Riva La Diva

Hey all!

It's been a LONG while since I started blogging up in here.
Recently, I started a new blog at Riva La Diva.com.

Basically the same sort of diy stuff I have typically done in the past over here like sewing, fashion, etsy stuff, building, baking and what not...

Check it out, tell me how you love it at Riva La Diva.com!

I am still posting here from time, with a new idea I have so stay tuned! :)

Until then, hope you all are having a very good time enjoying the last of your summer!

Riva
XO

I LOVE the Beach!

I LOVE the beach.  Checkout this fun painting tutorial to I am showing off. It was inspired from a painting I saw a few days ago in my latest Ballard Designs catalog.

Materials:

• Blank canvas,
• acrylic paint (I used Ultra Blue Deep and Bleached sand from Americana),
• paint brushes,
• sponge brush,
• a "beach" stencil (I made my own).

Prepare the work station.

Liberally, apply your sand color paint. Spread the paint on the canvas in a left to right (horizontal motion).

Paint about half way up the board,

Apply your ocean blue color and spread,

more blue,

Blend it in so that the color appears to go from dark blue to light blue (overlapping the white a bit),

Add more color and blend, again,

I wanted more blue to show on the canvas for my beach stencil, so I added more paint at the halfway point. This made it so that the blue took 2/3 thirds of the board.

Blend, add more white, blend, add more blue, BLEND, blend and blend until it's just right, and maybe blend a little more without overworking it. I wasn't sure how this was turning out until my 5 year old pointed out that I was painting the beach (I figured if she could get what it was then it wasn't as bad as I thought).

Make your beach stencil. I typed the word "beach" on word and printed it out. I used an xacto knife to cut the letters out.

LIGHTLY dab paint over the stencil - trying to not let the paint seep under your stencil. Printing your stencil on cardstock might make for an easy application if you are unsure about stenciling over you painting.

and TA DA!

I am not a professional artist but I LOVED doing this and it turned out so nicely!
This TOTALLY brings the beach closer to my home and I love the fresh look it adds to my living room.

Thanks for visiting!

Beach Loving...

Here is a quick and EASY decor idea to quickly update your home for summer - it took less than 30 minutes to do and could be made easily under $5.

I saw these cute framed shells here,

and thought I could easily make my own, so here's what I did...

Materials:

• hot glue and gun,
• frame,
• decorative card stock,
• shells (thank you dollar store).

Cut card stock to fit the frame and put in before the glass (Glass will hide behind the cardstock).
Lay out your shells to their desired location on the cardstock.
Apply glue to the shells and adhere them to the cardstock. Move fast so the glue doesn't dry when you put the shells on but with precision so that your shells won't look sloppy - I bought extra cardstock in case I made a mistake.

Et Voila! You are done - Easy Right?

The Chevron Rug

So, I am total a herringbone fan and that's why I am loving these Chervon rugs out there. But, I also love the idea of being a able to create a rug design of my own. My inspiration came from the very talented, Dana, over at MADE. So here's what I did...

Supplies:

• Tulip Fabric paint (must be PERMANANT)
  
• Sponge/foam brush
• Reynolds Freezer Paper (found at grocery store NOT WAX)
  
• Scissors/Paper Trimmer
  
• Iron
• Cheap, low Pile Rug
  

1. So I measured out little rectangles to my desired length and cut out over 200 pieces for this 3' x 4.5' rug. Then very carefully, I ironed all the little pieces to the rug with took HOURS (shiny side down). NOTE: for a 100% Olefin Rug or any other synthetic, keep the heat semi LOW when you begin so you don't melt the fibers of your rug.

2. Then paint your rug. I wasn't rug how successful this would be so I used fabric paint that I already had at home. You don't want the paint too watery. I used the brand Tulip (they make a different version that is softer that I will use next time):When you paint, try not to push the paint under the freezer paper. Let it dry.3. When it's dry, pull the freezer paper off.

4. And there it is. I made this for my son's room.

And when you buy the rug for $8.99 at Ross,
it makes the rug look super fabulous! :)

So, now I am in the search for a large enough blank canvas.
I am feeling so inspired by the following rugs...

PB Worn Book

Check out these old, worn out looking books from my latest Pottery Barn catalog. The are usually stacked, tied together, and slightly disheveled.

 

For some reason, I LOVE THEM! I gotta have them.

Here's what you'll need:

• Cheap paperback books - you can't go wrong at the dollar store,
• A sink, container, and/or casserole dishes for the soaking,
• Herbs, tea bags, or flowers to soak in the..
• Water you'll need,
• Twine, thin rope, or embroidery floss (I used the floss),
• Scissors
• Child's watercolor kit and sponge brush.

So, if you are using tea or real herbs, start putting them in pots filled with water and boil. Let them boil for about 10 minutes and then steep for another 10 minutes.

While your water is boiling, start ripping the covers off the books. I always kept the title page on top or the dedication; one book had an awesome first page and I made that one the top page of the book.

 Soak in water, binding first.

While I soaked the binding, I liked to open the book here and there so the water would get in the cracks.  Getting water in there really made the pages of the book look uneven and made the binding of the book curl back a little. I also soaked the other edges of the book and tried to keep the middle of the pages mostly dry.

From there you can start accessorizing your book with wear and tear. To do this, I would ripe out a few corners, scratch the pages, roll pages back with my fingers, and anything that would give the book a worn feeling to them.

If you wanted the sides of your book colored, take your watercolor kit and sponge and gently stroke the edges of the book. This sort of replicates those older books with the red edges.

Next, let them dry. This part was brutal because it takes a few days for these babies to dry, depending on how soaked they got.

 Tie with string. I used embroidery floss because I didn't want anything heavy. When I got home, I realized a little too late the color possibilities one could have with embroidery floss...

 

 and ...VOILA!

 

I get inspired from your comments and reactions. I would love to get your feedback and ratings, "Uno" meaning you liked it, "Dos" meaning you loved it, and "Très Chic!" meaning it was the totally rad! 

Thanks for visiting! :)

BTW - I am being featured at Inside Out Design for the "Before & After Thursday" series - for this. 

SO FUN!!