Pepper Design Blog

Love = Heart Shaped Artwork

I mentioned on Monday that I’m on the hunt for new artwork for the home. Art is such a great way to add a pop of color to a space and to bring a little personality to a room! And our home could use more of it.

It’s fitting that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner because one such style of art that has caught my eye over and over again (from that initial four heart Lonny print below to the modern paper craft versions that were very popular last year) is a solo heart shape.

Inspiration 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Shoot, even pillows are all the rage:

Determined that I could create a solo heart painting myself without spending a fortune, I dug up some canvas paper from a giant sketch pad of Kevin’s (left over from one of his architecture classes) and my watercolors.

Instant bookcase update! The pop of pink is a great color addition against a dark espresso bookcase.

One of my favorite bookcase styling tips is to use art as a backdrop to add a ‘tall’ component to shorter decorating elements such as stacks of books, figurines, family photos, bowls and other featured knick knacks. It also detracts from a monochromatic bookcase and helps to add unexpected color.

Wish I had a straight on photo but there was a horrible glare while snapping these quick shots.

The frame is from Aaron Brothers (probably picked up during one of their penny sales) and used to house a remnant piece of brown and white fabric. I love the pink color, but I also really dig how the white helps to ‘brighten’ a pretty dark spot.

Here’s a picture from Christmas that gives a little glimpse of the matted remnant fabric (also an easy and inexpensive art idea).

When it came to painting this guy I began with a simple and soft pink heart and then began to add contrast and brush strokes until it felt right. The finished result is organic with obvious brush strokes and bits of yellow, red, coral and pink.

Plus, you can’t beat free art . Though I’m sure there are Etsy finds out there for anyone who wants to make heart art easy peasy!

Pink! It’s here to stay and it’s my new best decorating friend.

PS All living room makeover posts can be found right here. It’s been a long journey!

A Merry Little Craft Project

I’m working on adding a few homemade Christmas touches each year to our collection and this year I decided to DIY a new pillow cover for our couch. The sectional is an ever-changing pillow hodge podge (I tend to just cover up a current pillow with a new cover, so sometimes you can find two or three previous designs underneath ) and I scooped up this particular basic tan throw pillow cover from Ikea for $6.

I thought about felting an ornament or Christmas tree design onto the front (maybe a future project?) but then recalled seeing pillows of seasons past with a simple, scripted message and decided to give it a go.

The toughest part was deciding on what word! I love the pretty flow of ‘Merry’ and the joyful message – or state of Christmas being – that it conveys. It’s a good word to see day in and day out during this special time of gratefulness. Plus ‘M’s are just too fun to write out in cursive! (yeah for an ‘M’ first name)

Supplies for this project included two bright red embroidery thread bunches, an embroidery needle and my blank pillow cover.

An embroidery stitch is quite simple, it involves a basic back stitch technique so that while you’re stitching forward in your design, each stitch will head backwards as you go. Forgive the left hand awkwardness of this shot while I balance my camera in the other:

So my forward progress is on the reverse side of the pillow (though make sure you’re not stitching the two pillow sides together) and my needle pops up and out of the fabric about 1/4 of an inch out from the previous stitch. Then I head back towards that previous stitch to cover up my 1/4 fabric gap. The back stitch allows me to overlap my stitches just a hair so that the embroidery might appear to be close to one continuous line.

Writing out the entire word ‘Merry’ took a couple of hours one late evening while we had some friends over. I like projects that occupy the hands but don’t require too much thinking .

I first attempted to draw a light pencil line on the actual fabric to give myself a template to follow with the needle, but quickly found that it disappeard into the color of the tan fabric too quickly. Anything darker and it would have been harder to erase off of this heavily weaved fabric. Update: Sheila just shared with me that you can purchase a vanishing fabric marker that will write purple and disappear by the next day! Perfect!

In the end I wrote out ‘Merry’ on a card and free handed the pillow. The imperfections are part of what makes it special, though I see areas where I would have dipped my cursive down further, should have slanted my ‘y’ more, or might have added more flourish for interest. Ah well.

I’m really excited with how this project turned out given the time I worked on it and the easy update it makes to the living room! When Christmas is over I can pull off the cover of one of my favorite pillows (those ikat tan ones left over from the nursery glider fabric) that’s hiding below and pack up the ‘Merry’ cheer into my Christmas boxes for next year.

Christmas is just around the corner! So exciting!

Living Room Update: Toy Storage!

Popping in here today to share a recent toy basket purchase for our living room. We’ve outgrown our previous teensy tiny basket (what was I thinking?), and when I spotted these birch weaved beauties at Crate & Barrel on sale I snagged ‘em before I could reconsider.

I’ve always thought that baskets in general are quite pricey. When I come across any that are a deal in my mind I almost feel obligated to purchase just because I know I will find a use somewhere in the house . Always looking for a pretty way to corral ‘stuff’!

The living room is full of dark woods – reddish floors, dark bookcases and couch legs, an espresso-stained mantel. The birch fits in beautifully as a bright, organic contrast.

As far as filling them goes, here’s an unedited look at the inside.

Books and such in the smaller of the two:

And bigger toys in the larger basket. Liv is learning to organize and enjoys putting toys – for the most part – back where they’re ‘supposed’ to go.

We are building a home for a family, so having toys and play stuff is 100% okay with me out in the open. There’s something cozy and comforting and kid-friendly (even a little messy in a good way) about visible toys. It means a space is used and loved and enjoyed. But cute containers are a plus!

PS More on the entire makeover of our little living space here.