Hiatus and a Patio Door Redo

Hey everybody, I am so glad to be back again blogging for you.  After the holidays, I took some time to focus on my family and myself.  That meant that there was no blogging, no projects and no distractions.  It was well worth it though, because I am now ready to take on some new challenges, starting with my latest project this past weekend...our patio door.

I know, I know, it doesn't sound like it is going to be a very exciting post, but I think it has been a pretty dramatic makeover and you may enjoy seeing the before and after.

Originally we were just going to paint the outside of the doors as they were this odd plum colour.  In this photo of the house from our walk through prior to our purchase, the colour actually blended nicely with the brick.  Up close, however, it looked like a bad version of dusty rose from the '80s and to make matters worse, the hardware was worn out brass. Yuck!

Now, since this photo is from before we moved in, there are a lot of other significant changes that we've made to the backyard, but I will save those for next week's post.

After I began painting the doors, I goofed up and got some of the paint on the inside of the door as well. I suppose I should have been being more careful, but honestly I didn't care, I kind of wanted to see how the inside would look painted too.  It was kind of a happy mistake I guess, because I think they look awesome.  My husband, however, was not overly pleased as this doubled the amount of work and time that was spent on this project on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Anyway, after two coats of paint on the doors and trim as well as shiny, new brushed nickel hardware this is how they now look on the outside.

Personally, I love the contrast.  Now here is a look at a before picture of the inside of the doors.  I will warn you first, it is from the holidays and it is not a good photo. 

I guess I'm a bit out of the habit of taking my before shots since I haven't blogged in 6 months.  This photo serves my purpose though as everything still looks the same with the exception, of course, of the Christmas decor.  Are you ready!  Here is the finished product from the inside.

Well, what do you think?  Is black the way to go for the interior of a door?  I know it was a bit controversial in my house, but now that it is done, everyone is in agreement that it looks great.

Here are the side by side before and afters to show you what a dramatic change it really was.

Remember to check back next Sunday to see more of our backyard update!

Until next time...Lisa

DIY Art - Paper Products

Hello everyone, I am back again for week 3 of our DIY Art Series. This week we will talk about "paper products".   No, I am not referring to toilet paper or facial tissue. I'm talking about Scrapbook paper, wallpaper, file folders, any kind of paper that you think is beautiful. Because really, that's what it's all about isn't it - how you alone feel about your decor in your home? It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, if you love it, then do it! 

This is going to be a bit of a long one folks because I have lots of pictures to show you and lots to talk about, so get the kids (husband, pets, etc.) into bed, grab a cup of tea and settle in for this one. 

Let's start with a couple of the items that I've used to create artwork for my walls.

 Scrapbook paper...

...and pretty file folders.

I know that there are so many other options out there.  Check out these ones.

Didn't I just say we weren't talking about toilet paper?  Well this is actually an amazing example from Made 2 Style of art using just that - toilet paper rolls! Wow, some people are just so talented!

Or how about using wallpaper to make art.

 

These were actually made by Sarah, one of my favourite bloggers at Thrifty Decor Chick using textured, paintable wallpaper.  What a great idea!

Now that we've had a look at some other options that are beautiful but take a bit more time, I will show you how I do it - quick and easy!

First you grab an old frame you have laying around like this one that was still packed in a box from our move 4 months ago.

 

I know, it doesn't look like much now, but once I add some beautiful scrapbook paper like the one above...voila!

 

A masterpiece...or at least something to put on the wall that goes with the room and doesn't cost a lot.

I made another one using a complimentary pattern.

Then I put them both up in my guest room and please once again ignore my builder beige walls and lack of furniture, curtains and lamps to complete the look, but you get the idea right?  Sorry, upon second viewing of this I probably shouldn't have put this picture up as the pictures just look like postage stamps, but oh well, we can't all be perfect.

Now, I have another little art project that I did using card stock and scrapbook paper.  You might remember another Nifty Little Craft where I did something similar.

This is a little display I did above my bedroom door.  The two frames on the outside are scrapbook paper and the one in the middle is made from cardstock and a butterfly punch.  I really like this because it pulls some of the colours from my bed to the other side of the room.

 

Finally we have a quick little project that I whipped up because I have been working on my paperwork and filing situation and came across these beautiful file folders, from the dollar store no less!  I have a couple of different patterns, one of which I showed you at the beginning of this post, but for the actual finished product, I let my 3 year old pick which one she wanted as it was for her playroom.

I put it in a nice white frame that I had, once again still packed in a box and here is how it looks in her playroom.  I think the colours work beautifully together and it's just so much fun!

See I told you...quick and easy, cause that's how I roll these days!  Are you going to make some paper art this week?

Until next time...Lisa

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