Tag Archives: aqua

Get Your Color On! Pastels

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Get Your Color On Pastels square bubble-001

Welcome to another post of Get Your Color On! This edition is inspired by the arrival of spring, the Easter goodies and ideas currently out there in blogland, & my recent vacation in Florida.

These colors are commonly associated with Easter, children’s rooms, vintage or mid-century modern decor, and sweet treats. Because pastels tend to be used in a bright manner, they can be challenging to decorate with. However, these colors can be used in a multitude of ways and a variety of shades. Read along for my tips on decorating with pastels by using a scale of color dosage.

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Fabric stapled on canvas for wall decor

DIY: Customized Fabric Wall Decor

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I love going to the fabric store, even when I don’t need any fabric. I love perusing all the different patterns and touching the fabrics. Last week, I had a motive to go: to create new wall decor.

I’ve contemplated how to decorate the space around my television for some time now. I googled articles and found a great way to have the TV blend into the room was to create a gallery wall behind it (Houzz.com has a great article with images here). I just wasn’t entirely sold on the idea of finding many things to frame. Sure, I have lots of paintings to choose from in my inventory, but most don’t match with the room’s color scheme. So I set out to find a great pattern/print I could instead use for wall decor.

Most of the fabric in turquoise and aquas was too bright for my liking & nothing grabbed me like it should. I’ve learned it’s best to spend money on things that really wow you, be it clothing or decor.

I spotted this fabric a while ago at Joann’s & love the classic, modern pattern. The print wowed me, but I wasn’t entirely sold with it being black and white. And then I had one of the creative epiphanies I love: customize the fabric with markers.

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WIP: Untitled (And a New Watercolor!)

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This piece is taking some time to complete with all the other creative projects (Halloween!) and things I’ve been tackling lately. I’ve realized although I’ve heeded my creative spirit with my DIY and decoration projects, I’ve neglected my goals with my painting. So it’s back to the grind with that, along with a renewed mentality for my artwork.

I’d love to start on a totally new project, but I’m determine to see this piece through. Here’s an update of it so far:

watercolor painting of meditation energy mudra in aqua blue green teal and turquoise

Stages 1-6

I’ve also started another watercolor, as I’ve found myself attracted to the Möbius shape. Continue reading →

Getting Back Into the Groove: WIP: Untitled

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This weekend I started a new watercolor painting. The current piece is a redo of the last one I painted back in April. Others gave me positive feedback on that painting, but it didn’t end up as I’d intended. I knew I’d end up recreating it. This time, I changed the palette to include blue-greens (LOL, go figure) and will not be painting through the hand/leg so the blue energy stands out more.

Here are some shots throughout the process so far:

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DIY: Mosaic Wall Decor

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It’s a simple, straightforward project: cut paper squares, arrange, glue, and seal. I however, found a way to make it more complicated. :) Note: while this is an easy project, it is a bit time-consuming so you better have a fresh jar of patience. I came across this mosaic project over at Remodelaholic and felt like it was fated to coordinate with my retro kitchen countertops: seafoam, gray and green retro square patterned Formica kitchen counter Continue reading →

DIY: Painted Bamboo Matchstick Blinds

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One of my projects for Transformation Turquoise was to create a large piece of art for the living room. I’d considered painting bamboo blinds a while ago when I decided to take down the generic vertical blinds that came with this place. I bought matchstick bamboo blinds at Big Lots for fairly cheap—$5 for 36″ wide?— and hung three of them over my large living room window. (I decided not to paint a design on those.) I’ve also used a set of these blinds in a wall cut-out between the kitchen and living room.

They are matchstick blinds, so they provide sheer coverage since there is more space between the “slats” vs. typical blinds.  Because of this and because the matchsticks are rounded, this wasn’t the easiest painting project. For the image to appear more dimensional, I also had to paint my design in between the matchsticks. I was a bit impatient and didn’t want to give in to perfectionism, so I didn’t get too technical with this part of the painting.

Bamboo Matchstick Blinds repurposed into painted design wall hanging decoration

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DIY: Patchwork Picket Fence Pillow

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A little while ago, I discovered this tutorial for a patchwork pillow at the blog Made On Maple. I’m not usually a fan of quilts or quilt-like decor, but this one has a modern edge to it with the geometric pieces. What also sold me is that the directions are pretty straightforward, less of a need to measure each piece of fabric (my least favorite part of sewing) and the chance to incorporate different patterns/colors in one piece.

DIY Patchwork Picket Fence Pillow sewing turquoise osnaburg cotton fabric calico

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Transformation Turquoise: Home Office

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I am proud to say part of the redecoration of my living room is complete: my home office. I replaced a few decorations and added some new ones. I got rid of the previous bulletin board made from an old painting & cork, repotted a houseplant, made a dry-erase board, & added some office items to the desktop to organize. I also moved my folding table I use for arts & crafts into another area of the living room. Behold:

home office

BEFORE: Home Office

home office

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DIY: Repurposed Frame Into Dry Erase Board

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I don’t know whom to credit for this idea, but this may be the simplest DIY project I’ve done so far! Instead of purchasing a dry erase board, you can make one with a frame, in which you write on the glass with a dry erase marker. If you like jotting down reminders or to-do lists, this is a great way to practice green living and save money. You will need:

  • A picture frame (with glass)
  • Background material: fabric or paper
  • Iron (if using fabric)
  • Dry erase marker
  • Foamboard or cardboard
  • Craft glue or fabric glue
  • Exacto knife
  • Dry erase marker

Directions:

  • Measure & cut a piece of foamboard or cardboard to the size of your frame.
  • Measure & cut your background material (fabric, paper, etc.) to the board, adding an inch to each side.
  • (If using fabric, iron this before glueing.) Cover the board with your fabric/paper and glue on the backside, along the edges.Repurposed frame into dry erase board
  • Insert the covered board into frame.
  • Display your board!Frame repurposed into to do and Dry Erase Board

Tips:

  • Choose background material that is light enough that the dry erase marker will stand out. For this reason, I chose a solid piece of fabric and not a print.
  • To make this a greener project, use paper or fabric scraps and a frame that’s in your craft/decorating stash.

Transformation Turquoise

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The transformation of redecorating my living room in turquoise is progressing, slowly but surely. I’m also incorporating some aqua, robin’s egg blue and teal in the plans, plus some red accents.

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