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mandee made

hand painted windows, signs & chalkboards

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Custom Name Letters

I believe the most important word in any person's vocabulary is their own name.  That's why these custom letters are always such a hit.  What kid wouldn't want to see their name 8" tall on their wall?

Jacen (above): painted to match a tranportation themed room in New Mexico. More pictures.

Haley & Hana (above): painted to match the bedding in these twin girl's room in Denver.  More pictures here & here. 

For your own custom Name Letters email me and we'll talk fonts.  Have a great Friday!!
tags: boys room, custom, etsy, girls room, lettering, name plate, signs
Friday 06.24.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Shark Bait, Hoo Ha Ha!

Some happy Tiki masks welcome in Summer on the new window in the EU.




You can almost smell the sweet fragrance of Hibiscus over the foul aroma of industrial strength cleaner and bed pans.
Almost.

These masks definitely remind me of the initiation scene from Finding Nemo:
Shark Bait, Hoo ha ha!!

See the rest of my window paintings here.

tags: under da sea, window paintings
Wednesday 06.22.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

New stuff in my Etsy shop!

Ok, the wedding's over and I'm back from the honeymoon.  Time to get back to work...after I catch up on horribly addicting reality TV shows of course.  I mean, have you even seen Ice Loves Coco?  Amazing.

But I digress...

These little guys were just added to my Etsy shop.  Go check 'em out!

Let me know if you want something special painted.  I love custom orders!
tags: animals, boys room, canvas painting, custom, etsy, giraffes, girls room, mermaid, quote bubbles, robots, under da sea
Monday 06.20.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Mini Foam Finger Tutorial

  
This is a mini foam finger I made during the NBA Playoffs for my friend's cat. 
Like most cats in the Boston Metro area, she's a huge C's fan.

I started by grabbing a piece of scrap foam from a recent package we had delivered and drew the outline of a foam finger on it:


Then, using an Exacto knife, I carefully cut around the line I drew:

I cut a little slice in the bottom of it and made sure my finger fit in it.  I already love it!


I then used acrylic paint and painted the entire finger kelly green:



After the paint dried (about 2 hours) I used a white paint marker to draw in the details and you're done!


Wanda is BESIDE HERSELF with excitement!!! 
tags: celtics, custom, freak outs, how to, kittehs, lettering, make me, tutorials, why dont you make me
Saturday 06.18.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Happy Birthday Fonzie!

Alfonso turned 2 years old yesterday!!
mini hat for your cat tutorial here.

also: I'm not a crazy cat lady, I'm not a crazy cat lady, I'm not a crazy lady, repeat.
Friday 06.17.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

We Want The Cup! ***UPDATE!***

  

As you are most likely aware by now the Boston Bruins
are one game away from winning the Stanley Cup. 

Which is why my coworker came in today with a "t-shirt emergency" and demanded asked me nicely to make her daughter a Bruins shirt for school tomorrow since tomorrow is, obviously, Bruins Day at her school.  Clearly an emergency I can understand.

So she handed me a t-shirt and some fabric markers:








I put a box in it to stiffen it up and then doodled a design on it:




Then I colored the design in with fabric markers and Viola!  We have a shirt!

Now not only does she have her own custom Bruins shirt but she also has the jealousy of her 3 older brothers...and isn't that all that really matters?


Maggie in her shirt.
GO BRUINS!!!!!
***UPDATE!!!***
WE GOT THE CUP WITH A SHUT OUT IN GAME 7!  
Final Score: Boston Bruins- 4, Vancouver Canucks- 0.
tags: custom, freak outs, how to, lettering, make me, tutorials, why dont you make me
Wednesday 06.15.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Love That Dirty Water!

This month's window painting was done in honor of my Big Sister and my BFF who are coming to visit me this weekend from Colorado!  Even though I'm probably not going to drag them to the Emergency Room to see it I was just too excited about them coming to paint anything else.  

The painting is hosted by a big red lobster and includes the 3 major sports teams currently in season.  (Sorry Pat's fans...maybe you'll get some love in November.)

 (UPDATE: The Celtics are out of the playoffs...daaaaangit!!)
Here's a home-run from Fenway park...

A shot of the garden, home to the Celtics and Bruins, with the newly built Zakim Bridge going over Boston's infamous "dirty water" the Charles River.  There's a little duck boat in there too.  If you've never been on a duck boat it's just one of those things you have to do when you're in Boston...I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

And a card carrying member of Red Sox Nation high up in the seats atop the Green Monster.

Welcome back to Boston Missy & Gina!!  I love you!!!
tags: animals, boys room, lettering, under da sea, window paintings
Friday 05.13.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Amy's Birthday Hats!

I made these wacky little hats for a quicky birthday party 
celebration for one of my best girls the other night. 

Here is a verrrrrrrry dumbed-down version of a tutorial on how to make them.


 1.  Go to your local frozen yogurt and/or ice-cream store and embarrassingly ask them for 5 empty containers and one mini container.




2.  Hastily cover each ice-cream dish in the fabric of your choosing.

I glued mine on using a hot glue gun as I do with almost everything in my life.  It's not completely necessary to make this beautiful, obviously, just get the fabric on there.
 3. Here's where the "very dumbed-down" portion of this tutorial really shines through:

Hot glue some feathers on the top and add some googly eyes.   (See what I mean?)

It's also a good idea to glue a string to either side of the hat (on the inside) to serve as a method to tie the hat to your head.


Which brings us to Step 4!....

4. Tie the hat to your head and you're done!

Now go to the party and wow your friends with your craftiness!
Don't forget the mini hat for your kitten!!  

Have so much fun at your wacky hat party!
tags: freak outs, how to, kittehs, make me, tiny hats, tutorials, why dont you make me
Saturday 04.30.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Lace Stencil Tutorial

 As promised, here is the lace stencil tutorial from a painting I made last week.  It's a super easy way to make it look like you really put a lot of time into a project without having to, ya know, really put a lot of time into a project.

Step 1:
To begin this project, gather your supplies:

- I used another painting I had started that was turning out rather lackluster and needed some Umf!  You could also use a blank canvas, some old wood, a frame that needs a makeover, your shoes, anything really.
-tape
- a piece of lace
-some spray paint
-a well ventilated work area

 The rest of this tutorial is after the jump:

Step 2:
Cover lackluster painting with the piece of lace.

Step 3: 
Fold piece around painting like you're wrapping a present.

Tape ends down...this doesn't have to be pretty but make sure the lace is pulled taut so that it stays put.
Step 4:
Look at what a great job you did covering the canvas in lace.

Consider leaving it just how it is cause it's actually kinda cute but then come to your senses and move on to Step 5.
Step 5:
Lightly spray paint the entire thing a delicious shade of Sun Yellow!

It doesn't really have to be yellow.  Just try to pick a color that will stand out against the lackluster painting you didn't really like in the first place.

Allow the paint to dry for at least 30 minutes.
 Step 6:
Take off the lace and Viola!!  Precious!
Step 7:
Finish up whatever painting it is that you're doing.

For me, it meant painting over some of the most detialed parts of the lace design but I knew it was for a good cause so I did it.

I painted my bubble to say, "Is This Appropriate?" which can be explained in a previous post.

And you're done!!  
Now give the painting to your friend and revel in the Ooo's and 
Ahhh's as they're bound to be so impressed with your craftiness!!
tags: canvas painting, etsy, how to, lettering, quote bubbles, the compliment shoppe, tutorials
Wednesday 04.20.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Holler!

This Duder (that painting, not the cat) just made his way to 'Rado to hang on the wall at Fabric Bliss!

Close up on polky dotty letters:

More store info and purchasing information to follow.   You look great today!
tags: canvas painting, craft show, etsy, quote bubbles, the compliment shoppe
Monday 04.18.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Larry's Tuxedo

Here's Larry all dressed up in his tuxedo!

Larry's no longer with us but in life his parents found this little black toe on his right front paw irresistable!!
Rest in Peace sweet boy. 
tags: animals, canvas painting, custom, kittehs
Wednesday 04.13.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Is this appropriate?

Custom speech bubble made for my pattern loving housemate.

See, my housemate, Liv, is a first year art teacher and dressing for the classroom is new to her.  Because of that, once a morning, every morning she comes to my doorway dressed in her newest creation and asks me the question, "Is this appropriate?"

The funny thing is that I'm not exactly a tweed-pants-owning, beige-cardigan wearer either.  It's basically the blind leading the blind in my house.  We seem to be making due though...neither of us have been pink slipped yet!!  (Knock on wood!)

The design on this guy was created by covering the canvas in lace and spray painting over it.  Tutorial to follow.

You look great today!
tags: canvas painting, custom, freak outs, girls room, lettering, quote bubbles, the compliment shoppe
Tuesday 04.12.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

The Name Game

Custom name plaques are always a big hit at baby shower's and birthday parties and these two were no exception.  This double canvas set was painted for a little girl who's named but not yet born.  I left some space under her name for the birth date, weight and height.
I love this bunnies and had a great time painting them.  I only wish I could take credit for the characters...
but I can't.  The bedding that the paintings are themed after is available here. 

Here's another name plaque I painted recently.  This one for a boy's room but also painted to coordinate with the bedding set.
I really want to make a "this one was a slam dunk!" comment here but I'm going to resist. 
The inspiration for this painting can be seen here. 

Let me know if you need your own name plaque painted for someone special coming into your life!!

Contact me.
tags: animals, boys room, canvas painting, custom, girls room, lettering, nursery paintings
Monday 04.11.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Follow Your Dreams!

This is a painting I did for an upcoming auction in April.  
 I'm not usually interested in inspirational quote type paintings but when you have a unicorn and a castle nestled under a rainbow how can you go wrong?  Amirite?
Available here.
tags: animals, canvas painting, custom, etsy, girls room, nursery paintings
Tuesday 03.29.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

flower show

The Boston Flower Show was last weekend and if you're not familiar with it, it's kind of a big deal.   They have all sorts of florists and gardeners and landscape architects from all over the place and it's rather impressive. 
The show took place at the Seaport World Trade Center in South Boston and it was a massive show of amazing flowers and incredible displays.  I spent most of the day wandering around and saying, "I just can't believe they did all of this...I just can't believe this is inside."  Over and over.  I'm sure it wasn't annoying at all. 
But LOOK!  This is inside!!  INSIDE!  I can't believe they did that!  It was gorgeous.  Oh, and this too!!
A pond with a stone archway and giant boulder stepping stones?  No big deal. 

But hands down, my favorite part of the show was an amazing found object installation done by Fine Garden Art.  Every single thing in this display was found and put together, piece by piece by.  So creepy, awesome, radical.  I loved it!  

I felt so inspired that I went to work the next day and painted these huge daffodils on the window. 
Happy Spring!!


tags: craft show, freak outs, other people's art, window paintings
Monday 03.21.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Hand Dyed St. Patrick's Day Bunting

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I wasn't able to paint the window in the EU this month because of a flare up of the existing tendonitis in my left paw (I'm not looking for sympathy (j/k I totally am)) and from the comments I'm getting from co-workers, passersby and patients who frequent the Emergency Unit, I'm guessing that is unacceptable.  It's flattering that so many people want to see what I come up with every month to paint.  So sweet.
So, in an effort to appease my coworkers and to get them to leave me alone (Danielle!), I made them a hand dyed St. Patrick's Day bunting and decided to also show you how I made it.  It's SO simple!

Step 1: Gather supplies.  
You'll need:
-a plain white 100% cotton sheet (not stolen from work cause I wouldn't do that.)
-green Rit dye (or blue and yellow dye as the case may be)
-scissors
-twine
-glue gun
-a bucket or a sink

Step 2:
Lay sheet out on a hard surface and make sure your cats approve of your fabric selection.
 
once approved...

Step 3:
Cut fabric into 6" wide strips, down the length of the sheet.


Step 4: Dye Fabric-
Prepare dye according to package.  I made up a color using Royal Blue and Golden Yellow.  I'd say it was about 1T blue and 1t yellow if I had to guess.  

Submerge fabric in solution until covered, wait about 7-10 minutes.  

For the second color I just used more blue.  Experiment with it until it's a color you like.  Just be sure to mix the color before adding your fabric or it will be speckled with flecks of dye.

Rinse fabric in sink and put it in the dryer.  Mine came out a little tie dyed but it doesn't really matter because it's just for decoration.  It actually adds to the "homemade"-ed-ness of it so just go with it.
Step 5:
Cut fabric into 10" semi circles.  

This measurement is also approximate.  Do whatever feels right to you.

Step 6:
Go take the twine away from your cats. 
Step 7: Cut a length of twine a little longer than the surface you're decorating.  For me it was about 10 feet.

Put a line of hot glue along the inside top of your sheet/fabric, lay twine along glue and fold down the top 1/4" of fabric to secure twine/string in place.
Step 8: Hang the bunting and you're done!  


This would also be a good place to crank up the guilt to elicit more sympathy.  If you're into that sort of thing.

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

tags: how to, window paintings
Thursday 03.17.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Card Catalogin'

One day I said to my librarian Mother-in-Law,
"I've always wanted one of those old card catalogs libraries used to use."  

To which she replied, "Really?  
We couldn't pay peopleto take those things a couple of years ago.  
I bet we still have a couple in the basement of the library."


And that's how I got my very own card catalog.  HOLLER!!


tags: antiques, brimfield, card catalog, freak outs, wood
Tuesday 03.15.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Babushka Bowling!

I donated the painting of these little ladies for
a mutli-cultural fair thrown by an international 
adoption agency that my good friend (and part-
time photographer) Kristen works for. 

They started out as a set of white rubber foam
bowling pins from TheLandofNod.com and Kristen
had the idea to make them matryoshka (aka Russian
Stacking) dolls to represent their Russian clientele.  

Adorable!

Before:

After:



















After:

During:

Close ups:



Oh, I nearly forgot about the BALL!  You can tell by his expression 
that he is overjoyed to be in the presence of these fine lookin' ladies!

Oh my!


Before:
tags: anthropomorphic, art show, custom, etsy, face painting, girls room, kids crafts
Friday 03.11.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Craft Related Injury

This is the current state of my South Paw (aka my craftin' hand):
This is the hand that I draw, paint, hot glue, tape, erase, repaint, wash dishes, brush my teeth, text, eat and cut stuff with an exacto knife with.  And now it's broken!

Ok, it's not actually broken; it's "just" tendonitis but it's really really painful and the timing couldn't be worse!  I'm trying to plan a wedding here!  I have things to glue, centerpeices to make, judgements to pass (I don't know why I need my wrist for that but you can't be too careful.), there are envelopes to stuff and bridal boot camps to pretend to go to!

On second thought, maybe this is for the best.  I'll be on the couch watching How It's Made if you need me.  I should be ok in a couple of days.
tags: freak outs
Thursday 03.03.11
Posted by mandee rae
 

Fabric Bliss!!!

You've probably noticed that every other post of mine mentions a great little 
cafein Fort Collins or a trip to Colorado that I took.  That is because before 
moving to Boston I called Colorado home for almost a decade.  Most of my 
friends and family all still live there and I visit at least 4 times a year.  
(Really I suggest you do the same, it's gorgeous!)  

But I digress...

This post centers around Denver; Santa Fe Drive specifically.  The 
Santa Fe Arts District is an nationally known art and culture district with 
over 60 galleries, restaurants and shops all just a couple blocks from 
downtown Denver.  

And coming soon they'll have Fabric Bliss!!

photo (C) Aurora Sisneros, Fabric Bliss
Much more than just a fabric store some of the services offered by Fabric Bliss are:
  • hourly sewing machine rental (SUCH a good idea!!)
  • an awesome list of classes (intro to sewing...sign me up!)
  • local handmade art for sale (featuring yours truly)
  • photography services (for a small fee they'll take your Etsy product pics for you!  amazing!)
  • and lastly, I hear there's a kitchen full of snacks too.  Holler!!
They'll be opening in Mid-March...mark it on your calendar and get down there and make something!

Before then, you can go "Like" them on Facebook and sign up for their mailing list for a COUPON for opening day!

Good Luck Aurora!  Can't wait to come see it in person!!!
tags: craft show, other people's art
Tuesday 03.01.11
Posted by mandee rae
 
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