For over three decades I've lived in white-walled rentals where the rental agreement includes things like: don't even think about painting these stark white walls.
I'm beginning to realize how simple the days were when we just learned to live with rental 'design' - blue indoor/outdoor carpeting with concrete for padding, bright orange Formica kitchen counters, gold fridges, blue bathtubs and toilets and boring walls. And now that I'm free to paint my walls, I find myself paralyzed with too many choices.
Here are the paint chips I've collected along the way. I now know why paint chip collections have evolved into craft projects and artwork.
I'm beginning to find it hard to believe that the DIYers in Blogland are finding really cool looking free furniture and they just happen to already have the perfect color of paint in the garage and the project only cost them $3.42 because they only had to buy one extra knob to complete the collection they already had - and fortunately the knob was on sale. All I want to do is paint the living room and I've already spent a small fortune on paint samples!
Many of these samples have been designer-friend and art-friend approved. In the paint store the colors look amazing with my itty bitty carpet sample, but they mysteriously morph when 'painted' on my walls. Well, what do you think? Should we paint or not? I don't dare ask if I should keep looking. Oh, and just to remind you, here's an idea of the palette I'm working towards.
Back in the day our church congregations (wards) used to have roadshows. The tradition started, in a different form, when the pioneers crossed the plains. The pioneers would gather together in the evenings to sing, dance, and entertain each other. It would help lift their spirits.
I didn't grow up in the church, but my siblings did. For some reason I never got involved in the roadshows when they did. (Knowing what I know now, I'm sure the ward would've gladly welcomed me to participate.) I finally got to be part of a roadshow when I lived in Salt Lake City, after graduating from BYU. I don't remember if I was actually 'in' the show, but I did draw and paint (with help) some of the scenery.
I drew out the designs on paper and then traced them with a Sharpie on some plastic that I had scrounged up and cut into small sheets. Someone built some big lightweight wooden frames and we stapled butcher paper to them. I used my newly acquired teacher skills to project and trace the drawings onto the framed butcher paper.
My favorite drawing was The Battle of the Champs. I thought it was a pretty clever interpretation of the rivalry between the Brigham Young University Cougars and the University of Utah Utes.
I was also proud of creating the illusion of a crowd in the stadium picture without drawing a gazillion little heads, but was quite disappointed when someone sneakily added in the 'Coke' ad and threw the whole drawing off center.
