Gimme a Giveaway: Curiously Wrought

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This giveaway is closed for entries.  See who won here.

Can you believe it’s March already?  I can’t, it feels like we were just ringing in the new year.  To ring in March, we’ve got an awesome giveaway from the Etsy shop Curiously Wrought.

This little shop is stocked with state art, and you know I have a weakness for maps.  But these aren’t your regular maps.  Check out these wood, nail, and thread statement art pieces.

California Love:

New Jersey Love:

Arkansas Love:

See, I told you these weren’t your average maps.  And here’s how you can get your hands on one.
The Goods: One 12 inch by 12 inch state art customized with your state, city, and colors (an $80 value!)

To Enter: We ask that you please subscribe to Our Humble A{Bowe}d.  If you don’t want to receive e-mail notifications, that’s fine.  Let us know if you follow us through Google Reader or another form and it will also count.  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 your favorite or least favorite word.  I think wrought is a fun word and started thinking about different words.

For additional entries:

1.  Add Curiously Wrought to your Etsy favs, come back and leave a comment telling us what your favorite item is.

2.  Like Curiously Wrought on Facebook leaving a second comment.

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

Contest Closes: Thursday, March 8th at 11:59 pm, central time.

Number of Winners: One!

Ships: Anywhere in the U.S. and Canada

Other Info: We will select the winner using random.org and announce on Friday, March 9th.  Good luck!!

We’ve got some big news to share next week, too!

February Acronym

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Time to remember the work we’ve done in February with the monthly acronym.

Favorites and Freebies:  We shared our favorite painting supplies, heart and love finds,  and most recent Etsy additions.  To share the Valentine’s day love, we offered up free Valentine cards and a print.

Eventually added cabinet doors and answered cabinet questions:  That’s right, our kitchen is looking finished.

Balloon animals:  Planning a balloon animal themed party for Everett.

Rockin’ to the blues:  Paint, that is.  And our kitchen is rockin’ it.

Undermining tradition:  By buying a potted rose plant instead of cut flowers for Valentine’s day.

Art challenge and an afternoon craft:  Some blog friends and I posed a Pinterest inspired art challenge and shared our projects.  Vincent and I also made ‘stained glass’ hearts for Valentine’s day.

Randomness and Rope lights:  We’re wrapping up the kitchen, including fun accent lighting.

Yet again:  We have a broken living room lamp.  Luckily, I found harder to break lamps at Target for under $30!  If you’re in the market for new lamps, here’s a round-up of my current favorites.

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One Percent {P}inspiration: The Artful After

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Well friends, it’s been nine days since my pals Ashli, Sara, and I announced our Pinterest art challenge.

After some deliberation, I decided to put my own spin on the Wild Herringbone art from Cozamia.

I just loved the clean, colorful, graphic design.  And, I recruited some help on this project.  To start, I grabbed plain white card stock out of my printer, hauled my craft paint box out, and tossed one of Ben’s shirts on each of the boys.  I let V choose the colors he wanted and he started painting.  E was hesitant, but got a few strokes on the paper.

 

V made several paintings, E, only one.  I made a few for fillers, too.  Using my handy paper cutter, I cut each sheet in half length wise, then into 1 1/2 inch wide strips.

I have a large roll of white paper, so I tore a sheet off to use as my backing.  A few pieces of double sided tape on the back of each strip to hold in place and I started arranging.  To keep things straight on the first row, I used a ruler to line up the edges.

I made sure to mix the paintings up to spread the colors throughout.

After about twenty minutes, I had covered the paper and had to fill in the edges.

 

Here she is, edges filled and trimmed, ready for a frame.

So I popped it in, hung it up and took a few steps back.  That’s when I realized I didn’t like the pink V had used.

While E took his nap, V and I painted more.  This time, I limited his color palette to blues, greens, yellow, and silver.

I followed the same steps, but loved the result this time.

The pop of color in this corner is perfect.

And, I love that it’s not kitchen specific, so it can travel around the house if we ever tire if it in here.  The best part, this art was made using everything we already had in our home!

Now it’s your turn to share your Pinterest inspired art project with us!



Favorite Painting Supplies

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I’ve been painting again, this time in the dining room.  Are you ready for the biggest before and after of the year?!?  Here’s the before:

During:

And after:

Such a big difference, right?  Not.  I knew when we started the kitchen we’d carry the color from the dining room through the kitchen.  I also knew we didn’t have enough of the blue paint on hand to cover everything.  So I bought another gallon to paint the kitchen and dining room.  If paint doesn’t come from the same can, there’s a chance the color will be off.  This was the case for the new kitchen paint and the old dining paint.

Before I started with the blue, I repainted the white to give it a nice, fresh coat.  Then I painted the walls.  While painting, I thought, “Hmm, I don’t think I’ve ever rounded up our favorite painting supplies.”  Today, I’ve wrangled our favorite painting supplies including

Purdy paint brushes:  A good brush can make all the difference.  I like an angled brush to get in corners and crannies by trim.  Remember to clean the brush well to prolong the life of your brush.

Foam roller covers:  For a smooth, professional looking paint job.  These high density foam roller covers don’t shed and the low nap leaves the surface as smooth as possible.

Frog tape:  I think the old phrase, “The coolest thing since sliced bread” should be updated to “The coolest thing since Frog Tape.”  Yes, it’s more expensive than regular masking or painters tape, but the results speak for themselves.  Little to no bleed through, just crisp lines.

Tweezers:  I don’t know about you, but after almost every paint job, small pieces of tape stay put.  I keep an old tweezer in my painting supplies to easily get those buggers off.

Disposable paint trays or aluminum foil:  Painting is enough of a pain, but clean up is even worse in my book.  I’ve started using aluminum foil to cover my paint tray.  When I’m done painting, just peel and toss.

Glidden paint:  Remember, your time spent painting isn’t worth it if your paint is junk.  In our humble opinions, Glidden is the best value paint.  Easy to apply, durable, and affordable.  Sure, Ben Moore is nice, but it also costs more.

What are your can’t live without paint supplies, tips, or tricks?

Please note:  We were not compensated for this post, we simply love these items and want to share with you.

Etsy Favs: February

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It’s Monday.  Boo.  How about another round up of our favorite Etsy finds?  Yay!

This Teal Flag Necklace by Letter Happy is just darn cute.  I think a child would love something like this.

Like my Safety Book but need more storage?  Check out this Library Storage Bin from Roadside Photographs.  That ought to do it.

I can’t seem to stay away from pillows.  This Aqua Ribbon Pillow by Studio Tullia is a modern take on a classic, and I love it.

Grey and Yellow Zag Bowl from Up in the Air Somewhere.  Seriously, love everything about this.

A Bow Pouch from Sassy Stitches by Lori is adorable and functional.

Do you remember making friendship bracelets?  Well, here’s an adult version, Macrame Bracelet by Under a New Light.

Vintage Tree Stump Bookends at The Wild Plum.  Faux bois, function, and vintage.

Three Rustic Pears print from Lisa Russo Photography has a great feel for a cottage kitchen.

Pasta Ti Amo Print by Anek because Pasta, I love you, too.

Butterfly Art from The Haunted Hollow Tree is pretty and earthy.

Linen Quilt Throw by Lori Mason Design looks so cozy, I’d like to curl up in it.

A pretty Honeycomb Bucket by Jenna Rose Handmade can corral a variety of goods; magazines, craft supplies, and more.

As often as I gravitate toward pillows, I’m drawn to lighting.  This Grey Origami Lampshade from Nellianna is reminiscent of a Le Klint design.

Be eco-friendly and stylish while using these Labyrinth Napkins by Soraam.

Add interest to a plain wall using this Kagami Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils.

Julia makes such stunning art, like this Falling Blocks Collage by Chris Loves Julia.

The colors and texture of this Turquoise bracelet from Bfrend is fantastic.  I can see why you have to preorder.

If you’re a plant killer, try this pretty teardrop terrarium from Tall Poppy Gardens.

You’ll feel lucky each time you look at this Make Your Own Luck print by Lucius Art.

Naturally pretty, these silver dipped crystal quartz necklace by Still With You add glam to any ensemble.

These vintage queen bee cups from Yvonne Ellen are the bees knees.

What’s your most recent favorite?

P.S.  Apartment Therapy’s Homies Awards are back.  Nominations are going on now through March 2nd and we’d really appreciate your help.  If you have a minute, would you mind adding our name to the Best DIY blog nominations?  Big virtual hugs going out to you!