I've Been Framed!!!

Finally! So before I bore you all with another post on framed items I would like to wish you a Happy First Day of SPRING (yesterday)! The calendar claims it's here, but I'm not buying it. You would think that growing up in the Northwest I would be used to the weather by now. I'm not.  I'm chalking this up to two things: one being that my life up until two years ago was dictated by the changing quarters/semesters in school not by the actual changes in seasons, and two that when it was actually sunny out I was able to take advantage of it and go play where as now I have joined the ranks of the real world and yes have responsibilities. One of which is to not just up and leave work when its nice out. Phooey.

I would also like to apologize for boring you with another post along the topic of frames. One reason this is happening is because this is the first place it hasn't mattered how many holes we put in the wall so I'm going hanging crazy, and two is because the project posts I've been REALLY excited about doing are taking a bit longer than I was hoping (stay tuned this week though, they'll be up I promise!). So here goes nothing.

This weekend while Michael was out of town I took advantage and started a bunch of crafts/projects I've been wanting to do for a while, and threw in a last minute brilliant idea one. I actually did paint the file cabinet this weekend (post about that later) but I'm not sure I'm loving the color I picked out well over 2 years ago. Oops. Cleaned out the car (with the addition of Molly my car cleanliness has suffered, been long overdue and finally did it) went house hunting for Michael's sister Sara, started another project (debuting this week or next!) and got some house cleaning done. Super go me!

Now to framing :-)
 

I started out with this guy, its the back of a Sailor Jerry's label. Love the designs they have. Since its an awkward shape (not regular frames sizes) I hoped to find a 4" x 6" frame with a mat in it but apparently they're not very common. My plan was to just use the back side of the "stock image" that came with the frame but it was white and looked awful. Luckily the other frame I purchased for a picture of Bayley, my childhood dog, had a black "stock image" that worked perfectly. I think it fits nicely on the frame wall :-)








Next went one of the better pictures of Bayley that I have. She passed in 2009 just before turning 17. She was an amazing dog, just wonderful and lived a long life. We adopted her from the Whatcom Humane Society when she was 8 months old, at first my sister who was 4 or at the time was scared of her because she had so much energy. That didn't last long at all. I miss her dearly.

Finally I hung up another paining my great-grandmother did. I've had it framed for a while, I purchased the frame and mat that the painting rests on at Aaron Brother's when they were having their penny sale last summer. The reason it's taken me so long to hang it is because I haven't had a good idea of where to put it. Its a white frame which I don't normally do and therefore doesn't exactly flow with the rest of our wall hangings.

Luckily I found just the spot for it in this house :-).

























This is the "landing" and the only sets of stairs we have in the house. The door on the left goes out to the back yard and the door to the right goes to the basement. Its also our accent corner walls, I'm not generally attracted to reds but I also can't think of what else to paint this accent wall.





I think with all the white trim and the red tones it really fits well there. It  helps that I get to see a little reminder of my great-grandmother every day. She was a pretty big influence in my younger years, I say pretty big in the sense that many people never get to meet their great-grandparents, but she still had quite an impact when I was growing up. She was a phenomenal baker. I mean out of this world. Apparently not much of a cook though. She had been baking for so long that she never used a recipe. She wrote the recipes down for the family but whenever we try and re-create them they're never the same.


She also knit and sewed, the typical great-grandmotherly way. I still have a few knit blankets and a patchwork doll quilt she made me. I actually wanted to learn how to knit so that I could do something similar for my great-grandchildren (I suppose the children will have to happen first, and who knows if we'll ever have them so I'm getting slightly ahead of myself). And painting. She loved it. She used to sell her paintings in California when she lived there. She inspired and encouraged my mom to follow her artistic ability (my mom is also an amazing artist, I on the other hand did not get that gene). Tangent aside she was a wonderful woman and I'm thankful I had her in my life.

Who made an impact on your childhood years? Anyone have their own framing and decor hanging adventures?