a chalkboard for the entry wall

It's been hard, but I have managed to contain myself from stenciling another wall in the new place. Instead, I have dedicated a little time to the entryway. The chalkboard I started last year is finally done & hung. And for some strange reason, I am starting to be Okay with white walls!  

Ready to put it to use, I threw a little hand lettering on it a few days ago in celebration of the kiddo's Birthday. I am quite happy with the results. I think my fascination with chalkboards (and chalk in general) started back when I was a little girl and my dad painted the whole back of a wooden door that connected our house to my grandma's patio with black paint. On rainy days or those days when I just couldn't go out and play with the cousins (whose house was also connected to mine by the patio) I would spend hours in front of that door (chalkboard) playing teacher and in a way, talking to myself :)

+ Chalkboard paint recipe found at MarthaStewart.com 

+ HEMNES table from  IKEA 

stencil no. 3

Ooops, I did it again... I stenciled a wall!

Stenciling's got me hooked. I love it.
If you asked me, it's a pretty economical way to dress up those white walls that can easily become boring and that horrify me. Love wallpaper? Can't afford it? Stenciling is a pretty good alternative for wallpaper in my opinion.

The process to make your own stencil isn't that complicated (this comes from someone with quite some experience handling the exacto knife).  It took me a few YouTube videos only to get it. Depending on how thick the Acetate is, the paint might cause it to curl up, wich makes this stenciling thing tricky. It's a little time consuming waiting for it to dry completely before re-using it again (what I do) or you could continue stenciling away without waiting for this as long as you are really careful to place the stencil flat on the wall and making sure there are no drippings on the back of it. Quite tricky, I know.

So here it is, my very third stenciled wall. I used a cool color this time just because I want to get me out of my confort zone with warm colors. The only thing is: that bold RED couch in the living room is out of tone now!  But that can easily be fixed with a sofa cover I guess.

Take a look at Stencil No. 2.

Stencil No. 3 A Moroccan pattern with seaport blue paint.

Boring wall before stencil...

a different layout

I am done with classes and technically with college (it seams like yesterday when I decided to go back to college). I am really excited about what's in store for me out there in the real world and although I've had better nights for the last couple of weeks, I still can't go to bed without a project or homework jumping in my mind. This time, my homework has been to update my website (online portfolio) and resumeé, which I completely underestimated. So from time to time, I remind myself that it's not all about homework anymore. I need to step aside and take care of things that are part of life, like cooking, cleaning, playing, planning a trip, and of course
trying a different layout for the furniture around the house!

stenciling away...Stencil No. 2

There is something about stenciling that I find quite fascinating.
I adventured to stencil a second wall around the house last December.  I think the results were quite impressive and I cannot wait to do another stencil project in the bathroom... oooh I think I'm becoming obsessed with stenciling!

... update

Sharing my solution to the "empty wall" problem.

  

{Yes, I take my time to show the final product...}
Click here to read more about this project.

a little touch

the idea of stenciling my bedroom wall came to me quite some time ago.
and i'm happy to see that idea finally shaping up.
it's not exactly finalized, but i am loving the look already!
a couple more shapes in a different color shade will give me the look i ambition.

i was inspired by a wallpaper pattern i found while researching about wallpaper how-to's. after reading so much about how 'hard' it would be to apply wallpaper on my uneven walls, many pros and cons about different techniques, and after realizing the amount of money i had to spend just to cover one wall... the stenciling idea appeared to be more suitable.

here is my progress so far, incorporating vintage shapes, which i find quite beautiful:

© ana myers 2011

my inspiration: (from designyourwall.com)