DIY Watercolor Quote Art

July 15, 2014 | Decor, DIYs

So last week I shared my office gallery wall. One of the pieces I created was a printed quote over a watercolor I did. I love the contrast between the printed typography and the fluidity of the paint.

Here’s how to make your own!

Supplies needed:
- Watercolors or Acrylic paint
- White duck cloth or thin canvas (I used duck cloth because I used it for several other projects)
- Freezer paper
- Inkjet printer

I started by lightly wetting my entire piece of fabric (make sure to put something down to protect your workspace from water and paint bleed-thru). I began painting with my lightest color and basically just did brush strokes as if I were trying to clean it.

TIP: A little paint goes a LONG way if you’re using acrylics so start light.

There’s no wrong way to do this…it’s just art, not brain surgery.

I tend to create 2 or 3 pieces at a time and then pick the one I like the best and toss any I don’t like.

After your paint dries iron your fabric flat (on the non-painted side). Then cut freezer paper to the size you want your final piece.

As long as you can run it thru your printer you can make it any size (most likely anything smaller than 8.5×11).

Iron the freezer paper to the back of your fabric (shiny side down), then trim off the excess fabric.

Now you’re ready to print!

Just lay out your artwork (or download mine below) and set your page size to match your fabric size. Then load your fabric and print it!

The first time I did this I 100% assumed it would be a total fail and my printer would jam but this actually DOES work. Proof:

And that’s it.

Want to download the quote and print for yourself?

Download Quote Art

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Office: Gallery Wall – Creative Inspiration

July 7, 2014 | Bliss, Decor

When we moved into our new house we I immediately claimed the room with the largest window and most sunlight for my office. Since I freelance I need a space to actually work but I also use it as my craft space.

Above my workspace I created a gallery wall. It’s been a long time coming since I started my office makeover…then we moved and I had to start all over in a new space.

But here is where I do most of my work:

The entire space isn’t totally finished since my non-essential projects are at a stand-still for now and my other desk has become a temporary first-aid station.

Obviously I started writing this months ago since my calendar still said May…it currently says June so I’m going to assume I took this midway thru last month. The calendar is from Sugar Paper.

Creative Workspace

I feel like it’s constantly changing as I find new things to frame.

I made this gold 3D heart with my Silhouette Cameo and the pattern that can be found here. After just looking at that page I want to make a whole bunch more of them because they’re so adorable. I love framing things without glass and having them come out into the space. Eventually I’d like to make my feather artwork something more dimensional.

Office Gallery Wall, DIY Painting

I love the Coco & Hearts paintings by Jen Ramos but they’re always sold out so I made my own inspired-by brush-stroke painting. I actually make about 4 and then just framed the one I liked best.

The ampersand art was inspired by Two Twenty One’s Glitter State (although I just used my cutter to cut it out of glitter paper).

The quote is a good reminder especially to me since I always tend to take on too much.

The herringbone art was just a fun painting I created to take a break from working on the computer.

The top print says “I never met a color I didn’t love” and can be purchased from etsy seller Pencil Shavings Studio (I made mine).

Office Gallery Wall, DIY Painting

This was a mixed media piece I created to remind myself to take creative risks.

My gold dog tape dispenser stands guard near my polka dot pencil cup.

My DIY Bulletin board and my degree (which I just framed…10 years after receiving it) hang to the left of my workspace.

Creative Workspace

So that’s one wall of the office, maybe I’ll put all the junk I moved off my desk back and photograph the rest eventually…when it’s clean…my husband just laughed.

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The Ultimate Roll-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

June 30, 2014 | DIYs, Parties

I finally bit the bullet and purchased this beauty over the weekend:

I’ve always wanted a stand mixer but couldn’t justify the expense. However since recently I have trouble using a hand mixer, I figured now was as good a time as any. I love this color (they carry it at Target so save yourself shipping). Even my husband said it was nice looking, which is a good thing since it takes up a lot of counter real-estate and he had to rearrange several things to make a spot for it (I’m chalking it up to his love for baked goods).
One of my favorite things to bake are custom decorated sugar cookies.

They’re definitely time consuming but a nice touch for special occasions.

I decided to start teaching myself how to decorate three years ago so I’ve been thru my fair share of recipes trying to find one with the qualities I like (good flavor, minimal spreading during baking), for chocolate roll outs I use LilaLoa’s recipe for sugar I use my own:

ROLL OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Makes approx. 28 (depending on your cutter size)
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 cups butter, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons almond extract
(Sub 1/2 cup almond paste for flavoring)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla and almond extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Cover dough and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thick and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on to the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hopefully once I get thru my physical therapy I’ll be able to bake everyone a batch of beautifully decorated “Thank You” cookies (although they may end up being Christmas cookies by the time I can pipe steadily again).