Creating an Artistic Living Space

When we moved into our current home, I had one decorating goal in mind...to fill the space with a variety of different (affordable) art. Pieces that I really loved. A good variety of things that were inspiring. Somewhere in between reality and a perfect world, I wanted to expose my little guy to art not only by going to galleries, but by having pieces to appreciate at home. 

I've been following Tobi Fairley since watching two of her great interior design courses on Creative Live. In her courses, I learned a lot about making thoughtful decisions about interior spaces. She recently posted a Tobi TV episode on her blog called Being Smart with your Art. Her post really hit home to me...she was explaining exactly what I have been trying to accomplish. How amazing is it when you have some validation that you're on the right track!

My condensed version of "Tobi's Top Tips for Using Art That's Smart":
1. Use a mix of media and art types
2. Bring in things that have meaning- even children's artwork!
3. Buy original- take note to up and coming artists
4. Mix in some "decorator art"

Make sure to read her post in more detail and watch the video. Great stuff!

For me, I'm enjoying a mix of things like artists I've discovered through blogs or Etsy, DIY art, my own art pieces, kid art, student art, some fine artist prints, and a few pieces of "decorator art." It's a nice eclectic mix, and all pieces that I love looking at every day. I have things scattered all over our home, but I thought we'd take a look at the living room.

I love these pieces...none of which will break the bank...so I wanted to share them:

1. Artissimo Designs- Joyful Garden

2. Nidhi Chanani- City in the Rain

3. Nidhi Chanani- Koi

4. Kristin Maynes Red Poppies

5. Kristin Savko- Fern Collage

6. Kristin Savko- Quiet Still

The rest of the wall prints are family photos, a small oil painting I bought on a trip, and a spin art Ethan created from melted wax at the Crayola Experience. 


If you want to seem more about the living space, you can take a peek at Living Room Mood Board. Also, gotta mention how much I adore my Hampton Bay Ceiling Fan. It's so lovely.

Snow Ice Cream: A Review

With all the crazy snow this year, I decided we'd try out some snow ice cream. I mean, even Paula Deen says it is amazing can be done has a recipe for it online. We used about 8 cups of snow, 1/2 cup of sugar, a cup of milk, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Ethan loved collecting the snow, adding the ingredients, and mixing. Neither of us were real excited with the final product. The taste was there, but the texture, not so much.

As much snow as he was eating outside, I thought this would be a winner, but you can see how impressed he was...even with chocolate syrup. Next time, we'll stick to eating snow and icicles.

Ever have good experience with snow ice cream? 

Maybe I should have followed Paula's recipe? 

Touch of Easy DIY Modern Art

Tape resist painting is all over Pinterest. In fact, I did some with Ethan when he was just a baby that you can check out here. I have to say though, I was quite inspired by these tape resist paintings hung above the bed--so that's what I set out to do.

The canvases I got at Ollie's for $2-3 each. I also got some gold spray paint (the cheapest I could find...I think that was maybe another $2)...and some acrylic paints...the cheapest thing the craft store had...so maybe another $3 there. My total investment for the whole project was under $15. Not bad for three painted canvases!

I spray painted the canvases with the gold paint, and once they dried, Ethan helped me with the tape placement (we used blue painter's tape). Then we painted the canvases together. 

We only used one coat of paint. I liked the brush strokes and seeing some of the gold peeking through. We removed the tape before it was dry to try and avoid chipping any paint. Some paint did seep under the tape and I resisted my urge to touch up the areas with gold paint in an attempt to have something a bit less polished.

I love the paintings above the bed. I hung them with Command Strips, which made hanging them at a level height much easier than using nails. That's it! Totally easy! :)