Picture, Picture On The Wall, Which Of You Is Fairest Of Them All?

Deciding what to put on your walls is not easy.  There are so many different ways to go design-wise.  At the end of the day, you need to pick a vision and just go with it.  I like to put things up on my walls that mean something to me and or really appeal to my aesthetic.  In my previous posts, you can see some of the things I've chosen, but here I want to talk more in depth about my favorites.

In my old apartment, while redesigning, I found on ebay these gorgeous very large jade carvings.  I had to have them.  They came from far away and when I opened the box, my expectations were exceeded.  I got the idea to frame them and hang them on the wall which was a fantastic way to display them.  I was lucky to find shadow box frames from Michael's Craft Store that were the perfect size.  The frame and the matte inside were boring white.  I wanted to customize the frames.  I purchased a red matte board for the back of the shadow box.  I then took the white matte boards and cut out a cool design in the corners (you'll see).  The jade carvings were relatively heavy and I had no idea how to secure them in the frames.  So I sought expert advise.  I went to my local picture frame store and asked them what to do.  I couldn't believe my ears when the gentleman told me to use regular Elmer's glue.  Who knew?  It worked like a charm.  But I'm not done yet.  I got some gold spray paint and painted the wooden frame around the shadow box.  It was in keeping with my design palette.  One means longevity and the other good health or maybe it was good fortune or good luck, I'm sure I wrote it down somewhere.

Here is a picture with these in context.

Sadly, I can't figure out how to use them in my new place. Anyone want to buy one or the pair? I could change some of the coloring and potentially use in my red bedroom.  I could also paint the jade but that would be a shame.  If you are wondering what those pieces were in between the two frames, I got these Indian looking ashtrays at Urban Outfitters and took plate hangers and put them up.  You would never know they were ashtrays. 
I also got this silver beaded candle holder and it was pretty when the candlelight flickered. 

Another, more recent favorite wall hanging was inspired by a childhood memory.  At the house I grew up in, there were these bushes that flowered and smelled so good to me.  I remember cutting off some of the little white and pink bouquets and bringing them to my mother.  Or putting them in a cup in my room to enjoy the scent.  A few years ago, I remembered them and had no idea what they were called.  I searched online looking at the pictures, hoping to recognize the flowers. I remembered that they looked like little puff balls or little wedding bouquets.  I even went back to my old house on a covert mission, but sadly the occupants seemed to have just bulldozed the bushes out and all that remained were shreds of dead wood.  My friend and I even stopped along the road a few times thinking we had found it, but they didn't have the scent.  Finally, I went to a nursery and described the flower and scent, sort of similar to lilac, to the guy there and he knew exactly what I was talking about - the thing I was searching for was a Viburnum Carlessi Bush, otherwise known as Koreanspice Viburnum.  This bush only flowers for a few weeks in April of each year AND to my delight they had some bushes for sale! Even though it was past the time of flowering for the year, I was in heaven.  I promptly asked my good friend, who was driving around with me trying to find them, if she would plant the bush in her yard if I bought it for her.  She said of course.  I had to wait almost a whole year but sure enough it bloomed with the beautiful fragrance I had yearned to experience again.  So, for the last couple of years, "Ilana's Viburnum bush" has happily flowered.  I tell you this story because I want you to understand the importance and meaning this flowered bush has for me.  Naturally, I kept a clipping and pressed it and now the Viburnum has a place of honor in my home the whole year through, a little reminder of something that made me happy in my childhood (I'm getting teary).  I found a great big frame at Joanne Fabrics and a matte that had an 8 X 10 opening.  I found a pretty pearlized textured stationary sheet of paper from Michael's to serve as a background and elmer glued the pressed flower to the stationary paper and then put it all together. It is now hung in my dining area. I wanted white on white and remember that there will be the Graham and Brown Darcy wallpaper behind it eventually (www.grahambrown.com or see previous posts).  Here are the visuals, I wish I could somehow post the scent too. 

Thanks for stopping by and Stay tuned for more creativity!

The Flowers That Bloom In the Spring, Tra La

I like to take pictures of flowers really close up, who doesn't?  Macro photography is another hobby of mine.  Example:

I wanted to use my photography in my decor.  I had one of my photos blown up on canvas by www.chiccanvas.com to the largest size they had 30 x 40. I wanted to put this canvas centered over my couch ("well, what would you do?").  So I did, but it just wasn't big enough for the wall and I wasn't satisfied.  I love the colors but something was missing.  So I thought and I thought and then it occurred to me, I love diamonds and gemstones, I use it as part of my decor, so why not bling up the canvas!  Here's what the canvas looks like on the wall before I got crafty.

See what I mean?  The proportion is all wrong.  Though my lovely white side tables and green lamps are really cool.  (excuse the sheet on the couch, have kitty need sheet)

So I made a floating bling frame to go around the canvas and here's how I did it.  First I measured of course and figured out how big I wanted the frame to be.  Then I went on to ebay and found square flat backed foil backed acrylic rhinestones that were 12mm.  I bought 2000 of those suckers for almost nothing, thank you ebay!  I then went to home goods and found white pre-painted 8 foot pieces of wood that were 3 inches wide (12mm pieces would fit in 5 rows) and 1 inch deep.  I have a hand saw, nothing fancy, that I used to cut the wood into 4 pieces.  2 longer ones and 2 shorter ones.  I then went back to home depot and found brackets and wood screws so I could join the 4 pieces in the back so it would be rock solid and invisible.  I joined the pieces - 2 long pieces on the right and left and the 2 shorter ones on top and on bottom to make the frame size I wanted.  Then I painted the whole thing silver using acrylic paint.  Then using Elmer's clear glue, I glued down 1800 individual 12mm square rhinestones, one by one and made sure they were in even lines.  This took several sessions over a few days. After it dried, I hung it up on the wall around my canvas and here's what it looks like now in all of it's AWESOMENESS!!!

Doesn't it make the wall pop!  Here is a closeup so you can see more detail.

More bling later.....

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more creativity!