Tree Canvas

On a recent hot summer day I created this GCD Studios project for my daughter. I can't think of a better way to spend a scorcher of a day than inside creating! 

We redecorated her bathroom recently and she needed some new artwork to coordinate.  The colors in the room now are bright and cheerful, but are unique hues of orange, green and aqua.  So, custom art was the perfect option.

I started with a 10x20 canvas and painted the background aqua. (I created suitable match by mixing two shades of aqua I had on hand.) 

Next, I drew a basic tree with branches to scale on my computer and printed it out.  I traced over the tree lines with pencil rather heavily.  I turned the paper over and used a bone folder to rub the lead onto the canvas.  Once those rough lines were there to guide me in painting my tree, I felt much more comfortable tackling hand painting the tree.

Once the paint was dry, I glued leaves leaves I hand-cut from various printed papers from GCD Studios that matched the shower curtain and towels in the room.  

I also found the cutest little bird to perch on the tree from the large collection of chip art from GCD Studios.  I painted the bird brown and glued him down with liquid glue.

I used Matte Mod Podge as the glue for the leaves and finishing coat to protect the art.  I may decide to spray with a clear coat finish since she is known to take really, really long showers. :)  

Don’t hesitate to turn to your scrapbook supplies to create your own masterpiece for your home. My daughter loves her new artwork and so do I. :)

Aubusson Blue!!

With my first shipment of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I ordered a hand painted color swatch. I felt like I wanted to see the colors in person before I ordered anything other than Old White.

I studied the colors intently and admired their European beauty, but really couldn't decide what color to order next.  Then one day it hit me while I was doing a workout video (Jullian Michael's Ripped in 30) in my living room.  As I agonized on the floor, trying to focus on something else other than my pain, I realized that Aubusson Blue was a color I could pull out from my living room rug.

Of course at this point I didn't know what exactly I was going to paint that color, but I loved the idea.

Weeks passed and I found this great little buffet on Craig's list.

My intention was to use the buffet in my dinning room, which was in dire need of more furniture. I even put it in place waiting for some inspiration on what color to paint it.

After we returned from our vacation and visit down south, I ended up going to an auction and bought another piece better suited for the dinning room space.  (More details on the auction another time, I promise.)

This buffet then became the perfect candidate for Aubusson Blue!!

And it became the perfect piece for under my beloved gallery wall. :)

Here it is in the room.

I've used pillows to bring out highlight the color more in the room and hide the faded leather on the sofa.  I plan to slip cover the sofa because it's really in good shape structurally, it's just terribly faded from the sun beating in through the 2-story windows across from it. I was actually surprised by how good the sofa looked in the photo, but this was taken in the morning and the sun beats into these windows all afternoon. Instead of being a nice rich dark brown, the leather looks rusty and bleached.)

Here's one more close-up. I used 2 1/2 coats of paint and Johnson's paste wax to seal it.

I just love the pop of color it brings to the room.  I smile a little inside each time I walk by it.

So What is it?

For those of you with inquiring minds, that piece of junk that I converted into a memo/inspiration keeper I showed yesterday....

 was trash from this project. Any guesses?

Here's another hint.

Don't my guys look happy to be planting these huge trees?  This one was really almost too big for the two of them to handle.

Yes, that's right it came from the river birch trees the guys planted. The wires were the tree cages.  After Richard removed them, they sat in the garage for a few days and then I realized what a cool swirly pattern they had and saw the potential.

Of course, Richard does not really understand the up-cycling or junk art concept, even now that it's hanging on the wall. lol  I think it's cool and actually quite functional. I'm happy.

From mess to fabulous

I'm finally fulfilling my promise to share more on the blue dresser in my studio.

I picked this dresser up at one of our local used furniture stores. I was enamored with the legs. The rest, was in pretty bad shape.  Peeling veneer, dove tail drawers coming undone, but beyond all that I could see the potential in my "first project".

(Of course if you've been here before you know this did not end up being my "first project". See that here.)

I began by sanding the top, which was about the only part that was in decent shape.  It refinished nicely with a dark walnut stain and two coats of Johnson's wax.  In fact, if I could "love" a part of this piece it's the top. I am so proud of myself!

I painted the body with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Louis Blue and hit the details with Old White.
I decided to just embrace the peeling veneer and scrapped off what I could and sanded it down.  I now know I could have used some heat to make it come off entirely.  It's a learning experience and I am enjoying that. :)

I think it came out beautiful. Love the color.

In it's home in my studio, it's really hard to photograph. My work desk is right in front of it, blocking the natural light, but it is such a welcome piece to the room. I needed the storage for all of my supplies from GCD Studios and a new sturdier place for my punches.

Check back tomorrow and I'll share "what the heck is that thing hanging above the dresser?"  Can you guess?

The report

So by all accounts, Miles and Emily had a really good first day.  I loved that they were both talkative and willing to share about their day.

Miles' standard response to "How was your day?" is "Good". So that was a welcome change.

Well, actually Miles' day ended fairly lousy when he walked out to the truck to find it plastered in not one, but three parking tickets!  It took him a while to realize it was only a parking ticket and not something to be overly concerned about.  He, and all the other sophomores who drove to school yesterday, parked in the wrong direction.  I think it's totally unfair for the police to actually ticket on the first day, much less give more than one. They were teenagers focused on getting to school for goodness sake!  Oh well, it's been noted and I'm sure it won't happen again.

After school, Miles drove himself to swim team practice. (Can I tell you how much I'm NOT missing driving all the way across town to the pool?)

Emily, who recently started playing on a U13 competitive soccer team, had a scrimmage with another U14 team on the same league.

A few weeks ago her team scrimmaged the other U14 team and got creamed.  This week, they really held their own.  The game ended in a tie 3-3.  They looked pretty good.  Her team is newly formed so they are still getting to know each other, finding their positions, etc.  Emily is really happy with her coach and her team in general, so that's what counts.

I am extremely happy I was able to put together a carpool with three other families. If I thought the pool was far from our house, this practice field is really the furthest distance possible inside the city limits from our house.

Here's to hoping the second day goes just as well, minus the parking tickets!

Back to school...

Wow! It's with some very mixed emotions that I write about back to school this year.  We had such a great summer. I really didn't want it to end.

Loved the slow pace. Having the kids home. Not doing much or having a schedule. Just hanging out. We had some wonderful vacations. It was really a great summer.

Here's our traditional by the front door, first day of school photo.  (They have to stand in the shadow of this column because the door faces due east.)

The thing that I most noted this year with Emily's back to school preparation included a lot more primping and planning before school.

She chose to wear a skirt.

She painted her nails, with the super fashionable hot pink and white crackle finish.

She straightened her hair.

For Emily, that's a new level of detail to fashion and grooming.  That's not to say she was ever poorly groomed, it just that in previous years, she would be okay with wearing her hair in a ponytail on the first day, just like any other. :)

Miles was... focused on getting his breakfast and making a bee line for the door.

And rightly so.  He drove himself and Emily to school today in Richard's truck.  (Her Middle school is just around the corner form his High School.)

Yes, Miles put on his seat belt before he left the driveway, but that photo wasn't as good as this one.

Wow, when you contrast the above photo to this one below... the last time they rode in the same vehicle to school. My heart breaks, just a little.

This was seven years ago. They were going to the same elementary school.

Funny how in both photos, Miles definitely has the proud, big brother smile.  I love that.

SO sweet!!  I miss these little guys.  They still are this sweet now, but only on the inside and only sometimes. ;)

Now, it's quiet in the house.  That's where the mixed feelings come in.

I'm sad summer is over, but I'm hoping with the school schedule I can get back to regular posting here and enjoy the sound of quiet productivity.

I have LOADS to share. We have been very busy this summer with projects and I still have some great things to share from our vacations.

Off to get some scrapbook projects done! Due dates loom. I think I'm doing a back to school page.  That seems appropriate. Don't you think? Until tomorrow!!

My latest obsession...

My latest obsession is...

keeping me from posting here.

keeping me from sleeping.  I wake up ready to get to work and I'm not a morning person.

had me at an auction a few days ago and I loved it. Came home with 2 truck loads of goodies. :)

is making me creatively happy.

And this obsession is painted furniture, re-purposed treasures and redecorating our home.

I'll share more about this dresser I've put in my studio when I can get better photos. (Not much light in this area of the room so it's hard to photograph.)

Have so much to share and so little time! Be back soon, I promise.

Back from the south, but still sharing California...

The blog has been a little neglected this summer and I hope to get in a schedule of posting now that our summer is winding down.  We've been on a road trip to Louisiana and then a stop at the beach, Perdido Key, FL.

This was the view from our morning runs. :)

 It was a great trip. Loved being at the beach again.  Nothing like sand in your toes and the sound of hte waves crashing to renew your spirit and relax your mind.  But before I go into our trip south, I need to finish sharing our trip to California.

I left off the last vacation installment on our second day at Sequoia National Park. The day started in brilliant sunshine. We were eager to hike and see these amazing trees with a backdrop of beautiful blue skies unlike the day we arrived.

Unfortunately, once we went around to the other side of the mountain to see the General Sherman tree the clouds returned.

We tried to hike up Moro Rock but it was so cloudy it wouldn't have been worth the effort of climbing up all those stairs, 400 to be exact, to have zero visibility. :(

So we drove to see more trees. When we drove around to the other side, it was clear again.

Our next stop was Round Meadow.  The path takes you around a lovely meadow surrounded by the giant sequoias. 

By far the most amazing thing we saw that day was black bears feeding in the lush meadow.  Unlike grizzly bears, the black bear is rather mellow. The first bear we saw "up close" was sleeping in a tree. :)  We thought that was so cool. 

We watched very quietly from our spot for a few minutes and then continued on the trail

Soon after, we turned the corner on the path and one of the bears was walking toward the meadow on the right of us. We were directly in his path. He's in between the two smaller pine trees in the middle.

He was moving rather slowly, so walked on and then turned around to watch him make his way to the meadow. (In hindsight, this was probably a pretty dumb move to let the bear be behind us, but we had no reason to be afraid.)

There were some more bears already in meadow.

Here's that guy finally crossing the path.

Headed to feed in the meadow.

Later that day, Richard and I left the weary kids in the lodge and headed out for our own hiking adventure.

We discovered our love for hiking a couple years ago when we took a summer trip to the Rocky Mountains . Such good memories and of course loads of beautiful landscape photos. This hike was just as breathtaking, but greener. Not sure if it is the climate difference or just because it was still spring.

That rock in the distance was our destination. The trail pretty much meandered up the mountain, along the stream.

 I love the sound of the rushing water next to the trail.  So relaxing and exhilarating at the same time.

Given the snow fall a few days before it was just a little bit treacherous. Often, we found it was hard to find the actual trail.

The waterfall was pretty, but views from the top were amazing.

Headed down with the sun. I took almost as many photos going down as I did up.  I just didn't want it to end. :)

On the way down we ran into a college student who was working the deli earlier in the day.  She runs the trail as often as she can.  Can you imagine getting to run this?  Not only is it a real workout, but the views!!

She kindly took our photo.

All through the hike, we were moving pretty quickly.  We couldn't go at a leisurely pace because we were losing daylight.  We knew the kids would be worried if we weren't back at the lodge before dark. The sun was just beginning to set when we made it back down.

So, one more beautiful day of Sequoia to share next time and then off to San Francisco!