Hello!

Where have y’all been?!  I’m kidding of course, since it feels like I’ve been off the radar for awhile.  I’ve been busy, peeps, very busy.  I’m in the middle of a few fun projects that I can’t wait to share with you!  Patience my Padawan.  (That was said as much for myself – I struggle with patience!  Don’t you?!)

Last week I was finally, FINALLY able to cross off a big to-do.  I have been itching to paint our hallway/entryway for a few months now.  I tried my best to wait until the boys got older (there’s that patience thing again – recurring theme?) but then I figured, Why live with it now when I can easily change it myself?!

Here were my issues… 1. The hallway is a long, windowless space that looks dark and gloomy, 2. There were too many finger prints, marks, scuffs, and crayon residue for my taste, 3.  The butter yellow paint had started to look too mature for our space.

My goal – To Freshen, Brighten and Update!

There are so many ways to pick paint color… Direction of light in the space, matching existing  pieces, following a theme (like zen or cottage, as examples).  In my case, I had seen a few rooms that I was diggin’ – Hence, the Inspiration Method.

I love this but could not find the color.  I searched!!

The color in this picture is Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore.  Fresh, right?  I kept writing that paint color down!  It had to be The One.

I rushed over, grabbed a sample and put it in three distinct places – one where the light is bright, one in the hallway with zero light and one where the wall gets only indirect light.

Sad face.

It looked like this instead

Without all that sunlight, it looked dark and moody.  Not what I was going for at all.  The color just had too much gray in there for my sunlight starved hallway.

I knew I had to go much lighter to get the same look in my space.  So, I purchased two other samples from Benjamin Moore in the white family.

Better but not quite right – sadly.

While I was gathering other stuff at Lowe’s I stumbled upon 2 colors that immediately caught my eye

and

These colors are actually quite light and looked great on the walls… BUT, one was a little too green and the other was a little too blue.  Weird that the one with green in it’s name was too blue.  Things that make you go Hmmm.

So I did what any other super awesome person would do – I had them mix the colors 50/50.  Does that mean I get to name my own paint color??

Score!

What do you think?

 

Notice how all the lights were on with the butter yellow walls?  It’s much perkier now.

If you’ve seen a color that you’re dying to have in your house, keep these things in mind –

1.  Buy no more than 2 samples at one time.  It’s important to get an idea of what your space needs.  Did you go too light?  Too gray?  For instance, with my brazilian cherry floors and lack of light, greens looked blue and clear blues looked dreary.

2.  With that said, be prepared to spend $30 on samples.  You want to pick the right color the first time!

3.  Test your paint in different areas if the lighting varies.  You might love it where the sun hits it directly, but dislike the color in the evening or in the shadows.

4.  If you like two colors, have them mixed up for you!  I went 50/50, but you can go 60/40 or 70/30.  Just take a photo of the color code and file it in your paint folder!

5.  Take your time and don’t get discouraged!  It’s only paint, right?!

Now the fun part – Dressing those naked walls!

Hooray for freshening up!  Feels good.  And Happy.  Smile.

Hello Amigos!

Need a little Monday break before getting into traffic?  Or hopefully you’re checking this out from home while getting a little din-din ready.  Either way, very nice to have ya!

For those of you who have been following the pot posts, you know that this is the last of the 3 that I promised.  Are you just dying to see what I came up with?!  Or are you just wondering how a model could inspire pot numero tres?

Well, I was reading an article about Erin Wasson, a super hottie, and you know me, I was checking out her digs, not the heels.  Here’s what caught my eye…

Kinda cool, huh?  It’s a bit boho, a bit Jonathan Adler and a bit weird.  I was smitten instantly.

I had an old glass vase lying around (roughly 5×5), so I grabbed that and then I stole some of my kids Crayola air-dry clay.  This stuff is super cool and easy to work with!  Dig in!

I wrapped the glass in clay

Take care at the top since this clay CANNOT get wet or it will absorb the water later.  I folded it a little bit at the top but not much since I didn’t want water hitting it later.  Now, if you’ve got lines on your clay like I do, not to fret!!  We’ll take care of those later.  And please, please, please use your fingers to give the clay texture so it’s kinda bumpy – that makes it look handmade.

Add the lips, and use your fingers to attach and smooth them to the pot.  Dip your fingers in water and smooth out the lines and bumps.  (See?)

This picture was taken about 30 minutes post lip attachment surgery because while I was literally forming the lips, I heard Ed calling for me in that “Oh F” tone of voice.  Which means that something really bad has gone down and mama needs to get there asap!  (If you must know, I had put the twins for a nap with no diaper since we are potty training and both had gone 1 and 2 prior. So, I figured they were empty, bowel-wise, right… Well, oh well, they BOTH had ANOTHER #2 in the bed.  A reminder to me, to never, ever expect to get anything done during a nap.  Thank you God, I think I might be learning my lesson – finally. maybe.)

Anyhow, maybe the lack of time helped me in this case ’cause I didn’t have the luxury of fretting whether it was perfect.  I slapped ’em on, used a plastic spoon to make the opening/slit and then flew off to Area 51.

Folks, please don’t expect perfection to happen in the 48 hours of dry time.  Actually, set yourself up for heartbreak.  This was my lippy pot 2 days later…

AHHHH, WRINKLES ON MY MODEL!!  NOOO!  She’ll never work in this city!

Being the surgeon I am, I took some of the clay and smashed it up in a plastic cup with water so it was all mushy like paste.  Then I used my fingers to spackle up the cracks!

Took me two tries to get the cracks out – which wasn’t cool.  But it only takes a few minutes to do it so it’s not tough to do.  Just giving you the heads up!

So, after the initial 30 minutes of fun clay sculpting, 48 hrs of dry time, 5 mins of botox round One, 24 hrs dry time, 5 minutes botox round Two, 24 hrs dry time, and (finally) 10 minutes of planting, it was ddddoooonnnneee!  That’s it!!

Does that smirk say “Mayday in twins room.” Or maybe, “I’m glad I don’t have a nose.”  (Yeah, the whole house stank that day.)

Here’s the trio

So much fun!  That plant looks like hair – Love how it’s casually going across the … hmm, face doesn’t sound right here??  Pot?  You know what I’m saying right!?!

Please let me know if you’ve transformed anything lately!  I’d love to share it with everyone!!

Tootles!  And Get Your Hands Dirty!

Hi!

So… what did you think when you read the header??  I’m amusing myself with thoughts that some people will stumble upon this blog looking for something completely different.  If that’s you… You’ve been caught!  But hey, I could just throw in a “recipe” for fun.  Good times had by all, yes?!

Well, fortunately or unfortunately (you pick a side) this is about pot #2… a literal pot for a houseplant.  (Whomp whomp.)

There has been so much tribal-inspired decor everywhere that I had to jump into the mix.

Love this

and this is fun too

It’s just enough… You don’t want to go all tribal with tribal, ya know what I mean?!

Meanwhile I mull over totally duplicating that tribal wallpaper on one of my walls, I decided to take a first step by injecting a plain, glass vessel with some indigenous flavor.

I had bought an oil-based gold pen at a flea market awhile back.  So I just whipped that puppy out and tested it on the bottom of the glass.  It dried fast and didn’t wipe off with water.  Yes. If you go out to buy one it will say permanent on it and just make sure it’s oil based… meaning it’s gonna stink.

Here were some inspiration pics I pulled off a search for tribal –

Gotta get those creative juices flowing!

I used some masking tape to get a few straight lines… I didn’t want it to look all wonky, so I highly recommend this (and soooooo much easier than trying to get a ruler or something like that).

It’s a weird shot because the colors are off, but the white area is the glass and the ivory part is the tape.  I wrapped the tape in differing widths for a variety of patterns.  The best thing about this project is that the look is supposed to be freehanded – it’s more organic that way.  So throw perfection out the window!!

You can see how shiny the gold actually looks.  Oh la la!

You don’t need to do anything else except draw the little details on – no sealing, no paint inside, nada.  Just put in the plant and done.

This is definitely a project you can do while you’re on the phone with your bestie or rehashing the day with the ball and chain.  And it looks mighty nice if I do say so myself.

Still one more pot to go!  I think it’s my favorite of the bunch!!

Hope you’re enjoying the short week!!  Tootles!