I already knew I wanted to paint my headboard white…but do I do another gray wall or a MINT wall?!

Kitchen chairs – easy to do! Need to find the perfect paint (Did you know Sherwin Williams does quarts for ~$5? I’m sure it’s comparable to Home Depot prices, but I happen to live 30 seconds from one. The best paint colors I’ve found so far are:

PORTER PAINTS PARSLEY TINT 6998-1 (never heard of that brand. Maybe Home Depot can match?). Also, these look pretty good: 

Clockwise (from some arbitrary starting point, apparently): Garden view -Behr, Breeze-Pittsburgh Paints, Copper Patina-Benjamin Moore, Mint-Valspar, Thinking-Dutchboy

Mint jeans – I like the idea of white jeans, own several pairs, and never wear them. I’m going to dye them mint! I’m the Goldilocks of mint though—not too dark, not too saturated…I want them JUSSSSST RIIIIIIIIGHT. Here are some examples:

I’m pretty crazy about both of these outfits:

There are a few tutorials out there for dying jeans, but I’m going to hold off until I can gather all my white tees, sheets, and towels and do it all at once (but of course I’ll update you). People recommended the Tulip “Green Vert” dye available only at Hobby Lobby (sold out online when I searched…good luck!). Also recommended are RIT liquid dye in Apple Green and Aquamarine. Only combine colors if you have experience in alchemy (not the online game). Things could get pretty tricky.

Click on the photos for links to good tutorials.

Follow me on Pinterest, where I’ve just added a new Mint board.

On another note, I’m also obsessed with peacock, but I’m not having cravings of eating peacock, so it’s not as all-consuming. Here’s a sample:

It all began in 2010 when I found a large 5′ x 7′ canvas near the dumpster in the loft where I was living in downtown LA. It’s kind of an artsy area with a college nearby. I WAS NOT dumpster diving, although I am certainly not against those who chose to do so. As you may know by now, I have much admiration for people who can re-use and re-purpose things. Not only is it more environmentally mindful, I think it takes a certain amount of imagination and vision to see value in something that others view unworthy.

That being said, it’s possible that I have painted over a priceless painting by a French Master (although I highly doubt it). I did not have the foresight to take photos of how hideous this painting was before I painted over it, so I have decided to recreate it with a high-tech tool you may have heard of: Microsoft Paint.

Now, if you tell me that this looks just like this abstract Kandinsky you saw when you visited your Russian billionaire friends, I’ll just die. Keep in mind, this is WAY uglier when it’s painted on a canvas that practically covers a wall:

What IS this? Should I have positioned this vertically in order to “get it?” We toted this from the loft, to Sherman Oaks, and now to Dallas, Texas, where it has finally been re-purposed. Not into a giant Kleenex box pop art statement piece or anything that genius. Just another painting.

First, I taped off a border (you may recognize this from my homepage photo) and used some paint I found in the garage.

I really wanted to paint a giant tandem bicycle like in the first photo of my grandparents because I think tandems are awesome AND because every time I see one, I think of the amazing stories my grandparents have told me about cycling all over Europe.

For example, one night they ‘accidentally” stayed in a brothel. My trickster uncle had recommended it to them and told them how “quaint the arrangements were.” When Papa checked in at the front desk, they were incredulous that they wanted a room for the entire night, not just for an hour. As if that wasn’t enough of a red-flag, Nana said that people kept coming in the room throughout the night. Even though they left immediately with a quick apology, they seemed surprised to see that the room was still in use. At one point a stray dog wandered in (?!). They eventually put a chair up against the door and got a full night sleep.

I don’t know about this story. If you’re like me, a lot of the details just don’t add up…Anyway, I wanted to paint a tandem and my boyband got to work on the details…

Somewhere along this project (early on), I graciously decided that I should share the joys of painting with my spouse and I took him on as an apprentice. Look at how tediously he sketches the tandem to my specifications. Disregard his harsh working environments and the fact that I forbade him to use a pillow to pad his bony knees. “The quest for perfection is painful,” I told him.

Anyway, once he had it all sketched out, I whipped out my primary colors value pack acrylic paint and got to work. I wanted a red bike with metallic silver detailing.

Please disregard the shadow that falls across this masterpiece. Such is life. I’ll post better pics when my dining room table isn’t covered in consignment items

Lastly, this Flight of the Conchords video pretty much does it all for me. Shit. I forgot to play this in the beginning to “set the mood”

Au revoir ma petite dumplings!

I have too many projects in the works right now to focus on one. Concurrently, I have more consignment from clients than I can handle. And the truth is, I wish I could blog every day. So my happy medium for today is that I’m going to just show pictures of things that are inspiring me to do all these projects.  Or you could just follow me on Pinterest!

I love everything about this room at the Ocho Restuarant in the Hotel Havana (San Antonio, Tx).

How amazing is this bright blue Ikat linen fabric I bought yesterday at an upholstery outlet?! ($21 a yard). I wanted to re-do my dining room chairs with this, but I’m a little concerned it will be too crazy with the area rug? I don’t think it really…goes. I think I need a solid linen, the whole, “less is more” idea. What do you think? Perhaps I’ll just make a few huge pillow shams instead.

I guess it does match Spencer’s pet owl…

This was a small corduroy pillow I saw recently, but how awesome would it be to have a huge floor tuffet? Check out that weaving! Well, it wasn’t really weaving so much as it was strategic stitching. I have no idea how it was done, but when I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

This watercolor art puts me in a trance. I’m buying large watercolor paper today! I’m also going to paint an educational chart of a honeybee.

Vintage sofa–how hard could it be to make a platform and cover it with all sorts ofpillows?! (answer: not hard, especially if I’m not building the base and I can get my mom to make the pillows). OOOO with the Ikat print?

I love this outdoor space! (How do the plants grow under the hammock?)

Last but certainly not least, this wall in The King’s Speech (HAYYOOOO two Wallis’ in the house!) blows my mind away. I’m going to do this somehow but I need to find an alternative to the “15 layers of paint, 2 World Wars, and 300 years of waiting” technique.

So I’m home again and thought I’d slap a few more coats of paint on my most recent project. This project is so easy, I thought I’d up the ante and keep my favorite John Varvatos man-sweater on. 

How the hell do you think Bob Ross kept things interesting?! By wearing his finest squirrel…I mean blouse

I found 2 shelves and a wire mannequin on Tuesday at a local thrift store. Both are potentially for my office. I’ve been procrastinating listing all my coats and shirts for clients because I really think part of successfully selling on eBay is the presentation (and keyword search…don’t try to make a sentence. Just list words that you think people would be searching). You don’t see Anthropologie throwing a blouse on a hanger and photographing. Shirts, tops, dresses all look better with a little shape under it. So I got this wire mannequin for $15 and I think I’ll spray paint it neon pink:

Perky Madonna bosoms, right?! She’ll really help me make all my listings look a lot better.

The metal shelves are cheap. They were $5 each and probably cost that much in the ’70′s when they were originally purchased. One has a big dent it and they have an awesome faux-woodgrain print.

As you can see behind the shelves, I have a lot of shoes I’d like displayed and I think these will be the pefect, non-bulky way to do so. Currently, I have a beat up Ikea Expedit bookcase that is taking up too much room. The side bars are a nice brassy gold. I think I’ll keep that.

First step is to prime. I slapped on whatever I found in the garage. Then added Behr “Wet Coral” #190B-6 that I had from the Jewelry Tree Project I did. 

I’ll wait for this to dry, maybe add another coat, then tape off a geometric pattern with painters tape. Maybe something like this?

Then I’ll paint over all of it with Behr Peaceful Night 590F-7.  This is exactly the blue I was looking for. Not crayola blue and not navy. It’s JUUUSSST right!

I would love to do something geometric and then get a Escher print or something. I’ll let you know how it goes with the final product. Shit. I still have 2 more hours until I pick her up from the airport.

I’m obsessed with Restoration Hardware. I think it’s because it’s full of cool ‘found items’ and because it’s usually pretty masculine but with really feminine touches. For example, I found this awesome sea fan art and was shocked at how reasonable the $1,495 price tag was. I began to look up the components, and realized I could easily do this project for $40. Here’s the original $550 and $1495 version and then I’ll show you my $40 and your head will explode:

Really beautiful, right? So here’s what you’ll need:

• Ikea Ribba Frame (20″ x 20″ one = $19.99) Must have depth. My Ribba one is 1.75″ deep.
• Sea fan (TONS of these things on eBay. I’ll give links at the bottom to ones I’ve found). I bought mine for $14
• Paint, if you want a background color other than white.
• 1 tiny nail and  hammer (normal size hammer. Tiny hammer not necessary)
• Thick thread (I have lots of upholstery thread and use it for most projects because it’s SO strong. Maybe it’s called carpet thread. I’ll give links for that too)

Here’s my finished project, then I’ll break it down.

Step 1: Ok buy a shadowbox frame. I used the 20.5” by 20.5″ by 1.75″ Ribba frame from Ikea. Buy whatever you want, but I thought this one was great. There are a few 12″ by 12″ options at Target, but these sea fans are kind of large. I like the large amount of matting on the Ikea frame. The actual working space is only 11.5″ by 11.5″

• AMAZING! They say you’ll get a similar fan to the one in the picture. I guess they’re just too busy to post an actual photo. Great price though
• Another great one!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Someone NEEDS to buy this one. 
• A multi-color one. Someone else needs to buy this one
• I bought this one because it was just so pretty and maybe one of you want to commission a piece of art from me? 
• Black and beautiful. I’d like to try a black sea fan with neon background.  OOOH!
• Another black one
• Pink one
• Another pink one
• Pink–dimensions are large, but maybe you found a large shadow box?
• This one is more like a coral piece but I still really like it
• Big one (maybe you want to mount on a stand or put in a vase?)
• Another big one. SOOO pretty though! The sea fans are nice too (Hey oh!)

Ok you get the idea.  So you have all your supplies. That’s the tedious part.

Step 3: Now, you’ll paint the background in the frame. I found my dark gray in the “oops” section at Home Depot. It’s Behr, but I tried to find the color and it’s been painted over. I tried to take off the paint with nail polish remover and felt like such a sleuth in the process, but also ended up taking off the ink of the sticker. I give up. Here’s my best estimate: Behr Beluga 770 F-7

Here’s where it might get a little tricky. After your background is dry, position your sea fan how you want it on the back. I took my one small nail and hammered 3 holes in places that looked like they would be hidden. Each hole was near a sturdy part of the branch (a thicker stem). Ikea’s is made of particle board, so it’s easy to get through. You don’t leave the nail in. You’re just making several hidden holes. A drill would be overkill in this situation. 

The idea is that once you have a few holes, you’ll thread a needle with whatever color is similar to your sea fan. You will start from the back, thread up and around a branch, trying to make it as hidden as possible. After making the loop, you will go back through the same hole and up through another hole, doing the same thing. Each time you thread, make sure that the line is really tight. You want this sucker ON there! From the front, you shouldn’t be able to see the threading. The backside will look like a slight web of thread. I used upholstery thread (I use it for most projects). If you don’t know how to tie the knot on the back so that it’s big enough to not slip through the hole, just tape the end down and then you can tie it to the other loose piece when you’re all finished.

Any questions? Here are a few shots of how the string is tied to my sea fan. Maybe they’re easy to see up close, but I had to look for a second to see where I’d tied it on. If you scroll back up, you definitely can’t see the string. That vertical black mark is not my string, but part of the fan’s natural markings.

So once it’s affixed, you’re done! Put the frame back together and enjoy. It’s really a simple project and it will look really great. And you’ll save yourself $1,455.

Now, someone please buy the black sea fan and put it on a neon pink background. Maybe I’ll beat you to it!

If you are interested in having Sea Fan Art but not in doing the project yourself, please contact me at WallisLevin@gmail.com

First, I bought that shower curtain I told you about. It’s just plain white, but I have big plans for it. I’m going to paint an octopus or something classy on it. Secondly, I bought good, thick fabric to line the inside of that stinky trunk we bought. Thirdly, I found a stick.

That’s not all! You must think I’m so simple because I considered myself an accomplished human for finding such a beautiful stick! I tore off a branch and I’m going to paint it and stick it here on my bathroom wall (on which to hang necklaces). It’s crape myrtle and is pretty strong (I wonder what Mr. T selected? Probably willow. So dumb. Mr. T needs crape myrtle)

But first I need to paint it. Here’s where things got really exciting. I found this color (third one down). It’s small can of Behr “Wet Coral” #190B-6. It’s going to take a few coats because I really want it lacquered up. I’ll let you know how it looks when I’m finished! (side note, I should have rotated the photo so that you could read the local grocery ad. Basically, the only thing worth buying this week is the red onion. Trust me).

My last project was to paint our bedroom. This is my absolute new favorite paint color and you should RUN, not walk, to Home Depot if you’re in the market for a calming gray paint color. It’s Benjamin Moore “Stonington Gray.” I got the idea from this lady’s dresser.I bought the cheaper Behr version ($25 a gallon) at HomeDepot just by giving them the color code HC 170. I can’t tell you how beautiful it is. Here is a before/after of our bedroom.

I need help knowing what to put on the wall behind the bed. Note the black/white stripe rug. Too similar to the chevron rug I talked about the other day, right? I know. I agree. That’s why we bought the gray/orange branch rug! I’m really excited. It should be here within the week and I’ll post a pic.

Time to get back to work! Today’s goal: plan an estate sale for a client, sell 48,864 clothing items for a different client, line the trunk with new fabric!

A few random things:

I love Eve Lom “Kiss Mix” lip gloss/moisturizer. You will not regret this.

It’s not waxy like Chapstick or slimy like gloss can be. It’s a miracle. Just wanted you to know. I found it for $20 and it will last you 6 months or so, depending on how amazing you like your lips looking, I suppose.

Lastly, here’s a recipe that Ty and I invented last night and then used the left overs for lunch today in a totally new recipe! Just wanted to share. The salad pic looks like a crazy mess.

1. Cut chicken breast into strips. Mix some OJ, brown sugar, and honey in a bowl and mix it up. Pour this mixture and chicken in a pan. Cook it for however long. I don’t know these things but I’m not sick today, so it seems like I did it correctly.
2. Get a salad mix. Put cooked chicken, brown rice (I use those 3 minute microwave bags), cranberries, and walnuts in a bowl and toss with a vinaigrette. I didn’t have any so I mixed some olive oil, balsamic, and salt and pepper together. Again, I didn’t pay attention to proportion. I think it was 50/50 oil/vinegar.
3. Eat it.

We had left over chicken and Tyrone made the most delicious chicken salad sandwich for us today. Here’s how that went:

1. Dice chicken from last night. Put in a bowl and add mayo, a little yellow mustard, more cranberries, almond slices, and grapes. I keep grapes in the freezer for dessert, so we always have some on hand. (I know what you’re thinking…”Geez…this girl really knows how to indulge when she wants to spoil herself. Frozen grapes for dessert! Well, I never”). Salt and pepper to taste. I added a little curry powder to mine and it was MIRACULOUS! Put on some bread and enjoy. I would have also added some celery for crunch.