DIY Drip Painting

Alternate title: Look Ma, I'm an Artiste!  (yeah, that's right -- not artist. Artiste. It sounds so much better.)

What is art? Well in my house it's whatever I say it is, and I imagine the same goes for you. I love fine art (i.e. real paintings) and I have a couple pieces, hopefully more in the future, but that doesn't mean random things I pull together or design that I enjoy or create can't fill spaces on my wall and do so beautifully.

Case in point, my new paintings.

 
I have no idea how to draw or (artistically) paint, and scary words like shading and gesso make me cry. However, I needed something in my dining room to pull in some of the neighboring living room's colors as a starting point for the sorting out of said dining room. And since eventually I want to remove walls and make these rooms one big fabulous space, I might as well be decorating them in ways that will work together.

Enter fabulous blog post idea and genius David Bromstad technique video. 

Um, I could do that... I think.

Step 1: Get yourself a canvas. I bought a pack of two 18x24" canvases -- with my 40% off coupon it came to $9 and change.

Step 2: Gather your tools. I don't like to make decisions so I grabbed a whole bunch of craft paint and decided to pick colors in the midst of my creative fog. I was pretty sure I'd be overtaken by some artistic zone... I'm optimistic like that. You'll also need a water bottle.

Step 3: Mist the canvas down really well -- you want the paint to run.

Step 4: Mist it some more. Really, don't be afraid... wetter is better! By the time I was done I had refilled my bottle 3 times because I kept 'starting over' in frustration and my canvas came through like a champ!

Step 5: Glob on some paint along the top -- I mixed my two blues together (a bright turquoise and a dark navy) and brushed it on. Get lots on, and I smooshed it all over so there weren't subborn globs that wouldn't run.

 (I'd glob more than this on top if I were you. Just an idea!)

Step 6: Spray your water! Drip, drip, drip. See? Easy. (Unless you're me and you start over 3 times... but still, pretty easy!)

Step 7: Add some more paint if you want -- I added more of both blues, and then a couple greens. David Bromstad suggests limiting your colors otherwise they run together and become muddy and I think that's a good idea. I ultimately dripped my individual colors directly onto the wet canvas (keep misting it so it's nice and wet!) and let them drip down for a less mixed together look.

Tip: some brands of paint are super, super thick and resisted dripping. I'd spray water into the bottle and shake it up until it would behave. But I don't take no crap off of nobody that way. (Cool Runnings, anyone? Jamaica, we have a bobsled team... ohh, never mind.)

Step 8: While your painting dries, take a magic eraser to your now blue folding chairs and driveway and vow to plan better next time.

I really think I like them.  Mike says he likes them and told me they remind him of looking out a car window when there's rain all over them and you can just see glowing colors. I think that's a compliment, so I'll take it! In fact, I'll name the pair 'Rainy Windows' and consider myself an accomplished artiste.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the bonus:

Yeee-ah. Mission accomplished.

Collecting Dust--er, Sand...

I'm not a big collector -- I don't have secret shelves full of rare coins or Disney paraphernalia hidden somewhere in my house. Talk about a dusting nightmare. But much to my shock and surprise, I've gone and broken my own rule: I've started a collection.

... A collection that will grow at a nice, slow pace and that other people can't contribute to; in other words, the perfect collection for this serial thrower outer. Do two jars of sand count as a collection or do I need to book a few more emergency collection-justifying vacations ASAP? I'd be willing to do that... you know, if I had to.

I picked up the old bale top canning jars at an antique store on the coast, and lucky me had saved some sand from our visit to California last year -- apparently this plan had been hatching subconsciously for quite a while. Planning gold star sticker for me.

Do you have collections? Are they manageable or overwhelming? Does anyone want to admit to having a stash of 300 cookie jars a la 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy? Come on, spill... especially if your collection is weird. Then you have to share.

Back in the Saddle

I'm baaaaack!

I didn't plan on taking an unscheduled summertime vacation, but I will not lie -- I loved it. Lurved it. Lah-huved it. My week decorating for VBS transitioned into my week directing it and doing a back to school makeover and shopping spree for my visiting niece which quickly rolled into our family vacation on the Oregon coast. We arrived home Monday evening and I still can't believe how quickly these past several weeks have flown by.

Our vacation was wonderful -- Oregon is one of my most favorite places -- I took my kids back to the same cottages I grew up vacationing at, and we spent a week playing in the waves, walking on the beach, and obsessively smelling the delicious air. 'Cause I'm sensory like that. I've been sharing some photos on Instagram and Facebook but here are some vacation highlights:

Now I'm back -- and while school doesn't start for us until after Labor Day, all our major plans for this summer have been ticked off the to do list and I'm hoping to get a couple projects in before the craziness of back to school kicks in.

And? We are making eggs like crazy. And by we I don't really mean we, I mean my grubby little chickens who ate all my baby hollyhock plants while I was vacationing. The birds with a death wish. We even got our first double yolker while we were in Oregon -- check out the size of that baby.

Can we say ouch?

And? I got bangs.

I can wear them swept to the side or straight down as a full fringe, but the only time I wear them down is when my hair is up so I don't feel like an old person slash wannabe hipster. I can so not pull that look off. Jealous.

And?? Last month I shared two photos of glasses on Facebook and asked for some help in picking my new frames. Here they are:

 
Now we're all caught up! Super fabulous.