How a Clock Inspired Me to Decorate! (and a Review)

True Confessions: I have decorating-phobia. I know, it seems kinda strange, the art teacher who takes wild and wacky fashion risks has a fear of hanging a single thing on the wall, but it's true. I am fully aware that my taste level is questionable, at best. The beauty of fashion is that you can take off that rainbow wig, those cat eye glasses, fish net tights, faux fox stole and that telephone print dress (you think I'm making that outfit up? Get yourself here) and try again tomorrow. With decorating tho...well, things are a little bit more permanent. I guess that means I have a fear of commitment. Don't tell my hubs.

So when Regency Shop, a modern design retailer out of Los Angeles, contacted me and asked if I'd like to review their Nelson clock, I readily agreed. I flippin' adore anything mid-century mod and, after taking one look at that clock, I fell in love. The problem was: where was I going to put it? Most of my house is decorated to the point where I'm kinda happy (is it just me or is decorating a continuous work-in-progress? WHEN WILL IT EVER END.) However, we do have a spare room that sits over our garage which the real estate lady called a "bonus room". Over the last seven years, I have referred to it as "the bogus room", "that room the cat likes to vomit in", and "that space where I occasionally attempt to exercise". This past summer, it became "the book-writing room" and, having spent months creating in this open space, I realized I really enjoyed being in the bonus room. What I didn't love was the look of the place. But I had no idea what to do about it or where to start. 

When I got the Nelson clock in the mail, I was immediately smitten. It put me in the mind of Mary Blair and the Disney ride she designed It's a Small World. The painting I created inspired by Blair was one of the few things I'd actually got around to hanging. I decided to pair the two pieces together and see how that worked. 

Just seeing this clock and thinking of Disney makes me smile!

As soon as the clock was hung above the painting, I was inspired! I started pulling out all of my favorite thrift and estate sale picks from over the years and playing around. 

One thing I always struggle with when decorating is a color palette. I know you need one...but I love ALL THE COLORS. As strange as it may sound, that clock helped keep me in line. I used the burnt orange, black, gold, shades of sky blue and avocado green as my guide. It really helped me decide what worked (according to my wacky vision) and what didn't. 

After putting together this wall, I decided to create a gallery wall along the stairway. I've always wanted to make one and I had stacked of framed works of art ready to go...but, again, decorating phobia stopped me.

I was so inspired by how well my wall had come together, I thought, what the heck!

Again, I used the colors in the clock as my guide. Those amazing molas and the basket were thrift store finds, if you can believe that. The prints are REAL and signed Charley Harper prints which I got a decade ago when a print shop was going out of business. In the stacks of matte board they gave me, I discovered these signed prints. I had no idea what they were until years later. The wall sconces are from Anthropologie's sale room (do they have any other rooms in that place? Because my wallet says they don't) and the LOVE signs are from my friend Bebo. 

This is the view from the stairs. I spent a whole lotta hours at that table this summer, working in air dry clay, writing and snapping photos (I'll keep you posted on dates for the book as we get closer, eep!). I purchased an extra large foldable table a year ago as an inexpensive and expansive work space. I love to cover my work surface in oil cloth because it's happy and easy to clean. By the way, did I mention that I like color? And prints. Love me some pattern-y goodness. 

This area was given an update as well. When my husband and I first bought our house, our main priority was to pay the house off. (My hubs is very monetarily minded. True Story: the day I met him in the computer lab where I taught, he asked me two questions. One, "do you have a boyfriend?" and two, "do you have any college debt?") That meant very little cash was left for much else. For that reason, almost everything in our house is from the thrift store, a discount joint (we love Big Lots) or homemade. That ottoman on wheels? I made that with some lumber, foam, wheels and IKEA fabric. 

Of course, anything we do spend cashola on has to be Asha-colored since it's sure to become covered in cat hair. When we went furniture shopping, the hubs carried around a tuft of Asha hair to make sure that it would match. I can't even make this stuff up.

One decorating phobia I DON'T have: overdecorating for Christmas. I just can't stop!

Storage in a craft room is a big deal, as y'all know. I love using this vintage sewing box for my paint stash. Also, that chest of drawers is filled with art makin' supplies. 

Our bonus room has a wet bar which is never used. In fact, we filled the wine area with our books!

Y'all don't even know how happy this room now makes me. I still have a couple more projects I want to do to make this room feel complete but, for now, it's in a really happy place, I think. 

 Thanks to this guy. By the way, the clock operates with a single AA battery. The white base is metal and rock solid. The entire clock feels heavy and solid, not flimsy or fragile. I'm in love. 

And so thrilled with my new space. Just had to share with y'all! Happy Thanksgiving if you are stateside and have a wonderful week!

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DIY: Ode to Nashville, Tennessee

Greetings, outta-towners and in-towners alike!

You may recall a couple of weeks ago I showed you around my Tennessee-themed home. In that post I mentioned wanting to create another Tennessee-inspired painting. Well, here 'tis! All 2' X 5' of it. I'm all about the Go-Big-or-Go-Home, can you tell?

The original postcard that inspired the painting.

Interested in creating your own city/state souvenir postcard? Well, it's actually pretty simple. You'll just need the following: 

• Canvas, any size 
• Enlarged copies of the postcard lettering if you are not comfortable drawing your own
• Acrylic paint, brushes
•  State/city maps (I picked mine up for free at AAA)
• Chisel-tipped sharpie and black brush pen
• Tissue paper and stick pins
• Modge Podge

DIY Disclaimer: I am prone to take the more-difficult-and-frustrating road when crafting. Don't ask me why. For your sanity, I've also included an easier version of the same directions which you will find under the heading "Or you could just...".

Eye-ballin' it. Not something I recommend as it wears out the eraser and the patience.

I began with a sketch. I started with a line that all of the letters would rest on and then created a parallel line 8" above that. Lightly, I drew in the letters giving each one about a 3-5" width. 

Or you could just...enlarge copies of the postcard. Enlarge each letter, cut it out and play around with the positioning on your canvas. Once you've got it where you want it, tape them down and trace around the letters with pencil.

The color in this photo is slightly off, as it's much more a mustard-yellow, not a poop-yellow.

From there, I mixed up a giant batch of the background color. Always mix up more paint that you think you'll need. Why? Because it is impossible to mix the exact color twice. You may think you can and then you put brush to canvas and realize Homer-Simpson-slap-to-the-head-"duh!" style that you needed more white/yellow/black/wine. Trust me. Keep paint covered in Saran Wrap until the very end of your project as you never know when you might need to touch up a spot (this I did not do and you'll see why I wish I had shortly).

Or you could just...take the easy no-paint-mixing road and just buy the color of paint for the background. In that case, buy two tubes.

Tissue paper tracing.

To insure that my map letters were going to fit my canvas, I created letter patterns using tissue paper.

Or you could just...remember those letters you so cleverly xerox copied? Those will be your letter patterns.

Creating the map letters.

With my letter patterns pinned onto my map, I cut out each letter for my sign. If you are using your original xerox copies, you could do the same.

Ta-dah!

Making the letters three dimensional.

With the letters cut out, I began the background painting. Before putting paint to canvas, I used a pencil and lightly sketched in where I wanted the drop shadow to be. This shadow helped the letters really pop out and gave them a three dimensional quality. Again, mix up way more paint than you'd ever thought imaginable and dive in.

Once the drop shadow was complete, I began Modge-Podging the letters into place. Using the matte Modge Podge, I covered the area of the canvas where the letter would go, placed the letter on top and then added another layer of 'podge on top of that. Once dry, I began using the chisel-tipped Sharpie to create a black shadow on the right side of the letters. You can see this best in the photo below

Guess who can't spell Tennessee? Although, I do believe Teene-see would be a pretty cute name, don't you?

Now, when it came to adding the other written text, lemme just say I thought I was so clever. I wrote out the text on tissue paper and then traced it with a Sharpie. The thought being that the Sharpie would bleed through just enough for me to trace them with my brush pen. Sounds great, right?

Sure it woulda been had I been able to spell correctly. My horrendous spellin' ways always take me back to that Frightening Fifth Grade Spelling Bee where I spelled...wait for it..."morning" incorrectly. That's right, I thought it should be "mourning" as in "We are all mourning the dreadful spelling of this poor dimwitted girl." 

Thankfully, this spelling error was corrected with a little bit of acetone (that'd be nail polish) and a q-tip. I managed to wipe off my boo-boo just enough...as well as remove a wee bit of paint. Remember how I told you to save your paint? Yeah, this would have come in real handy if I had. Der.

Nash, Tenn., yo.

Just a closeup of my Sharpie-outlining skillz. There is no way I'm ever going back to painting hard edges with a brush. No. Way.

My vintage record player has the best acoustics. I decided to sample my latest thrifted records during a painting lull.

Finished sign now hangs out in my kitchen.

So you can handle this, right? Just follow my much easier or you could just... and you'll be well on your way to your very own souvenir sign!

Or you could just...take a nap. That's my plan anyway. 

Thanks for stopping by!

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DIY: Lovey Dovey

My completed yarn-wrapped heart now hangs over the mirror in my foyer. I hate that word, foyer. Makes me sound so fancy. But it sounds better than "front entrance" which is what I initially typed.

I am not, nor have I ever been, and I predict I won't ever be, sappy. When I lose my Burt's Bees, I become chappy; with a tiny amount of wine, I am slaphappy; and my middle-aged lady arms are starting to look flappy; but sappy is not a word that would describe me. Lovey-dovey, mushy, huggy-kissy sweet stuff kinda makes my skin craw, my eyes roll toward the back of my head and my finger make a gagging motion down my throat.

Supplies: Styrofoam heart and pink yarn: Hobby Lobby; baker's twine: Anthopologie, last Christmas; buttons and paper measuring tape: from my stash; vintage photos: from my mom

However, this is not all my fault. I inherited the unsappy gene from my mother. Case in point: If I tell her I lover her, more often than not, I'm greeted with a "whatever." It's just not in us to give a sap. 

So it's kinda funny that I decided to spruce up the pad for Valentine's Day. Honestly, it's because I had so much fun decorating for Christmas, that I didn't want to stop. Never mind that the floors haven't been swept in years and that the laundry is a 6' mountain of funky smells, look! I made a yarn wrapped heart!

Are they not the cutest? My mom brought me a stash of old family photos, some of people neither of us knew. Doesn't it look like he's tickling her ear and she's trying to stop him? I wonder where they are now.

And it was really easy to make. If you've been on pinterest for a millisecond, you've seen yarn-wrapped wreaths. I made one at Christmas...but this one was a wee bit trickier because of the points in the heart. If you've never tried it before, here's how I went about it: tie yarn around styro wreath and wrap yarn around it. That's it! When I came to the points in the heart, I plugged in my hot glue gun and glued in strips of yarn to fill in the gaps. It's really the easiest and most mundane craft ever. 

Another nunno-who-they-are photo from my collection. I love how she's on her tiptoes in her sweet loafers...and is he coping a feel?

When I was finished with that, the fuschia heart was rather boring. So I decided to add some blue striped  baker's twine which I double knotted in the back. I backed the photos onto matte board and hot glued the board to the frame so as not to ruin the photos. The vintage buttons were hot glued on as well. I had initially used a black ribbon to hang the heart but it seemed too domineering. I swapped it out for the paper measuring tape. In all, it looks pretty crafty, but that's okay by me. It'll do for the month of Feb.

Right under the yarn-wrapped-heart mirror in the foyer is a little table with this display. My collection of vintage children's books comes from the throw-away pile at in my school's library.

These little cupid houses have actually been up since Christmas. As if you couldn't tell. I've decided that the hearts on top of them mean I can leave them out just a pinch longer. Again, this idea was pulled from pinterest.

If you have access to clay and a kiln, here's how I created these: for the trunk, place a texture down on your table. I used a large stamp that had a wood grain design. Place the clay on top of the stamp and flatten it with a rolling pin. Remove clay from stamp and roll into a tube shape. For the roof, lay a different textured surface onto your workspace. I like to use vintage lace. Repeat the step of flattening the clay. Now, instead of forming a tube, roll clay into a waffle cone shape. Slip and score to the top. Add details and, viola! A house for cupid!

My Valentine garland. The easiest craft ever.

This is the last of my Valentine's decor, I swear. If I do anymore, my anti-sap status is sure to drop greatly. This here Valentine's garland was the easiest to make. My school has one of the Edison die cut thingies. I die cut some of my scrap booking paper (picked up a JoAnn's)  that I thought might compliment the colors of my living room. Which, as you can see, is just black and white. Easy to match.

If you've never sewn before, this is the project for you. When I got my first sewing machine about 6 years ago, I started by sewing paper. There's no fear in "messing up" and ruining expensive fabric. For this, I just pushed the heart through the machine. To make the blank space, I just continued to pull the heart so the machine would keep intertwining the two threads. Once the space was long enough, I fed the bird through the machine. Simple, right?

So, there you go. Valentine's decor for the un-Lovey Dovey set. I keep thinking to the next holiday I can decorate for...which is St. Patrick's Day, I believe. Nothing is coming to mind. Except to leave my little clay houses out just one more holiday and call 'em Leprechan Houses. That'll work, right?

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