Thinking about Stone Veneer…

 

Hey all!

Yes… thinking about doing some much needed updates in the home.

And yes… thinking about using stone veneer to do some of it.

Went to Lowes the other day to look at product and prices… just not sure which product I want to go with??

They had M-Rock and AirStone in a box and then special order stones.

As some of you have seen…

I have real stacked stone around my fireplace.

It’s the ONLY place in the house that has it and I would like to continue to carry it through out the home.

I have a few places in mind… like the bathroom.

Our bathroom never received the proper makeover since the day we moved in… well… of course for cleaning!!

(real bathroom)

I started to prep for paint 6 years ago but it was one of those projects that I didn’t get back to.

so… 6 years later… here I am…finally thinking about a bathroom makeover again.

(ideal bathroom)

This is an inspiration photo I found some where in Pinterest land.

My bathroom has a similar kind of layout only smaller.  I love the stone walls around the bathtub.  Of course, I love everything about this bathroom but the budget can only handle so much.

Another place I would love to have stone would be our kitchen bay window.

I faux painted it about three times (click here to see) a few years ago but would love to see the veneer stone there instead.

And… if I am ever blessed to do a full kitchen makeover…

I would love to add stone around the stove like they did here…

Well… Ok… I would love to have my whole kitchen like this!

ANOTHER place for some stone accent would be on here…

this is the only pic I could find…

this island separates our dining room from the open living room.

I think stone here would really tie in with the stone on the fireplace.

AND FINALLY… the front porch…

(real front porch)

We currently have vinyl siding… let’s just say… not a fan.

(photo above: clearwater construction group)

(example)

Would love to be able to find some exterior stone veneer to match or tie in with our existing brick color.

Many of the newer homes in my neighborhood already have the exterior stone facade so it would definitely be an upgrade.

SIGH… not sure if I can do it all this year… THAT WOULD BE A LOT OF STONE… maybe a room/wall or two a year?  Among the “needs”  that have to be addressed first… (like some drainage and roofing issues…hmmm)…

I hope to be able to get started updating and making changes!

Has anyone used stone veneer for their home?

Would love some feedback on brands/cost and ease of installation.

Our “Artsy” Antique Booth at Deja U in Dayton, TN

 

So what is an artsy antique booth and where is Deja U… you might ask?

Deja U is an antique store in the quaint town of Dayton, TN.

My mother and I have decided to rent a booth there.

She has the antiques and I have… well… my artsy, creative “stuff”.

I hope to sell some of my creations/projects along with my paintings there… or at least try… while mom will sell her antiques and collectibles.

Let’s take a tour of the place… shall we?

First… I will start with the street we are on…

Here are some of the neighboring shops…

Dayton is currently under a town renovation… I love small towns like this!

AND… I have to show you this truck across the street from Deja U…

“The Gentlemen Farmer… Fine Heritage Hogs” … Awesome!  :)

That’s a new auction house behind it.

OK

so now… onto DEJA U.

It’s a small antique store in the heart of town.

Here are some of the other booths inside the store…

Cute stuff!!

Now I felt our booth needed a little rusty bling…

Here are some before shots….

 

The walls were painted yellow and it had some old wall paper on the back wall.

I painted it all a cream color.

I knew I wanted to add my Pallet Bench and Farm Table Bench for display as well as a rusty awning or two.

Thankfully it rained the weekend after painting and I was able to get a decent weathered look on my sheets of metal I bought at Lowes… same process I used to rust my kitchen awning.

Here is the booth now…

It’s not very full because mom’s stuff keeps selling… but… that’s a GOOD thing!!

My wall…  my little painting “gallery wall” is below….

I hope to get some more paintings and creations in there… not sure if it is a good place to try and sell them but it can’t hurt to try… right?

I love the look of the awnings and the benches together… especially with the windows and valances.

We have a great space here in Dayton, TN

and

if you are ever in town… stop in Deja U and say hello and tell them I sent you!  The folks there are very friendly!!

Dayton’s Strawberry Festival is this weekend… it’s a HUGE festival and draws thousands of people!

Hoping to get some good strawberry shortcake… or something strawberry this weekend! 

DIY French Country Cottage Kitchen Art Decor

 

Since I’ve been on an art kick lately…

I wanted to show you some kitchen art I recently made.

I had to go thrifting ((fun)) for this one… buying cooking utensils for it.

So… note…

if you plan on throwing out your used kitchen utensils… think twice!!

You might can use them for kitchen art!  :)

Ok… Let’s begin…

This is how I started…

After finding and gathering a bunch of kitchen goodies,

(the before)

I played around with the configuration and composition

again and again and again…

(even took photos to help me remember where I placed things…ahem)

and finally came up with a basic pattern…

but I decided to change my surface to wood…

so…

I cut up some 1x2’s I already had, lined them up and glued on some scrap wood strips to the back of them to hold it together.

I had looked for recipes and menu’s online… printed a few things off and glued them to the surface of the wood.

(another before)

I have an inkjet printer so I used cardstock and made sure the ink was dry… you may still get a little ink bleed… but I didn’t mind it too much.

I also painted a few pieces and used some wood embellishments.

I finally came up with my “final” layout (changed it some as I started gluing).  And then I just glued all my thrift store finds down.

This is the final art piece…

I think it looks rather French Country Cottage.

This art is rather heavy… so if you want a lighter piece… use lighter wood… I just used what I had!

I had so much fun creating this mixed media kitchen art (restaurant art as my friend Kolein coined it).

It would look perfect in a little French Café… don’t cha think?!  :)

 

Sharing My Art… embracing all my creative ambitions

 

About a month or so ago I got into a creative zone…

(image: Graphics Fairy)

yes… I am still being creatively ambitious!

Let’s see… decorating my spring mantel, painting, sewing, and crafting…

(Graphics Fairy)

I CAN’T  SEEM TO STOP…  LOL!

I’m TOTALLY (((embracing))) the name of my blog these days…

‘CREATIVE AMBITIONS’!

And thanks to some e-courses from Jeanne Oliver,

I am inspired and motivated to keep creating and following my dreams!

Today…

I want to share with you some more of my mixed media art I have been creating…

***can we say nervous butterflies right now??***

This is a series of GIRL paintings I just finished.

Faith, Grace, and Hope

These are 16x20 canvases… acrylic paint and texture… with paper, wood and fabric embellishments.

They all have writings on them… some taken from scripture.

Under each window is an old hymn based on their names.

And here is another painting I am working on…

This is ‘Inspire’

A 6x6 canvas, acrylic paint with wood embellishment.

 

I am so enjoying painting right now… and using different media to create these pieces!

Thank you for letting me share them with you!

I know my blog has been more about my adventures in DIY creations…

but I really want Creative Ambitions to be about all my creative ambitions… to inspire not just a certain group of friends but many!

I am also thinking about selling my paintings/art again…

I already have an empty blog for them and an empty etsy site from long ago…

but for right now… I am trying to explore all my gifts!

Finding the ones that fit and the ones that don’t.

and while I wait for the right time for me to start selling my creations…

I ask, seek and knock…

and then

***practice, practice, practice!!***

Spring Mantel 2013

 

The trees are starting to bud and bloom here in Tennessee.

It definitely put me in the mood to get my mantel decorated for Spring!

I decided to get a little “artsy” with it (as I always do) and make these…

Tin Can Flowers

I used Tin Snips to cut the cans up and manipulated the pedals with my needle nose pliers.

DO NOT do this without gloves… it WILL cut you!

I hammered holes in them, cut some fabric circles and hammered upholstery tacks in for the center.

Cute eh?

Now… onto the whole mantel…

I added some real azalea branches…

may have to switch out with new ones as they begin to wilt.

I was able to use my little sweater birds from Christmas for my spring mantel.

I added some real nests (with painted eggs) that I collected last year.

And… the painted pots are from last year’s Summer Mantel.

It’s very bright and cheery in the living room now…

Love it!

 *** Happy Spring Everyone! ***

(Click here to see my other seasonal mantels)

Linking to:

Jennifer Rizzo

 

 

Just Being Creative

Here’s a little update of what I’ve been doing…

Creating!

YEP!  I have been so inspired… so motivated… so excited to just… Create!

(image: Graphics Fairy)

Let’s see…

I have been creating mixed media art (that includes rusting metal… so fun), thrifting (just had to throw that in), creating a journal,  and sewing! 

YES… sewing! 

Rather… trying to learn how to sew!

****I’m also in the process of creating my spring mantel and working on a very creative project with a very sentimental birdhouse (this one may take awhile… if I can even do it!)****

And as this creative force hit me @ a week ago or so… the Lord led me to share this journey with my creative friend Kolein…

She is now my creative sounding board accountability partner… and I hope I’m a good one for her!

AND then…

and then, and then…

the Lord led us to this…

Jeanne Oliver e-courses!

WOW!

These classes have so enriched both of our lives…and we’ve only just started!  We so needed these… didn’t we Kol??

((Jeanne Oliver Designs.com/blog))

OK….

Last time I shared with you my first e-vuh mixed media art project…

WELLLLLLLLL…

I went back and changed the coloring on it…brightened it up a bit…

        

 before and after…

This time…I think I will let it sit on the easel for awhile just to make sure I’m done.

Now… onto journaling…

Here’s a journal I made… an art and writing journal…

it was so much fun to create my own.

 

(I accidentally glued the back inside cover… upside down! Oops!)

As I ventured into learning how to use a sewing machine… I decided to see what it would do with paper… and that is when I began to sew pages together and watch tons of videos on bookbinding… tons out there online… so if you want to try it… just google it… it’s pretty simple… just takes time.

Can’t wait to start writing and cutting and pasting!!

SO… as Spring approaches…

(image: Graphics Fairy)

Hope this inspires you to get out those paint brushes, get out that glue and paper,  get out that needle and thread, get out that hammer and those power tools…

and

 Just Create!!