winter porch

 AND IT'S ABOUT TIME - SHEESH!

It took me a looong time after the holidays, to even think about my porch - I'm not even sure why.

Usually my porch is a favorite thing of mine to do, but I felt overwhelmed and under motivated :/ 

Several weeks ago, some ideas finally floated into my head - and boy was I grateful!

I needed to get outside and DO something, and golly, it was a fun project (thank you John for helping!)

My main mantra was: Color, Texture, and Levels.

So this is what I came up with - - - 

(and a new gnome... I mean a gnew gnome)

TA-DAAA! :)

Meg & Tori's Thanksgiving Porch!

I gathered up all my Halloween decorations...

I repainted all my pumpkins... 

and just as the weather finally cooled down...

I called my girl Tori and we set it all up!

 Ta-Daaaaa!!! Our Thanksgiving Porch :)

SWEET!!!

We worked so hard and had such a blast -

I don't know what I would've done without Tori!

Please take a tour and check it out...

YES, YES, YES, GIVE THANKS!!!

 ~ Tori and Mrs. Puff ~

(no my puffy face has not gone away

and I don't want to talk about it!)

But I had to post these pics -

just look at Tori's adorable face :)

 CUTEST. GIRL. EVSKIES.

Thank you Tori! I love you!

xoxoxo

Monday's porch

So! Remember my dreary, depressing porch that desperately needed some cheer? I had challenged myself to clean and decorate it over the weekend because I knew sharing it here would give me the push I needed to get it done. I love porches no matter how challenging they can be to work with. I think their effect on the homeowners and those who visit is an often overlooked factor in how warm and welcome you feel upon entering the home.

So........ without further ado, below is the outcome!

First I power washed everything with water since sweeping would not have gotten rid of all the dust. Then I went for a colorful, "room" feel with furniture pieces and primitives, as opposed to a garden feel with flowers and pots.

Since I had a budget of basically $0 the only thing purchased was a new doormat for $15 less a 20% off coupon.

I like using larger pieces instead of little knick-knacky pieces that can look tacky and overdone. I do see a few areas that could use some tweaking, but I often have to step back, look at things, and think for a few days.

And of course since I reused everything I already had (aka shopping in my own house), you probably recognize some of these pieces - either from being on my porch before, or having made them in a tutorial, or even from glimpses inside my house. I really enjoy rotating things in and out so I don't end up getting tired of my favorite pieces. Then when I pull them back out it's like seeing an old friend again. 

So happy Monday! And if you happened to do your porch also, I'd still love to post your "before" & "after" pics!

hip to be square

In my efforts to leave no stone design blog unturned as I cruise around the internet, these are some of the things that have caught my eye as of late. Or in design speak, that I've been "crushing on" - though I make a conscious effort not to speak in trend. Just as I was disheartened with what seemed like nonstop white on white, which not only seems boring but c-c-cold to me, I finally found some color! Sheesh! And usually it's circles that I tend to gravitate toward, but I thought all these colorful squares were just too cool for school. 

Up above is an actual painting of an adorable blogging friend of mine, Sara Mincy. And I admit in front of God and man that I have coveted it for a long time. And now she's actually selling it in her Etsy store. At a reduced price! Be still my heart! To check it out, go to her Etsy store HERE. To visit her darling blog, go HERE. 

Next up we have a cool project that I had never seen before - or would have even thought of. These are all picture frames - no glass, nothing in them - painted in approx. 8 different colors repeatedly, and arranged as their own art statement. I thought this was genius on several levels. I've seen the odd antique picture frame grouped as a focal point occasionally, but I've never seen anything like this. Proves that you don't have to have photos in frames to have some great, colorful artwork on your wall. For the entire article by Sparrow King via Apartment Therapy (of course) - and more great photos - click HERE. Photo credit Dwell Magazine. 

And how seriously adorable is this? I mean, come on! And not just for a glorified headboard either - the possibilities are endless! And here's the most surprising thing of all. It's not paint! Not that painting a grid like this would be impossible - it would actually be a lot of fun. But I was shocked to find out that these are pieces of craft paper! I think the entire project was something like $20. It gets the wheels in your brain starting to spin, doesn't it. Well, visit the link for more information HERE. This article was by Heather Blaha from Ohdeedoh (via the Swell Life), the kid's section of Apartment Therapy. And bookmark Ohdeedoh - it's a great source of inspiration! 

Walker Cheer

Lots of Christmas cheer coming from the Walker house!

I love our cheerful tree and how the front room turned out this year!

Awww, look at my cool freaky Santa, my striped sock monkey, and my sweet jar with pops :)

Vintage tablecloth in the kitchen and hmmm........

.......... apples big???

Oooooh, I am the biggest lover of sitting by a lighted tree at all hours of the night

"as visions of sugarplums danced in their heads"

xoxoxo

Fall Porch

DONE! I'm very happy with how my white pumpkins turned out - both the 2 big fakies and the small real one. And I think I'm liking how my little porch turned out. So come take a tour!
This year I added a few of my antique doll cradles among other things, and I like how they look. I put all the Halloween decor out front and kept the porch "Fall" so it can remain up through November. It looks just a tad sparse (?)... perhaps I need to add a trade blanket or a quilt... or perhaps I need to leave well enough alone :) Truth be told, I would love to do the whole porch in white & black pumpkins with big white candles - wouldn't that be spectacular!!!
Okay, back to reality - LOL :) I approached drawing on each white pumpkin a little differently. The large stars came from a stencil I had made for some terra cotta pots. I used a thin black Sharpie to outline the design onto the pumpkin (making sure it was straight!), and then used a larger black Sharpie to fill in the stars.
This little wreath is really nothing special, but it had lots of color and interest from all kinds of different cones, pods, berries, leaves, etc, and it was very cheerful.
I actually taped off and spray painted a few small orange pumpkins with white spray paint! See the "W" pumpkin? Well, it was lots of fun but you will definitely not be seeing any close-ups! LOL!
As shown in my sneak peek, the other large pumpkin was done by free-handing large numbers in pencil, then I filled the numbers in with different sizes of black Sharpies. That fakie pumpkin material, by the way, was very easy & fun to work with - FYI.
The small pumpkin with all the dots I just drew free-handed with the Sharpies - no pencil required!
Thanks for taking the tour! Hope you liked it! Happy Friday, Happy Halloween, Happy Weekend, and Happy Fall!

A Little Sneak Peek :)

                                           
                                             

                                                                                                                                                                          

I am working tirelessly to set up an Etsy store so I can sell my paintings. To give you a little sneak peek of the type of art I paint, here is a photo of my front room with an original painting centered on the wall. I don't normally like using a flash, but my house gets so little natural light I am forced to... This painting is much larger than the sizes I will sell on Etsy, but the style is the same. I call my style of painting "layered art". 

I have this unquenchable thirst for color. Color upon color upon color! I don't know why I have such a strong need for so much color, but I'm not going to question it. All I know is color makes me really happy :)

I was constantly trying different techniques, using acrylic paint on canvas, but I was never satisfied. I wasn't even having fun. All of the sudden, this layering style came out of the blue. I start with a base of two similar colors - the second usually mottled on top of the first - and then start layering color upon color with a spatula. I add and scrape off until everything feels right and I am happy with the result. 

It's essential to see that as you look closer and closer, you see more and more individual color. And I love how the spatula is so unpredictable. Hopefully this will appeal to others who already embrace color - and even those who might be a tad afraid of color, to enjoy it in small amounts.

Please feel free to leave comments, questions, praise, and commissions - LOL :) But seriously, the more feedback I get, the more successful I can make my store at Etsy. And in the meantime, stay tuned for the opening, and for a gallery at Flikr that you can enjoy also.