Tah Dah!

Before we get to my *long story long* blog below - I have news! I am a proud new member of The Artisan Group! So excited about the new talented artists I get to hob nob with!

Los Angeles is know for many things. The Hollywood Sign. Movie studios. Beaches. Crazy people. And heat. It's the land of perpetual summer. What we are not known for is humidity. Ick Ugh. Make it stop! Here is where we enter my current projects ...


I've been looking for ways to expand my photos into more tangible objects. Love Pinterest. Lovelovelove Pinterest. I found a tutorial on making magnets out of your images. (Have you found Photojojo?? They rock. Seriously, follow that blog!) So I tossed Sadiecakes into the car and off to Michael's we went! Zoom ....


I decided, since this was an experiment on many levels, I would choose mostly personal images. The finished products can go to work with Daddy, magically appear on Grandma's fridge, and the rest can be Sadie's newest trinkets.


I chose my images & resized them into one Photoshop doc. 2x2 images were recommended and fit perfectly on an 8x10 piece of photo paper.

Sliced them up & did the same with mat board (next time, I'm having the giant board cut into 8x10 sheets - SO much easier to work with - much less trimming, I hope!) Glue them together - trim a bit more (the tutorial actually recommends a small mat boarder - next batch ...)

Such lovely bits!

Temporary Work Space

Now comes the part where I am a fish out of water. Dimensional Magic Glaze. Same makers as Modge Podge. Lay it on like icing. Have a needle nearby for popping wicked little bubbles. Lay flat to dry, of course, but also cover with a cup or something to keep dust from settling on top.  The directions tell you it need anywhere from 3-24 hours to fully set. Lies. Ok, to be fair, not lies so much as a very very loose guideline. I blame the humidity. It was the only factor I could come up with. At a very long drawn out 24 hour mark, I race in! They are still cloudy and just as wet as when I *iced* them. Ok, wait. What? Let's come back tomorrow. Then the next day. AND the next. It took 3 1/2 days to completely set. Now my first round, I only did 2 squares so I could make adjustments with what I still had. And there were teeny tiny itty bitty bubbles. So, icing the rest, I dug in, knowing it would take days not hours and to examine closely for the bitty bubbles. These are not pop-able. All they do is swim around. I'm willing to blame humidity for that too. I now have a small dehumidifier (a la Amazon) for my next round of experiments.

When they all finally dried - it was time to glue the magnets on the back. Heat and humidity cost me another day for that to dry fully.

Seeing Spots

But .... (drum roll ......) TAH DAH!

Yay for magnets!

Curation by Sadie

We have magnets! I definitely have some tweaks to make on round 2 - that being said - I'm a happy girl that I have something to show for my time and effort. And Sadie is a happy girl to have her own magnets ...








I think I am going to try to refine this process before I try the next idea. Now that I am with The Artisan Group - I need to get some finished products rolling out so I can participate in the swag bags!

A Year Older -

A year ago today, I think I spent the entire 24 hours glued to the computer. Furiously typing, listing, tagging, uploading, and voila! Loud Waterfall Photography had an Etsy shop & a Facebook page. A year later, I have many new dear friends, a few photos scattered throughout the world, a brand new blog that I am still trying to get the hang of, and a sense of accomplishment that I've managed to keep something alive for this long.

What will the next year hold? I have a few branches I am thinking of adding to the tree. New products based on my images, maybe a trip or two to replenish the archives and the soul. An expansion to the family is in the blueprints and permits stage (pinkprints?!?). The house needs a bit of a revamping - Pinterest has a way of igniting the fires & imagination. The next 12 months are shaping up to be full of excitement & adventure ....

Downtown Los Angeles - Chinatown - Walk-About

Thank you for joining me on my little adventure! I'm having lots of fun and learning even more. If you are ever in the Los Angeles area, I would love to buy you a cup of coffee (glass of wine?!!) and maybe we can go for a walk-about with our cameras ...

Don't Tell CPS ~

I made my child perform manual labor.  She loved it! We painted 2 samples swatches of the colors we bought yesterday.

Our 1st sample :: Hampton Green

So, I stripped her down (no ruined clothes if I can help it!). Handed her a small roller and a paper plate with a few dollops on it. Now, being 2 (and MY child), she is a bit of a free spirit. Sadie was not a fan of the limited space nor the meager amount of supplies she was given.

Second sample :: Charlotte Slate

I promised her we would do a second coat & that she could help me with the walls when we found a pretty color. She suggested purple. Maybe for her walls ...

Wait. Wait. Wait.

We are going to have a little dance party now & catch some Clubhouse while we wait to do the second coat. All right Sadie, grab your tutu!

Before ...

Before::

                        

                                Mobile courtesy of Auntie Day!

The culprit exterior wall

Just another corner

Ok, kinda before. This is after the construction but before that it was a very sweet and complete nursery.

Moving on ....

Paint samples. Bought. Room layout. In my head. Construction people. Not coming back. It's all up to me ... Sure, I will be bouncing ideas off Jason, but for the most part, redecorating will take place while he is at work. Lucky devil ....

I grabbed sample sizes of the slate-ish/ blue and the yellowy-taupe (the two big discs). The freshly fixed carpet is already the small taupe sample color, the trim is white.

I'm thinking of maybe using the small yellow disc color for accent on maybe a shelf or organization something-something .... like the one below ....

My desk and chair are a lovely dark wood - actual wood, not some facsimilie there of.  I need to make a cushion for my chair. Do I mix stain & paint pieces? Hmmm ..... I need a new bookshelf. I see a trip to IKEA in my near future. Love that place. Maybe The Container Store too .... This could get quite fun ....

The Big Girl! Room will have to wait until this project is done. I'm fine with that. Her room will require me sewing & that is still a hurdle. But I am sure I will pick out her fabric soon. I love a trip to F&S!

I will keep you posted on any progress. Samples will go up tonight. I like to live with them for at least a few days. See them in different light, different times of day, make sure I'm happy. So much easier than repainting! 

Have a good night ~

Projects!

We had a joy-of-homeownership-moment last month. Our 2 year old's room flooded - kinda. An unknown roof leak poured into her wall. When that became saturated, it soaked half her floor. Many calls to insurance, emergency crews, a mad dash to remove her and all of her goodies - a month later, the room is almost ready for humans again. Since she has been moved and all of the office stuff from the other room are strewn about the house, they will just stay switched. Now comes the fun part - painting!

I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas for her room. She is about to be in a big bed (gulp!), so it will be all new - new colors, new bedding, new new new! It's exciting and daunting. I like this for color/ fabric ideas - thank you OneWorldBaby!

Etsy

And then there is the office - what to do? Again, Pinterest has had some ideas. This room will become L W P new home base (so excited!) so I want it to be somewhere I love to steal away to for hours ...

So it will be a productive summer - I'm hoping! - I will keep you posted ... Do you have any color/ decor/ ideas/ tips??

Have a good one!

I'm working on it!

Happy! Happy Father's Day to my amazing husband who gives so much and always has more - I love you baby - you rock!

Keri snapped up her thank you gift - this is what she chose ....

I would love to say LWP is a full time job - I'm working on it. I would love to stay home with Sadiecakes everyday and go on outings to hunt for photos - I'm working on it.  But there is other stuff to do ...

I decided to partake in a craft swap. Let me preface this by saying I am crafty in theory. I adore the idea of living in a Pinterest world - reality is not as such. So joining this swap seemed the perfect way to jump in.

I have been paired up with 2 people : one gal I make something for and the other makes something for me! Pretty clever! I have figured out what I am making for Linda but I can't tell you yet - she will see this. But I picked something that seems safe but functional and has the potential to be quite cute!

Stay tuned for photos next week after I finish & it's in the mail .... I'm working on it!

Cheers-