the owl & the pussycat

This lovely little print by Heather Ross is the newest addition to our bare walls.

Here are the owl and the pussycat going to see in their pea green boat.  Note the 'love conquers all' script below the owl - I love it!

I think these two will take up residence in the blue room but I have to decide exactly where.  One piece of wall art down and several to go... I'm working on this and hope to finish it by the end of the week!

bare walls

'Bare' is the only way to describe nearly every wall in our house.  I've talked about this before but still really haven't done anything to remedy the problem.  Here are some ideas from around the internet that I'm thinking of replicating for our home... 

punch collage via Ali Edwards.  maybe stars for Ezra's room.

log cabins via martha. for the living room, over our couch.

alphabet print via kind over matter.  for Ezra.

message board via moxie home. for the craft room.

portraits via Eden Lang. for the living room.

chevron on canvas via decor8. for the dining room.

Recommendations for affordable wall art, either DIY ideas or for purchase, are welcome!

how to be an artist

My mom had this poem printed for me on a piece of wall art that was created by my cousin when I graduated from high school.  I wanted to write a post about it so that I never forget it.  My favorite lines are "giggle with children" and "listen to old people."
By Sark

let them eat cake

(image via 20x200)

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and we ate cake.  Specifically, this cake.  Delicious.  In honor of my mom I searched high and low for a cake image and I found this beauty.  Artist Martha Rich says, "Painting cakes and food are a means of comfort to me. Cakes represent hope. They are baked for celebrations and for good times. Everyone likes cakes. If someone bakes you a cake you know you are cared for, but real cakes are temporary and if you eat too much you may feel sick. These cakes care forever and won’t make you sick."  I love it.  Perfect for my imaginary dining room wall gallery.  See more of Martha's work here.  Happy birthday, Mom!  I love you.

inspired

(image of stylist Sabrina Linn's entryway)

I'm loving this entryway inspiration board that was featured online at Canadian House & Home in September.  What a great idea to fill the space that welcomes you and your guests into your home with pretty things.  

(image of designer Joel Bray's DIY inspiration board )

Since Matt and I revamped the blue room I've been meaning to put up an inspiration board similar to the one above - something framed with ribbons and pins to hold all my treasured magazine clippings, photos, and bits of ephemera in place.  I think Joel Bray's how-to video is just the thing I need to get me started.  Anyone else planning on tackling a project this weekend?  

via Black Eiffel via oh happy day

yet another calendar, and yep, it's free

You've already learned about my love for calendars.  Well, be still my beating heart because Ez over at Creature Comforts has a free, printable 2011 calendar right here.  Be sure to let me know if you've found any 2011 gems in your travels around the blogosphere, and enjoy the weekend!

a crafty giveaway

Check out this rad giveaway from LeahPeah's Creative Human Magazine and sponsored by Canvas Corp.  It's in honor of National Craft Month and includes all kinds of great stuff like pushpins, scrapbooking pages, colored pencils, homeplanning layouts, and teeny tiny clothespins.  Just hop on over and leave a comment sharing your deepest darkest secret.  You'll find out on Monday if you're the lucky winner.  Via Cool Mom Picks. 

RISD Free-for-All

Despite the dismal forecast on Saturday, Matt and I ventured into Providence to visit a few of my favorite places, one of which is the RISD Museum of Art.  The event we attended was called Animate This!  Visitors were invited to explore different animation techniques, and while I don't fancy myself an artist I wanted to see what I could learn from the various workshops.  We wandered into an exhibition room (Paul Morrison's Exine) full of elementary school aged kids and were handed flip books designed by a RISD grad, Melissa Meyer.  I colored for about seven minutes but quickly realized I didn't want to spend the entire three hour visit with a marker in hand, so we pocketed our books and moved on.

Next we visited Subject to Change: Art and Design in the Twentieth Century, an exhibit that sought to compare art and design and the way both have changed over the years through advances in technology.  Work by Henri Matisse, Frank Lloyd Wright, Andy Warhol, and many others was on display from the Museum's permanent collection.  We continued to wander (it can be confusing to find one's way around) and came upon an exhibit titled Nature/Artifice: Contemporary Works from the Collection.  My favorite piece was Tony Capellan's Mar Caribe, a collection of blue flip flops that had washed up along the shore of the Ozama River in the Dominican Republic.  They were arranged to look like the ocean, but each strap was replaced with barbed wire and meant to evoke a sense of the struggle of Capellan's countrymen.

(image via Dominicana Online)

While members receive free admission throughout the year, the RISD Museum holds hours that are free and open to the public.  The last Saturday of the month is called Free-for-All Saturday (the event Matt and I attended) and it often includes workshops, performances, and gallery activities.  Admission to any and all of the exhibits is free from 11 am to 4 pm.  The Museum also participates in Gallery Night, an event held on the third Thursday of each month (excluding December, January, and February) from 5 to 9 pm.  It's an introduction to the Providence art scene and a great night in the City.  Art buffs and novices alike can explore local galleries, join workshops, and meet artists and curators.  Lastly, on Sundays from 10 am to 1 pm the Museum opens its doors and patrons can pay whatever they choose.  Take advantage of this opportunity to support the Museum while taking in all there is to see there.  Learn more about other public programs hosted at the Museum here.

(Me inside Carey Young's exhibit, Uncertain Contracts)