Mar10

Sewing::Patchwork Pillow

Posted on 10 March, 2014 by Melissa

I have been venturing into some sewing projects the last several weeks… made my first quilt (to be shared with you soon), this patchwork pillow, and have another project in the works! It has been so fun to be creative with sewing. To be honest, I was always intimidated to sew because it seemed daunting, so basically ever since I was gifted a sewing machine, I have done minimal sewing and exploring with the machine. These projects have pushed me to become more familiar with my machine. And I am pretty sure I have Kaylan to thank for actually seeing a project through from start to finish – she has been so on top of keeping us working on these projects and it has made it so much more fun to do it with a friend! :)

This was an especially fun project because I pretty much just cut out a bunch of different shapes of fabric and started sewing (I also used thrifted pillowcases for the fabric which I love being able to do). I measured the pillow size that I wanted to use, and then cut muslin fabric that size to use as the base for the pillow front. Initially I tried to lay all the pieces out to get it just right, but I realized (after spending way too long trying get the perfect placements) that I just needed to start sewing and see what happened… so that’s what I did.

Some of the pieces I sewed together first before attaching it to the muslin fabric.

Once I had all the pieces on the muslin, I sewed so that the stitching was on top, giving the pillow a bit of a quilt look.

I also discovered one of my favorite settings on the sewing machine – I can choose a pattern (leaves, swirls, shapes, etc.), and the machine pretty much does the rest! It’s so fun. I went a little crazy with this part, but I think it turned out ok :)

Once I finished the front of the pillow, I sewed on the back and my pillowcase was ready for use!:)

This was such a fun project!:) Stop over here to see Kaylans patchwork pillow!:)

Our current project: Hand dying fabric (but more on that soon!)

Have a wonderful day!:)

Mar3

Vintage Grain Sack Footstool

Posted on 3 March, 2014 by Melissa

Vintage Grain Sack Footstool

Another fun little project to share with you today!

We purchased a footstool for a few dollars from a local thrift store recently with the vision of turning it into a cushioned footstool for our chair.

I knew right away that I wanted a vintage grain sack look for the top of the stool. I looked through the Graphics Fairy Images (a wonderful blog that I love looking through – it is full of countless royalty free vintage images). I found this grain sack image on the Graphics Fairy and edited it in photoshop (used this image to add a border). I used a photocopy of the image and transferred it onto the fabric using citrasolv.

From there, Jesse upholstered it by using his staple gun to secure the fabric around the base after wrapping it over foam, and that’s it – a brand new footstool!

We may still paint the stool, but there will be plenty of time for painting it down the road, so for now we are enjoying it as is!

Have a wonderful day!

Feb28

Mini Sideboard Re-do

Posted on 28 February, 2014 by Melissa

Mini Sideboard Re-do

We recently re-arranged our living room space, and brought out this mini sideboard that was gifted to us by the prior tenants of our apartment in PA. We loved the piece and immediately painted it from a dark glossy forest green to a dark gray with added stenciling. Surprisingly we haven’t painted it since (we change things a lot around here), but as soon as we moved this piece from the art studio to the living room, we new we wanted to re-paint it. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a photo from before (and didn’t take one thinking that we had a photo somewhere), but I can at least share what it looks like now!

We painted this with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint: Grain sack and Ironstone. This is a great piece for two-tone paint colors, to really bring out the character of the doors.

The piece is finished with a coat of dark wax to give it a vintage look

I really like how the paint chipped a bit on the inside of each door – adds to the patina

We added a stencil pattern to the inside of each door. We wanted it to be a subtle stencil and I think it turned out to be just that

This was a fun and fairly quick project to do and it creates a much softer feel in the room.

Have a wonderful weekend!:)

Feb24

Botanical Progress

Posted on 24 February, 2014 by Melissa

Botanical Progress

Hello!:)

I hope you had a great weekend! I am just popping in to share a little progress on my botanical paintings (you can see my initial botanical post here). I am really enjoying botanical painting AND I recently purchased some new watercolor brushes… let me tell you, they have made such a difference. I confess that I do not take the best care of my paint brushes, and with mixed media work, it hasn’t mattered so much, but watercolors are a totally different story (so I learned rather quickly). Needless to say, I am going to treat these new brushes well :)

working station :)

I have added black and white ink to some of my botanicals as you will notice. This creates a different look than straight watercolor paint… a little less soft, but more defined lines and a but more of a crisp look. I really enjoy both looks, so I plan to have a variety of both styles!

I am excited about these paintings and can’t wait to get them printed in various sizes!:)

Feb20

Prints in the Shop

Posted on 20 February, 2014 by Melissa

Prints in the Shop

Hello!

Just popping in to let you know that I have re-stocked prints, added a new print, and am now offering both matted prints and prints only (no matting) for sale in my shop.

I changed the format a little bit, but you will see the two different categories on the right hand side of my shop titled “Art Prints::Matted” and “Art Prints:: Print Only.” When you click on a print (either matted or un-matted) you can then choose which size you would like on the right hand side of the screen under the drop down menu.

I am hoping this will be a little more organized for you all!

I have been anxious to add this new print to my shop: “Roots of Hope Run Deep”

an 8×8 print of my original mixed media painting. The original piece was part of an auction at the annual LOL Gala for Let them LOL, an organization close to my heart who has a commitment and mission to “empower those who are experiencing unjust suffering by providing them with basic resources; a community here with a community there.” Definitely take a few minutes and check out their website here and learn more about what they do and how you could help!:) They are doing amazing work and making an incredible difference in so many peoples lives.

Here are a few prints that have been re-stocked:

Stop by the shop to see more prints!

Feb19

Step by Step Process

Posted on 19 February, 2014 by Melissa

Step by Step Process

Good morning!:)

I have a new painting in process to share today! I thought I would share some of the main materials and supplies I have used so far in this piece also. I really enjoy seeing what supplies other artists enjoy using and am often inspired to try new supplies, so I hope my sharing will encourage you to explore new supplies in your creating!:)

:: Modeling paste (pretty much one of my favorite supplies) for texture which you can see mostly in the leaves

:: Matte Medium to attach papers to the canvas

:: Painters/Artist tape

:: Vintage paper from the wonderful etsy shop Patina Paperie. I highly recommend Tina’s shop. She has a beautiful selection of vintage papers.

:: Old sheet music and dictionary paper I have found through the last few years at antique shops

:: Soft body and heavy acrylic paints… I like the transparency of soft body acrylics mixed with the very opaque appearance of the heavy body paint

:: Inks: inks are so good for making various designs, splashes, drips, etc. or to give a painting a light wash of color

:: Raw Umber Fluid Acrylic is a must have for pretty much each painting I create. I use it for a glaze color, for underpaintings (like the first photo of this series, you will notice the color is browns and whites – I did an underpainting to get values before adding color), and its good for shadowing and adding depth to a piece.

Those are a few supplies I have used in creating this piece. I added links so you can check them out! I purchase a lot of my supplies through Dick Blick Art Materials so that is mainly where I have linked to

Here is a step by step documentation of my process so far:

…………

On a different note. Free Shipping over at my Society6 Shop through Sunday. Stop by and take a look :)

Have a wonderful day!:)

Feb17

GF Blueberry Nut Muffins

Posted on 17 February, 2014 by Melissa

GF Blueberry Nut Muffins

We really enjoy having muffins for breakfast and I am often looking for recipes that are gluten free and healthy. Since beginning to bake gluten free, I have slowly learned some of what works together in the way of flours, dry ingredient to wet ingredient ratio, and general ingredients that tend to be in most gluten free recipes. So, last week I decided I would try to make blueberry muffins with what I had on hand. The muffins turned out really well and I knew I wanted to share the recipe with you. I made them again yesterday since the first time I made them I wasn’t precise with measurements, which makes a recipe a little more difficult to share. So, I wrote everything down yesterday and am excited to share it with you!:) It looks like a lot, but it doesn’t take very much time to get together and in the oven, I promise! These muffins are hearty tasting… not overly sweet, but full of yummy blueberry bursts of flavor.

Gluten Free Blueberry Nut Muffins

makes 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix together dry ingredients in bowl:

1/2 c. GF oats

1 c. brown rice flour

1/4 c. tapioca flour

1/4 c. almond flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. xantham gum

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tbsp. ground flax seed

Stir in:

1/2 c. walnuts

1 1/2 c. blueberries (I used frozen blueberries that we had picked during the summer)

*I find that mixing the blueberries and walnuts into the dry ingredients seems to help them mix in more evenly

Mix together wet ingredients in a bowl:

1/2 c. coconut oil

2 eggs

1/2 c. almond milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. pure maple syrup (honey or agave would work also)

1/4 c. plain greek yogurt

Add wet ingredient mixture into dry ingredients. Mix until smooth batter forms

*If using frozen blueberries like I did, the batter will get more solid because of the cold, but its not a problem if this happens, they still bake really well

Fill muffin tin with batter and bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden brown on top

I would love to hear what you think about these muffins if you make them!:)

What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Feb14

A little bit of lately

Posted on 14 February, 2014 by Melissa

A little bit of lately

progress on my botanical watercolors

Most recent sewing endeavor with my friend, Kaylan, and my first quilt ever! eek!:) I am so excited for this project and to share more!

New house plants make me so happy!:) Now, if only I can keep them alive!

Blueberry muffins for our morning (new recipe to share soon)

Studying Under the Masters Course… learning about patterns and practicing painting with a loose hand

………

Happy Valentines Day!:)

Feb12

Birch Coaster Project

Posted on 12 February, 2014 by Melissa

Birch Coaster Project

We have used birch logs to add to our home decor for the past few years, mostly throughout the winter… I really enjoy the natural element that birch brings to a room, and also the textured white exterior is really beautiful! Recently, we (and by we I mean my husband cut them :)) decided to slice some of our birch logs into thin pieces with plans to make coasters.

I thought I would take a quick look at pinterest to see if I could find any coaster inspiration. Here are a few I found:

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It would be fun to paint the birch coasters or wood burn an image onto them. Our original thought was to use our wood burner and letters to burn different words into the coasters and perhaps make some into ornaments. I really enjoy the painted and pattern also… decisions, decisions :)

What style do you like?

Feb6

Menu Planning Anyone?

Posted on 6 February, 2014 by Melissa

Menu Planning Anyone?

One of things I really enjoy about working from home is being able to spend time in the kitchen, making meals and trying new recipes. I don’t usually plan meals in advance… I might have a few ideas for a couple meals, but majority of the time I just decide each day what sounds good. This has worked out pretty well, but now that I have the time to try new recipes more frequently, I am finding that there are often a few ingredients I don’t consistently have on hand for a given recipe.

So, thats where menu planning comes in. I am not naturally very good at planning, but I have decided to give menu planning a try!:) My hope is to find a good routine of planning for a couple weeks out so that we can do our shopping once every two weeks. I guess I should mention that because of where we live, grocery shopping (for the things we cant get locally), is about a 40 minute trip for us, so planning would be helpful I am sure!:)

This week has been the first week of planning… and so far I am finding it really helpful! I wanted to share the menu plan print out I created if you to want to begin planning too!:)

My menu planner is really simple. I didn’t specify breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Often times, I will make something like an oatmeal bake on Sunday to have for breakfast throughout the week, or we will scramble some eggs, have granola and yogurt, smoothies, etc. Lunches are usually leftovers for us, so dinner is my biggest meal to plan for. I decided to create a simple menu planner with space to write as much or as little as I needed. I will at minimum write down dinner plans, and perhaps other meals as I get more into it!:) I combined Saturday and Sunday also, because depending on weekend plans, I am not always cooking a meal, so I thought it would work to combine them into one.

Click Here for Menu Print Out

How do you like to meal plan? I would love to hear what you do for meals in your home!:)