Easy DIY Furniture Update with Contact Paper

I have this awesome mid-century chest of drawers that I got back when I lived in San Diego. It was too beat up to leave it as it was so I used my favorite method of furniture updating, spray paint, to paint it black.

It worked fine but I still wish I could have saved some of that cool wood grain that looks so nice on mid-century furniture. Well, not saved, since it was an ugly shiny plastic woodgrain laminate before, but I wish it had it in the first place to save.

So what is my solution? Contact paper to the rescue! I've wanted to use this woodgrain contact paper since I saw it at the hardware store, but it's a little tricky to find just the right place to use it without being horribly tacky looking (although I guess the whole idea of it in the first place is that it's a little kitschy.) Plus, when I get tired of it I can just peel it off instead of repainting the whole thing. Sweet!

I measured out the shapes that I wanted on each drawer and cut them out carefully. Then I peeled off the backing and placed it on the drawers! Super easy! I think it makes the drawers look a little more interesting instead of just being a big black hunk of furniture sitting there. Try it!

Vintage Shopping in Portland

We did a little shopping in Tacoma and then headed down to Portland, where I planned on doing most of the shopping on our road trip. They have so many vintage shops I couldn't resist! Red Fox vintage was absolutely awesome, with cute stuff and great prices. I found a kitschy kitty, and Joe found some adorable mugs and a little bear puppet for Ellie-bear. At Stella Bella I picked out some used maternity clothes (all the pants are still awful!! I guess I will be using my leggings for quite a while...) and picked up an art print that will be perfect for the nursery.

We stopped at Animal Traffic and I finally got some Minnatonka moccasins! I love them! I've been wanting some for so long. 

Of course I couldn't just hog the whole day to myself, so we stopped at the Pharmacy skate shop and Joe picked out new shoes and a board. We ended the day at Bye and Bye, a vegan bar. Joe got to drink a few beers and we munched on delicious vegan bar food. It was an excellent day!

I think it might be a good thing that I got stationed in Louisiana instead of Washington. It would be WAY too easy to just move down to Portland or California after I get out of the service. Oregon is a little dreary for my taste, but I love the atmosphere and culture.

Kitschy Kitties - Mother of Cats!

Our thrift shopping problem hasn't ended... Since we learned we are expecting I got all excited and decided to look for a rocking chair. As soon as I walked in I saw THIS kitty! I was so happy. She will live on our side table, looking triumphant and proud, until we move to a bigger house where she should have a place in the entryway. This is a cat who needs to greet people. Just look at her luxurious fur! She's bigger than Mrs. Peacock!

We didn't find a rocking chair but we picked up a bunch of onesies for less than a dollar each. I couldn't resist!

Kitty Mug

Good Morning! Whoa, check out my bed head! 

Is that not the coolest kitty mug ever?

We are off to the marathon this morning. I'm not running it, of course, Joe is. Did you know that up until the 70's women were not allowed to run marathons? They thought our vaginas would fall out of our bodies! That's no joke people. Remember that the next time you think feminism is unnecessary. 

Have an excellent Sunday!

Big Eye Custom Portrait

The past few days I have spent painting a copy of a Margaret Keane painting, called "Little Ones." It all started because I found a print of a Margaret Keane in a thrift shop. It was $25 and I wasn't in love with the picture, so I passed it up. Of course, that was a stupid decision! It wasn't an original or anything, just a poster, but I still regret not getting it. I went back, crossing my fingers that it was still there, but of course it was gone.
Then it occurred to me that I didn't need to buy one when it would be a lot more fun just to paint one myself. That way I could have any picture I wanted! I also could customize it to have a special meaning.

If you don't know Margaret Keane, she is the artist who inspired Blythe dolls in the 60's and 70's, Tim Burton, and a large portion of the modern lowbrow art movement. It's now known as "Big Eye" art. Her story is interesting so check her out at the link above!

I picked out "Little Ones" to copy because I wanted to replace the Siamese kitty with Mrs. Peacock. I think she turned out extra cute!

If you want to practice painting or if you want to learn but don't know how to start, this might be a good way to do it. Copying isn't a bad thing unless you try to sell it or claim that you came up with the idea yourself (even Roy Lichtenstien copied comic books.) Art classes sometimes go to museums and sit students in front of paintings which they then copy, stroke for stroke. 

For me, I hate trying to figure out proportions and light. Light confuses me so much... I can't just "imagine" where light will fall on something. I need to see it. Also I get tired of drawing a redrawing just to keep saying to myself, "The eye looks sideways and the head is too small... or too big?" So to keep from wasting a whole day trying to sketch something I did the grid method:

I drew 2"x2" grid squares on my canvas lightly in pencil . On the computer I made the picture I wanted to copy the same size as my canvas and drew guides every two inches. Then using the grid as a guide I sketched my drawing onto my canvas.
I changed things up a bit by making the child look more like myself, with green eyes and brown wavy hair, and obviously I added my own kitty, Mrs. Peacock. At the end I put a flower crown on the girl because I thought her head looked like a big mass of hair and I wanted to break it up a little.

Remember that if you use the grid it doesn't make painting itself any easier. If you look closely at the details you can tell that I have no clue how to paint a daisy. I'm no expert, so parts of this painting were tough and a few times I thought I hated it, but I kept going at it and over-painting until I was happy (or at least until I said "f**k it, I'm done!")

If you really can't paint at all but still want to try painting something fancy for yourself, try copying Mark Rothko or Piet Mondrian. I promise you won't mess it up!

The Sweet List - Vintage Brooches

I'm not really a big jewelry person. I always forget to put anything on before I go out and I don't always know which jewelry I have goes with which outfit. I have been looking at these enamel brooches on Etsy and I bet I would wear these all the time if I had them. 

Imagine a crochet purse with these pinned on the front?

1. Orange Daisy - 2. Brown Flower Brooch - 3. Green Flower

4. Enamel Flower Brooch - 5. Turquoise Polka Dot Brooch

The Sweet List - Strawberries

Ever since I found a couple of vintage Strawberry Canisters and a Teacup and Saucer at a thrift shop I've been thinking about how cute strawberry things are!
Vintage kitchen wares are my weakness at thrift shops. I need a much bigger kitchen to hold all the stuff I want. But really, how many pie dishes do you need? According to me, I need one for each type of pie that exists... just like the strawberry pie dish below that has a recipe right on it. I don't know how many times I've turned down a pie dish, tart pan or soup cup with a cute little recipe on it. My little heart aches just thinking about it...

1. Strawberry Pie Dish - 2. Strawberry Kettle - 3. Strawberry Jar

4. Strawberry Linen Kitchen Towel - 5. Strawberry Apron

Kitschy Kitties Part 4

I'm in love with these couple of kitties I found today! I have to be more selective with my purchases now that we are running out of shelf space. Joe found a bunch of records today that now have to live in the closet since his record player is in New York. We are both looking forward to having a bigger house in Louisiana where we can spread out and maybe have a couch instead of just a love seat, where both of us have to really squeeze together just to sit and watch a movie. I'm pretty sure wherever we live in Louisiana will probably have an extra bedroom, which I'm looking forward to using as a studio.

I could NOT resist these strawberry jars and strawberry teacup!

My Deeries

No luck finding any kitties at the thrift shop this weekend, but I found a couple of the cutest deer figurines ever!

After an EPIC night of playing Pictionary Man and staying up until 6 in the morning we awoke on Sunday with some pretty gnarly hangovers. Of course Sunday was the day when we actually had to get things done, like clean the house so our friends could drop off their dog, Charlie. We agreed to watch him while they went on vacation and Mrs. Peacock is NOT happy about it. We had to pick up friend from the airport and I also had to go sign out on leave at midnight. We slept until almost 5 pm before we had to force ourselves out of bed.

The day was successful and I drank lots of water and took vitamins and eventually we felt a little better. Charlie is being a sweetheart and is in love with Joe, even though when he first saw him he was terrified. Charlie is also very interested in meeting Mrs. Peacock, but she hisses at him whenever he tries to sniff her. He just wants to be her friend and she is having none of that. I hope she will get used to him and stop hiding under the bed.

Kitschy Kitties Part Three

I found one more silly cat this weekend. I actually found a ton of cool things at one shop last Saturday. When I walked in I immediately picked up 6 things I HAD to have! I've been scouting out 70's style kitschy things ever since I realized that our color theme was pea green and orange (it just kinda happened that way.) 

I found a handmade flower embroidery which I love...

...and this mushroom wall clock! Holy moley! My husband didn't like it, but I told him I could not just leave it behind. Since I cleaned it up and hung it on the wall he changed his mind about it and thought it was pretty cool.

On top of that, I found some sweet mushroom ceramic tiles.

I seriously need a better camera!

Kitschy Kitties Part 2

Our favorite new weekend activity seems to be thrifting. I'm on the lookout for kitty figurines while Joe checks out the board games and CDs.
I couldn't find any kitties last weekend in Wasilla, but I scored this time in Anchorage! I also found a cute figurine of two cocker spaniels but I didn't get a good picture and I don't care to take another. My main focus was to collect and show off my kitties.

I just LOVE them. I'm going to need a whole new shelf to display all my new kitties and my porcelain dolls my grandpa gave me. I have a beautiful angel doll that is sadly packed up in the closet since I had to move. There is just no space for her.

Maybe the positive side to moving to Louisiana will be a big house with lots of space for my things!

Thrift Finds... Kitschy Kitties!

We went thrift shopping today and found a bunch of goodies! As promised I started collecting some kitty figurines. I found a interesting perfume bottle shaped like a kitty but it smelled like old lady so I didn't get it.

I found a cute, handmade coffee mug with kitties on it too! It is titled "Understanding Your Cat" and even has the name of the place it was made on the bottom. I absolutely love it. 

We found a couple of really nice art prints for the walls which I was surprised to find in a thrift shop. I like to look though the frames and pictures but the most I usually hope for is maybe some faux big-eyed paintings, so this was a nice thing to find.

We got a couple board games (Shots and Ladders Drinking Game and Seinfeld Scene It) a couple books and a funny duck shaped bottle opener made from a golf club.