the girls

So here we are (finally) with the girls' names. Mommy wanted their names to match a certain patterned bedspread and pillow shams, also with dance and girly things put into the letters. We went shopping for paint colours and glitters and I added a bit of 'bling!', each letter dusted with glitter and lots and lots of colour. I hope the girls like their names!

Click on the photo to get a closer look at the details. Again the photo colour isn't quite the same as in real life, the green for instance is more of a kiwi and not so much acid, grrr. The pink a tad more bubble gum and less baby, and in those plaids, shades of kiwi, pink, some white and well...grrr.

Wyatt

I'm back in the letter painting mode. This time for a little boy and his two sisters. I have "Wyatt" finished and thought I'd share the outcome.

Mommy wanted a Pirate map with a bit of "jungle colour", something that will grow with him. The nursery is currently cartoon jungle, but will adapt and change to a Pirate den in a few years.

Hidden in the map are all kinds of family names, something for him to seek out when he gets older.

Now on to his sisters!

(click on the photo to enlarge and see more details)

on the level

Here's that missing shot of the potty seat cover dispenser. If you know me at all you have got to know how much this drove me crazy. It was all I could do to get out of there without ripping it off the door and hot gluing it back on LEVEL!

If it weren't for the tissue roll flying over the door like a possessed demon, I probably would have gone to the nearest Target and grabbed the tools to fix it.

Oy. I need help.

the Art

#5 loves contemporary and abstract art. She found some pieces that spoke to her and asked her best friend who was also visiting and myself if we would join her in making some art for the walls in the living room. The walls as shown in the post prior, were empty. The only art in the house was a poster print of Jesus and another of a temple, both green from too much sun exposer, one placed in the kitchen and the other in the hallway.

The first photo is #5's first attempt at painting. She was disappointed in it, although I really liked it. To me, it seemed somewhat cosmic and it makes me want to look at it for a while to see all the things moving in it. I liked it and so did the other girls in the house, so we talked her into keeping it and putting it up.

The second one is an abstract of the First Vision. She wanted something religious in the way of a painting, so this is what I came up with.

The third painting is just another abstract using a combination of elements that were in some of the other pieces we were doing. I wasn't sure she would like this, as I did it while she was working. Turns out she thought it was great. Who knew?

This fourth one turned out to be her favourite however, again, I wasn't sure she would like it at all. Later on I will explain how we changed/recycled/converted an old bookcase with poetry books, but with that in mind I made this collage using pieces from the books she had and also a bit of paint, a photograph from National Geographic, and ink. The quote on the base says: "de gustibus non est disputandum" or " there is no accounting for taste" in Latin, which she thought was hilarious.

The next one is based with text poetry from the books, with small pieces flying up and away into the light stream. This one got approval as well. I guess I should say there was one painting that needed to be reworked to make the cut, I thought so as well, and also one painting (ugh, that I neglected to photograph!) that she chose to hang in her room instead of the living area.

The last one was done by her best friend. It's a copy from one of #5's favourite artists, and although I do not know the artist's name the title of the painting was "Temple". Her best friend took almost two entire days copying this to almost perfection. I am sure the artist would be hugely flattered. It was amazingly close.

TIMOTHY

Here's another set, this time for a little guy named "Timothy". He is a huge fan of the movie "Automobiles", so his parents wanted his letters to reflect that theme in his room.

Luckily for me, this was a 'freebie' job so they didn't complain about the way the cars actually came out. Yikes! I need to work on drawing cars more often...these are a tad funky.

Tomorrow: Not letters but a recycle project!

NATHAN

I hope you don't mind, but here goes some more of those projects that have been keeping me busy.

A while back I did two sets of nursery letters. One thing leads to another and it seems that I am getting a bit of business decorating wood letters now! This is way fun! This set spells out "Nathan" whose mother said loves all kinds of animals, so we have the following in his name:

a shark, a lady bug, a skunk, and a peacock "eye".

a turtle shell, flamingo feathers, and giraffe skin.

an orca/killer whale, snake skin, and cheetah print (his personal favourite).

tiger , zebra, brown bear, and alligator skins.

butterfly wings, brown cow, raccoon eyes, and a clown fish.

a toucan, an elephant, a honey bee, jaguar and dalmatian skin.

All they need now is a ribbon and to be placed on the wall!

Tomorrow: More letters!

Fool Proof Photo Wall Arrangement

Have you ever gone to hang a picture--- measured it, marked it and then, when it's finally on the wall, you stand back to admire your handy work only to be disappointed that it's just a few inches off? Grrrr! Me too!

A few years working in Model Homes I picked up some trade secrets. Let me show you how we did it perfectly every time! It's easy. It's fast. And most importantly -it works!