How to Make a DIY Abtract Painting... By Monet-Erin. MonErin.

Do you remember when I mentioned the idea of trying some DIY abstract art for the bedroom? Now do you remember rolling on the floor and bellowing "Gooooohoohoood luck!  Bahahaha!". Well I don't totally blame you, Doing this kind of project can be sort of intimidating, I know. I speak-eth from experience. But I tried it out on a small canvas this weekend and want to share some tips I discovered with my step-by-step process, as it evolved.

Disclaimer: I do not consider myself an visual artist. I'm not even claiming this looks really great. But it's a starting point for those of us who may want to pick up a paintbrush and try something. I'm not pretending to know more than I do. So please, please do not keep calling me Picasso. It's embarrasing. Call me Monet-rin. MonErin. 

Step 1 (Optional): Find an inspiration painting. Don't feel like it has to be a replica! It doesn't. I chose this guy, as a practice for my bedroom painting:

from designer Leslie Strauss via decorpad
If anyone knows how I can credit the artist above, please let me know. 

Remember, only "based on' this painting. I like the color and composition, but replicating it exactly isn't nearly as much fun (and it's impossible). 

Step 2: Paint your canvas the background color of your choice. Mine was used for testing paint colors for the bedroom, so I just kept it as-is.

Step 3: Start layering with your primary "foreground" color.

Step 4 Add more pops of color, a little at a time.

How to Make a DIY Abstract Painting :)

 Step 6: Enjoy your work!


The biggest thing I learned was it's a lot more fun if you're not too critical of yourself. Have fun and enjoy it.

Have you tried DIY art of some king, painting or otherwise? Were you pleased with the outcome? Did you learn anything from the experience? Or would you rather just buy something?

Artsy + Barfsy (2 Estate Sale Finds!)

Are you an estate sale shopper? I've been to a few, but honestly haven't found a lot of luck with them. They're either too pricey or they don't have anything I'm looking for. Plus, if you're a serious estate sale person you wake up at 6AM to get the goods. But I'm not willing to do that. So there.

But recently, on my route to work, I saw an estate sale. I convinced two colleagues (aka partners in crime) to go with me over lunch and I found a couple pieces of "art".

Primarily, this great solid print. I loved the muted colors, the "regal" frame and matting. It's kinda' Restoration-Hardware-looking, don't you think? For those of you that are interested in the details, it's a sketch of a castle in Siena, Italy./

Sorry for the sub-par iPhone pics...

Check out that triple-picture-matting action. Word up.

Also bought a new plant. This little corner has always been asking for one, but it doesn't get great light. So when I saw this at Home Depot with the specification that it can be happy in low-light, I grabbed it up1 It's grown a lot recently! A couple of new "shoots" have grown since this photo was taken. But you get the idea. :)

As much as I love this completely legit piece... I have another. A better prize....

WAIT FOR IT...
 

I. Could. Not. Let. This. Weirdo. Go. We found her and found ourselves laughing so hard tears were rolling down our cheeks. I realized this had to be mine and bought her for my office at work. She's really more stunning/scary in person, I promise you. Please notice the (1) Smile (2) Smile, again. Cause it's awesome (3) Pretty neck, pretty back (4) Also, I love her. She is a wreck but I love her.

Pssssst. To my friends whose family photos are in this image. You are welcome.

Find anything good recently at an Estate Sale or Yard Sale? Or new piece or wall art?  Use some green for some green (ha-hem, "buy a plant")? What are you hunting for?

TV Wall - Finally Un-Empty

I can't tell you how many ideas I considered for the wall behind the television.

(in case you don't believe me, here's proof....)

This is one of several considerations.  (Those are cutouts of wrapping paper of various things I was considering). I't could have turned out really well, but I wasn't completely sold.  So  I went back to the drawing board (once again).

I don't know why it took so long to make up my mind.  Maybe it's that I wanted to do something different.  Maybe it's the fact that I hate putting holes in the wall (and we're not talking one little hole here.... we're talking about a lot of 'em) makes me anxious.  Maybe it's because whatever ends up hanging on this wall could potentially crash on top of our vintage dresser and tv - ruling out some of my wilder ideas (which I will spare you).  But for whatever reason, that bare wall just kept calling out "C'mon, Erin... Please... Do something..."  So I decided to keep it fairly simple with a grouping of seven frames: five above the television, and one on each side.

Here's how the process went, and some details about resources that might be helpful if you're planning one yourself. 

The frames.  I decided large (14x18) frames would do the trick, but after shopping around I realized seven frames that size could get crazy expensive, fast.  If I was certain that I would be in love with this wall for years, I would be willing to invest in some nicer pieces.  But I ain't real certain, Paw, so I wanted to tackle this as inexpensively as possible in case I change my mind down the road (for whatever reason). On top of that, I couldn't find 14x18 frames in the big box stores.  Thank goodness my little fingers can walk all over the inter-web to find some deals.  I finally found simple gold frames here for $14.44 (plus shipping, about $17) a pop!

The art.  Believe it or not, I bought the frames before I even knew what I wanted to go inside them.  I  was at a point where I was determined to move forward, and reasoned that even if I used the free art sources I posted about awhile back (here and here), we would be moving in the right direction, and that empty wall wouldn't be driving me bananas.

Shortly afterward (and completely by luck), I stumbled upon Dreamery Studio and knew I found the answer.  Such a charming idea: "Vintage illustration is printed on a page from a tattered antique book. The page has beautiful golden patina of old age and nostalgic charm to it."  

Dreamery Studio prints on vintage paper

Talk about incredible selection and great prices.  They're around $8.50 a print, and I snagged a buy three, get one free deal) to make the deal even sweeter.  I chose a combination of black and white and color images for some extra interest and moved on the next step.


Matting + Art, Part II.  Next, I set out to find equally good deal on the matting.  You pretty much need to go custom for 14x18 mats to 8x10 size, so I was seeing dollar signs all over again.  Eventually I bought custom mats for the prints online here.   I ordered eight (the minimum) at $3.13/piece!  The shipping was $10, so it was all done at around $35.  Super-cheap for this large custom mats!

I measured another 8x10 mat that I already had hanging for the inside dimensions and waited for everything to come together.  But sadly, when the prints were delivered they were too small!  SAD!  NO!  I was almost done!  Apparently the matting I measured wasn't a standard size. (What are the odds?) So I contacted Jo at Dreamery Studio to see what we should do.   You guys - I can't tell you how helpful she was.  Not only did she insist on replacing them without charging me again, but she also hand-selected books with larger pages so they would be large enough for the mats I ordered and let me choose the format (two column v. three column, etc.).

As if that wasn't enough, she emailed me the sweetest idea (even though it meant more work for her!): "I was thinking since we are most likely be using the dictionary pages, you could perhaps choose a dozen or so of desired words, like happy, love, passion, etc..."


After weeding through the pages that were too heavy on illustrations to work with the prints, we were done. I had art that is not only full of character and interest - but also full of meaning for our home.  *smiles*

Hanging It Up!  I was planning on doing a step-by-step of the process of hanging and arranging these, but my process didn't go too smoothly.  I was originally planning on using Command strips, which I tested on one frame.  The frame ended up falling off the wall and I ended up changing game plans. So I'll just give you a couple of tips that worked for me.

1. Paper cut-outs. I cut out some wrapping paper and hung it on the wall to get the spacing and leveling just right.

2. A new toy!  This Hang & Level picture hanging tool really helped me out, too.  This video does a great job explaining how to use it.

And finally, here she is. Remember the lonely blank wall from ages ago?:

Gallery Wall Behind TV -- After

Here's a close-up of the one of the pages. 

What do you have on the wall behind your television?  Any experience working with gallery walls or good resources for frames, art, matting?  

I Had an I-deer - Animal Head on Our Bathroom Wall

First of all, I know I've been MIA. Reason #1: workie work.  I was out of town for a trade show for a few days.  Whenever I leave town, it's a huge production.   Really.  Packing. Preparing. Sweating while at the show for numerous reasons (primarily the record high heat in Dallas) . All of these things kept me busy.  Numero dos:  Hubs has been out of town, which gave me some time to get some things done (not really projects, just random housekeeping), and he's coming home tomorrow. Very happy!  But that's actually not the best excuse.  Because when he IS in town, it's also a reason I fail to post.  He deserves time, after all.

Check it: Lovely faux animal heads for chic weirdos like me,
from Williams Sonoma.

Now.. Assuming you've forgiven me, I'd like to update you on some progress. I've been working on several "drafts" of wall art ideas for our living room. I could go into it much more, but you wouldn't believe all the ideas I've considered in the last few weeks.  One of which involved a deer head.  (Pee.Ess. Two years ago I would never have dreamed of typing that.  A deer head?).

Seth was kind enough to pick up a ram and deer head from Z Gallerie.  We decided they were too small for that wall (plan B for the wall behind the tv will naturally be explained in another post), but I liked them so much I just walked around our place, holding it up to every wall that was bare.

And I had an i-deer for Bambi's new home. Check it:

It just seemed like it was meant to be. I love the way it pops against the wall color.  What do you think?  And what do you think of this raging faux taxidermy trend?  Would you consider a real deer head in your home (I prefer them in the woods, but then again I have a cow pelvis in my dining room). 

Yard Sale Score - Pelvic Wall Art

I love the idea of a yard sale.  Love it.  I remember going on lots of trips with my ex-half-sister-in-law when I was a eight years old or so.  We would go from one to the next, then head to the thrift store.  So much fun for an eight year old with fifteen bucks!  But now, I prefer thrift stores, craigslist and ebay for my second-hand finds and don't pay much regard to yard sales.  It's a lot of work, after all, to drive somewhere an discover they only have used tupperware and wig.  But guys - I hit the jackpot last weekend.

I saw the yard sale sign day before, on the way home from work.  It was less than 1/2-mile from our home so I made a mental note. I stopped by on Saturday, en route to do some thrifting (it's amazing how history repeats itself) and I'm telling you... this was like hippy-chic madness.  The kind of garb I'm not cool enough to buy (Okay, Okay. I'm really, really cool.  But I don't have space for rusty lunch boxes and vintage photos of someone's great-aunt who you never knew).

There was one piece that I adored, and walked away from twice.  It was so cool.  But creepy.  But way more cool than creepy. I felt sure it was way more than I wanted to spend. Finally asked about it.

Apparently it was constructed by the home owner from a cow's pelvis (found at a salvage yard/antique store in South Dakota), salvaged wood, and coils from an 1800's chair. 

It was 30 bucks, yo.  I didn't try to haggle.  I just stammered and handed over the dollar bills, trembling  like they would change their mind.

If you were a fly on the wall, you would have heard some interesting things in the last week or so:  "Would you hold my pelvis against the wall?  A little higher!  That's it...", "Please pick up the pelvis!  I need it now!" (I had to ask the hubs several times for to retrieve it from the trunk), and "Baby, I love my pelvis."

Not sure it will stay here, but it's in the dining room for now.  Here's a peek until I reveal the rug and the curtains.

Your turn!  What's your favorite yard sale find?  Or do ya think they take too much work to get a good deal?  

Update:  I'm linking up to Southern Hospitality Blog.