Always Be Yourself, Unless...

 

A couple weeks ago I was browsing pinterest and found this image from society6.

 

 

I turned to the hubby and told him this would be in our house.  It had to be!

 

Now I don't know about you guys, but when I think of unicorns I always think of Lisa Frank.  If I didn't have a trippy, rainbow unicorn folder when I was in 2nd grade, then what was the point of school?  This had to look like Lisa Frank came to my house and threw up on my walls!

 

I bought a pre-cut piece of MDF that was 2 x 4 feet.  Using a mixture of my acrylic paints, I set to work making a rainbow background that Lisa Frank would be proud of.

 

Pardon the crappy progress shots - I used my iPhone for these.

 

I worked very quickly with the paint ensuring that each row would still be slightly damp and allow for the next color to blend nicely.  It's easier to go ahead and pour out each color at once.  I just used a Styrofoam plate.

 

 

Here is the board after I completed the first rainbow row.

 

 

I wasn't too concerned about making each row of color perfectly even or straight.

 

 

I don't have photos of the next few steps, but I first took painter's tape and taped off 1 inch borders on the entire piece.

 

I purchased 3inch Helvetica font vinyl letters from Michaels.  I could have used one pack of letters but would have had to apply the letters, paint, remove and move to the next line.  I didn't want to have to do this so I bought five (yes, don't judge, they're reusable) packets of letters to ensure I would have enough to lay all the letters down at once.  I left two inches in between each row of letters.  Once the letters were laid out I went over the entire board twice with white paint.  I used my exacto knife and immediately peeled off all the vinyl letters and painters tape.

 

Viola!

 

 

I love how it turned out!  There was very minimal leakage of paint under the vinyl letters and it's only visible up close.

 

 

 

To make the unicorn I used this image:

Pinterest

 

The original pin does not have a link, just the image is pinned so unfortunately I can't give credit to the original image!

 

I enlarged this image on my computer by 400%.  Then I laid out three rows of painter's tape on my clear quilting ruler.  I laid this down on my computer screen and was able to trace the outline of the unicorn onto the painters tape.  I peeled the painters tape off the ruler and placed it onto my board where I wanted it.  I then cut out the image using my exacto knife.

 

 

I made this painting to hang on a bare wall in between our coat closet and bedroom door.  I love how this looks against our black wall, so I may end up painting that wall black as well!

 

 

I decided to leave the border of this piece rainbow so it would stand out better against the wall.

 

 

So there you have it!  I think Lisa Frank would be proud!

 

 

Cheers!

DIY Tripod Lamp and Dining Room Update

 

 

About one year ago I saw a surveyor's tripod for sale on craigslist and thought about buying it to convert to a lamp.  I just never got around to it but always wished I had.  Last weekend I decided to take the hubby to an antique store and tucked away in the corner was a tripod! This time I didn't hesitate and I snatched it up!

 

 

I really didn't take any pictures of the process 'cause there wasn't much to it.  I bought a light kit from Home Depot, put it together and slapped it on the tripod!

 

I haven't done this yet, but I'm going to add a washer so the lamp kit will tighten to the tripod.  It will be right underneath the opening of the tripod.

 

 

I wasn't sure if I wanted to add a shade, so I bought a kit that would allow me that option.  On a whim, the hubby wanted to see what it would look like with the shade attachment, but no shade.  We both loved it!

 

 

The only thing I didn't love was the brand new looking brass.  To age the brass some I applied Gold Leaf Rub-n-Buff and Patina.  That helped age it some.

 

 

I am smitten with the feet on this tripod!

 

 

The wood is so old and beautifully aged!

 

 

I used an Edison bulb since I chose not to use a shade.  I love the warm light it provides!

 

 

You can see the light from each wire inside!

 

 

Now, here's a sneak peek at my dining room progress!  I'm finally starting to figure out what I want to do in each room, and I decided to start with the dining room this weekend.  All I did was paint an accent wall with chalkboard paint, but it has such an impact!  It is a more true black in person; for some reason it shows up more charcoal in the photos.

 

 

There will be a lot of changes in this room, but ya gotta start somewhere!!

 

Cheers!

Typographic String Art: HELLO!

 

 

I have been completely unmotivated to tackle any of the projects on my endless to-do list over the past few months.  I finally decided to sit down this weekend and finish some string art for the entryway.

 

While searching for a tutorial I stumbled upon Chris' tutorial from ManMade.  I was completely smitten with his font and his colorful string.  However, I'm not very computer savvy and couldn't figure out how to make my font large enough using word.  I ended up finding these free children's alphabet templates on Kiboomu! and just zoomed in on the image and traced it onto freezer paper.  My letters aren't exactly even and perfect, but that's how I roll!  I placed the paper directly on my wood and nailed an outline in no particular pattern.

 

The wood is just a pre-cut sheet from Lowe's.  It would probably be cheaper to get a large sheet of plywood and have it cut to size, but this sheet only cost $15 and was perfect!

 

I bought the colorful string from Hobby Lobby and went to town.  I didn't really apply the string in a pattern, just enough to evenly cover the letter and try to disperse the color evenly.  I found that more is definitely better!

 

 

 

I initially had a much thinner layer of string and it just didn't look great.  I ended up going back around each letter to make the string more dense.  I traced the outer edge of each letter at least four times - this helped define the letter against the light wood.

 

 

Once I determine exactly how I'm going to decorate the entryway I'll hang this on the wall to greet all our guests!

 

 

I love how bright and cheery it is!  The detail of the string is even prettier up close.

 

 

I sat it on my theater seats so you can envision the space a little better.  I want to repaint the hunter green metal on the chairs.  The string art will hang on the wall above it.  It's hard to tell in this photo, but the string matches the vibrant colors in the rug really well!

 

 

 

Cheers!!