Month: April 2011

Gimme a Giveaway: Miles of Light

Published on by Our Humble Abode53 Comments

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries, Thank You!***

Are you looking to feather your nest?  Lucky for you, we have a feather print from Miles of Light to give to one lucky reader.  We ordered one for our bird, feather and tree gallery wall.  You remember it, don’t you?

Miles of Light is a fantastic Etsy shop, showcasing nature at its finest.  Natural elements such as feathers, rocks, leaves, sticks, pinecones, and shells are beautifully and meticulously photographed against solid backgrounds to create stunning art prints.  Such an amazing shop with much to choose from.

We chose Autumn Feathers because it matched our theme best, but we also think the Brown and Gold Collection is pretty and luxurious.

The Winter Series is beautifully simple and charming.  The essence of winter is perfectly captured without having to step into the cold.  If you love winter, this series is for you.

Want one for yourself?  Here’s some info:

The Goods: One 8 inch by 10 inch, signed Autumn Feathers print from Miles of Light.

To Enter: Subscribe to follow Our Humble A{Bowe}d, if you’re not already.  To subscribe, click the “Sign Me Up!” button under “Be the first to know.”  Once you’ve subscribed, leave a comment, which can (but doesn’t have to) include our Just for Fun question.

Just for Fun:  Tell us what feathered friend you would most like to be.  Share why, if you wish.

For additional entries:

1.  ‘Like’ Miles of Light on Facebook, then, leave a comment telling us you’ve done so.

2.  Place your vote for our office and the boys’ bedroom to help us win $5000.  (You can learn more about that here)  Be sure to leave another comment confirming your vote.

3.  ‘Like’ Our Humble A{Bowe}d on Facebook, come back and leave another comment.

Contest Closes: Thursday, April 21st at 9:00 pm, central time.

Number of Winners: One!

Ships: Anywhere in the U.S.

Other Info: We will select the winner using random.org and announce on Friday, April 22nd.  Good luck!!

Please note:  We were not compensated for this post, we simply love the item we’ve purchased from this shop and want to share with you.

All  images found via the featured Etsy seller’s listing as linked above.

P.S.  For those fashion conscious folks (unlike myself), Miles of Light has a sister shop, Dear June, selling hand dyed scarves and necklaces.

My Favorite Nook

Published on by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

Hey guys!  We’re sharing our favorite nook with the Mrs. Limestone over at Brooklyn Limestone today.

Head over to read all about it.  Here’s a hint:

We’re definitely excited to team up with such an amazing blogger today.  We heart Mrs. Limestone.

And, if you like our office, we would appreciate your vote.

Hoppy Easter Prints

Published on by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

With Easter just a hop, skip and a jump away, we thought it was time to share a free print.  We (and now you can, too) are wishing a Hoppy Easter to Every Bunny.  Haha, get it?  It’s like Happy Easter to Everybody.  (Ben always over explains jokes, even though I get it, so I had to do it to you.)  Download Hoppy Easter in blue,

green,

lilac,

or pink

If you like the prints, we’d love for you to post pictures in use over on our Facebook page.  And, if you really want to show your appreciation for the free prints, we’d love for you to vote for our rooms for a chance to win $5000.

Free printable designs are for personal use only and may not be sold or altered.


Birds and a Feather

Published on by Our Humble Abode39 Comments

I didn’t intend to be such a tease when I revealed our progress shots of the basement gallery wall.  After placing my templates, marked with where to nail, I had almost completed the wall.

Of course, almost included cutting a mat, replacing some temporary art and painting a few black frames white.  But the weather was not on my side, until this past Sunday.  Two Saturdays ago, it was 75 degrees here, which sounds beautiful, right?  But if I painted then, I would have had more paint on me than on the frames because it was so windy.  Sunday’s high temp was 35 with intermittent snow/rain showers, so painting was out of the question.  That’s spring in Montana for you.  Last week brought highs in the fifties with gusts of wind and sporadic rain, so still no painting.  Finally, Sunday was perfect, 55 degrees with a slight breeze.

I disassembled my frames, breaking one piece of glass along the way (grrr!), hauled the frames, spray paint in hand, to the back yard and set up shop.  Two coats of gloss white and a few hours of dry/air out time later, I was back in business.  Hanging the frames was easy because I had already placed the nails.  Here is the final (well, until I get bored or find new art to add in) wall:

I really love having a complete wall in our basement.  And, you can catch a glimpse from the top of stairs.  But, let’s take a closer look.

The bird, feather or tree theme + collection of white frames = cohesive gallery wall.  All of the art came from Etsy, was a free printable or something I made.  Here’s a complete gallery wall source list, from left to right:

1.  Northern Flicker by Mai Autumn.

I just ordered this print, so I printed off a temporary design until I receive it.

2.  Original Pressed Feather, for sale in the Our Humble A{Bowe}d Etsy shop.

3.  Nesting Hand Cut Silhouette by Jessica Alpern.

Jessica, and the rest of her work is fantastic as well, so fantastic that I couldn’t resist her Spork, Welcome to the Family cut out for our kitchen.  But, if you’re looking for bird, feather or tree cut outs of your own, might I suggest Leaf Skeleton, or Peacock Feathers?

4.  Willow photograph from Ara133 Photography, which I mentioned a while back.

5.  Polymer clay wall flowers.  Find how I made them here, though I did make a new set of three.

6.  Collection No. 18 by Lori’s World, a gift from a friend.  Check out the other amazing bird related prints, too.

7.  Bird print I mounted to a 4 inch square piece of MDF.

8.  Baby Feather Original Petite painting from Renée Anne.  It was a toss-up between the feather and this Bird I Once Knew petite print.  The feather won because it is an original.  Shipping was fast and the painting is of great quality.

9.  Family Tree cut out, customized in colors of choice, in our shop.  I’m really great to work with, too.  Haha.  But really, try it for yourself.  *Wink*

10.  Free bird printable from That’s Happy, mentioned here before.

11.  Bird painting I recently whipped up.

12.  Autumn Landscape print from Siiso.

It was so hard to decide on something from the Siiso shop.  Every new print I saw was just as fantastic as the last.  I also bought the Blossoms 35 print as part of a housewarming gift for my sister.  She loved it!  Tell Yang Yang hello from us if you order.

13.  5 by 5 Float print by Cat N Photography.

I also bought the Heart print for our guest bedroom.  Cat is great.  If you’re looking for interesting photography, just ask Cat.

14.  I Believe There is Someone for Everyone print by Amy Ruppel.

I’ve admired her work since seeing Nicole’s commissioned painting, so it’s cool to have her work in my home.  Some day, I’d love an original.

Last but not least, number 15, Autumn Feathers by Miles of Light.

The photo is so realistic, Ben thought I had framed feathers.  When I told him it was a print, he had to inspect it to believe me!  I don’t know how she does it, but Romina takes such beautiful photos.  If only I could learn her secrets.

See any art you want to order?  Have you made any bird, feather or tree art?  Have you seen the Geico Bird in the Hand commercial?  Definitely not their best, but I do love their woodchuck commercial.  And Ben does a great impression of the grumpy farmer.  Do you have a themed gallery wall on your home?  Maybe you know a few photography secrets or tips?

Please note: We were not compensated for this post, we simply love the items we’ve purchased from these shops and want to share with you!

All  images found via the featured Etsy seller’s listing as linked above.

P.S.  We’d really appreciate your vote!  Thank you!

Just Hangin’ Around

Published on by Our Humble Abode18 Comments

Last weekend we hung around, literally.  We finally hung the mirror in the basement bathroom.

I don’t know what took us so long, it wasn’t a difficult task.  But now, I want to paint the mirror.  Of course, I could paint it black, white or grey, but a color would be a fun pop.  Maybe a blue to tie in with the theater room just outside?  We’d love to hear your suggestions.  While Ben was working in the bathroom, I asked him to cut down the bolts that hold the toilet down because the cover caps couldn’t snap on.  Now, the little caps are tightly in place, not resting on bolts 1/4 inch above the base.  After he took care of business in the basement, he went to the master bathroom and did the same thing.  That took two and a half years.  Riveting, I know.  Can you say, ‘Slackers’? cause that’s what we are.

After hanging the mirror, we hung two candle sconces in the theater room, flanking the fireplace.

As you can see, we still haven’t touched up the areas we taped off around the rock wall when spraying the basement a year ago.  (Slackers!)

Though, in my defense, I plan to touch up the white areas when we paint the laundry room cabinetry.  But, who knows when that will be done.  We haven’t worked on it for a few weeks.  (Total Slackers!)

Then, I (well, I started, but my bother-in-law saw that I was using a screwdriver and finished the job for me) hung two  curtain rods in the small basement bedroom.  One behind the bed, by my newly finished $10 lamp.

And the other above the other window.

Now, let me address a few issues.

One, I bought the panels from Target on clearance for five bucks each (wahoo!); I couldn’t even make curtains for that price.  The issue here?  I could only get two because that’s all she wrote.  So, ideally, we would have been able to balance the off centered walls with more curtain panels, but it wasn’t in the cards.  That and the fact the window trim goes right to the ceiling with crown molding butting up to the casement.  Mounting the brackets would have been a nightmare.  It just wasn’t meant to be.

Two, because the windows are so close to the ceiling, the panels look like they’re waiting for a flood.  I do have a plan to remedy this, though, just haven’t done it yet.  I know, surprise, surprise.

Three, the curtain rods were cheap, like $3 a piece cheap, so features on more expensive rods are missing.  Namely, the small screws that keep the rod from sliding around every time the curtains are opened or closed.  I did fix this with a few small chunks of sticky tack (you know, the stuff teachers use to hang posters and other temporary items) on each bracket, under the rod.  Works like a charm.

In summary, it takes us a year to finally finish something that is super simple.  It also takes us a week to post about the weekend progress, making it last weekend’s progress.  The good news?  Ben cut down trees all weekend at the apartment complex, so we didn’t get any work done around our house.  Actually, that’s not completely true, but stay tuned for that tomorrow.  (Hint: it involves nice weather)  All in all, we’re slackers.

Anyone else a slacker?  Do you have simple projects on your to do list for a year (or longer)?  Maybe you’re the opposite, the overachiever?  I bet you got some work done this weekend.  Please share, with links, if possible.  We love to see what you do!

P.S.  Have you voted yet?