Fruit Bowl Turned Sculpture

I stopped by my good friend Hellitz' blank slate living room. In a corner, was a collection of things she considered donating to a thrift store. Most of it made sense to throw out but this glass fruit bowl caught my eye. You don't just go to any store and find a piece like this.

What I love the most about it is that it's interesting in every angle. 

We went to our local craft store where she picked out some paints. I love acrylic paints and we found that Decoart Dazzling Metallics worked well with glass, even though it took several layers before I couldn't see any light seep through the glass.

I lalalalove acrylic paint. I grew up on it. I've used it for ceramics, jewelry boxes, even for some picture frames. No fumes, you can use it indoors and it spreads where you want it to spread. Almost fool proof....almost.

I painted the back of the glass so that the lines and curves in the front of the bowl weren't compromised and if Hellitz or her boyfriend Pablo ever decided to fill the bowl again, the paint wouldn't get scratched. It's new home is now a built-in bookcase, it's propped up to show off its beautiful lines. 

There was also a canvas panting that she bought from one of the local big box stores. It didn't match the new color scheme of silvers, grays and blues so I suggested we paint color fields over the painting,. If you can draw a square, you can paint some color fields. 

Divided the painting in half with with black paint. 

It took a few layers of paint to cover the painting. Note to self: invest in primer. 

This Mark Rothko painting was the inspiration to our humble piece. I'm definitely no Mark Rothko but I think the painting is just right for her space.

She scored these curtains from Target. Love em! Yes, it's a cell phone pic. Promise to get better pics for the final reveal. :D 

We're still looking for a rug, wall decor and throw pillows.Ah! The hunt continues! 

What I learned:

• Paint and glass aren't the most compatible but it helps to wait for the layers to completely dry before you move on to the next layer. 
• Before you go shopping for the small stuff, always look around and use your imagination. Free is just smarter. 

Baby Shower Revisited

I have too many excuses reasons why I haven't been writing. I've neglected my blog for too long. Part of it is that I had a writer's block but it's also been a really busy few months. I actually had to work at the office and it was right around the time that I was trying to tie all the loose ends for the baby shower. All fun, I tell you, all fun.

Like most Torres events, there were many voices. There was my mother, sister, Wendy's sisters, and her foster mother wanting to be a part of the planning. It was a constant push to make sure that above all, mother-to-be was happy with all of the decisions made.

In the beginning, we all agreed that if it was a baby boy, that the motif was going to be building blocks. Everything else fell into place! Yea right! We had pow wows and emails exchanges. We took seven different trips to seven different stores to get everything that we're looking for. By the end of it, I knew the layouts to Joann's, Hobby Lobby, and Michael's. We had craft parties to paint favors. Mom even took trips to Orlando to get the more traditional keeps sakes, including this shoe-shaped candy holder.

The guy with the mic is my brother, he was pretending to be an emcee and yet I'm considered the dork of the family. Sigh.

In the end, even though I was frazzled by it all, I was happy with the end result. Baby-to-be is the first grandchild so having this baby shower made it all the more real. I was satisfied with the end result and I'd like to think the parents were too.

The best part of it all was:

These two are now engaged.

My brother decided to surprise everybody. When the last present was opened, my brother got down on his knee and proposed to Wendy!

Almost all of the women that were planning this baby shower, including myself, were brought to tears. It was definitely a moment that made everything perfect. 

By the way, my nephew is due February 9th. He's coming any minute now. It's Operation Wait and See right now. We're waiting for that phone call or text message from my brother or from his FIANCE (ah!) letting the rest of us know that baby is on his way.

EDIT: Wanted to thank Martinez Restaurant and Bakery  for such an amazing cake. Thanks Maria!

A Blank Slate

A friend from college, Hellitz, and her boyfriend Pablo moved into a new apartment. It will be the first time they will get to decorate their place together.


In my opinion, that's the biggest challenge in decorating: finding the middle point in styles between a man's and woman's ideas of what they consider home.

Especially when their personalities are almost polar ends. It works for them. He's the ying to her yang. She does all the talking for a man of few words. He's the retreat to her party.


Hellitz and I talked at a get together and I told her how much I loved decorating, she seemed stuck on how to start and soon she'll have an out of town guest. I was more than happy to help. Eventually the mister and I would need to do the same thing so why not get some practice. Besides, I love to shop when I'm not spending the money.

One of my favorite couples had a lucky advantage:

They had a blank slate. 

No furniture. Not much art and what they did have they were willing to sacrifice for a new start. No talking fish or porcelain doll collection, phew.

The first step they wanted to take was decorate the living room. When she bought this apartment she saw herself hosting parties and so she wanted to make sure her guests were comfortable yet not overwhelm the room with too many pieces of furniture. 

So I googled and searched different color schemes. For me, that's where it all starts. Once again, Rate My Space came to the rescue and a new site that I stumbled upon, Apartment Therapy. 

She fell in love with the gray schemes. It's sexy and grown up and it's the new neutral. Just like brown, you can play up gray with different colors. She's considering yellows, blues and silvers. 

So a hunting they went and found this beautiful sectional from American Signature.

I think it's a great start. We'll be working on some projects to accessorize this weekend. Wish me luck!

Team Spirit Hair Accessories

Slowly but surely, I'm getting these hair bows done. I'm a busy girl, planning baby showers and putting up wall collages. Catering to the mister. Helping a friend and her boyfriend pick out furniture and accessories for their new home. (That'll be a future post, promise.)

Honestly though, I'm trying to be careful with these. I put all my love in them especially since I'm giving them to all my favorite girls.

 I love it though. So far I made one for my sister. By made one for my sister, I mean, I made one for one of the babies but then my sister took one for herself. Gotta love her, she even gave me the puppy dog eyes, when I asked for it back. She wears it to all of the games and to school, so maybe I'm onto something here.

 These two are for my Goddaughter, Nahtalia. Pictures to come of her soon. She's cute and she knows it.

Abuelita sewed Sophia's fastener right onto the headband she was hearing that day.

Baby Sophia and her mother, Lizzie.

Still stuck on what to make for my nephew. I'll be sure to blog about it as soon as I figure it out. 

Wall collage update and my new buddy

I have a new toy. It's a laser level that I bought at Home Depot. He can be really obnoxious sometimes but I still love him. He helped me with my wall collage so I love him even more.

I shall call him Yobi. 

Here's the plus sides to my Yobi: It has a vacuum mechanism to hold its self onto a wall while displaying a straight laser line. It's the perfect tool for a wall collage. I don't need to make holes into a wall with pins just to keep it up like other laser levels or have someone else hold it up will I make markings.. He's pocket size if you have a big pocket and he fits just fine in the little toolbox that I have.

Did I mention he was obnoxious? Yes. He makes a buzzing sound. Very reminiscent of a game board buzzer. Taboo anyone? I live in an apartment so the sounds of buzzing vibrations against a connecting wall to my neighbor's was a bit of a concern. I only needed him for the time that I needed to make markings on my wall, so no neighbors came knocking on my door.

I had five picture frames, and only had to make five holes. Well, six because I measured wrong but it's a laser not a miracle maker. Without Yobi, I have a feeling I would have made about 20 holes before giving up and The Wall would have prevailed again. I've got some many ideas for him, it'll have to wait when my lease is up. It took 30 minutes to do the actual hanging, thank goodness.

This is my collage for now:

Excuse the lighting, I tried to fix it with Picnik but I'm still not that savvy. Oh and if anyone would like to give me a decent camera for oh... let's say Christmas, I'd appreciate it. :D 

I say for now because it feels like something's missing. I kept staring at if for about three days trying to figure it out. There's a void. Do you see it? I'm thinking it needs a sign. Something like this...

Again, bad photography. It'll get better, promise.

or this:

I'll be on the hunt for a sign. Why is it that I see signs at the stores when I don't need them and now that I do, I can't find them. Ugh! Happy with The Wall so far and wish I had done this sooner. Many thanks to Hermes Alers, who diligently worked on India until I was happy. 

What I learned: 

• Measure twice, cut once. I know this but I'm stubborn. 
• Patience is a virtue.
• The phrase, Dance like no one is watching, comes from this poem:

Work like you don't need the money.Love like you've never been hurt.Dance like no-one's watching.Sing like no-one's listening.Live like there's no tomorrow.Fear like a stone.

• Or this Irish saying: 

Dance as if no one's watching, sing as if no one's listening, and live everyday as if it were your last.