I'm being harassed by fellow bloggers and it's not pretty...

sigh...

Angela, the Parisienne Farmgirl (of the beautiful kids, lovely chickens, and honey lavender ice cream), is "requesting" to see my chandelier after it's paltry makeover.  This re-do is more a case of "anything would be better" than "isn't she just amazingly clever." 

To save you time here's the "old" very ugly cheap chandy with it's too small shades.  Love all the extra chain and wires sticking out...

Original plan?  Redo the shades in a cool fabric to match the burgundy trim on plate and paint the chandy white (via Jan at Bobby Pins Boardwalk)

Shortly thereafter, a quick trip into Tuesday Morning unearthed two darling little shades.  Ooooops.  I need four.  The manager overheard me saying something to hubby (angel intervention alert) and she said,

"Did you see the 50% off ones in the back?"

"Why, no - no I didn't."

Buried in a bin in the back of the store were 5 high quality white shades.  Final cost after the additional 50% off?

$1.50 each

See how much bigger they are?

After slapping some primer on the chandy, I knew white wasn't going to work.  I got out my acrylics and started mixing until I matched the plate and voila - burgundy chandy  (Jan will be proud)...

The fabric I originally purchased for the shades will become the cord cover...

De-cluttering continues with the question, "Does a 65 year old woman really need her eighth grade report card?"  Purely rhetorical as it already hit the trash can.

Easter Fun

Making do with what you have...

I looked around the house for a few things to put on my buffet for Easter.  Currently residing in the bedroom was my large hand-painted ceramic bunny, so I put her on the buffet.

I thought she needed something special to wear for Easter.  I found the perfect vintage rhinestone necklace in my jewelry box and loaned it to her.

But a bunny without eggs to deliver is pretty sad.  I planned on using the display vase I made, but my favorite compote bowl beckoned to me.  It came with a flower arrangement my Mother sent me when I was 17 years old.  That was 47 years ago  -  eeeeeeeek!

After building a nest with Spanish moss some eggs were needed.  While cruising Walgreens yesterday I spied these really cute little eggs made out of sparkly rubber ball material.  You know how I am about shiny objects!   Price?  Two for a dollar.  OK - the budget can handle that.

My motto?  Simple, fast, and inexpensive...

Change One Thing

No More Resolutions…

    This time of the year most of us are making lists, de-cluttering, and doing the unthinkable - making a host of New Year’s resolutions.  I don’t engage in the resolution thingy anymore because it can be very self defeating to, more often than not,  fail at some grand illusion of our new and improved life.

Take Time to Reflect…

    It makes more sense and is more productive to pick one behavior and make one change.  For instance, I have had a problem with my bathroom getting messy because I would undress in there in the evening and put on my robe which I kept hanging on the back of the door.  My discarded clothes would pile up on my cute little chair.  Meantime, for whatever reason, my closet would somehow magically become cluttered too.

You May Have to Try a Few Things… 

   I tried putting in a second small laundry hamper in the bathroom but sometimes the clothes were not ready for the hamper but needed to be hung up in the closet.  This has been going on for TEN years (ok – I’m slow to find a solution sometimes)

Success…

    Then the light bulb moment – the great aha!!  Since I dressed in my large walk-in closet, why not undress in there too?  Now in the evening I undress in the closet, either hang the clothes or put in the hamper, and slip into my robe.  In the morning when I dress my robe is hung in the closet along with my nightie. If it’s time for a clean nightie the nightie drawer is right there along with the hamper.

    And there you have it -  no more messy bathroom and the closet has also remained as neat as a pin.

What one thing could you change?

Art Journals

Art Journaling

I think art journals are so much fun. One of my inspiration journals I started years ago was really a form of art journal.  To me it was just a fun book where I could cut and  paste, decorate with colored pens or crayons, and write a few things.  Now I've come to find out it's some sort of big deal art form. That means I can now obsess whether mine is "good enough."  Aren't we silly creatures sometimes???

If you keep a notebook filled with decorating ideas and inspiration, you're already doing a form of art journaling. Some of the decorating notebooks I've run across are "works of art" (not to be too obvious!)

I think art journals would be a wonderful project to start with children.  Just think - every rainy day when the kids whine, "I'm gored bored", you can look over and say, "Let's work on our art journals." 

One of my favorite sites for inspiration is Kelly Kilmer.  Kelly is both a very accomplished artist and a busy instructor.  In addition to her blog she has her artist's website where you can check out where she may be having a workshop. 

Isn't this page beautiful?  

And if that isn't enough she also has "A Prompt a Day" online classes. I'm planning on signing up for November.  Her site is also a wealth of great links to places selling great pens at super low prices, and links to her favorite paint sources.

Check out her finished Prompt a Day Journals from January to October....Wowzaa!

Another fun and inspirational site is Aimeslee at   Paper Paisleys.  I've exchange some emails with Aismeslee and she is just delightful and full to bursting with creativity.  Aimeslee not only does art journaling but all sorts of paper projects.  I don't think she's ever met a piece of paper she didn't love.  Here's what Aimeslee says about herself:  "paper hoarder... art supply collector... paper craft hobby artist... I pretend I'm an artist and make pretty things..."

Aimeslee's  journal page from her post Bad Hair Day, Life, and Art School Update.

Now that you've seen some really gorgeous stuff  let's take a look at mine.  No laughing allowed!!!


My cover: 

This is an art book I had laying around. Did I mention my love for notebooks? I have a whole box full. It's an obsession!

This is a page that I gesso'ed (big mistake), then tried to use water color (another big mistake - I HATE working in water color- what was I thinking?)  By the time I got to the lettering, I was soooooooooooooooo out of the mood.  I also couldn't find my glue gun and on and on. But I had fun and  guess what? I know what day I harvested the lavender this year and my book smells divine!!

More on Art Journal's:



Aislings Art Journals:  How to create and keep an art journal (this site is chock full of fun stuff!)
Teesha Moore:  Teesha's Circus Teesha is another well known artist and journaler