ARTWORK by JoJo: Golden Pineapple

One of my favorite summertime trends is the PINEAPPLE!

You see it EVERYWHERE!

In fashion, in accessories, in fabric, etc, etc, etc....

So, I decided to do a little summertime ode to the pineapple. 

In the form of a golden pineapple!

Acrylic on 11" x 14" Canvas Board | Golden Pineapple 

Instagram Shot | jojoherda

Have you jumped on the summertime pineapple band wagon?

If so, what?! I'd love to know.

"Golden Pineapple" will be available at Lost... antiques this weekend!

Coffee Table Styling

I recently spent some time procrastinating styling our coffee table with some pretty florals and fun accents.

Instagram Shot : jojoherda

Instagram Shot : jojoherda

I love to incorporate color in our home through florals. It's a temporary addition which can be enjoyed for the week or so then we can move on to another color scheme with some new florals. 

It's not that often when I can bring pink into the color scheme of our home... especially with my 9 year old boy... that is a color that isn't really "allowed" much. So, it's wonderful to be able to enjoy some pink through flower arrangements!

I enjoyed layering texture, height and materials in this little vignette.

I keep pretty much simplistic styling overall in our home, so it is a lot of fun to get to create such a fun space!

The flowers are still looking fresh... so, I get to enjoy pink for a little while longer! 

So, which color scheme will I get to play with next?

Maybe something a little patriotic: red, white and blue?!

Linking up to Not Just A Housewife and Thrifty Decor Chick link parties.

WORDS: Love You

I grew up in a family who would walk you to your car when you would leave our home. Stand around said car for about another 20 minutes saying "good-bye"... provide embraces and generate some giggles with last minute memories of our time together. Then, we would stand there side-by-side with each other waving with full gusto until your car was out of site. Then, and only then, would we head back inside.

This is still how it goes several decades later. But, now I have passed on this good-bye ritual to my hubby... and to my kiddo. People may laugh, people may not get it, but then.... some do.

source

Give a kiss, a hug and an "I Love You" to someone today.
Happy Monday, Friends!

ARTWORK by JoJo : Inspired by Nature

I've had a few things inspire me these last few days.

First.... my peonies. They are opening up just lovely enough for a special dinner guest tomorrow night.

Instagram : JoJoHerda

I love how vibrant pink the peonies are, but yet they have the lighter more subtle pink hue.

Secondly, I LOVE how these peacock feathers are just electrifying and radiant with pink, blue, green and golds.

I LOVE all the natural texture in both!
Simply gorgeous!

Sourced from image on Pinterest

 So, below is how all those pretty things played out onto canvas for me. 

Acrylic on 11" x 14" Canvas Board | Crush on You | Available at Lost...antiques

I love being inspired by nature!
On another note: I wish peony season was a little longer.

Have a wonderful Friday and weekend, friends!

The Piano Make Over

Although this project was completed in the summer of 2011, it is forever etched into my heart. My friend had purchased a thrifted piano and I helped her transform the piece into an ode to Rockabilly Music.

I had posted about it on my old blog, but I received several requests to share the steps again. 

So, here it goes:

Red, white, turquoise and RHINESTONES... what's not to love?!

STEPS to BRING NEW LIFE to a PIANO

a.k.a How to paint a piano.

1. Gather supplies

Painter's Tape

Screw Driver

Primer [We used Zinsser in the Gold/Brown can] oil-based

Floetrol [for even paint strokes - use with paint color]

Paint Color(s) of Choice [We used Valspar Paints from Lowe's]

Good Paint Brushes [for oil-based and acrylic]

Paint Thinner [for cleaning oil-based used paint brushes]

Plastic Containers [for mixing Floetrol with Paint Color]

MinWax Polycrylic [water-based protectant]

Sand Paper [gentle to rough grade grit]

Tack Cloth [for dusting the piano]

Puddy Knife for any Wood Filler Needs

Wood Filler

Brasso [for any metal polishing needs]

Rags and Plastic

Any Extra Accessories [like rhinestones]

BEFORE v. AFTER

2. Dismantle

For ease of painting, drying, and everything sane. We dismantled the piano. You don't have to perform this step, but we did not want a caked-up-glob-of-mess in the spaces throughout the piano. Plus, the piano tuner described exactly what we needed to do... and it was easy. Just required a screw driver... and I would recommend 2 people.

We worked on each individual piece.

Even the piano bench top.

3. PROTECT the Keys

We used painter's tape. We also added towels to the top of the strings for additional protection. 

[Tape and towels may be seen in Step 5.]

4. Sand

Make sure the piece is clean {and dry} before starting this step....

We sanded the entire piano. Not too much... with a medium grade sand paper. About 5 minutes of light sanding on each spot. Enough to get any uneven spots or blemishes even. Prior to this step, if your piece has marks or chunks of missing wood, use a wood filler, let dry, and sand that portion to even. You don't have to sand all the varnish off.  As long as your surface is smooth, clean and you apply primer... the surface should withstand use. We utilized a tack cloth to wipe all the dust off the piece after sanding was completed.

5. Prime

We utilized Zissner's Oil-based Primer in the Gold/Brown can. I ALWAYS have to remind myself that any piece will look horrible after priming. It just does. It's not a smooth looking paint job, it's not solid, and it just looks awful. This project was no different. I really had to hype myself up that it was going to look awesome once we started getting some paint on this thing.

We used one coat of primer and let dry completely overnight. It's really important to prime. It provides a great base for the paint to adhere to the piece. And on such an instrument that is going to get a lot of use and traffic, primer {and sealant} is so important.

6. Paint

We used Floetrol to help decrease/eliminate any brush streaks in our final product. We followed the recipe on the bottle. This little bottle isn't necessarily cheap, but it will last F-O-R-E-V-E-R! So, worth the effort and so worth the extra dry time that will be needed. It extends the dry time to help eliminate the drag drying paint and the paint brush strokes create.

We used a high gloss paint... but the Floetrol will reduce some of the gloss since it is, in essence, diluting the paint. But, we weren't worried about the gloss/shine since we were going to add several coats of acrylic protectant.

We used 3 coats of aqua paint. We could have stopped at 2 [you will probably need at lest 2] but, there was still quite a bit of paint left over in the little cup. We still have about 3/4 of a gallon of paint left!

We then painted the second color [a bright beautiful red!] on selected areas. The turned legs really provided a great element to emphasize!  We also decided to paint the inside of the piano bench with the red. It provides a nice surprise PUNCH when opening to look for sheet music... hehehe.

We then painted the music stand white, along with another ring on the piano legs.

Note: In between coats, the surface may be lightly sanded to smooth out any streaks or clumps/drips that may appear. Use a tack cloth to wipe down the area after any sanding.

7. Water-Based Polycrylic Top Coat Protectant

We utilized the Minwax Polycrylic Water-Based Top Coat Protectant. We did this not only for the protection, but for the added high gloss. The directions state to apply at least 2 coats. We did 3 coats [4 coats on the piano seat].

We reassembled some parts of the piano prior to applying the polycrylic.... but you need to be very careful, because any moving parts could become stuck while drying. Use your judgement when deciding the appropriate time to reassemble your piano.

8. Polish the Metal

We used Brasso to polish the pedals and knobs. I was expecting it to work nicely... but not this well!

I couldn't believe my eyes! I thought the pedals were really worn down. Like, couldn't-be-shined-because-the-actual-metal-was-damaged-and-pitted... WRONG! This stuff worked wonders! Brought new life to those pedals!

9. LET DRY!

Seriously, we let the polycrylic dry for at least 48 hours. It was more like 3-4 days! Worth the wait!

We added the rhinestones after the polycrylic completely dried.

10. ENJOY!!!!!

If you perform a personal project such as this... ENJOY your hard work.

Sit back, relax... take in all the hard work, time, energy, joy, passion, and... 

love that was poured into it! 

After all, you deserve a pat on the back and the thrill of relishing in the new life you helped birth!

I did not receive any payment or incentives on the products or stores I have mentioned in the above post. 
Linking up to Not Just A Housewife and Thrifty Decor Chick link parties.

Happy Father's Day

I was blessed to have a wonderful earthly father.

I have been a Daddy's girl since the moment I entered this world.

I love my dad.

I love my daddy very very much!

But, as I was growing up with all that love for my daddy.... I didn't understand that he was providing me with the foundation of fatherly love that I would look for in a man one day. I was unaware that the very components of what I was grateful for in my dad, I would come to see in another man... another dad.

When I met my hubby, he almost instantaneously became my best friend.

When I married my best friend, he instantaneously became my everything on this earth.

When I saw my everything on this earth hold my everything God knitted together in my womb... 

that was just the beginning of an even greater love.

My Best Friend and his son.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads.... the Daddy's... the Best Friends... the wonderful men in the world that have heeded the call to be an amazing earthly Father!

ARTWORK by JoJo: This one is for me

I made an awesome purchase for our master bathroom this week: a large gold Greek key mirror!

It is gorgeous and I just need to install it now between the two modern mirrors above our sinks. Hopefully, I can get a good shot of it in our bathroom to share with y'all. But until then, I wanted to share this piece I did to balance out the white and gold in our bathroom. That's right.... I'm keeping this one!

Acrylic on 24" x 36" Canvas | Head to Toe

I LOVE all the heavy texture going on. For now it is unframed, but I think I will frame it in a gold floater frame.
It will look just lovely!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.
And a Lovely and Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

CRUSH: Parker Kennedy Living

Even though my home's color palette is that of neutral tones as seen here, I LOVE color in design.

I tried bold colors in our space during the first year of us living here. I used teal, yellow, blue, and reds. I enjoyed the vignettes in my home, but we found that they were in constant battle over our view. Seeing how we have floor to ceiling windows on one entire side of our home overlooking downtown Dallas.... we realized that we were never going to win the battle. I had to let the view be the star of the decorative design of our home. Therefore, I started my shift towards a neutral color scheme throughout our space. Embellishing it with crystal, gold, unique and shiny objects to add interest. This way our eyes and spirits were calmed and soothed within the walls of the home, but once the eyes extended past the windows and into the view of downtown, they could get lost in all the activity and bussel.

All that being said.... I CAN NOT starve myself from color. I have a LOVE... and OBSESSION with color. And I get to fulfill my cravings through pretty stationary, accessories to fill my office, jewelry, and.... through instagram. Yep, instagram. 

I started following Parker Kenedy Living awhile ago. I realized that I have actually admired their work for quite some time and just didn't know who was behind it.

Foyer Design by Parker Kennedy Living

Parker and Kennedy Living is an interior design group based out of Atlanta. Lance Jackson and David Ecton are the fabulous co-founders and you can read more about their expertise and wonderfulness here.

Designed by Parker Kennedy Living

Designed by Parker Kennedy Living

Aren't these spaces just A-M-A-Z-I-N-G?!?!?!
You're welcome.

Now, if you are like me and what to continuously see fabulous inspiration, follow them on Instagram right now... here!

I just wish I lived closer to Atlanta, because they also have some absolutely wonderful sales from their warehouse. Sigh....

Designed by Parker Kennedy Living

Designed by Parker Kennedy Living

Cabana Designed by Parker Kennedy Living

I am thankful for these two guys... they have brought COLOR back into my world again!

So, Lance and David.... I say, "THANK YOU!"

Designed by Parker Kennedy Living

ARTWORK by JoJo : Grey, White, and Green

I LOVE being busy!

I LOVE creating!

And since kiddo is officially "out of school" for summer, it leaves me more time to create...

I LOVE IT!

Acrylic on 36" x 36" Canvas | November Rain

Although kiddo still does some studies during the summer months, I don't have to grade tests and plan a set schedule for curriculum. So, we both feel like we are free.... free.... free!

And that means I am free to PAINT more than normal... to create more than normal!
Recently, I painted several new pieces.  Here they are: neutrals [I discussed in the previous post] and a new addition to the "Pixel Series" in GREEN.

Acrylic on 24" x 36" Canvas | Angel of Harlem

Acrylic on 30" x 40" Canvas | Two Steps Forward

All of these pieces are available in my space at Lost....antiques in the Dallas Design District. I also added several new vintage finds to the space. So, if you are in the area.... go and check it out! Spend a nice Summer Day just browsing around the awesome Dallas Design District!

There are so many great places to check out. Here are just a few of my FAVORITES:
Lost... Antiques
Again and Again
Dallas Contemporary
Scout Design Studio
Meddlesome Moth - food
Ascension - coffee house

Acrylic on 30" x 40" Canvas | Holiday

So... here is to a CREATIVE and BUSY summer!
Cheers... cheers!

ARTWORK by JoJo: Small Neutrals

I've been busy here on Floor 24.

Painting.... and painting... and more painting!

It has been extremely wonderful!

I've mainly been working on several neutral pieces. Some framed and on the smaller size like these shown below and some larger canvas pieces. Plus I am adding to the Pixel Collection with some new color combinations. I can't wait to show you all the finished pieces!

But, until then.... I'll keep on painting and you keep on being FABULOUS!

Acrylic on 11" x 14" Canvas Board | When Doves Cry | Framed

Acrylic on 11" x 14" Canvas Board | This is What it Sounds Like | Framed

These look amazing framed in their 2" metallic but traditional-style frames!
They will available by the end of the week at Lost...antiques.