Chrissie Grace Designs

Remember me?

 

Hi!  Remember me?

It's been a long time...I took an unexpected blog break.  We had such a nice holiday season.  I tried really hard to "stay in the moment" as much as possible.  These kids of mine are growing way too fast!  So I got off the computer, stopped painting, and just enjoyed the holidays.

Now everyone is back to school and I am in my typical New Year mode.  I love resolutions.  I love goals.  I am a fanatic list-maker, dreamer, and schemer.  I made three New Years resolutions:

1.  Get out of debt completely.  That means by this time next year I would like our family to be debt-free (with the exception of our home.)

2.  Drink a lot more water and start cutting back on sugar (I am seriously addicted to sugar!)

3.  I am at 50 sales in my Etsy shop.  My goal is to have 1000 items sold this year.  I know that sounds pretty extreme, but I am working towards that.  I have a lot of new ideas that I will be implementing.

How about you?  Any new goals for 2009?

I'll be back tomorrow with some of my favorite art around the house...mostly done by fellow bloggers and etsy artists, a lot of it new!

Finally-a Before and After!

BEFORE:

 

This is supposed to be the "dining room" of our house, but my furniture takes up the whole room!  So I've got my dining room in the "family room", and our "office" in the dining room.  Are you still with me?:)  Anyway, this room needed a make-over, and I finally finished!

 

We've had these blue curtains in here since we moved in.  The walls were painted a beige color, and then a couple of years I wanted to touch up.  Unfortunately, I bought semi-gloss instead of matte, so the walls have been very splotchy!

Here is the AFTER:

 

Much brighter and cleaner looking!  I painted the walls a nice clean white.  I am very happy with this color.  It is easy to keep clean and makes the rooms look brighter and larger. 

 

The whole color scheme is based around the mosaic on the top.  I made it two years ago and wanted a good place to hang it.  It is a four panel piece.  I wish I had taken some close-up shots of it.  Anyway, I found the new curtains at Big Lots for only $5.  They are too short, but that is a project for another day!

 

 

I made this chalkboard with some scrap wood and chalkboard paint.  I cut the fabric from the curtain tie backs.  I know it's matchy-matchy, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  The chalk holder is from a scrabble game.

 

 

The stars came from Old Time Pottery for almost next to nothing.  I love them! 

 

 

Last but not least, two bookshelves.  They are filled with my favorite books, magazines, and craft ideas.  I still need to hang a couple of book prints, but I'm trying to find the letters R, E, A, D to hang.  I know they have wooden ones at Michaels and Joannes, but I want something a little more original.

I hope everyone has had a good week.  I've been making an effort to stay off the computer a little more this week so I can accomplish more at home on my projects.  It worked!  Now I can play catch up on all my favorite blogs.:0)  Have a great weekend friends!

Is it Thursday already?

Why is it that when you're a little kid, time goes by soooo slowly, and then as a grown-up there are not enough hours in the day?  This week has flown by!

 

I found this cute little fairy in our yard Halloween night...we've decided to keep her!

On to another topic, I am in my reoccuring decorating ADD phase!  It's time for another before and after, and here's a sneak peek:

 

Next week I'll be painting walls, sewing curtains, spray painting frames, and setting up a new bookshelf.  I can't wait to show you the results!

I'm off to the Downtown Disney Folk Art Festival for a three day show.  Wish me luck!

Some Randomness

Thanks toSara I received my first blogger award! 

And thanks to all of you who gave me lots of dishtowel love!

I got 5 emails requesting their very own custom monogrammed dishtowels, and ladies, they are on their way.  If you'd like one, give me a shout-out at gracechrissie@yahoo.com.

It's amazing how many scraps I have!

 

My mom was here this week and we did a run at the Pumpkin Patch.

 

 

 

 

Fun times!  I hope everyone is enjoying their Fall...:)

Before and After

I know some of you love a good before and after, like I do.  This one isn't a HUGE before and after, but sometimes it's the subtle changes that make a big difference.  It's my daughter's room.

BEFORE:

 

Unorganized!

 

Messy!

 

Cluttered!

 

The closet was really bad...

So here is the AFTER:

 

Changed some things around, took some art off the walls to simplify a little.  This room used to be my art studio, and unfortunately I trashed the carpets.  It's time for a good steam cleaning!!

 

Much more organized!

I got this idea from Chrissie (great name-huh?:) at Flip Flops and Applesauce.  They are made of Shrinky Dinks!  Hers are much cuter but mine do the job.  Every canvas box has a shrinky dink label.  It really has helped with organization!  By the way, shrinky dink paper is addictive.  We had craft night last Friday and stayed up until 11 making these.  They are really fun.

 

Love this shelf with her knick-knacks.

 

I got the top shelf for $2 at a thrift store last week and I painted it yellow.  All the little figurines on it were mine when I was a little girl.  Does anyone recognize the avon perfume bottle on the top?:)  Mine still smells.  Below it is a piece I bought at a garage sale for $1.  It is in perfect condition.

 

All the flowers you see in the background are handmade.  I cut them out of thin plywood last year, collaged newspaper on the background, and painted them.  I think they add a lot of whimsy to the room.

There's more to her room, but I don't want to overwhelm you with pictures.  I have been so inspired by other crafty stay-at-home mom's blogs that I wanted to share some of the things I've done to our home to make it more beautiful, clean, efficient, and organized.  I've added some of my new favorite decorating blogs to my favorites for daily inspiration.

Also, I want to give a shout out to Lemon Annie, who featured some of my pictures on her blog today.  I was so excited to see she had mentioned me.  I find a lot of inspiration through her.  Go here and check it out!

My living room

Remember this picture I showed you back in June?  I'm finally happy (almost) with the way the room turned out.  Here's some pix:

 

We have a split floor plan, so this room is open to the kitchen.  I kept the walls white and tried to keep a neutral palette.  The couches have seen better days but we will have them for awhile.  I got the rug, pillows, and valance at Target.  I'm trying to accessorize with red to go with the neutrals and light blue.

 

My plant needs a little help!  I love live plants in the house, but it seems that I have a brown thumb.  I found the red pot at Wal-Mart on sale, and the red metal cross at TJ Maxx for $3 on sale. 

 

This is the view sitting on the couch.  We bought the TV cabinet at IKEA last year, and I'm not really pleased with it.  My 2 year old daughter tore the door on the left off, so that will tell you a little bit about the quality.  But it works for now.  I have my eye out at thrift stores and garage sales for a new, sturdier piece.

 

This is a viewlooking into the kitchen.  You can see the pool area too.

 

I waited every week with my 40% coupons until I collected all three of these oversize keys.  I love them.  I got the print at Old Time Pottery.  I don't usually buy prints or artwork unless it is handmade, but it was very inexpensive and I loved the saying.  It also goes well with the room.

 

I made this huge piece a few years ago.  I wish I could get some better photos of it, or some close-ups.  But the flash gets in my way.  Anyway, it hangs over the couch.

 

Some family pictures with a little red thrown in.  I'd like to redo the lampshade, but I don't know exactly what I want yet.  Maybe a button border...any thoughts?

 

Not a great picture, especially since the flash shows off some smudges in the mirror, but I love this.  Anything birds I gravitate towards.  You can see in the reflection my big clock.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my living room.  You can see I don't like a lot of clutter, but I'm not done quite yet.  I'd like to add a shelf with a few collectables and some more greenery.

Have a great weekend!

Another Etsy update

I love this painting!  Copies are now available in the She Said etsy shop.

I also updated The Jellybean Tree etsy shop.  I put some frames and cards in there, as well as a couple copies of my book, signed!

Okay, on to more important things, like this 8 week old baby of mine that is a chunka monka!!

 

Couldn't you just eat him up?

People, I promise I am only giving this child milk.  He just REALLY likes to eat!:)

 

Here is an updated version of my foyer.  As you can see, the candy corn is almost gone.  In the back is a wonderful print by Sara Mincy.  Check out her etsy shop, she has great prices.  I got super lucky and we did a trade.  Thanks Sara!

A little bit of this, a little of that...

 

 

 

Some cards I whipped up this weekend with leftover felt and scrapbooking papers, and my sewing machine.  I did 10 birds and 20 owls.

 

 

We primed and painted this kids table and chair set from Ikea.  I wish I had a before picture, but just imagine it unprimed with lots and lots of crayon marks on it.  Logan helped me add the polka dots.  The kids love using this little table.

 

Last but not least, a picture of my foyer.  It is the first thing you see when you walk in my house.  It looked like this:

 

 

The Grace sign was custom made for me at Nestlings etsy shop, and I got the heart with wings from Red Shoes.  I love both of these pieces!  I got the mirror, candle holders, and table at JC Pennys this summer, clearance $80 from an original price of $225 I think.  I did a little bit of fall decorating this week, so now it looks like this.  I got the Harvest sign at Wal-Mart for only $3!

 

 

Have you done any Fall Decorating yet?

Hungry Hungry Hippos

It started before his birthday.  Four year old wanted Hungry Hungry Hippo really bad.  Grampa bought it for him and I chased those little white balls around for a couple of months until I finally managed to put it into the game closet for awhile.  He started drawing hippos a few weeks ago that looked like the one above.  Today while playing with play-do he made this:

He said, "Take a picture of me too Mama!"

And here is my project for the day...although it took MUCH longer than a day.

This is a 16 x 20 painting done in acrylic on a canvas.  I then went back with a needle, embroidery thread, and beads to embellish it.  Don't ask me how long it took.  I didn't keep track of the hours because it was a slow process, but I so enjoyed it. I ended up framing it in a whitewash frame I got 50% off at Michaels.  Here are some detail shots:

Happy Hump Day!

**Oh yeah, if you've left a comment about purchasing any work, please email me.  I can add some of my new work to my etsy shop if you're interested!:)

Happy Labor Day

We started the long weekend out on Friday by going to Aquatica.  We had a blast but no pictures to show for it.

On Saturday it was a yucky, windy, and rainy day.  Some of the neighborhood kids brought over a bunch of cool toys for the kids that they had outgrown, including a huge tub of play-do toys.  We didn't have any play-do, so we made our own.  There are a ton of recipes on-line for home-made play-do, and it takes only a few minutes!  The kids played for over 2 hours with it!

I've had some artwork done all week, but the weather has not allowed me to get any decent photographs.  These aren't great, but I was tired of waiting!

This is a key holder I made out out a piece of scrap wood.  It's painted and collaged and has 4 hooks on the bottom for keys.

Two different frames that I painted and collaged.  I put little mirrors in the frame.

This one I really like.  I started it at the beach and just finished it up last week.  Every little flower has a button.

I hope everyone had a great long weekend.  We are gearing up for another week of rain and wind.  Stay safe wherever you are!