I was enjoying a cup of coffee in my not-so-formal-formal-living-area and was suddenly struck in the face by a wall.  I really was minding my own business and thinking how nicely my formal living area is coming along—slow, but steady progress has been made.  That is I was admiring it until I noticed the large and long wall that joins the formal dining room to the formal living room.  It’s not like I have never seen this wall before—I just chose to ignore it.  Well now I can no longer ignore my boring white wall.  It has jumped out and slapped me square in the nose.  So, for the next hour I contemplated the long and very white wall.  I just stared at it.  And then she arrived.

My muse is not the subtle type.  Oh noooo. She does not simply blow her fine glittery magic dust in a little swirl of brilliance.  She throws a huge fistful of glittery brilliance at my head. Did you know that glitter is sharp and it is quite shocking when suddenly thrown in your FACE?

I suddenly remembered seeing this lovely 1920’s painting titled Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire by Russell Patterson and thought,  “that would look great on that large wall!”

Only, to find a reprint in the size I need is WAY over my budget…which had been $0.00 until I was slapped by a wall and glitterized by a not-so-amusing-muse.

My only option—since I could no longer focus on anything but my very long and very white wall—was to create my own art.  I am creative and talented, but a reproduction of this gorgeous painting was way out of my league.  I contemplated the very long and white wall dilemma for about another hour.

Like a flash of lightning seen out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the largish area rug that was rolled up and leaning in a corner of the room—it was patiently awaiting a trip to the thrift store.

It is four feet by six feet—and BLACK!

If you know where this is headed, then you are one step ahead of where my mind was at that moment.

First, I thought “I will get a wall stencil—some kind of damask—and paint the carpet silver or white.”

After some perusing online I decided that I really didn’t like that idea.

Maybe a landscape stencil?  Nope.  They were all either too expensive or too small.

Big groan. I decided that my muse was mean.  She threw glitter at me and I came up empty handed.   But the idea was still there….simmering.   Then I was struck by more glitter.

Why couldn’t I just make my own stencil? GREAT idea!  So I got out an old roll of wrapping paper and covered the carpet.  Time to get fancy!  Problem.  I can’t draw. I do stick figures and rough idea sketches, but that is as far as I go.  Stupid mean muse!

I’m lying on the carpet that is covered in scribbled on wrapping paper from two Christmases ago still envisioning Patterson’s painting on that wall when my beautiful and brilliant muse drowns me in glitter.  I can’t draw, but I can make a stencil from an existing object!

Another problem—how the heck am I going to enlarge it?  Aha! Microsoft Paint!

Why stop at a simple stencil?  I envision a masterpiece.  I will frame it in crown moulding.  I will use a long silver chain, crystal beads, and silver fabric.

My husband then comes home, and as I am laying out my printed stencil I excitedly explain my brilliant idea.  He says “sounds interesting, what’s for dinner?”

Here is my project thus far.  Oh, and if you read all the way through this chaos, thank you!  I promise to post updates as I work on this monstrous “masterpiece” of mine.

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