Awesome Me

Well, I finally did it. 
Bunkered down, made a decision, and did it. 

My walls. They're not completely blank any more! Sound the trumpets, because this is kind of a big deal. 

See, when we moved into our, um, not last house, or the house before that, or the house before that, but the one before that, Geoff told me that he'd really like to have some pictures on the walls in the next house. 

Being renters, I just never did it. It's hard to put ownership on something you don't own, word?. I placed a crooked photo in a dollar frame here, or a gifted photo there. No organization to it, per say. (I did do a little at the house before last, and it looked good... for the 5 months it hung before moving. I also did a little at our last place. I hung up a few pictures and, two weeks later, found out we were moving again. So, that was that.)

But here... I've been feeling lonely and that brings with it a little feeling of "empty." The blank walls didn't help. In fact, I think they were a huge contributer. Since my art projects threw up all over the place, I'm feeling much more cozy and at home. 

And so, I finally, finally did something. And I like it!

I took some Pinterest ideas, coupled with the fact that I had to change them up a bit so I didn't feel like I was plagiarizing someone's idea, along with the fact that, when I bunker, I can be quite crafty and a bit creative. And, results!

This is one of those times that I wish I had a fancy camera so I could really show how cute some of this stuff turned out, but, meh. Blurry will have to do. 

The K is from Hobby Lobby. I want to pull off that middle thing and replace it with something neat at some point (and maybe paint some character onto the "K") but this'll do for now. "Rejoice in the Lord" above it is from there, too. I used a 40% off coupon for the K, and the Lord one was 50% off metal sale. Score. Score. 

Black & White photo printed as an 8 x 10 (with coupon from Walgreens) mod-podged on canvas. It's one of my favorite pics, ever, which was snapped by my sister-in-law at the hospital after A#3's birth. If you ever want canvas photos, and don't want to spend a hundred dollars on it, just buy a cheap canvas, get your photo printed, and mod-podge it on (paint the canvas with the glue, put on the picture, and mod-podge glue over it. Voila).

Lots of wood plaques, collected from Hobby Lobby over time, usually when they were on sale. I had to buy them a little at a time. Painted them with basic colors, accented them with Antique Gold, and mod-podged on some photos. (I also had to get photo hangers and nail them to the back to hang.) Don't judge the quality of this collage. I had about 7 minutes to make it happen before Mac n Cheese started overflowing and mini corn dogs started burning. My OCD is killing me here, but I've got to cut corners somewhere!

Cool little plaster dudes I picked up from Goodwill. You don't get it? Me either, but they kind of rock. (I think one is a Montague, and the other a Capulet... which adds some whimsey.)

Christmas ornaments I made for my parents last year (one for each of their grandkids). Made a set of my kiddos for me. The candle holder/ awesome mirror was from, duh, Hobby Lobby. Was on sale 50% off so I spent less than $10 on it. And who says you can't photo bomb your own picture?

This wall cost about 50 bucks, broken up over time. It was hard to work with the space, because of the wood chair rail (that I'd love to paint white - with a light grey wall above it, if we ever buy the house). But it works. :)

On the other side of the TV, there is this:

I <3 this little cluster. It is a slate chalkboard (Hobby Lobby $6) that I painted a little tree on, a "Soul is Well" painting I did that is a complete and utter knock-off from the one I wanted from Hobby Lobby (take a picture of what you want, then recreate it... plagiarism? Maybe, but I'm broke), a mod-podge photo-covered collage canvas, and a little frame I picked up for a buck from Goodwill, painted, and put a cute piece of paper in. 

I spray-painted and free-handed this canvas for the mantel (until we can get a family photo up someday) - note that the spray-paint was whatever I had on-hand, and the canvas has been painted over like 4 times; you can still see the background - and painted those cute little birds on a wire a couple days ago. 

Found these little bad-boys at Dollar Tree. Total for this group, frames included = $5. They're ridiculously cute. And I don't even like that sort of thing. A close-up of the hippo, you ask? 

Yeah, she's pretty cute. 

Overall, I'm incredibly happy with the results. They are fun and funky and fit us quite well. 

More than anything, I didn't break the bank, and we actually have some stuff on the walls!

I asked Geoff the next morning if he liked the wall (he fell asleep during my creation), and he said he'd spent quite a bit of time looking at it before work that morning. Made me proud. :) 

Maybe I'm not such a lame-o can't-put-stuff-on-the-walls mom, after all!

Adios!
Jessica