Shelves, shelves & more shelves

How do you go about staging shelves? I wish I was a professional decorator so this post could be a step by step how to get perfect decorative shelves. But I am not. I only know a few guidelines to go by. So if you are like me and don't really know what you are doing, here are a few things to remember...
 
1.) Think about balance.
In my living room, I have two sets of built in shelves that flank my windows. They each have five shelves. Notice how on three of the shelves there is something going across the whole shelf but on the other two, the books only go across half way. When using both sides of the shelf I made sure to skip every other shelf to break it up.
 
2.) Think about color.
I painted the back of the shelves black to bring more attention to what the shelves are holding. See how the white items pop against the black back ground? I broke up all the darkness on the fourth shelf with that tin picture and white mat. I also separated the books by color to add more color blocking affects.

3.) Think about proportion.
This is the other side of the window. I think they built it smaller just to irritate me. Why cant they be the same size! Due to this side being smaller I made sure not to use a giant item that would take up all the back ground. I didn't want anything looking too big and squished.

 

4.) Think about height.

This is a small latter shelf that lives in my living room. I used the tall pineapple on the left and balanced that out with the tall antique doll on the right. For color, I love how the wooden doll pops against the different color books in the background. The red vintage bus unites that shelf with the one below it because of the red book.

 

 

5.) Think about pieces you LOVE.

A picture of my husbands father (who is no longer with us) sits on the top shelf, along with the monogram for our last name. Below that is a birdhouse my father built for my late grandmothers craft business. These things are very special to us. Incorporate the things you love and you cant go wrong. For color, I stacked yellow books by the yellow art.

 

 

6.) Think about groups of three.

For some reason unknown to me, groups of three are more aesthetically pleasing. Notice the three jars holding my office supplies sitting on three books. Next to that I have 1 frame and 2 bottles =3 with three magazine holders next to that. You can bet that I will be adding a third globe as soon as I find one I like. Hahaha

 

 

Here we have the rule of three again with the two pieces of art and one bottle. I also kept in mind the height as I used a large canvas to fill the space and reach up to the globes height to balance them. I am not even going to talk about where I added the color! Hahaha!! I know, my office has so much color its blinding. How else will I stay awake and get work done?

 

 

On my Ikea shelves I kept height in mind by turning a painting on its side. This way it looked in proportion with the skinny long train painting. I also propped my lamp on a stack of books to make it appear taller and line up with the top of the painting. This gave it more balance.

 

 

What cool shelves have you staged lately? Do you like to redo them often? I know some people switch them up every few weeks. I'm not one for moving things around allot. It takes me a long time to put something together that I love so I'm afraid to change it. Have a fun foot ball filled weekend!

 

Stay Humble

Amber

Lightning Picture Frames

It's almost Friday! Just a little while longer and it will be the weekend. What do you guys have planed? My weekend will be busy with a trip to Lowe's for the supplies I need to build a closet desk for a client. You can count on me posting about that project! I will also be making an Ikea run. I really wish we had one closer than San Diego. And then there is Super Bowel Sunday. I cant promise that I will watch the game but I will definitely be in front of the TV stuffing my face and chatting. Not at the same time of course.

I have finished three more frames and wanted to share them. This is the "Lightning" style frame, which is the most complicated frame to make out of the four styles. Hence the higher price.

The 4x6

The 5x7

 
The 8x10

I went a little moodier with the colors than the first set. I also went with the gold stripes sense gold is making a huge comeback lately. You can find all three in my Etsy Shop.  So what do you guys think? Any special colors or designs you would like to see? Enjoy your day!

Stay Humble
Amber

Scallop Picture Frames

Hi guys! Sorry I have been MIA. I have been busy working on my frames in an attempt to finally open my Etsy Shop. Kind of silly to have a Facebook/Blog about Frame Candy when I have no frames finished. So that is changing. I wanted to share three frames that I finished yesterday. I have been working on them a while (as in days) I was having a hard time finding a protecting glaze that I liked. But Michael's came to my rescue when Lowe's and Home Depot let me down. So here they are...

The yellow 4x6

The blue 5x7 

 

 The white 8x10

 

All three can be purchased in my Etsy Shop. Don't forget, I also take custom orders. Have a wonderful day! I'm off to finish the other six frames I'm working on.

Stay Humble
Amber

Make the Art you want

Have you ever been on a art search for a special piece, to go in a particular spot in your home only to never find it? I have. There have been times that I searched for months. I got sick of looking and decided to take matters into my own hands. Literally!

There are five rooms in my house that I have made art for. I am hear to tell you that you don't need to be an artist to do it. If you have something in mind or see something that inspires you- make it! If you flunked art class then make something abstract. It will look like you did it all on purpose. Haha! There are no rules to creating art. That's what makes it so wonderful!

I made this for my guest/nieces bedroom. If you know how to use scissors then you can make this. I cut the pieces out of printed scrap book paper and Mod Podged it onto a canvas that I had painted white. It was that simple.

 
These guys live in my dinning room. One is a black and white painting on canvas of some shapes and the other is string art. (I was inspired by Jesse at Nine Red. He makes the most amazing string art. His Etsy shop is worth looking at!)

This is my version of  Natasha Wescoat- June Tree. I loved this tapestry but didn't have $209.99 for it. So I tried to recreate it with the colors I have in my bedroom. It doesn't even come close to her amazing skill but it works for the room.

This fish art is in my office. I painted it when I found the wooden fish (in yesterdays post) at a thrift store. I used it to make the stencil and then painted away.

 

Last is the large painting I did in my living room. It is a large wall that needed something big. I found a large printed canvas at Ross on clearance. It wasn't a print I liked but the size was amazing for the price. So I took it home and primed over the print to create a blank canvas. I have allot of black, white and greys in this room so I wanted to bring in color. I made this stencil (which you have already seen on the side table I'm selling.) I added some rainbow stripes and called it a day. (Sorry for the horrible photo. I was in a hurry and had to use one from my phone.)

 

 

Maybe this weekend you can make some art for your house? I would love to see it! Even if you are not an artist it will be a special piece that no body else has in the world. That alone makes it a priceless treasure. Have a art filled weekend!

 

Stay Humble
Amber

Knock Knock a new door

A newly painted door is a great way to update your home. It makes such a statement and its cheep and easy to do. Every time I walked through this door it made me want to fall asleep. So boring! It wasn't doing anything for our house either.

It was difficult to pick the color. My house is light yellow with white trim. What goes with yellow? I didn't want the same red door you see all over the place.(Don't get me wrong, I still love a red door!) I thought about different blues but I just wasn't feeling them. Everything I thought of just seemed so blah. Then I thought about how we would like to paint the house in the future. What direction we would like to go with it. That lead me to black. Yes, I said black. I thought it would be the perfect contrast this house needed to make more of a statement. Lets face it, pale yellow doesn't scream "look at me" so black came to the rescue!

It took me one day to put two coats of oil based primer and three coats of black paint on the door. (I wanted to make sure it was ready for high traffic) I applied most of it with a small foam roller and used a paint brush for the groves and around the window. Using the foam roller is very important if you want to avoid brush strokes which lead to an ugly door.

Much better! I tied in more black with a bench to hold the plants I haven't killed yet. A black wind chime, a black and white monogram H flag and some black and white house numbers I made. (Sorry, you don't get to see those)


 I also made this door wreath to spice it up a little.

So there she is. Its a nice balance for me and the house. Me being more eclectic and the house being on the traditional side. The next thing on the list is to replace the lights (1 by the door & the 2 on the garage)

 Are you guys trying to find the courage to paint your door a fun color? I say go for it! Its just paint. It can always be repainted if you hate it. Have a great day!

Stay Humble
Amber

I heart a good frame gallery wall

 

I wanted to talk about frame gallery's today. I'm a little obsessed with them. There is something about having a ton of awesome prints/paintings/art work/photos in one place. They are great on their own but together they become one wall of awesomeness!

 

This is the gallery in my guest room/nieces room. This was the perfect solution for this big wall, being it is the pathway to the bed. I couldn't place a piece of furniture here to ground a big picture so a gallery wall it was.

 

1,3,4,7,8,9,11- Are all pieces I found at thrift stores. I painted the frames to tie them together.

2- I drew this deer silhouette and placed it on scrapbook paper. The frame I painted and is a thrift store find.

5- A map of Sequoia National Park I picked up during a family vacation. I mod podged it to a piece of wood I had on hand.

6 & 10- Ikea mirrors that I painted white. (Given to me by a friend)

12- This deer head hook is from Marshall's.

 

I painted this white tree in my living room/entry way and filled it with black and white family photos. (Yes, I know, my dogs are in half the pictures. We are those kind of crazy dog owners) 

 

 

Just to give you an idea of how large it is, I had Koda sit by it for you. It's around 8 feet high.

 

 

Next up is the hallway. You probably already saw this furniture redo HERE. This little nook in my hallway is a weird one. It's an awkward size and doesn't get allot of light. I also have a off centered light switch to make matters worse so I decided to off set it with a gallery. This is what it looks like for now. I do have some art I'm planing on swapping out and a few frames I want to paint.

 

1- My 5 year old nephew's water color painting in a thrift store frame.

2- My (first car) 1974 VW Bug hubcap. This was one of the hubcaps on my VW when I purchased it. I later restored the car and bought new hubcaps. Just  a FYI in case you were thinking there is a little Bug driving around with only three hubcaps.

3- A family portrait my 9 year old niece drew me.

4- Thrift store art.

5- A large arrow my father made out of a mop handle. (He has too much time on his hands. Hahaha)

6- A photo my photographer grandfather took of my mother when she was 25.

7- Another photo he took of my parents wedding.  

 

1- Photo of my parents at Prom.

2- Water color/ink flower I drew on a book page.

3- Photo of my mother at Knotts Berry Farm on her honeymoon.

4- Pencil drawing of a lion I picked up at the thrift store.

5- Water color/ink arrows I drew on a book page.

6- A shadow box from the thrift store with my mothers wedding dress jacket, garter belt and photo inside.

7- Monogram H in a special font I down loaded. Thrift store painted frame.

8- Bee art I found on the Internet.

9- Photo of my parents.

10- Photo my grandfather took of my grandmother on a lake. (that orange picture mat is going bye bye soon)

11- Wrapping paper from a gift my husband gave me for our 5 year Wedding Anniversary. Love that man!

12- My parents at another school dance.
13- Some easy art I made HERE.

 

And last but not least; my office gallery.  

1,2,3,5,6,8,11,12- You guessed it! All from the thrift store! TS= thrift store.

4- Wood carving of a star from the TS.

7- The date of our wedding.

9- Free art I found online. I added the hearts for Amber & Patrick. It's applied to wood by mod podge.

10- Art I found online. Frame is from Walmart.

13- My dad made me these wooden hearts. He is so great!

14- Frame from the TS with art I cut out of a calender.  

Underneath it I added a little bench a relative made for a little reading nook.

 

And that's it! End of tour. Do you guys have any great frame gallery walls? I would have one on every wall if I don't control myself. Or maybe you are not a fan of them. Allot of people think they look too busy. What ever floats your boat as long as you fill your house with the things you love.

 

Stay Humble

Amber

Bathroom Transformation

After I finished the kitchen (from yesterdays post) we had plenty Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformation product left. Waste not, want not. So my sister in law and I put it to good use in our bathrooms.



Goodbye yellow 80's oak! You will not be missed.

Hello Cocoa!

I decided to frame the mirror with some moulding and use the same treatment as the vanity to tie it together. A much needed improvement until we can save our pennies for our dream bathroom. But I have to be honest, when I think about what the loo is used for, that doesn't send it rushing to the top of the to do list. 

 

I added some hardware to finish it off. Maybe it will distract you from the horrible linoleum floors and light fixture. Probably not, but I tried.

 

 

So that my friend, is my guest bathroom. It still needs new lighting and flooring but it works for now. Check out this cute LOO sign I found at a yard sale. It's hung outside the bathroom door so nobody gets lost.

 

Have you guys seen any great bathroom upgrades you are drooling over? I hope your Tuesday is going good!

Stay Humble
Amber

Kitchen Transformation

My mother in law hired me to give her 80's oak kitchen an update. So when she purchased Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformation in Cocoa (FYI-there is 70 colors to chose from) I went to work. This was my first time using this product. It felt weird to not have to strip, sand or prime but that is what makes this product so appealing. It was a 4 step treatment, which sounds easy enough but after a large kitchen and three bathrooms it felt more like a 40 step treatment.

The bond coat and glaze were very smooth and easy to control. I wish I could say the same for the protective top coat. It was horrible! It would dry too fast leaving white bubbles and brush marks. I ended up switching to Miniwax Polycrylic to finish the job. She has lived in the finished kitchen for over a year now and it's still going strong! Her only complaint is that it doesn't cover all the blemishes that sanding would have fixed. So if you are considering using this treatment I would let the condition of your cabinets be the deciding factor.

(Sorry, I do not have any "Before" pictures. Just close your eyes and picture 80's yellow oak. If you still can't picture it then drop by my house because we have plenty of it living here! Haha)

 

Check back tomorrow. I will have a bathroom transformation using this same product and it has "before & after" photos for you. Does anyone have a kitchen transformation in the works? I know I do! My 80's kitchen has been screaming at me for three long years to be updated. I have a really good idea of the direction I am going to go in. Hopefully I will get on that soon!

 

Stay Humble

Amber

Better late than Never

I know that everyone and their grandmother has probably already been using Sharpie's paint pens by now but I just recently had the privilege to use one for the first time. Love at first sight (eh, I mean use) These pens are mind blowingly amazing! They glide on so easy and give you so much control. They are definitely going on my "must have" list! I cant wait to use them again. Any one else enjoy these guys as much as I do?

Stay Humble
Amber

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing in black & white

I have always been a fan of black and white. My room as a teenager was covered from head to toe in it. I'm not exaggerating when I say that. I really had white walls covered with black splatter and sponge paint. I think every room needs a little black and white to give it a nice balance.

So I have this weird little area in my hallway that needed something. It was difficult because its a small spot and there are two doors close by so the item would have to let traffic flow. I measured and went on the search, and searched again. It took me many months until I found this piece for $12.00! Score a billion times over! 

  
It fits perfect and has two shelves that are now home to my camera gear and my husbands Go Pro stuff. I love the extra storage and its easily accessible for when we are running out the door to take photos or going to record that awesome Tough Mudder race or mountain bike ride or what ever other manly thing my husband is up to.

 

 

It is my new love. Sorry guys, this ones not for sale. I could never part with it. Do you guys have a piece of furniture that you want to be buried with? Something that makes you smile every time you walk by it? I know my heart skips a beat when I'm near mine.

 

Stay Humble



Amber