Monday, August 25, 2014

Touring Through Blogland

I was recently asked by Vicky of Life on Willie Mae Lane if I would like to participate in the Blogland Tour. Of course, I said yes! I met Vicky through blogging when she hosted a Christmas Ornament exchange through her blog. I actually "drew" her name as a recipient so got to learn something about her. She is a very warm and caring person and extremely talented.

She's been working on her dining and living rooms...updating and renovating those spaces. She did a plank wall:

a built in bookcase (love the blue background!):

And she refreshed this piece to use as a buffet:
Love it against her plank wall! 
And those are just some of her projects. She's also added in beautiful pops of color with blue and coral. Be sure and go check out her blog to see all the fabulous things she's done.
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Now I'm supposed to answer four questions. I love this Blog Tour because not only do you get to know more about me and more about other blogs out there, but I also get to introduce you to a blog you may not know about that I enjoy reading.

So let's get started:
1. What am I working on right now?

 I always have something in the works...A piece of art, a craft project, or decorating my home. Sometimes, it's all happening at once. I laugh and say I have decorating ADHD - I jump between several things at one time.

Right now, I am in the process of moving my art studio back into the spare bedroom. It's been all over the house as young adult children moved in and out. But it is finally coming together. Here's a sneak peak:
shelf with bins

Plus, I found the perfect side table for the guest room at the farm! Here's the before:

Can you guess what color I'm going to paint it?
I'm also working on designs for some other projects and on a couple of new paintings.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I don't know that my work is so different; I create crafts and DIY projects, decorate, and artwork.  I create things I love, need, or am inspired by.


Most are things I blog about are what I'm fixing up for the farmhouse although sometimes it's about my city home projects (Master closet redo) or my artwork.

Abstract painting of my dog Buddy
part of a poppy painting
Again, many things capture my imagination so it's hard for me to stick to just one thing.
So, my blog is a personal log of my projects and art.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

My blog started as a way to document what we did at the farm. The property and house had been neglected and needed lots of work to update, freshen things up, and get the pastures back into shape as they were overgrown.



I wanted a record so we could see the progress we'd made. I was thrilled when people actually wanted to read along. And then to actually get comments!! I was over the moon. :o)

Kitchen before

Kitchen after

4. How does your writing/ creating process work? 

I write pretty much when I have something to share. It might be once a week or once every two weeks. It all depends on when I finish something and have pictures to share.


Plus I have to have something I feel is worth saying and am excited about sharing. I don't claim to be a writer. I just try to write like I'm talking to someone about my process. So that's pretty much it! I hope you enjoyed reading about me and my blog.
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So now that you've learned something about me, let me introduce you to a blogger you may or may not know. I am happy to introduce the following blog to you -
 Ella of StartCloseIn  has a unique blog where she loves to help women find the potential in their wardrobe.

She is absolutely adorable! I found her when she styled Miss Mustard Seed's wardrobe. I immediately wanted her to style mine! She does virtual sessions for those not close by so I decided I was going to treat myself for my birthday. Then I broke my knee and had to wait. But when I finally had her do a styling, we had a blast!

 You can see it here

She is a Northern Virginia-based stylist and blogs regularly on StartCloseIn Styling. You may know her from recent hits like How to Wear Jean SkirtsAnxiety and Getting Dressed, or How To Style A Maxi Dress For Business Causal.   When she’s not busy helping clients fall in love with their clothes and blogging about what you should be packing for your next vacation, she loves to spend time with her wonderful husband Peter and their two Bernese Mountain dogs, Cairo and Jaxon.

Be sure to check out Ella's post and blog tour next Monday Sept. 1st. You will love her, I promise! She is always sharing the cutest clothes and fun style sessions. I always enjoy reading her take on style. 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my tour. I am having my wonderful husband Bruce post this for me because I'm spending the week at the farm and we're in the technology black hole with no internet service so he's agreed to post for me! I'll be back next week with new projects to share!

Have a wonderful and blessed week.

Hugs,
Cecilia

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Art Studio Projects

I've been busy putting the art studio together. As I've moved things, I've worked on some projects to pull the space together.

This was my inspiration fabric:

Love the artist on it:

I added it to my white curtains and made a chair cushion for my sewing chair:

Then I took some containers from IKEA and spray painted them in my colors - green and purple:


They used to be yellow and blue. :o) They hold X-Acto knives, pens and pencils, brushes, and other art supplies:

Loving them! They are sitting above my drafting table.

Next, I took my memo board and updated it with a great fabric I found at Hobby Lobby...it goes with my inspiration fabric in a French theme.



hm, green or purple ribbon?




Went with the green since the buttons were purple
It's hanging on the wall next to my sewing table:

I also found a small drafting table at a thrift store. It wasn't painted so I painted the body of it with my green paint. I have a really cool addition to it, I'll share soon.

I love that I can store new paintbrushes or my reference photos inside:

Things are still a little messy but I'm slowly getting it all put away. Hm, I think it's time to update my stool too!

I still need to make tags for all my baskets and bins.
one of my shelving units...this is the one covered in the green and purple circle fabric on the back
shelf back when it sat in the dining room facing the living room - old chair is covered in the same fabric!

And I'm waiting for my son to finish emptying his closet so I can store supplies in there. As soon as that happens, I'll share a final reveal of my art studio!

I'm so happy to have a spot finally to create:
My mini canvases I painted in chalk paint. Need to paint the small easels too...green and purple of course!
Be sure to check back on Monday as I join the blogland tour. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

:o)
Cecilia

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Round Up of Finished Projects

I finally got the shadow box up to the farm and hung:


I decided to place it above the chest of drawers as it is the most prominent place for it to be enjoyed:



Here's a picture of both the shadow box wall and the adjacent wall with the frame and plate:

I am really happy with how this project turned out and Mom would be thrilled.

I also worked on a small wood table I've had forever. It needed new paint so I decided to paint it to go with the front porch bench:


Although I liked the chippy-ness of the paint, the wood was in bad shape. It really needed a fresh coat.


I pulled out these three colors:

But after painting it, I wasn't thrilled with how it looked:



So I repainted the yellow and it now looks like this:
hm, not sure if I should of kept the green...it might be too dull. I'll live with it awhile. I do like the bright yellow however.

Here it is next to the bench all ready for a glass of iced tea:


Speaking of the front porch, painting the ceiling blue has not kept the swallows from nesting there so we had to resort to more drastic measures. Now if you're squeamish about snakes, you might want to skip the next two pictures:

Lovely plastic snakes....
 I have to admit, they startled me a time or two before I got used to them being there. I'm hoping we can find another solution so the snakes can go bye-bye. Really not a pleasant thing to have by your front door.

On a better note, we switched out the outside light to this:

It actually matches the two pendent lights over the bar and the light over the kitchen sink. I love these lights!

Lastly, let me leave you with some pictures from outside:

acorns are getting big

bachelor button - a favorite flower from childhood

Hummingbird Moth visiting the Lantana



Yellow butterfly on the Black and Blue Sage
I've been working on a couple of small projects in the Master bedroom too. I will share those soon.

Also, as you may or may not know, I have an art blog where I post less often. I just posted about moving my art space again. I know, I know...it hasn't been that long since I moved it all the last time. If you'd like, you can read about it here. I'm hoping this is the last time I have to move it before we move up here to the farm and I get to turn the barn into my dream studio. We'll see.

Hope you are having a great week so far!
Blessings,
Cecilia

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