WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!

It's snowing!!
My class tonight was canceled (because it's snowing)
I finally have time to post!!!!

My excitement right now is very real- I assure you!!

I've have so much posting inspiration lately- so I will try to paraphrase here so as not to bore you to death:)

Let's see....

First of all- my advertisement introduction is up today over on Living Savvy - check it out!!! It was a PLEASURE working with Tiffany, she is a fabulous DIYer- and I am so excited for this new venture in art promotion!!

Bathroom update:
Here's how it's looking, post paint application

Dark and moody, no? The color is tricky- sometimes it looks black, other times blue, other times purple...

For some reason I  LOVE the way the radiator looks:)

I also started to draw out the image, using watercolor pencils...

and I added some accessories (mostly because I hosted a baby shower for Alexa here last weekend and wanted it to look presentable:)

I did this super easy DIY towel bar.
My idea stemmed from a friends powder room- also tiny and limited space, and she has a sink with a built-in towel bar under it, so I created my own like this:

I found this super cheap towel ring at Target last week (I figured I wouldn't invest since I wasn't sure it would work)

and I simply glued it to the underside of the sink

and voila! Perfecto!

Oh- and on the home improvement front- I got this fabulous new piece of art for the dining room. I heard about this artist on another blog (not sure which one???) either way- her name is
Debbie Carlos- she takes these gorgeously dreamy pictures, and you can buy prints- BIG prints (which is what I needed for the space). She has them printed on a plotter- so they are kind of grainy up close, and very large.

This image I saw months ago and couldn't get it out of my head- it's called Woods-  it's so interesting- and most of all it reminds me of the swamp next to my parents house, where my sisters and I spent hours exploring as children...it was a magical place!

I love the modern look that it adds to the space- to hang it- I inserted 4 screws into the wall where the 4 corners would be- and bought these little mighty magnets which give it a nice clean hanging look:)

Total project cost for the print, and magnets- $60- not bad at all!!

Next to the print you may have noticed these little guys...

A friend of mine recently asked me a question about gold leafing (something I used in a previous series of paintings) she was going to gold leaf a opossum's skull she bought off of Etsy (SO COOL), so while beach combing recently with the Babes, I found these 2 spider crab shells....
I gold leafed them with a gold leaf pen (so SUPER easy) and hung them on thumb tacks. I love the touch of shine/texture/shape/interest they add to the wall.

the other pieces are: (left) a painting I made when I was in high school (I'd be willing to sell it...email me if you're interested!) , and (right) an old Chinese watercolor that I bought from a tag sale ( for a quarter!!) with the intention of using the frame, and decided to keep the little landscape in it.

Another quick crafting DIY.
For the baby shower I wanted to do an original- non-cheesy craft project for the parents-to-be. A friend at work suggested a onesie decorating table (I subtracted the puffy-paint;)- and ran with it!

I did the dragonfly on the night before as a sample, and embellished it with some thread- although this is not necessary!

Here's what we did:

I created silhouettes of various animals out of cardboard- we traced them onto fusible interfacing, cut out the shape (peeled off 1 side of the backing, then stuck the shapes onto fabric, cut again, peeled off the remaining backing leaving the fusing on the fabric, and ironed for 20 seconds to affix the shape to the onesie- SO CUTE, and really quite simple.....I'm toying with the idea of opening a onesie shop on Etsy;)

I will end with a picture of my Outdoor Bunnies- eating their lunch in the wagon as I drew on the bathroom walls the other day- mind you- it's been a warmer than ususal Connecticut winter;)

I think that's all for now....

Happy SNOW DAY everyone!! WHOOOO HOOOOO:)

Homegoods: You Rock My World

I went today
I went for lamps
or sheets
and I came home with this:

and these other fabulous little nuggets

the first one. especially. is a gem

a gem that is 1: sparkly, 2: turquoise, 3:$12 on double clearance, 4: the most beautiful trash can EVER

nuf' said

no sheets, or lamps....next time

oh- and the reason for my little shopping trip- I decided, Friday, that I am redoing my downstairs bath

it was in desperate need! and I was in desperate need of a project!!

Here is how it looked before:

It's super tiny as you can see- it's really just a little "water closet/powder room", and it needed a face lift!
If you follow me on Pintrest, you may have seen my numerous pins of this INSANE fabric

SICK, right? It's by Joesf Frank, and I think it's brilliant.

I love it- I covet it, I dream of it...it kind of looks like a dream...

I saw it a few months back in this equally stunning House Beautiful spread (take a look at the link- it's probably my favorite recently published house spread- I LOVE it...the simple lines, the whitewashed wood- heavenly)

and I have decided that I am going to paint a mural, based on the fabric on all of the walls of the tiny bathroom. I'm employing the "go big, or go home" approach in this space. It's gonna be drama with a capitol D. I figure...why not? You are in there for 5 min.s max- it might as well be exciting, right?

So- Friday, during nap/rest time- I stripped this sickly sweet strawberry wallpaper off the walls (it thankfully went better than I thought it would) I started by peeling the top layer off by hand- leaving the backing stuck to the walls.

Then, with my handy spray bottle- I dowsed each panel in hot water

and then scraped each panel off by hand- it was similar to scraping paint- or maybe even like using an ice scraper on your windshield. It took a good deal of effort- but since the room is tiny- I thankfully didn't get bored and had it done in a few hours.

I took Saturday off, and today I was back at it- scrubbing the adhesive off by hand using a trusty scrubber sponge, and soapy water.

I picked up the paint today too, so here's the plan:
I went with this Martha Stewart color: wrought iron gate

rather than pure black (like the inspiration fabric) I opted for a super dark navyish hue- I thought it would have more depth.
The trim (window trim, shutter, baseboards, radiator, chair rail) will all be in this color as well in high gloss. The walls both above and below the chair rail will be in the same color in eggshell- and the mural will be painted on all of the walls, above and below in one continuous pattern- to look like wallpaper. The ceiling will be the high gloss, I think:)

CAN NOT WAIT to reveal this space!!!

Long Time No Post

Where did the end of January/beginning of February go??

Seriously?

The past week or so here- we have been celebrating, you see- there are 3 birthdays in the beginning of the month in our family (Pop, Donell and Mister Moses)- which means a whole lotta parties...last one being Saturday at noon.

For party #2 (last night) I made this delicious chocolate bundt cake from Shutterbean- so scrumptious! (The only thing I did differently was use fat free greek yogurt rather than sour cream)



and I topped it with this super tasty icing idea that I had...Donell LOVES Breyers vanilla bean ice cream- so I thought I'd whip up some vanilla bean icing:) I DID NOT use a recipe- so try to follow along as best you can!

I started of with about 3 tablespoons of softened butter (not melted, but VERY soft)

then I added the powdered sugar and milk, whisking the heck out of it between additions, I added more sugar when I wanted it to be stiffer- and then milk to thin it out. In total I probably added about 1.5 cups of sugar, and 4 Tablespoons of milk.

again, whisked it like crazy with to get all the lumps out...

then came the vanilla bean- I sliced 1/2 a bean in half length wise

and scraped it out with the back of my knife into the icing

whisked it altogether to get this lovely speckled concoction- added a touch more milk so I could drizzle it- and voila!

DELICIOUS

Birthday Boys 2 and 3 (picture by the fabulous Simon)

You may have read in last years post- that my water broke while out to dinner for D's birthday- so Mos was born the 7th, and D the 8th. Aquarians all around me!

This pic is form celebration #1-My Dad's birthday is the 4th- he was also blowing out a candle simultaneously, but not in the picture:)

Another thing I wanted to share is my most recent salad love-

this recipe is from a super-healthy-eating friend, who got the recipe from Terry Walters, author of Clean Food, and Clean Start, here's what you do....

combine a bunch of torn raw kale (I prefer the green or lacinato variety), 1 avocado, juice from 1 lemon and 1 lime, a drizzle of olive oil, lots of pepper and sea salt

You then "massage" the oil and avacado into the kale

(today I added pepper crusted parm, and little spiced corn flatbreads for my tasty lunch-yummy!)

Why I love this salad:

#1- Its super simple

#2- Its super healthy

#3- It goes with anything (more veggies, quinoa, tofu, etc.)

#4- It lasts in the fridge for a day or 2 as is- kale is super sturdy- even when dressed!

On the painting front:

I have made the big decision to get some add space on a fabulous blog- I just began the process, but once it's up and posted I'll send you there to check it out!

So with this decision, comes the refreshing of my Etsy shop storefront....check it out! Lots of new paintings, new pictures, new prices- the whole bit!

and I recently finished this massive (24" x 48") painting...here it is in progress....

and the finished piece:

What do you think?