Tag Archives: painting

Aug17

Bluey Paint Kit

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Bluey Paint Kit

Hello!! One of my nieces is almost a birthday girl and I can’t wait to celebrate! Last year, she was all about Gabby’s Dollhouse (And still is!) but this past year, she has turned into Bluey’s number one fan. TJMaxx always has beaucoup Bluey in the children’s department so I knew just where to go to pick up her prezzies. I got her new Bluey duds, an interactive Bluey toy, and a light up Bluey figurine to paint. Upon further inspection of the figurine, I thought that it might be too involved for her to do so I decided to paint it really nicely myself. I worked on it all of this past weekend and thought it turned out so good minus when the light is turned on. It looks like garbage then, which is kind of a bummer! Check it out:

^^^ UGH -_-

Painting this figurine was truly a labor of love and I mean that very seriously because it took for freaking ever lol. When I first started applying the acrylic paint, it was going on really thin and chunky. I also learned that it would be necessary to paint it in parts so there was always a place with dried paint to hold onto. Once the first layer was fully on, it was obvious that I would need to repaint it again… and again… and again. I ended up repainting this statue of Bluey’s loving mom and dad FOUR times in total and it definitely needed it. The areas that specifically had darker colors like the deep blues on Bluey’s dad didn’t even come close to being how it should look until the fourth attempt.

I was so happy I was satisfied with the end result by the time my fourth go around was complete because there was literally nothing else I could do. All of the paint was long gone at that point! I hate to toot my own horn, but I think that my weekend painting project turned out fabulously. Even Johnny was impressed and I was just pleased as punch. The real kicker, though, was when the batteries were in and the green and red lights began to alternate. Because WTF?! You can see Every. Single. Paint stroke and then some. It’s sort of creepy actually lol. On the bright side, sans light it looks just right and that’s good enough for me! 😀

As time consuming and sometimes frustrating as this project was, it warmed my cold bitter heart to make something special for my niece. I hope she loves it!

What was your favorite show growing up? Do you have any diehard Bluey kiddos? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan4

Super Cute Craft

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Super Cute Craft

Hello!! Whenever Johnny and I watch our nieces, we always like to do some type of craft together. The girls are especially partial to painting. Whether it be on mugs, paper, or wooden or clay figurines – they are all about it and we have many of their masterpieces displayed throughout the apartment. This past weekend, we enjoyed using one of the painting gifts that I got for my eldest niece and it was a huge hit. If you have a little who loves art and unicorns, I cannot recommend this kit by SpringFlower enough. Check it out:

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^^^ Photo by SpringFlower

I purchased the unicorn painting kit by SpringFlower off of Amazon for twenty dollars and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. It came with eight felt figurines that were all different from each other (Awesome!), tubes of glitter, paint, and paint brushes. The figurines were sturdy, easy to paint on, and just so darn cute. They were serving MAJOR My Little Pony vibes and, as a total nineties kid, I was living for it! Even my niece appreciated this nod because My Little Pony was her mom’s (my sister’s) all time favorite and they have several of them throughout their house. ❤

As I prepared dinner over the weekend, Johnny and my niece broke out the unicorn figurines to paint together. Before I even had my back turned, they were already laughing and scheming on what colors to use. My heart was bursting, but it simply exploded when I checked back in on them ten or so minutes later. Our niece proudly told me “TT – Uncle Johnny and I are both making rock and roll unicorns!” They created a color palette to use and made matching, concert ready unicorns. Once they were dry, our niece decided Johnny’s unicorn needed to be put by his record player and I couldn’t think of a more perfect spot!

12/10 Highly recommend this painting kit. It is an ideal activity for a day in or even setting it up as a painting station at a birthday party for an adorable keepsake!

What was your favorite childhood toy? Where are all my other nineties kids at? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec11

Community Fun

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Community Fun

Hello!! Listen, I’ll be the first to admit that there are downsides to living in Ohio. It’s basically just corn lol. However, I love my life here and still wouldn’t change it for a thing. One of the best parts about the greater Akron area is the true sense of community we have and it’s greater amplified by all of the fun events hosted throughout the city. Concerts, food truck festivals, vendor fairs, you name it and chances are we have done something similar in our neck of the woods!

A particularly fantastic community gathering spot is the Quirk Cultural Center in Cuyahoga Falls. At the Quirk, they offer workshops for people of all ages. From tiny tots to seniors, there is something for everyone there. In fact, I used to take pottery classes there for several years in my youth and have enjoyed watercolor painting classes in my adulthood. And, this past weekend, I took my nieces there for a special crafting workshop so they could make Christmas presents for their parents.

All I knew for the craft class was that we were going to paint mugs and the girls were so excited. I was too because any time with them is the best time! Even though it was a simple activity, our hosts at the Quirk did such a phenomenal job of making it special. When we walked into the space, we were greeted by a huge Christmas tree, holiday inflatables, festive music, and a hot chocolate and cookie station. The greatest surprise was how neat the mugs to be painted were. There was a snowman, a reindeer, Santa, and a mug with Santa’s belt going around the middle. They seriously looked like something you could paint at All Fired Up and it only costed ten dollars per person to participate.

The girls and I had SO much fun and my eldest niece did a banner job painting the mug herself and my younger niece, who is two, did the best she could lol. Either way, I knew they both knew that they were making something for their parents and they were so happy to have a gift for them that they made all by themselves! There were so many families at the event and it was a joy to get in the holiday spirit all together. I hope that they will be doing more paint parties soon because it was a hit for both the adults and kiddos!

A wonderful time was had by all at our pseudo All Fired Up workshop and I am definitely feeling merrier and brighter for it!

What kind of events does your community put on? Have you ever taken a crafting workshop before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr15

Slumber Partayyy!

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Slumber Partayyy!

Hello! Johnny and I take our title of “Fun Aunt and Uncle” to our sweet nieces and nephew very seriously. We delight in treat days, outings, and surprises to further solidify that we are the best lol and we have the best time doing it! As often as we can, we like to have our niece, Val Gal, over for slumber parties for an evening of playing music, crafts, movies, and snacks. Surprisingly, I had the day off this past Thursday and was so excited to be able to host our lil BFF. I was SO tired the next day, but that’s a small price to pay for such a wonderful time! Check it out:

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When my sister dropped Val off at chez nous, lil buddy immediately went into her overnight bag for a surprise for me and Johnny. She bought us chips with her own money and made an origami bunny with her dad for us too. It was so sweet I could have cried because it’s usually the other way around for who’s getting a little gift! Before dinner, Val wanted to play music with Johnny and he is always happy to accommodate. He got them matching ukuleles for her third birthday and she brings it every time she comes over so they can play together. My heart! ❤

After our music block, it was time for dinner and a show and we watched our all time favorite, Vivo. It is a slumber party staple and it gets me every time. I love singing along to all of the songs with bestie! We noshed on mac n cheese and ice cream sundaes, then we spent the rest of the movie time painting together. I decided to make a picture for Val in a rainbow motif and then I wrote her name on it. She wanted to do the same thing for me and I came in with the assist to help her finish it. I love my painting so much and it has a very special place on my art wall with all of the crafts she has made for Johnny and I.

We spent the rest of the evening holding the bunnies, running around the apartment like crazy people, and watching a bit of Elf before bed. The following morning, I got up extra early so I could work before she woke up. Val threw an adorable wrench in my plans because she got up extra early so she could have more time with me! We finished Elf and before I took her home, we broke out her new diary and wrote an entry and drew pictures together about our slumber partay. It was absolutely precious and I’m not sure which one of us had more fun!

Being an aunt brings me so much joy and Johnny feels the same about his uncle status. We love every minute with our lil besties and we both agreed that this was one of our best slumber parties yet!

Did you have a favorite aunt or uncle growing up? How do you like to spoil your family? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar13

Paint Night

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Paint Night

Hello!!! I don’t know about all of you, but I had a great weekend!! After spending an entire week being sick AF, I rallied hard and it couldn’t have came a moment too soon because I had big plans. On Friday, I attended a paint night with my brother and on Saturday, Johnny and I took our birthday girl niece out for a treat day. It felt so good to have some fun after feeling like death warmed over and I enjoyed every minute of it. Check out what I created at paint night:

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On Friday evening, my brother Andrew and I went to the Solon Rec Center for a paint class hosted by the wonderful Melinda of So So Artsy. This is the second time Andrew and I have been to one of her events and she is just the best. Melinda owns a paint and sip studio, but she also teaches classes at community centers. Of course, this was a no sip class but that doesn’t mean that Melinda didn’t bring the party anyways. She has the brightest personality, is hilarious, and made our experience a million times better.

For our canvas art, we were painting cardinals and began with the background. For the top half, we mixed blue with the smallest touch of white and did the reverse for the bottom. To keep things moving full steam ahead, we blow dried the wet paint and began the next part. Step two was making the branch and the bird and we started that by making our outlines with chalk. I was surprised by how easy Melinda made the process for the bird’s outline. All we did was make a big set of parenthesis for the body, a small set for the head, and drew the tail by making a number eleven branching out at the bottom.

Once the outlines were complete, it was time to paint again. For our branches, we used brown with a hint of red and black and for the birds we used red and black. Before I knew it, all of the canvases were filled with sweet red birds perched on their branches. The last thing to do was add some more to the background. Melinda’s example used snow, but I was feeling inspired by cherry blossoms and used red and white instead. Once again, Melinda showed us a quick fix for painting the snow or, in my case, flower petals: Load up your brush with paint, place it flat on the canvas, and twist the brush to make a circle. Afterwards, we blow dried the canvases again and were on our way home with two freshly painted masterpieces!

Andrew and I had an absolute blast at Paint Night and I am looking forward to going to another class with him soon. I wonder what we’ll create next! ❤

Have you been to a paint night before? What did you paint? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb5

Sweet Surprises: Painted Parrot Edition

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Sweet Surprises: Painted Parrot Edition

Howdy!! This past Wednesday, my darling niece, Val Gal, came over for a slumber party. It is something we both always look forward to because it is such fun!! I make us dinner, we have ice cream sundaes for dessert, enjoy a movie, and play, play, play. For our entertainment while we noshed on Mint Chocolate Chip sundaes, Val chose Mulan and I was stoked. That was one of my favorite Disney movies as a kid and we were also eating my favorite ice cream. And I was with my favorite person! As always, our partay was a raging success and a full on rager. I was also presented with quite possibly the sweetest gift ever. Check it out:

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Val is a huge fan of crafting. She loves to paint, color, and make masterpieces with Play Doh. For Christmas, I got her a set of animal figurines that she could paint because that is one of her favorite activities. I had honestly forgotten about it when Val told me she brought me something. She handed me a parrot from the set that she painted and said “This is for you, TT. You got it for me for Christmas, but I wanted you to have one too.” Believe me when I say, I completely melted. Out of the mouths of babes!!

My sweet niece is just the coolest kid and Johnny and I cherish the time we spend with her. Val is the best big sister to Raya and is so kind, talented, and absolutely freaking hilarious. That girl keeps me in stitches and I am constantly quoting the ridiculousness she says on the daily. The parrot that she made with love is a testament to what an amazing little girl she is. It was yet another reminder of her thoughtfulness and it really moved me. We are each other’s best friends and she makes my life infinitely better. ❤

My parrot has a prized spot on our knick knack shelf and I smile every time I look at it/think about it. Here’s to many more slumber parties and fabulous memories with my lil BFF!

What is a gift that you cherish? What is your favorite thing that someone made for you? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan3

A Very Madea Craft

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A Very Madea Craft

Hello!!! This past Halloween, Johnny and I watched “Boo! A Madea Halloween” for shits and gigs. Little did we know, we would end up LIVING for the Madea franchise and have worked our way through almost the entire collection over our holiday break. What can we say, we love Tyler Perry in a mumu! During one of our viewings, we noticed a welcome sign outside of Madea’s home that says “Hellur” and I decided I wanted to make one for our apartment. So, we went to Walmart, purchased supplies, and went home to watch more Madea movies as I painted away. I’m not the most crafty gal in the world, but I think I nailed it! Check it out:

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It has been a long while since I have crafted anything and it felt really good to make this sign and bask in its awesomeness. I am SO proud of how it turned out and it made me happy to hear Johnny’s raving compliments as I completed my project. I created my own little painting station on the floor with a trash bag as a tarp, prepared my paints and water, and paper towel then painted the base of my sign yellow. My goal was to make this sign as close to the one in the movie as possible. We also plan on making a goth version of it in black, red, and white. Johnny already spray painted the base of his, but I have a feeling I will have to do the painting portion lol.

Once the yellow paint had dried, it was time to get started on the pattern. I started with the leaves going around the sides of the sign, which was most helpful. This allowed me to set up the space for the flowers on the top and bottom and the “Hellur” smack dab in the middle. The leaves were easy peasy, but I definitely ran into some difficulty with the flowers. Despite how simple they look, mine just wasn’t going accordingly to plan. The extra colors in the petals gave me the most trouble and my first attempt ended up looking so muddled that I had to cover it up with yellow paint.

As I waited for my “whoops” coat to dry, I had to figure out what to do next because I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied with my second go at the flowers if I tried again. Rather than another attempt to replicate them, I switched gears and went for roses instead. As the paint dried, I practiced the technique to make watercolor roses. Of course, this is much different with acrylic paint but it was basically the same idea. This was much more like it and I love how it turned out! The roses were a time consuming process and it was well worth it. I loved how it added my own personal touch to the sign!

After the flowers were done, all that was left to do was paint a big, friendly “Hellur” and let the sign dry. This painting costed me less than fifteen dollars in supplies and it is one of my favorite things that I have ever made. I can’t wait to hang it up in the apartment!

What is your favorite Madea movie? Have you made any crafts recently? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep10

Watercolor Weeping Willow Pt. 2

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Watercolor Weeping Willow Pt. 2

Hello! This past Tuesday, I spent a lovely afternoon painting with my mom. I wanted to revisit doing a watercolor weeping willow to see if I could improve upon my last one. Like my last effort, I am not especially pleased with what I came up with. However, I do think there were a lot of things on an individual basis that were good. The big picture was just meh, though. Take a look at my latest watercolor creation and I’ll tell you what I did like about it:

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What bothers me the most about this picture is that I didn’t get full weeping willow vibes from it. I think it’s actually a pretty decent tree, but it wasn’t the tree I wanted lol! I do like the trunk that I made quite a bit and I thought that the color I mixed up for it was great. I also am a fan of the overall color palette that I established. To achieve it, I did a lot of mixing of greens, yellows, blues, and browns. It’s a lot of fun to create your own colors and see what you come up with!

The thing that I am happiest with about this weeping willow is that I think I am getting a more firm grasp on creating the signature “tendrils”. For my other attempt, I did a lot of brush strokes that weren’t blended the best. This time around, I did a really light base coat over the tree and patted it dry. Then, I painted waterlines and applied some paint to the very top of the line. After I had my trail of water, I held the paper up and let the paint run down. This was the closest I got to a tendril and I think that I’ll be onto something if I do smaller waterlines the next time. 😀

As with all of my watercolor paintings, this “weeping willow” is not the best. It doesn’t have to be, though! It’s always nice to spend time painting with my mom and after every sesh, I have new ideas to try. The outcome wasn’t successful, but the fact I tried and am more than willing to try again is a GREAT SUCCESS!!

What is your favorite kind of tree? What should I try painting next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug12

Watercolor Weeping Willow

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Watercolor Weeping Willow

Hello!! Watercolor painting is something my mom and I really enjoy and it has been a minute since our last painting sesh. Flowers are, admittedly, the only thing we have been painting and I decided to try something different when we painted this Tuesday. I wanted to try my hand at a weeping willow! As always when I have just painted something, I am never particularly thrilled with it. However, this was my first go at anything but a flower and I feel pretty good about attempt number one:

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To begin, I assembled my palette with different green, brown, and yellow watercolor paint. Then, I sketched a super rough outline with some assistance from Google Images. I started with the grass and I actually love how that turned out, then moved onto the branches. To do this, I painted the branches with water alone and then added color to the wet paper. I do like the trunk and the placement of the branches, but the upper ones got muddled when I painted the leaves. As always, it was because I was impatient!

When I painted the leaves, I started from the top down and painted the top with water then color and brought it down in thinner strokes. I think that the idea was right, but the execution was wrong. Like the branches, the colors got murky at the top. And, yes, it was because I was impatient! I should have allowed for drying time and I didn’t – especially when I was introducing new colors.

I definitely want to give the weeping willow another shot and next time, I will give myself enough time to give the painting drying time. I like the colors I used so I am not going to change that. I also like that there were areas of white within the painting too, which was a recommendation from a watercolor teacher. I’m excited to see my next painting in comparison to this one because I know there will be at least some improvement. I’m proud of myself for trying something new!

Watercolor painting is a nice reminder of try and try again and I can’t wait to paint again with my mom. I branched out with my weeping willow (See what I did there?) and it’s not the best. But, it’s the best one I have painted yet! 🙂

What is your favorite medium of art? What is your favorite plant? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul6

Watercolor Pansies

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Watercolor Pansies

Hello!! My mom and I really enjoy watercolor painting and it is such a fun and different medium of art to work with. With all of the craziness going on in both of our lives, we haven’t been able to paint as often as we would like. In fact, the last time we painted together was back in March! During that painting session, I tried my hand at pansies and was pretty pleased with the outcome as I had never tried it before.

This past week, we finally got to paint together and I decided to pick up where I left off with pansies. I wasn’t as happy as I was with the ones you’re about to see as the previous effort. However, I hadn’t painted in months and we all have to start (again) somewhere! Check out the image I was trying to pull from and my attempts:

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After sketching out a basic outline for each flower, I began painting the top right pansy. Obviously, it was a bit of a bust and my mistake was being impatient AF. I gave no time for literally anything to sit and the blob flower became a muddled mess. I was feeling frustrated because my previous pansies were not the best but certainly not the worst and this one just sucked lol. So, I had to regroup, take a breath, and remember that patience is a virtue in life and especially with watercolor!

For the following flowers, I tried really hard to take my time and use the paints and water to my advantage. I also channeled the advice from a previous watercolor teacher to use areas of no paint within what you are working on too. The next flower I attempted was the one in the bottom left and I still wasn’t feeling it, but it was getting closer. Then, I had a brain blast and remembered how I did my original pansies!

The first time I painted pansies, I did a rough outline and then started in the middle. I began with the yellow center and line detailing and waited for it to dry. Then, I applied a light wash of paint, blotted it, and moved onto the next color. I used my original method for the middle right pansy and was much happier with how it turned out. There was even some areas of white to accent the red and orange too. That was much more like it and I ended my painting session feeling satisfied with the top left, two middle, and bottom right pansies.

I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t slightly disappointed with how my pansies turned out. But, I reminded myself that it was a great first go after an over three month long hiatus. After I shook away the blahs, I felt motivated to paint more so I never have to restart my progress again. I can’t wait for my next painting session with my mom!

What helps motivate you after a disappointment? Have you tried any new artistic ventures recently? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah