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Create your own inexpensive foliage!

February 25, 2020 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Are you ready for spring?

I don’t mind the winter, as long as there is snow and it’s pretty! Sometimes the pretty is just the trees’ silhouette outline on a colorful sky, since we haven’t had as much snow this winter. There have been a lot of gray, wet days. It has me itching to bring back color, so the other day, I took down all the winter decorations at our art studio and started creating some spring ones. Let me show you how I came up with my foliage!

As the founder of a non profit art studio, we get a good amount of local craft donations from other artists or businesses in town. Recently, we got some fabric samples from a home designer and it got me thinking if I could turn those into some inexpensive green, spring foliage.

I loved how there were different patterns, texture of fabrics and shades of colors. I started by cutting about 3″ long leaves. I didn’t measure or worry about the exact width or shape. This is a great activity to do during a movie or couch lounging one night.

Once I had a huge stack of leaves, I simply started hot gluing and folding them around some wire stems.

You can use whatever wire you have or you can pick some up in the craft floral section at your local craft store like I did. I added a dab of hot glue on the wire and kind of folded one end of the leaf around it. I don’t have any pictures of this step, but if you look closely you can see what I am saying.

I worked in about 3′ long pieces of wire and made a stack of this foliage as I went. I made 8 separate pieces, but you could make as many as you wanted. I intended for my foliage to hang like a garland, but you could create yours on dowel rods for a sturdy base to stick in a vase as well. There are lots of possibilities!

I love how the fabric creates a soft leaf and foliage look. It really makes it more believable by how it moves and does not have a harsh fold. I took my foliage to the studio and hung it down in our faux fireplace.

I love the natural, yet creative pop of inspiration it gives in the space.

It was a perfect way to add some spring decorations in an inexpensive way to our space. What do you think?

So, are you ready for spring? Or, do you want to will it into existence by creating spring looks too?

Creating doesn’t have to be expensive. Use what you have. If you have some old green Christmas decorations, you can cut that up for some leaves. Do you have some green shirts with a stain? You can use that too! On those little leaves, you can’t tell where they came from or what they use to be. When they are all strung up together though, they create a beautiful look!

Have fun and imagine the possibilities! If you create some inexpensive foliage, tag us on Instagram or Facebook so we can see!

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How to Make Your Own Wallpaper

June 27, 2016 By Erica Deuel 8 Comments

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For the past 18 months, I have been working little by little to transform our house into our home. If you have been following along, you know that I tend to shy away from conventional styles, colors, and methods. I got to a place some years ago where I became pretty comfortable and confident in my style. Rather than caring much about what people thought, I started to design around things that inspired and spoke to me. I think this little nook is the perfect snapshot of my process. It shows all the crazy thoughts in my head and how it comes to life in my design.

I had images that were a constant source of inspiration in one hand and a nook connected to a high traffic area that needed some life in the other. In this post, I share how I combined the two and ended up creating my own wallpaper in the process. It was fun, easy, and something I know you could do in your own home!

It started with this little nook.

For a while, I had samples of wrapping paper taped to sections of the nook. I pondered how I could bring the design of the paper to life on the walls. Ultimately, this lead me to taking that inspiration to another bedroom where I painted a floral wall inspired by the wrapping paper. Since I put that look somewhere else in our house, it left me once again trying to decide what to do with this nook. I wanted to accent it in some way. I tried several paint samples, but none of them looked right.

laundry nook beforeOne day I was drinking a tea and started flipping through a book I flip through often for inspiration. It sits on a side table to be a quick read. As I was thumbing through it for the 100th time, I had the thought, “I wish I could see all the pages at once. They are so beautiful.” Almost as quick as the thought came, it was followed by thinking of my accent wall I had been trying to figure out. Could these book pages be collaged in a way to make wallpaper?

how_to_be_a_wildflower_bookI really didn’t give it any time or research before knowing I wanted to try my idea. I started ripping my beloved book up page by page. Once I had ripped out all the pages, I had a huge stack of beautiful paper. I used scissors and cut off all the frayed edges. I was then ready to figure out the wallpaper method.

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wallpapering_materialI taped a few pages up in different directions to figure out if I wanted a messy scattered look or if I wanted it to look more like organized rows. I decided I liked the messy look. I went to Lowes and asked where the wall paper paste was located. To my surprise, there was a roller of wallpaper paste made for doing wallpaper boarders. It was the perfect size for my project! It was a small bottle with a roller to easily apply the paste to my book pages.

I gathered a few other supplies. The most important was the wallpaper smoothing tool. It’s similar to a putty knife or a joint knife used in drywall work. It’s critical to flatten your paper and push out the air bubble. You will also need something to cut your pages as you work around light switches or to reach the borders of your wall. You might want to try an x-acto knife or box cutter to trim the pages. I found it easiest to hold my piece of paper in place, draw a line where it might need to be trimmed against the door trim/ceiling/wall corner/etc, to use scissors to cut the paper, and then start the applying method.

DIY_wallpaperMost of the pieces didn’t need to be trimmed. I simply picked a page and decided which side of it I liked best, and rolled my wallpaper paste onto the side that would be up against the wall. I rotated the piece of paper different little angles so it didn’t look perfect and pressed it onto the wall. I then used the smoothing tool and pressed all the wrinkles and air bubbles out.

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wallpapering5A few little things I thought through as I worked…

  • The book printed its images on both sides of the pages. Sometimes it was really hard to decide which side to display and which side to glue to the wall. Fortunately, one book was not enough to cover my wall. I ordered a second book and got to use some of the sides that I didn’t get to use before.
  • I tried to space colors out on the wall, I didn’t want a bunch of blueish pages, for instance, to all end up together. Spreading them all apart gave a more balanced look.
  • I placed some of my favorite quotes in more prominent eye level spaces. Smaller text and images I placed more towards the ceiling or floor.
  • I tried to place a full-page pictures in the midst of some quotes, so it didn’t end up that all the pictures were bunched up together and all the quote pages bunched up together.
  • I stood back often to take a look at the wall to see what needed to happen next. This helped place smaller print scaled pages throughout the wall to help other pages pop out more.
  • I was careful in my placement to make sure that the coverage was solid and none of the wall was left poking out through any small cracks or gaps.

wallpapering6It was really messy. I used a huge old sign and placed it on the floor as my mobile work space, and it had gluey wallpaper paste all over it. I probably could have sorted my pages out to have a stack of images vs. a stack of quotes, etc, but I didn’t. The creative in me decided to just go for it. Some of you organized folks will probably have a much more calculated way to go about it, which is great!

For me, I viewed it as a puzzle and kept filling it in until it was all filled up to the sides and from the ceiling to the floor. After I had a solid collage, I rolled my wallpaper paste over the whole wall as a layer of protection from dirty fingers and hairy dogs.

wallpapering_is_messyI love how it all came together! It’s so colorful and fun! The book, How to be a Wildflower by Katie Daisy, costs $11.46 on Amazon. I ended up buying two books from there. What an inexpensive way to buy wallpaper we love, to brighten up a small space!

small_wall_wallpapered2This door leads into our garage. It is the most used door in our house. We can see this little nook from our kitchen, which is part of why I wanted to brighten up the space! It is also our walk through laundry room into my craft room. This small nook is one high traffic space!

colorful_kitchenI love how these beautiful pages are perfect for inspiration and deep conversations. The other day I was sitting at the table with my kids, and I asked them what they thought one of the pages meant when it said, “gather unlikely friendships.” It has led into some of the most real, challenging, and beautiful conversations.

Now, as I stand here and fold clothes, I can turn around and see so much beauty. If you don’t follow Katie Daisy on Instagram, you should. She is so talented and lives with her husband and sweet boy near Bend, Oregon. She originally painted each one of these images and then scanned them to create the book. Her feed is full of gorgeousness from her work and nature.

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Processed with VSCO with c1 presetThis little nook is a well used space in our home, and now as we come and go and just live…we can be inspired. It’s a small wall with a huge punch.

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colorful_kitchen_decor

Matt and I joke that the more we do to this house, the more that we make it “ours”, the more we might have a hard time reselling it someday. This house is full of color and personality…just like us! We love it!

If you are interested in some of the other projects featured in these pictures, you can find more info in these posts…

Teal Kitchen Table

Sunburst Mirrors

Pink Lockers

Thank you so much for checking out my homemade wallpaper post. I hope you have a great week and get to create something beauitful!

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DIY Floral Wallpaper

April 22, 2016 By Erica Deuel 6 Comments

homemade_floral_wallpaperHave you shopped for wallpaper recently?

I have, and it can be expensive! I shopped a variety of stores and even looked into the removable wallpaper, and I just couldn’t stomach the price.

We have this room that has acted as our foster bedroom and guest room. It’s kind of an awkward sized room. Based on the door’s entrance, closet, and one small window the bed has had to be against this wall to allow for the most free floor space as possible.

bare_wall_beforeThe small window does not let in a lot of natural light, so I painted this room a very, very faint blue to try and brighten up the space as much as possible. You can see the before wall color and other half of the room here.

I have loved the wall color, but there is a lot of it. I’m also realizing not one room in my house has all four walls the same. Accent walls are currently my jam. Off and on I have thought of wall papering that back wall to break up some of the blue. After researching a few papers, I realized the ones I loved would cost me around $300. With a list of other projects I want to do in the house, I couldn’t justify spending that amount on a room that is pretty finished compared to other spaces that need more TLC.

After ruling out wallpaper, I considered stenciling the wall since I did my daughter’s and boys’ bedrooms and love them. There was a part of me that wanted something different from a stencil though.

About five years ago, I painted a floral wall for my daughter’s nursery. I loved it, but it took forever. I was hesitant to do that again, but then I realized its been awhile. I have learned a few things, and why not try it again. It’s just paint! If I didn’t like it, I could always sand and paint over it. I went for it.

paintThe first step was to pick out my colors. One reason I think my first floral wall took so long was I used cheap paint. I decided I needed to use nicer than the the least expensive acrylic paint bottles at the craft store. I ended up opting for paint samples mostly of the HGTV paint line at Lowes, and they were perfect.

I used the same wrapping paper as my inspiration that I used on my last sign. Simple, sweet flower shapes would be my base and I would embellish them a little more towards the end of the project.

My second step was to figure out placement of color and different shapes. I picked two flowers to start with placement/color and grew one new color and flower/leaf at a time. Whenever I did that new flower, I tried to do a few of them at the same time…just spread out across the wall.

painted_flowerspainted_flowers1painted_flowers2painted_flowers3painted_flowers4painted_flowers5painted_flowers6Each flower needed two coats. The only one that needed more was my fushia flower. The color has some red in it…which is always a hard color to paint. Red will always needs lots of coats. After each flower was covered in coats, I started adding more detailed layers to the flowers. I ended up leaving the limey green leaves in one coat. I liked the painted look it created.painted_flowers7These pictures aren’t the best but are what I sent to my sisters and a few friends as I painted. I was obsessed and excited as the floral wall took shape. It was addicting and really only took a few days working off and on! I made a decision to enjoy it and not let it stress me out. I painted each flower like I would on a sign. I didn’t worry about the edges being “perfect”, but left them to have a slight brushed look. The simple imperfection and not correctly centered flower centers make all the little artsy elements come together to create a really fun/funky yet pretty look that I love. painted_flowers8

painted_floral_wallI really love how it came out! The flowers are simple yet beauitful. The pops of colors play together well and create a really warm, fun feel. That light blue wall was the perfect base to embellish on.

homemade_flower_wallpaperThis floral wall allowed that room to be a little more fun, yet it didn’t add a huge amount of color that would make a small, poorly lit room feel even smaller or dark. DIY_flower_wallpaperWhat do you think? Would you try to paint your own “wallpaper”? The thing with this design is I can just paint over it when we tire of it. For now, we love hanging out in this room.

I also can’t stop painting these flowers. I made another sign that includes the flowers and I just love it!

It is well with my soul wood sign3What do you think? Does this simple design yet pop of color pull at your eyes and heart too? This hymn just adds a sweet touch for a powerful reminder to hang in your home. If you are interest in this sign, you can see it in my shop!

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You are My Sunshine (and finding inspiration)

April 3, 2016 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

wood_sign_tutorialThe creativity in this world amazes me.

There are times when I’m out or browsing online and I see something that stops me in my tracks. I can’t help but think how beautiful that creation is. I may not need that item, but there is something about the colors, design, uniqueness that caught my attention.

Creativity comes in all different ways, as I mentioned before in this post.

I love being inspired by other artists.  Sometimes either the placement of their design, the colors they paired together, the shapes they use spur an idea in me. I found a wrapping paper the other day at TJMaxx that did this to me. I instantly fell in love with the paper and knew I needed to bring it home with me, if only to continued to be inspired by the design.

I wrapped a few presents with it and then taped a piece to the wall. Could wrapping paper be turned into wall paper? This I’m not sure, but I may want to try it.

wallpaper_room_inspirationWhile the wrapping paper was taped to the wall, I looked at it off and on and thought how much I loved the print. I decided I wanted to try my hand at painting some flowers inspired by this design. I had a base wood sign that I had already built and painted white. It was a blank canvas waiting to be embellished and make into something. I came up with this idea to create a sign off a phrase that I have done a couple of times before (like in this wood sign post), but this time to embellish the sun with flowers inspired by this wrapping paper.

I painted the words, the sun, and then was ready for the fun part. I picked out my own colors for the flowers and just started having fun and painting away.

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painting_flowers

painted_flowersIt was so fun just going for it. I loved laying my colors on top of each other and adding some details to the flowers to add another depth and color to the painting. It took a little while to wait for colors to dry before I could build on them. In between homeschooling and life I would capture a layer or two, so this part of the sign alone took about three days. It was worth it. I love how the sun was so much more fun and unique because of these flowers and to think it was all inspired by a piece of wrapping paper.

I was super nervous to add my rustic touch to the sign after spending so much time painting the flowers. I had a piece of art I loved and I was afraid I might ruin it to sand and stain the whole sign. I wanted to take that risk though. I knew the potential of the sign being even more beautiful with that light rustic/warm touch, so I slowly started sanding my creation very lightly.

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making_a_rustic_signAfter I sanded, I painted on Minwax’s Early American stain and rubbed it off with an old cloth.

sign_tutorialI loved what this step did to the sign. My last step was to add the frame and stain it as well. I quickly measured the pieces and nailed them into place. My sign was finished, and I just adore it!

you_are_my_sunshine_sign2

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you_are_my_sunshine_sign5I think it is a beautiful combination of color with a rustic/artsy edge. It’s so fun. This popular phrase has been made into all kinds of signs, but a small piece of wrapping paper helped me create a sign that I had not done/seen before. I love that we can find inspiration in the craziest of places.

you_are_my_sunshine_signThere are items that we can expect to find inspiration. Magazines, blog posts, and Pinterest are just few normal places to find inspiration. What are some of the weird ones you have found inspiration?

A worn down barn?

The way a creek trickles over shallow rocks?

Weathered chairs?

What else?

What is something that has inspired a creation of yours?

wood_sign_tutorialIn a world that is constantly changing, evolving, and inspiration can be found everywhere, I think it is so important to lean into some of that to the next level of depth. Rather than just seeing something you love, figure out why you love it and do something about it. I loved the shapes of the flowers, so I took this inspiration and made something of my own with it. Instead of just looking, I used my hands and made something. Try it!

Thank you so much for joining me here today. If you may be interested in purchasing this sign, please check my shop to see if it is still available.

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