cake and cotton

8.10.2011

The Unfinished Summer

Today I'm looking around my house feeling like everything I see is unfinished.

And I'm trying not to freak out about that.

First of all, our summer list is far from finished. And I knoooow it's not the end of summer yet. But I still see "unfinished" written all over that thing.

And look. Remember when I did this post about the art I was copying? Well, wow. It was taking so many sittings to paint that it has now taken a back seat to other things. I really want to finish it. But when?

See that lovely light blue square painted on the wall behind the unfinished art? That was put there at least four months ago. We were supposed to paint our whole family room that color. We still have two squares on opposite walls as a constant reminder that house painting has been left unfinished.

Here is my craft table upon which the unfinished art sits.

Hello, stacks of unfinished sewing projects.

I just started this project. ('Cause I needed a new one, right? 'Cause for a moment I was blinded to all the unfinished ones in every corner.)

I plan to cover all the letters differently - one (or 2) with book pages, one with yarn, one with paint...you get the idea.

First of all, I bought these letters in December. I planned to do my "HOPE" word for our Christmas decor. I'm a little late in starting. Or early, depending on how you look at it. But it too is taking a while, so now all the supplies are spread about the family room unfinished. It's because I can't possibly complete a project in a twenty minute sitting, right? I need a string of like 10 of those. Which means like 2 weeks I think.

Look at this super cool old Bible I found at the Goodwill for $5.

I'm not going to feel guilty about "repurposing" its pages to wrap my word. Because what else am I gonna do? Wrap the word "HOPE" with pages from a romance novel? Not that I have one. Just saying. Hope is found in God's words, right? That's my thinking. (Would you have an issue with ripping up a Bible?)

And as if we needed another surface of our house covered with an unfinished project, the kids rolled out a zillion feet of paper for the biggest mural ever. It says STAR WARS. Looks fun. Looks also like a long-term art installation on my kitchen floor.

So. There you have it. Think I need to let some of this unfinished business go? Do you have a stack of unfinished happenings this summer?

Well, at least I managed to finish this post. ;)

7.12.2011

cookies and milk and watercolors

there really is nothin' like cookies and milk after a long summer day of swimmin' and playin'....
this is the good life, i tell ya.

and just to top it all off, some watercolors.

thank you for the lovely day.
you make a mean quesadilla and peaches
and us reeds loved havin' some of our favorite people over to play (and chat)....

7.06.2011

A winner and art in progress

The other day, at Cost Plus, I saw a piece of art (image no longer on the site) that I liked, which was not really art. It was a low quality, unsaturated print of a piece of art onto flimsy canvas. And for something that wasn't the greatest quality, it was $129.

And while I'm not an artist, meaning I couldn't paint a picture worth hanging up, this piece was a geometric design. I'm glad I took a second look, because after taking a couple pictures with my phone, I decided to COPY it. And make it better.

This project is not for the faint of heart, by the way. If you don't have the patience for careful measuring, then don't bother. I'm not very creative on my own, but I am close friends with precision. I guess you know that already.

Canvases were half price at the craft store. And I bought this T-square with a coupon.

And dude. I got excited butterflies in my stomach just at the chance to buy one of these.

Where hast thou been, sweet compass from Freshman Geometry? You are so much fun.

{Of course, my kids begged me to use it as soon as I opened it. I said No. Not until mommy is done with her masterpiece. Then I'm okay with someone ruining it within five seconds.}

Just so you know, my craft store total for the tools, paint and canvas came out to $40.00. Yes! $90 LESS than the store version. Happy happiness.

My canvas was 24" x 36". I purposefully bought one with sides divisible by 4, since I knew it would be easiest to measure and mark off a grid of 4" squares.

Then over the my pencil-lined grid, I brushed the whole canvas and sides with a mixture of neutral paints, grey and parchment colors. I left one area unfinished, on purpose. I liked how on the Cost Plus art the pattern sort of faded into an unfinished section on one side.

Then came time for the compass. Did I mention how fun a compass is? I set the radius to 2", and then began swinging my circles over the dried paint, following the grid that still faintly showed through. I drew circles in most every square, and circles centered on the intersections, where 4 squares meet in one corner.

The intersecting circles form these petal-like shapes. And this is where my pretty paints come in.

I'm still in the process of filling the petals in. It is taking longer than I expected (big surprise). But the colors look so amazing. So much better than the Cost Plus version, and fully customized to my house.

I can't wait to find time to finish it this week! I'll for sure post a picture. But it's been a good lesson to learn - you don't know if you can do a project unless you try. It may take more time, but it takes a LOT less money and you get such an incredible sense of accomplishment. I realized I didn't simply copy the Cost Plus art. They gave me an idea, and I made it my own. The result is something I'd much rather hang in my house.

And as for the "i heart summer" giveaway, Erin Woodgate was the winner! Erin, please email me at Lnp0202 at aol dot com and I can mail you your prize!! Aren't you glad you came over from Wildflowers? ;) Yay for you!!