I [HEART] Papaya Art

Inspiration can be found in everything that surrounds you. Sounds, scents, textures, flavors, and images all work together to create memorable experiences and boundless channels for creativity.

Artists have a gift for creating beauty as well as inspiration, and that is why I'm head over heels, in love, with Papaya Art.

I first saw one of their pieces in Patina, a local gift shop, and was fascinated. I believe it was either a magnet, or a journal that caught my eye, either way, the eclectic design, beautiful colors, and inspiring words had me at hello.

I began collecting a few of their pieces and would like to share them with you, hoping that you can enjoy their beauty as much as I do.


My bedroom, notice the two Canvas prints on either side of the bed. The room used to be a dark burnt orange color and I wanted to liven it up a bit, so I choose the paint color "In your eyes" by Benjamin Moore. (I don't know if it was the actual color, or the name that was the deciding factor. The whole time I was painting the room I was waiting for John Cusack to appear in front of my house holding a boom box over his head. I love me some Peter Gabriel.)
Here they are up close.



Here's a photo I pulled out of my 2009 organizer (photo to follow). The fun thing about this is you can change these pictures out and always have something new and fun to look at.


Ah...My 2009 organizer (and pretty notepad)

Each page is separated with a fun and eye-catching piece of artwork...

...many of them with cute phrases like this...


I can't forget my magnets on my new magnetic chalkboard


And now my favorite piece. I think it's the simple phrase, encouraging me to continue pursuing my dream, to "follow your bliss" that sends this piece to the top of my list.

At last....

You know that project you have that's been constantly pushed to the back-burner? The one that's doing it's duty, albeit half-assed and incomplete...The one you look at every day, shrug your shoulders and mumble, "Eh, I'll get to it." Well, ladies and gentlemen, that project is FINISHED. Well, at least one of them is anyway.

A few years ago (Ok, FOUR years ago) I bought an old fire place mantle at an Antique store with the intentions of making it into an entertainment center/bookcase. For a good year it sat, leaning against the wall underneath the TV serving little purpose but to awkwardly hold a picture frame. See following photo: (You can kind of see it in the background behind me in a "Happy New Year" Tiara and Erica holding a deck of Spam cards.)


About a year and a half later Josh finally made it into a bookcase. Hallelujah! Only it wasn't painted and it had no back. It sat this way for another good year and a half and although it was able to fulfill it's duty, it wasn't pretty. I blame part of it on the piece itself because it is SO heavy and hard to move...OK, FINE..It was all my fault.

A few weeks ago we had finally had enough. Josh drug the piece outside and began scraping the five plus layers of paint on the mantle piece, sanded it down, and prepped it for me to finish. I painted it a color by Ralph Lauren called Writers Parchment, a soft bone color that isn't too white, but just right.

The particle board that covers the back is lined with a lovely wrapping paper I found at Patina, and now it hides everything you don't want to see...Finally!

It was teamwork at it's finest and now it's done! Despite the little incident with the sabre saw...

Take a look!




I love the texture of the baskets with the books.




The paper up close and personal.


The top is reserved for my favorite photos...


...And flowers from my garden.


In other news, look at the beautiful fall colors outside my front door...


And one last shot of my house before the snow begins to fly and the flowers in my window boxes are replaced with spruce tips. Goodbye summer. *sniff* (Notice Lola gazing out of the far left window...She's wearing her sassy pink sweat shirt.)

The quintessential jewelry box. In theory it does it’s job, protecting your precious pieces from any sort of adverse element while keeping them from getting lost. The downside, however, is that you aren’t able to enjoy your pieces when you’re not wearing them.

Jewelry is an art form, so why shouldn’t you display them for all to see?

My good friend Danika has two frames hanging from a lovely satin ribbon in her bathroom. It was from her, that I decided to make one of my own out of an old frame I found at an antique dealer.



Now my favorite pieces are on display for all to enjoy. A unique, one of a kind frame surrounds a simple silver screen that allows you to hang your jewelry effortlessly. You can hang the frames on your wall, or simply lean them on a shelf to create instant artwork out of pieces that are otherwise hidden.



Look for more of these on my etsy page.

Have a certain color in mind? Let me know and I can custom make one to fit your décor!