Blogger Murals

I am just constantly amazed at the talent of my fellow bloggers out there.  I'm contributing a little trend piece to the Twin Cities' METRO magazine for the November home section, and it got me to thinking about some of the amazing DIY I've consumed (and tried my hand at) in the past year.  One thing has REALLY gotten me lately: hand painted murals.  Particularly wallpaper-inspired murals.

Did you see the de Gournay inspired work in Mrs. Blandings dining room?

Gorgeous.  Did I mention hand painted?  She even gives you instructions, here.

here

Heidi at a Thousand Laughing Starfish had a slightly simpler, less formal take on things in her lovely bedroom. And guess what?  She gives a good how-to, too.

here

here

here

Then of course there's Danika.  Danika may be queen of this right now, with her oversized de Gournay inspired mural in her own entry (top), the paint rendition of everyone's favorite Chiang Mai Dragon (middle), and that amazing take on a China Seas trellis paper, bottom.  Check out her blog for how-tos and lots of other amazing DIY.

As for me, I keep thinking about the large wall in my laundry room as a nice blank canvas.  I'm liking the organic feel of the shapes here:

here

Turns out, these are actually paper panels with cut-outs that let a paint color shine through.  Amazing in their own right, kind of makes me think of this.  At the same time, the overall effect feels hand-stamped, and I'm thinking about making a stamp (a carved linoleum block, maybe?) instead of cutting a stencil.

Alternately, I'm liking the graphic patterns from Aphro Chic, and can see interpreting one of them in my own colors.  How about this ikat:

here

Or this chain link (with embedded kissy faces):

here

Too many projects, but it's nice to have the wheels turning again.

How about you.  Any projects on the horizon?