding, so I just applied the decals and re-arranged them a little until I got the look I liked.

Then I painted directly over them with two coats of CeCe Caldwell.

After the second coat, I carefully removed the decals and used my fingernail to gently push out any small areas where the paint bled under the decal. After the paint was completely dry I lightly distressed some of the stools edges and applied two coats of satin poly acrylic. DONE! I really like the wood grain showing  - this is the cool thing about reverse stencilling. 

I might just have to go and pick one up for myself – this stool is the perfect height for  a vertically challenged person like me to reach the top cupboards in the laundry room!

Have you ever done an Ikea hack?

Sharing here:

DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Blackberry Vine

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Ikea Hackers

Miss Mustard Seed

Tatertots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors

2013 Project Goals

Tags

Downton Abbey, Homesense, Ikea, Kitchen, Livia, Living room, milk paint, Paint

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope 2013 brings great things your way. Last year I had a pretty good mental list of all the projects that I wanted to accomplish, and I did a pretty good job of checking off a number of them. For 2013 I thought I’d put my list of goals in a post… just put it out there and see what happens  - and so I can look back next year and see how much I was able to accomplish! I look forward to tackling these and more this year with inspiration from the rest of you great DIYers out there!

These are in no particular order:

1. Paint kitchen and add shelving. Find hardware for cupboards. Look into painting linoleum countertops (I know Rustoleum has a kit and I”ve seen other people do it, but it kind of freaks me out – is it really durable?). Possible stencil the “backsplash” using my quatrefoil handmade stencil.

2. Replace light fixtures in hallway (I have my eye on ones at Ikea).

3. Bedroom Makeover – paint room;build and upholster tufted headboard; better organize. New bedding would be nice too. This is probably one of my most ambitious goals for 2013!

4. Large mirror for hallway. I’ve seen ones I like at Homesense.

5. Paint living room Revere Pewter to match hallway and kitchen. Replace sconces; find matching oval mirrors for sides of fireplace.

6. Painted mirror and gallery wall of Livia’s artwork in her bedroom.

7. Upholster armchair that’s been sitting in my garage for several months, for our living room. I love the material I ordered from Joann’s – same as the curtains from the Downton Abbey house!

8. Move my blog over to WordPress.org and have my own domain name.

9. Find and upholster/paint chairs to go with my kitchen pedestal table.

10. Finish sewing the drop cloth ruffled valance for the kitchen window that I started last month. Find curtain rod to hang it.

11. Experiment more with milk paint.

12. Create some more artwork for my son’s room.

It’s a long list and I’m sure it will get longer as the year progresses… but I say BRING IT ON!

Top 10 of 2012

Tags

burlap accent pillows, diy light switch covers, DIY sunburst mirror, French Market bag, mason jar soap dispensers, metallic dresser, secretary desk

Hope you are all having a nice weekend and recovering from the Christmas frenzy! We had a wonderful time in Disneyland, but I’m glad to be home with still some time to relax before going back to work. I love doing this year end post – it’s fun to look back at all the  projects over the past year and re-read all your lovely comments. Here is 2012′s top ten posts, starting with:

No. 10 – Mason Jar Soap Dispensers

No. 9 – How To Dress Up Your Light Switches

No. 8 – Quatrefoil Parsons Table

No. 7 – Laundry Room Transformation

No. 6 – French Provincial Coffee Table

No. 5 – Metallic Sunburst Mirror

No. 4 – French Market Bag

No. 3  - Secretary Desk

No. 2 – Burlap Accent Pillows

No. 1 – Media Storage Metallic Dresser

The top referrers to this site in 2012 were:

Pinterest

Graphics Fairy

Miss Mustard Seed

Savvy Southern Style

French Country Cottage

Thank you to everyone that supports this blog. I love reading all of your comments and feedback – it keeps me inspired to try new things, and is always an exciting adventure!  Can’t wait to see what 2013 brings!

Linking up with:

 

Miss Mustard Seed

Funky Junk Interiors

Debbie Doo’s

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Rosemary Wreath

Tags

Christmas, diy rosemary wreath, diy wreath, Rosemary Wreath, Wreath

Wow! This past week has been crazy! I’ve been feeling a little under the weather the past two days, so have been really taking it easy, so that I’m not sick when we leave for Disneyland on Saturday!! I did manage to wrap some presents, but that’s about it! I promised to share with you how I made the rosemary wreath for my Christmas Finial. It was very easy and if you grow your own rosemary, very inexpensive too. I found a few willow wreaths at the Dollar Store and simply used some green floral wire to attach the pieces of rosemary. 

 

Here’s all you need:

1. Willow Wreath

2. Floral Wire

3. Several Rosemary Stems

 

I started by sticking the pieces of rosemary into the gaps between the willow branches.

I overlapped the stems until it looked like this:

I kept adding until I thought it looked full enough… then began tying using the floral wire.

I probably used about 6 pieces of floral wire around the wreath to get it looking the way I wanted it. 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it – you’re done!

 

Sharing here:

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

My Copycat Christmas Finial & Wreath

Tags

Christmas, Christmas Copycat Wreath and Finial Stand, Christmas Wreath and Finial, Rosemary Wreath, Wreath, Wreaths

JOY TO THE WORLD!

I’m keeping my Christmas decor simple this year. I love browsing around Mandeville Gardens (a local garden store) -  I could spend hours in there, ogling all of the Christmas trees and ornaments. Last year, I fell in love with these finials with wreaths, but didn’t end up buying one. Instead, I took a picture of them and have been thinking about how I could make my own copycat version this Christmas. Last weekend, I found these little finials at the thrift store – perfect for my little project!!

I glued them together and then added my wreath and a little bow…

I’m loving the simplicity of the zinc and metallic from my Pottery Barn knock off zinc letters and my sunburst mirror with the white finials and wreath.

The rosemary wreath smells divine. I’ll post more on how I made this later in the week.

Happy Monday!

Sharing at:

Debbie Doos Copycat Party

Coastal Charm

Tip Junkie

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

Great Teacher Gifts: DIY Mason Jar Soy Candles

Tags

christmas gifts, diy soy candles, easy microwave soy candles, how to make your own soy candles, make soy candles for teacher gifts, Soy candle, teacher gifts

Well, the Christmas rush has hit… I am starting to feel like I’m not sure how all the gifts are going to get done this year {yes – I am making a lot of them}! We are leaving for Disneyland on the 22nd and will be there over Christmas (EEK!) which means that a lot of the gifts for friends and family have to be ready by the 21st. I have managed to get gifts together for my daughter’s teachers. This year I thought I’d try making soy candles and have my daughter help. I found a bunch of these tiny mason jars during our summer visit to Vancouver Island – the perfect size for candles.

These were really easy to make and I was done in about 20 minutes.

Here’s what you need:

• 2-5 lbs of soy flakes (2.5 lbs makes approximately 6 candles of this size).
• essential oil (optional)
• wicks (I ordered a bag of 25 6″ pre-tabbed wicks )
• jars (or small tea cups)
• old bowl or dish that is microwavable
• old spoon
• several pencils or pens
• scissors

Instructions:

1. paint your jars and distress (if your going for vintage).
2. Adhere wicks to the bottom of each jar using a small bead of hot glue.
3. Put 4-5 cups of soy flakes (I bought mine here) in your bowl and microwave for approximately 2 and half minutes (or until all flakes melt).
4. Remove from microwave and let cool for approximately 2 minutes.
5. Add several drops of essential oil for fragrance and stir gently.
6. Wait approximately 5 minutes allowing wax to cool slightly.
7. Carefully pour wax into jars leaving about an inch of space from the top of the wick to the wax.
8. Set candles aside to cool and harden. Use pencils/pens to prop up wicks to they remain straight.
9. Trim wicks.
10. Wrap and give as personalized gifts!

I think these will make great teacher gifts and the best part is that my daughter helped paint them, and also helped with measuring the wax flakes and essential oil.

Sharing at:

DIY Showoff

Debbie Doos

Coastal Charm

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Tip Junkie

Blackberry Vine

Liz Marie

Savvy Southern Style

Redoux

French Country Cottage

Tatertots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors