Ceiling Tile Works of Art

I love to visit my school’s art room to see what the students are working on under the encouragement of our fantabulous art teacher. A recent project was painting ceiling tiles for the art room and hallways.

 

 

I’m ah-mazed at the vibrancy, depth and skill these young people displayed in their works. I just had to share a few close-ups of the tiles with you.

 

Can you recognize the budding Mondrian, Warhol or Lichtenstein?

 

I wonder if I can sweet talk a few into my classroom domain? 😉

I hope you enjoyed the mini-gallery display. 🙂

Have a good week! — Joanne

DIY Real Wedding

“Mom, would you help us plan a really simple DIY, home-grown, ‘blended-family’, outdoor fall wedding?”

Months after the wedding, my daughter and I gathered together the ideas, tips, suggestions, etc. to share – hopefully making it a tad easier for others to plan their own DIY “laid-back”, casual, outdoor special day. Beware: many photos!

We hope you can use an idea or find some little thing useful from this post 🙂

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Inspiration Piece

We found an old box of inexpensive aqua Atlas canning jars in a junk shop.

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Initial Planning

Right away: Choose a venue, set a date and contact the officiate.

Create a Planning/Checklist

Browse Pinterest and online interactive planning websites

Start Gathering: DIY, Borrow, Thrift Shops

Write out Guest List

Purchase Invitations online

Determine wedding attire

Plan Menu

Write a ‘Wedding Photos to be Taken’ List

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The Day Before (AKA: Set Up)

Canopies & Other Supplies: Both my husband and son-in-law were eligible to reserve canopies, tables and chairs from the local Morale, Welfare & Recreation center. It was a considerable savings! We borrowed coffee and drink urns, platters and chafing dishes. An uncle provided ice for the canoe we filled with beer, wine, water and apple-pie moonshine. 🙂

More ideas:

• Canopies can be very expensive. If you live near a military base, are eligible (or know a friend who is) it is possible to save a bundle by renting tables, chairs, canopies, etc. from a local Morale, Welfare & Recreation storehouse.
• Try to borrow chairs and tables from a local group (Scouts, church, benevolent group). Remember to make a donation!
• Place waterproof seating arrangements.

• String plastic lighting around edge of canopy and in trees for evening lighting.
• Repurpose vintage windows. Great-grandmother’s 100-year-old carriage garage house windows were turned into inspirational signage. (See DIY Vintage Windows as Signs here).

• Fill wheelbarrows, galvanized tubs, john boats or canoes with ice and load with drinks.

• Hang triangle party pennants for a festive touch. (See DIY Easy Pennants here).

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The Special Day Arrives

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Bouquet & Boutonniere: Simple. Grocery-store bought rose nosegay and hand-crafted boutonniere from the Etsy shop, The White Bouquet.

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Directional Signs: These were placed strategically to help guests find their way since the wedding was in the ‘boonies’. The groom’s mom created signs from scrap lumber, paint and balloon’s. My daughter and son-in-law’s names are pronounced “BRY-en” phonetically and we teasingly call them “Brianne Pink” and “Brian Blue” – hence the pink and blue balloons.

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Reuse ~ Repurpose ~ Upcycle

So just WHAT does it all mean? I find these terms all over ‘blogdom’.

 I decide to do a little sleuthing…

Well, we all know what it is to REUSE. I try to reuse shipping materials from my Etsy shop whenever possible. When reusing, the value of the products remain the same.

  However, I am saving time, money, energy and resources.

 

source: http://img.ehowcdn.com/

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  When I REPURPOSE, I am no longer using a product as originally intended. I have given it a new purpose;  increasing its aesthetic and monetary value. Before repurposing, these items are usually considered junk or garbage.

I’ve repurposed discarded items into art and functional pieces.

Soda Can + Pallet Scrap Angel and Pallet Kitchen Island/Work Table

 
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 To UPCYCLE is to reuse an old item in an altered and innovative way giving it more value. This results in better quality and higher environmental value.

I’ve upcycled architectural salvage with a new function in mind.

Repurposed ‘Bull’s Eye’ Wall Art and Door Coat Rack

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 So . . . in a nutshell:

 

View Posts on the above projects here:

Soda Can Angel

Pallet Kitchen Island/Work Table

Repurposed Door Coat Racks

Have a great week! – – Joanne

Soda Can Angel

Looking through blogs, I found lots of inspiration (One Lucky Day and Indestructibles) on how to repurpose my saved soda cans and scrap pallet left over from building two tables (see Pallet + Plywood Workspace Table and Pallet Project:  Kitchen Island/Worktable here).  Using supplies I had on hand, my main goal was to construct layered wings by recycling soda cans and somehow attach my completed piece to a pallet scrap.

Vintage Windows as Signs

When my sister started to restore our grandmother’s 100 year-old home, she kept a few of the vintage windows. My daughter was able to include a little piece of her Great Grandmother Lillian’s memory by using two of these windows as “signs” at her wedding reception. Love upcycling! They were a big hit.