Llama Kitchen Art

By Amy Graham

SO...if you've been following SOM for a while, you'll remember my Napoleon Dynamite Kitchen Wall art.  And if you're new here, thanks for coming over, ya little puddin!

Be sure to "Like" or "Join This Site" to party with us! :)

So you know from my previous Napoleon art post that I am a big fan.  I love all their awkward ways (makes me feel better about myself, ha!) as well as the hilarious small farm-town Idaho humor.  Since I'm a native Idahoan, from a small town, and I'm pretty sure I know Lyle's twin, this movie speaks to me. There's so much weirdness to love!

So, it was natural to pay tribute to one of my favorite movies through art.  And, since I am a crappy, unwilling cook, I figured that my I could use this quote for my future kids.

It sounded a little bossy-pants, so I added a "please".   Ya know-- manners and all that.

For a while, I've wanted to do another piece to go with the first for my kitchen...and of course, I had to use Tina.  Ha, gotta love the pet llama.  I decided not to include, "Tina, you fat lard!" since I do NOT want the words, "fat lard" staring down at me as I eat my dinner every night.  Um...no thank you.

I figure that when I've got older kids, between these two messages, I will have pretty much everything covered...Whether they're whining about wanting a snack, or disliking what I've made for a meal, I can just point to the applicable painting on the wall, and bada bing!  Problem solved.

So, here's the process...it wasn't too fancy.  :)  (I only complete crafts that fall under the category of "freakin easy.")


The llama.  (Sorry, the lighting is crappy, cause I was working on this at like 10 at night.  I've learned that crafting when my toddler is awake=no good.)

I enlarged a pic of Tina, printed her out, and traced the sucker!  How's that for an art degree?  Ha..really, I do have one.

Words are free-handed, cause I like the home-made look.  (aka, I don't want to go look for my stencils, and vinyl is WAY beyond my crafting patience and ability.

Painted!  With some acrylic paint leftover from previously mentioned art classes.  I kinda wonder if I need to work on his face a little....does it look llamaish or like an ant-eater? Hmm...

Here's the first masterpiece....(ha, maybe masterpiece is a bit of an exaggeration...)

And masterpiece numero dos!  Along with the excellent print that I bought from an art sale on campus...I LOVE it.  E. House, your print "Call the Kettle" has inspired my entire color scheme of my kitchen.

 
Well, I hope I've inspired you to add some art to your walls that is unique to you!  It can be pretty simple, and it's fun to make people laugh whenever they come in your house. :)  Home decor doesn't have to be all beautiful and serious all the time...it's cool to add your own little quirky-ness!

Alrighty, that's it for me.  New friends, don't forget to follow along here at SOM!  You can hear lots of ladies' stores, as well as share your own!  We have a lot of fun.  :)

So, your turn!  What movie quote would you like as a piece of art?   (I also contemplated, "Get that corn outta my face!" for the kitchen, cause I love me some Nacho Libre...maybe next time. :)

In the words of Kip, "Peace out."


I'm linking up this post to the Be.You.tiful Link party!  Check it out. :)

Tweet

Quick and Easy Craft: Love Song Pillow

By Amy

My husband and I don't have "a song."

There are many we love, like, "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz.  We both LOVE that song, but as our love song?  It sounds a little like we are constantly struggling in our relationship!  And we both LOVE "Awake" by Josh Groban (this is my favorite version!  It's with Idina Menzel, so duh, it's amazing.), but it's kinda sad too!  It's about a couple who has to be apart...it makes me think of couples where one spouse is in the military.  So, that doesn't really fit us, though we love it.

And, I am crazy for the Beatles, but he's not a huge fan, so none of the sweet Beatles love songs will work. :(

We just can't agree on one.  But, the lyrics to, "Till there was You" from the Music Man pretty perfectly describe my feelings for him, since I never had a serious relationship till I met him.  (Oh geez...if you watch the video I linked, you might die when they start singing in each other's faces...haha!  Gotta love musicals!)

I dealt with a lot of anxiety over dating in high school and college, but he was such a good friend, and I was finally in a good place to try having a relationship...and basically, the timing was meant to be, cause it was right when I met Patrick!  I liked him SO much, he was worth facing the fear.  And I, who made fun of everything sappy and romantic for years, was suddenly the sappiest of saps.  (You can read our ridiculous love story here)  So, at least from MY point of view, this is our song. :)

For a while, I've wanted a cool accent pillow for our bed, and I had a pillow I was tired of, so I decided to put some fun graphic letters on the back, which was just plain fabric.  And, since it was for our bedroom, I thought something a little sweet and romantical would be nice!  But it couldn't be all flowery and pink (cause I share this room with a manly man), so I figured the plain block letters would work nicely.  I used a gold fabric pen, to echo the other gold accents in our room.  I probably would choose a little darker of a color if I were to do it over again, cause it's a little more subtle than I wanted it to be, but hey!  I still like it! :)

I tried stencils, but I wanted to rip my hair out, so I freehanded it.  And I used every ounce of juice in that marker!

Finished!

It's a sweet reminder of our love story every time I walk in to the room. Yay!  (Don't tell Patrick that the Beatles covered this song...haha. :)

What do you think?  Too subtle?  Hmmmm.

Do you and your hub or boyfriend have a song?  What is it?  I'd love to hear. :)  Any other songless couples out there?

Tweet

DIY Decor: String Balls....possibly THE most obnoxious craft project of all time.

Hey friends!  I'm playing craft blogger again, and it's another weird craft with no function other than hanging.  WOO! (Here's the first one for those who missed it...)

So, a while ago I had the bright idea of making a string ball.  I found this pic on Pinterest, which had them used as decor at a reception.

Source: Wedding 101

I saw this pic and thought, "Dang.  I want one of those balls in my living room." and "That's a lotta antlers."  I checked out tutorials (Pinterest is overflowing with String Ball DIYs) and geared up for what I knew would be a fabulously fun crafting fest! 

But, it actually kind of sucked.  Ya know how some crafts are pretty enjoyable to make?  Not this one...ughhh.  But, it's ok, cause I liked the end result!  Here were my steps, but in pretty vague terms (if you want a real step-by-step tutorial, there are tons out there all of which are much more detailed than mine...this one I found funny, and this one was helpful)...

First, I set up a good spot.  I did this at my parent's home while we were visiting, since they have a dining room table and a chandelier where my creation could hang undisturbed.

Supplies:
A bunch ball balloon (the round kind with the huge rubber bands)
Elmers glue and corn starch, mixed with a little water (no measurements, just mix some up)
Vaseline to coat your punch balloon with beforehand
Tinfoil, to cover your workspace (or a sheet, or newspaper, yada yada)
String
Music or a Movie to keep you sane!

Then, drag the string through the goop and start winding in around the ball!

Are you kidding me?!?  I feel like I've been winding string around this ball for ages!

Guess who woke up from his nap?

I don't really love doing this craft.  Can you tell?  Sticky, nasty mess.

Getting there....

I almost ran out of glue, so I used a pickle fork to dredge the string with.  I ran the string though the tines to keep it down to the very bottom of the tin, to soak up the last of the glue crap.

The next morning!  The balloon popped in the night and was all shriveled up on the table under the ball.  Convenient, huh?

I had to clean out some of the dried glue stuff.

Then, I took it home, and realised it was too cream--it almost disappeared against the cream ceiling and tan wall of my living room.  I needed it to be white so it could stand out and get the glory it deserved!  So, while watching a dance documentary on Netflix (I love documentaries!)  I used a sponge brush to blot on white paint.  It took a good while, but the movie kept me from going banannas.

Drumrollllll....The End Result!

Can you see it?  Ha!  Maybe I need some antlers.

I think it's subtle, but fun!  What do you think?

Have you ever made a string ball?  Did you find it tedious and kinda nasty, too?  Now I'm really glad I didn't try to make a hundred for my reception.

Ps.  Here's my new signature/pic/farewell to put at the end of posts written by me.  Do you likey?  I maxed out my Photoshopping knowledge creating this...ha!

Tweet

DIY Decor: Scale Lanterns!

By Amy

I know it sounds weird, but you're intrigued--admit it! :)

We have a load of paper lanterns left over from our backyard wedding reception; for a while I was trying to figure out a way to use some of them in our bedroom, but I wanted to make them different...ya know, a little more unique than just paper lanterns.  After perusing some cool (and some very strange) ideas for modifying paper lanterns on Pinterest, I decided I'd try paper circles.  I dubbed these, "Scale lanterns".  I used soft tans and creams, for a light, neutral look, since our bedroom has a dark wood bed, and a navy blue comforter.  There were a lot of darks going on.   

SO, here's the process, then the end result! 

First, cut out circles of differnt sizes and colors (I chose three colors)  Don't look too close at the shapes of the circles...I free-handed, cause I don't have any fancy shape cutters.  I didn't even trace the circles with a pencil first...Ain't nobody got time for that!!!

Then, grab your hot glue gun and start gluin!  Start at the top and overlap the shapes on the way down.  This is a very annoying/tedious step, so I recommend some Netflix.

Be sure to make a big mess while you're at it.

I mixed my plain lanterns with a scale lantern (yeah, I didn't have the patience to do them all.)  But three just wasn't enough!

I made one more scale lantern and ....

BA BAM: The finished product!

Well, thar she be!  I hoped you liked the random, bare bones tutorial.  (I'm no craft blogger.)  

That was my fun way to dress up boring white lanterns.  I love the unexpected texture in our room!  So, do you have any other ideas for pimping out paper lanterns?  I'd love to hear!
-Amy

Ps. What do you think of these?  Weird looking or cool?  Patrick thought they were goofy lookin' but now he just says, "Whatev." Ha!  I win! :)

Tweet