I'm blue, da ba dee, da ba die

I've got little art lesson for you today that I loved teaching to my middle & high school students. A PORTRAIT! And probably the easiest one ever. Let's dive in, shall we?

Here's a word for you - monochromatic. It means one (mono) color (chroma), so anytime you're going with this color scheme, you just use all different shades of a single color. The main goal for this lesson was to teach my kids about value, which describes the lightness and darkness of a color. We made really fun Warhol-esque self-portraits based on photographs the kids took of each other in class. Today I'm going to show you how to create this for yourself! You can go with a single color for the entire thing, or for most of it, adding in some contrasting colors just for fun (like I did).

The following are some screen shots of the photo editing process that I completed with PicMonkey. It's a completely free photo editing website, though you can pay a little extra each month (I think $4?) to get some "Royale" features - which I do, because I use it all the time. You can do the same thing in Photoshop or just about any other photo editing software. 

Start with a photograph (preferably digital -- if it's a print, you can always scan and import it into your computer to manipulate). Here's the photo I started with:

First, I cropped my photograph into a square, because my canvas is a large square. Though this step is not essential, it gave me a better visual of how my final product would turn out.

The next step is to edit the photo with the Posterize tool. This breaks down the photo into flat "layers" of color. You can adjust how many layers, how detailed you want everything, etc. So play around with that for a little bit until you're happy with your image.

I wound up with 17 "layers" or "Number of colors" as labeled by the program, with 48% "Detail".

Next, I used the Black and White tool to simply make my photograph b/w and less chaotic for my own sake when transferring the image.

Once totally happy with my image, all that was left was save and print!

I printed my image to be about 4x4 inches, because the viewfinder on my projector is small. This really doesn't make a difference in the final size. Once it was on paper, I stuck it under my projector in a dark room, lined it up how I wanted on my primed canvas, and started tracing. I opted to throw the image off to the side a little bit for some asymmetry.

Keep in mind that the number of colors you have will have an impact on how detailed your final image is, because more layers = lower contrast between each layer. In other words, some areas may be a little tricky to transfer if you have a lot of colors to work with. Even though the program told me I had 17 colors, I actually only used 8, because I decided not to transfer the background, and simplified a few areas on my own.

Here's the important part: when you are tracing the image, you have to remember to outline each of the little shapes or "layers" of color, in order to break it up into values for painting. 

Once it's been traced, double check by putting your canvas next to your image and make sure you got every little shape. (Some free handing may be required.) Yes, it will look weird.

The next thing you'll do is basically create a giant paint-by-number for yourself. I assigned each shade a different number - 1 = lightest, then going from there. Label every shape with its corresponding number, depending on the shade it's supposed to be based on the photograph. Then, when you paint, you'll know your total number of values/shades to mix (I had 8) AND you'll know just where to put them. Always keep the photograph close by while you're working, for reference.

I wanted my main color to be blue. With 8 shades to create, I actually used black for the darkest (number 8) and white for the lightest (number 1), so I had 6 shades of blue to play with for the in-between. 

All you have to do now is mix up paint and start putting your colors where they belong! This is really easy, just time consuming! The hardest thing about this step is trying to look past what you want the person to like to just painting shapes. It really is best to just focus on the painting piece by piece, and it turns out better in the end. Here's some photos of my work, after each "layer" or color was added. You can really see it start to come together as the photos progress! Please forgive the horrible photo quality. I was painting late at night, and the best way to photograph was with my flash on!

After a long night, I completed all of the face and crashed in bed. The next day I would finish.

I hesitated a little before painting the frames of his glasses just another shade of blue. I kind of wanted a fun pop of color, and with further review (i.e. hubby's input), decided the frames needed to be a different, bold color. So I went with oranges/reds for the shades. See what I did there?

When it came to the background, I originally planned to paint this another color, so I tried lime green. I snapped these photos with my iPhone as I tried out some different options.

Lime green: not loving it. It broke the image up too much and the face just looked weird all piecy on top of a solid background that didn't quite look right. You may like it, but I wasn't crazy about it. 

 

So I went with one of the blues from my palette.  

Not enough contrast - it was all bleeding together.

I needed something in the same color family, but a color that would still offer contrast without being too stark. So I went with a deep bluish aqua, and it was perfect. After that, I did some touching up, and voila! It was done. 

Right now it's hanging in the playroom (and looks smaller in this image than it does in real life - the canvas is 36"x36"). Eventually I'll paint a portrait of littlest man and put it on the same wall.

What do you think?! Would you be brave enough to try this for yourself? Feel free to ask any questions about the process in the comments section below. And if you try it for yourself, send me pics!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

if you like it then you shoulda put a frame on it

Guys. The frames in the kids' bathrooms look UH-ma-zing. The best part? The whole project cost about $30 and an hour to complete. I won't go into detail on how we completed this task, because there are tutorials galore all over Pinterest and I'm sure you've seen this done before. I just wanted to give you a shot at how it changed things for us in our two hall bathrooms!

Supplies needed:

pre-primed trim in desired width, pattern

paint

miter saw

level

liquid nails

caulk

caulk gun

blue painter's tape

an extra set of hands
possibly some spacing trim (I'll explain)

Thoughts:
We used 3 1/2" pre-primed trim pieces from Lowes and some liquid nails to do the deed. I bought 6 pieces of 8' trim to complete TWO mirrors. I was able to get both side pieces (42") for each mirror from one trim piece. The other four pieces were for the tops and bottoms of each of these mirrors (one measured 58" wide, and the other 65" wide). 

The tricky thing about our mirrors is they did NOT extend to the full width of the wall, unlike the vanity beneath it (see photo below). So I bought some 1/4" thick scrap/trim (the thickness of the mirrors), and cut them to fit in the gaps between the mirror and the wall (about a three inch space). You can see the pieces laying on the counter in the photo. I attached them to the wall with some screws and liquid nails. This way, the frames had a solid surface to adhere to outside the edge of the mirror, without wobbling, because I wanted the frames to extend the full width of the wall and make the mirrors look that big. My trim was wide enough that it could touch the edge of the wall and still have a good overlap on the mirror. Hopefully if you're doing this project you don't have to deal with this. If you do, just leave any questions in the comments section below.

I used some white paint I already had to paint the pieces before they were cut and applied to the mirror. We measured carefully, cut, and applied them with liquid nails, then held them in place with some painter's tape while the adhesive set up. Although the tube of liquid nails says it dries fairly quickly, I opted to leave the tape holding everything together for the rest of the afternoon and overnight, just to make sure everything was set.

Alsoooo... fortunately for us, the mirrors weren't being held up with any type of brackets whatsoever, they were just glued onto the wall. Therefore, I had a completely flat surface and didn't have to work around any extra hardware. Not everyone is this lucky. If you're among the unlucky ones, my advice would be to use a drimmel tool to carve out little notches in the back of your trim pieces where the brackets can sit nicely inside them and your trim can be flush against the mirror/wall. There are also tutorials for this online. 

Now all that's left to do is caulk the seams and the inner edges where the trim meets the mirror, then touch up with paint. Easy peasy! I decided to wait until everything was completely dry and set up before applying the caulk. 

This is a super simple, cheap, and easy upgrade that can add major bang for your buck to your home, and give your bathrooms a beautiful custom look. You don't even have to be a pro to do it. Now I'm itching to replace the fixtures in these rooms to update them even more! Just add that to the list...

Here's one more before & after for the road. Have an awesome weekend, and come back Monday for an art lesson you won't want to miss!

five important tips for the DIY homeowner

After another successful project in the books this weekend, I was thinking to myself, "What advice would I give to my friends or family who are trying to do some of these same projects around their homes?" I'm not a "professional" in the sense that I don't get paid for what I do, but I have some training, a lot of creative inclinations/skills, and enough experience to know how to help people out with some common DIY endeavors. Most of the people I know come to me for advice on how to build/decorate/lay out things in their homes, so that makes me feel that I'm somewhat qualified to teach a little here and there. Not to toot my own horn or anything. So I came up with this list of five things that I would tell a first time DIY-er, or someone starting a new project they're not too sure about.

1. Know your limits
One of the smartest thing any DIY-ing homeowner can do for themselves is to know their strengths and their weaknesses. I know from my own experience what I can handle, and then I know there are things that are just completely beyond my skill level/expertise. I would never try to mess with plumping, electrical, structural home issues. I'll even throw in flooring and tiling. To me, those things really are best left to the professionals. KNOW what you can do, and what you can't. Hiring a professional doesn't mean you are giving in or accepting defeat, it means you are being smart - and probably saving yourself some money & stress in the long run.

2. Be realistic
Part of knowing your limits is being realistic with your time and your wallet. I can't tell you how hard I laugh when I watch some of the homeowner renovation shows on TV. You'll see a sweet little couple who is absolutely determined that they are going to gut and completely remodel their entire kitchen for $6,000 in a weekend. I'm sorry, but it ain't gonna happen. You could easily spend $6,000 on appliances alone! I'm no expert, but I've done enough research and work in my own home to know that setting these types of expectations for yourself is completely unrealistic, and hurt you in the long run. What usually winds up happening at the end of the show is their original budget & actual cost (and time) is compared, and what they actually spend is at least twice, if not more than they thought they would - AND nine times out of ten, they wind up calling in the pros to help them finish the job because they realize they are in over their heads. Do your research, and come up with a budget and time frame that will truly work for your family's schedule and finances.

3. Budget for about 25% more than you think you will spend
There are always, always, always last minute costs that tend to add up. Forgetting to budget in hardware, paint, and other things you didn't put on your list but grabbed while you were at your local home improvement store can majorly add to the cost of your project. You would probably be smart to add in a little extra materials in case of mistakes - because let's face it - it happens. Say you need a project that requires 10 feet of lumber. Buy 12 or 14, just to be safe. If you're doing a bigger renovation project that requires the help of professionals, expect the little things to add up. Sometimes you run across issues tearing a wall down that you won't actually see or know about until that wall comes apart! You need to be prepared for these types of things, and adding a little extra cushion in your budget is the best way to make these unanticipated costs a little easier to swallow.

4. Enlist in help
Most DIY projects are at least two-person jobs, some require more than that. It's nice to have an extra set of hands or eyes on a project, if for nothing more than to just hold something steady while you nail it into place. In addition, when bringing on another person, you're also bringing in a different skill level and view point that can help you because either a) they know how to do something that you don't, or b) they may bring something up that you hadn't thought of. You may also want to ask someone to come over - cue the grandparents! - just to keep your kids occupied so they aren't running underfoot while you're trying to concentrate. So don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it be from friends, family, or your local professionals.

5. Expect mistakes
Listen, mistakes happen, even to the best of us. We all know the motto, "measure twice, cut once", but even sometimes you may have read your notes or directions wrong, and/or it's 2 am and you are running on fumes. This is when mistakes happen. OR you could complete all or part of a project, and it's not turning out quite how you wanted/anticipated, and you either backpedal or start over. Screwing up is inevitable, but in an attempt to minimize catastrophes, the following can be helpful:

• Think things through. Do your research. There is no shame in taking your time and being very careful with your planning. Double and triple check things like measurements, just to be sure.
• Take short, frequent breaks. Make sure you've eaten and are keeping yourself hydrated. When you get weak from hunger, thirst, or being overheated, it's easy to get distracted and rush through something to just "get it done". Stand back and take a look at your work as it develops to make sure it's headed a direction that you're happy with. Know when to stop and say, "I need to finish this another time." Just don't wait too long :)
• Have extra materials on hand, in case you mess something up and need to redo it.  If you don't use the extra stuff, save your receipt and return it! 
• Stay calm, and know that messing up is just part of it, whether big or small. But hopefully following these five tips will keep things on the small scale!

Alright homeowners, what do you think? Do you have anything to add? Are you ready to tackle your next big project?!

a hundred dollars and an hour later

That sounds really sleazy, I'm sorry. 

Friday my FIL and I tackled the "let's finally build this king size headboard" I've had on my list since, oh, last May. I've tossed several ideas around but ultimately decided on a very simple upholstered design. There are tons on the market to choose from, and many beautiful options, but unfortunately they run in the $400 and up category, and that just doesn't work for me.

> Cue the why buy it when I can DIY it?

Scouring the internet for some inspiration/instructions was easy. Pinterest is the mother ship of all things home decor DIY, so I found this simple tutorial from theEverygirl and went with it. It seemed like the easiest and most cost-effective of several options I had found. I'm totally not taking credit for her design, just showing you how I implemented it myself.

via theeverygirl

I can proudly tell you this project took us only an hour to complete! That's from cutting wood to screwing it into the bed frame.

• I went with her simple design using 1/2" sanded project plywood and some 2x4"s. The only thing I changed was adding a middle vertical brace/support, because at 78" wide, our board needed a little something extra back there to help hold it together.

• We had my friend at Lowe's cut the plywood down to 78x30" at the store, to make it easier to transport home and save us some major messes by avoiding getting out the table saw. (At 30" high, the plywood comes down a good six inches below the top of our mattress. The width extends just a tad on the sides of our mattresses.)

• Our overall height of the headboard (from the ground up) is 50", so the vertical supports are just that length. We cut them first, then screwed them into the plywood from the front side. 

• Then we measured the horizontal distance between, for the top supporting brace. We did this after attaching the vertical pieces to make sure we got a precise fit. 

• Next, I measured down from the bottom of the top (horizontal) piece to the bottom of the legs, and cut that piece for my middle support. Then I just measured in the two bottom horizontal pieces, cut them, and screwed them on as well. In the photo below, you can see our construction of all the pieces. All of the 2x4s were screwed in with wood screws from the front side.

• Cutting and screwing these pieces in took me about 15 minutes, tops. It helped to have a set of man hands to help me lift and flip things when needed.

• After framing out and piecing together all the wood, I flipped it over and used spray adhesive to attach 1/2" cushion foam to the front side, lining it up with the very top of the headboard and trimming off any extra on the sides. This left about six inches at the bottom with no foam, but it was going to wind up below/behind our mattress (AND was wrapped in batting) so it didn't matter.

• We then carried the entire thing inside and placed it carefully onto the ironed fabric and quilt batting I had already laid out on the floor. I made sure to have enough fabric on all edges to go around the sides, to be stapled on in the back. Lining everything up took a few minutes, but once it was ready, my staple gun and I went at it. I trimmed up batting as needed, so it didn't poke out from behind the fabric on the backside and look messy. You know, for the wall that looks at it.
  

• I purchased the 1/2" cushion foam and twin-size quilt batting from JoAnn's, and it was my lucky day because both were 50% off. I doubled up on the batting for a little extra cushion. For the fabric, I actually used a curtain panel I fell in love with a few months ago walking through Lowes. The panel was the perfect size, and at $25, it was cheaper than buying several yards of upholstery fabric. Plus I already was already obsessed with it. Another plus? All the edges of the fabric were finished with a seam, even the bottom hem I took out to give me another few inches to wrap around.

• One of the little details I paid attention to was the slight pattern in the fabric (it's like a twill/tweed) and made sure I pulled it around to the backside very tight, yet evenly. I pulled one little part around, stapled it in, then measured how far in the fabric went on the wood. I drew a line across the wood and made sure I didn't pull any of the other fabric on that side past that point. This helped keep the pattern from getting wavy or uneven. I just repeated this on all sides (except the bottom), and used more staples than I care to count. The corners can be difficult, but I just did a little gift wrapping trick to line things up. 
  

• I had to cut the fabric in at angles in the corners around the insides of the legs (which wouldn't show), and then stapled those pieces smoothly and securely to the legs (the outer two legs show just a tad when on the bed, and they are completely wrapped). Then I pulled the bottom of the fabric super tight, and put in my last few rows of millions of staples. Attaching the fabric probably took the most amount of time out of our hour, but it was simple. 
  

• All that was left was to attach it to the bed frame using some nuts and bolts, which only took a few more minutes! 
  
  It barely peeks above our Euro pillows on our bed, and it's perfect!
  
  

Cost breakdown:

1/2" thick x 24" wide foam: $11.99 per yard x 2 1/4 yards = $26.98, 50% off = $13.49

twin size quilt batting: $14.99, 50% off = $7.49

2x4"s (each 8 ft long): 4 @ $2.85 = $11.40

15/32" sanded project pine: $24.97

curtain panel: $24.97

spray adhesive, wood screws: already had
bonus wood smell in my bedroom which helps me sleep at night: free

Total project cost: $82.32

This is something anyone could easily tackle in an afternoon! Now we have a grown-up-looking bed, and no more pillows squishing down between the wall and the mattress! Score! 

home tour update

Since the nursery is at a bit of a standstill for the next two weeks, I thought it would be fun to post an update on some of the rooms that we've worked on a bit since I last shared photos with you.

Master bedroom 
-since you last saw it: painted, floating shelf hung & filled, curtains & curtain rods hung, and I found the most FABULOUS painting at Garden Ridge for above the bed!! I'm in LOVE! This is such a great space with all the natural lighting, high vaulted ceilings, and extra square footage. We love to relax in here!
-still to do (tomorrow): build headboard
-eventually: find a couch or beautiful chair to put in front of the bay windows

Kids' bathrooms
I've never shown you the bathrooms, but one was tan and one was sage green when we moved in. There really wasn't much to see before, they were pretty plain. Both are now Behr's Southern Breeze, which is a favorite of ours. The bathrooms and laundry room in our first house were this color and we just had to bring it with us. Both bathrooms have the same shower curtain and color scheme, and coordinate well with the colors we've chosen for the rest of the house. It's so hard to get an accurate depiction of the color with the incandescent lighting, but trust me, it's the most beautiful, calming blue/green/grey you've ever seen.
bathroom #1 

In bathroom #2, I took the awkwardly hung towel bar off the wall above the toilet and replaced it with some pretty prints. Right now we don't use the bathroom much, but when it is regularly in use by a kiddo, we will probably put a towel bar on the back of the door.

bathroom #2

-still to do (in both bathrooms): replace linoleum flooring with wood-look ceramic tile, frame out mirrors, replace faucets and light fixtures

Little man's room

This is another room I never showed you, which is pretty much complete (for this stage in his life), except for updating the ceiling fan. The wall color is Neon Mint by Valspar. I'm not much of a "themed bedroom" type person. I like to just pick a modern yet versatile color scheme, focus on that, and see what develops. That keeps me from being tied down to one look, and also keeps options open for changing things out as the kids grow. Our little man has really started to love airplanes, and I kept seeing the cutest airplane decor on Etsy and in random places, so we just kind of went with it. We tried not to go overboard. You may remember the world map mural from this post.
-still to do: replace ceiling fan and finally add more fabric to the bottom of the curtains (I incorrectly remembered the measurements I took when we came to see the house the first time, so I wound up about 6 inches short. I've been saying "I'm going to fix that" since we moved in.)

Entry hall
-since you last saw it: nothing has really changed here, but the last photos I posted of it were pretty crappy, so I thought I'd give it another shot. Changing the living room up has also had a major impact on what you see when you come through the front door.
-still do do: possibly hang another art piece or two somewhere

Note: our special headless cat

The light fixture in here will eventually be updated, hopefully with something a little larger and contemporary like this from west elm:

Living room
-since you last saw it: The only thing that's changed is our seasonal decor and a few lighting pieces. We had an additional eyeball light installed over our new built in shelves to bring some light to the corner and really showcase the contents of the shelves. The opposite corner of the room was pretty dark, so we got a cool floor lamp from Target and now it has the perfect amount of light to balance out the space.

-still to do: this year I'd like to retile the fireplace with something lighter, cleaner, and more modern - like these beautiful marble tile examples:

   

We'll see how hubby feels about that ;)

We had some recessed lighting and a fan installed in the media room, but we haven't yet built or had someone build an entertainment/shelving unit around the TV.

Our kitchen and dining room remain a bit unfinished, so I'll hold off until we make some more progress in there to show you what we've accomplished. 

Some overall/eventual (read: big & expensive) home updates we'd like to do is replace all the tile in the entry, kitchen, and dining room with dark wood flooring. Another rather expensive upgrade will be replacing all the brassy doorknobs & handles throughout the entire house. We are currently focusing some of our time and energy into the exterior of our home, to give it some more color & curb appeal. Oh yeah, and this little thing called Project Nursery. 

When you are creative, it seems like things are always changing in your home. I am still in shock when I look back at all the old photos we have of our house, compared to the look and feel of our home now. It has evolved so much, and continues to do so - seems like - every day! Hubby keeps telling me, "No more projects!!". Pssh. 

What is it like in your home? Are you always working on something like I am??

Thank you for coming over today to see what we've been up to!