holiday diy

NOEL Wall Art - PB Catalog

After seeing the NOEL Wall Art from Pottery Barn this fall, I decided that I wanted to whip up something similar...now, it wasn't going to be as nice as the PB one - just loved the one piece and hammered look finish - but I figured I must be able to come up with something similar.

I started with these letters from mpiwood.com. At $1.99 a piece, this was going to be a bargain DIY (compared to PB's $149)! I didn't take any photos in-process but esentially I laid out the letters and glued them together in the same formation as the wall art. The gluing part was a bit of a pain (I used Gorilla Glue and next time would try something else?) and I also had to secure the letters with a little more support on the back side so that I could pick it up in one piece and have it be somewhat sturdy. (I ended up just using some popsicle sticks - glued to the back attaching the leg of the N to the E, the top of the E to the top of the L, etc. - I said it was a bargain DIY!) Then I painted it red with some acrylic paint I had already laying around, let it dry, and then propped it on the mantel for an inexpensive holiday decoration. It's totally plain and I'll probably jazz it up for next year (maybe repaint it and/or do a distressed or crackle finish?) but for now, it'll totally do in a pinch.

Not too bad for approximately $10-12!!
What do you think?

Inspired

I've been feeling the need to create a lot lately; I wonder if it's the change of seasons. As it gets colder here, I find I need projects and fun things to do to keep me entertained as the dark, cold nights of winter are suddenly in the not-so-distant future. Which brings me to my last project, which I am happy to report I finished and gifted in a pretty short amount of time.

Enter inspiration:

I saw this collage print in a recent Ballard Designs catalog; and like it so much it ended up being the inspiration for a birthday present for my niece. It came together fairly quickly and I have to say, I am really happy with the results. It's been so long since I've done anything like this and I loved the process.

Here's what I ended up with (although probably not the best photos, color-wise):




I really, really enjoyed making this and hope to do another painting very soon. Still working on some new ideas of my own. Here's to trying something new and satisfying creative callings!