Aimless Tangents

I’ve reached the point in the very slow makeover of the master bedroom that I’m starting to think about what to put on the walls.  I’ve got some things here already that I am intending to use and a few projects that I’m thinking of doing as well.  I thought I’d share what is being considered for use in this giant bedroom with lots of walls.

I have two pieces of pressed tin artwork from Hobby Lobby, they will probably end up stacked one on top of the other on one of the smaller walls in the room.

This canvas is one of those “in the works” bits of art.  Originally I was going to put some texture all over the 12×24 surface and then I realized my test strips of glue were more blobby than textured.  My two choices at this point are to:  1.  mix some slightly runny wall compound and use it like piping on cake frosting to get my texture and then paint it all black with some bronzey highlights or 2. turn the glue blob lines into ‘grass’, embroider a happy little bird down there and put the saying “You are for whom my heart sings” to fill in the rest of the canvas.  I honestly like both ideas and I have a second canvas so I might do both.

I have 3 pieces of art my grandmother painted.  Though I doubt the sea one will find a home in the bedroom.  I have a fourth piece hanging in the hallway that is swamp themed.

And of course I have a couple of blandscapes left over from my college apartment days.  These will likely get tossed out at some point as they have no meaning or impact on me personally.

The rectangular mirror that used to be on the mantle will also be finding a home in the bedroom.  It is going to work better in there scale-wise rather than dominating the room in a bad way as it did in the living room. 

I’ve been browsing etsy and fell in love with the watercolor painting from this shop.  Specifically this and this and this new one that just made me whimper with the “I wants”.

In my quest for texture I’ve also thought of taking lots of wooden embroidery hoops and painting them colors pulled from the bedding and hanging them on the wall above the bed. 

Lots of options, few decisions on where to actually hang them.

I’m down with a weird virus right now.  I’ve been feeling bad and at night running a fever.  There is a nap shortly in my future.  So I’m going to link some interesting things I’ve seen on the web lately.

• Etsy changed their privacy policy, and not for the better.  If you don’t want your purchasing history searchable by Google you need to go into your account settings and change them.
• This recipe for a dipping spice sounds delish.
• Provo Craft is going after the makers of Makes the Cut and Sure Cuts a Lot software.  I own Sure Cuts a Lot 2 and it makes me use my Cricut machine more, rather than less.  I really think Provo Craft is shooting themselves in the foot and should rather be finding a way to work with the 3rd party software programs.  I’m angry enough about it to now be on a personal boycott of Provo Craft products and have even thought about selling my Expression in order to buy a different cutter.
• Today is the Ides of March.
• Post Secret is a guilty pleasure of mine.
• AT&T is going to cap DSL and U-Verse with additional charges if you go over your monthly usage.  This means if you stream a lot of media (Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, etc.) and/or play MMOs you could be impacted.  We are pretty sure we would see our bill go up and have just switched internet providers.
• It is Chick Days at places like Tractor Supply, Atwood’s, etc.  I really, really want 3 or 4 chickens but the Hubs is making noises about putting the house on the market next year so all plans are on hold as a “just in case”.
• Crock pot Corned Beef recipe, looks tasty.
• I recently dipped my toe into digital scrapbooking after getting frustrated with paper scrapbooking.  I’m hooked!  My favorite software is Scrapbook Max, which has a generous 30 day free trial of the software.  As soon as I get the extra money together I will be purchasing this software.
• Home Décor trends some people are just so over.  Some I agree with, some I don’t.  Remember, you should decorate your house with what you love and enjoy since you are the one who lives there and sees it day after day.
• 100 pieces of advice from movies. 

Does your paint tray look like this?

Poor thing didn’t get cleaned and then got left outside for a while.  It is grimy and doesn’t want to come clean.  So what is a girl to do when she wants to paint Right Now but wouldn’t put the paint in something so grimy and grubby?

Grocery bags. Grocery bags?  Yup, grocery bags.  and I don’t mean dumping the paint in the (often full of holes) grocery bag and painting from it.  I mean this:

Slipping a grocery bag over the funky parts of the tray = nice clean surface for the paint to sit on.  Bonus points for being able to do what is on the bag.  Also makes cleanup a breeze.

In use shot:

When I’m done painting for the day I just carefully remove the bag and toss it in the trash.  The roller and/or paintbrush gets wrapped up in a plastic bag or Ziploc and tossed in the fridge so that I don’t have to clean each time I’m done painting for the day/moment. 

At the end of the project they do get a very thorough cleaning.  These two little tips have made painting less of a bother for me.

Remember this lamp?

Thanks to a sprayed on coat of mahogany stain it now looks like this.

I’m very pleased with it.  Gives some light to a dark corner and helps dress up the dresser.  Sadly the two alarm clocks must stay thanks to only the top one being able to wake my husband but scaring me straight into the air 3 feet when it goes off.  So we have “his” and “hers” alarm clocks.

Taping has begun in the bedroom.  I’m giving Frog Tape a try.  As you can see thanks to 3 doors all right next to one another taping is a tedious and time consuming job.  I will likely tape and paint one section at a time so I don’t get burnt out.

In bad news, the white paint I had for covering the minty green trim…doesn’t.

Tomorrow I will be picking up a new gallon of a different paint with hopefully much better results.

Side note:  Happy Mardi Gras!  Even in Oklahoma I can still get a King Cake.  Makes this Louisiana Gal happy.

Lots of projects going on in this neck of the woods, though precious few are finished and ready for photos.

The walls in the bedroom are totally done; two coats everywhere.  Now I get to tape off the 5 (yes, really 5) doors that open into the bedroom, the windows, and the trim so I can paint it all white.  Huge difference in the feel of the room already, even with the minty green trim and doors.

The weather has been nice so I’ve been out in my shop painting.  This entertainment center was my first victim.  It has shelves and doors they just aren’t all in the picture(s) right now.  It will be going to live with my SIL this weekend.  3 coats of black paint and 2 coats of poly hopefully made it a durable finish.

A dresser that used to belong to my grandfather that was sorely in need of a new paint job (sorry, this is the only picture I have for some reason)  has a shiny new coating of heirloom white.  It wasn’t a huge change, the previous finish was very close to the same color but was dirty and had yellowed with age.  Before:

After:

I’m currently working on a $3 thrift store lamp, I’m looking forward to the after being dry enough to bring into the house and decorate with.

Yes, this project is still going on.  I work on it when I get the time and money.  I’m still painting, though closing in on having that finished; one or two more days and it will be done.  The Hubs and I both are really liking the wall color even though it isn’t what I originally wanted. 

I’ve been on the search for bedding.  And what a search it has been…  If it was within the budget it was either ugly or had a strange texture.  If I liked how it looked it either was way out of budget (found one on clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond that I loved for $150) or still had that odd texture.  When did it become popular to have comforters be made of a shiny, silky looking, but scratchy feeling material?  All the soft ones were $$$.

Today I finally got lucky, I found something at the JCPenney Home Store that was on sale.  I liked it.  I sent a picture text to the Hubs, he liked it.  I bought it.  I had wanted a King so it would drape down the sides more but all they had was a Queen.  The sales lady even checked the other stores in town and the website: nada.  When I got home I checked the website just to be sure, it isn’t even listed anymore so it appears I got the last one available in person, in my town.

Here it is fresh out of the bag and draped on the bed with pillowcases tossed on top of our pillows.

You can see the beginnings of the new wall color peeking out on the left side of the picture.

It was an entire “bed in a bag” set with a bed skirt.  Though I’m not sure how I feel about it.

I’m thinking I might just use a drop cloth and make my own bed skirt, I think it might look better.

Pardon the bad lighting, but as you can see I will eventually have drop cloth curtains in the bedroom though they will need some snazzing up to help distinguish them from the wall color.  (Trim and the door is still minty green in this picture as I’m doing wall color first and will then go back and do trim.  I need instant gratification to keep me working.)

All of the changes are starting to add up and show what the finished product will look like.  I’m getting very excited for our “grown up” bedroom. 

An insanely busy weekend, followed by a slight cold, and combined with an oddly busy week means I have nothing to show for today.  I haven’t done anything crafty or creative, or any painting.  I’ve only moved some furniture and cleaned the house.  So today, you get fuzzies.

And just a note, while that comforter is insanely soft and comfy it will not be staying once the “grown up” makeover for the bedroom is complete.  I’m on the lookout for a new comforter, but trying to not spend too much money on it.  So it is going to take a while since the comforter must meet several criteria:

• soft – we don’t use flat sheets so the comforter is right next to our skin (quirk of the husband)
• can’t show cat hair – let’s be honest Sophie occasionally lets us use her bed
• can’t show dirt – cause it is a pain to have to wash the comforter often
• must blend with the new color scheme

We had a busy weekend, lots of things got accomplished.  Walls were patched, furniture moved, some walls were painted, plans were made, and then I caught a chill that yesterday became a cold.  And all the other plans and grand aspirations have come to a screeching halt.

Color is finally going up on the bedroom walls.  Alpaca by Sherwin Williams.  Supposed to be a gray with brown tones.  On the wall it looks far more brown.  Part of this I’m blaming on the still minty green trim that will get painted white once I’m done with the walls.  Alpaca is a hard color to photograph and changes colors depending on the light.

Same nook in the bedroom, taken within seconds of one another, but from different angles.  The new wall color has made it so that even my red-green colorblind husband can tell everything in the bedroom was painted that minty green you can see above.

To my great joy, the ginormous second tv we had is gone.  Observe, the place where it used to be!

It was a 30” widescreen HDTV that was a giant CRT and heavy as all get out.  We had it sold no less than 5 times and each time the person would just never show to pick it up.  Finally we decided to just get rid of it and my Sister in Law decided it was an upgrade for her, so she took it on Sunday.    I am beyond ecstatic to have the space back.

In between painting (which I’ve been ordered to not do while I’m sick – blast), the next project will be to get these lovelies hung so that I can finish my curtains.

The supervisor wants me to hurry up, she is tired of her bedroom being in disarray.  (And yes, she is the guilty party that has clawed the heck out of the box spring next to her.)

While perusing the link parties from last week and early this week I was inspired.  Someone did a “topiary” from split peas.  Brilliant!  So I gathered some cardboard cones, some split peas, and some Elmer’s glue since the hot glue gun and I have a hate/burn relationship.  I hate it because it burns me.

The Elmer’s glue didn’t work so great…

Lots of gaps, lots of peas not sticking.  I got that far and gave up.  Took it into the kitchen and used the flat side of a knife to scrape all the peas off.

Since the cone was now ugly I needed something that would give really good coverage.  And in the long spanning makeover for the master bedroom one of my goals is to have lots of texture.  So I vowed to use up the Elmer’s glue I had glopped out and snagged some twine.  This is what I ended up with:

Much better than the peas version 1.0!

I was bound and determined to beat the peas though.  So I reluctantly got out the hot glue gun.  It worked much better than the Elmer’s.  But it was taking forever and I got bored.  So currently my pea ‘”topiary” looks like this:

I will probably go back and finish it when I’m feeling the urge.

Then I remembered I had a roll of moss.  So I grabbed another cardboard cone (came in a package of 4) and reached for the hot glue gun.  I should have remembered out hate/burn relationship, but I guess I was on a high from the half glued pea thing.

I got the moss one finished.  And managed to burn the snot out of my index finger at the same time.

I also put twine on a few more things, for later use in the bedroom.

Bonus points if you can guess what the last one used to be.

I needed a (relatively) quick and (very) cheap gift for a 3 year old boy this past weekend.  While surfing through some craft blogs I was inspired to make a crayon monogram.

I started with a frame I already had from a local thrift store.  Using the mat I laid out my line art so I could get an idea of scale.

I used the width of the ruler for a nice chunky size.  To make nice cuts for the crayons (I didn’t want to break them and have ragged ends) I pulled out my very tiny miter box and very fine tooth saw.

The candle was used to melt the crushed wax off of the saw blade; which was then wiped onto the paper towel.  It was also very helpful to have a slightly warm saw blade to cut through the wax crayons, made it much easier.

As I cut I laid the crayons out on the template so I could put colors where I wanted them and check the correct size of the cuts.

The black piece of paper underneath the template was then glued to the mat.  I lightly drew the Z onto the black paper so I could see where to glue the crayons down.  Then, the Elmer’s All Purpose and I spent some quality time together.  I glued the first crayon down, and every crayon thereafter was glued down to the paper and also to the crayon(s) next to it for stability.

Some quality time in front of a small space heater on low ensured the glue dried in time for the party.  But once I got everything assembled in the frame my feeling was rather “meh” about how it was turning out.

After digging through my ribbon stash I came up with this:

Much better!

The birthday boy was also given two coloring books.  Upon seeing the crayons in the monogram, he proceeded to try to pull them off so he could color with them! 

Total cost of the project, less than $3 total and that was for two boxes of crayons; of which I really only needed one but I didn’t want to use too many of the darker colors so I bought two boxes just in case.