Kyler and Kara

A couple of weekends ago, Kyler and I sat around trying to think of things to do. We talked about going hiking again, but it was blazing hot outside. We talked about laying by our community pool, but it's so packed on the hot days, especially on the weekend. And then Kyler was saying something about needing a project. And I said, "You mean like an art project?" And the he-said, she-said went on until we decided that we would make some artwork.

Completely out of the blue, I know.

So we found the closest Hobby Lobby, and then mapped out a scenic route...because we love driving around new parts of Ohio. Well, new parts to us.

And once we got to our destination, we had to stop for a bite to eat at Taco Bell, which shared a parking lot with an antique store. So we ventured in there, and everything was priced like the people knew they actually had something of value. No lucking into a family trying to clean out an attic...bummer.

After forever milling around HobLob and selecting our perfect combination of canvases and paint, and a quick grocery stop at Kroger, we were back at home with our projects.

 We really lucked out that there was a canvas sale going on. All of them were 40% off, and we even found a couple of 2-packs that were the same price as buying a single. Needless to say, we came home with more than our goal of two canvases.



 I had envisioned a nice chevron print with our initial on it and had just finished drawing out the lines when my parents called and said they were in Cincinnati. So we hit pause and visited with them before they made it the rest of the way home from visiting family in Kentucky.

Kyler was going in a completely different direction. He wanted abstract full of bright colors. That's not really my style, but he kept saying that he could make his the way he wanted and I could make mine the way I wanted. [Yes, that's right. But I get to choose where they hang. And I told him his would look just lovely in the closet.]



This impatient guy had about 4 coats of each color on by the time I finished coating my canvas once. I wanted mine to hang in the bedroom, so I mixed the perfect teal color to match our bedding...and then I ran out. So I mixed some more, and it matched perfectly. And then I ran out...third time wasn't as charming and I didn't mix as well. So plan B was to use just the blueish green on the whole canvas.



Kyler, already having taken the tape off and putting on more coats. Me, letting my blue coat dry.



 Kyler's finished product. He put it on top of the fridge, and honestly it's not too distracting. We definitely need color in this place since all the walls are white.

He's so proud. [Definitely not of my photography skills. Sorry about the horrible lighting.]

My finished product, after Kyler stepped on it. Luckily, no damage was done. But we're not hanging anything on the walls because we move out at the end of August and don't want to fill any holes in the wall. So, for now it's propped up by the tv.

And then I got the hankering to go ahead and paint some more. The first canvas was just me freestyling, but this next set of canvases, I've known what I wanted to do for a while.

Three 8x10 canvases that match our bath towels to a "T".

 And bird silhouettes! I freehanded the bird on the right, but as I was looking for some other birds online, I found a template that included the bird on the left and the owl. Kyler loved the owl, and since he usually lets me do whatever I want but for once he said he would prefer the owl over another bird, I included the owl. And now he's my favorite part!

Originally, I wanted to paint them all sitting on a continuous branch so it looks like the branch spans the gaps between the canvases. But since I don't know what our future bathroom will be like (aka if they'll hang vertically or horizontally), I decided to hold off on the branch. Regardless, I love these three little paintings!

And that was our incredibly exciting weekend project!