Botanical Watercolor Prints and an Empty Wall

I love it when I stop at my favorite school surplus place and find buried treasure. Literally. I found two straight-from-the-80s botanical watercolor prints on foam core buried in a pile of posters under some forgotten shelves.

 And I fell in love.

They're a little banged up around the edges, but for being from the 80s, they have far less bumps and bruises than I do. They must have lived a better life than me.

I knew that I wanted to hang them, but I kept going back and forth about whether or not to put the prints in a frame. The problem is that they are not standard sizes and I would have to get a custom frame for each. And seeing as I spent a $1 for both of these prints, I didn't really want to drop more than $25 each for a frame.

Thank goodness for VELCRO® Brand removable hanging strips. You get 12 in a package - plenty to hang multiple items. And because they are removable picture hangers, you don't need to worry about  damaging your walls or ruining the pictures themselves.

Within a few minutes, the hook and loop fasteners were on the back of my botanical prints and my prints were hanging on the wall.

The pieces are easy enough to use - simply peel and stick.

I hung the prints in a little alcove in our master bedroom. Can you believe that even after almost two years of living in this house, I'm still working on decorating the master bedroom?

The alcove was a sad little area that housed my bracelets, rings and other baubles. It also acted as a charging station for our multiple electronic devices.

Isn't it amazing what art can do for a space? I love our little media center/jewelry holder/catch all now! 

VELCRO® Brand has several different products that are perfect for life transitions, whether that be a move to a new home, a gallery wall installation or an attempt to organize your home.

P.S. I may have some BIG news coming up soon, so keep your virtual ears open!

xoxo,

***Disclosure: Velcro Brand Companies provided me with VELCRO® Brand products. However,  I do not review products unless I truly enjoyed using them and would recommend them to others. All opinions are 100% mine.***

DIY Vertical Herb Garden

Fresh herbs. Yum. There's nothing better than fresh, home-grown basil in pasta or fresh cilantro in a batch of homemade salsa.

Maybe it's my body's desperate attempt to change the weather, but when that hint of Spring air blows through, all I want is to have fresh vegetables garnished with herbs for every meal. There are only so many times I can sprinkle dried basil in canned tomato soup before I NEED tomato, basil and mozzarella on a toasted ciabatta bun.

This year I decided I wanted to have as many fresh herbs at my fingertips as it was humanly possible. But because of my indecisive nature, I was unsure of how to incorporate a practical solution in a semi-permanent way.

That is, until I spotted this gorgeous window display by Anthropologie featuring a vertical garden. I knew I could translate the idea into my ideal DIY herb garden.

Of course, I didn't want to hang my garden right on the side of my house - that's way too permanent for me - so I used the deck railing as my canvas instead.

I was able to achieve a similar effect in a cost-effective and semi-permanent manner.

Materials Needed to Build a DIY herb garden: 6 ft fence posts, Saw, Hand sander, Drill, 3/8" drill bit, Screwdriver, 3/4" screws, Paint - I used Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint, Flower pots, Zip ties, Herbs and flowers

Step One: Buy fence posts from your local hardware store (about $1.64 each) and cut to size. My deck's railing measures 30 inches high so I cut my fence post into two 30-inch pieces. I bought six total fence posts which made 12 different canvases.

Step Two: Sand the heck out of the fence posts. They aren't pretty folks and need a major sanding. I sanded them with my hand sander using a coarse grit paper and then finished off with hand sanding with a light grit paper.

Step Three: Paint your boards or seal them in some way. I chose to use Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint without a wax sealant because I wanted my boards to look a little rustic. And over time, they will wear beautifully. I love Americana Decor paint's vibrant colors. All it took was one light coat to fully cover my fence posts.

The new Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint is now available at Home Depot and Michaels stores. It is also available for purchase online at homedepot.com.

If you want your project to withstand the ages, use a soft-touch varnish or clear wax.

Step Four: Drill two holes in your pots, one at the top and one in the middle. Use a 3/8" drill bit to make a big enough hole for your 3/4" screws. Because I used this lacy pot from IKEA, I didn't have to drill a hole in the top.

Step Five: Screw the planter pot right onto the fence post. Start the screws with a screwdriver and then finish them off with a drill.

Step Six: Use gravity to your advantage and set the bottom of the fence post on a solid surface. Use zip ties to attach the fence posts to it's new home. You could use an actual fence, a trellis or a deck railing like I did. Just as long as it has something vertical to hang on. Trim excess zip tie material.

Step Seven: Plant flowers and herbs in your pots. I put a handful of rocks on the bottom of the planters to aid in drainage.

In every other pot I placed flowers to break up the herbs. The plants were the most expensive part of my outdoor herb garden. You could save money by starting seeds in your home before transplanting them outside.

English daisies, pansies and pink ranunculuses make me so happy. The pops of pink really add to the fresh, outdoor ambiance.

I can't wait to sit on my deck this summer, enjoy my view and smell the delicious scent of fresh herbs growing steps away from my kitchen. Come on over one night and I'll make you some yummy salsa :)

xoxo,

For more information on the Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint I used in this post, visit the DecoArt Chalky Finish website. 

*I was sent sample products for a DecoArt campaign, all opinions and awesome project ideas are my own.

Art Deco Scallop Wall Art

Are you getting sick of all my paper crafting lately? I have another wall art tutorial for you today, Great Gatsby style. Scallops have made their way into my heart and now my home in the form of turquoise and sparkle. 

P.S. Can you see my 3D Triangle Art in the Sunburst Mirror?

I started with this bad boy and gave it new life:

Want to make one for yourself? If you can cut a circle, you can make this piece :)

Step One: Find a large frame. I paid $5 for this, 16" x 20" frame at a local thrift store.

Step Two: Remove picture from frame, set aside and give the frame a fresh coat of paint.

Step Three:  Cut 54, 5 1/2 inch circles. I, of course, used my Cricut, but there are plenty of other circle cutting tools out there to help speed the process along.

Step Four:  Layer the circles edge to edge in a straight row of six. Glue the bottom of the circle to the frame's backing.

Step Five: Continue layering for nine rows, or until you've covered the entire front part of the frame's backing.

Step Six: Flip frame backing over and trim excess. Put the scallops back into the frame.

I think she looks quite lovely paired with my milk glass collection. 

Isn't it amazing what a simple shape like a circle can become?

Vintage Paper Flower Art

By now, you'll know that I did a segment on a local TV station (KSL Studio 5) featuring Anthropologie-inspired wall decor I made for my home. I made three decor pieces for the show, but I think the framed vintage paper flowers are my favorite.

Want to make something like this for your home? It's really easy, I promise! Get ready to roll some paper and let's get started!

Start with the Cricut Flower Shoppe digital image set or cartridge (depending on what version of the Cricut you have) and cut out at least 30 flowers. I used 36 flowers in my frame, all cut at the same size (11" x 11").

Helpful hint: Use double-sided pattern paper so your flowers have a fun design on the inside and the outside.

This shows one of the Flower Shoppe images in the new Cricut Design Software!

Don't have a Cricut? Follow my instructions for a felt rosette and cut the paper out by hand. It's the same idea.

Once all of your spiral pieces are cut out, use a hot glue gun to secure the center piece.  Dab a little hot glue on the end and fold over a few times before you start rolling.

Hold onto the center and begin rolling the spiral up, keeping the bottom edge matched up.

Keep rolling until you reach the circle base piece at the end of the spiral.

If you want the flower to look like a bud, glue it in place now.

If you want your flower to be fuller, hold the flower in your hand and let it gently unroll.

When the flower is the desired size, put a generous amount of hot glue on the circle base at the end of the spiral and set the flower in place.

Rolling all of the flowers took me about two movies (3-4 hours). When all of your flowers are ready, start to arrange them in place on an old frame. I used a framed canvas I found at a thrift store. I covered the existing painting with a few sheets of scrapbook paper and then glued the flowers right to the painting.

Squish the flowers together to create a nice effect. Be sure to use different papers and flowers to give the piece depth and variety.

The How-To Gal Does Studio 5 + Anthropologie Window Displays for the Home

The world inspires me. Everything from snow-capped mountains to a puddle of water to lines of cars on the freeway inspire me. On rough days, I like to put my phone away, turn off my music and just look around. Beauty is everywhere. Sometimes, I head to my favorite department stores, not to buy anything, but to be inspired by displays. Anthropologie is my favorite. They have the best window displays.

What fascinates me about Anthropologie is how they use ordinary objects like corks, nails, cardboard or paper and create magnificent works of art. I knew I could do the same. So I did.

Next time you hit your local thrift store, I want you to look for a large frame. The frame doesn't have to have a fantastic picture in it...or even glass. Just find a large frame and buy it. Take it home and look at it like it was an empty window display. Think about how you would transform that display into something awesome.

For a recent segment on KSL Studio 5, I created three different Anthropolgie-inspired framed art pieces for my home using thrift store frames as a canvas. I made mini-window displays, if you will.

Over the next few days I'll show you have to make these lovely pieces, but here's a preview:

Vintage Paper Roses (tutorial)

You can buy the Flower Shoppe digital image for these flowers from Cricut through next week with 25% off code howtogal25

Art Deco Scallops

Modern Geometric Triangles (tutorial)

Check out the KSL Studio 5 feature here.

Carpe Diem DIY Art (with free download)

 Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. I wanted this phrase somewhere in my house and searched for a long time for the perfect piece. I found art I liked for $50 and thought, why don't I just make my own?? So I did.

And, for your downloadable enjoyment, here's the image for you!

Simply print the image off to the size of frame you desire! I used my plain ol' black and white printer.

I put the framed picture next to the front door so we can see it every time we leave the house - reminding us to Seize the Day!

Carpe Diem.

Celebrate the New Year in Style

Have a Happy New Year, won't you? And celebrate with some awesome party hats made from simple Cricut cuts. Head over to Cricut's Official blog to see the tutorial (written by yours truly!)

3D Wall Art with 3M DIY

I would love to see someone research different types of creative processes. How do artists start? How do writers form ideas for best selling novels? The idea fascinates me because I want to know if I'm the only one with a ping pong table upstairs in the ol' noggin'. When I get an idea, it bounces around in my head - back and forth, up and down and sideways, before it finally scores a point...or gets to the point. That's basically the back story for a fantastic project I've had bouncing around in my head for awhile: 3D wall art.

The idea started with a roll of Prism wrapping paper from Paper Source. As soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be art on my wall. It was that beautiful. It was made to hang on my wall. The pattern is a little psychedelic, but that is one thing I love about it.

The idea began to blossom when I found this extra large frame at the thrift store for $5. Yes, I said $5. My husband snapped this cheesy pose as I was excitedly telling him about my thrifting score.

But the idea was made possible by some amazing 3M products. 

The first thing I did after cleaning off the frame (seriously, clean thrifted frames thoroughly before painting or restaining...mine was disgustingly dirty) was fill all of the little imperfections, with 3M's Stainable Wood Filler . Gosh I love this stuff. I used it on my banister a few months ago and fell in love. It works just as you would expect filler to work, but it absorbs stain as if it is part of the natural wood. This also means it is easily painted. 

Next, I sanded the extra filler granules off the frame with 3M Advanced Abrasives and made the wood smooth and paintable. I love 3M's new packaging for their sandpaper, because they offer packs of small rectangle pieces for easy use. I used to tear my large pieces of sandpaper into hand-held pieces and now 3M does the work for me!

Because I used wrapping paper for this project, the pieces on the roll didn't quite fill the entire frame. To compensate, I used a second sheet and layered it under the top piece. By cutting out the triangle edges, I was able to seamlessly line up the pieces.

I glued the paper right to the edge of the frame with tacky glue.

To back the paper, I cut a piece of cardboard to size and fit it into the back of the frame.

It may look ghetto, but hot glue is a fantastic sealer. I pushed hot glue into all of the crevices on the back of the frame for extra support. And guess what, no one ever sees the back of a picture frame.

With the leftover pieces of paper, I cut out differed sized triangles. I backed the pieces with black cardstock and then added foam dots to the corners.

 I flipped the frame over and stuck the triangles to the patterned paper. The 3D triangles add another level of dimension and psychedelic-ness to the art. Swoon.



Because this baby is beastly, I decided to pull in the big guns and recruit the hubby to help attach a heavy duty hanging system to the back of the frame. Can you tell he is SUPER excited to help me?

To hang large or small items perfectly straight, use ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape  to mark the space between your two nails. You'll never have to hammer more than those two necessary holes in your wall ever again.

We hung the picture over our stairs on a large, blank wall that has been haunting me since we moved in. Perhaps you remember it?

Blech!

Now that blank space is graced with a one-of-a-kind piece of art. Here you can see the view as you go down the stairs. The extra triangles really pop off of the canvas. 

I love it from every angle!

When you find a large frame without glass, don't pass it up, realize the potential and make 3D art for your home instead.

This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY. To keep up-to-date on projects, products and sampling visit 3MDIY.com. You can also follow 3M DIY on their Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages.