Octopus Triptych Revisited

Hey guys! This post about creating your own DIY Octopus Triptych has far and away been one of the most popular posts on the blog so far.

One of the recent comments mentioned that Picnik is defunct now so now what??? Be prepared for lots of links coming up.

I've been thinking about a couple of different options and here is what I've come up with:

1. You can still grab the file and head to Kinkos to get it printed big in black and white.

Jenny at Little Green notebook has a great post about big prints for little cash:  - She actually scanned a photo and had it blown up.

LGN also has a great way to hang big art on the cheap.

You could split up a big piece of art into several parts and hang them separately to get the triptych look.

2. You could take this a step further and add to the black and white copy post printing. There are watercolor pencils that would be a fun way to color in the octopus. You could also paint over it in translucent paints, you could dye the paper, stain it with tea for an antique look, etc.

Also - PicMonkey kinda took the place of Picknik for a lot of people, and while I haven't used it inside and out, it is pretty okay. Or, if you are lucky and have Photoshop, you have the world at your fingertips in terms of photo manipulation.

I'm curious if anyone has done this project. What have you discovered?

UPDATE: I found someone who actually did it!!! Go here to see her finished product. Looks great! Thanks for the shout out.

Envisioning Life

Where has the time gone? It seems like I just looked up and have been living in DC for 6 months. I've been teaching for 5 months. I've been married for 4 years. And I have 5 months until I turn 30.

All of these units of time and many others that deserve a longer post, remind me that life is short. Too short. The start of a new year has always been a time for resolutions and renewed commitments to lose weight, eat better, save money, etc.

The Headmaster at my school led a devotion last week about actually envisioning your life a year from now instead of making resolutions. He shared great insight and verses about how to change your life but made one statement that really hit home for me. He said (more eloquently than I) that in one year from now, you will be somewhere, but it is your choice where that is. You can sit passively by or you can actively determine where you will "be".

Instead of making a resolution this year, I am envisioning myself at the end of 2013. There are several personal and professional things I want to be at the end of this new year. Some I am happy to share and others I'd like to savor myself. I hope you will understand. I've also realized as I've been envisioning lately, that while I have lots of tiny things I want to accomplish/be, they all boil down to one or two major life goals. It's funny how when you ask yourself why you want this or that, you discover bigger deep rooted desires - the perfect stuff to envision and motivate you to make changes.

I hope you also are envisioning yourself at the end of 2013 - what will you be?

A note about the radio silence: I don't pretend to have a million readers out there. Honestly, it is probably more like one or two. I do take the content and things I post here seriously and want it to be worthwhile to you and me. These past couple of months have been a wonderful time of change for my faith, family and friends and I've struggled with how to make it relevant to the readers of SplendidMinta and also how to be true to myself. I've also been considering the concept of sharing your life on the big 'ole internet and asking myself what the point is. Really, what is the end game? There are wonderful blogs out there - that I read daily - that support families, inspire and/or change the world. I don't know that SplendidMinta fits in any of those categories. So, is there a point in continuing? Has anyone else come across this big question?

Roll on

We're on the road! DC or bust.

save me from the torment

Can someone please save me? Ever see a person in a commercial or TV show and know you've seen them somewhere else? That's me right now. Because of this girl:

Yes, that girl right there in the middle - I know I've seen her from somewhere.

Is she that girl who interviewed to replace Charlotte at her gallery? (I'll save you the google search: The episode is called Time and Punishment, it's season 4, episode 7) I cannot find a full cast list and search for "girl in Wendy's commercial sex and the city charlotte replacement gallery" surprisingly yielded no results.

So people who are better at the internets and have minds like steel traps, HELP!

Here's the full video:
 

PS - can I just say it took me sooooooo long to figure out thats who I at least thought it might be?

in my mind we're leaving Carolina...

Well, despite the ridiculous radio silence, I am still alive.

BIG NEWS - We're moving to DC. in like 3 weeks. Whoa. 

In due time I'll make it up to you with all the details but for now, I shall give you the gift of a mind dump that is my NEW living room mood board.

Source: blog.purehome.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: overstock.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: habituallychic.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: sfgirlbybay.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: worlds-away.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: dustjacketattic.blogspot.ca via Liz on Pinterest

Goodbye House, Hello Apartment!

Good news y'all - our house is SOLD!!! We were so blessed by a wonderful buyer who is going to love the house as much as we did!

So, we are off to a smaller rented pad as we figure out where life will take us from here. I doubt I will show you much home improvement stuff since we are kinda in temporary quarters with our stuff in functional spots but maybe I will get it together to add a bit of beauty to the function soon.

It will be just as fun for us as hopefully it is for you to see where we go from here....

true dat.

I ran across this on facebook - maybe Katie?, maybe Kathlyn?, I can't remember but I snagged it. This has been my mantra this past month as I am a full time grad student (lord help me), our house is on the market (um, hello, my name is liz, I clean all the time), Charlie the hound dog is in remedial school (he's a trouble maker), my brother and sister-in-law had a sweet sweet baby boy and Aunt Liz helped with a shower, cooked meals, etc and generally got so over-excited she couldn't sleep. I am also trying to be a wife but sweet hubby has pretty much been a cute little haus frau lately. I think I'll make him an apron. Oh wait, I really don't have time.

Happy 4th of July!

We had some fun with sparklers last night!

Thanks Bower Power for the tutorial.

Mystery Chairs: Partially solved

Ok, so remember my mystery chairs?

I have a pair of these that I got on ebay for a song. well, maybe a song and a half but still a good deal and it was within my budget.

Recently, as we've been thinking about where we will live when we sell the house, we've been talking about recovering them. It's been a fun "dreaming project" where every time we walk by them we say, "Hey honey, what about a yellow floral?" .... "Hmm.... I think a retro print, maybe in a blue?"

Tonight I did a little google image searching after finding my old ebay purchase listing to know what key words to search for. Enter search terms: Hollywood Regency Slipper Chair.

Source: palmbeachantiquesanddesigncenter.1stdibs.com via Liz on Pinterest

BINGO. I found a pair just like mine. I mean CRAZZZY. Granted this set has been recushioned/reupholstered and is for sale in a fancy store. But they are just like mine!!!

The bad news is, they don't know the creator either. Boo hiss... They are listing them as 1970's which is totally cool with me. And for $2400 for the pair, I have plenty of wiggle room on the reupholstery costs.

For Sale by Owner - lots of pics

Thought you might like to see the photos...

We are ready to show now so if you know anyone interested, please send them our way. Thank you!

Cannot get there fast enough

a little peek into my mind today...

Source: None via Liz on Pinterest

Source: designboom.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: blog.ratestogo.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: orkposters.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: None via Liz on Pinterest

Source: taza-and-husband.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: dooce.com via Liz on Pinterest

Best Day

Thank you to my sweet husband for a great dinner out with great friends for my birthday.

A great day all around! Eric gave me the sweetest art print - as soon as I find a frame I'll show you too.

Thank you sweetie!

Oh Happy Day

PS - I turn 28 today.

Source: weheartit.com via Deanna on Pinterest

This picture just about sums up how I am feeling today, sending some major wishes out into the universe.

Some details...

After the big FOR SALE SIGN surprise last week I wanted to share some details. Granted, this won't be all the details cause we are still working out some of the details and therefore I can't share them since I don't know... but here goes.

Eric and I have been dreaming about a simpler life in a big city. Oxymoron much? Not quite. You see, we bought our beauty of a house (selfish plug here - is for sale, email me), when we thought we would settle down and start a family, put down some roots, buy some furniture, etc.

Fast forward a few years and thats not really our dream anymore. Well, it still kinda is, just not in the same way we thought it would be. Now, we have dreams of living in a much smaller home, having only 1 car, walking to the grocery store, living with less, traveling and changing the world.

Why now? Why not? Since I have another year in grad school, it will be a little while before we make any MAJOR changes but since we know our home will make someone very happy, and we are zoned for awesome schools, we thought we would see if someone might want to call it their new home before the school year starts.

So, that's about all I can share now. I hope you don't mind if I get a little philosophical about making these life changes - I hope you'll share with me too.

SURPRISE!!!

details to come... and now you know why I have been MIA. sorry.

If you know anyone interested, please contact me via email splendidminta (at) gmail.com

fabric liquidation

so, question. I want to pare down my fabric stash. How should I do that?

I have LOTS of small yardage pieces of craft/quilt fabric plus several large pieces of decorator fabric pieces. Would you etsy it? Is there interest amongst you readers to buy it right off the blog? Should I price it and just put it in the yard sale next weekend?

Help a sista out!