More Wall Art (and other stuff too, I promise!)

My original intention of this blog was to post each time I did a new project. Unfortunately, the projects have sort of taken away from my blog time. Anyway, I'm playing catch up tonight. Sorry!

First things first. Here's this:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a foaming soap dispenser. I made it out of a SALSA JAR! No joke. The soap itself is 1/4 cup of Dawn with 2 cups of water. The top is what actually makes the liquid foam; I just happened to have an empty bottle of Noxzema foaming face wash on hand, and I stole the top. To connect the foaming top to the jar lid, I used a screwdriver and hammer to poke a hole in the middle, and used needle nose pliers to peel the metal back on the inside of the lid. This should be done gingerly, to make sure your hole doesn't become too big for the top. You can use hot glue to keep the top in place if needed. So easy, and fun to make your own soap, because you can add essential oil to make any scent you want!

Next up: Tinted Mason Jars. As you probably guessed, I am not a connoisseur of antique jars, but I am not above saving my old food jars. Any jar can be made chic and gorgeous with this tutorial. I tinted a sauerkraut and a spaghetti sauce jar this week. One is currently holding a love note from the guy and a flower picked by my daughter. The other has not yet been given a purpose, but it looks pretty so I don't care.

Last one: More wall art. The guy and I were browsing some furniture stores, and each one had its own collection of colorful, semi-abstract art. With each piece, I couldn't help but notice how basic they were. I may be the only one who does this, but when I go to Target, I almost always wind up looking at the art. When I do, I undoubtedly say to my poor acomplice "I could so do that". On my last journey, I saw this piece for $20:

I'm not a professional artist by any means, but I am comfortable with paintbrush in hand (especially if no one is watching).

Anyway, I took one of my many painted-over canvases (aka paintings I did or half-did and then painted over in black or white because I didn't like them) and got to work. Because I am not known for my ability to draw straight lines, I used my L square with my brush to get the white square as even as possible. The branches and flowers were freehanded, and I added blue flowers to give it some more pop. The point of this blog is to say that I find it a complete waste of money to buy art that you can easily do yourself. A canvas ranges in price depending on size, but a standard canvas comes in a 3 pack at many stores for under $10. The feeling you get from seeing something beautiful that you made hanging in your house is unmatched.

So, without further ado, here is my version: