how to kill a creative slump (with zebras)

For me its simple.
I need to paint something... 
 I have to drag myself to a can of paint and make myself paint something. 

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by my squirrel brain & I get creative paralysis and wind up doing nothing.  I find that this makes me very cranky- just ask those near to me. 

This week amidst a super chaotic reno environment  I forced myself to draw and design the High Fiving Zebras I've had locked up in my head.  
AND make a stencil and start painting them in my office.  

The current view from my desk:
I have been struggling with my office.
Remember where we last left off?...

So a while ago I was planning how I was going to redesign my kid's room & I was contemplating Scalamandre's Zebra awesomness for them. 

 They hated it, but liked the arrows shooting the zebras- what do they know at 5 & 7?

I decided I wanted it in my office, 
 so I decided to reinvent it for me.
This included high fives and donkey kicks. 
Why? 
Because it makes me very happy to look at a high fiving zebra.  Seriously, it does. 
I currently have 12 painted, and like 60 more to go.
But it has been very therapeutic and it is making me come up with more ideas for other spaces (not zebras of course), which is good.

 The mess of my office from outside my new window:
Speaking of new windows...
They are all in! 

Check the before and afters I have currently.

First the sunroom (aka: the hot as balls/or freeze your proverbial nuts off room) is no longer with us.

Here is the before 
(you can use the chimney for a reference point):

 And After:
I can't wait to add new raised beds and a pea stone patio in it's old place.
I am so OK with losing square footage for this.   Looks so much cleaner now.

And then there is the front of the house.  We replaced all the old leaky crank outs with double hungs in an attempt to make it feel more coastal cottagey.

Before:
After, as of this morning.  Still needs to be shingled and trimmed out, & I am so happy with it.


The best improvement was finally losing the 12' long fishbowl window in the front.
You can see how close to the road our house is, and its a pretty active neighborhood, so I always felt like we were on display. 

 Now we have more privacy on the inside... oh, and recessed lights- so much brighter now at night!

see what I was talking about?  
it was like "howdy neighbor, wanna watch TV with us or see my kids pick their nose?..."
before:

Next step is framing/electrical inspections and then we can board and plaster it all up 
and get to the fun part.  Painting and decorating. 

I hope you all have a great weekend! 
If you need me I will be high fiving some zebras.


7 comments:

LindsB said...

AMAZING! Those zebras are a major high five, I love how they look in your office and I cant BELIEVE you are painting each one by hand. I hope after all that work they last
longer than a few months. But if you want to get rid of them just let me know- I'll come with new drywall and cut those pieces out to use in my house :)

Heather said...

I have two boys, the same ages as yours. They bring home these hilarious responses to writing assignments from school where the teacher has asked something benign like "What did you do this weekend?" and they respond with "while I was swimming with Grandpa, Mommy made a sofa"...Your guys are lucky to have you and all your creativity. Those zebras are amazing!

Kat said...

Those zebras are fantastic! I can't wait to see it finished.

I just received some fabric for my kitchen with zebras on it today. I can't wait to use it.

Unknown said...

Did you make the stencil yourself?

Unknown said...

Emily,

Yes... its in two parts. One the shape of the zebra that is all white, the second one is the stripes.

ombdesigns said...

Danika,
It's amazing how creative and talented you are! You never cease to amaze me. The zebras look great and so whimsical in your office!
I love what you did on the other wall with wrapping paper. You inspired me so much that I've gone out to look for some of that same black & white paper (with no luck). If you know where I can some, let me know...my entry wall needs some serious help!
And another thing...that 'burling' effect us fabulous!!
Keep up the fantastic work and good luck with all your renovation...it's fun to see the progress.
Olga

Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse said...

Ah, I see you're a smart lady, changing the windows when the snow hasn't melted yet! Just kidding, I changed mine in November and it as freezing as well! I love the choices you made for your windows!

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