Painting
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Draw Your Day: An Inspiring Guide to Keeping a Sketch Journal
As a beginning watercolorist, I spend a lot of time scanning Pinterest for inspiration and art tutorials. While doing that early last week, I came upon a nice sketch by Samantha Dion Baker. Clicking on the link to her page, I discovered that she’s the author of a book called, Draw Your Day: An inspiring guide to keeping a sketch journal. She had me at the word “journal.” I’m a big fan of journals, which I’ve mentioned here and here. So I checked it out on Amazon, ordered it, and had it in my hands in two days. Then I sat on the couch and read it cover to cover.…
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How to Survive a Quarantine Without Losing Your Mind
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Because I live just 29 miles from Kirkland, WA, or what the LA Times affectionately calls, ”the U.S. epicenter of COVID-19,” I hear daily speculations about the possibility — and some are saying probability — of a mandated quarantine in the very near future. So what would that look like? How long would it last? And how on earth do you survive a quarantine without losing your mind? I’ve never been forced to stay in my home before, but I’ve…
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How to Make a Birch Tree
Well, that’s not technically correct, because only God can make a birch tree. And I have all the more respect for Him after it took me hours and hours to make ten fake birch trees. You may never need this information, but then again, perhaps one day you’ll be kidnapped and held in a bizarre game of, “We’ll let you go if you can produce a birch tree out of nothing but chicken wire, sheets, paint and a glue gun.” It could happen. And then won’t you be so, so happy you read this post all the way to the end? First, the why. This past August, our church bought…
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Chalkboards … Everywhere!
I'm in absolute chalkboard heaven. About a month ago, I stumbled upon Martha Stewart's recipe for custom chalkboard paint. I'd seen black and green chalkboard spray paint at the craft store, but chalkboard paint in any color of the rainbow? O, could it be true? Martha generally tells the truth, except for those instances when she's trying to convince us that gold leaf-brushed cookies are edible and delicious. Anyway, I wanted it to be true, so I scribbled a quick list, flew to Home Depot and Michael's, and have been cranking out chalkboards in spare moments ever since ...
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How to Paint an Easy Faux Castle Wall
Updated 3/7/20 Years ago, when my son was little and had a high tolerance for all my crazy ideas, he gave me permission to paint the walls of his bedroom to look like a castle. Between the two of us, I’m sure I was the more elated. Zac liked his castle room, but I loved his castle room. I would have slept in that room, had my husband not had other ideas about that. Zac slept in that castle-walled room until the day we gave our mobile home away, moved our meager belongings (we had also given away all our furniture) into a travel trailer, and camped the six months…
