Tag: sponsored

Traditional Art Gift Guide
I’ve been working with Art.com, and they’ve just released several gift guides for the holidays. I’m usually drawn to a quirky, modern style, but today I’m sharing my take on traditional art.

I chose each of these paintings (classics by the like of Manet and Whistler) because they excite me, but also because I could see them appealing to a wide range of people. I kept family members in mind, asking myself “would my mom like this? My grandma, or my uncle?” as my litmus test.
1. The Louvre and the Seine from the Pont Neuf, Morning Mist, 1902, Camille Pissarro
2. Room of Flowers, 1894, Childe Hassam
3. Branch of White Peonies and Secateurs, 1864, Édouard Manet
4. Mother and Child on a Couch, James Abbott McNeill Whistler
5. On the Beach, Edward Henry Potthast
6. Venetian Canal, John Singer Sargent
This post was sponsored by Art.com. Find your art. Love your space.
November 16, 2012
Ombré Nesting Tables (With a How-to Video)

Brought to you by 3M DIY.

I found these vintage wooden nesting tables at the Renegade Craft Fair, here in Chicago, a couple of months ago. I loved the shape of them, and that they nested together, but they looked a little plain in my library.

I decided to paint them in an ever-trendy ombré/gradient effect, figuring that when the trend moves on I can always repaint them again later. As I was preparing to paint, I look more closely at the tables and realized that someone had already painted them at some point, in a faux-bois effect. At least I didn’t have to feel guilty about being the first one to take a paintbrush to them!

I gathered everything I needed to get started: a lead test, sandpaper (150 and 180 grit), a mask, painter’s tape, paint and primer, a drop cloth, paint stirring sticks, and a good 2″ angled paintbrush. Below is a video showing the whole process.

I didn’t know how old that painted surface was, so I used a simple lead test to be sure that the tables were safe to work with. Then I sanded the tops with the rougher sandpaper, wiped them down, and taped off the edges. It would have been ideal to disassemble the tables and just work on the tops, but they were held together with a combination of dowels, glue, and magic. Prying them apart would have been difficult — possibly disastrous — so tape it was. Next I primed them, painted, sanded again with fine sandpaper, and applied a final coat of paint.

The three colors are Benjamin Moore’s Coral Gables and Petal Rose, and the third was a 50/50 combination of the two. I was careful to do a thorough job of sanding, and I made sure to abide by the recommended paint drying times (16 hours between coats because it was oil-based). I think that’s going to make all the difference when it comes to durability.

I love the way the tables play off of the new red pot of the fiddle-leaf fig tree, and the whole area feels a whole lot happier. Bringing that pillow up from the living room certainly helped too! It feels right to add a little more color to the area, since the kids play there a lot. August has already taken to using the nesting tables as stairs for his little animal figures.

This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY.
To learn more about safety and preparation, visit 3MDIY.com.

November 1, 2012
The Bing it On Report

I’ve been participating in a challenge with several other bloggers, in partnership with Alt Summit. It has been a week of searching with Bing instead of Google, and today it’s time for the report. Did you try it out too? I use my browser’s built-in search bar and I installed Bing’s plugin for this challenge, so switching for the week was easy.

So, what was different? Well, I didn’t notice much of a difference a lot of the time. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I was frustrated, and most of the time I felt pretty neutral about the whole thing. There were lots of little differences that you only notice because of the novelty of having them or the strange feeling of missing something. For instance, I like autofill. Bing does it to a lesser extent, but only on its homepage. You know what I mean; like when you start typing “why” and it gives you a drop-down of queries and suddenly you want to know, yes, “why are manhole covers round?” I missed the serendipity. My productivity improved without the internet rabbit hole though, so there’s that.

I did like the social media integration a lot. I also liked Bing for travel because of its Price Predictor (buy those tickets now, or wait for a drop in price?). Shopping searches were a toss-up, but image search goes to Google. I find Google’s reverse image search is pretty indispensable as a blogger.

Switching was an interesting experiment. I think I’ll probably switch between Bing and Google moving forward, depending on what I need. I figure it’s good to shake up old habits from time to time, right?

This post is brought to you by Alt Summit and their partner Bing. I’m taking the Bing It On challenge this week.

October 26, 2012
Bing it on

I, along with a bunch of my other Alt Summit blogging friends, am participating in a little challenge. It’s an interwebz challenge that appeals to my nerdy techie tendencies: Bing vs. Google.

I’ve installed a browser plugin because that’s where I typically enter my search terms, so I’ll be using Bing as my default search engine all week long (instead of… you know). I’ve also made Bing.com my homepage for the week, and I’ve installed their iPhone app. I’ll be posting an update on Friday, before my usual weekly Honor Roll post to share the results, good or bad. Apparently, people prefer Bing to Google 2:1 in blind tests, so I’m curious to see how the switch will pan out. You can join us too if you’re up for a little experiment, and we’ll discuss next Friday.

This post is brought to you by Alt Summit and their partner Bing. I’m taking the Bing It On challenge this week.

October 22, 2012
All-American Art
I saw the video below when I was in San Francisco a couple of months ago to meet with the Art.com team. It’s beautifully done, and the music swells at just the right point, but more than that, it shows how much pride they take in their framing process.

And here’s a bit of exciting news: Art.com is hosting a giveaway this week for a $500 shopping spree on their site! Follow them on Pinterest to be eligible and abreast of all the details.

Inspired by their American craftsmanship, I pulled together a few of my favorites from their Americana collection. (You know, so when you win that $500 shopping spree, you’ll have some ideas about what to get.)
This post was sponsored by Art.com. Find your art. Love your space.
October 22, 2012
Orange You Glad
This post is in partnership with Glidden.

I’ve used orange a lot in my home (like in August’s nursery and the original dining/living room setup), and I thought I’d revisit the color by putting together a dining room featuring the color. The plan below uses strong hits of orange in the chairs and other details, and I chose a pretty coral for the paint. I love the addition of the pink bowls too, and I imagine big fluffy pink flowers in those vases.
I write for My Colortopia, which is part of Glidden. Right now, they’re taking submissions for their Glidden #MyColorfulLife Project. You can upload colorful photos to their Facebook page or tag your photos on Pinterest with the hashtag #mycolorfullife, and they’ll then compile the images they receive into a large mosaic. You can learn more about it at Glidden.com.

I have partnered with Glidden/ Akzo Nobel Paints to participate in the My Colortopia program but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
October 9, 2012