New art in the entry

It's kind of funny that I'm adding art before major elements like, say, flooring, but that's how it goes sometimes. When we added the Ikea bench to the entry (which I love and would highly recommend, by the way), the wall above it suddenly looked naked. Luckily, my mom had just gifted me two gorgeous prints.

They're actually greeting cards, each with a print of a watercolour by Vermont artist Annelein Beukenkamp (you can view more of her beautiful work on her website). On Sunday, Adam stayed home with Hannah so I could make a solo trip to Value Village (it's the little things) to look for a couple of frames. I found a pair of frames...along with a bunch of uber cute baby clothes, a few toys and the cutest tea cup I'd ever laid eyes on (this may be why I don't make solo trips to VV often).

As occasionally happens after a VV trip, on the drive home I started worrying that the frames weren't going to work. Should I paint one? Both? What colour? I started browsing through Lonny's photo archives for inspiration, when I saw this and remembered that I had some leftover black matting board. Isn't it funny how inspiration strikes? It turns out I had just enough matting board to fit both frames, so I did some measuring and broke out my mat cutter. I also gave the frames a good scrubbing.

Please excuse the reflection of me awkwardly learning back in my pjs. A photographer, I am not.

The black mats completely transform the look of the frames, I think. That tiny line of gold with the black is what really makes this work for me. So glad I didn't paint them.

Did I mention that the frames were $3.99 each and I think my mom paid $3.50 for each of the cards/art? I only wish I knew how to take a better picture of frames with glass - they're so lovely in person.