Silhouettes & Shadow Boxes

 

My family art wall.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my house needs ART on the walls. Slowly but surely I am making progress.

 

 I was inspired to create silhouettes of my boys for wall art after viewing this "house crashing" post on Young House Love's blog  click here for full blog post.  The hardest part to making these silhouettes was getting a good profile picture of my boys.  Getting a 1 and 2 year old to stand still long enough for a profile picture can be tricky.  My secret weapon was a lollipop that I held out in front of them to hold their gaze for that nanosecond  I needed them to be still for the picture.  After the profile pictures were taken, I put them in Photoshop Elements for a little line darkening.  I did this by darkening the contrast/exposure.  I then scaled the pictures to print out for an 8"x 10" frame. I cut out the boys' profiles from my photo print and then I traced this outline onto some heavy linen card stock that I found in a slate blue.  Some careful trimming with sharp scissors and voila silhouettes were done.  I used a light blue/grey/black checked paper for the background.  I found both the papers I used in the scrapbook aisle at Micheal's.

I took the blank angled wall in my entry hall and first filled it with a table that my husband made for our last house.  The table is made from walnut and sycamore.  My husband left the wood natural/unfinished to highlight the  beauty of the wood.  This table was beautiful in the narrow hall of our last house, but I had yet to find a good home for it in our current house.  After much playing around I thought it worked best on this angled wall, which made a perfect home for the silhouettes of the boys.

 

My other art project for this wall was a shadow box of keys.  I had been eyeing these "vintage" keys from Pottery Barn for several months and had pinned them to my "front door ideas" board on Pinterest click here for pinterest inspiration board.  In another inspiration from a Young House Love blog post, I arranged the keys to represent our "family" in the shadow box.  The large key on the left is Dad, Mom is next, then our two sons, and finally our dog (who has to be turned sideways since he doesn't walk upright). The vintage keys came as a set of seven, so I had a couple of spare keys to display flat on the table. The frames and shadow boxes were purchased on sale at Michaels.  I used "Gorilla" glue to adhere the keys to the back of the shadow box.   All in all I love the personal touches this art adds to this space.  Has anyone else done some family inspired art lately?

 

 

DIY Christmas Wreath

Today I am excited to be linking up to the "Crafts" projects over at http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2012/12/clay-filigree-ornaments-link-party/
 

I made the above wreath by adding some fresh greenery to an old "has been" wreath.  Below is the old "has been".

 

Two coats of white spray paint later.

 

 

 

Add in some fresh greenery left over from my $5 "Black Friday" door garland from Home Depot.

 

Last but not least, I added a monogram "B" antique glass ornament that I found on a super sale at "Kohl's" for a little personalization.

 

 

ART........Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have lived in current house now for 2-1/2 years now and sadly there are still several bare walls to be addressed.  This is why I am so excited to finally have a piece of art for the dining room.  As an interior designer, I select art prints for various projects fairly often.  This piece is called "Riverbank Reflection" by the artist Robert Holman and it has been a favorite of mine now for several years.  Thanks to Mike Morefield with the "Final Touch" frame shop (423-727-8852), I now have this piece to admire in my own home.  I love the soft color blends of green, yellow, blues, and gray.  Now, I just need to get a new table and chairs, rug, a few more pieces of art, maybe a new light, and then I can call this room done (phew!).

On to another room that was in need of some art, I recently got a photograph from my mother framed for my main floor bath.

 My mother is now retired and focusing her attention to her beloved hobby of many years, photography.  Her primary interest is nature photography but she also does architectural work and candid portraiture as well.  The photograph she gave me for my bathroom is a beautiful flower. If anyone is interested in her work please feel free to email me  at baileylaura@live.com .  I found a complimentary frame to the ones I used for my butterfly prints at "Michaels". The full story behind my butterfly prints can be found by clicking here.

I am currently working on some more family related "ART" for my foyer.  I will be sharing the outcome of this project soon.  Has anyone else scored some nice art pieces lately?