Tick-Tock Pink Clock

I took forever coming up with that title and in my head it sounds really stupid. Oh well. 

We've been spending the time after getting the decals done on the truck sprucing up the inside. We've added curtains for the window, bins for storage (secured with bungie cords so things don't go flying), some family photos, a paper towel holder, and some cute little dashboard accessories. I'll be sharing more about that later but I recently fixed up a cute retro clock and some hooks to add to the inside. 

I really have been wanting this clock for the inside but at $30, I wasn't ready to pull the trigger. I thought I could probably find something cheaper perhaps. I also wasn't sure if I wanted the clock in black. I couldn't find it in pink and the green that they carry is more on the olive side than mint.

Source

So one day, we found ourselves at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% coupon and I casually perused the clocks, not really expecting to find anything truck-worthy. 

Then I stumbled upon this retro wall clock that is so close to the original one that I had wanted. At $19.99, the price was a tad more than I wanted to spend on a goofy clock for the inside but I figured this was as good as it was going to get. 

I knew that I definitely did not want the cream color (as it would look dirty next to the stark-white of the interior walls) so I got a can of pink spray paint and went to town. I really wanted to incorporate more green into the interior because... I'm not a pink fan, really... but the right shade of mint green is SO HARD to find. So, pink it is. 

We went to Storables, which is a Washington/Oregon chain not unlike The Container Store I believe, and found these cute hooks for $4.99. They met the spray paint too!

I really tried for thin, even coats. The wind was against me a little bit. Painting the clock was challenging so I rested on that folded lip of the cardboard in the next picture to elevate it a little. 

Ta da! I can't wait to hang these up, they are so adorable and charming! 

You've Got To Be Kitten Me

This past weekend I was inspired to pick up a paintbrush and a spare canvas and paint a goofy little idea that's been bouncing around my brain for a while. I love lucky cats... I love sugar skulls... so, why not a lucky cat decorated like a sugar skull?! 

I found inspiration via Google images and just did my own take. I first drew everything out, then began with the emerald background. I originally wanted to do a black background but I thought the cherry blossoms with the emerald would be an unexpected combination and would still fit nicely with the Japanese-themed style. 

I love the way the cherry blossoms came out. I put a glob of pink paint right next to white paint and dabbed the brush in so each color was on half of the brush and just had fun with it. It gives the flowers a little more dimension when you use the white barely mixed with color. 

I am really pleased with the end result, my little lucky cat is adorable! I originally wanted to paint him in a similar color that Ian is but with all the ornamentation already covering him I thought it would be too much. 

He found the perfect home among the rest of our quirky game room art. It's probably my favorite art display in the house because it can be goofy, unexpected and just fun. 

Speaking of cats... I haven't mentioned the kitties lately, have I?

Well, they've been really busy lately so...

How lazy, right?

Streaking Is Legal

Well, this kind of streaking is legal. As in, my project for today.

I've been loving my black and white abstract art that's been hanging in my hallway for a while...

Doesn't it remind you of a moody-looking tree line?

So, I wondered if I could replicate that with a few more colors for an even more interesting look. I had a little spare canvas lying around (when don't I? I should be called The Canvas Queen from the looks of my closet...).

I took one color at a time and dipped the brush in water quickly and then into the paint. Then I just streaked it wherever I felt I wanted the color.

If you don't want a blended paint look, I suggest waiting until each color is dry before adding another one with the same technique: dip brush in water, then paint, then quickly streak.

I wanted the colors to just peek through so I added some white on top of the color and I think it turned out really lovely!

Here is its temporary home next to its Big Daddy. 

Loving it! I plan to repurpose this in our new bedroom once we move since it involves all the colors I plan to use! (Gray again, surprised?)

Pinterest Challenge: DIY Quote Wall Art

Two of my absolute favorite home blogs, Young House Love and Bower Power, are hosting a Pinterest Challenge today! I love when they do Pinterest Challenges because it really encourages all their readers to stop pinning and start doing. Though... I usually don't need that extra push but I love the opportunity to see what other people are busy creating.

My project was really cheap and really simple. I found it pinned from a blog called A Beautiful Mess. She took adhesive letters and adhered them onto an old paint-by-numbers canvas, painted over the canvas and peeled the letters off.

My first order of business was to find a piece of thrift store art that would be perfect for painting over. And then, I saw this cheap picture that cost me a whopping $5.24.

I found the Helvetica word stickers at Michael's for $5.99 a pack AND they didn't have all the letters I'd need in one pack so I would have had spend $12 for all my letters! I'm a cheapskate and I'd rather spend my time than money so... I decided to make my own letter stencils out of cardstock and printed letters.

I toyed around with the idea of just painting the quote over the painting, like Young House Love did here. But... I didn't care for the border of the picture.

So, I made up my mind that I would print out the letters, trace them and then carefully paint around them. I just played around with the font sizes until I found the size that would fit my artwork the best.

I tediously cut out the letters...

Spaced them out on my art...

And carefully traced.

I then just took some acrylic white paint and painted around the letters. I didn't want it to be completely white though. The original inspiration picture had some peeks of the original artwork showing through and I wanted that look too.

It's hard to photograph but it really turned out well!

I was going to wrap the white around the edges but I loved the contrast of the dark edge so I gave it a fresh coat of brown paint.

I'm so glad I finally got to use this quote/lyric somewhere in my home. Ever since I heard it, I thought it was a perfect saying for our family and other military families as well. Because... it's definitely true. 

Easy Dramatic DIY Painting

Hello!  Yeah, it's been a week since I've been on here... I know. :( There's just some things going on right now and I've been working on finding out stuff about the upcoming move and such (which is a huge job!). 

But I was cleaning out my front closet, which had gotten crazy-messy ever since I introduced our beach equipment to it, and I found a canvas that I had worked on and forgot about. Annnd, I was kinda over the picture I was making for it. I originally wanted to make an urban-type painting with buildings and fire escapes after a picture I saw on the wall at McDonald's (haha, don't laugh, it was a cool picture for a burger joint). 

I stumbled upon this project from the Young House Love Pinterest Challenge and thought it was wonderful and interesting. It's very dramatic and different from everything else I have in the house. Sooo.... I have painted over the canvas for the third time now! 

via Dans le Townhouse

Here's my canvas' evolution...

He started off purple...

Then painted over and drawn on...

And then painted white again...

So I just painted about 3/4 of the picture white and left the rest for the black paint. Dipping the brush in water before the black paint (as suggested by the above blog) really helped achieve the grainy, black-washed effect. 

I painted a few strokes, let it dry and just kept adding on until I was satisfied with the look. I even painted around the corners of the canvas (as suggested by the blog) and it really gave it a finished look.

And I'm totally in love with it!

It's dramatic, gorgeous and cheap! And if you've got next to no artistic talent, this project is probably the easiest canvas project you can do. 

So, go forth and experiment with these colors or try some of your own combinations!

Springtime Cherry Blossoms.

Today I tackled my large expanse of red canvas.  I have to admit, it was a little daunting.  I just looked up a silhouette of a cherry blossom branch and ran with it freehand-painted it.

All you really need to remember is branches go fat to thin.  To make it look natural and believable, all branches start out fatter than they end.  The more crooked and knobbier the cherry blossom branch looks, the better it looks.  They aren't sleek branches so don't fret about crooked lines.

I had to do quite a few coats of whit paint to get it as white as I wanted the branches to be.  I really wanted them to stand out brightly.  I also had to prop the canvas up a few times, step back, and observe where I needed to fill in more branches to get it to look as full as I wanted.

Silhouette flowers are simple- make them look like pom poms. Just a bunch of random brush strokes in different directions with some bigger, some smaller. 

Stepping back to see how it's coming along... still need a few more areas to fill in. 

I borrowed Russ' game room pillows from his futon (shh!) just to see what it'll start to look like with a little more red in the room paired with the gray.  Love it. 

I've been dying to make a faux- upholstered headboard (which I probably won't get to do for a looong time) but this large art above the bed should hold me over. 

I'm in love with this bold color!

Make Like A Tree...

Before I left to visit Arizona, I had a bunch of posts up on a schedule so I wouldn't have to worry about posting for a few days.  Unfortunately, I only had time to make up posts until the 12th so that explains my slight leave of absence.  


So, here's a project I had to hurry up and finish before I left (and try and cram in my suitcase) for a friend's birthday.  She's loved my tree painting and I promised to make her one for her birthday.  

Here's a little tutorial that shows just how easy it was to do... you don't have to have any artistic talent, you've basically just have to know how to draw a stick tree. 


All you need is a canvas, acrylic paints of whatever color you wish, and some paintbrushes (whatever size you feel comfortable with). 


Start off with your canvas and measure out a large, bold border.  I made mine about 3.5 inches, I think. (It also depends on what size your canvas is: bigger canvas = bigger border.) 

First, paint the inside-the-border square a light color.  Then after about an hour or so drying time, use painters tape or masking tape to tape off the border so you will get a crisp line after painting.  Remove the tape while the outside border is still wet to get the straightest lines.  If you don't, the dried paint on the tape will stick to the dried paint on the border and could remove some of the paint. 

Use pencil to freehand your tree.  Start off with thick trunk and make sure you extend the tree wide to reach the border. 

Fill in your tree.  The trick to a realistic-looking tree that doesn't look like it was painted by a child, is to make sure the tree starts off thick and tapers to smaller branches like natural trees do. 

The tree will probably need a coat or two to make sure the paint is bold and there aren't many brush strokes. 

Allow it to dry and then use a darker brown to make a shadow on one side of your tree. 

Let that dry and then apply a mocha glaze to give it a weathered look.  Now, the more glaze you put on, the more it will wet the canvas and remove your acrylic paint.  I like having a few spots that lose some paint because I enjoy the more rustic-weathered look.  But if you don't, go easy on the glaze. 

And... that's it!  I can't believe how much this painting turned out to be a near carbon-copy of the first one!  Amazingly, the painting made it to Arizona in one piece without a scratch and my friend loved it. :)