Simple, Changeable Art with free printable

The MudRoom view, complete with Clark

We have lived in our home for almost 8 years.  That doesn't sound like that long, but with three boys and two dogs running around, we have sustained some damage.  One of the hardest hit areas in our house is the MudRoom.  It is that area just off the garage that collects backpacks, shoes, coats, and basically anything that should go back to the garage. . . but hasn't yet!  I also had my recycling bin in the MudRoom. 

I really wanted to do a complete re-do and put up beadboard, but I chickened out.  I would love to put in a cushioned bench, but it would be in the way of the central vac, so I went with a simple paint job.  I just spackled the walls like crazy to deal with holes and dings and re-painted the original color.  I may still paint an accent wall, but I love so many colors that I cannot settle on one!

Anyway, I wanted there to be a happy, inspirational feeling when we come into the house, so new artwork was important.  I think we still need the magnet board that used to grace this space, but it will be getting a makeover, too! (Coming soon!)  Several years ago (yeah, years) I bought these four frames.  They were unfinished wood and I have just kept them out in the garage.  I guess they must have been on sale- I have no idea if I had a project in mind when I bought them!

To paint the frames, I first put a light coat of brown on the edges.  Nothing fancy, but I knew that I was going to eventually sand the edges and I wanted some depth.  Then I painted two coats of white.  I used plain, old acrylic paints that I bought from WalMart.  My goal is to use them up so that I can justify buying some of Martha Stewart's new paint line.  It looks fabulous!!!   After the paint dried I lightly sanded the edges with a sanding block.  I may go back in a few days and distress them some more, but it is a lot easier to take off more paint than it is to put it on, so I wanted to live with it.

For the art, I had bought some beautiful papers from sei a few weeks ago that I have been excited to use.  I wanted a quote to kind of tie things together.  I found out a few days ago that a friend of mine has pancreatic and liver cancer.  Not a good prognosis- in fact, she may choose to forego treatment.  Those situations always make me think and I thought this particul.ar quote would help me keep things in the proper focus.   For my project the frame openings are 8x8, so everything was cut to that size.

If you like the quote, please feel free to download it in either orange or green.  All the design is original work by me, so there is no copyright infringement.  They are in 12 x 12 format, but you can print them smaller if you need to.

Life is a Gift- green Download
Life is a Gift- orange Download

I have really been debating whether I should leave the wrought iron decoration black or if I should paint it white.  I feel pulled towards white, but I have a lot of iron in my home so it feels more connected by leaving it black.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Lewis wanted equal time.  He's a sweetie!