I shared my new pillows with you yesterday and today we'll discuss those puppies above the pillows.

 

 

I found 4 framed hunting dog paint-by-numbers on this trip with some blogger friends. When I first spied them at Screen Door, I was a little hesitant. But, Angela was quick with 'Are you nuts??! Buy these this second!!' {I may be paraphrasing a bit} and therefore they became mine. As you may know, I have a bit of a crush on paint-by-numbers {remember this room??} and dogs...

They hung on my dining room wall 'as is' for a while. Until I decided to give the frames a little brassy, gold, goodness. Here's where they started au naturel.

 

   

 

I loved them like this. But, there is a lot of wood in this room, so I thought a little sparkle would be great. I popped out the painting and sat it aside. I cleaned the frame with a damp papertowel and then sprayed it with adhesive.

 

   

 

This is not what the directions say to use. They want you to buy a special paint-on-for-leafing-adhesive, but I kinda thought 'sticky is sticky' and didn't feel like buying something just for this purpose. I had spray adhesive, so thats what I used {outside} and then let it sit for a minute. 

 

 

Then I opened my package of gold leaf...ummm... copper leaf? ...dang it. I thought I bought gold leaf. Well, let's just roll with it and see what happens.

 

 

I started laying the sheets onto the frame and then working it with a soft brush into all of the cracks.  Overlapping slightly until the whole thing was covered. Now this jazz is really, really thin. Like Housewives on Bravo thin. If you miss a section, no problem, simply place another piece of leaf over any missing areas. 

 

 

It looks pretty rough at this point. You have to keep working the brush over the frame allowing all of the excess to fall off or float off. Then, I burnished it with my fingers by rubbing it until it was completely smooth.

 

 

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it was really rosy -- the undertones were very pink.  Yuk.  But, this is to be expected when you buy Copper instead of Gold, right?

 

 

So I trekked down to my paint area and grabbed some Raw Umber glaze and Pure Gold acrylic paint. I mixed them together and painted the frame with it. It knocked off a lot of the shine and added a layer of brownish-gold that killed the pinky tone perfectly. It added a layer of richness that I loved.  

 

 

I popped my dogs back in and hung them in place, 2 on each side. 

 

 

It took a package and a half to do all 4 frames. I bought mine at Michaels and I think they were around 7$/pc but, I used coupons {of course!}. A pretty inexpensive project that makes a dramatic change. Have you ever tried it?

 {I've had a few emails about my new fabric on the cushions. stay tuned--I'll share the artist behind the fabric as well as other fabrics I used on my new slipcovered end chairs}

 

 I have had the pleasure of painting many murals over the last several decades. It's so refreshing to get to work on such large scale projects. But, it sure does take a toll on your body. I have never been more sore than when rolling home after 10 hours of painting above my head, on a ladder. Multiply that by a week and you have successfully accrued many hours on the heating pad and several visits to PT. That's why I am so impressed with people like the wall dogs who do this every day. They are passionate and devoted and entirely talented. Take a look at them creating a sign for the Etsy Holiday Shop.  

   

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 I could watch artists create all day. And their comment at the end of the video-- 'learn to respect the smallest of details' is such a true statement. It applies to all creative fields and really does set apart the good from the best. 

{video via etsy}

 

 

I have always had such fun making things for Maris over the years. I started smocking her little baby gowns just after she arrived. Then I created little dresses out of vintage pillowcases, created jewelry, headbands, purses, decorated shoes...I love that she has been so accepting of my wearable art. But you don't get to do much of that for little boys. So, this year for Christmas I was excited to finally make something for Jack to wear.

 

 

On days of swim meets, the swimmers have to dress up to go to school. Jack didn't have a lot of ties, so I decided to try my hand at personalizing one for him. Because I had no idea if this would work, I invested in a very inexpensive tie from Wal-Mart. The perfect shade of Smoky Mountain blue.

 

 

 I bought a very fine tipped paint pen from Michaels and coupled that with my fine-tipped Sharpie

 

 

I didn't know if either would bleed, so I tested it on the back, under the hem. no bleeding! I sketched the mustang mascot very lightly on the tie with a sharpie--yea, big deep breath anytime you have to sketch anything with a sharpie. Then I filled it in with the silver metallic pen. To add the blue mane, I used a little blue acrylic paint. After I was finished, I went back and added some heavier black outlines.

 

  

 

I was a little nervous to see his reaction, but he loved it! He will wear it tomorrow for the first time and I am pretty sure he will be the only one rocking a SMHS tie!  

 

Like I said yesterday, it's a tiny room so it's not a big 'wowsa' before and after project. But, I am so happy with it's functionality! Yesterday I showed you where it started:

 

 

And then I showed you how I got to here:

 

 

To hang the curtains, I bought an inexpensive cafe curtain rod at Wal-Mart.

 

 

I didn't use the finials and instead just had the rod simply butt into the wall. I bought 3 support brackets and mounted them to the ceiling. I made 2 curtain panels and hung them with simple cafe rod clips.

 

 

My washer/dryer are on pedestal drawers so all of the detergents and cleaning supplies are kept there. And there is still room on top to put a basket of odd socks and some cut greens. It is so fantastic to have a home for everything!

 

 

Now let's move down to the floor. The wonderful company, FLOR, allowed me to select tiles to use to give my ugly stick-on tiles a face-lift. I loved the sisal look of 'Look Both Ways' in Moss.

 

 

 

I have always loved their catalogs and the simplicity of the install so I was excited to finally try them for myself. 

 

 

There is no prep work--they go right on top of whatever you have. You have the option of changing the pattern depending on how you install them. I liked the subtle basketweave pattern created by alternating them parquet style. Their directions are simple to follow and they cut easily with a carpet knife and ruler.  

 

 

What a difference! I love the texture and it has just enough cush to really make a difference when I am folding clothes. I vacuum them just as I do my other floors and if I were to ruin one, I have extras to pop into place. If you are on the fence about purchasing FLOR tiles, I highly recommend them.

Moving up the wall..

 

I spotted this laundry art that Jen had pinned {from a Boden catalog} and thought it was fantastic! I knew I wanted to incorporate this into art for my room. I had a blank wall opposite the washer/dryer that gets sun all day so I didn't want to invest in anything that would cause me to tear up when it eventually fades.  I used a 30" x 40" canvas and painted my mantra.

 

 

 

It's a small room so it's hard to get a good shot!

 

 

  Jen has made her own laundry charts available in several colors if you want to download them and use them yourself. Cute, right?

 

 

 

See the artwork on the right?

 

 

That's my special piece from artist Amy Rice. I painted the frame with the same SW 6439 Greenfield paint that I used on the shelves and my laundry art canvas.    

 

 

I love that I get to enjoy it everyday {sometimes many times a day...}.

 

 

I still want to replace the light with a chandelier and add a cute roman shade, but I am loving the new fresh look. 

 

{FLOR provided me with the tiles but the opinions are all mine and all honest!}