From Inspiration to Reality!

My actual inspiration page, from which I then actually purchased my wants and wishes!

When I first began considering how I wanted my main living area to look, I started by collecting pictures of things that I was drawn to stylistically. As I collected, I came across a rug from IKEA that became the anchor for my design inspiration.

Alvine Ruta rug, measures 5'7" by 7'10"  

Based on this decision, I was then able to focus my planning and inspiration board to fit around my anchor piece. For me, I selected paint colors next because I feel as though that is the actual first step in designing a room, getting color on the walls. The colors I was left with originally were cream, dried blood red, and a pretty but not coordinating aqua.

Living room - Before

Dining room - Before

I selected a yellow that was not the same shade as the mustard in the rug, but instead a light buttery color. And I paired it with a navy in the dining room, which I pulled from the edge of the rug. My personal paint preference is Pratt & Lambert interior latex in an eggshell. I used Eggnog (10-30) and Captivating (24-14) as my wall colors to replace the mismatched combos above...

Pardon the blue tape everywhere, that doesn't exist anymore! 

I then collected the items from my inspiration page, and other items that matched the board. The pillows from the inspiration page were purchased at Target, and the chair was picked up at IKEA.

And in searching for the link for this post, I just discovered that they make the chair in YELLOW now!!! Oh man! I have the urge to own a contrasting set... Good thing the chair doesn't fit in my little Honda, or I'd be on my way to IKEA right now! 

My favorite pillow of delightful feathers was also from Target. 

The couch was custom made by the Best Slipcover Company. Their products can be ordered through Vintage Hardware! I selected a classic shape from the Cindy line and then selected the fabric that I wanted to pull out the gray border on the IKEA rug. The couch was definitely my investment piece, being constructed from solid wood and the cushions are down stuffed. It is made in the U.S.A and can either be slip covered or fully upholstered. I opted for the slip cover so that I can easily wash it if necessary and can potentially change up the cover down the road if I feel like it without having to buy an entirely new couch. Talk with Becky at Vintage Hardware to check out all of the couch, love-seat, chair, and other furniture options.

The yellow throw pillows are inexpensive options from Target's Room Essentials line. And the navy chevron pillows (one not pictured) are Target purchases as well! And so is that snazzy lamp! The lamp was purchased about 3 years prior to ever looking for a house to buy and was meant to be! Although Target sells this base as a set now, they also have a more budget friendly, different lovely yellow lamp. 

The remaining large furniture items including an upright piano, large bookshelf, coffee table, side table, and other miscellaneous things were acquired in my favorite way. From garage sales, inherited, or purchased from local salvage businesses. My style is definitely vintage inspired, with rough edges, but balanced with warm, cheery tones and a variety of textures. 

I've owned this map since high school and finally put it to perfect use! It's a great pop of fun colors!

The concept of creating an inspiration board can seem like a waste of time or overwhelming, but I think it helped keep me organized. Plus, it was definitely not as overwhelming as I think creating a room would be if there was no direction or guide. Obviously everyone tackles projects differently, but I'd recommend creating an inspiration board based on an anchor item. And don't think that anchors have to actually be large items. It could be a pillow, artwork, a rug, a piece of furniture, or even something small like a special memento item. Decide what is important and work from there, selecting coordinating colors, and a variety of textures. My BFF Ali told me during this process that a good room should have at least six different textures, and I am confident that I have well over that number! And I've received Ali's approval on my house so it must be properly textured... :) Love you Ali! I used fabrics, wood, metal, and ceramic to create a large variety of texture. Some are soft, some are hard, some are smooth, some are rough, but all create a cohesive space. And feel free to mix patterns! I used chevrons, stripes, geometric prints, and solids. Oh, and one feather embroidered pillow! 

Mostly, I think the most valuable advice I can give in regards to creating a living space that you love, it means you have to select things you love to be in that space. If you don't LOVE LOVE LOVE it, don't bother. Mediocre is only going to bother you in the end which means spending more time and money to get something you actually want. And if you really LOVE LOVE LOVE it, then sometimes that means you spend some decent money. Shopping at Target and IKEA helped save some money, as did garage sales or fleas, but sometimes perfection is ponying up the cash for a long-lasting, quality piece that you will love for years to come. Prioritize what items you plan on investing in. For me it was the couch. And if you could sit on or nap on my couch, you'd understand why I went big on it. Seriously, it's that awesomely comfortable. If you have to live someplace, then you should love everything you can about it. Especially if it is someplace that you've committed 30 years to!

Cheers! And happy decorating!

Fun and Funky Folk Art!

I have to preface this with the fact that I have absolutely terrific projects going in the shop write now. The only problem is that they are all Christmas presents and I can't blog about them lest I spoil the holiday surprises! This is a lesson in patience for a very impatient person! 

Fortunately my students have been working on a fun art project the past couple weeks and a handful of them are complete for the world to see! 

I found this clever plan on Pinterest (of course) and couldn't wait to give it a shot! I have to say that for a person who is able to craft and create on my own, but not share and teach such things very well, Pinterest is a teacher's lifesaver! I have become a fan of an art project blog, Painted Paper, that is chalk-full of kid friendly projects. 

Material list:

8.5" by 11" white paper

Pencils

Black Sharpies

Crayons

Water color paints

Black construction paper

To start the project, we looked at the inspiring folk artist, Heather Galler (check out her Etsy shop). I then gave students the basic steps aloud, written on the board, and showed them my example pieces. Students needed to use about 2/3 of the paper to create an outline of the landscape, including any hills or curves. They then divided the land space into at least fifteen areas.  Once they had the land divided up, they added patterns including stars, hearts, stripes, checkerboards, flowers, zigzag lines, and many more creative designs.  The final piece of pencil work was to create a barn or house, one or more trees, and a festive, funky sunshine.  All of the pencil lines were then carefully traced with black Sharpie marker so they would stand out in the end.

The students then used crayon to color in the patterns, leaving the background of each area white.  If they had stripes or checkerboard patterns, many kids colored every other section so they could add color through paint to the remaining sections.  

Once the crayon work was complete, they carefully painted in the all of the white paper that was left. This gave the art pieces great dimension and texture. Once the paint was dry, art was mounted on black construction paper, and boy did the colors pop! The final products that I have received thus far are AMAZING! Absolutely phenomenal! I may be biased, but seriously... Check them out! 

LEGO Portraits!

I saw this fun activity on Pinterest, blogged by another teacher who specializes in art. I snagged the outline and enlarged it to fill and 8.5" by 11" page. Each student created their personal portrait and picked a color on which to mount the picture.  They then simply cut a color frame around their body and mounted the whole  piece on black paper so it stood out! So simple, so fun, and so cool looking! 

The Willow Pattern Story!

I saw this art project on Pinterest months ago and have been wanting to have my students participate! I ordered "The Willow Pattern Story" by Allan Drummond from Amazon so I could have a text based introduction for the project.  I try to relate all of my projects to either something we are studying or to a book that I can share with the kids to give them a bit of background.  The project was fairly inexpensive, I bought about 8 packs of variety size paintbrushes from our local dollar store, Deals Only. The plates were about $3.00 for a pack of 100! You need paper plates, not waxed covered, if you want the paint to stay! The paint came from our school supply closet, blue and white tempera.  Students were given their Willow plate and a second plate for mixing the paint for varying shades of blue. Each group also had a couple cups of rinse water and sets of the paint.  In hind sight, I should have used wax covered or plastic bowls for the paint rather than more plates, because they would be more liquid proof and would be easier to cover with saran wrap. Oh well, to remember for the future! When students completed their pieces I hung them on the bulletin board for all to see!

While they painted, I displayed a tea saucer that I borrowed from my mom featuring the Blue Willow pattern.  This helped give students a visual reference for what they heard about in the story. 

The students worked hard to imitate the original pattern by incorporating the love birds at the top of the pieces, a river, pagodas, a zigzag fence, the bridge with three people crossing, and various trees. 

I had a couple unfinished pieces at the time of the following picture, hence the awkward gap! 

Imitating Paul Klee

My students completed an art project this fall based on the work of Paul Klee.  I first shared a short biography on Klee's personal and professional life.  

The Life and Work of Paul Klee by Sean Connoly

The book was very inexpensive on Amazon or could likely be picked up at Powell's.  After sharing the book I introduced the students to a specific piece of Klee's work, Castle and Sun.  

Castle and Sun

Students were then given 12 inch by 18 inch black construction paper as a background.  I distributed a pile of 2 inch right triangles to each group of students (Huge thanks to my parent volunteer, Kara, for cutting hundreds of triangles!).  The triangles were in a variety of colors but mainly browns, oranges, and reds, as reflected in Klee's original work. Students created their imitation version of the painting by combining triangles into squares, mix and matching colors and shapes, and patterns. As students pieces were completed, I grading on neatness and imitation of the original painting.  

Bulletin board featuring final products

I created a sign identifying our goal for the project by punching multiple colors of letters with our Ellison paper punch.  The letters are layered to incorporate more color, of course!

With large items and limited board space, I used the hall as our art gallery!

Bulletin Board Ideas!

I love bulletin boards but it usually takes me a while to come up with an idea that I love enough to work on. I figure I should share some of the simple ideas I have used so that others can have nifty boards with little effort too!

This turtle board is from the book "Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back" (See the second picture).  

1. I used the turtle image on the dedication page and traced the outline onto green butcher paper using my Elmo projector. I then traced the shell pieces onto printer paper so that I could have master copies for next year! 
2. Next I copied the masters so that my students had outlines to work in. 
3. The students each received a poem from the book and illustrated their shell piece to match the text.
4. We then pasted them in place and filled excess shell space (not enough students for 2 whole shells) with copies of the coordinating poems for the missing pieces. 
5. Cut turtles out (I didn't take time for precise cuts, just trimming around the outside) and hang on board!

Fireworks are SO simple and quite fun to create! 

I took half sheets of printer paper and half sheets of black construction paper for the backing and gave some to each student. Rules for creating fireworks are easy, 

• Pick 2-4 crayon colors
• Make 3-5 starting points, just small dots using all the same color
• Color tight zig-zags around the dots with the next color of choice
• Continue creating zig-zags, using each color in a consistent pattern, every firework should be identical
• Fireworks will eventually collide and fill the whole page

Fireworks were then stapled randomly on the board with Cricut letters and stars (di-cut)

Such a quick and easy project, only takes one art session for students to complete (generally)

Board assembly took 10 minutes, talk about speedy for a whole board!