DIY Before and After

Here is my kitchen before. All white and boring. I've been wanting to do something with our back splash for the longest time. Ideally, I'd love to install a beautiful glass back splash but as we're renting I wanted an easy (and fast) solution, so I decided to paint. Nothing says spring to me like a good DIY.

Here is my kitchen after. I chose this bright fresh shade of lime green. As it turns out bright lime green (Pantone 14-0244) is my color according to Colorstrology by Pantone. Want to know what color your birthday is? Click here.

I'm very happy with how it looks now and it only took a couple of hours to do. And an added bonus, I got the paint at a great discount as it was a mis-tint. My local paint store always marks down their cans of mis-tints and even organizes them by type and color. It's a great way to pick up some quality paint at a great price for your craft or DIY projects. Now, I'm going to sit and enjoy my new kitchen. Hmmmmmm, this color is making me crave a margarita.

Do you have any DIY's your going to tackle this spring??

Turquoise is the color for 2010.

SweetheartSinner Creations
Japanese Geisha Girl

Knee Deep Originals
Turquoise Dreams

Kerry Beary
Cha Cha Ltd. Edition Print

It's official. The Pantone color for 2010 is Turquoise. You can read Pantone's official release here. I'm so happy about this as turquoise really is one of my favorite colors. It's a blue green combo that I find very cheerful and reminds me of a tropical paradise. To honor turquoise, I searched by color on Etsy and found the above shops. Check them out.

Purple Rules!!

Lavender and Lace 12x12 acrylic on panel

Purple seems to be everywhere this fall from clothing to furniture to home decor accessories. Pantone has even chosen a shade of purple (Blue Iris, Pantone 18-3943) as the color of the year for 2008. They tell us "Combining the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual aspects of purple, Blue Iris satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement." Purple is the color of royalty and it's associated with nobility and spirituality. Purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and a strong cool color so that it has both warm and cool properties. It can also spark creativity. Purple rules!!

I dropped in to VAO this afternoon. They are having their open house and reception to introduce everyone to their new location here in downtown Toronto. VAO is a goldmine of information and help for visual artists in Ontario. I've been suggesting to my artist friends (you know who you are!!) to join. I'm glad I did. Thanks Kim, Avril, and Mitchell. It was great speaking with you all and I'm looking forward to new seminars and perhaps a meeting of the online group. Check out Avril's blog and etsy shop. She's an awsome designer and created the some of the coolest items. I especially love these!!!