PIY ART~ PAINT IT YOURSELF!

ANTHROPOLOGIE:
A Girl and A Boy
$5,000

I will never say I'm an artist but I will say I love to paint.

CANVAS: Michael's Craft $50-$75 Each
PAINT: Micheal's Craft $28-$36   

PREGNANCY PAINTING

I stopped working a week before baby Doak was due but he wanted to wait a week longer before he arrive. Since I had a little extra time on my hands Der suggested that I paint since I love it!

BRILLIANT!

The painting started with a charcoal sketch...

note: When Der first walked into our attic/studio he immediately said that the face looked like him!

The charcoal sketch evolved into this:
 A very abstract version of Derek looking over Doak and I after labor. I was 40 weeks pregnant and that was the only visual that came to mind.

I ended up loving it and Derek does too!

Apparently Ben does too!

Der's face detail

Oil paint is sooooooo expensive! 

To get the look I mixed plaster with the paint color to create the depth and thickness of oil paint. I never used a brush on this entire painting... completely done with a spackle knife.

JOHN'S PAINTING

My brother John asked me to paint him something for his new place in Charleston, SC. The first thing I thought of is "Rainbow Row." 
BELOW

Fun with bright colors!

Work in progress

Packing up for Charleston!

I added some "paint swatch" art and pillows that really bring all of the colors from the painting together.

"Paint swatch" art is such an easy way to bring a ton of color into your space.
Best part... it's FREE!note: I'm leaving for South Carolina in the am and can not wait to see how this turns out in John's house. I will post photos when I get home!

Very Berry paint swatch

 Above: Marketing postcard for Model Home Interiors.

note: When I worked at MHI I was asked to make art for spaces that needed an authentic feel. I replicated this piece for a modern high end condo in D.C.

side note:

If you were wondering where Doak was while doing all of this...
Haha... he's the best!

Have a good one!

Melis

Thrift Store Thursday~ A simple love story!

Can't buy me love... just a few things from the thrift store!

 Der had said in passing that an ottoman would be so comfortable in front of the green chair in our bedroom.
I was on it... I am an otto junkie and new I would find something perfect just in time to give him for Valentine's Day. 

OBVIOUSLY this red and black situation isn't going to work in our space but I wanted to keep it red for Valentine's day.
I plan on removing the unusual folding arms and painting the bamboo either white or chocolate, adding extra padding and a new patterned fabric!
 
Ottoman: $9.99

note: I will post the "after" after I finish the project!

Breakfast in bed wasn't nearly as pretty as last years:
 Valentine's Day~Breakfast in bed!

This year I had an 8 month old sitting on my hip that would not let me put him down. Sooooo, I added the "Best Dad" mug for tea and a card from Doak and acted like the breakfast was from the babe. : )

Love the multicolored bouquet... never was a red rose kinda girl. 

And what represents LOVE and happiness better than a laughing and dancing Buddha. I found this guy for $6 and had to have it. He makes me smile every time I pass him.

This tea set design is so simple yet beautiful. I'm sure a lot of deep conversations about life and love were discussed while having tea in these. 

$2 for the whole set!

More spices to spice up our lives. : )

$3 for the set!

And finally this lovely pair. I bet they have so many love stories to share. They are beautiful and looked perfect together. How could anyone ever break them up!

note: If I were to buy them I would paint the wood trim a bright white and really make the mustard yellow upholstery fabric and that high back really stand out!

Johnna met me at the thrift store shortly after and she loved them too. She had to have them... BOTH! We packed one in each car and were on our way!

So glad they will live happy ever after together again... a new love story for them begins!

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's week!
Have a good one,

Melis

R HOME Magazine House Tour!

R Home Magazine hosts a house tour for each edition they put out and we were chosen for the Jan/Feb edition!

I was told that the tour was full, 50 people, the day it was posted so I was super excited and thought it would be "sweet" to make bags of candy for everyone that attended. I attached my business cards with some pretty ribbon I had from Michael's.

Kisses for Valentine's day... and b/c the colors matched the house!

I punched holes into my business cards to create personal tags for the baggies. That way if anyone ever needs a designer they have my info or they could pass it on to a friend.

I also made "thank yous" on postcards I had made for my business.

The best part... cookies!

Raspberry Tea

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip

Sweet treats!

I only took a couple photos because I knew I would have to answer questions once everyone was in the house. 

I was told that the group would walk around as if they were in a museum and ask questions. 

Der and Doak made their rounds and answered a bunch of questions too. 

I asked Dan Sheets to bring a piece of his artwork. He had just finished this portrait of a beekeeper he met downtown at the 17th Street Farmers Market. Love it.
www.sheetsworks.com 

The majority of the people asked about our gallery wall going up the stairs.

The photos of our wedding are really emotional and definitely struck a chord with a lot of the guest. They asked who was in the photos and why we were crying.

Answers:
Black/White- Sister Meghan, Dad and Mom.
Color- Mom, brother Dennis, and myself.

At our wedding we had a, "Wish you were here," slide show for all of those in our family that had passed away. Sometimes when I look at them walking up the stairs I still get a bit teary eyed.

Tons of people asked about our trip to Peru. We were excited to tell them about all of the amazing villages we visited and, of course, our exploration of Machu Picchu! 

Wedding photos and the shells in our Master bedroom were another main attraction.
Our wedding memorabilia sits on our high chest... 

and on our nightstand.

Shells were used as the place settings at the wedding. I asked people to sign them and put them back into these glass vessels. So when they come to our home they would always have a place ready at our table.

It was really nice walking down memory lane.
I thought I would spend the entire time talking about furniture and fabrics but instead people really did treat the tour like they were walking through a museum.
 They loved the really personal aspects. They wanted to hear the history of us. It was sweet... I enjoyed the experience.

Have a good one!

Melis

Valentine's Day~ Breakfast 'n bed!

I have had some people ask me about creative and cheap ideas for Valentine's Day!
What's better than breakfast in bed with a little personal touch? 
Last year this is what my hubby got for breakfast on V-Day and not only was it delicious it was fun to do. I'm not much of a cook, considering burritos and quesadillas are my specialty, but I do love to present meals.
I always say, "Presentation is Everything!"
Well, it should probably taste good too! ; )

Haha, JUST ADD WATER! I told you... not much of a cook.

I used an existing heart shaped cookie cutter, some Pam (on pan and around the cookie cutter) and pancake batter. Simple as pie, well, pancakes. 

Once I saw the bubbles I knew it was time to flip. I used a knife to cut around the edges so the heart wouldn't tear.

Flipped!
Nice golden fluffy but slightly crispy on one side (I love them that way) pancake!

We happened to have a bunch of fruit in the house to make for lovely and colorful sides.

I used a bright pink fabric I had to cover up the boring white tray and a note card that matched the black and white damask plates and cup.

note: The cool thing was that I had everything in the house. I didn't purchase anything. It was fun to come up with the presentation that morning as I was cooking.

tip: if you don't have fabric just lying around, which is understandable, grab a pretty cloth napkin, scarf, etc. 

and the finishing touches... butter and a ton of syrup!

Happy Valentine's Day to all you love birds out there.
Der and I are trying something a little different this year... Acupuncture!
Derek purchase two Groupons, three sessions for each and I'm super excited since the little one is breaking momma's back! He is crawling, climbing, and standing on EVERYTHING... and it's only going to get worse. : )


Have a good one!

Melis 


P.S. Sunday is not only the Super Bowl but the R.HOME Magazine House Tour! 
We were asked to have our house be toured for the Jan.-Feb. issue. I wasn't sure how many people would sign up but apparently it was completely booked after the article was posted online before New Years! So needless to say this weekend I will be baking cookies for guest and getting the house ready for Sunday. 


And then, even though the Steeler's aren't playing, I will be making wings, poppers, mozzarella sticks and, of course, quesadilla's for the game that night! 


Have fun everyone!