Could there be anything more difficult to pick out than artwork? Not only does it make a statement in your home, but it’s an investment as well. While I’ve been working on my little master bedroom update, I’ve been researching artwork options to flank our bed (as well as researching bedside tables). I searched high and low and found some great options, but nothing was singing to me. That is, until I found this pin on Pinterest.
Jackpot. Graphic? Check. Free? Double check. Easy to change without guilt once I get tired of it? Bingo. I give all the credit of this idea to How about Orange, a great site for DIY ideas. I put my own twist on this with different colors, but the creativity was all from her original print. Jessica used Glidden paint swatches for her artwork, but I decided to try out the Martha Stewart line of paint colors from Home Depot. I kept on hearing how great her colors are, and lord knows I don’t need to paint my house anymore, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to try them out (colors listed at the end of the post).
I grabbed four of each paint color (is taking that many swatches from Home Depot even legal?), but each print took about 70 triangles and I got 4 triangles from each swatch… so you can do the math. :) I cut all my little triangles (2″ tall x 1.25″ wide, per the tutorial) and got to work on my completely random layouts.
Cute, right? These prints were as simple as gluing triangles to a piece of paper – because that’s essentially what I did. I made one print a little lighter (mine) and one a little darker (Scott) so I would have his/her artwork for our bedroom.
I hung the prints behind our lamps, which may seem strange, but hanging them above the lamps would have ended up looking very awkward. When the print is hung at a height that relates to the furniture underneath it, it creates a sort-of vignette with the table, lamp and print – so all three pieces serve as one element in the room. Also, hanging art too high is just decorating suicide – keep that in mind, folks. You want a room to die? Hang art above eye level and you’ll succeed.
Notice our new white bedding and gray striped sheets? These are the summer changes I’ve been talking about – and we kinda love them. More on that later!
Paint swatches used (all Martha Stewart Line): Talc, Sandpiper, Cityscape, Bayou, Eiderdown, Parchment Paper, Fennel Seed, Oolong Tea, Dried Chamomile, Schoolhouse Slate, Gabardine, and Falcon.
Here’s what I was dealing with beforehand. When we moved in, we had to plop one of our college-esque Rothko prints on this wall since the genius that built our house decided to put a monstrous circuit breaker smack dab in the middle of this wall. I felt like it was time to move on from the quintessential student poster (hey, at least it’s framed!) but I didn’t want to spend serious dough on a large piece of artwork. So, I decided to try my hand at painting. You may remember my attempt at a simple, 
I picked up a 24 x 36 canvas from my local Michael’s and slapped on some cool blue paint that we had leftover from the 
I started out by taking a fork out of my silverware draw and measuring it to see the proportions I should be shooting for (prongs to handle, etc). I then took my trusty pencil and started sketching, all while taking some measurements to make sure my fork wasn’t completely wonky. As you can see, it took a bit of sketching to get the shape I thought was acceptable. I’m not sure if the pencil sketch method is the best way to go, but it worked for me in this instance.
I then took my trusty $0.99 craft paint and filled in my fork sketch with a cool gray paint (cool gray to go along with my cool blue background paint). The gray had a little hint of green in it as well, so I knew it would go nicely with our green wall paint in the kitchen. I then took my white and black paints and made a couple of different shades of gray to add some dimension to my (very sad) fork shape, giving it a bit of dimension. After that, all while referencing my real fork next to the canvas, I added a few highlights with the black and white paint to add a little pop to my gray blob of a fork. I had to let the paint dry between each of these steps so that the colors didn’t all blend together. Trial and error, people. Non-painter folk over here.
After the fork paint dried, I took some more of the blue wall paint and filled in the areas where my pencil sketching had gone amiss, covering up any evidence of disproportional fork shapes. I then hung it on the wall above Charlie’s food bowls and had a minor panic attack. What was I thinking? I’m not a painter! I waited until Scott got home to see if I was completely insane, and he very nicely commented that the prongs seemed a bit short for the fork. Shucks. Sure, it’s not the most realistic looking fork, but maybe I was going for whimsical (haha). Scott says it’s a bit contemporary for our home, but the more I look at our giant fork, the more it’s growing on me. What do you think? Give it to me straight here, Internet. Should I keep my attempt at a fork or wipe the slate clean and start over with something more abstract? Sound off!
We did the same effect (well, Scott worked his magic and I very enthusiastically watched) on a picture from a Panthers’ game we went to a couple years back. It’s like we’re giants in a little world of tiny football players!
We also played around with another picture of Santa Monica. We learned that people really add to the miniature affect, but as an example of plain ol’ tilt-shift, we think this one looks pretty rad (albeit fake). Any fun photo tricks you’d care to share?
Why, it’s my favorite little elephant friend from West Elm! I’ve been watching this guy for some time, waiting for him to go on sale or jump into my lap, but he wasn’t budging. I noticed that he wasn’t available online anymore, so I popped into my local store (which by the way, has the nicest employees ever) and took a few laps, getting closer and closer to the elephant at each passing. The saleswoman and I got to talking, and she shared her love of this little creature as well and how she was waiting for the perfect moment to scoop one up. She also added that it was so versatile that it would one day grace her future child’s nursery, even though she didn’t have a child… or a boyfriend. Talk about a planner. She let me know that they were no longer restocking these and they only had a few left, so I took it as a sign. Man, she really made that sale, huh?
Our new little friend now resides next to our television in the den, bringing a bit of lightness to our dark furniture and tying in nicely with our new, white 
It’s amazing all the little interesting details you can find in your house when you’re purposefully looking for them. Everything from a pattern on a pillow, to a threaded strap on a bongo drum to a scrabble picture on a calendar. Maybe next I’ll tackle a collage of the exterior of our lovely home – probably thrilling for no one but myself, but oh well. :) Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Another little feature I’d like to point out is the “buy me this!” sidebar. I’ve been bugging Scott to figure out how to get a wish list of sorts for me on the blog, and by golly his genius brain figured it out. Here I’ve provided an easy access point for all of the lovely things I’m digging – and want you to buy for me. If you see something you’re dying to purchase, I’ll gladly send you my address, shoe size and preferred cut of diamond. Really, it’s no trouble on my end. I’m easy to work with.
I decided to use a corner rounder to soften up the edges a bit, making it more appropriate for a baby shower. Sharp edges + baby = bad idea. I can relate, since I cracked my head open as a kid on the corner of a coffee table. Ow! Did you catch that bird reference – cracked? Yeah, there’s more where that came from.
Since the invitations were brightly colored, I decided to have a little fun and forgo the standard white envelopes and pick up some punchy colored ones from my favorite Charlotte stationary store, Papitre. (unfortunately, no website – boo!) I had my mind set on some cool blue envelopes to mimic the blue in baby Greenlee’s 
