Category Archives: girls room

0

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird…it’s a plane…no!…it’s SUPER MIA!!!

|

A couple of weekends ago I did this super hero city on the wall of one of Cambridge’s Finest SuperHero-esses: Miss Mia the Magnificent!  Little Miss Mia is quite the superhero aficionado and loves playing dress up in her many costumes BUT until now she had no where to showcase her beautiful outfits.  That has all changed now thanks to this wonderful idea from her awesome Mom.  (Good job Mom!)

Now Mia has her very own city to save from peril including her own spotlight with her name in it and in the lower left building a capital “M” in lights to make it just a little more special.

Thanks for keeping our city safe from bad guys Mia.  The world is a better place with your cute little face in it.

0

I joined a sorority!

|
Ok, maybe I didn’t actually join a sorority BUT I did paint some FOUR FOOT TALL lawn letters for one!  The super nice ladies of Ioma Gamma Upsilon at U-Mass Amherst contacted me to customize their new letters and I couldn’t wait.  It’s probably the most unique (read: weirdest) request I’ve had to date so I was obviously all about it.
  
Ioma Gamma Upsilon’s colors are ultramarine & green and they wanted an all-over floral print on the letters.  I created a custom light teal color for the background and then did a simple white, blue & green design over the entire surface.   I also sealed the letters with a matte clear coat so that they wouldn’t have a glare during photo shoots but would be resistant to beer-bong mishaps.  (Or is that just in fraternities?  …Either way.)    
Now, before you tell me how great my all-over design is, because I can tell you’re dying to…I have a confession…this is actually my best-friend Liz’s design.  It’s what happens when she’s distracted and doodling.  These awesome little flowers and swirls just pour out of her pen…and then I snatch them up and make them life size on huge letters.  That’s what friends are for, right??  Thanks Liz!!

Sadie’s all ready to pledge.  Get this girl a paddle!

1

Custom Artwork with a Paisley Print

|

 These paisley paintings were done for a little lady’s room inspired by the lampshade her Mom bought  at PBK from the Tera Paisley Collection.

All of the designs mimic the style of the fabric but are completely original to match the overall color-scheme of bright pinks, purples, greens and blues in her room.

Because there is no discernible top or bottom, left or right, they can be hung in any order and any direction.  They can be hung separately, one on each wall, in a row, in a grid, in a circle, on the ceiling…whatever her little heart desires.  
This one kind of looks like some sort of weird amoeba.  I’m ok with that. 

Contact me if you’d like some custom paintings for your own little one.  Thanks for stopping by!
1

Getting Ready for Sadie: the Bedding

|
Getting the nursery ready for our upcoming bundle of squish has been really fun.  It’s still weird to think that I’m going to be the Mom and that this is all for my own daughter but as our due date approaches (Jan. 1st!) it’s becoming more and more real. 
Part of it feeling more real is that my Mom completed the crib set that she made for us for the baby shower and it came out cuter than I could have ever imagined!  We got the fabric from my friend Aurora’s store, Fabric Bliss, which is located in Denver but they have a very easy-to-navigate online shopping feature.  I emailed Aurora and told her that I was looking for something “dainty but not girly, that coordinates but doesn’t match, has a vintage feel and it can’t be pink!”  Immediately she wrote back and suggested the Seaside collection from October Afternoon.  

And it’s beyond perfect!!

All of the fabrics coordinate with each other but don’t necessarily “match”, the prints are dainty enough for a baby girl but not drowned in pink-on-pink and they have an adorably vintage feel that goes perfectly with the vintage feel we are going for in the nursery.  

My Mom also made this precious mermaid-tailed receiving blanket (her own design) and I can’t get enough of it!  Thanks Mom!!  You’re the greatest!

0

Happy Critters Custom Playground Painting

|
This custom 24″x36″ painting was made just for Vivian who turned 2 last weekend to bring more color to her “not too pinky-girly” nursery and came to me my favorite way, through word of mouth advertising.

Included in the painting are Vivan’s favorite stuffed animals, herself and of course, a girl’s best friend, her dog, Milo.   

Vivan wasn’t home to see the painting in person when I dropped it off but luckily her Mom shot me this adorable play-by-play of when she first saw it:

“I wanted to let you know about Vivian’s reaction when she first saw your painting.  She saw it as soon as she walked into her room yesterday afternoon, and did a total double-take.  Then she pointed at Dolly in the picture and said her name, and went to grab the actual Dolly from her toy bin so she could hold her just like she is in the picture.  Then she pointed at each of her “friends” in the picture and named them, and also pointed out Milo.  I asked her if she liked the picture, and she said, “Yesssss!””


Reactions like that make this job even sweeter, if that’s possible.

And, as if that weren’t enough, piggy-backed on top of all that sweetness was this painting also done for Vivian commissioned by the original word-of-mouth advertiser, the customer I painted Ryan’s Safari for.
Little V is a second generation Chinese-American, this is her birth animal, the tiger and her name written in Chinese characters.  It was painted to coordinate-with but not necessarily match the playground painting in order to keep the room from looking too “theme-y” (which is definitely a word) and topped off with a distressed white frame.

Thanks for stopping by and please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions if you’d like your own custom nursery artwork!  


…don’t be a stranger, ya’hear?

0

Giving in to Trends: Ombre Paint Chip Art

|
I spent a good portion of my teenage years rejecting all things trendy and popular.  That habit has stuck with me now into my late 20’s (ok, early 30’s) whenever I see something adorable on another craft blog and/or everybody’s favorite website, Pinterest.  (See, I’m even trying to pretend like I don’t totally love Pinterest.)  Instead of happily jumping on the bandwagon and admitting that something is adorable, I dog ear it and come back later, trying not to make eye contact with it and acting like it’s not so great. 
Today I decided that it was time for me to make eye contact with paint chip art and I’m glad I did because it was a fun and easy project (not to mention practically free!) that only took about an hour to finish.  
Here’s how I did it:
First, go to your favorite paint store and grab some paint chip samples from the big wall of colors (or use different colored construction paper).  I actually felt a little bad about taking so many so I asked the guy behind the counter if it was ok.  He shrugged with complete indifference and I was guilt-free.  

Next, find a small circular object to outline onto the paint chips to utilize as much of the colored area as possible- I used a small roll of tape- and cut out your circles.

Experiment with the layout of your circles until you have ’em just how you want ’em.

Prepare your frame– I got this white matted frame for $5.99 at the Christmas Tree Shop by my house- the frame has some dings in it but I’m writing them off as “shabby chic.”

Remove the mat and backing from the frame and outline the opening of the mat directly onto the cardboard backing.

Now, starting and the bottom and beginning with the lightest layer, glue the circles to the cardboard using a glue stick.  The second layer should overlap the first slightly and the circles should become progressively darker towards the top of the cardboard.

You only have to fill in the area inside of the outline we made but be sure to overlap the edges so that none of the backing shows.  
To add a letter, take another paint chip in a coordinating color and draw your letter backwards on the BACKSIDE of it.    

Cut out the letter, glue it into place wherever your little heart desires and presto- you’re an artist.

I decided to let some of the lettering from the names of the paint show on my final product.  It gives it extra home-made-i-ness.  
Now you have a personalized gift to give as a new baby or shower present and no-one has to know about the ridiculous internal struggle that it took to make it.   

Happy Friday!