wading in the deep

wading in the deep

Happy Friday friends!  Aren't you glad it's the weekend? 

I'm excited to share my other blog with you today.  Right now it's a place where I house my written thoughts.  Some are assignments from a writing group that I've started (I adore this group), and some are devotionals that I've been working on for awhile.  I wouldn't consider myself a writer but someone who loves to think about life and God and puts those thoughts on paper...and now on a screen. 

So even though it feels especially vulnerable, way more than sharing my latest art piece or project, I feel that I should share the invisible work that God has been doing just as much as I share the visible that I've been doing.  Enjoy!

marbelized art

The DIY I'm sharing with you today is easy, inexpensive, and colorful.  I'm always looking for colorful art for my walls. 

 

 

I loved Oh happy day's tutorial on how to marbleize ribbon (isn't that the coolest!) so I thought I would try it on a few small canvases I had.  If it turned out, great, and if not I would just paint over them.  This is the attitude I have to have with all diys because goodness knows I've had lots of fails.

What you need:
shallow pan that you won't mind tossing when you're done
3-5 colors of fingernail polish--get the cheap kind
skewer or tongs, I used popsicle sticks because I bought a package in 1988 and still have so many
canvas or whatever you are wanting to marbleize
cover your surface because this can be messy
Since this is way smellier than you would think, open windows or do this outside.

Fill pan with a few inches of water

You'll want to do the next few steps super fast because the fingernail polish dries quickly when it's in the water--this is why there are no photos of dipping the canvases in the water.

Open the polishes and pour them into water, use skewer to drag paint around a little.

Dip the surface of your canvas in the water.  It really just needs to touch the surface, don't plunge it deep. The canvas will grabbed the paint instantly. 

Raise it up but leave it facedown for a few seconds to allow it to drip.  Turn your canvas over (do this move quickly so the paint stays in its original place) and put on covered surface to dry. 

I also did the same thing for the edges, but you could leave them white if you want.

It's always nice to have the help of a buddy when you're doing a project!

After we finished all of them , we put them in the garage to dry overnight because we didn't want them to dry outside but also didn't want our entire family to get loopy from the fumes.  Using a flattened box as a drop cloth makes carrying them easy.

I hung my favorite three together on a narrow wall space.  You could use larger canvases but you'd need to have a large enough container for the water and polish that you wouldn't mind throwing away when you're finished.  

duct duck goose

If you follow me on instagram, you've seen my duct tape wall...or is it duck tape?   

 

 

I had seen a room with tape for stripes, so when I saw GOLD TAPE at Kroger (what!?), I had to grab it!

 

Our entry needed a little something so why not, I thought? 

 

It was a day that I had people coming over in a few hours and I should have been cleaning or cooking or cramming piles of clutter in drawers, but when inspiration strikes...

The only reason I did such random lines was so I didn't have to measure or get anything exact.  Rulers (and timers) are not by bff. 

I used scissors to cut the edges which is why they are a bit wonky.  A sharp exacto knife probably would have worked better, but oh well.

Here's the funny part, there are two very different responses to this wall.  Some get it and have even tried something similar in their own homes.  But when others see it, the conversation goes something like this--

them:  oh, are you going to paint over that tape?
me: nope, just leaving it like it is.
them: oh-ohkaay.

I guess we have to be ok with people not getting it.

True creativity is birthed when we can get beyond wanting everyone to understand our design or art or clothing. 

How not fun would it be if everyone got everything about us!? 

Trying to "fit in" to the design world, or any "world" really (remember middle school?),

makes us paralyzed and unable to make a decision--trust me, I've been there. 

 

Eventually you either have to make decisions and learn your own likes and dislikes, you never do anything, or you play it really safe and your home ends up feeling very generic--I've been there too.

                       

Hello dead wreath.

 

  

What are some of your design ideas that not everyone understood?

 

And in case you completely zoned out trying to figure out if it's duct or duck tape, go here.

the writing on the wall

  

I couldn’t get them out of my mind.  Over and over, minute by minute, day after day.  These thoughts, this movie reel of all the things.  The things I wasn’t good at, the things I had done wrong, my weaknesses, my sin…the ways I had failed and thought I had failed.  

I was putting on my mascara for goodness sakes—what was wrong with me?  “I’m not…I should have…I can’t believe I…I’m so…too much…not enough…”  They were all I could think about.  They were heavy.  They were persistent.

 I sensed a nudge to write them down.  So I wrote--things that are embarrassing to admit now, but these were my chains.  Pages. I was plagued with these thoughts.  As I skimmed the paper I had just filled I saw it—I was being accused. 

Then a moment I will never forget.  Words I had read days before were brought into my mind just as timely as a drop of rain on a drought-ridden land.

But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation

…Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,

Imagine my delight reading these words—without blemish…free from accusation…no condemnation…set me free…what the law was powerless to do, God did…in order that the righteous requirements might be fully met in us.  Really?  No accusation?  No condemnation?  None?  Not even one?  Not even one.  I was not condemned, but set free.   Set free?  Completely free?  Yes, completely.  

I had been living under the accusations, believing that they were an accurate commentary on my life.  But they weren’t the truth about me at all.  The truth would have set me free, not locked me up. 

The accuser was my enemy and fed me this mixtape of self-focus and despair, making me paralyzed and hopeless.  He does that doesn’t he? He is never short supply of past sins, regrets, and misinterpretations of others’ thoughts and actions toward us. He glories in our inward focus and abhors when our eyes are lifted. He causes us to question God and His heart for us, painting all of life a dark shade of grey, trying to convince us that that’s life’s actual color.    

But these words, these life-giving words that began seeping in, were acquitting me.  No, not just acquitting me, they were exposing the mess that was my mind and shining the light on all that my Jesus did.  He took it all.  Were some of these true?  Sure, some were, but in Christ I was no longer identified, labeled, or even guilty for them.  In Christ, I possessed the perfect righteousness that was His.  It was unfair, really—this trade He made.  He took all of my weaknesses and sins—accurate or perceived, large or small, and traded all of Himself for it.  He traded the accuser's words that were bringing death for His freedom-words of life. He was condemned so I could be set free.  That’s hard to get, but in this moment, I got it.  He wasn’t just loosening the chains, giving me room to move around in them, He was cutting them into pieces giving complete freedom.

I’m not sure why living in this freedom feels like such a fight.  My mind drifts to accusations like these often, but this cycle of redemption brings sweet intimacy:  I see the mess, even live in it for a time—He reminds me of the cross, that He’s the chain breaker—the words that give life remind me that in Him I’m not accused—He draws me close—I live in freedom and awe.  I’m free.  And I am undone. Because He is undoing me.  This is truth, this is the truth we live in and invite others to enjoy.  He alone gives freedom and life. 

After posting my sharpie walls on instagram a few days ago, I decided to share with you the story of these walls.

I guess I didn't actually give you a 'how to' because the how to is: 

Paint your walls,

write whatever you want on them with a large sharpie.  The end. 

But as my 8 year old sat on the top of the potty (this is in an itty bitty potty room),  with Bible in hand, reading Romans 8 to me as I teetered on a stool and wrote, I asked God to write these words on my heart and the heart of everyone who entered this little room.  And I think He is.

design boards are my new bff

I'm teaming up with the fun people at Chairish today to create a design board inspired by one of their amazing rugs. 

 In answering their question of how I like to infuse color into a space, I would say the easiest way is to use something colorful that you love as your inspiration--a rug, a pillow, a dish towel, anything really.   

Don't just pick one color you like or you'll constantly be asking, "does this go?" and annoy the heck out of your friends (not that I've ever done that, of course!).  

If you pick a piece that already has great color combinations then you already know it works well together.  

This rug was said inspiration.  If you look closely, you'll see red, gold, cream, blue, purple, black--it's easier to design a room when you already have great colors like these.

   Surely you've heard of Chairish, right? It is an oh so cool website where design lovers buy and sell their fabulous finds.  Whether you're wanting to sell, buy or just be inspired by their creativity, you won't be disappointed.

Here are the sources for all of these great pieces:

The rug was the original inspiration from Chairish and can be found here.  They have a lot of great rugs.

This couch--the color, the fabric, the shape, I love it so...

You can find it at One Kings Lane.

I would paint the room white and install this lovely wallpaper from Houzz on one wall.

You can find this side table here; it's also from Chairish.

Stak Studio on Etsy

I love this table but in real life I would need to have rounded edges.  Glass corners and rowdy boys do not mix well.

All pillows are from Sukan Handmade Design, also on Etsy.

You won't believe this light--it is a DIY at One Kings Lane.  

They give detailed instructions on their site.  So cool.

Gerhard Richter (I can dream, can't I?!)

A friend of mine, Raina Hampton painted this piece.  Such talent!

Swing Chair is from Urban outfitters--because we wouldn't want our room to take itself too seriously.

This sunburst mirror is also a Chairish find. 

And of course this piece can be found here.

This has been such a fun project.  Have you ever created a design board?  I'd love to know your favorite finds or tips.

the making of a light...and a nook...and a boy...

Since our oldest has a large closet, way larger than he needs, we decided to make a desk nook on one side of it.  The most fun part was making the light for only a few dollars.  We've done this many times before, and so far it never gets old.  

All you need is a pendant light kit, like this one from Hobby Lobby (make sure to use your 40% off coupon), some sort of basket--I used a wire one here (also from the hobs for half off), and maybe a zip tie.  

 Thread the pendant wire through the basket.  It's best to do this without the light bulb, but I was impatient so I risked shattering glass everywhere.  

Attach the pendant to the basket.  I used a zip tie on this light but the type of basket will determine what you use, if anything.

 Now you're ready to attach your light.  You can use a small hook or staple gun (just don't puncture the wire).  I used both on this project, the hook to hang the light and staples to keep the wire in place.

Here's another cool idea for hanging these lights.

design sponge

 For the rest of this project, I used black chalkboard paint that I had on hand for the wall.  We had the two wooden planks from another project so we painted them and attached them to the wall.  The chair is from Wal-Mart years ago.  (You'll remember this post where I sang the praises of these chairs--and we still love them.  Unfortunately they are no longer $15, but I would gladly pay more because they have all lasted and OH MY GOSH WE ARE SO ROUGH ON EVERYTHING!) And the poster came from The Rusted Arrow.  I didn't want to do a lot to this space because the idea is to not be distracted and SIT AND STUDY.  But we'll see about that.  Where do you and your family like to read and study?  

love love love

Just posted some new pieces to my Etsy shop. 

  Happy Valentine's Day!