If you like it then you should of put some spray on it...

Yeah, that title might have been a reach.....and you are welcome for getting that song stuck in your head.
Moving on...
People apparently understand that I have a spray paint problem, and because of this they often seek me out for tips in using spray paint. I am in no way a professional, but I have learned a few things along the way. So here they are, my tips and tricks to spray painting pretty much anything:

Use good spray paint...Rustoleum is my favorite, but my rule of thumb is to spend at least $4 on spray paint. I learned my lesson here, for probably the thousandth time, that cheap spray paint never turns out the way you want it to, or it will take 20 coats, like it did on Ellie...

Three words, long even strokes...that's what she said...oops sorry, inappropriate...But really, you want a light even mist, your hand should never stop moving. It will take several coats this way, but trust me it's worth it.

Never stop or end on the thing you are spraying. Again, long and even sprays. Start spraying before you get to your object and end after your object. You should start and end on whatever your using to catch the over spray. 

When spraying anything that will get traffic (furniture) or is glossy (my green vase, below), sand it down or use a liquid deglosser. It will help rough up the surface, so that it will absorb the spray paint. 

Keep the nozzle at least 10" from whatever your spraying. Nuff' said.

Spray paint has yet to go no VOC (as far as I know), so you should apply it outside or if you're like me, in the garage with the garage door open, and you should wear a mask. You should also leave it in the ventilated area for 24 hours to prevent off-gassing, before bringing it into your home.

Any other good spray painting tips out there? I'd love to hear them!

P.S. I want to take a quick second to thank my friends, family, and readers for your donations to Isaac and his family! We raised over $2000 in just a couple days! Your generosity has been overwhelming, and is a great reminder of all of the good people that are still left in this world. If you would still like to donate go here for more information (or check out Erin's blog, who created this entire campaign) or simply click on the widget in the right sidebar! 

Cover those things up...

Now back to our regular scheduled blogging:
My living room Expedit bookcase has slowly been evolving with all it's new styling. Remember when it looked like this:

Ugh...so boring...than it looked like this:

Better, but not quite there...Part of the problem was this:

The keys, I love, only because they have sentimental value (they are each a key from a past home we had separate and together, and they key to the jewelry box my engagement ring was in)...and I'm nothing if not sentimental. The books though, weren't meshing well with my new styling. They were boring and beige. So I took a tip from 5th grade me and covered them. Instead of the old school kraft paper, however, I used fabric. And because, I used no tape/glue, and just covered and tucked the fabric around the book, it is in no way permanent....and because I used fabric that I had lying around, it was free...although I would love to find some fun/bright fabric (maybe in the $1 sample bin)...
This is what they look like now:

A small update but, one step closer to being finished with this little "moment" in my living room....on a side note, does anyone else find it kind of odd when designers say "moment."

 How about you guys? Anybody else channeling your 5th grade self for decorating tips? There would be a lot of posters of Devon Sawa and possibly the Spice Girls...probably...

Those could look better...

Good Monday, and I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend!
Here's a story...about a woman that can never leave things alone....In fact, she cannot sit through a movie, without rearranging furniture or spray painting something...true story.
She was always thinking that things could look better...
She might be slightly insane...
It was no secret that she was obsessed with the gold dipped trend that's been going on lately...

Source

Source

Source

...so it should be no surprise, that she wanted to try her hand at it herself...

The supplies:

Please excuse the dirty dishes in the sink, she had just finished eating dinner...and she is quite lazy...

Taped off:

Sprayed..
and
Done:

It was pure love, I tell ya. 

oh, and by the way she is me...Enter shocking gasps..

I cannot wait to break out those champagne glasses for holiday parties!!

For the top three I used metallic spray paint...and yes, I may have gone over board...that is champagne glasses and a hurricane..

The bowl I found in my attic awhile back, I have no idea where it came from, and it was hot pink. I sprayed it white and  literally just dipped the edges in gold metallic craft paint that I had spread all over a paper plate (I know, real genius stuff going on over here, people).

It's worth mentioning, that I never planned on using this bowl for food, in fact I plan to use it to corral some of my jewelry that ends up EVERYWHERE throughout the house, if you want them to be food safe, make sure you buy paint that is non-toxic and meant for porcelain.

How about you guys? Any dipping projects lately?
And, there you go Cici, I helped a sister out :)
I'm sharing this over at:
Homemade Gingers Ginger Jamboree
Made in a Day's Christmas Holiday Craft and Recipe Link Up 
Boogie Board Cottage's Masterpiece Monday
Sumo's Sweet Stuff 's Market Yourself Monday
Red Head can Decorate's Christmas Link Party
Craftaholics Anonymous' Christmas Craft Link Party
Hookin' up with the House of Hepworths

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wasn't going to write anything today, because too often, Thanksgiving blog posts seem to be an excuse for people to become braggy and self righteous. This holiday should be about being grateful, but it should not be a reason to list everything you believe to be perfect in your life. At the same time, you don't want to seem ungrateful. It's a fine line. So here it is, the obligatory "what I'm thankful for" post, an honest hard look at what I'm thankful for:

My health and the health of those around me. I thank Him everyday for my family and I's health.

My family. Regardless of the fact that I am so different than most of my family members, we support each other. We may not agree on the path's each of us choose and deep down probably judge one another for them, yet in the end we are there for each other when we need be. 

My friends. New ones, and old ones. I'm lucky enough to still have friends from grade school, I don't know a lot of people that can say that. I have true friends. Friends that I might not see weekly, there may be forgotten birthdays or missed calls, but we always pick up where we left off, and I don't know what I would do without them.

My job. I'm pretty lucky in that I love what I do. I will never make a great living at this...it's just not going to happen, design is in a way an art, and we all know how much artists make, but I'm thankful that I don't have to be the breadwinner. In the same aspect, I am thankful to have a part time job outside of the design world, that not only accepts that I am trying to get a business off the ground, but encourages/supports it. I am thankful for a boss/bosses that want me to succeed, even if it's not permanently working for them. No one understands what this means to me.
My two baby boys:

These two make my heart melt. They are a part of our little family, and give me a small taste of what motherhood could be. 

and of course...last but not least, that guy up here...you know him as, Race. I am not going to pretend we have the perfect marriage, or pretend that he puts me in a pedestal while he does all the cleaning/cooking/laundry and brings me breakfast in bed. But I love him, which IS enough. He is supportive, caring,  loving, smart, funny, and what can I say he really is my best friend. He plays an equal part in our life. He will be the best father in the world and even though he is not in his dream career (he likes his job, but it's not exactly a job you dream about as a child), he still encourages for me to find mine. In fact, this whole thing was his idea.

So that's it, the obligatory Thanksgiving post...

Happy Thanksgiving all! Remember, things are never perfect, but we all have so much to be thankful for, so let's focus on that for the day!

A little art on those walls...

My office needed some art on it's walls...it was boring:

So I moved the "so light in this room it blended in" sunburst mirror into the living room...where I've been meaning to move it to for like 3 months and got going...I used this method and this is what I came up with:

So, where everything is from...because, I know you want to know...The gold foil is actually a wallpaper sample, and the kissing children is from allposters.com. The peacock was from an old calendar.

These three:

are my newest favorites. These postcards are each unique and are based on different patterns from different cultures (Native American, Egyptian, Tibetan). They are carved on a linoleum block or rubber block and printed by hand with printing ink. The top right one (I know it's hard to see in this picture), is an elephant, which apparently I'm obsessed with (exhibit A and B, found here and here).They are from here. 

The wall isn't done yet. It needs more, but I know it will evolve as I find new prints that I love. 

What about you guys? Any new holes in your walls?