Maggie O’Neill….  where might one begin when paying homage in written form to such an extraordinarily visual lady…First things first…You should probably peep her latest YOUTUBE Video…

Upon my travels with this saucy lady in Morocco I fell smitten and in love with her within seconds… From her studio’s annual Irish celebration parties, to her ‘Kiss me I’m an Artist’ t-shirts  the girl is the epitome of an ArtistE!

Once known as   ‘the dating artist’ ….(she had 30 dates, did 30 paintings…one about each)…I would have loved to have gone to THAT art opening.  Oh, I forgot to mention, she met her future husband on this arty dating adventure…but that’s a whole other story… (He had her when he did his kick ass WORM on the dance floor!) For those of you unfamiliar with the worm…recognize!

Maggie can also be found painting portraits of the seasons latest dresses for Neiman Marcus!  When she is not busy practicing her Wedding Worm routine she is busying her self by painting for the likes of this Falls Desperate Housewives of D.C. (Be sure to look for her on Bravo this Fall!).

The girl oozes talent and creativity, but mostly she SPARKLES and Glistens all things related to paint and positivity…  be on the look out for this classy color lover…something tells me she will be taking over the world just about any day now.

Oh yes and she also has the  most adorably high dimples and her signature ” paddles”  for thumbs that help her get all that painting done and swim really fast… Hey ladies, even cowgirls get the blues!

She does a whole slew of talented painty things out of her O’neill Studios in DC.  The girl is a vision…an inspiration…a HOOT and it should be in a textbook somewhere that  all artists, especially of the female kind should know her name!

For your stalking pleasure, here is a list of all things Maggie O’Neill….now do the worm and get down on it!

O”Neill Studios

Traveled to Morocco with a gorgeous and talented group of Peacock Painter Ladies…and stayed at the ever so beautiful Peacock Pavilions.

and this little LULU helped Melanie Royals and the other Peacock Painters complete this masterpiece, one teeny tiny embroidered “ish” stencil at a time…

This little LULU also slept in the following sweetly stenciled Peacock Pavilions room. 

Lastly, this little LULU fell in love… with the colors, patterns, people, and places that danced through Marrakesh by her side, in front of her, and above! Oh did they ever inspire her so…

but more on these joyous folks some other day…(Maryam and her tales…oh this and oh that…makes me gush just thinking about her)

Yellow, Black, White, PINK

An unforgettable image from Lost in Translation.  Visually descriptive, enough so that every time I see a photo of this place I get excited in anticipation to hopefully meet these walls someday.  Reminds me of moments I’ve shared with a dear old pal of mine back in Ellsworth, Maine.

As a 90% visual person I can appreciate the loud silence against such a crisp backdrop far better than any dialogue that could have been embedded this scene.

A treasure indeed!

Roman & Williams from The Scout on Vimeo.

“…sort of taboo in our society where individuality is, like, the highest most sacred thing and i pride myself on being very individualistic, but i also love to submit myself to something more important.”- Stephen Alesch”

What an inspiring video to begin the day with.  Its such a delight to be reminded of something larger than ourselves.  In this industry we are continually invited into the homes and establishments of our clients with open arms.  I catch myself getting stressed or bombarded with pressures at times and strive to find that perfect balance of a job well done and taking things to the next level of service.

This video was such a pleasant reminder that its not just walls, or rooms, or spaces, but places that invoke “feelings” .  Just like the food we put into our bodies, our sacred  spaces hold a key to reminding us or taking us somewhere outside of ourselves.

Blessings!

Stripes add some fun to a teenagers wall

Here are the colors I used!

• Whitall Brown HC-69
• Damsel SW 7576
• Reflecting Pool SW 6486
• Plummy SW 6558
• Gypsy Pink 2077-20
• Bronze Tone 2166-30
• 2087-60
• Henderson Buff BM

Here is a photo of the cute little design I did in her other daughters room.  Inspired by a painting that she bought for her daughter off Etsy.

By gawly we sure have fun coming up with things!  Everyday painting at Steph’s house is a blast!  Thanks for the inspiration and please let me know once the room is all decorated and cute!

Cyril and Gino Stripes Movement

These stripes were found on Apartment Therapy by my client but they are the inspiration for the focal wall!

Recently we did some fun branch like swirls with cute little dotty accents in one of her daughters rooms. Now I get the pleasure of getting my hands on the other kiddos walls. Or one focal wall that is. I’ll be doing an array of stripes, all different widths in about 7 different colors.

Here is where it gets really juicy….the colors are a total mystery.  I wont know what colors Steph has in mind until I get there Thursday to do the project!  Hip Hip Hooray for the unknown!  I’ll be sure to post a picture of the outcome!

In the meantime…Here are some other stripes for you to hype all over!

Coastal Living

I adore these colors together…so calming and playful!

Diagonal Stripes

Delish, Retro, Modern, & Chic Diagonal Stripes

Happy Painting Ya’ll!

I haven’t made my way to the legs of the table yet…but…I thought I would share this article with all of you for inspiration on how to jazz things up a bit on a console table!

Console Table Project

Kitchen Table with Cloth

LIVING ETC.

Here is the DIY instructions as copied from the article in Living Etc.

Turn an old dining table from staid to stunning with these DIY ideas

How to do it

Step 1) Paint a neutral base coat over the whole table.

Step 2) Once dry, mask out different-width stripes before filling them in with your chosen colour palette. Darker colours will need three or four coats.

Tip: to prevent colours from bleeding when the masking tape is removed, use a very fine brush to paint along the edges of the tape with the base colour.

Step 3) Make sure you paint part on the tape and part on the table for a neat seal. Carefully peel off the masking tape, then use a clear matt varnish to strengthen the finish.

Tip: why not use up old sample pots of paint for your stripes?

What you need

Stripes painted in Famille Rose, City Grey, Lagoon, Lichen, Black and Mushroom acrylic eggshell, Zoffany.

Here’s a photo of my table!

my little project!

ready made wine bottle

I saw this idea in Ready Made Magazine over the Holidays… What a fun idea in general for dinner parties, gifts, or I guess just the heck of it.  The article suggested you do this with Trader Joe’s 2 buck chuck…  I suppose that’s crafty and all but I can’t really handle that stuff.  I guess if its for the purpose of drinkable art, I could gladly make an exception!

Here are some other fresh painted bottles…

sweet!

and…

Van G

Want to know how to do this Van Gogh bottle?

Go the Crafty Nesty Goodies site for step by step instructions!

enjoy ya’ll!  <3 lulu

Have a lady friend that’s getting married this year?

Well…take your eyes away from the zebra sheets and bring them over to the cute little blue painting of a dress on the built-in, just to the right of the pin board.  I saw this and thought!  ‘When my best girlfriends get married I’m going to make a sweet little painting of their wedding gowns for them to keep as a reminder of how beautiful it is’

It could be smaller….more abstract…colorful…who knows… but so many wedding gowns just sit in closets, or worse basements and go forgotten except for a few choice photos displayed in your home.  This would be an original way to always remember a special day, with a little help from an artistic friend naturally!

xo lulu