paint chip art

Back in July Jessica Jones of How About Orange posted about using paint chips to make art. There are many versions of paint chip wall art but I liked her geometric triangles the best.

I decided to make one for Michael for Christmas. I grabbed a few paint chips, made a template and started cutting. My triangles looked like they were all the same size but once I started putting them together and found they were not the same size. Close but not exact. It almost looked cool but I knew the imperfections would bug me.

Enter Plan B. I grabbed a 1 1/4" square punch. Punched out a bunch of squares and sliced them in half, corner to corner. Since I only had to make one cut, all the pieces were the exact same size. Whew! The triangles were a different shape then Jessica's but I was okay with that- 'make it your own' and all that. Plus considering the size of the art I was making it was way faster than cutting by hand.

Then came the fun part, making the design. I played around with the triangles until I found a pattern I liked.  I added a second row to check if I liked how the pattern repeated.

Then I prepared my backing paper with some guidelines to keep everything straight. I sprayed the backing paper with spray adhesive and laid out the pattern, keeping the colors completely random.

This part was really quick and it wasn't long before my paper was full!

I put in in a mat and frame I already had and it was done. Michael was really pleased with it and I like that it sort of looks like a mini-quilt.

(uh, just ignore all that crap under the desk. mmm-kay?)

in orange

this might be my favorite one yet. which works out well because it is for me!


the best thing about these wristlets is that they are so versatile. you can use it as a cosmetic bag, a coin purse, a pencil pouch, my kids store their "treasures" in theirs. i use mine as a clutch when i escape out of the house sans kids and can ditch the diaper bag. it is the perfect size for my phone, keys and wallet. like last night, when i went to a movie ALL BY MYSELF! no one talking to me or touching me. it was a much needed break!




i added this wristlet to kimba's DIY day. go check it out. there's lots of inspiring stuff there!

gray and yellow bag

i love yellow. especially when paired with gray. i bought this gray and white fabric a while ago at IKEA of all places. i didn't know what i was going to make with it but i knew i liked it. the yellow is an old sheet from my mother-in-law. i used the buttercup bag pattern.


i made a few changes to the pattern- enlarged it by 30% on my copier and then added an additional two inches in length, much longer strap so bag can be worn across the body, extra pockets inside, added a interior band of the exterior fabric along the top of the bag.


i also made a matching accessories bag for all the little items that are usually buried at the bottom of my bag. my most favorite has to the be the key tether i added. i will never again have to dig to find my keys!


i love that the yellow is like a little surprise just for me. though i wish i had made the bag a little bigger. it's already pretty full!

tulip fields

i have seen these around on a few blogs but i wanted to post them here anyway because i just can't get enough of them!




via apartment therapy