Master Bedroom Redesign on a Budget - DIY Ombre Art

I've been loving the whole ombre trend, so when I saw this bright pink ombre canvas done by Danielle Oakey, I added it to my Pinterest DIY to-do list right away.  Isn't that thing gorgeous? Especially paired with that exquisite blue desk.

I did mine in yellow and practiced beforehand on a piece of paper. Pretty straightforward - start with straight yellow, then add more and more white as you get to the middle. It's not an exact science,  just an eyeball-it kind of thing. I used some acrylic paints I already had in my stash.

Since I knew I was getting rid of this black and white leaves canvas from Ikea, I decided to see if I could re-purpose it instead of handing it over to Goodwill. 

Turns out I could! I painted over it using leftover white Valspar from this dresser project. It took several coats, but now you can't see the black at all.

Then I just jumped in and started applying the yellow.

The pictures aren't great, so I didn't take too many, but you get the idea. Dark yellow turns into lighter yellow equals ombre. 

And here's the finished painting. Every time my daughter walks into my room and sees it she says, "Nice picture, mom!" I have to agree. I love how it turned out! It totally brightens our room and I can see it fitting in perfectly with everything else I've got in mind for the room.

Oh, and the best part is, the only thing I bought for this project was a 39 cent wide foam brush. Woot! 

*Martha

Modern Fairytale Posters

Thank you Cup of Jo for posting these wonderful modern fairytale posters.

The artist is Christian Jackson and you can buy them here.

Glitter Art

I'm dying that Home By Novogratz is not on Hulu but I was able to catch a few episodes at my sister's house recently. Another thing I was dying over (in a good way)? The glitter art in one of their episodes. I kept hitting my sister in the arm and gasping, "Heather! Glitter art! Heather! Glitter art!" I don't know why I thought it was so genius ... I think it is the scale of the art. Each piece is quite H-U-G-E. It's done by Camomile Hixon and was featured in a home staging done by the Novogratz's, as seen below.

 {3 above images from here}

{2 images above from her gallery}

Are you as stunned by this large glitter art as me? Or are you like, "Puhlease. Glitter is so 2nd grade!"

*Martha

Horse Art

It's the Kentucky Derby this weekend! Let's celebrate with some horsey art. I saw this huge, amazing horse painting in the lobby of Hotel 1000, where my hubby and I stayed last weekend for our 5th anniversary.  I really love it. I stared at it for awhile. It's so big, it really consumes you.

White stallion anyone? I think "white" and "wild" when I see this portrait. So rad.

A little more abstract here.

And an amazing blown up print; love that brilliant sky, too!

If you didn't get a chance to don a large hat for the Royal Wedding, go ahead and do it while watching the races! You have my permission. Have a good one.


*Martha

Hot Air Balloon Canvas

I'm almost finished with my boy/girl nursery, and this hot air balloon canvas is one of the final projects. It's been hanging over my head for a long time because I knew what I wanted but couldn't find a way to execute it. I have been searching for some old book with big pictures or drawings of hot air balloons to cut out, but that never panned out. Then I saw a post by Stephmodo; she had done a hot air balloon party for her daughter and used this wrapping paper from Clover, a kids' store near my house. Isn't it adorable? Vintage looking and everything. 

I thought it'd be perfect until I started cutting each balloon out and putting them all over my 24 x 30 inch canvas I had already spray painted blue. The scale wasn't working; the balloons were just too tiny. So, I started doing my own thing. 

I cut templates for three different sized balloons and baskets and used them to cut simple balloons out of my own paper.

I added some frills. Hopefully they are still boyish-enough frills. Are they? I kept having to remind myself that this is for a BOY and not a girl. I don't know - maybe when I meet him, I'll realize the error of my frills and tear it down and try again. But for now, I actually really like it. I incorporated the tiny, vintage balloons from the wrapping paper and the canvas looked like this:

I stared at it for days because something about it was BUGGING me. I tore off the tiny balloons because I feel like they were trying too hard to fit in, plus it felt a little too busy with them there. 

And now it looks like this:

I like it sooooo much better. I realize it's very kitschy, especially those hilarious clouds. But I like it; kitschy works for me, and it'll go better with the hot air balloon mobile, too.

What do you think? Were the tiny, vintage balloons working? Or was I right to rip them off? 

And what about you - have you attempted your own artwork for your children's rooms? Is it something you're proud of and love to see every time you hang out in the nursery? That is my one criteria for things in the nursery: do I love seeing it every time I go in? Or does it just BUG? I will hang this thing up and know soon enough if it bugs ... and if it does, I'll tear it down and start over on something else.

*Martha

Catalog & CD Cover Art

To switch things up at my house from time to time, I'll look around for paper goods that inspire me. Sometimes it comes in the form of catalogs from places like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. I flip through them for photos with stuff instead of people - stuff that is styled well, or color combinations that speak to me - and then I cut out the pages and put them in frames or on my inspiration board.

I really enjoyed the spring Anthropologie catalog, so I tore out a few pages to stick in random places.

I really liked the bright colors in this table/eating scene so I framed it and put it in my kitchen window.

This line up of old fashioned scissors caught my eye. I cut it out, mounted it on white card stock and it landed in a frame on my nightstand.

Do you guys still buy CDs? Yes, CDs, they still exist. And I like them. Buying music at a real store and popping it in my car stereo a few minutes later still does it for me.

A few months back, I bought a Sara Bareilles CD. One of my favorite things in the world is to read the 'thank you' section of a CD cover. I always try to uncover their dirt, like what person they thanked do they actually have a relationship with? Or do they have a spouse? A dog? Do they get really cheeky with their band mates? Do they get a little silly and enjoy what they do? Hmm? It's like blog stalking, really. 

Anyway, while flipping through the cover, I found three images I loved. So I promptly cut them out and put them side by side in a floating frame. 

And on my mantel it remains.

What do you use for cheap or free art in your home? The possibilities really are endless, especially if it's something with sentimental value ... what about fabric scraps, birthday cards, a book jacket, a candy wrapper, tickets to a show, pressed flowers, sheet music, gift tags? 

*Martha

Organizing Children's Art

This article got me thinking about the many ways to organize and display children's art work. May I share with you my personal favorite: the clothesline/cable system. Not that I have put it to use just yet. My daughter is only 21 months. But I hear once the kiddie artwork starts coming, it doesn't let up. 




Here's why I like the clothesline as the first line of defense in dealing with artwork. 


1. It's not permanent. You can quickly put up a new piece of art whether you love it or hate it and constantly edit and rotate as the child brings more home. 


2. It changes up the decor on a regular basis and adds new pops of unique color and design to the wall. 


3. It can work in several different places in the house. I like the kitchen (because it gets it off your fridge and can become a conversation piece around the dinner table), the hallway (think of it as a gallery, maybe install real gallery lighting to make it more special), the playroom or child's bedroom (where the child can take control and rotate it as they choose). 


After the art moves out of the clothesline rotation and you and/or your child have chosen the favorites, it could be put into frames and moved to a more permanent art wall. Then when it's time to let it go, decide what to keep and what to trash, and put the keepers in a long term file folder for each child.


Here are a couple photos of the clothesline approach.


You could easily work with what you already have to create one; pictured above is twine and office clips, below is string and clothes pins.

Or Etsy has some cute supplies to made your own, like these colorful tiny clothespins and baker's twine. Secure the ends on the wall with faux metal Command hooks.

These colorful clips come from The Land of Nod.

 Here's a crisp look with the IKEA curtain rings and clips.

Pottery Barn Kids has several cable systems, with a variety of gender specific versions.

What do you think, readers? Have you put this to use yet or do you go for another approach? What works for you in managing and organizing your children's art?


Happy Friday!


*Martha


images 1. Hybrid Simplicity 2. houzz 3 & 4. Bella Creationz 5 & 6. Land of Nod 7. OhDeeDoh 8 & 9. Pottery Barn Kids 

LOC Gift Shop

If you love historical or old fashion art that has a story behind it, a fun place to browse is the Library of Congress online gift shop. Many of the prints or posters have a side bar that contains some background information on the piece and its historical significance.

I went to Arches National Park in Utah about a thousand times growing up. I think this old travel poster would be cute in a little boy's room or an office.

This is an obvious choice for a laundry room. We can dream about the day when men do laundry while we sit idly by, can't we?

My interest in zoos is renewed after getting a zoo pass this week! I saw some amazing birds there. This poster reminds me of them.

Here's a Depression era poster. But what really caught my eye is that vibrant yellow and the old fashioned signage. I love old buildings and love them even more when they are captured nicely in photography.

Did you love the Little Miss Muffet story growing up? It was definitely a weird one. Curds and whey? What? Anyway, still a cute story and I like how it is portrayed here (now we can see what that tuffet looked like!). This would make a cute little addition to a girl's room. Especially if you were blatantly pushing reading and terror of spiders on her.

Love and loopholes (do you like election season rhetoric? me neither),

Martha

Poster Cabaret

I like to bookmark places online that have cool, affordable art. I just found Poster Cabaret that has a good variety of posters from a variety of different artists. I love these sweet animal prints by Marisa Haedike. They would be adorable in either a girl or boy nursery.

Love and Laramie, Wyoming,

Martha

Bird Canvas

Here's another canvas I did recently, this time for my daughter's room. Her nickname is The Bird. Even though the name makes it seem like birds are the obvious choice for decorating, I have been avoiding all the bird related art that's trendy right now. But then ... I just embraced it! The picture above was my inspiration, which I bookmarked here. I bought the only bird paper I could find and, sadly, didn't end up using much of it because I didn't want too many that were similar. The big birds I didn't even use at all because they were too large. 

I spray painted a canvas pink; it was an old canvas that had polka dots on it that I had previously created for Birdie's room but was never thrilled about. I cut branches out of brown paper that had an interesting texture that reminded me of bark. I went easy on the mod podge because it was a lightweight paper. I didn't mod podge over any of the paper I used, just under, because I needed to keep the painted part of the canvas free of glue smudges. Make sense? I'm sure you could use Elmer's glue, too.

I cut out some birds and played around with their placement.

I bought two shades of green glittery paper for leaves and cut those out, just making up shapes and sizes as I went along.

I added more branches. Then glued on the leaves wherever they looked good to me.

Finally, I glued on the birds. I think I added one more after I took this shot. I do hope to add a couple more birds if I find some different bird paper. 

Until then, it works well in my daughter's room. Right next to the bird mobile I made last year. Alright, alright, I was lying about avoiding bird art! I've embraced it all along! And maybe you should, too!