Easy Art (and a Facebook Plug)

If you're a fan of `a casarella's Facebook page you probably know that I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market this past Sunday.   (And if you're not a Facebook fan, I'd love it if you'd become one.  You can find my FB page here.)

Anyway, the flea market was amazing and will definitely require its own post.  It's going to take me a few days to digest the whole thing, though, so that post will have to wait.  (That's really code for, "I took 500 pictures and need to sort through them all...)

Anyhoo, I did manage to do a small flea market inspired project that I can share with you today.

It started at a booth that had a table full of these:

What are they, you ask?  Good question.  Originally they were some sort of fabric samples.  My best guess is upholstery but I could be waay off.  Anyway, the moment I saw them I envisioned them as framed art.  Each one was only a dollar so I found two that I liked and went on my way.  (Of course in hindsight I wish I'd gotten more but, oh well...)

These were the two I picked.  I just love the colors.  They remind me of the ocean:

I could tell they were fabric samples by the holes in the top...

 ...and the labels on the back.

The project itself was pretty simple.  I picked up a couple of Ribba frames from IKEA... 

 ...and popped the fabric inside.

My only dilemma?

Should the stripes be vertical...

...horizontal...

...or should I do one of each?

I'm leaning towards two horizontal since you can see more of the colors that way.  I'd love your input if you'd like to leave a comment. You could even leave it on my Facebook page!  (Oh I am shameless...)

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Linking:

http://www.thecottagemarket.com/2012/10/junkin-joe-vintage-thrifty.html

http://blog.capscreations.com/

http://www.apinchofjoy.com/2012/10/busy-monday-week-of-october-28/

http://stylishonceagain.blogspot.com/

http://stylishonceagain.blogspot.com/

A Broken Commandment

You know that commandment that says "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house?"  Well, I kind of broke it.


And by broke I mean that I smashed it to little bits.

You see, this weekend I visited my sister-in-law's house and oh my goodness is it ever beautiful (totally worth breaking a commandment for).  In fact, one of these days I'm going to do a full-on John and Sherry style house crashing tour but today you'll just have to settle for a sneak peek of some of my favorite elements.



Element #1 is the giant chalkboard in her kitchen:

(I had a hard time getting a good photo so I'm including two...)

My sister-in-law had the idea and my father-in-law helped her execute it.  He built a frame out of molding and attached it to the wall.  Then they filled in the center with magnetic chalkboard paint. The picture really doesn't capture the fabulousness of it.  It is huge and usually sports the artistic stylings of my three-year-old niece.  (Are you starting to feel a little envy?  I know, right?  A total commandment breaker.)  

Honestly, I would love to have one of my own.  Unfortunately, I have a weird thing about chalk dust.  (It's right up there with pumpkin guts in terms of giving me the heebie-jeebies which is a strange thing for a former teacher to admit....)   I do have a similar idea in mind though, and if I ever execute it I'll let you all know.  

Speaking of similar ideas, I wanted to show you another one of my sister-in-law's projects.  This one is in her dining room:

Again, she made a frame out of molding.  She then proceeded to wallpaper the middle.  The project isn't exactly complete; there will eventually be a console table and a mirror resting against the wallpaper.  I will definitely post a picture when the room is done.  I just know it's going to be fabulous.  

  

Here's a close-up so you can see the frame a little better:

Another room that I love is the kids' bathroom.  I wish there was a good way for me to capture the whole thing in one shot.  For now I'll just show you this:

It's only a tiny corner but this little built-in suggests just how charming and whimsical the whole room is.  Don't you love the striped paint and the punchy green color inside the niche?  I mean, who wouldn't want to be potty trained in there?

The last part of this mini-tour focuses on an adorable craft that I spied in my nephew's room.  It was made by his babysitter who also seems pretty awesome.  (Is there a commandment about coveting thy sister-in-law's babysitter?  Just call me a sinner...)  

She pinned the idea here.  (Original source and tutorial found here.) 

It's a hot air balloon mobile that hangs in the middle of the room.  The top is a painted embroidery hoop...

...and the balloon baskets are made of corks.  (How cute is that?!)

 

And if you're admiring the rest of the room, wondering about the pretty painting or the fun architecture, don't worry.  I really do plan on doing a full house tour some day.   

Until then you'll just have to covet this tiny bit.

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Linking:

http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/2013/01/sns-171-link-up-your-charming.html

Faux Zinc Letters

If you've been hanging around Pinterest or the blogosphere, you've probably run across a few knock-offs of these fun Zinc Letters from Anthropologie.  (Like: here and here and here and here and here.)  This is understandable because, a) those letters are pretty cool and, b) they're also $18 a pop.  (Which is kind of pricey if you want to, oh, I don't know, maybe spell something with them?)

As much as I enjoyed those projects, I never really planned on making my own.  It just wasn't on my project radar, so to speak.   That is until one day when I spied these in Target's "One Spot" bins.  (Curse you, Target!  I cannot walk through your doors without getting sucked into the One Spot's vortex.)

The letters are three dimensional and made of cardboard.  They cost a dollar apiece.  The weirdest part is that there were exactly two left.  

And they happened to be my initials.  

If that is not a sign from the One Spot Gods I don't know what is.

I brought them home and they sat in the garage for awhile while I pondered their fate, but in the back of my mind I knew what I wanted to do.  You see, some friends of mine are having a little party.  It's a spray paint party.  And while I've already established that I am kind of a lousy spray painter, I also love a good party.  So I decided to start with a small project, something that would at least get my foot in the door.

How fortunate that I already had these cans of spray paint in my garage.  The one on the right is gray primer.  On the left  is a silver metallic.  

I poked some thumbtacks in the letters to keep them elevated while I spray painted.  (Yes, they left little holes.  No, I don't really care.)

Then I sprayed a thin, even coat of the primer.  Unfortunately there must have been some dry paint in the nozzle because the first spritz blasted my "E" with little flecks of paint.  I was able to sand most of them off but since part of the charm of zinc letters is their "imperfections," I wasn't too worried. 

After the primer I sprayed a few coats of silver....

And this was the end result.  (That spot on the left side of the E isn't as noticeable in person.)

I love them and can't wait to find them a permanent home.

Thanks, One Spot Gods!

Linking:

Pumpkins that are Blingy (Not Stringy)

Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that are the most mind-blowing.  

Like the fact that you can decorate a pumpkin without actually having to carve it.  

This was quite the revelation for me.  H-U-G-E.  

You see, I have a serious aversion to pumpkin guts.  Just the thought of those stringy innards sets off my gag reflex.  

(Shudder.)

So last year, when I started seeing uncarved pumpkins on Pinterest--pumpkins that had been painted, bejeweled, Sharpied and more--I filed those ideas away for this fall.

Then, last week, as I walked into my local grocery store, I saw these little cuties just waiting to be bought.  I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do with them so I threw them in an old vase until I was ready to make my move.

And frankly, they looked quite pretty just the way they were, but I wanted to do more.

A day later I found myself at Michael's where the "Recollections" line of embellishments were 50% off so I picked up  few packs of "Bling on a Roll." 

Which I really want to rename "Bling on a String."  

Because it rhymes.  

And because I've got a string theme going on here.

Working with this stuff was so much easier than working with individual sticker-gems...

...at least it was easier for my purposes:

I just wrapped them around my pumpkins for a little fall pizazz...

...no pumpkin guts required!

Marrying my Obsessions

So by now we all know that I have a thing for succulents.

(Wait, you didn't know?  See here and here for confirmation of said obsession.)

Another little obsession of mine is milk glass.  (Discussed here and here.)  In fact, I have an entire shelf in my garage dedicated to thrifted milk glass:

So when I found this a couple of months ago on Pinterest, I was pretty stoked.  (Original source here.)

For those of you who didn't click on those links--and you should really click on the links, people--I'm talking about succulents planted in milk glass!  How great is that?

So yesterday while the kiddos were in school I took a little trip to Home Depot and picked up these:

At $1.99 apiece for the little ones and $2.49 for the bigger one they were a bargain.   The milk glass was also inexpensive, I think these three cost about $6.00 total at Goodwill.

Toss in a little cactus soil, insert the plants and, voila!  Instant centerpieces...

...perfect for a wedding, or in this case, a marriage of two obsessions!

Sharing:

http://girlinthegarage.net/2013/09/throwback-thursday-1/

Pinspired: Flower Petal Lantern

Early on in my relationship with Pinterest, I spied a craft that I just knew I had to try.

Yes, I did refer to it as a relationship.  Anything this passionate has to be a relationship.  

(Otherwise I'm just a hussy.)

So as I was saying, there was this craft--tissue paper lanterns, seen here and here--and I just knew I had to make one.  Lucky for me I already had a bunch of paper lanterns left over from my mother's wedding.

That would be the wedding I hosted here in my house.  

Remember all those sitcoms in the seventies where someone would get engaged and the next week there would be a wedding in the main character's living room?  

Well, just call me Maude.  Or Alice.  Or Rhoda.   

(I shudder to think how many of you will not get those references.)

So as I was saying, I already had the lantern:

And old faithful (a.k.a. my trusty glue gun):

The one item lacking was a package of tissue paper circles.  I found them on Amazon (I've attached a link under the "products" tab) but before I could order them something else caught my eye:  fabric flower petals.  They're really intended for flower girls but I immediately envisioned them attached to a lantern.

(There's also a link to these in "products.")  

So I got to work:

 First I put a dollop of glue on the top of a petal.

 Then I attached it to the top of the lantern.  (You know it's the top because it has that little metal hook.  If the metal part is flat, like in the image below, turn the lantern over.)

 Then I continued the gluing petals...

...each one slightly overlapping the one before it.

I continued in that fashion...

...until eventually the lantern was covered.

 (To borrow a quote from one of my favorite bloggers, it was easy-peasy!)

Mine now hangs from my daughter's ceiling right next to some store-bought tissue paper pom-poms.  

(And I have a feeling more will be joining them ;)