Budget creativity

 A little vision, some lumber, a canvas drop cloth, some house paint, a bunch of round things to trace, and a staple gun were all this one cost.  The girl eating toast was sold separately.  

 Some decorative sheet metal cut in front of the glass and the fun stainless pulls really dressed these cabinets up.  Thank you ebay for having pulls at nearly 1/3rd the price of Lowe's!  

 This island was VERY bland, so we glued on some wainscot.  Posts were going to be $50 each, so we found a cedar rail for $16, cut it down, cut the corner out with a circular saw, painted it and wow what a difference.

 We found a huge painting at the Goodwill for $10, a portrait no doubt done by some lovesick teenager. One would be safe in the assumption that this teens artistic career ended soon upon completion of this particular piece of work an as the frightful image nearly brought us to tears each time we looked at the wretched thing.  In fact we rather hope he has found his niche safely apart from society behind bars.  BUT, the canvas was large, I (Joel) saw potential and soon painted over it and ended with this representation of a tree.  

I (Marianne) am quite impressed with Joel's artistic skills.  Our whole marriage he's insisted he has zero ability with a paintbrush or pencil.  Well, these paintings show quite the contrary!  I'm very proud.

 From a different angle.  This thing is like 8 feet wide.

 Here was a frame we had laying around which Marianne painted.  She ordered enough fabric to make a pillow, and ended up with some left over, so into the frame it went.  (clever girl!)  I think its fantastic, don't you?

One day Marianne got it into her head to make a chevron painting, and so she did.  She is so fun, when she decides to do something, she just does it.  I think the conversation went something like this:  (her)  "I really want to make a chevron painting for the kitchen, I think it would be so cute."  (me) "huh?  Yeah ok."  1hr later  she has magically conjured this painting from a board and some house paint.  Amazing.