Paint Caddy

 My painted paint caddy:

So I bought this fun little caddy at the

craft store about a year ago:

I loved everything about it -
the size, the texture, that it's wood!!! 
I knew I would be painting on it
eventually, I just needed to decide what,
exactly, to paint.


I stored it in open view on my shelves.
I stared at it every time I entered
my studio.  I thought about it.
I pondered it.

Then, it came time to drive the
quarter mile to the entry gate and put
our phone number on it.
So that the next time there is a grass
fire on our property, we will be
easy to reach.  And just maybe the
fire department won't have to cut the lock.


I thought, should I go to the store

and buy some sticky numbers like the ones

you purchase for your mailbox??

Then I thought, Just Paint It!

It's quicker, it's easier, and for heaven's sake,

it's definitely cheaper.

 (pretend you're seeing a pic of 
the gate ... I've driven in and out on seven
different occasions and forgotten
each time to take a pic.
That's just how I roll)

So I did.

I just painted it.

I loaded my caddy with sealer,

paints, and brushes.

I drove the quarter mile up to the

entry gate, and painted the numbers.

And it was quicker, easier, and

definitely cheaper

than buying those sticky numbers.

 A few weeks later, looking at

my little wooden caddy full of brushes,

I thought, "Just Paint It!"

That's what I should paint on the 

side of the caddy!!

I used some cardboard stencils I'd

found at the store about four years ago,

and made a pattern.

(pretend you're seeing a pic
of my paper stencils.
Like I said ... that's how I roll.
It's a good thing I haven't forgotten
where I live or who my kids are
... yet ...)

 I transferred the pattern

lines to the side of the caddy using

transfer paper and a stylus.

 
Oh, look!! 
I remembered to take a pic.

 

First, I used black acrylic paint

to "shade" around the pattern lines.
I generally like to shade the

left and lower sides of each letter.

Next, I reached for the red paint.

Because I always seem to reach for the 

red paint when I paint letters.

But I changed my mind.

I chose two shades of turquoise

(my new favorite color).

First, I base coated each letter

with the lighter shade of turquoise.

Then, I used a sanding block

to rough and distress the letters and 

the shaded areas.

 

Then, I used the darker shade of turquoise

to paint the lower halves of each letter.

  

Finally, I outlined the right and

top of each letter with white acrylic paint

and my liner brush.

 

There it is!!

I wanted it to say "Just Paint It"

but I haven't decided how to add the

final words "just" and "it"

So for now, this is "Just It!"

And I love it!!

Peace and Finally Painting It

Journaling

The topic for today's blog hop is Journaling.

Journaling, for those who would like
a quick definition, is:
a personal record of occurrences, experiences,

reflections, or sketches kept on a regular basis.

I may or may not have added a word or two.

I kept a diary growing up,

and I kept a huge three-ring binder full

of my sketches and my ideas for sketches.

Today I'm not nearly that ... organized.

Today, I have countless journals.

 I call them notebooks, or sketchbooks.

 At least they're all in one place.


Not really.


There are at least two baskets
full of journals I've written or drawn in,
and at least two baskets of 
blank notebooks and sketchbooks
waiting to become my next journal.
Maybe I have a fetish for paper.
Maybe I don't.
I'm not saying.




I can look at my own drawings
and paintings, and not always recognize them.
That's how poor my memory is.
I try to sign and date my sketches,
and I go through my drawings often,
just to stay fresh and inspired.




I can't function without
my sketchbook journal!  How else
would this:

become this??

and this???

This may or may not have something to do

with the fact that my memory is

so lousy: 


I have actually started several

journals full of magazine cutouts that

inspire me.

When I was going through some

of my journals for this post,

I realized that the same kinds of things

inspire me today as the day

I started cutting up my magazines
ten years ago.

  

I have some nearly identical journals,

is what I'm saying.
Or, I've cut out the same pics
over and over again.

I'm not efficient.

I'm not organized.

Do as I say, NOT as I do.

Ha!

Here's a sneaky peek at a

couple of the journals that I keep today:

I encourage my kids to keep a

journal, also.  I think someday it will be

a lot of fun for them to go back and read

about how they viewed life when they were

thirteen years old, or seven, or four.

 Before every trip,

I gather art supplies, puzzle books,

and a fresh composition notebook for each kid,

along with stickers and plenty

of colored pens and pencils.

Sometimes they write about the trip

while we're in the car,

sometimes they don't write about the 

trip until after we're home,

sometimes it's just one page that

says, "We went to the zoo" 
accompanied by one of their drawings.

For the kids' journals,

I usually print up something for the 

cover like this:

Amelia has a sticker journal, also.
She sort of carried that sticker theme
over onto all her other journals.
;)

 Here's a sample page

from one of my daughter's journals:


(She said it was okay to post this~
it is about Friendship,
which she now knows is one word).

Here is one of my son's journals:

He said I could post a page,
but only if I laid the background.
So, here's the background:


He wrote:


Wednesday:
I hurt my foot running.
Brannon


Thursday:
Jumping hurdles,
I hurt my foot and scraped my
shoulder and smashed my face.
Brannon


Friday:
(here's what he wrote:)

Ha!!!

I don't scrapbook, exactly.

I have thousands of unprinted pictures

on my camera chips from

the past thirteen years.

Actually, I have actual PICTURES from

twelve and thirteen years ago,

it's just the last eleven years that are

trapped on those little disks.

I have pounds of scrapbook papers.

I have a plethora of scrapbook supplies.

I have journals full of noted milestones

like potty training and teeth pulling and

glitter spilling and Kleenex piling
and shot records, and height and weight notations,

and swimming and diving and birthday parties

and ... you get my drift.

I just don't have them all in one

place ... yet.

I have an "official" baby book for each child

and an "unofficial" three ring binder that

holds all the things I couldn't get in the baby book.

Like baptismal cards, copies of each year's

Christmas letter, baby hand-prints in paint,

etc.  I have filled the binders with

clear plastic pages that open at the top.

Here's what I NEED for each child:

I made this so many years ago,

I think I only had two kids at the time.

But now I need four new ones.
It stands neatly on a shelf like an
ordinary book, but it opens!
The whole cover opens
and there is a tray inside for
"stuff"!!




I found this at The Container Store.
I need a new one.  Actually, I need four.

For all the craft projects they've made

and I can't bear to part with:
salt dough ornaments,

Rudolph with hand-tracing antlers

and a fuzzy pom pom nose,
macaroni necklaces,

glittery, textured, three-dimensional

craft projects.  And special awards they've

won, like the First Place Medal

for track or their karate black belts.

Those items just don't tuck

neatly between the pages of an

"official" baby book, or the plastic

envelope-style page of a three-ring binder.

Here's the one I did for
Brannon about ten years ago:

I am working with each kiddo on what

design they want on their new "textural" storage journal -

but I had to talk Ayden out of Woody from Toy Story.

I just think there are other things he

could come up with that he likes right now at

age seven, that won't embarrass him

when he's sixteen.  So he went with his

favorite team mascot, who just happens to be

our namesake, Pistol Pete Maravich.

Since I'll be storing
all their "school" crafts and trophies,
I wanted the title page to
look like a school chalk board.

I bought acrylic paper, (which is just

heavy, textured white paper that doesn't

curl when you paint it).

Correction.  It doesn't curl a LOT when

you paint it.  It did curl a LITTLE.

I trimmed the paper into four 9" lengths.

I base coated the papers with black,

then I sanded the edges with a sanding block.

To give the impression that their name

is written on a chalkboard,

I used white paint to add their name.

Then I added a mat to their school photo

and attached both to a sheet of card stock.

So each Textural Journal will have a
cover with something special painted on it,
their name painted on the spine,
and this will be on the inside of the lid:

Another idea would be to use

a sturdy white gift box - shirt size - from

Christmas.  Decorate the top of the box

and store all those special

memories inside.

I am so excited about this idea,
I'm going to make these for my niece
and my nephews, as well!


I hope my post inspires you
to create something wonderful!


Please use the DCC Blog Hop button
at the top right of this post
to hop Forward or Back to view other
blogs by my fabulous artist friends.


Peace and Journaling ... and Storage ;)