They say you have never truly lived until you have been to Paris. Welp, I am behind schedule! And although I have been fortunate enough to visit France on a few occasions, I have never seen Paris beyond the airport. Sad violin, right? Lucky me (or should I say, lucky us)…Michael’s is hosting a contest for a trip of a lifetime to Paris. As part of campaign, they asked a few of us to create projects inspired by the location. It probably would have been much easier to go with a crafty version of an icon like Eiffel Tower or L’Arc de Triomphe, but honestly, if I was on my way to Paris I know the very first place I would want to go: a bakery Giverny, the home of Claude Monet, and the subject of so many of his gorgeous paintings.
I think the piece of art I ever saw as a kid and thought, “Now that is good!” was one of his many water lily paintings, and although my taste has expanded a bit over the years, I’ll always have a soft spot for his style of painting — an abundance of dashes and systematic-like color rhythms. Gorgeous! For this project I thought it might be fun to break it down to something super simple using everyday items you’ll find at your local craft store (Michael’s, of course).
Materials
White gift boxes. Michaels sells this set of four for $9.99 and it’s slightly textured which makes a great base for gripping paint. You could use anything as a base, but beware of those shiny white gift boxes as the plastic coating can be tricky with water-based paints.
Variety of blue and green craft paint. Mark Montano recently turned me on to Deco Art paints and I am a new fan for a number of reasons, but mostly the color saturation. If you really want to go hardcore Monet on these there is one color in particular that I love: Bluegrass Green.
Monet was notoriously picky about mixing paint pigments, greens in particular. And although he used thousands of shades in his work, when I think of Giverny, I think of the green-teal colors on the house, specifically chosen to amplify the living greenery around the home. When people say “Paris Green” I believe what they are really talking about is Giverny green, but that is a matter of opinion. Bottom line: Bluegrass Green is a winner!
Layers of paint are easy to build when you don’t think about it too much. Just a base of blue followed by big blobs of Bluegrass Green, followed by streaks of white and lime green as well. Top it off with a big white flower and you are good to go! These lily pads were made from coffee filters, but I did a magnolia made from paper plates a few years ago that would work very nicely as well.
So, who wants to go to Paris? Now is your chance! Create your own Parisian-inspired art, floral, baking or paper crafting project and uploading a photo to www.paris.michaels.com through March 31, 2015. You can also share your project on social using #SpringtimeInParis
* What do you win? A four-night trip for two to Paris, 1,000 euros, a VIP tour of the Louvre, private classes including sketching, floral arranging, baking and more!
* If you need a little Paris inspiration to get you started, take a look at some of the Springtime in Paris projects on Michaels.com.
Ooo-la-la, these are tres purty! You did an impression of the master of Impressionist painting! That bluegrass green paint is a color I love for hardscape items in my garden, too. I may have to try your painting idea on an outside thing this spring, as a nod to you, A.P., and the great C.M. Thanks for the idea!
If you do you have to send me a photo, Deb! That sounds lovely!!!
I’m right there with you, a total fan of Papa Claude! I have a new home, with a lot of bookshelves, and am thinking a group of these boxes would make nice storage while being ever so decorative themselves. Thanks for the inspiration!
That sounds like a fantastic looking bookshelf! 🙂
What a great idea! Totally trying this soon! Beautiful:)