Nuke The Whales {Or a Spring Pinterest Challenge!}

I can't say how much I love joining in on these Pinterest Challenges (which are not sponsored by Pinterest in any way, just dreamed up by Katie Bower to stop pinning and start doing).  You can see my other linky party projects here. I'm a sucker for deadlines (except my self imposed ones, of course) to get me off the internet and onto a project.

This coming weekend we are attempting our first ever Stoop Sale (that is what we have to call a yard sale in Brooklyn) so I've been walking around the house and literally pulling stuff off the walls and out of closets in an effort to really purge as I've realized my decorating style is changing.  So when I was thinking about what I wanted to do for this Pinterest Challenge, I found myself going back to these pins for updating cheap/old/ugly/thrift store art:

Pin 

Pin

Pin

 Pin

And found myself doing exactly what I'm afraid I'll be doing this Saturday at our Stoop Sale - pulling stuff out of the "to sell" pile and bringing it back into the house.  Ha. Figures.  For whatever reason, we have actually accumulated quite a few pieces of ugly landscapes (mostly bc all I see is HUGE FRAME FOR FUTURE PROJECT and scoop them up) so I decided I would attempt one of these tricks.  I was actually leaning towards one of the first two - specifically wanting to spray paint half of it a brassy gold (ugh gold is sooo my obsession right now), but since it would be a big piece I decided to let Tom weigh in.

He decided he wanted to do something more like the last one with words, and instantly said "let's write 'Nuke the Whales' ".

Nuke the whales? Yes.  I thought that sounded a little vulgar at first, and then he showed me this old Simpsons clip:

And it was silly enough to sell me. We probably won't hang this in a future baby nursery, and this definitely isn't going to fit everyone's taste, but for now I think I like it.  Now I feel like I've got some really meta pop art (that I could probably sell for a buttload if any hipsters check out our stoop sale on Saturday). Plus, we really aren't the type to hang up self affirmations or mushy song lyrics, so this weirdness works for us.  Best part - this whole project was free, and if we ever get sick of it we can just paint over it again, or even toss the canvas and use the frame for something else.

Not too much to this tutorial - except for this Pro-Life Tip: when you run out of ink (when have we had ink?), just link up your computer to the TV so you can trace your letters by hand.  You're welcome.

I was originally wanting to paint the letters in white, and then to spray paint the dingy cream frame a crisp white as well, but I didn't have enough white acrylic on hand.  Gold leafing it is!

I actually like that it changes color depending on the angle you view it.

I later realized we have had this painting in our dining room for oh, 5 years? Back when all I did was work, Tom went to an event where someone was doing portraits on found junk for a nominal fee:

While editing this post I also realized Sherry from YHL made this sweet little sign a few months back which is reaffirming my initial inclination to have used white paint...hmm only time will tell if we decide to change ours...

Now tell me you haven't said "gotta nuke something" to yourself about 5 times while reading the rest of this post!

Disclaimer: I love whales, and I don't want anything or anyone to be nuked.  This is just a silly homage to an obscure scene in one of our favorite shows.  Don't sick PETA on me!

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Remember, half the fun of this challenge is meeting new blogs, so go check out these ladies and what they "pinned then spinned", and see who else joined the linky party!

• Emily from Sparkle meets Pop
• Katie from Bower Power
• Renee from Red Bird Blue
• Sherry from Young House Love

A Recycled Wedding Part 2 {This is where you buy stuff from me}

Cat Photo Bomber Not Included.

Ok friends, you've all heard about how much I loved planning my wedding. Part of how we saved money was by crafting the decor ourselves, purchasing wholesale instead of renting, or by purchasing second-hand items.  Now, I'd like to pass along my decor to another bride so she can keep her costs down (and also keep Tom from divorcing me by finally getting rid of this stuff!).  I'll be posting all of these items on RuffledBlog.com's  "Recycle Your Wedding" tab in about a week but I wanted to give you guys first dibs!  Without further ado:

Fine Birdcage Blusher Veil - Sara Gabriel's Edie Veil - worn for all of 1 hour - $50

17 Burlap and Gray Rosette Runners - Approximately 120" x 9" - Perfectly imperfect and 

handmade by me - $120

28 White linen runners 120" x 14" by  - purchased wholesale - $90

14 Hand painted Gray and Gold Leaf Book Planters with Stringed Book Pages-  I have extra materials to make 4 additional books (with or without planter hole)) at your request.  These can easily be flipped over if you decide not to use the cut sides - selling $150 for 14, $175 for 18

Six  Four antique white medium lanterns (10" tall) with candles (purchased second hand, but I never used them) $7 each or $25 for all 4.  and 3 large antique white (15") and 3 large antique blue lanterns (15") (purchased new, never used) - selling all 12 for $150

25 Handmade Moss Cans with chicken wire - (I just realized I never showed you guys how 

these came out at the wedding!! Here ya go - perfect with a big hydrangea) - $100

36 small turquoise votives with tealights - $30

108 Clear, 48 Turquoise, 24 Amber votives - some used/most new - $1 each or a $130 for the lot

Not shown - 60 oil burning candles that fit perfectly in the votives - 10 hours of burn time - $40

Not shown - 96 small candles that fit perfectly in the votives - 10 hours of burn time - $40

Not shown - probably almost 200 50 old books - see this link - these are going for FREE and are for pick up only.  I have all sorts of sizes and shapes, and a ton of small red books (would look super cute stacked up on a dessert table or gift table).  I used 2- 3 of them under each cardboard book as my centerpieces.  They have screw holes in them because they were screwed together as part of a window display.  They would also be great for all sorts of DIY project (book lamp anyone?)

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Given the bulk of these items, shipping fees may be expensive and are NOT included in the prices above.  All items are definitely available for pick up in Brooklyn, and depending on the item, I may be willing to meet in Manhattan or Albany for a drop off. I'll be posting all of these items on Ruffledblog in the next week or so - so if you or someone you know are interested please feel free to leave me a comment here or on my Kilo Bravo Inspired Facebook Page, or email me at Kayla.Bohan@gmail.com.

All of these items are being sold for literally a FRACTION of the cost (and trust me when I say I spent weeks on the handmade items).  I would be happy to NEGOTIATE the prices AND I'll happily sell the entire lot for $750 $500 - it's like one stop shopping for wedding decor! I hope someone enjoys these items as much as we did!

Easy Baby Art

So I've been hitting up baby showers and kid birthday parties like it's my job lately.  As much fun as I have picking out baby clothes (o em gee I'm not even being sarcastic, I really do love it) I wanted to start giving slightly more personal gifts.

In my opinion, art is REALLY personal.  It's really hard to give anyone art because everyone has different tastes, and if you give them something they don't like, they still feel obligated to put it up (at least for a little while)  But, I like to break my own rules.  So I stocked up on plastic dinosaurs from the dollar store, acrylic paint, printed paper, and a few frames from Ikea (Ribba and Sondrum lines).  I've seen tons of cute projects involving plastic toys and spray paint on Pinterest like this and this, but I like how mine are more of a minimalist artwork.

I started out by hand painting my dinosaurs with acrylic paint. At first my plan was to do something over the top trendy, like ombre dinosaurs on ikat and chevron paper.  But then I realized I didn't have ikat or chevron paper that matched my paint.  So I just had fun with it.  Boys get blue and argyle, girls get pink and florals, obvs.  And clearly, I did still manage to get in some ombre action.

I have to say - I was not a fan of the acrylic paint on the plastic.  It didn't cover evenly, and was sticky to the touch even after drying for a few days. It even peeled off in spots if I held it for too long, like peeling off glue from your skin. I re-spray painted a few of them (and the gold ones started with spray paint) which covered muuuuch better.  I sprayed everything with sealant and that seemed to fix the stickiness and sealed everything up nicely.  If I make more of these, I will only use spray paint next time.

I used my hot glue gun to attach the dinosaurs to the paper, and carefully taped my printed paper to the back of the matting (which I flipped to show the wrong side out because I wanted a crisp white and they had more of a cream hue on the right side). I slid the glass between the paper and covering on the back, so that someday when either the kids rip off the dinosaurs (they are pretty sturdy, but definitely detachable), or the parents feel they have had it up for a long enough amount of time to satisfy me, they can actually re-use the frames for real photos or maybe artwork their kids made.

Obviously Allen helped.  I don't think anyone has a more helpful cat than we do.

Ella was not amused that her towel on the back of the couch kept letting her sink in between the cushion and the back.

If looks could kill...

I also got this map printed from Jenna Sue Design.  The colors were lovely and the paper was so-soft.  I strongly suggest the "vintage wash" look, even if you have a more modern space.  It just came out gorgeously. She has a ton of prints available to personalize, and everything arrived quickly and carefully packaged.  Her blog is super cute too.

So I hope the mom's and their babies enjoy their easy 3-D baby art as much as I enjoyed making them. There is nothing more fun that sitting around painting small objects and trying to keep your cats out of the paint on a Saturday afternoon, amIright?

An Epiphany {Or I think I figured out my decorating style?}

When I was a child I dreamed about owning a home and decorating it accordingly.  I always assumed that depending on the type of home I ended up buying would dictate the decor. If  it was a cottage by the water there would be a sailor's anchor or seven scattered around the house with a sign mentioning shoes are optional, or if I had an old Victorian there would be several floral wallpapered powder rooms and a crystal bottle of brandy in every room.

But then, like a month ago, I was perusing Emily Henderson's blog and thought to myself, holy shit, I think I love mid century modern furniture.  Like lurrrve it. Laaaahhve it dahling. Like I want to roll around on a velvet couch, under a brass chandelier with a circle of wooden danish side chairs surrounding me.

I'm not kidding when I say this felt like a true epiphany. MIND. BLOWN.

I've been waiting for an excuse to use this gif for a long time.

And now that I've realized I love it - I feel like I'm seeing it everywhere.  Maybe it's a trend and I'm way late to the party (probably). But for once I don't feel like waiting to decorate my rental anymore.  I look around the apartment and want to get rid of everything and start from scratch (probably not). I've always purposely dragged my feet when it came to decorating this apartment because I didn't want to spend money on items that wouldn't translate well in my "forever home". And now I feel like I know exactly what I want, and will be able to make this style fit into any house we end up buying. Anyway - enough chit chat.  Let's get to the design porn:

That rug! Those chairs, Gah!! From Holly Becker of Decor8.

Brass. Wood. White. Turquoise. Pink. I. Can't. Handle. It. Thank you Emily for turning my world upside down.

Perfection.  I almost, almost want to inquire about the price. Antique by Stillnovo and listed here.
Update: I asked. It was killing me. $39,500.  Guess I know what to look for at yard sales this summer!!

I see a lot of brass in my future. And surprisingly, a lot of white walls. Pinned from Pinterest. Looks like my brassy gold fixation found a focus.

I've followed Mandi's blog for a long time (remember this?) and it amazes me how her style has evolved in the past few years.

Oh hai. One more styling from EmHen (that's my new nickname for her).  Don't those wooden legs and arms actually look soft?

So that is what I'm currently drooling over on my latest Pinterest board called Mid Century Living now that tax season is winding down. I'm feeling a serious itch to start thrifting with purpose because I feel like these styles will be something I can love for a a very long time, and it's not just a fleeting crush.  Am I the last person to hop on this MCM bandwagon?  It just feels like it's all I see now.  Can you picture any of these pieces in your home? Can we talk about how much hot pick is in all of the photos I decided to post? Will the rest of my "someday house" clash with the french country kitchen I always wanted? Now I need to start google searching MCM kitchens to figure out if I like that too!