Clothespin Dolls and Painted Cardboard Doll House

 

I saw this little cardboard house box being clearanced at Michael's and thought it would be cute to paint one up for my daughter. She is a little collector, akin to Ariel's hoarding obsession. To be fair, it runs on my side of the family. I have a bit of it myself.

Anyway, I started out with this cute little house:

I started to paint the top and then I stopped because I realized I needed a before picture.



Then I sketched out a rough idea of what I wanted it to look like.

 

 

 

Then I gathered my old fashioned clothespins (estate sale, oh yeah!).

 

 

And while I sat and painted, my children ran amuck. But I didn't care because I was listening to new episodes on Hulu while I worked.

It turned out pretty cute. There is the brother Ethyn, Daddy, Mommy, Clara, Grammy, and PapPap dolls in this picture. She misplaced brother Calvin and PopPop dolls already.


Here is what I learned:

• This is perfect for a three year old. Or at least mine. She likes tiny things, collections, dolls, and boxes. This encompasses all of her favorites!
• Next time I will paint on something more sturdy. Cardboard will not last long.
• The clothespin dolls look super cute going the other direction so you can make the split wood look like legs, but if you do it MY way they will stand on the edge of things. In this case, the house!
• I am going to mod podge the dolls because after a couple weeks they are starting to look worn. That's okay, though. I made them really simple on purpose because I knew she would be handling them a lot and they would not look brand new for long.
• Overall, a fun project to make and a great gift to give to a little girl!

She is pointing at the Clara doll :)

My Secret Potty Training Tip

I suffered more years than most potty training ONE child.

Yeah.

I can't blame it all in him though. Because when things became frustrating, I looked back through time to when he was a BABY. Not even a year old and he was trying to HOLD IT IN. I can still see my little guy holding on to the couch (he was in that I-can't-walk-yet-but-I'll-hold-the-edge-of-the-couch-phase), crossing his legs, and his face would turn red. We all figured he was going.

NO. He was holding it IN.

At 2 we dabbled with the idea of potty training. At 3 we committed. At 4 I was so frustrated I would cry.

"Oh, boys take a lot longer than girls," they would say.

"As long as he can go by Kindergarten, there's no need to worry," others would say.

And "No one will remember this when he is 16."


Well, first off, your kids were potty trained by 2. Thanks for pretending not to judge me.
Second, I am worrying. This kid might be the only kid that will have potty issues in Kindergarten.
Third, I will.

Well, now that he is 5, I am happy to report THIS TOO SHALL PASS. If any of you moms are in the same boat I was, I am SO SORRY. I could cry for you just thinking about it.

It really was horrible. First there was the feeling that I was being judged for the shortcomings of my child. Maybe this was all MY fault. Was I feeding him the wrong things? Maybe. But kids are picky. Sometimes you just want them to eat, so you make it easy for you and them. There was the nice coaxing, the pleading, crying, yelling, apologies, threats, rewards, crazy rewards, potty movies, potty books, google searching, and doctor visits.

Finally we found the right mix. We used Miralax, but that was messy. So that came in MUCH smaller doses. Then came my friend's suggestion to use a homeopathic remedy (we diagnosed him using a homeopathic website and gave him Hyland's dissolving tablets as directed---for his symptoms he needed Silicea 6x). If you are looking for a remedy this site has a section to help you.

And I think between the two things a miracle occurred!

He had just turned 4 when all of a sudden, we were a happy family again. I cannot begin to tell you how much stress this put on my relationship with my son and me. I hope he never remembers how hard that was for the two of us. But we made it.

Please tell me I am not alone in that battle?

Anyway, I am sorry for the long post if you were looking to head straight to my top potty tip.

Here it is:

Put a panty liner in the rear end of your child's underwear.

I thought I might be a genius when I discovered this. Someone most likely thought of it before me, but I had never heard it suggested nor had I seen it pinned on Pinterest. So this is revolutionary.

If your child has "accidents" I'm sure you hate to clean them as much as I did...

When you put the panty liner on, say they do go. Welp, the fabric in the prime target area has been protected! You just rip it off, dispose of the mess, and then the underwear can go in the laundry!!

So that's all I've got. There's a million "How to Potty Train Your Kid in a Weekend" tutorials, but those never worked for me.

So this is for all you other gals and pals :)


***
Afterthought:
I just might have to delete the "details" soon since this is the internet and nothing is worse than Mommy blabbing your secrets. But for now, I hope it really does help someone else!

How I painted a canvas custom painting for a nursery

My husband's sweet friend contacted me and asked me to do a special painting. She is having a baby girl around late December and wanted to use the painting as the focal point of the room as well as the inspiration for wall color, bedding, etc. I also have to tell you that this gal is gorgeous. As in, we all wish we looked half as good as her while we were pregnant. She is a doll!

Now first off, what an honor! I know that when I was expecting my two pumpkins decorating the nursery was one of the most supreme delights. What you put into the baby's space or room defines you hopes for your sweet little baby. Working on this felt really special.

But...custom orders are intimidating! Especially to a newbie like me. You worry a lot about whether you are heading in the right direction. You feel really self conscious too. When you are painting for yourself it doesn't matter if you mess up. You just get a new sheet of paper or whitewash the canvas. When it is an order you don't want to waste time! Who wants to dilly dally? Thankfully this painting was a fun assignment and right up my alley. I enjoy doing whimsical, sweet, children's paintings.

 

These were the guidelines or suggestions I was given:

-Acrylic or Oil Paint
-Large canvas painting 2x3 feet (a really great size for a kid's room)
-Pretty
-Soft
-Calming
-Color: pinks, purples, yellows, soft blues, and greens
-Dahlias
-Little girl on a swing with dark hair and a white dress

And then the process:

So I first started sketching with a pen and paper.

Then I wanted to get a feel for the colors and the setup, so I made a collage in photoshop using photos I manipulated. You can do this too! Collect some favorite pictures from the internet from sites like Getty Images and use them as inspiration or a model for what you want to create. The internet is such a great resource for artists. Especially when doing human forms.

Collage made in Photoshop to give an idea for colors and setup.

Next came color blocking the sky light blue and the ground green.

Next I tried something different from normal: I mod podged torn tissue paper onto the canvas. It gave it a cool, random crinkle effect and since it was a lustre finish it had a glossy gleam to it. I made the mistake of painting a sky with gloss before, but I ended up loving the effect! When I painted images on top of it they would lack the gloss, so when the painting was angled a certain way only the background would gleam! The effect shows off most during sunset.

After that dried I started to work on the clouds.

Then came the meat of the picture: sketching the details.

I drew the tree limbs, the girl, and some flowers. I got bored drawing the flowers and just decided to paint.

And then finished!

I hope this helped anyone that is starting to paint or that is starting to get custom work orders! What is wonderful is that if you like it, then you can make art prints of it. Sometimes something that is requested isn't normally something you would do...but ends up being a hit! So take a chance on it.

Just be YOU :)

DIY Overhead Phone Mount

I had a huge dilemma.

I am starting a new and exciting project where having an overhead mount is essential. BUT my best option for making a video is my cell phone! I love how awesome cell phones are nowadays. My nice camera is old, so the video abilities of it are of a different era.

But how to mount my phone ABOVE my workspace for my video? I saw one where they attached it to a bendable lamp, but of course the two I have were too short. So what's a girl to do?

Um, take your DIY light saber from Pinterest (a pool noodle cut in half with duct tape and electrical tape on it) and attach it to your camera tripod with rubber bands and string. VOILA!!!!

Yes, I have my phone attached to the top part with rubberbands.

I apologize for how excited I am about this, but I solved my problem all by myself! I hope it helps other people, especially for people who want to make instructional YouTube videos or online class videos.

SUPPLIES:

1. Camera tripod (or you can get creative like me and find something around the house that will suffice)
2. 4 rubberbands
3. Half a Pool Noodle from the Dollar Tree
4. 1 piece of string
5. Your phone

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Put the phone on the end of the noodle with rubberbands
2. Fiddle with the amount of noodle that needs to be attached to something solid till you get the phone to lay horizontally
3. Tie down the noodle with string and/or rubberbands

P.S. To use the tripod for my phone when I wanted to film myself, I mounted it to the place you normally put the camera and just used the rubberbands to strap it down.

UPDATE:
When my husband came home that night I showed him this post. He laughed at my creativity and then said, "Why didn't you just use my mic stand in the garage?"

OMG. 

I scavenged the whole house for this solution and it was sitting the garage the whole time!! Well, if your husband isn't a musician with a microphone stand that you can loop some rubber bands onto, then try my pool noodle/tripod approach ;) But I must say, I love using the mic stand because I can easily adjust it to different heights.

Packaging for Watercolors and Prints

So I have been playing around the last few months and how to package my watercolors and art prints.

Here are the basics:

1. I place the print or paper into a sealable cello bag. I am so paranoid about the art getting caught in rain and ruining the picture.

2. Use washi tape to adhere a flower, thank you note, and my mini moo business card.

3. Insert into the mailing envelope (that I of course had to fancy up with some scrapbook paper and note cards) with a stiff board or cardboard.

4. Ship it off to its new home!

This painting is one I just sent off today. It is the girliest collection of rings! I love to paint things that are ultra feminine and this fit the bill. Perhaps I will have to make a print of it the next time I get to ordering.

I hope that helped anyone else trying to decide on how to package their art for the mail!

How to Fix a Warped Canvas

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that your warped canvas has a chance at a second life!

The problem all began when I bought large canvases (I'm talking 3 feet by 4 feet and whatnot) and stored them in the garage.

Lesson:

Do not store your large canvases at even the slightest angle in your garage. Because of the temperature and humidity changes it will warp the frame.

You end up with one side of your painting looking like it thinks the wall has cooties.

Example A:

 

From the front it looks fine. Although, with a light coming down on it you get an unsightly shadow.

Example B:

 

Here is a solution that I had to find scouring the art forums:

1. Lay your painting face side down in an area people won't be walking over or tripping on it. (I did it in my garage).

2. Spray all wood with water.

3. Weigh down the corners with random heavy objects in your garage. (For example, I used two loaded picnic baskets, laundry detergent, and a backpack of my husband's with music stuff--and it's surprisingly heavy).

4. Leave overnight or for however much time you see fit.

5. Hang up on the wall and be ecstatic that your $80 canvas is like new!

Disclaimer: it might not be perfectly straight. But if all the corners lay flat I call that a SUCCESS!

Now go fix all your canvases! :)