Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

My New Year’s Resolution is Hanging on the Wall

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This year, Tim and I decided to go with the increasingly popular trend of bucking a New Year’s resolution list, and coming up with a New Year’s resolution theme. Specifically, we wanted to come up with a word that would help guide us for 2012.

We gave the idea very careful thought, and came up with the word “rooted.” That one idea speaks to many of the specific dreams Tim and I have for ourselves as individuals, a couple, professionals and citizens of Chattanooga.

We tried (admittedly half-heartedly at times) for 6 full years to plant roots in Memphis. It just never happened. We are committed to seeing that happen in Chattanooga, and we’ve already got some roots planted, but we have much more work to do before this place really and truly starts to feel like home. We both want to get more involved in our church and in our community, and really be part of the fabric of this town.

We also want to form more meaningful relationships with people; its really hard to thrive when you don’t have very close personal friendships. I have already met some wonderful Chattanoogans, so I hope to continue to nurture those relationships (haven’t done a good job at all since becoming pregnant, unfortunately). I also hope to meet some new people who will become life long friends. It’s pretty darn tough to make friends with other adults. We are all so busy with our respective commitments, so carving out time for new people is a big ask. I hope that I will make the time to seek out those people, though, and should I be lucky enough for those people to seek me out, I really hope that I will make room in my life for them!

We are also welcoming another child into our family, and this will be a year for Tim and I to become even more rooted in our role as parents. I know we will be tested repeatedly, not just this year, but for the rest of our days, but we have strong foundation now, and I look forward to seeing it become even stronger as we grow.

Having a theme is easier to remember than having a list of 10 goals. My original idea was to put the word somewhere we could see it daily, like on the fridge. But then I thought it would be even more powerful to see a creative expression of this word, through art, hung in our home where we could enjoy its beauty and meditate on its meaning throughout the year.

So, of course, I turned to Gallery Direct to put together something truly beautiful. Would you like to see it?

This is a print of a photo I found on Flickr, under the creative commons licensing section. When something has a creative commons license, that means you are free to use it as long as you attribute the photographer. This is a beautiful piece by Kevin Buehler. It really spoke to both of us, as it shows these really big roots stretching out far and wide. It now hangs in our kitchen/dining room, and is in a place where we see it many times each day. I can actually see it from my spot at the kitchen table right now!

This custom print has already helped get me re-motivated to work more on our business we are launching (something I’ve let fall completely to the wayside for the past 3 weeks) and has inspired some quality conversations between Tim and me. The frame is absolutely stunning…this is so much better than sticking a word on the fridge!

If you are in need of some inspiration in your house, consider framed art. If you have a particular picture in mind that you’d like to get framed, you are REALLY in luck, as I have an awesome coupon code for you! Use code photo75 to save 75% off your canvas photo print! It expires on 2/1/2012, so hop to it!

Disclosure: I serve as a blog ambassador for Gallery Direct. Product samples are provided as part of the program. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Bringing Nature Into Your House When Plants Aren’t Invited (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I’ve never had a green thumb, but there was a time in my adult life when I did successfully manage to keep several plants in the house alive. I really enjoyed having those splashes of green throughout my home. I knew they were scrubbing the air and they were a sign of victory for me after YEARS of killing plants (anyone else out there over-water their cactus…twice?).

But I don’t have a single plant in my house at the moment, and I don’t expect I will for another 4 or 5 years. Allow me to explain why:
1. I have a cat who decided a few years ago that potted plants were very unusual litter boxes. Putting large rocks in the pots did help with this problem, but didn’t completely solve it.

2. In the not so distant past I had a newly walking toddler who liked to grab things. And eat them. Things like plant leaves. I made sure that we didn’t have any poisonous plants before we reached that stage, but Darah seemed to be perfectly fine chewing on the stuff that wasn’t poisonous, too.

3. Now that I have a tiny little kid in the house, that means I have a mischief-maker. I know she would delight in toting plants around the house, at least until her arms got tired, and then she’s just drop/break it on the floor.

4. This same child also LOVES to dig in the dirt. You can see where that leads us…

So yeah, no plants for me. Has anyone else out there had to get rid of their plants for the foreseeable future?

I do miss them. And it recently occurred to me that I could bring some plant life back in my house without having to actually have plants. I could turn to art! I’ve learned so much over the past few months about all the ways that art can breathe new life into your home, and if you are a bit short on plants and other signs of nature, bringing in some art can really help you out!

I found a print that really took my breath away on Gallery Direct. It’s by the same artist who painted the beach scene we have in our bedroom. It’s a painting of a tree with some gorgeous moss on it. It actually reminds me very much of a trip Tim and I took to the Pacific Northwest a handful of years ago, where I got to see some of the greenest landscapes ever. I remember driving through the woods and honestly expecting to see gnomes and fairies pop up. The forests had such an enchanted look. And there was moss growing everywhere. This picture immediately pulls me back into those forests and into that feeling of being somewhere magical. That’s more than any houseplant of mine ever did, I have to say!

But what I REALLY like about this painting is the material that it is on. As I was looking over the options on Gallery Direct, I noticed that you could get your artwork placed on birchwood. PERFECT! It gives the piece such a natural vibe. I didn’t tell Tim anything about the piece I selected so it would be a surprise when it arrived. When he opened it, he immediately commented that the wood looked amazing and that it might be his favorite display option so far. It is very much in line with his personal style. I’m so glad I gave it a try with this tree painting. I’m not sure if I would have, otherwise, but now that I’ve seen it, I think it rocks.

Right now, Gallery Direct is having a BIG sale on their site. Everything is 25% off AND you get free shipping! If you don’t have any reminders of the great outdoors in your abode, here’s your chance to remedy that situation, no watering can required! And here’s one more reason to support Gallery Direct (other than the fact that you will be BLOWN AWAY by the quality of their work). Did you know that Gallery Direct provides the artwork for Extreme Makeover Home Edition? It’s true! As you ooh and ahh over the beautiful homes this season, note the art on the walls. It’s all from Gallery Direct!

So how about you? How do you bring nature into your home? Do you have a house full of plants? Any images on your walls that take you outside without having to leave the house? Any other ideas for how to bring the great outdoors in?

Win it!:  EEEEEE!!!!! I’ve been waiting for this moment for a few months, and I’m so excited to tell you that you now have a chance to win a $200 credit to Gallery Direct! You can choose from the AMAZING images they offer, or you can upload your own to create some truly custom art. You are going to swoon when you see the final product!

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Creative Display for Children’s Art: Works for Me!

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Darah has been bringing home art projects from daycare since she was about 6 months old. I wasn’t really expecting to start getting these types of things until preschool, but I was wrong! I’ve already had to start letting some of the art go just due to space constraints. But some of the art is precious to me, and I’d like to display it without completely cluttering up the fridge.

Thanks to Pinterest, I discovered a really creative idea for displaying children’s art! All you need is a variety of old frames and some paint.

I picked up 5 different frames at my favorite thrift store (I think they cost $7.50 total…note the family photo still inside one of them…random!). Then we headed to the hardware store and purchased 3 different sample size paints. We selected two shades of yellow and one shade of white. We then cleaned and painted each frame. Every frame is a different color (we mixed the colors is various ways). Unfortunately, the difference is shades is a bit difficult to distinguish in our frames. But I still love the pop of yellow that they bring to our dining room!

What makes this gallery idea the most successful, though, is not the paint choice. It’s the location. We put it on a half wall in between our kitchen and dining room. This puts the pieces directly on Darah’s eye level. When I decided to pursue this idea, my main goal was to have a fun way to display D’s art and to be able to switch out the featured art with ease. An unexpected bonus has been that Darah has really enjoyed looking at the pieces, herself, and talking about what she drew. It has also caused her to want to produce more art so that she can display it. She’s started asking for more art to go up, which means I need to buy some more frames!

I’m absolutely thrilled with the way the project turned out, and I’m just tickled that it has caused a heightened interest in drawing and painting for Darah. I can’t wait to see her proudly display her pieces for years to come!

I think my next step might be to get some framed art for Darah’s room so that she can have a more complex piece to examine and enjoy. I know I continue to enjoy the wrapped canvas in my room, and I think Darah would enjoy having something like that, too! Gallery Direct is having a 50% off sale on their wrapped canvas right now, which makes it a great time to buy a piece of art!

As for us, this month we welcomed a  new piece of “grown up” art into our home from Gallery Direct. Once again, we got a canvas print, but this time we opted for a more traditional framing method. Our piece looks like something that would hang in a gallery, don’t you think? It’s called Harmony. Swoooon! It hangs in our long hallway and can be admired from our living room sofa. I love it, and since I had such a great experience with our first piece of art from Gallery Direct, I’m not the least bit surprised with just how wonderful it looks.

What about you? Do you have any tips or tricks for encouraging a love of art in your children?

Disclosure: I serve as a blog ambassador for Gallery Direct. Product samples are provided as part of the program. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

The Case for Framed Art

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Over the next year, I am going to be sharing several posts with you all about framed art: how to select it, how to hang it, how to enjoy it, how to create your own. I’m SO excited about this topic, because I’ll be writing extensively about it from the perspective of someone who is not artistic (AT ALL) and who has previously not made art any sort of a priority at home. In other words, I’m writing not as an art snob, but as a bit of an art skeptic. I’m certainly not anti-art, but I also don’t think about it in my day-to-day life.

About a month ago, Tim and I picked out our first piece of framed art (we have a few other pieces of framed art in our home, but they were wedding gifts, so this is our first selection). First, let me just say that even if you don’t have strong feelings about art, you may be surprised by just how difficult it can be to reach an agreement with someone else on the piece you like the very most! Tim and I went back and forth on several pieces, but did eventually agree on one. I had the most hesitations about it, as I feared that it would be too gloomy. We were going for something peaceful, but the image we selected did have quite a bit of dark colors in it. I was genuinely nervous that I wouldn’t like it when I saw it on the wall.

Ordering a piece of art from Gallery Direct is very simple, though you do have some decisions to make about exactly what you want your art to look like. Do you want a wrapped canvas? If you choose canvas art, do you want a framed canvas? Gallery Direct has excellent videos that show you what the various substrate options are for your art. We watched them all. And we still couldn’t decide what to do!

So I contacted customer service and asked for some advice. They were WONDERFUL and gave me additional information about each look, and that helped me think about the look I wanted and what would look best in our own home. We opted to get our art canvas wrapped and framed. We even got to select the best color frame for the piece.

You guys. Just wait until you see it!

So after we placed our order, I was totally shocked to see that our art was shipped out the very next day. That is unbelievable customer service, because each piece is custom made to your specifications.

Just 3 business days after I placed the order, I found this on my doorstep.


Woah! We knew it was going to be large, but we weren’t quite expecting this! 🙂 The package was expertly wrapped. Your piece comes in a box within a box, and with plenty of bubble wrap. When Tim got to the actual piece of art, he peeked inside. I asked him what he saw. He quoted Howard Carter who discovered King Tut’s tomb by saying, “Wonderful things!”


He was exactly right, folks. Remember, art is not something that I spend a lot of time thinking about or enjoying. I could take or leave a trip to most art museums (except the Lourve…that place is amazing). But we captured my exact feeling when I got my first good look at our new piece. I know I look like I’m hamming it up for the camera, but I promise, the excitement on my face is 100% real!
It’s lovely, isn’t it? Tim and I spent the better part of the day that we hung it up swooning over it. This piece hangs in our bedroom, and it gave a whole new vibe to the place! Our room doesn’t get a lot of natural light, so the picture below shows exactly what I see every day. Even though the lighting in the room isn’t great, the picture still seems to shine!

I am completely, over-the-top bananas about my custom framed art from Gallery Direct. You have to be paying close attention to realize that this is a print and not an original. The look is very professional and polished. This is my very first piece of art that I have picked out on my own, and I’m very surprised by what a positive impact it has had on me. I’m here to tell you that if you’ve never had a large framed piece of art in your home, please consider getting one. I think it is common for us to think about changing the paint color in a room, or getting new drapes or a new bedspread. But not many of us think about what we hang on the walls. Take a look around your house: is there beauty hanging on your walls? A piece of art can do something that all the cute throw pillows in the world just can’t do. It can give you pause as you go about your busy day and make you think, help you remember, and invite you into the world you see on canvas.

GET SOME ART. SERIOUSLY!

Disclosure: I serve as a blog ambassador for Gallery Direct. Product samples are provided for review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.