water balloon dart painting!

My favorite photo from this experience is above...a balloon popped as I was taking this picture - it was purely unintentional!!!

I spent New Year's 2002 in Houston, travelling by minivan with my Mom, sister, and my sister's two kids. That week, and pretty much the entire road trip home, we watched The Princess Diaries - over and over and over, something like nineteen times. Halfway through the road trip back to Indiana, it just became a game of knowing all the dialogue. And then seven-year-old Katie and I loved this scene:



It was sometime way back then, that I told her we would make a balloon dart painting, too...at her high school graduation party. So we did.

We practiced the weekend before, thinking you could just put pour acrylic paint into water balloons and then tie them and be ready. It isn't that easy, the paint just thickly drips out and fills the balloon without stretching at all. After failing multiple times and turning parts of her yard blue with paint, Katie found a blog that mentioned using a pressurized bottle and watering down the paint. I wish I could find this blog, because I want to credit it - that advice was so helpful! We went out and bought six Ice Mountain water bottles with sport caps, and then I diluted the paint to about 50% paint, 50% water.



On the day of the event, we made sure all the balloons were stretched. She poured paint, then I tied balloons. We made the balloons small, about 2-3 inches, and mostly full of paint. It was a great system! The process of setting up was so, so messy. Paint was everywhere! I would definitely advise that all balloon filling should take place outside, unless you're some kind of expert balloon tier. Some of the balloons were just a little too full and splattered all over me! It was comedic at that point.



I brought string to tie to each knot, then individually duct taped each string to the back of the canvas, so the string hung over the top. Then, whenever a balloon would pop, we could just pull the string to the back, to minimize mess and the risk that balloon pieces would dry on the canvas in the sun.



The backyard setup was simple. We folded a piece of burlap over the fence, taping it around the fence loops with more duct tape, because it was windy outside. We put two paper ream boxes on the ground, and covered them with plastic tablecloths from the dollar store, which made excellent tarps. The canvas sat on top of the boxes, but It was also duct taped around the fence loops from behind, so the wind wouldn't move it.



The day of Katie's party was warm. Ninety-three degrees. What I learned while I was still setting up is that a water balloon resting on a black canvas surface in the hot sun will pop all on its own. No darts necessary!



Many of the balloons stayed intact in time for her friends to arrive. They had a great time throwing darts and watching the colors flow! We used a pack of three cheap metal darts. We also coiled neon chenille stems around the bases, because otherwise, we may have lost them in the grass.







The finished product turned out awesome. We were so happy with it! It's going to make an incredible addition to Katie's dorm room this fall!

I wish you a Merry Christmas

I didn't make a single present this year (at least, I didn't make and finish anything in time for Christmas). I did take a few hours out to make Christmas cards, though. Here's what I did:

First, I painted index cards (maybe twelve or so? I didn't count...) using five paint colors: red, fuchsia, lime green, reef blue, and white. Some were more plain, and some were patterned. Then, I forgot to take a photo of them - but here was my palette.

I cut the cards into little strips and piled them up on the craft table in a big heap.

I used blank index cards as a surface upon which to lay stripes of each design. I glued each stripe down with mod podge.

After the cards were dry, I started to cut each one into a tree-like triangle shape.

Then, in true Julie-fashion, I didn't want to waste the excess, so I made patch-work-esque trees from the scraps.

Here is a little land of trees:

I bought pre-made cards and glitter paper, and used a square of glitter for each background. I used gold foil paper for each star. Everything is held together with double stick foam tape, so there is just a bit of dimension, and no gluey mess. Each card is a little different. And I like that I could write any message I wanted inside.



Of course, you could skip the painting part altogether and just use construction paper or scrapbook paper for the trees. I just like painting.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

painted table

I've never claimed to be a fan of football but I do like this table:



Mostly because it was the vision of my nephew, Ben, who painted all of it himself, except for the numbers, letters, and horseshoe - just the kind of details that his Aunt Julie likes to paint. Bonus points to Ben for not wanting me to write "Indianapolis Colts" in that annoying narrow western-style font. He thought that freehand serif capitals would be just fine. (Yay!)

And now it's ready for his annual move to a new space in Bloomington (he is halfway finished with college!) . I can't wait to see a picture of it in his living room.

painted plate

i picked up my plate from you are the potter, and i'm happy with it.

(i was concerned about it.)

a painting for my office

i'm setting up a new office at work. it's larger, has sturdier furniture, and a different configuration that has left me feeling perplexed about arranging it. there is a high shelf that doesn't really seem to fit. there's also a large, empty cinder-block wall opposite the door.



it needs a painting.

here is part of the sketch (not a great photo, sorry):


it has been a long time since i've painted a canvas this large. i wonder how long it will take?

i'll document its progress here. i'm envisioning bright colors, but maybe slightly more subdued than usual (i know, you are looking at a pink and orange flower up there and wondering how i could ever consider that to be subdued). let me know what you think along the way.

in other news, i think i accidentally deleted my entire link list. two years of links. bummer.

spring break

during spring break this year, i went to work twice. on the other days i did fun things like:

sort paints! this wasn't fun for me, but i have a new understanding of how much of a craft stash i have created. it's a bit overwhelming and makes me want to paint a lot.

i took a brief trip to cincinnati to visit the jorgensons. i had a whirlwind day of shopping with jenni and aven. after breakfast at ikea, we went to jungle jim's (always a favorite), met simon for lunch at a delicious middle eastern restaurant, went to some nice local shops, and finished at crate and barrel and the container store.


at ikea, aven immediately claimed this adorable broccoli stalk friend. she carried it all through jungle jim's!

when i returned, jenni and i quickly made this tree decoration for aven's wall from ikea cork placemats and coasters:


the next day, i met jenny, heather n., and shellie at you are the potter and underestimated how long it would take to paint this:

i haven't picked it up yet, and i think that the pastel pre-kiln paint color hides what are certain to be flaws from rushing the process. but it was good to go there again.

almost a week has passed since spring break, and now my thoughts are focused again on work: getting ready to move into a new office, taking some students to bloomington tomorrow to watch their guitar teacher perform, and many other activities that will make the next few weeks seem to pass so quickly.

past projects

I was just looking through some photos of some fun painting projects from past years, and thought I'd pick some of my favorites to show you:






I'm working on some projects this week, and looking forward to watching Tina Fey host SNL tonight! I hope to post more soon.

what i did on my summer vacation, part one

for a few weeks each summer, i spend time in northern michigan. it's been a family tradition spanning five generations, and it's part of most of my favorite memories. to make up for the drought in blog posts for this month, this is the first of several recaps of this year's vacation up at the lake.

What I did on my summer vacation: I painted!

This should be a surprise to no one...I will slowly be updating the Mirthmarket with this assortment of rings. (Except for two, because I let my awesome niece Gretchen choose a few to take home):













I am experimenting with the stone background on some of these listings. The lighting was too good not to try it.

Another project was something I'd been thinking about for a few years. One of the most vibrant, fun, and tasty restaurants I know of is the Roast and Toast in Petoskey (I adore Petoskey, Michigan. I really do). The Roast and Toast has really awesome food - especially the Lake Street Salad and the Triple Berry Bar. Also, they have about any special coffee or soda concoction you can imagine. And, they have a magnet wall, which often features a collection of little poetry word magnets. I really like those...but they aren't very colorful. So, as a gift to this lovely establishment, I painted a little set of wooden word magnets, and left them on the board before dining on a delicious Garden Turkey sandwich. Awesome niece Gretchen is posing in front of the wall in the photo below.













Magnet close-ups:
























Before I finish for tonight, it must be noted that no trip to Petoskey is complete without American Spoon sorbetto. This year I amended my usual Blood Orange/Lemon treat with some Red Raspberry.


















So good I cannot describe it.

birdhouse

After spending May working on a lot (a LOT) of special projects, I feel so ready to paint again. New ideas are swirling around my head. I haven't even started them, but I am really excited to add something new to the Mirthmarket!

Above is a birdhouse that I recently painted for a friend. I think she liked it - and I liked painting it.

Even though I haven't posted anything crafty in a while, I'm feeling like I have very little to say. I'm just tired.

Also, I saw Coldplay live this weekend. It was a lovely show. Have you seen this cute Coldplay video? Maybe you have?

Sleep is definitely in my future plans. I wish you a restful evening, as well!