Pantone chips . . . basic art turned upside down

How many times have you gone to the hardware store and walked away with a handful of paint chips?  Inevitably, you make a decision and then pitch the "possibles" in the trash.

I have been inspired! For years I have collected my extra paint chips, knowing that one day I would do something with them.  Now I am determined.

The possibilities are endless...

I could cut them into strips and layer them to create a textural piece of art...

artwork by Peter Combe

 I could make a abstract mosaic...

picture from artrick-playground

I could tear them into shapes and create an impressionist collage...

image from physicsforum

I could pixel-late a favorite photo and create a mural with the paint chips...

 

image from Apartment Therapy

I could cut them into strips  or different shapes and make a  mono-chromatic graphic design...

image from the 3r's blog

image from angelinaladawn

I could cut them into circles and layer them like fish scales...

artwork by Peter Combe

In my search for paint chip art...I found a very cool product called ixxi.

"ixxi is a modular connecting system. With x's and i's you can make your own photo enlargement or photo collage in any format possible. Create your own wall decoration or room divider!" (from ixxi website)

What I love, is their pixelated images such as the ones below:

Image Source: ixxi

Image Source: ixxi

close-up of the pixelated bird

Image Source: ixxi

and their photo mosaics...

Whether you attempt paint chip art yourself...or if you decide to go the consumer route...you can't go wrong with sticking with the basics- little pieces of color : )

Veteran's Day...an unclaimed inspiration

To my shame... I saw my FIRST Veteran's Day parade this past weekend.

We were downtown for my daughter's ballet lesson, and decided to stay so the girls could see the parade.  It was so windy and there was a chill to the air, but we wrapped them up and held them tight as a military band started to play and the parade began.  We watched as high school ROTCs marched down the road and vintage cars slowly drove by.  Groups of motorcycles  waving POW flags rolled past, revving their engines the whole time.

We watched...and the girls loved it...Then a moment came that is hard to let go of.  A vintage pick-up truck with a "recipients of the Purple Heart" banner was inching past us.  The passenger of the truck was a kind-faced man at least 85 years old.  He was waving to the crowd, and then he glanced our way.  I had told the girls to wave and yell "Thank you!" as people passed.  I was holding Isabella, our three year old, and when she saw this man, she waved and yelled "Thank you!".  He looked at her...and I could see the emotion on his face as he waved to her energetically and said "Thank you for coming out".  At that moment I was ashamed that this man was thanking us.  He had been wounded in the defense of our country, had made innumerable sacrifices, and he was thanking us for watching a parade.  It seemed like such a small gesture to honor this man and all of the men and women who have made the commitment to protect what we all take for granted.   

 

My grandfather joined the Army in 1941. He served as a medic, a first sergeant with the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division that was in the first assault wave to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Today he is 93 years old and about to celebrate his 70th wedding anniversary with my grandmother Clyde.  I had always known that he was a veteran of WWII, but he rarely spoke of it.  In fact, he just started recounting some of his experiences in the past few years.  The video above was made by a local tv station three years ago.

Grandma and Grandpa were married on December 20th, 1941, after he enlisted in the army.  He shipped off to England in September of '42.  He and Grandma would not see each other again for almost four years.  She wrote him every day (you can see some of the vmail she wrote to him in the picture above).  And even though he would often not receive her letters for weeks,  he has said that her words about everyday life at home helped him immensely.  Sacrifices were made not only by the servicemen and women, but by the loved ones they left behind- the spouses, parents, brothers and sisters and children who worried about them.

From the stories grandpa has told and more from what I know he has never said....I know the war changed him.  My grandfather is the most honorable man I know.  He is a consummate joker, a great storyteller, a wonderful inventor,  a loyal husband and friend, an amazing father and grandfather and my everlasting inspiration.

 I thank you Walter Lawrence Dickens, not only for what you did for our country, but what you have meant to me and everyone who has known you.  I love you.


Even though it is a small gesture- take the time to appreciate what others have sacrificed for us.  Thank a veteran today.

Dance Birthday Party...

There is a short time in our lives, where everything is magical.

It is during this time, that we wait very impatiently for our birthday to come... go to sleep on command for fear that the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus will not visit us...and we believe everything our parents tell us.  Some of my most vivid memories are of that period of time... when I could feel pure joy at the drop of a hat. 

Watching two little girls grow up has helped me regain some of that magic.  In the past, birthdays in our house have consisted of a very large meal for all our friends and family, a themed cake and a very loud rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung to the birthday girl.

Last year was the first year Ava, our oldest daughter, had any opinions at all about her party.  She wanted a singing and dancing party...she didn't give me a lot of details, so I just ran with it, and tried to make it as special as I could.

I made microphone invitations and an accompanying cd of her favorite songs. We made sure to send out the invites early, so the kids would have a chance to familiarize themselves with the songs, if they did not already know them.

 There was one thing I knew would be crucial to pull off a dance party and that was a dance floor.  I looked into renting one, but I could not find exactly what I was looking for.  I ended up making this 8x10 checkerboard dance floor for about $38.  It took a little time, but it was the biggest hit of the party. ( If you want to know how to make this dance floor for your kids, look below.)

For the fun and games, all of the kids made personalized microphones when they first arrived.

1. I cut PVC pipe into 9" pieces and sprayed them black. 
2. I then attached a silver glitter ornament to the pipe with a glue gun.  
3. The kids then decorated their microphones with foam stickers of their names, flowers, stars etc...

The rest of the time was spent singing and dancing, the dj / me taking requests the whole time : )

Ava is not a big cake fan, so I decided to make cupcakes for the kids and a small cake for any adults at the party.  I saw the cutest microphone cupcakes in the What's New, Cupcake book, so I decided to try them out.  I had to make a couple changes, but I think they turned out pretty well.  On the 8" cake, I made a dance floor and a "little Ava" sitting in the middle of the floor.  I made the disco ball out of another Christmas ornament mounted on a dowel.

As favors, we gave each girl a tutu and a flower headband from Halo Heaven.  And of course they took home their microphones.  

Ava's 6th birthday is right around the corner and she has made a few requests- her imagination has taken flight... literally.  The theme is "butterflies".  I will keep you posted...

Birthdays can get crazy, and over the top but I try to keep in mind that kids have this small window of time when they can be amazed and  feel magical.  All it takes is a little time, a little planning and big checkerboard dance floor : )

To make the dance floor:

You will need 3 4'x8' sheets of hardiboard, liquid nails, white semi-gloss paint, roller, painter's tape and black semi-gloss spray paint.

1. When you buy the hardiboard, have the hardware store cut one sheet in half and then cut one of the halves in half again.  In the end, you should have two 4'x8' sheets, a 2'x8' piece and two 1'x8' pieces.  
2. Paint the two 4'x8' pieces and the one 2'x8' piece by rolling them with white semi-gloss paint. Let it dry at least 24 hours.  
3. Decide how big you want your squares and then measure and tape them off with the painter's tape. (My squares were 2'x2' square).  
4. Spray paint the taped off squares with the black semi-gloss spray paint. Remember that you will have to do this in sections, by skipping rows, so you can re-tape the next row and keep your squares perfect.  
5. After all the paint has dried, flip the three pieces over (making sure that the black and white squares alternate when flipped), push the pieces together until they are flush with one another, the small piece (2'x8' piece) being in the middle. 
6. Run a bead of liquid nails on either side of the two cracks and then one of the two 1' pieces on each seam.  You may want to put some heavy books on the joining pieces while they dry.  I let my floor dry 24 hours before trying to flip it.  It took both Jason and I to do it, so make sure you have help when you are flipping it over.  
7. And then voila! you have a perfect dance floor!  

Happy dancing!

I want to hear from you...

Love Klimt- has nothing to do with this post, but I love him : )

If you visited this site yesterday....you probably are noticing a ton of changes.  I would really love your opinion whether you like the changes, or if you liked the way the blog looked before.  Having a hard time deciding -

Some of the changes-

• changed the background to white so the pictures would show up better.

• made the music something you can choose whether you want to hear while you are browsing- still located at the bottom of the page : ) I find music too inspirational to not have it at all.

• created a border on either side of the posts so they would be easier to read.

Let me know.

And thank you for continuing to read.  I appreciate you : )