A is for Artwork

I'm trying a new party this week *Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday*.  Seems appropriate given the name of my blog : )  This week's letter is "A".  My A is for Art.  Not very original, I know, but it is what it is.  We'll see how the alphabet progresses...

This is our Autumn Subway Art in progress.  I love the picture frame dry erase boards & I love all the subway art I've been seeing everywhere so I've combined the 2 here.  So, part of the charm of subway art are the different fonts & different sized words.  Mine is incomplete because it is a group effort.  I asked each member of my family to contribute words that they think of when they think of autumn.  Then they each wrote their words on the board.  As we have different people come over, we will ask each of them to make their contribution to the board!  I fear I may love it too much to ever erase it : )  I guess that's what cameras are for!

Here is the picture frame dry erase board I made for my friend who has an autumn birthday.  She admired the other one I made recently so she's getting her own soon.  *See more here*  I like how the burlap flower turned out. *and as if I needed to tell you -  the fabric in the frame is yet another $1 discontinued fabric sample*

And my final piece of artwork is our family swirl.  A little back story - Handy Hubby : ) & I have never agreed on artwork.  As a result, we have very little artwork hanging in our house.  He likes more contemporary art.  I usually don't care for the stuff he likes...

I decided that if I attempted to create something personal yet more contemporary we might find some common ground.  One day as I was doodling I came up with this design.  And as I studied it more I realized that I could see letters in the scribble.  In fact, I could find the first letter of each of our names!  {admittedly, some letters are more ambiguous than others...}  And furthermore, the style of each letter sorta matched our personalities as well!  btw our initials are SECAS.  Do you see what I see?!  

Well, HH got into it and printed the swirl on a transparency & borrowed a projector from work for me to transfer the image onto the canvas.  I picked the color palette *jewel-toned & autumn-like, right?}, painted it out & we now have artwork that we both feel vested in! Yay! Success.

So, tell me, What is YOUR "A"?

You might find me partying at some of these places *HERE*

Blessings!

Fruits of my Labor {Day Weekend}

When I was pondering how to spend my Labor Day weekend, I had so many projects & ideas in mind...

I have tons of things in the works that need to be finished up.  Each one seemed more boring than the next though.

I found this little cutie on my last trip to GW for only $14.99!

Wouldn't that be cute just about anywhere?!

I've already gotten a 2-pack of canvas drop cloths to recover it with.  Visualize a great pattern & some spiffy pillows on it!

Well, I didn't get to do that.  But boy did I want to - maybe one day soon!

What I had to do, because it was perfect weather for painting, was paint the front door.  I've been complaining about the color since we moved in 3 years ago but haven't been able to do anything about it because I have a hard time committing to a color.  {Black? Blue? Gray? Brown? Red?}

I know, I KNOW - it's just a color & it's just a can of paint.  Big whoop!

Couldn't do it.

Until now.  

Because Handy Hubby : )'s been on my case about picking out a color for a while.  And I kept putting him off.  Finally he threatened to pick the color himself.

*Um! last time I let that happen I ended up with seafoam green carpeting - 'nuf said!*

I said I'd buy paint when everything went on sale Labor Day weekend.

Well, the weekend came & it was time to pay the piper!

So, here's the old door color

I didn't dislike the color but along with the neutral trim, neutral brick & neutral brown roof the whole house was too much of the same thing and looked very bland.

After a little trial & error, I ultimately decided on a dark blue *It's called Corduroy Black actually - don't you love the name?* .
I must say, I like the Valspar Duramax paint.  It has primer in there already so I only needed 2 coats to cover the door!  

And because all of you crafty ladies have been tempting me with your fall decorations, I decided it was time to put up my fall wreath I made a few years ago!

I love the way the colors pop off the door now : )

And since I had more time, I snuck in a quick serving tray makeover on the 99 cent tray I got when I found the cute chair.  I got the idea from Amanda @ Imperfectly Beautiful *see here*

This is one of my last scraps of this wrapping paper, y'all.

I haven't been able to find any more at Target!

Well, I had to enjoy the beautiful day with my corn salsa & crossword puzzle before the rain gets here later this week!

*btw my thoughts & prayers go out to all those in Texas affected by the torrential storms!! I hear San Antonio got hit pretty hard*

I started a few other things this weekend but they are still in the works...

And, well, I couldn't stand not touching my chair & so I had to start on that, too.  Look what was under the old upholstry!

Doesn't it look like a grumpy potato?!  I guess I would too if I looked like that!  Yikes!!

I'm really hoping I can turn that frown upside down one day!!

You might find me partying at some of these places *HERE*

Blessings!

Peppy Paisley Rug

Well, now that the kids are back in school and summer is coming to an end...

I've finally finished my outdoor rug makeover!  : )  I suppose the good news is now that it's not so Ever-Flippin' Hot outside we might actually venture out and get to enjoy it!!

I got a hand.me.down outdoor rug from my MIL over 4th of July weekend.

It's just your basic, plain 5x7 area rug.

She said she had considered painting the border some color but never got around to it and instead just bought a cuter, larger pre-patterned replacement this year. *Lucky Gal!!*

Our outdoor space is pretty bland and lacks color so I thought putting a pattern on the free rug would be a small investment to help pep things up just a bit. 

I was excited about this project & wanted to get started right away - that was early July.  *I had to go all the way back to my Warm-Fuzzy 'Cake' pics to find my 'before' rug pics!*

I started out by rolling the paint on with a stencil roller but quickly discovered the stencil was too detailed and the rug was too bumpy for rolling it out because the paint was getting under the stencil and the pattern was looking blobby & messy.  Luckily I could just flip the rug and try again!  

After a stretch of unbearably hot weather, a few rain storms, being distracted by a couple of other projects *scarf cake & desk* , vacations and back.to.school shenanigans, I finally redirected my attention to the neglected rug!

I was much happier with the outcome on the second try.

It looked a little unfinished with just the pattern on there so I rolled out a border last night & now I'm LOVING it!! : ) Yay! I finally finished a project I can share!

Peppy Paisley Pleases Phamily !!!  Possibly bloggy Phriends too?

join me in linking up to some awesome parties *HERE*

Blessings!

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updated: 8.20.10

Hokey Smokes!!

Ok! I truly did not expect there to be much interest in the particulars of this project *thank you!!!* but I feel silly now for not adding some details - please forgive!! It only took me about 50 comments to figure it out : P duh!

Assembled together here are my partners in crime:
- a 20"x20" stencil from Hobby Lobby
- several 8 oz. bottles of Anita's all purpose acrylic craft paint *earth brown*
- a stencil brush *a 2" foam roller*
- a pack of Plaid spouncers * foam stipple brushes*
~ everything was 1/2 off! ~
{since I did this after.the.fact, I've already thrown out the roller cuz it got chewed up rolling out the border}
I did not seal or heat set the paint when I finished - I figured it bakes ALL day long in the sun...  & I'm lazy!
I hope I answered everyone's questions, if not ask me again!!