Painting Pillows

My creativity has really been sparked this year, thankfully, as it is one of the things that I've written in my journal at the beginning of the year that I would like to use more frequently this year.  Ever since I put up those floating shelves in the dining room/sweat shop, I now have things within an arms reach.  Like those paint brushes...

...the only thing I have done with the paint brushes in the past 7 years is move them from one place to the next....6 times....I have moved 6 times in the past 7 years and the paint brushes have managed to stick around despite my love for purging items every-single-time I move.  I find that is the case with most of my CREATE stash.  I won't throw any of it away...(oh except for thousands of dollars worth of fabric that got ruined in the basement of one of my dwellings....sigh....I'm still having a hard time with that almost 6 years later...) but anyway....what was the reason I am here posting???.....oh, right, the paint brushes....so yeah, I haven't touched those things in 7 years!!!!  Well, I found some time to start a little project that coincides with wanting to add more color to my place AND the use of my creative abilities.

I was in Wal-Mart the other night and was inspired by the design on this throw pillow

so I snapped a picture of it with my trusty camera phone and headed to the craft section for some fabric paint.    I figured I'd use some of the table cloth I had purchased 2 years back at a Goodwill in Savannah as the cover fabric since it will coordinate with the table runner I recently made for the dining room table and this other pillow I recently made using the same table cloth and some leftovers from the Duff Dress.

I'm not sure if I am in love with it or if it looks like a kids craft project.  It's now sitting on one of the dining room chairs until I have enough pillows made to throw them on the couches making it all look like I meant to totally throw things off by combining bright/loud/colorful throw pillows to our 1990s navy, hunter,tan, burgundy plaid sofa and love seat set BF purchased from a garage sale for $50 that we are happily working with until we can afford some new couches in a color and fabric of our choice.  I am hoping that by doing this, your eye is drawn to the bright and colorful pillows and you don't even notice the couches...we'll see if it works.  It's not like anyone comes over really, and if they do, they are coming to see us, not our couches.  :)

So anyway, back to the painting project (sorry A.D.D much?)...here's what it looked like Sunday night:

I have a long way to go before it will be finished.  I've already added another band of dots in orange since snapping this low-quality camera phone picture. (Sorry, my Real camera is busted.....I can't justify purchasing another one at this point, we just got over Christmas!)


So, I'm already having fun and being creative in 2011, but I can't believe that January is almost over with already!!!!  YIKES!!!

Oh and on a Weight Watchers side note, I'm down 5 lbs!!!  W00t!

AND  I love BF more and more everyday, it's amazing how much we grow on a daily basis...It's great to grow together with someone, instead of growing apart.  :)

Life is great!

A Dress, A Porch & Two Pillows

I had this very cute summer dress that I purchased cheap and I adored, however it was not possible to wear the dress with a bra.  I am no way able to wear a dress without a bra....though one drunken weekend last April (2009 - Savannah...awesome weekend getaway with my girls for Gretchen's Bachelorette weekend) anyway, I digress....I DID wear the dress and went Bra-less...YIKES!

So yes, this was the last time I wore the dress especially since the straps broke this evening (probably from trying to hold up the girls).
I recently went through some old things and came across the dress, I adored it just as I did the first time I saw it in the store.  "What am I going to do with this, I can't get rid of it", I thought to myself.  Then the light bulb went off!!!
I thought about the porch camping chairs that I have.  I really can't afford new patio furniture, and the camping chairs are just not comfortable enough for the amount of time we spend out on the porch.

 PILLOWS!!!  Easy! And I'll be able to enjoy the pattern of the soft woven fabric on a daily basis!

And here's a close-up

And here is a side by side of the dress and the new pillows!!

I love that I got to keep my dress.  I love that I kept the dress out of the landfills.  I love my new pillows!