Hand-Painted Art for My Kitchen: "Where You Invest Your Love..."

This post has been a long time coming. This project was finished a couple weeks ago, but I was waiting to get it hung up (with the help of my husband) before posting.

As you know, I live in a little cook-cutter, white walled, baby house on an Air Force Base. Base housing is far from character-filled...in fact it is a little stark white and very un-personal. We are allowed to paint or hang stuff, but it must be returned to the state we found it in upon leaving, which being in the military, you never can be sure when that will be. Someday we will live in an old house, full of charm and character, but for today we don't. For now, I am trying to make my little baby house as homey, charming and personal as I can without investing to much into it, as it is, after all, only temporary (only probably a year or so).

We were able to purchase plenty of furniture for our house together and now I am left with the task of doing the little ("girly") tasks of decorating. I'm not a huge fan of white walls, and white walls without art are super sad. I, however, have trouble finding art that I like within our budget, so I have therefore be doing the DIY thing (which I do anyway but..).

About a month back on a weekend, my husband and I were at his shop (he works in a Civil Engineering Squadron doing Structures). They have a bin of junk wood and scraps. He was throwing some stuff in there when I spotted this...cabinet door-like thing...

I am still not sure what it was. Looks like a cabinet door, but it has 6 weird little hooks on it, and no signs of and hinges ever being there so...it's a mystery. But I liked it. It looked like it wanted to be painted on. I waited another week of it being in the scrap bin before I ..*pilfered* it for my own.

I decided on painting some of my favorite song lyrics on it. "WHERE YOU INVEST YOUR LOVE, YOU INVEST YOUR LIFE." (Mumford and Sons: Awake, My Soul). If I was the sort to get tattoos, that would already be on me somewhere, but as I am not quite that sort I figured painting it as art for my kitchen was a close substitute. I pondered getting some stencils to make the letters crisp and precise, but that is not really indicative of myself. Instead, I free handed it. I did pencil in some lines to help keep it all straight- I have an horrible inability to make straight lines without ruler guidance.

 Lyrics alone don't make a painting for me, so I bordered it in some Hungarian-inspired flowers. Hungary has some gorgeous embroidery which has always been part of decorating my family's home (my grandfather was from Hungary and one of my sisters is adopted from there), so I decided to bring some into mine.I am incapable of embroiderying such beauty, but painting it is fun.  I considered painting flowers to also mimic Polish paper art (called Wincynanki), to honor my Polish heritaged husband. But it is incredibly detailed and when I practiced on other paper my flowers looked awful in paint, so I scratched that plan and stuck with my own roots. When I finished my couple days of painting it, I sealed it with spray varnish.

I am pretty pleased with how it came out. It's unique, I think. That's probably why I like it so much. JoJo helped me get it screwed into our kitchen wall and it now is hanging over our little dinning area. Just one more little bit of homey charm to our house!

Still a little stark and sad, but getting happier! If you can't tell, I'm a fan of color. You can't see the rest of my kitchen in this photo, but all the colors present in the flowers are basically the color scheme of my kitchen. Anything with a folksy print, bright color, or vintage vibe is welcome. I suppose salvaged cabinet door wall art fits in nicely.

 

Home Tour: Our Base Housing Bedroom

Since moving to Washington I've had a significant bedroom downsize. While the husband was deployed at was living at home, sharing an over-garage, converted attic bedroom (of like 400 square feet)with one of my sisters. Walk in closet, room for 2 twin beds, a couch, 3 chairs, a desk, a table to seat 4, a keyboard, etc. It was BIG. And now I live on McChord AFB with my husband in base housing. I love our house. It is little and cute. But did I mention little. I am not sure of the actual square footage, or the specific square footage of rooms, but our bedroom is a lil' thing. However, I adore living here and actually being in the same geographic location as my husband. It's great.

When I moved out here and he returned from Qatar we had NO furniture to our names. I shipped some dishes and blankets, packed my clothes in a suitcase and that was it. We spent weeks on an air mattress with a open sleeping bag as a blanket and all our clothes in piles and suitcases (and we were plenty happy about it after 2 years of long distance and 6 months of deployment). Eventually we got a (super nice) mattress, but had to wait on our bedroom set to come back into stock. Since then it has been slowly progressing and looking more and more like a home.

Due to the temporaryness of being in military housing, we have opted not to paint or hang curtains (because we have to return it to as was upon leaving), so the challenge is finding other ways to make our house look homey. Black/red/white/tan is my favorite color combo, and it is on the approved as "not too girly" list by the husband. Slowly, our bedroom is coming together. We've been here for about 5 months; not quite there yet, but well on the way.

Here's a lil' peak:

air mattress phase

 

mattress on floor phase

 

Finally, about 2 months in, we got some furniture.

Hard to get everything in a picture, but we got a set with bed frame, chest of drawers, dresser, and one night stand (and I, to this day, remain nightstandless. Still hunting.)

 

While I greatly miss my walk in closet, I am very thankful for the closet space this house has. Our room as two decent sized closets with sliding doors. Separate closets are wonderful! Guess whose is whose?

 

I think art is a key way to turning a space into a home. However, we (I) have yet to find some reasonably priced art fitting for the bedroom. The words over the window are a decal from Urban Outfitters ($19)  that just arrived by mail last week.

 

 My plan is to take one of my own photos, probably something regarding nature or architecture (hopefully from our upcoming 1st Anniversary trip to HAWAII!- more details soon!), make it black and white, blow it up and hang it over the bed.

 

Little bits and pieces also make a home more homey.

I swapped out the red dresser runner for my vintage hand made British flag.

I picked up a unique lamp for $5 at Goodwill.

 I continue to hoard throw pillows.

 

I also recommend finding yourself a rascally furbaby to shed on your blankets to add character to your home. Our furbaby finds a freshly made bed to be most exciting (jumps, runs, spins and digs) and cameras are also pretty fun to get in the way of.

 

As time and budget allows I hope to keep adding character and personal touches to our bedroom.

The husband was content once we had furniture, but for me it is all a little too...new...I hope to find some older, used and vintage pieces to mix it up a little.

 

Wedding inspiration boards are my new addiction....

... just take a look. I've been making them all over the place. Style Me Pretty, The Knot, Once Wed, and Wedding Wire are all great sites to get wedding inspiration!

Couple boards from Style Me Pretty that I created:

Also, made a PINTREST account. People kept telling me it was a great place to get inspiration and I that I would love it because I am crafty.... I do not yet love it? Seems kinds sub-par to all the other wedding inspo sites I've been one. Kinda fun just to browse but...not my new favorite.
But any how...

Various Wedding Preparations and Purchases....

Our outdoor, garden/farm wedding is going to have a bit of a ...flowery...vintage....acclectic...theme with a color scheme of...spring.

Translation: I, bella, am making this all up as I go based on my own likes and preferences. Nothing will really match or look formal and a whole lot of it will be thrifted, DIY and random. I could try and create a color scheme and definite plan but...I'm wearing white, he is wearing Air Force Blues, and the Bridal party will be in orange. We will be outside with green grass and bright flowers. Why bother with a color scheme. The setting and scheme is just...bright...

I have been hopping around to various thrift stores and antique shops and collecting items and pairing them with craft store good and a lil' creativity. So far:

I designed and had professionally printed our wedding invites (and the printer, who had done business with my father before, gifted us the $300 worth of invites, envelopes and response cards for free as a wedding gift!). With the help of my some aunts, my mom, my future mother in law and some friends and sisters we got those a babies addressed and they are in the mail!

I created a wedding website for our wedding day and also as a means for people to RSVP. I did it through a great site called Wedding Wire (although after I had finished our site I realized there is a site which offers the same service but it is called Wedding JoJo. Needless to say I was disappointed in myself on that one!)

I have created 2 foot tall faux-metal letters (a J and B) out of cardboard and paint (to look like the $98 each zinc letters from Anthopology).

We've large collected large mason jars and ribbons to tie on them for our hand picked wildflower and fern table arrangements.

I've bought some random antique embroidered table clothes to use. I've also bought a couple cute special vases to to put on main tables and such. My favorite is a hand painted blue pitcher I got at an antique store for $10.

We've been collecting various crystal glasses and plates at thrift stores to create dessert stands like these for our cupcakes and canolli (instead of traditional wedding cake).

We bought this birdcage to use for collecting our wedding cards. As soon as it arrives I will be spray painting it some fun color.

A friend and I made 3 "fairy crowns" out of bark covered wire and orange, yellow and white for our 3 flower girls (2 of my sisters and one of his), similar to this one (but more little girlish!)

I am looking for doilies to make 2 ring bearer pillows like these, for my two ring bearing brothers.

I've been sorting through photos of JoJo and I to create a photo clothesline/time line, like these, of our lives and relationship to hang in the tents.

And I've been spending my little free time on wedding inspiration sites and blogs and emailing my mom things like this, this, this and this.

All of this on top of regular wedding shopping and appointments! The table in my room is so completely buried underneath all my projects and collected items, and the wedding is still 2 months away! EEK! But it will all be worth it when I marry my Airman at our lovely outdoor wedding! Stay tuned for more!

Possibly/maybe/perhaps Final New Blog Look!?

So...I think I have done it. I think I have created a new layout that I like and a header that I LOVE. The one thing I may mess with now is the text font. But other than that, I may actually be happy. What you are looking at right now my friends is what may very well be the NEW look of My Name is Not King.

I am using just the blogger SIMPLE template, with a barn wood background image blogger provided as an option. I was really liking the wood part, but obviously the plain text and beige background was makin' for a real boring header.

As it has been snowing here nonstop and I have nothing better to do, I decided to do a little messing around with header designs.

I went a googlin' for designs that would match my wood background and I was able to find this header from the Background Fairy site.

  

It was cool to begin with, and it had the vintage feel I like. Plus it had a crow (*which we can just pretend is a raven to make me happy.) But it wasn't QUITE what I wanted. The colors were a little off and obviously the whole blog title need to be worked in there.

  

I am no pro, and I no longer have photoshop, so I stooped to the picnik level, but I am actually quite pleased with how I things came out. Photoshop is much more elaborate and has many more options, but picnik is quick in simple (but unfortunately will no longer exist when April comes around.).

The final product is what you are looking at right now:

A darker, more stained, embellished, and with text version of the original. And I am actually really pleased and I don't *THINK* I will be changing it again. But still, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. And check out the previous post to see the other designs I was playing with. 

And also, up for grabs I have this NEW and IMPROVED blog button! I use a tutorial over at the blog (Live. Love. Craft.) of my new bloglandria buddy Alyssa, as I had forgotten how I had done it the first time (ohh HTML, you're so silly...). Feel free to take it off of here, or over on my sidebar, underneath my "who I am pictures". I will be working on one for my photoblog- Sometimes I Shoot Things- next!

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$41 of stripe-d gloriousness: WHY I SHOP AT THRIFT STORES

A few weeks ago I gave mention to a new chair that I bought. And yes, buy a new chair I did.

I now have a green lether love seat/couch, a orange fuzzycozy chair and a sage vinyl/leathery green chair, along with this new striped chair and ottoman in my room. I think I have the genetic "we cool collect things, especially furniture that we don't really need, but want gene" that my Kiss family possesses. Oh darn...
But all is well. Because the total cost of all this furniture? $46 dollars. The couch was (and technically still is) my moms. The green chair was $5 at Savers, and orange chair was free and the striped chair? Well that is what this post is about, my dear friends....

About 3 weeks ago my mom and I were out doing some thrifting. We stopped in at a new Salvation Army. Generally, I don't like the Salvation Army. The one closest to me is sort of in a sketch location and it is like...dark and dirty. Not my favorite. I am more of a Savers, and sometimes Goodwill type of girl. But this new one was pristine and smelled like cleaning products. Good sign.

I told my mom I wasn't buying anything. She was. I was just wandering. Until I wandered into the furniture section, found a fantastic chair and ottoman, sat down in it, fell in love, and then went and got my mother.


"Mom, talk me out of it. Tell me I do not need a striped circusy chair. Tell me I have enough chairs. Tell me I don't have room for it. Tell me that, even though it is one of a kind and $50, that I don't need it."
"No! I love it! If you don't buy it, then I will!!!"
"...Thanks for the help, mom...."

I'm telling you, I bear the Kiss-curse. And I am beginning to be okay with it.

Long story short, I talked to the manager guy about my $50 chair.
He said "Are you a college student?"
"Yup!"
"Do you have an ID?"
I didn't have it on me. I am on break and my ID was in my abandoned backpack at home.
"That's fine. I can tell you are a college student. You get 25% off!"

So my beautiful, one of a kind, circus chair and ottoman came to a total of $41 and went out into my durango to come home with me. After careful analysis we concluded that the chair itself is older and someone had paid to recover it in the striped fabric. It is lovely, clean, flawless, and doesn't smell a bit (for those of you who might be worried by used furniture). As far as I can tell it was never even sat on once recovered. My guess is someone dropped it off, but never came to pick it up from the re-upholstery place. Pity for them. Win for me.

Before I drove home I texted a picture to JoJo (who, by the way, is fully supportive of my thrift shopping. Praise God, I can live a happy life!) : "Um...I hope you like striped chairs. Because I just added one to my furniture collection. But only like 40 bucks...."
His response: "Bella, you are silly, I love you, the end."

I'm hopeless...

My mom's family is known for a couple things:
They are ALL artistic. They are all into plants (excessive gardening, which I refuse to ever start). They are all strangely humored. And they all PICK UP FURNITURE PEOPLE PUT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND BRING IT HOME (and usually there after paint it, if it is at all paintable.)

And I, though I am my mother's daughter, my grandparent's grand daughter, and my uncle's niece, have mocked them all for the furniture scavanging.

No, it isn't like they take garbage off the side of the road, or nasty, smelly, dirty, gross furniture. Just sometimes people put out stuff with "FREE" signs and if it is nice, vintage, or able to be painted, they typically grab it. (the catch is that usually they don't need the stuff. They just like it. It is usually cool, but they just need to find a place to put it.)

But now, I am eating my words (as my boyfriend would say "How does that Crow taste?").


You see, Sunday at 4:16 pm I sent my mother this text:

"it's official. I'm a Kiss. I just got an orange chair off the side of the road. Ur people have ruined me and I am hopeless. :p "

Response

"Laughing. The gardening is coming next."

Yes. I did. I did it. The deed I said I would never do. And this is the post I claimed I would never subsequently make. *BUT I WILL STILL NEVER GARDEN!*

I saw a family putting out a bunch of furniture (they said they were remodeling their basement). Sitting on the curb was a deliciously orange, fuzzy, squishy vintage chair. I did not need a chair. I already have a chair and a couch in my room, along with my obvious bed. I am not lacking in seating. But it was ORANGE. And ever so fuzzy and squishy. And Vintage (and in good condition)! I think it was also calling out my name, but I am not sure...
How do you say "no" to that!?

So I threw it into my Durango and off I went, feeling completely beaten in my fight against my genes. But as soon as I got it home and realized it rocked and swiveled, and that  it was the right fit for curling up in (i cannot and will not sit with my feet dangling. ever.), I didn't care anymore. I knew it was the perfect chair for me. It is so incredibly cozy, and don't worry. I washed that cushion and then MADE room for that lovely chair in my bedroom.

 The chair is cozy. "Crow" is sort of tasty. And I am happy.

The end.

BIG SWEATERS

Maybe you think they are ugly. Maybe you think they are outdated. But I think nothing quite says "I'm an artsy college student and I shop at thrift stores" like a giant, vintage sweater.

I love big sweaters. They look adorable paired with messy hair, skinny jeans and converse. They are every so cozy (I do not like tight clothes. I avoid them as much as possible). They feel like warm, comfortable fall. And there are multitudes of them @ your local thrift store, in all sorts of colors and patterns. Everything from wild Christmas sweaters (which aren't adorable) to artistic looking ones with bold patterns. Some are horrendously ugly, but others are quite charming.I find ones I like quite often. But I have one problem. I am allergic to wool. Maybe not 100% allergic, but very sensitive. Anything with more than 10% wool makes me break out in red swollen hives and that ruins the adorable outfit big time. Sigh. Woe is me.

Here's some cutesy ones that make me want to snuggle up with an afghan, a notebook/reading book and a cup of tea.

*SOURCE*

I have one just like this, minus the red and yellow. 

Vintage, bought at Savers, but originally from Gap like 30 years ago.

*SOURCE*

I like this one a lot. Black and red are my favorites!

 

*SOURCE*

*SOURCE*

 A large sweater and a walk in some beautiful woods? Mmm, yes!

 

 *SOURCE*

See? How wonderful!

Lot of people wear them with leggings, but I think Skinny Jeans are much better. Tights are a no. I've seen them with flowy skirts too, if you want go for the all around loose and comfy look. 

I need to specify one rule, though. DON'T WEAR IT AS A DRESS, no matter how big it is. That is no longer artsy, it is just trashy. Pants, please and thank you. Strong suggestion: feel free to wear shorts that cover your posterior as well. Much obliged.

{Reading} Nooks & Crannies...

Last week I bought a horribly cute vintage chair. At Savers. For $5. Yes.

It was green vinyl. I obviously needed it. When you already have a green vinyl (cucumber)couch in your room it is hard to say no to any other pieces of green vinyl vintage furniture. Especially when they are only five bucks.

The problem was my couch was right at the top of my staircase against the wall, between a keyboard and a dresser. Meaning no room for my new chair. Which in turn meant I had to rearrange my whole room to accomodate my find, and I ended up liking this new layout better.

Welcome, one and all, to my new READING NOOK!

Much cozier than before! It makes me really happy to snuggle up, buried in pillows and blankets, and read a nice book. Now if only I had time to do that...

I'm a granny again...

This is what my bedroom floor looks like at this time.

I'm at it again.

Because I am an afghan making addict. I am a granny square hoarder. Yes, I have a problem. But the first step in getting better is admitting there is something wrong...addiction is the only disease people don't admit to having...all of that stuff.

Actually, I like making stuff and granny wee squares are no exception.

And look! THEY ARE IN RAINBOW ORDER! Every single one of them. Totally RoyGBiv. We all know how I love that. Seriously people, what is not to love.

Now comes the fun part of sewing them together and making all the little bits of yarn tails disappear. I am determined to finish before school starts up again in...oh...12 days. (Wow. What an ugly number.)

In other news, check out the other afghans. THIS one I made.

This one (on my sisters bed) I bought at Goodwill last week for only $2. I kind of love it.

Yup. Definitely an addiction in the making. I'm sorry, I just love colors, yarns, and cozy blankets. Fall is coming. I will be ready!

Remember that scene with the elephant graveyard?

You know, the one where Simba says "danger? I laugh in the face of danger! hahahah".

Well, I remember it. It's the very best part of the movie. ( I'm quoting the Disney classic The Lion King, for those of you who are lost. And I can quote it like a pro as my sister watched it like everyday of her childhood.)

You see this? This is what I would call my personal elephant graveyard. I love this stuff. This is the aforementioned laughable danger. This is one of those moments where forbidden looks all too inviting. The very fact that is tree is eating the sign and ensnaring it with vines is a sign of adventure and a good time.

But really. Can you read what that says? Yeah, me neither. I think it says something about trespassers will get to take really awesome photos and will be rewarded with delicious canollis. Or at least that is what I THINK it says.

What's that saying about being ignorant? Something about bliss, I believe it is?

This location is an abandoned factory about 15 minutes from my house. I have been DYING to do a photoshoot there, but I am smart enough to not go too close alone. But unfortunately no one wants to go with me. Bummer.

But I couldn't resist taking some roadside pictures as I drove by it a few days ago. Innocently parked on the main road, in clear view of the world, snapping pictures of a broken down building and a no trespassing sign. Please, oh please, someone be brave and volunteer themselves to come closer with me! OH PLEASE! I had to use all the common sense and self control within myself to keep from jumping over a fence and peering in windows.

Guys, don't even tell me that doesn't look fun. Do you even see what I see here?! This is ...perfect.

ALL I want to do is take pictures. No shenanigans. No trouble. Just artsy photos. And this is the perfect location. Old. Brick. Broken down. Abandoned. Graffitted. Rusted. Destroyed. This is the stuff I dream about! This is me is a beautiful adventure!

...And I am not even going to mention what great aerial shots I could get if I climbed that water tower. No, I am not going to mention that at all. Not like that thought is consuming my mind or anything right now. Nope. Not at all.