Easy Palm Tree Art

I have a really easy project for you today.  I got the idea from one of my best friends and thought it was perfect.  My sister, Jessica, was looking for more pieces of art for her walls.  Using a large piece of card stock or even the paper that comes with the frame flipped to the back side, if white.  Grab a branch from a palm tree.  We tried a couple before finding the one we liked.   This one here was not flat enough.

Then we found this one in my yard that was perfect.  Lay it on the paper in an angled direction

We then spray painted right over the branch.  The individual leaves seemed to lift a bit as we sprayed. This is not a problem.

Here it is.  You can see some of the over spray that got under the branches when they moved.  It actually gives it a nice effect.

We then placed it in a frame from Michael's.  (Which there happens to be a 50% coupon on my sidebar right now).

Here it is in my sister's little nook.  You can see it here with the zebra rug and the fabric memo board.

She found this beautiful mirror table at Pier 1 Imports. 

I love how the palm tree art looks with the zebra rug.  Do you have any easy art ideas?

I'll be linking up to these parties

and Beyond the Picket Fence, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Showoff

Birds and Branches

One of my best friends asked me to help her with some lingering projects in her house. My friend is one of the handiest girls I know. She bought herself a sewing machine and taught herself to sew, she can change light fixtures, and build anything.  She had these canvas prints hanging in her dining room that she had grown tired of.  She wanted to give them a new life and asked for my help. 

We spray painted them Rustoleum Lagoon, which is a beautiful bold aqua color.  We did some sketches to get an idea, hers on the left, mine on the right.

She enlarged and printed some birds found on Google images.

I free handed the branches using pencil first and then outlined them using white house paint.  We traced the birds with pencil and then just carefully painted on the lines.

Here we have the most adorable helper filling in the white part of the branches.  She wants to be an artist when she grows up.

Here it is.  We connected the branches between the three canvases.  The birds represent Mom, Dad, and two kiddos.  Cute, huh?

 Here it is hanging on her wall.  I love it!

It is totally changing the feel in her dining room.  Now, to change that light fixture.  My friend happens to have a chandelier in her garage that she bought online a few years ago and it wasn't quite was she had envisioned when it arrived. I am getting my hands on it.  I can't wait.  It's going to be a mini dining room makeover at no cost.  I got home and remembered Lesley doing an adorable bird art, go check it out. 

Cute, right?  Well, so my friend's project was really not difficult. It just took time and patience. What do you think?

I'll be linking up my project to all these parties

Stripes on my Mind

Mary from the The Edge of Blue left me the sweetest comment the day I did my striped heart art. 

Here it is to remind you of what it looked like.  I think it's going to hang in my office as soon as I get around to hanging it. 

And here's Mary's version.  I LOVE it! What a great idea to do a letter.

Isn't this a great idea?

DIY Black and White Heart Painting

I've been wanting to try making a piece of art.  I'm loving black and white stripes lately and hearts are my favorite.  

I bought a piece of wood/mdf in the scraps at Home Depot. It cost me $1.00 (I bought like 2 more).

I gave it a coat of white paint from my stash.

I got a poster board folded it in half and drew half a heart on the poster.

I cut out the heart and then used some tape to measure out my lines. I know there is a mathematical way to figure this out, but I do things my way.

I then laid the heart on the painted wood and just taped the outside edge of the heart. I did not trace it out because I didn't want to have to deal with repainting the white.  I tore small pieces of tape at a time to get the rounded edges.

Then I laid out my stripes evenly spaced.  I wanted the black at the top and the bottom to give the heart shape.

I painted the inside of the heart black.  Be very careful to attach the tape as best as possible to avoid bleeding of the paint. It happened to me and I had to go back and fix it.  Double the work.

Here it is. I think it's really cute and I'm happy with my first painting attempt.

Cost breakdown:
$1.00 for wood
$4.00 for black paint sample at Home Depot (I have a ton left over)
Total $5.00
I'm trying to figure out how and where to hang it.  I'll keep you posted.  What do you think? Have you tried painting?





Please see pages on the left sidebar to see what parties I've joined.

Great Weather = Great Art

One of the great things about living in South Florida at this time of year, aside from the weather, is the outdoor art shows.  They seem to be every weekend.  Here are some of my favorites from the Las Olas Art Show this past weekend.

The artist, Bob Brown, which is the main reason we went out to the show, is my favorite.  His architectural pieces are both modern and bold.  I have a few of his works up in my house.  They look gorgeous against my white living room walls.

This artist Julie Keaten-Reed had some gorgeous pieces on display.  I love the simplicity of her work.  So beautiful.

The work of Mark MacKinnon was just amazing.  His photography is breathtaking and the color palette of his work is so serene. 

The artist Greg Knott had some very cool pieces.  He uses bold colors and his work has an incredible sense of humor.  I couldn't pick my favorite, but I thought the Rock, Paper, Scissors was just classic.

The artist Pat Little uses a very cool technique in his photography.  Visit his site so you can read all about it.

The artist Cady Watson had some really beautiful pieces.  The use of colors and her designs were just awesome.  She has a line in her website called Little Ones that seem so ideal for a nursery or child's room.  I loved her work.

The work of Ken Orton was just incredible.  This is paint, which is amazing.  My husband really liked his work.



This made going to the art show so much fun. My husband and I usually walk around and browse.  We actually took the time to check out these booths, talk to the artists, and find pieces we would hang on our walls. 

**Note-All pictures were taken with my phone so excuse the poor quality. I asked all the artists if I could take the pictures.