Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Christmas Mantel with Lattice Christmas Trees

I had this huge sheet of lattice... you know the big sheet you buy from Lowe's... that we had been using in my mom's antique booth/my art space!

However...

we didn't need it anymore.  So, I brought it home wondering...

what am I going to do with a sheet of lattice?

It was around the same time I had been thinking about my Christmas Mantel and had no clue what to do this year.

And then the light bulb went off in my head and I came up with...

Lattice Christmas Trees!

So… here is my latest Christmas Creation for this year’s

Christmas Mantel!

Lattice Christmas Trees

All I did was take my big sheet of lattice and find the shapes I wanted & marked them out with pencil. 

Creative Ambitions Blog

I suggest that you either staple or glue the parts of the lattice

that are not stapled together… 

If you don’t… it will all fall apart as you cut it and you may lose the pattern! 

From Creative Ambitions Blog

And just remember that you have to cut through it… so watch out for any metal from the staples and cut around them!  I used a jigsaw to cut my triangle shapes out.  I cut different size triangles.  Next… I would glue to together my shapes… back to back… and glue a strip to the bottom of the triangle to finish framing it.

From Creative Ambitions

Then,

I chose to stack them and glue them…

one on top of the other… to make it look like a tree.

Here is the rest of the my Christmas Mantel…

Christmas Mantel 2014 (a)

I simple propped the Lattice Christmas Trees on some stacked cut wood rounds that I have used on several of my mantel displays and leaned them against the wall.

Creative Ambitions Blog Lattice Trees

Lights were strung up behind them to highlight their diamond shapes more…

and to make it look really Christmas-y!!

It’s like having my own little Woodland Christmas Tree Forest!

Christmas Mantel 2014 (b)

Christmas Mantel Creative Ambitions

I saw these CUTE tall plaid reindeer at Target today for $15 each

(but didn’t buy Sad smile).

2014-12-08

Thought they would look cute standing by the Lattice Trees!

Christmas Mantel

Hope you enjoyed my Christmas Mantel 2014

with

Lattice Christmas Trees!

Christmas Mantel by Creative Ambitions

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Luke 2:1-20

Links to all my Seasonal Mantel Displays can be found HERE.

Linking to:

(12 Days of Christmas Party)

Songbird: Christmas Mantels

Remodelaholic:  Homemade Christmas 

 

Monday, October 13, 2014

A Trip to Vermont And Some Inspired Art

Just wanted to share a few pics
 from a recent trip to Vermont.
What a beautiful place!
 Everywhere we visited had quaint little towns with that ol' time-y charm and character.




And wow... that famous fall color... just beautiful!


This is us in Woodstock, Vermont...

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Fall Mantel 2014

Fall is right around the corner...
the cool breeze, no humidity, the smell of outdoor firewood burning, leaves falling... 
I love it!!

As most of you may know...
every year... 
I try to do a fall mantel.

This year was no exception...
And of course... 
I had to bring out the ol' hammer, paint, and glue on this one.

My house was under construction for a few days.

But I got it finished!
Sooo...
here is my Fall Mantel for 2014...

Welcome to my
Pumpkin Patch!


I decided to go a little arts and crafty on this one.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

DIY Backyard Makeover... part two

Finally finished!! 

Well, sorta... 
still adding little touches here and there... but the heavy hard work is finally finished! 

This is the continuation of our DIY backyard makeover...

In this post here... I took you through the journey of our back yard issues and our redo(s) along the way.

But finally... I can show you what our backyard looks like now...

It went from this...


To this...

Friday, July 11, 2014

Some Paintings I’ve Been Working On

 

Hi again everyone!  Two posts in one week… that’s a wow for me!

I just wanted to share with you some paintings I’ve been working on in the midst of our backyard makeover.

I try to get some creative time in when it’s raining or too hot outside to work.

I LOVE painting and creating… so here you go…

Girl Playing Guitar

So enjoyed painting this gal and her guitar!

Folk Flower Painting

And… I always have to throw some Folk Flower Paintings in the mix!

Folk Flower Crate Art

This one is painted on one of those Shipping Crate Table Panels I’ve been holding on to for awhile now.

And last… but not least…

Cow Wing Back Chair Painting

This painting (it’s a biggy) actually started out as something else… but after some frustration with it… I wiped the slate clean and painted this…

it is one of my FAVS this summer and I may do a series of them!

As you can tell… I’ve been in a colorful mood with my art here lately… and loving it!

KJoyner Art

I am always thinking about selling my paintings again… I’m in the process of trying to figure out where and when.

Thanks for stopping by… hope you enjoyed! 

 

 

Friday, May 23, 2014

Our DIY Backyard Project… Seven Years In The Making (So Far)

 

We’ve been working on our backyard ever since we moved in 7 years ago.  We initially put in a lot of hard work… was fine with that…

until we weren’t…

and then we changed it up all over again!

Backyard Project

This is what it first looked like when we moved in.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Reflecting Back on My Art

 

Just reflecting back on some of my art today.  

Most of it was VERY COLORFUL pieces!

Folk Flower Art By KJoyner

I don’t know if some of you even knew that I use to paint and sell online… and maybe some of you bought some paintings from me?   It was a complete leap of faith I took a few years ago… like quitting my job leap of faith and pursuing art and painting.  

Women Abstract Art By KJoyner

As with most things… it took a few months to get established and to start developing a customer base… with those who began to collect some of my work.

 Cat Art By KJoyner

Unfortunately, it was around the time when the economy busted and sales dropped to a point I couldn’t continue pursuing it.  

Folk Women Art By KJoyner

I have yet to take that leap of faith again since the economy has slightly improved…

but I do think about it.

Crab Art by KJoyner 

In the meantime…  I just wanted to share some of my previous work that I sold online. 

Sea Art by KJoyner

Folk Fish Art By KJoyner

I was very much into colorful beach type artwork but was able to try my hand at other types of art, as well.

Fancy Girl by KJoyner

I often wonder if people are still enjoying the paintings they bought from me.

Anyway…

I leave with you some of my most recent work…

Mixed Media Art By KJoyner

My use of Color and Style has definitely evolved some.

And just to let you know…

I still enjoy my home décor styling and DIY projects I do here on Creative Ambitions. 

But…

Painting is also a passion of mine… it’s my escape and the joy that comes from it is beyond words! 

Hope you enjoyed my walk down memory “art” lane today!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Friday, March 21, 2014

Spring Mantel 2014

 

It’s

 Spring Time

And well… that means it’s Mantel Time!

This one is a little different than my normal displays…

Spring Mantel Front

I kept it simple and “flow-y”… light and bright!

I created a window by using an old canvas art frame… along with foam core to create fake windowpanes.

(I didn’t have a gigantic old window… so I improvised)

In other words… got creative!!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Another Inspired Decorative Display Dress Form



Once upon a time…

I made my own decorative display dress form (from scratch)… tutorial here.

I made it out of paper mache.

It was a long and tedious project… but of course…

fun and adventurous at the same time!

Decorative Dress Form Tutorial

This time

I used The Polka Dot Closet’s way… (thank you Carol!!)

I bought one from Barr Display

So much easier…lol!

I love Carol’s work and have been so inspired by her dress forms!

Polka Dot Closet Forms

Ok… gorgeous right?

I’ve been wanting to make my own for awhile now…

And so… I finally made one…

Here she is!

Decorative Display Form

Not too “shabby”… eh?

I really love the way she turned out!

I used a hollow back form from Barr Display.

The base is #8020 and the form is #8020W if ordering…

they are two separate items.

Thanks to Carol (The Polka Dot Closet) for the inspiration and all the info on her blog…

and thanks to Barr Display for an easy shopping experience!

Monday, February 17, 2014

HGTV.com Feature… Unique Hardware


A few months ago Marian from Miss Mustard Seed asked if she could use a photo from my quirky Tractor Steering Wheel Curtain Hangers post in an article she was writing for HGTV.com on window treatments.

Tractor Wheels

((it’s the post where I couldn’t decide how to hang the curtains…

so I asked for your help… and gave a ton of options… remember??))

Click HERE…

Tractor Wheel Curtain Hangers Idea

Anywho…

I love those emails!!

Of course… as I was reading it… I was all like…

What??  Are you serious?  YES… YES!! 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!  WooHoo!!  

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

And then just the other day… I saw where it was showing up in my stats…

And wow… here it is…

hgtv feature window treatment

http://www.hgtv.com/window-treatments/18-clever-window-treatment-ideas-under-18/pictures/page-13.html

So thrilled and honored to be included with some amazing, creative talent in this article on window treatments!

Thank you Marian and HGTV.com for the feature!

((click here to also see my mantel featured on hgtv.com))

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Our Sweet Husky, Neeko

 

The last three months have been a whirlwind for me.

My fur-baby, Neeko, became very ill.

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As some of you know… Neeko was our last fur-baby of three and he got sick back in November.  We had WEEKLY visits to the vet for two and a half months… but never could find out what was wrong… so we assume some type of cancer or autoimmune disease made him sick.

Neeko husky

He would recover and then get sick, recover and then get sick and then recover.

We had such high hopes he would pull through it all.

Sadly, he had a setback in February that he just could not recover from.

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My heart hurts as I write this… it’s still so fresh… so new to us that he is gone.   Neeko brought SO MUCH LOVE and JOY into our home.  He was such a great, fun loving dog. 

  We soooo miss his company.  We are dealing with that “empty house” syndrome right now.  Still reeling around the fact that he is actually gone. 

He was such a good companion for us… a PERFECT MATCH for us.

Ray and Neeko

He BLESSED our life greatly!

So many GOOD memories!

Neeko Tribute

 We miss and love you sweet Neeko!

 

 

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Winter Mantel 2014


Happy New Year Everyone!

That means the Christmas décor is gone and my Winter Mantel is up!

This year’s mantel was created with a few thrift store finds…

Winter Mantel (front view)

along with some things I already had… which makes for some very

inexpensive décor.