Stress Painting
My world has been absolutely turned upside down right now, anyone with me? Oh good, I knew you guys would understand! Things have been ridiculously hard, stressful, and overwhelming. I just got to the point where I had no words...which is why I haven't been on here in a while (Thank you for your patience!). And I'm not even talking about what's happening in our world right now!
We have had one thing after another. Like crazy amounts of stress that has included tons of health issues (seizures, broken arms, etc.), relationship issues, financial stress. I have been going through things that have made me question myself, question my methods, question my sanity! Ha! I guess it's just regular life X's 100. Tell me you guys have been there too!
So on a whim, I decided to do something that usually helps me to let off some steam, I got creative! You've heard of stress eating? Well I stress paint! That's my go-to for helping me have a better attitude. I make, change, decorate, bake, or create something that makes me happy! And it helps turn my bad attitude around.
I'm also kinda tired of being bossed around by everyone and feeling judged by everyone, and all the fighting and the bickering going on everywhere these days and I started feeling a little rebellious. I wanted to do something a little edgy. I wanted to do something a little dramatic. (Well for me anyway!) I wanted to break some rules!
So, you guys know I home school, right? I've got to the point where I need some better organization with our school room, which is also our dining room. I'm schooling 5 kids this year and everything is just falling out of the one little bookshelf that we use. I have no where to put a lot of the craft supplies that we use every day, which my little kids are into constantly. Here is a picture of the space we are currently using...

You see that cabinet right there? Don't even try to open those doors because papers and coloring books and letters and probably a chalkboard will literally come flying at you! See the nice ice cream tubs up there holding our makers and crayons and pencils? Fancy, right? Well right now they are all broken and lost their lids and they're left all over the place! Ugh! I can't stand it.
I started day dreaming about some solutions to this debacle and I found this...
It was like the halleluiah chorus was singing as soon as I saw it! My husband is an amazing man that can build or do anything, so I knew he could handle it. And it wasn't hard to talk him into it because he knows how much we need more storage (aka markers and lids all over the floor and table) and it was our anniversary last week and I told him it could be "our" present. (I love practical gifts that make my life easier!) Win, win!
Since my husband has been busy on another project I decided to jump ahead and paint the dining room in preparation for this new desk that we were going to build. (By "we" I mean he'll build it, but I'll paint it!) The summertime is my time off from school and about the only time I can get any projects done.
So this is where the rebellious and edgy part of me came out. I decided to jump head first into something pretty radical, at least for me. You know how they say that the rooms of your home are supposed to flow together and how you're supposed to keep a tight color palette, at least with your main rooms? Well I decided to throw that rule out the window! I was thumbing through an old magazine and I came across this photo...
I was so drawn to it! I kept coming back to it and looking at it over time and again. I kept telling myself it was crazy to think of painting my room this color, but I couldn't get away from it. I casually mentioned it to my husband, and by a miracle he was on board! I was so nervous about it! I kept going back and forth if I really wanted to do this! I could be screwing up my whole house! Then I read this meme...

It felt like that was just for me! And I decided to jump in! I was just going to go for it! It's only paint right? That's what I told myself anyway, but even as I was standing at the paint counter ordering the paint my knees were knocking a little.
The next morning I got up and jumped right in. I decided to start with one wall only, because I thought that would give me a good idea if I liked it and would be easy to paint over if necessary. But one wall wasn't enough, I just kept going. And my room went from this to this...


What a difference a day makes! I loved it!! It was so worth it! Phew! Of course, one thing leads another and I decided to paint my kitchen cabinets the same color as well. They are already a sort of french farmhouse blue color, at least that's what I call it.

That will be my next project. But things are slowing down a little because I actually hurt my back doing all this crazy painting, trying to relieve my stress. Can you believe that?! And now I'm laid up for a while. Ugh! More stress, but I'm trying to keep my sense of humor through it all! Hopefully I'll be back to full health soon and I'll get to show you all the reveal of our completed dining room! We will see!
Let me know what you think of my navy blue dining room!
