Apple Blossoms & Golden Finch

Tags

art, bedroom, birds, canvas, craft, destress, fine art, flower, flowering tree, golden finch, guest room, hobby, home decor, home making, paint, painting, postaday2011, relax, relaxation, stencil, tree

Rainy Saturday
I’ve been extremely stressed recently, on top of work, two weeks before the end of my course, my professor decided to extend the class! Can she really do that? We’ve stalled on our home projects. There are still walls to be painted and boxes to be unpacked… I often forget how much painting relaxes me. Painting canvases, not walls…  played around with the idea of flowering branches and birds. I played around with a silhouette idea, but didn’t like it for my walls. The inspiration has to hit at just the right time.

Blossom Detail

Today, while checking out a local community yard sale (during the pouring rain), I saw a cute stencil. Now, I’d never stencil flowers and birds on my walls (and I was quite harsh about the ones on the walls when we bought our first house), but I saw a cute stencil and thought that it would be great as a painting. For 25¢, you can’t go wrong.

Quickly after we got home I was playing around with the stencil. I was going to use it on my canvas, but it had three layers of stenciling craziness and the result would become a mess. So I looked at the image on the packet and used the images to guide my painting.

I rummaged through an unpacked box to find my paint brushes and acrylic paints. I kept my blank canvases handy, knowing that I’ve been itching to paint. I still need to spray it with a clear coat before Hubster hangs it on the wall. This is what I created…

Apples Blossoms & Golden Finch

This painting is perfect for my guest room, It’ll tone down the green walls and matched the bird-cage theme.

What did you do yesterday???

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Parisian Café Tray

Tags

bed tray, breakfast, breakfast in bed, brunch, café, café tray, craft, decoupage, France, Paris, postaday2011, relax, relaxation, relaxing, tea tray, tray, tray table

My personal goal over my Christmas break was to take one day for myself. I’ve been back to work for two weeks and it still hasn’t happened. We spent an extra day over break in the Philadelphia area; a few days our plans were snowed out and we extended our trip to include some of the traditional holiday activities. My expat sister was home from Scotland, so it was good to spend a little extra time with her. It’s always hard to say goodbye and I was looking forward to a day of relaxation… but we were busier than we thought we’d be when we returned. I wanted our place to have a clean start before the New Year, at least I was successful at that.

Now, with Hubster working late nights, you’d think I’d have a moment for myself, but our schedule is just jam-packed. Back from a hectic weekend… I need a little relaxation. So while Hubster is busy watching football, I’m going to slip into the other room for a few hours… (which also means tomorrow’s post will be later). I’m going to load my new Parisian Café Tray with macaroons, petite fours, thé au lait, a bottle of Evian, a few fresh-cut flowers and a good book. My iPod loaded with Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. For me to truly have a relaxing moment, all my senses need to be submersed.

Parisian Café Tray

 

I purchased an unfinished bed tray at the craft store and quickly turned it into my Parisian Café Tray. I stained the wood in a dark finish and allowed it to dry overnight. I applied Mod Podge to decoupage scrapbook paper, black & white photos (from a calendar), and ribbon on the surface. I allowed it to dry in between coats and then sprayed it with a sealer.

This tray is great and I look forward to using it often (hopefully). It’s great for working on small crafts while I’m sitting in the living room or bedroom… Maybe Hubster will take the hint and serve me brunch in bed one weekend… that is if I ever get to sleep in…

How do you relax?

 

Tuscan Vineyard in my Kitchen

Tags

destress, fine art, kitchen, landscape, painting, relax, relaxation, Tuscan, Tuscany, vineyard, wine

It’s a rainy Saturday morning and I finally had a moment to relax. No students, no rehearsal, no Hubster and no Pumpkin, just me in my quiet house…
Ahh… Then Hubster calls to see how my morning is going (2nd time today), and proceeds to give me a list of chorus he wants me to do today. Seriously? I ended the call and turned off my phone, I just need some time for me.

I pulled out a few canvases, my paints and brushes and began to relax. So I decided to paint a Tuscan Vineyard for my kitchen. We’ve been looking for paintings to go into the kitchen but haven’t exactly the right fit (with the large price tags, why would you settle?). We want our  kitchen to give a Tuscan feel, yet that’s hard to accomplish without rust colors in your palette. Our kitchen has shades of brown, tan, blue and green. I didn’t have canvas that fits the space, so I made my painting on two panels. To keep it cohesive, I used packing tape to tape the frames together in the back of the frames. Two hours later, I’m not stressed (phone’s still off)… and I’m ready for a glass of wine.

 

My Tuscan Vineyard

 

 

Detail of my Tuscan Vineyard

 

I couldn’t get a good photo due to lack of natural sunlight today, but I just wanted to share it with you anyway.

How do you like my painting?

Sugar Scrub Recipe

Tags

de-stress, de-tox, home beauty, homemade beauty, natural beauty, pampering, rejuvenation, relax, relaxation, sugar scrub

I love using a sugar scrub to exfoliate and moisturize my skin. Whip up a batch of your own at home to pamper your skin or to gift a batch to a loved one.

To Make
Mix 2/3 c. dark brown sugar, 1/2 c. almond oil (you can use vegetable oil), 10 drops vitamin E (I puncture and squeeze a vitamin E liquid capsule) or glycerin, any 10 drops of any other essential oil you might want to add .

To Use
Mix ingredients together before use. Rub the sugar scrub mixture in small circles on dry skin. Concentrate on tough areas, such as elbow and heals (careful, shower may get slippery). Rinse off completely when finished.

To Store
Store in small plastic or glass jars. This is the perfect use for recycling baby food jars. I used metal tins I had on hand, I just need to get my hands on some baby food jars.

Brown Sugar Body Scrub

*If you have raw brown sugar, use 1/3 c. brown sugar and 1/3 c. raw brown sugar.

*Limit use to 3 x’s per week (I use once a week in the winter and 3 x’s during the summer).

*Continue pampering yourself with a soothing salt soak or cold eye pillow.

Aromatherapy Satin Eye Pillow

Tags

aromatherapy, de-stress, de-tox, eye mask, eye pillow, eye pillow tutorial, hangover cure, lavender, migraine relief, pampering, rejuvenation, relax, relaxation, satin eye pillow, self sooth, stress buster

As I mentioned in Soothing Salts, I need to focus on relaxing and de-stressing. I haven’t owned an eye pillow in years and decided it was time to make myself a customized one. I used an old satin camisole as the casing (perfect time to reuse a preloved item).

Eye Pillow

Step One
Cut two 5″x8″ rectangles and stitch three sides closed, leaving an 1/4″ seam allowance.

Step Two
Turn the satin pouch right side out and fill it with one cup of flax seeds (better than those plastic beads), a sprig of dried lavender and 10 drops of lavender essential oil (or you can create you own combinations).

Step Three
Folded the open side into the sack. Then stitch it close on the outside on the pillow, continuing across all four sides. This creates a finished seam.

In order to preserve the aromatherapy benefits of the lavender, store it in a plastic zipper bag in the freezer of the refrigerator (check your cold tolerance).

Other combinations to try: rose petals and rose oil or dried chamomile flowers and peppermint oil.

*If flax seeds aren’t available to you, try using corn kernels or uncooked rice.

*This is perfect for migraine relief, puffy or sore eyes, hangovers, etc…

Soothing Salts

Tags

bath salts, de-stress, de-tox, pampering, relax, self sooth, Valentine, Valentine's Day

Bath Salts, Valentine Edition:
51% of me wanted to have a productive weekend, 49% of me just wanted to melt into the couch with a book and a bag of cookies. Since work and life have been so hectic, I knew I wouldn’t be productive unless I pampered myself first. I got a jump-start on being productive, but making a treat to help me relax. Bath salts are so easy to make, I decided to whip up a batch.

Ingredients: 1 c. sea salt, 1 c. Epsom salt, 1 c. baking soda, 1 tsp. liquid glycerin, 10 drops of essential oil, a few drops of food coloring

Directions: Mix these ingredients together in a bowl, breaking up all the small clumps, then separate into smaller batches. You can store them in decorative glass bottles, plastic baggies or in a decorative glass canister with a beautiful scoop. When it’s time to enjoy, just dissolve into steamy hot bath water.

Valentine Bath Salts

*I used red food coloring to make my salts pink, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner.

*I used almond essential oil this time, but I also like lavender (relaxing), lemon (energizing), etc…

*Mist salt with water, add a bit more glycerin and press into plastic molds to make heart-shaped bath salts.

*I made a batch and separated them into decorative little bottles to include in my Out Of Town Baskets for my wedding. I think they make great favors for baby or bridal showers, stocking stuffer or as a thank you gesture.

Gift Basket Bath Salts