Train Painting

If you are looking for a great tutorial on how to paint a train, you will be sadly disappointed here because I totally suck at taking pictures when I'm in a 'painting zone'.

What I can say though, is that I've been wanting to paint a train for a while now (I guess that's what happens when your kid is obsessed with Thomas!), but I had no clue what to paint, so I googled images of trains and took a little bit from each picture that I liked and turned it into my own creation.

I ended up painting a steam engine, 1 freight car, and a caboose, with a total length of 3 feet. I originally wanted to make it look like they were all coupled (I admit I only know that term from watching Thomas day after day after day), but the problem was that the back of the steam engine sticks out, so I would have had to paint that part on the piece of wood with the freight car, which I didn't want to do. Instead, I centered each painting on the wood and labeled it with a figure number.

But no piece of mine would be complete without some distressing and stain!

Here are the pics of the finished product:



If interested in purchasing your own set of train paintings, shoot me an email for more info =)

Or you can check out my etsy listing here.

Another Green Picture Frame

A while back, I made this picture frame from a thrift store frame and beach mat and I finally decided it was time to do something with it.

I took some pictures of Elijah a few weeks ago in front of an old abandoned blacksmith shop. I just loved the bricks and vines climbing up the walls. Then I found a coupon to Walgreens for a free 8x10 picture, so I went ahead and got this picture printed out...for FREE!!!

Then I hot glued this old magnet, that I found at my grandpa's house, right onto the beach mat.

Last thing I did was tape the picture with double-sided tape to a piece of cardstock cut to size, and I clipped it on the magnet.

I love the combo of all the different materials =) 



Bamboo Table Runner

I got this bamboo table runner from the bargain section at Target about a year ago.

I just love the look of bamboo, but I really wasn't crazy about the color because it was just a tad bit too orange for me. I knew I would never use it given the color so I decided to change it up a bit.

It had a stain from some lotion I accidentally spilled on it, so I gave that part a light sanding and it took the stain right out. Then I just stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut. That's the same color I stained my tabletop, but I was actually going for a subtle look, so it worked out perfectly. It still stands out since the finish is flat, but the table has a glossy finish.

I even stained the cloth border so it would match.

I just love all the different textures and finishes on the table, and now the candleless candelabra is anchored and doesn't look like some random object that got thrown on the table =)

Don't ya just love an easy fix?

I Gots Me a New Plant!

Remember when I showed you guys this pic a while back?

And I said I desperately wanted a plant for the corner?

Well, I finally got one and I love it!!

I got this puppy from Walmart for under $10 bucks.

I love the wispy foliage.

And I think it's fits right in in it's new home.

And the bamboo ladder? It got a new home just a couple of feet away. The dining room is open to the living room and the ladder provides a great visual distinction between the two rooms.

Now, who wants to place bets on how long I can keep my beloved plant alive? It's already been a week and it's still alive and kickin', but I've never been know to have a green thumb.

Wish me luck!

Entryway Gallery

My entryway was seriously lacking some personality and I knew something needed to be done about it. I don't know about you guys, but I've gotten lots of pictures taken of Elijah and never did anything with them, so it just made sense to put them up so that nobody would be confused as to what's most important to me, right when they walk in my door, ha ha.

There's no tutorial here. I just measured and hung, and even though I used a lazer level, I still managed to hang the frames crookedly.

And here's a closeup.

And a super duper uber closeup.

Canister Labels

I've been wanting to add a little oomph to the canisters on my kitchen counter for a while now, but wasn't quite sure what route I wanted to take.

I was thinking of doing vinyl, but that wasn't an original idea, and let's just face it, I like being a little different.

Inspiration finally struck when I found these bad boys (well, I should probably call them 'girls' since they are so totally feminine) at Michael's.

At $2 bucks a pop, they were a little more than what I was wanting to spend (yeah, I'm a cheapskate), but the end result made it worth it to me.

The color wasn't going to work in my kitchen, so I spray painted them espresso brown. 

And while I waited for them to dry, I got out my little stamp set and stamped the words onto brown packaging paper (Love that stuff! So versatile!).

(Yeah, it took a few trial runs)

I then cut out the cheap, plastic wannabe glass and added the labels.

I glued some twine to the back, hung them, then called it a day!

I'm diggin' the eclecticism of the fancy frame and shiny sheen with the natural jute and rugged stamped letters.

Oh, and while I was at Michael's, I also picked up some of these bad boys...er, girls. Love love LOVE the ruffles!

I hope I inspired you to pick some up and create something unconventional with these picture frames!

 

Fabric Flower Necklace

I've had this cute little makeup bag for quite some time, but just recently, my son decided to dump my brand new bottle of foundation all over the inside and it soaked through on the other side of the bag.

I was so upset because I LOVE the pattern on the bag, so I decided to make a necklace out of it!

I started by tracing a few circles on the fabric. I wouldn't recommend using a permanent marker like I did, but it's all I had on hand. Luckily it blends in with the black on the leaves and flowers.

I wanted the circles to resemble flowers, so I made a few stitches in the center of each circle. I've seen other people do that and it looks great, but mine turned out kinda wonky =)

It was looking a little plain, so I cut out some burlap circles, slightly bigger than the flower patterned fabric, and did the same wonky stitching.

For the 'stamen', I used rhinestone brads, which also held all the fabric together.

Next, I glued the flowers onto a piece of white felt to hold it all together and then I trimmed the excess felt.

The next step was attaching the chain. I used a jump ring on either side of the necklace that I attached to both the felt and the burlap to make sure it was very secure.

And there ya have it! A cute a simple necklace.

If you have an old article of clothing that you love, don't throw it away!! Just make a necklace =)