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This image is a reminder to me as a painter that sometimes, people don’t care about your skill. They just want to see popsicles, and be snappy about it!
Image from One Kings Lane Longstreet Collection
I’m sorry, I know I’m getting a little random. But how cool is this?
I am as fanatic about rainbows as ever. I wonder if I would freak anybody out if I did this to my hair?
Rainbow Ombre Tips from Beautylish
September 2010 Elle Decoration (UK) for the new collection of paints from Fired Earth.
Tassel Garland by Confetti System
Fringey Streamers by Oh Happy Day; photo doctored by Ardent Sparrow
Today…I give you the artistry of Kristian Schuller.
Sunny Leo by Robert Farkas available at Urban Outfitters
I am playing with my food! Whee! This is one of many projects I have going right now. I would probably finish projects faster if I did one at a time, but sometimes when I’m in the middle of a project it sparks another that I never would have thought of if I hadn’t been doing the original project. Creativity begets creativity.
While in Cannon beach for the afternoon, Ben bought this amazing bubble wand. A little Joy or Dawn some baking powder and a bucket created this monster bubbles….which we can’t wait to try again when it isn’t so windy!
So, like I said, we were at church camp this weekend. Husby spent several summers during his childhood going to Camp Ghormley, and I actually spent a week there counseling as a church intern. I think the intern staff also retreated there once. And I distinctly remember spraining my ankle on the steps of my cabin…oh, about ten years ago now. It just tickles me pink that after traveling from Washingon, and residing in Nashville for 6 years, we have come full circle and are taking our kid to church camp at a place that is already full of good memories for us (except the ankle).
Out the cabin window. Nice silhouette, honey! I don’t think I took this one.
I’m kind of proud of those sunbursts. Here’s the dining hall entrance. In case Christianity isn’t your usual cup of tea, ‘Servants Entrance’ is in regards to everyone, based on the words of Jesus, ‘If anyone wants to be great among you he must be servant of all.” The sign does not indicate that we go bossing the camp staff around. Better not, because they’re clipping you into the zip-line. Haha. 
A little ‘shmallow and Kumbayah action. We joked that if we were at camp when the rapture happened, we might not know. Christians actually believe in the rapture, but also in the Scripture that says NO ONE knows when it’s coming. Just to clear that up.
Frog rock! Visit Rimrock! I think ‘our’ Frog Rock beats the one below in the Canterbury Plains.
On the way home, an amazing rainbow in the clouds.
Aaaaaand, extra bonus round; here are some photos I took between Yakima and Richland. All these are taken from the car, by the way! Not bad, little Lumix!
I love bubbles so much it isn’t even funny. I was so excited to see Joanna’s post about bubbles at Cup of Jo the other day. The bubble painting below was done years ago from a photo taken while blowing bubbles at night. They were lit by my grandparent’s porch light, and the result was truly trippy. And magical. At the park today, I got to do my own rendition of Odin Hole Standal’s soap bubbles over the fjord. Don’t judge too harshly, because last time I checked, Tri Cities does not have a fjord or mountains with snow, and also, I didn’t get up at sunrise. But still, aren’t they pretty?
Bekka posted this over at Oh Joy! and I am swooning. From Smallable. By the way, ‘swoon’ is a really overused bloggy word so I’m giving myself one a month. Help me stay accountable.
Yep.
…and what you can do to enjoy them a little longer than your Mai Thai. 🙂 Skill Level: EASY
So, the very first thing I did was paint the frame using my very fancy method: a rag and paint. Wipe it on, wipe it off, do it again after it dries. Then, I ripped all the piping off (fabric over fat yarn, basically). It was stapled on to cover up the staples that were keeping the fabric on the furniture. Then out came those staples! That’s where
1. Hammer
and
2. Standard Screwdriver
came in handy. I used the hammer to tap under the stubborn staples. I was ripping the couch apart. It was a bit exhilarating, I must say. They key is to keep the fabric pieces INTACT so you can use them as a pattern for your next pieces.
Oops, I forgot to mention my good friend
3. Mr. Pliers. He also helps get the staples all the way out. (Below): What I really like is when you can grab the piping and just yank it off with your bare hands. Did I mention this is good stress relief?
Now for some more fun:
Above: ironing new piece and cutting to match new piece (with extra around edges for attaching to furniture)
Leave an about an inch and a half around the edges.
New piece. I wish there was a magic way to get it on here. I just finagled until it looked right.
I started with a staple gun but it was rough going, and I didn’t want to put piping over all of it to hide it.
So, on the chair, I went with exposed upholstery tacks (found at Joann’s). I should mention that the nice clean edge of the folded fabric is because the fabric is folded over upholstery cardboard, which comes in a roll, also at Joann’s fabrics. The lady at the store said you can use whatever thin non-corrugated cardboard you have if you cut it into strips, but I didn’t want to piece cardboard. 
So, I sprung for the roll. I mean, I had already passed up on the real upholsterer, the pneumatic nail gun, the button-covering machine…I figured it was the least I could do!
The arm of the chair was a bit difficult, as I recall. There was some real guesswork (and, er, hot glue) involved with the pieces of fabric that were oddly shaped and difficult to place. Buy a bit extra yardage, if you are spatially challenged, like me. I should add, that after all my disclaimers, you can do this. If I can do this, you can do this. Make sure you get an external frame, though, if you are spatially challenged or not a seamstress.
I had to do some stitching here. Don’t look too closely! Fortunately, the cushion sits on top of this area.
Going backless! I reused the old batting here, even though it’s kind of ratty. See those threads hanging down? That was where the original buttons were attached through the chair. Make sure you do the front side and buttons before the back. The back should go on last. Get an upholstery needle. I just linked you to some at Joann’s and I’m not sure which is best. Mine was not curved or straight, it was sort of…bent. It came that way! Anyway, I had to use pliers a couple times to get it through, I recall. I guess I’m not the only one; I just visited Camila and Jon at effortless style. I actually reused the buttons and glued my own fabric to it. I reused the button thread, too. Maybe you don’t have buttons. Or..maybe you want to cut the buttons off and pretend they happened, which is what I did with the couch!
The couch. Want to know how I did the couch? Lots of hotglue. I didn’t even have to take off as much of the fabric, because I already knew what the shape of the sides were. I had templates left over from the chair. Tricky, huh? And I didn’t take the back fabric off, either, no way. I just cut those buttons off and attached the fabric right over it. BAM! (Sorry, Emeril). That was where the cardboard ‘tape’ came in handy for a nice edge.
Photo credit: Melanie Acevedo
Although my husband lovingly refers to my chair as ‘the exoskeleton chair,’ I think I was emboldened to do the exposed nails because of this settee in J.Crew guru Jenna Lyon’s dressing room. I just re-found this photo over at habituallychic. Beautiful can be a bit messy as long as there are strong bones. This settee definitely has them.
Dear Friends, I told you art was all around us! Help!!! But don’t worry, sometimes you have to make a mess to get cleaned up. If you want to see some of these collages up close (immediately below) you can view them at hannahmcdonald.com.
From Bambaroos Boutique by Mirela Olariu.
from Ikabags. I have one of these, and it rocks. Good diaper bag, or deep enough for celery and wine and long items such as these (speaking from experience, here). Comes in many colors. I have a little skinny blue and white striped number.
From ExpressionsWallArt
From Iwall
From artwallproject
from dreamsbythesea
From HeyYoYo
From goodygoodygumdrops
From Tastycakeartist I just have to say a few words about this one. I really like the detailed but not overwrought look of this artist. Maybe I’m just being narcissistic, but this is similar to how I paint. I let the paint blend visually on the canvas, leaving chunks and streaks. I think it makes for a very painterly, interesting look! And who doesn’t love the subject, cake??
Hi there! Yesterday I promised to show you what the homemade stickers looked like when used. Here they are! If you would like a ‘why it works’ it’s because they are super-sloppy, but controlled because of the confinement of the frame, which is the circle. It’s a little pop of messy and happy, but still neat because it’s a perfect circle. That’s why it works.
Hi again! I know, why is this chick still blogging when it’s dinnertime, wonder all my readers in the same timezone! Because, I just had to show you how much fun we had with paint today. I’ve got lentils cooking on the stove, in case you’re wondering. As for the artwork, we’re a pretty loosey-goosey mixed media family. Some of the paints are watercolors in pans, some in tubes, and some are acrylic paints. There are ‘art’ quality acrylics that sometimes I share, and then there are the cheap-o craft acrylic paints that I am more apt to share. Put it all together and you have a wonderful, beautiful, mess. The paint tray is from Michael’s. The aweseome pages are like a giant post-it-note pad with a frame on each page. I cannot even believe I found it so easily in an online search, but here it is! Mine came from Fabu in Nashville, which I miss. And here’s a quote for you. Hannah out!
“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college – that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, “You mean they forget?” ~Howard Ikemoto
I first read about this project at Crafty Daisies. Here’s how I do it! Peel and break up crayons to fill the compartments of a mini-muffin tin. I have a little one who’s just as in love with peeling and breaking as coloring, which is what sent me in search of this project in the first place. But if that is not the case with you, and you just have some little fingers that need to learn how to make big strokes without holding a flimsy, frustrating, crayon, then may I suggest an Exacto knife for peeling. Anyway. Bake at 275 until the crayons are melted (around 7 minutes) and then put the whole muffin tin in the freezer. In about 30 minutes, the beautiful crayons will just pop right out! Ready to use.
artisallaroundus 
