Slate Pen and Ink Miniatures!

For anyone who has ever done their own crafting or artwork you know how much more effort it takes to work on a small scale as opposed to a large scale. There is something so special about a tiny little painting.  I love miniatures, the precision and attention to detail on something that is only 3 inches large is amazing. 

I recently bought three miniature pin and ink sketches from Gordon's in Metairie one of Jackson Square, one of the Streetcar in front of Audubon Park and a third of Lafittes - one of our favorite bars. I framed them in over-sized reclaimed wood frames (also from Gordons) and hung them in our Living/Dining room area.

After looking at the trio for awhile I realized they couldn't really stand alone and that I wanted to add to them.  Cue the creative inspiration - I decided that I wanted to do something with this tissue paper I had saved from a present I received from Hazelnut - one of my favorite Magazine Street Interior Design/Home Decor stores. I have lusted for their New Orleans Toile print fabric for YEARS now, and finally decided this was the time to use it.

From one of my Dumpster Diving expeditions I rescued some old Slate that had been torn off of the roof of a house that was being renovated (I cant believe the amazing things people throw away!). Like so many things, I didnt know what I wanted to use it for, but hung onto it because I knew I would need it some day...someday was yesterday...

I decided to cut out the individual "scenes" from the New Orleans Toile Tissue Paper and decoupage it onto the slate to make my own miniatures!

After a good thick base of Modge Podge, I put down the tissue, then Modge Podged right over it and left it to dry for about an hour. Some of my slate had the original nail holes in it, others Zach had to drill a hole for me - which ended up being super easy to do with a simple Masonry bit.

Once the Modge Podge had dried it looked like someone had done pen and ink miniatures on the slate! I was pleasantly surprised at just how clear the images came out! They might have looked better decoupaged onto something with a lighter background but I love that I was able to reuse that old slate for something so wonderful!

You may not have access to gorgeous tissue paper like this, but you can actually print any image onto tissue paper by simply scotch taping tissue paper around regular computer paper and feeding it into a manual printer. I did this for the first time about a month ago for a Project (see large map in below picture) that I have yet to blog about and was really impressed with the results.

I am in love with my original pen and inks and my new Slate renditions - they are all hung together in the living/dining room and have become the start of a great collection of NOLA only art that I will be using to fill that wall! Cant wait to keep collecting!

Master Bath Before and After!

This weekend we were busy painting! Now that pretty much all of our moving and unpacking is out of the way, we can really focus on making the house more "ours" and adding a little color to the walls is exactly what the house needs to feel more like home!

Before

I wanted our bathroom to feel more spa-y, and go along with the neutrals and teals that I have in the bedroom (post to come). And to be honest it needed more color than a few towels could provide...sandy tile, white vanity, cream walls - all a little to blah for me.

During... 

After looking at a dozen different paint samples in the bathroom, I chose Valspar's Rainforest from Lowes. It had just enough grey and green in it that it was a little more than teal walls. and I felt like was a calmer color.

After!

I taped and trimmed, Zach rolled and we got the bathroom paint finished in about two hours! The paint color turned out a little darker than I had hoped, but it gives a great contrast to all the white and beige fixtures in the room! I'm super happy with the way it turned out!

Moroccan Slate Rug!

Even though we have GORGEOUS wood floors throughout the downstairs of the house, I knew I wanted to get a rug for the living room. My ideal color palette for the house is Green/Yellow/Natural/Grey and Slate Blue. We've got plenty of Green, and Naturals, and Yellow...but not really any of the Blue/Grey.

Inspiration #1 from Pinterest - Jute Rug - Love so natural and warm!

So when I started my internal debate as to whether I should go with a Jute Rug or a Blue Rug, I made my decision pretty quickly! Our living room was really warm- Brown floors, Yellow Sofas, Red Brick Fireplace - it needed to be cooled off and Jute wasn't going to do the trick...

Inspiration #2 from Shopten25 - Love the Bold Rug - mine for the low low price of $1600...

I have stalked tons of different places looking for rugs - and the one thing I learned is that Rugs are REALLY expensive...I didn't really have it in my budget to buy a $500+ rug. But I knew I wanted a substantial rug, not just a floor mat. I finally came across RugsUSA.com and knew I had hit the jackpot. They were having a 50% off sale and had a wide selection of rugs with fun prints in bold colors - exactly what I wanted! After looking at several different rugs I decided to go with the Homespun Moroccan Trellis Blue Grey Rug.

I had thought about ordering the Rug in Spa Blue, but when I saw it on this blog I decided it was too Baby Blue for my needs...

I was nervous about ordering a rug online, without getting to see the color in person or be able to touch to feel its texture. After stalking it online and reading the comments, the rug had gotten several bad reviews because it used to be called Charcoal (instead of now being called Blue-Grey)...and people were disappointed that the grey was really more blue...I clearly didnt have a problem with this since I wanted a Blue rug to begin with!

I stalked the rug online before ordering...here it is in Stayathomeista's Dining room

The rug arrived on Tuesday and when I rolled her out I was so excited about the way she looks in the Living Room! It was the perfect pop of color that we needed and has really worked to counter all of the warm tones in the Room! Things are starting to really come together.

I love the look of the rug, but a couple of things to note: The blue wool is a little scratchy. I haven't had the issues with shedding at many commented about online. I did have some issues with RugsUSA.com, I NEVER received an email confirmation - even after I called and requested one. I also had absolutely no warning as to when the rug would be arriving because I also didn't receive a shipping notification either.  Would this prevent me from doing business again with the company? NO, but it is concerning that the only way I knew the order had gone through was by looking at the credit card statement...

Also note - I am recovering the Ottoman in the foreground and the chair on the right is on Craigslist and will hopefully be leaving soon!

Festing!

This weekend, Rissa, one of my Best Friends from home in Knoxville came to visit and was officially our first - non-Moving related - Guest at our House! In normal NOLA fashion there was lots to do around town but this weekend pretty much everybody was at JazzFest - so we too hit the fairgrounds on Saturday to soak up the sun and great music.

Before we hit JazzFest, I wish the sun had soaked up some of the rain from the last week, because we were practically swimming in mud! It was so deep and so thick we all ended up kicking off our shoes and dancing around barefoot all day. Gross - yes, but definitely fun! The headliners on Saturday were Fleetwood Mac and Little Big Town but we also got to enjoy more local music, crafts and food too! I think next year, I would like to go to JazzFest on a day when I dont care about any particular performer so that instead of being anchored at the Headliner Stage I can be free to wander and explore more!

This weekend we ate at the new Ignatius. It's moved further into town on Magazine and now serves Booze...It still has its quality good food, but they've added more expensive entrees too, to go along with their more upscale location. In my mind, Id rather have the old Ignatius and BYOB. Saturday Night we had a long alfresco dinner at Baru which was wonderful as always - really loving the addition of alcohol to their menu too - amazing Pineapple Mojitos, then called it a night after our exhausting day at Jazz Fest. Sunday we tried going to Brunch favorite, Surrey's, but it was slammed so instead we explored to a new neighborhood haunt (well we're new to the neighborhood...not sure how old it is) Laurel Street Bakery and was delighted with this little gem - great muffins and quality coffee - perfect for a Quick Breakfast. 

Later in the day we walked over to the Superior Grill Cinco De Mayo Block Party and were VERY disappointed. Turns out this year they decided to have a $20 cover, and no band...we didnt hang around for long because to be honest it was dead...instead grabbed some tequila and ingredients to make Enchiladas and had our own little Fiesta at home! 

I had a great time with Ris this weekend - and probably the last time we'll get to spend this much time together for a while...we are all growing up and she has a 5(?)year residency to look forward to! At least she'll be in Nashville (Vanderbilt) so I'll have a chance of possibly seeing her when I'm at home!   

Weekend Warriors

I feel like the last two weeks since we moved in has been a whirlwind.

Our first weekend while my parents were in town it was all about moving all the big stuff and getting the house functional. The next weekend Zach's parents were in town and we got a lot more of the organizing done that made the house more livable!

They brought with them a GORGEOUS Chandelier that had come from Zach's Aunt Mollie's home. It took quite a bit of team work in getting it hung - both attaching it to the ceiling and then figuring our where the hundreds of crystals were supposed to attach.

The next big task we got accomplished was hanging the 12 Orchid prints that I had ordered for the dining room wall. Luckily they had come with cardboard spacers that were exactly the size of each frame which allowed us to tape them up on the wall to get them lined up like we wanted without putting a hundred holes in the wall getting them straight.

There were some unforeseen issues - like our closet rod collapsing - but luckily Zach and his dad were able to get it all shored up and reinforced so that I can pack that closet with the most possible clothing!
 

All and all it was a pretty successful weekend to getting the house as livable as fast as possible!
Now this last weekend - not as productive but tons of fun - more to come!

Door Table?

Even before we bought the house, I knew that I wanted to find a beautiful old door to turn into a Dining Room or Kitchen Table - Now that dream has finally become a reality!  

Once we bought our Little House on laurel and I knew I would actually have the space for a Dining Table I set to work on finding the perfect Door with exactly the right distressed coloring for our Home.

I found this beauty at Ricca's Architectural Salvage in Mid City, and knew that she would be perfect for our table - just throw some legs on her and call it a day! Or so I thought. Turns out our beautiful Door had lead paint on her.  Needless to say, chowing down on a table covered in flaky lead paint isn't desirable. 

To deal with the lead paint situation, my Dad and Zach decided to build a frame to encase the door with plywood on the bottom and a decorative trim around the edges.  It was a time consuming task but in the end it turned out great!

But I wasn't exactly pleased with the color of the wood. After waffling back and forth between whether to stain or to white wash the frame and the legs, I decided to go with an antique stain that I found the recipe for on Pinterest!

Apparently if Steel Wool and vinegar is left over night together it will create a worn/weathered stain - which I knew would go perfectly with the Door and the aesthetic I was hoping to create. I experimented with Red Wine Vinegar and with White Vinegar and decided that I liked the grey-er look of the White Vinegar. (There were also other variables suggested like adding tea bags or coffee grounds but I went with steel wool and white vinegar only).

After staining the table I was really unhappy with the results. While I loved the color, it wasn't consistent and looked uneven and splotchy. I wanted a weathered look, but not one that was so unnatural. In an attempt to cover up the patchiness of the stain I decided to do a slight white wash with a very light grey paint mixed with a glazing medium. The results were great and finally gave the table the Restoration Hardware-y look that I wanted!

To seal the last of the Lead Paint in I ordered a 1/4 inch glass table top with an inch wide bevel to top things off.- It was just delivered on Monday and I think that it totally makes the table!  I cant wait for our first Dinner party to put the table to the test! 

Movin' on Up!

Its been a pretty chaotic week but we are officially moved in to our New House!

The Little House on Laurel is Ours!

Friday was an unbelievably crazy day: Went for our final walk thru at 8:30. We closed at 9am. Took the kittens and two other loads of stuff from the Apartment over to the house. My parents Arrived at Lunch and we had movers unload the truck they drove down. Then drove over to the Apartment, had the movers load up all the furniture from there, then drive back to the house where they unloaded it again...

The Dining Room set up!

Exhausted - to say the least...

Mom Cleaning out the Cabinets

But I was genuinely surprised at how fast everything went, and how smoothly...I only cried once , but I think it was more exhaustion and less aggravation..

Dad and Zach having a Beer Break

We got the house cleaned and relatively livable...I mean we still have alot of boxes and things without homes, but I think we will be all settled in by the end of this weekend when Zach's parents are here!