Turning Child's Art into Embroidery

From this:



To this:



I simply traced the design in pencil onto lightweight fabric. She got very excited each time she checked in and saw another element finished. My favorite part is the lit windows :) Oh, and the "worker" on the roof of our house (???). The most meaningful element, and the one which prompted me to choose this piece to embroider, is the hearts. Her drawing has come a long way this summer and hearts are her favorite go-to symbol all of a sudden. I heart her hearts!

Nutella, ella, ella

I commissioned a painting from my husband's longtime friend, Chris Tarango. After seeing some of his work in person and on his web site, I e-mailed him a JPG of a Nutella jar asking, "What can you do with this?" I explained my vision of a Warholesque composition, but gave him the artistic freedom to do whatever he liked. I think it turned out amazing! Go check out his site. www.christarango.com

A Case for Art

I made these fold-up art cases for the cousins, who are traveling and love to draw. Perfect!









I followed this tutorial for the dimensions. Half the fun was picking out contrasting fabrics that I thought each child would like. What was not fun was being sent the wrong size Moleskin notebook from Amazon.... I found a close-in-size drawing pad from Target and used the Exacto knife to trim it to size. My thumb is still numb....

Dandy Paintings

After much deliberation on how I could cheat and easily paint, stencil, transfer, or stamp this design, I just went for it and painted it freehand. I couldn't be more pleased!

I had the two bead board panels in place on either side of the back door to hide the eyesore that was dog scratches in the drywall. I used some leftover green Behr and white acrylic paint on the smooth backside of the panels to create the dandelion design. Now, let's hope the dog keeps her paws off my masterpieces!

Sun Prints

Interior Art

I believe that having art on the walls, and lots of it, and changing it around often, is the most fun you can have with interior decorating. It keeps things interesting and detracts from the inability to rearrange furniture in a small space, something I've always been fond of doing.

After I moved one art piece out of the dining area, I realized I needed some window valances to draw the eye upward, away from the cluttered dining/craft/sewing/chalkboard table. (Actually, I may have had that idea after I found this amazingly perfect fabric at IKEA, and had to come up with a use for it.)

Textile piece, gifted from the husband, K's canvas art, and a thrift store piece.

An Edie Harper from my grandparents' collection, paintings by me, and a marble painting of K's.

Valances via IKEA fabric. I love love LOVE that you can cut your own yards off the bolt. There is something so satisfying, almost rebellious about that....

Tree Art

Burlap covered canvas, fabric leaves, and a surprise for the tree.

Do you see the little hand??? Her arm is the trunk and her fingers the branches!
HANDmade, get it?!

I love this addition to our art wall.

(Copied from this blog. Such a great idea!)

Chalkboard Paint

I painted our kitchen table with black chalkboard paint. Fun! If you attempt this, wear gloves as skin absorbs this paint rather quickly and won't let it go. I can do long equations on my hand right now. Regardless, we've had fun coloring, drawing, and writing each night before dinner. It wipes away easy enough, and, aesthetically, it is a great improvement to our kitchen. The possibilities are endless....

Found Book

ounting Rhymes. Amazing what you find when you go through the bookshelves in your own home. The pages were so worn and yellow (but smelled, ah, terrific) and the cover was falling off, so I decided to frame it. I think I will go back and paint the frame white....

Silhouettes

I am so happy to have a new silhouette of my girl, to go alongside the one from when she was a baby. There's really no comparison! I do think she looks a little like me in the top one :-)
PS - the photo on the right of the silhouette, of which you can only see a snippet, is the Kennedy School where Turner and I stayed in Portland, OR when I was four months pregnant with Kennedy. Coincidence?!?! If you're ever in the area, GO TO THERE.

Bucket O' Decoupage

You too can turn an ordinary plastic cheese ball bucket into a colorful container using some Modge Podge, cut-up magazines, and kids' artwork (or your own)! Is there anything cuter for markers and crayons?

cut

Marble Painting

Painting with marbles turns ordinary paper into a very cool, frame-worthy piece of preschooler art.

Supplies--

1 box lid
As much paint as you want/have
As many marbles as you want/have
3 sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper
Bucket and hose to wash of the marbles when done

Instructions--

1. Tape down the paper.

2. Pour in the paint:


3. Then the marbles:
4. Swish them all around:

5. Voila!

Alpha-Bits

Made by Girl

I can see this in Kennedy's room. Or mine with some random word thrown in: EAT or DREAM or TINTINNABULATION....

Oh my moomah

Moomah

I dreamt that I brought this wonderful place to Austin. I want to go to there. I also dreamt that I had a maid, who wanted to be called a home care assistant. I'd call someone who mopped my floors a Queen if she so desired....

WhiteLightnin'

WhiteLightnin' by coatsmel

1. Scrabble wall tiles
2. Faux-notebook paper dish towel - awesome!
3. Earrings
4. Owl umbrella stand - to scare away the grackles
5. K bag
6. Yogurt maker

And It Has Been Written

shamrock, originally uploaded by melissa.coats.

Kennedy has officially written her name! I am kind of shocked -- in a few short weeks she has gone from what looked like EKG lines to Xs and Os, and now all the letters of her name.

Personal note: I used to write my name backwards when I was little, as if you should hold the paper up to a mirror to read it. Freaked my mom out. I also practiced penmanship in the Bible, which is a big NO NO. What can I say, I liked the feel of the paper!

Family Portrait

Kennedy drew this family portrait at school. I'm glad her teachers know her daddy's name lest they think Turner is mommy's new boyfriend or something. I think it's especially cute that she thought to include her doggies too.

Street Art

This is too cool. Our Google street view just shows the alleyway and a bunch of dead grass.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081112/ap_on_hi_te/tec_google_street_art