Need A Rustic Door? Here is How to Make One! DIY style.

I woke up this morning and decided that I was not going to go another day without a door on my bathroom.

This has got to be the WEIRDEST design of a master bathroom that I have ever seen in my 42 years.

The little shower and toilet are in a little closed off room then the vanity is IN the bedroom. So strange.

This house was built in 1980 and it shows. But with a little ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness..it is looking way cuter by the second on the CHEAP.

Here is what I had and what I did.....

So lets start with what I had....I went to a fencing company and got all this old wood for free. I scored with this pile of cedar planks. Wish this thing had smell o vision because these babies smell AWESOME!

Then, I looked around. I found two old hinges out by the barn. If you dont have land like that..just go to a resale shop or a pawn shop. Also, Etsy and Google has items for sale like this to. If you want, you can just go buy new ones. It will set you back around 20.00 for the type I found. 

After I spray painted them with hammered black spray paint (got at Lowes for like 3 bucks).

Here is the simple design. Just layed the boards out....then place two across them on top and on bottom. Then I cut the middle piece on a 30 degree angle so that it layed up flat to the top and bottom boards. Clear as mud, right?

Then I just painted it. I used white, black, and grey craft paint. You can find these in the craft section at wally world. They are .50 cents a piece. I used about 8 bottles. It will destroy whatever brush you are using..so have an old one you dont care about...or a cheap one you dont mind throwing away later. 

Here it is.

Now, have a great rest of the day. Im going to go hang my bathroom door. 8-) And bring this 1980's bathroom into the future.

See ya next time friend.

I made some cool painted medallions for necklaces, pendants, and keychains. See how I did it!

Ever wanted to make your own jewelry ...maybe the thought comes RIGHT after you check out those price tags at the counter? Ya, me too.

AND I wanted to add some new stuff to my store www.etsy.com/shop/GazelleMuralDesigns, so this is what I came up with.

Different, ya...Maybe you are like me...and you are always your "own kind of beautiful". I never really liked being just like everyone else. 

So, I went to wally world and asked a lady in the craft section to hook me up with a few items that I could turn some wooden medallions and some thick string into necklaces and keychains. 

(If you are a newbe like me...dont be a DUDE...ask for help) It is So So So much easier. Just sayin'.

So I get home....break out my .50 cents a bottle craft paint..(also from Wally World) and start painting.

These  medallions actually didnt take me all that long to do really....about four hours. Now putting that itty bitty hardware on that itty bitty thread...that is an entirely different story my friend.

Those three things...wow. Incredibly hard. I have a whole new respect for those people who make jewelry for a living. Incredibly time consuming. But hey...it turned out pretty cool just the same, right?

What do you think? You should try it. Comment with your photos when you are done. I would LOVE to see them!!

See ya next time friend.

So I started painting barns............ Ya..I know, Tabitha Barnes Barns, Catchy right?

So here they are. My latest on reclaimed wood. Its not all pallet wood this time, just odds and ends off of old fence posts, torn down houses, and condemned and forgotten buildings.

A great use for something that would otherwise be thrown away and forgotten right? Ya, I thought so too.

So this one is Asian themed. I really like it. What do you think about it? I just love the color amber.

Not a barn....oh ya. Right...

On to the barns.

Ooops

This one I called the "Hidden Ranch". I love the trail up to the barn. Makes you almost want to climb into the painting and run up there. I mean after all, Marry Poppins did it. Why cant we?

Ok, maybe not.

This one started out as a barn, truly. But then, well, this happened. I couldnt help it. It just screamed hunting lodge. Seriously. Not my fault.

There you have it. 

Stay tuned for more "happy little trees" and stuff like that. 

You do have a day job right?

Art Is Just Like This. ... Life

Best place to start. ... is always at the beginning. Sounds simple. But point is to only concentrate at one aspect and point of the picture at a time.

Painting is like what God does with us. At first it doesn't look like much. Hard to tell what it will even be to the untrained eye. But the one painting it always sees the finished picture when they look at the canvas. .. no matter what stage of "ugly" it seems to be in.

As you work stage to stage don't give up on the finished masterpiece to come. Just like God doesn't give up on us. Little by little you will begin to see the beauty of it manifest. Take your time. Be patient. ...... and remember to just breathe.

Apparently You Can Paint Just About Anything, No..Seriously You Can

So, Ive got these old 1980, gold, disgusting lights hanging up in my house. (We bought this place in June of last year. LOVE) But, I do NOT like the lights. Gold is cool on my finger, or around my neck. So not cool as a light fixture.

Im not running no disco here, ya know?

So here it is. Check it out. Old, ugly, even a little rusty. How that happens is still a mystery.

 So, I broke out my ever faithful bottle of Apple Barrel craft paint. (A whole 50 cents a bottle at Wally World) and started to paint it. Only took me about five minutes. Then I let it dry and painted over it one more time. Then voila. Instant upgrade to the 20th century.

Im thinking about tackling the ugly ceiling fan next. But those new ones at Lowes today sure looked pretty. Hmmm...we will just have to see on that one folks. 

#paintitall #artist #justforthefunofit #uglydecor #instantupgrade

What You Do When You HATE Your Kitchen Tile Backsplash? You Paint It Of Coarse..Check It Out

So, this morning....I get up, look outside and see snow, ice, and more snow. Then I see my ugly backsplash.

Now, I gotta say, its much better than it was when I moved it. It was like Mexican Hacenda meets Italy. How does that work? It doesnt. So I painted over it.

Now Ive decided I dont like it. Here is what it looked like this morning before I painted it.

So, my kitchen is done is roosters if you haven't guessed. I have them, I like them..so, there ya go.

I had left over wall paint, so I started there.

Then, as you can see, I just painted over it to get a base coat color.

Then I took my cheap, 50 cents a bottle Apple Barrel paint. I used two shades of brown. They were Territorial Beige and Melted Chocolate. Then I threw in black for dimension. 

I just used my stencil brush and then a regular angled paint brush. A tiny one. 

Here we go.............

Paper plates are awesome you know.

So if you take your stencil brush and tap it into a single color, then tap it onto the tile in random patterns. Then do the same thing with the other colors. Careful on the black though.

The more random you do it, the better it looks.

I like it. Whatcha think?

Questions? Ask away.

Go Big, Or Go Home............Thats My Thoughts On This

So, I do smaller art projects, sure. But my favorites are landscapes like these....

I did this on a piece of reclaimed wood that I cut into six individual squares. Why? Well most of all because I wanted to. Ha ha. But seriously, I think it just looks cool. I mean...check it out!

I

You see, I live in Arkansas my friends. And I dont know if you have been watching the weather lately, but OH MY GOSH. It is like winter wonderland out there. Disney on ice. Only, no Disney. 

Pretty though, right? 

Anyways....Here is the large project I did. This was in a school in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Beautiful place. The theme was from that book, Where The Wild Things Are". Ever heard of it? Super cute book. 

Heres what I started with....then what I ended up with. Step by step. See what ya think. 

Uhg.....the ominous hallway.......

Like that scary movie..what was that again?

The drawing begins..do you know HOW many pencils (and erasers) I went through? Lets just not talk about it.

Finally, something nice to look at. 

Rarrr.......look at that trick on the uneven walls. Pretty dope right?

cute, cute, cute, cute.....a million times, cute

Makes me wanna hang out too.

I need one of those to ride on. Much cheaper than gas these days.

Well, hello grey thing. How's it going. ..............I was gonna say hangin', but that just didnt seem appropriate somehow.

And...the end of the hallway. Always a good feeling. Got done here at like 3 a.m. MAN was I pooped.

Oh ya. I wanna totally go to school here. 

What are your thoughts and your experiences? Have you ventured out to do murals yet? What type of media (type of paint, colored pencils, chalk, etc.) do you work in?

Okay, thats all for today. Im fixing to start a project on reclaimed wood for a retired military guy. I LOVE doing stuff like that. Painting him an American Bomber plain as the American Flag as the back ground.

Oh yeah, you can always follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/artisttabithabarnes, on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/GazelleMuralDesigns or even on Twitter...twitter.com/TabbyBarnes.