Belly Up to the BAurrrrgh!.....Dahrlingk..

These three items were done as a fun project among some of my talented friends and co-workers. My versions of a pirate, a villainess, and a cowboy.

Design*sponge--YAY!

Grace Bonney over at design*sponge posted my Red Dahlia chair makeover on her blog, in her "before & after" section. I've received a lot of great comments on it, which is exciting. Although, I'm sure my husband is mildly dreading the spawn of further furniture diy projects it will undoubtedly lead to. (Buh-bye garage space!). I've been planning to sell it on Craig's List, so wish me luck. Design*sponge receives over 25,000 hits daily, so it was nice to get the project recognized. Grace has a great site and a great eye for various design projects; her site is a great source of inspiration. Head on over to it: http://www.designspongeonline.com/category/before-and-after
You can link to her home page at the side bar to the right of here.
Enjoy!
Leona

Enchanted Fairy 2

I finally got around to painting the second fairy in my girl's room. she gave me the best kudos: "Yits BOOTIFUL Mama!". I almost squeezed the goo right out of her. There is very little that happens on the face of this earth that is as special as a 2 1/2 yr old's ear-to-ear smile.

Under the Sea

These are some snaps of parts of a sea-themed mural I just did for a friend. The first two are "before" photos. She didn't want an entire underwater scene, just randomly placed critters on their blue walls, to give a feel of being underwater. My camera doesn't have a wide angle view, so instead of posting a whole wall, I'm posting some of the favorite critters. The white brackets in some of the art are parts of shelves that go around most of the room. This took me a little while as I tend to work in layers (and in small time slots due to my daily Mom schedule). Comments welcomed.

One Happy Chair Makeover

Here's another before/after. I only get to work on it in 20 minute chunks, then my 2 year old threatens to take over painting it, so I have to stop. Comments are welcomed, especially if they are nice ones. : )

Just like magic...

So I finally got the first garden fairy done for my little girl's room. This is the first of several elements I plan to add. I'm not doing a full mural, just a few small elements strategically placed. I have to be careful of even painting around her; she sees me painting, and she immediately wants to "help".

Enchanted Walls

I did this mural for a 9-yr old girl's room. She wanted an enchanted forest theme, I wanted to give her plenty to see. I also thought it would be good to use stronger colors, as opposed to anything too pale and "little girl-ish", so she could "grow with" it.
The family loves it, and it was a great first project to jump into. The mural actually covers 3 walls of her room (the 4th wall is all closet and the door), but here are just a few snippets. Enjoy.

So here's project number one: My art table. I found this table on craigslist; the top is a butcher block wood top, but was severely weathered, as the seller had used it outside as her potting table. Well, it was cheap, and just the right size I was looking for, so I scooped up the bargain. Got it into my den and thought, "Ugh--needs something...what can I do to it? Ah...PAINT! paint is so versatile and sassy and bold. It's an art table- so do some kind of art on it--have fun with it!" I let a big girlie squeal and got started.

After a few sporadic hours of paint and clear-coating just the top (the legs had a natural worn look that I sometimes like, depending on the piece; I prefer to call it a "well-loved" look), it's done. It was fun to do and adds some personality to the room.

Only problem is, is that it's now covered with other projects.