TA-DAAAA!!! :-D

Well, I got the picture finished today, and it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!! :-D

This morning when I looked at it, I didn't like how the edges stood out because they were so straight, and the print itself was so bright, so clear looking -- NOT the look I wanted.  So I contemplated how to fix that.....it's scary to start doing things that can't be taken back! LOL  But I figured out that using yellowish/goldish paint was the way to get the sheen I like, and it was better than the grayish-white paint I used on the canvas last night (MUST remember that next time!).....SO, I repainted the edges of the canvas with one of my gold-colored samples (I have many), and I painted it over the so-straight edges and corners of the print -- PRETTY GOOD, right?!  Then I decided to dry-brush the paint over the print itself, to tone down the brightness, I don't think you can tell by looking at the pictures, but it definitely made a difference, for the better!  Finally, I lightly brushed on some decoupage glue I bought ages (and hundreds of projects) ago (I knew that glue wasn't a waste! :-D).....

VOILA!!!

I love the feel of it, too, against the canvas - it feels like a real painting!
Here it is on the mantle in the family room (pay NO attention to the MESS around the edges of the photo)....

That's the spot I originally bought the print for, this wall.  It's very tall and wide, so I wanted a larger print for it.  We'll hang it up centered this weekend, but I put it up there for now, just cuz it was fun! LOL  I love how it looks up there!!

This whole project was tremendously fun for me, and I want to do more!  Now I have a great way of creating the prints I love - there are others, mostly at Hobby Lobby, and they are smaller....they have a great art print section.  Plus, now I'm itching to paint something on my smaller, purchased canvases (that I've been saving for, I bet, YEARS!).....SO SO FUN!!!

So it rained a whole bunch more today, and was muggy, if not hot.  Up in the garden, the plants looked so happy -- full and taller, I think!.....

These plants are, for real, at least 3 inches taller than they were 2 days ago (in the heat)!  Amazing, isn't it?  Also, look at all that grass....I wasn't weeding during that high heat - it was all I could do to stand outside in the late evening for 45 minutes to water! - but that grass wasn't nearly that thick 2 days ago, either!  That heat was bearing down on everything!!  Phew!  I'm glad it's over!!  And, like I've said before, time goes by SO FAST.....next week, it's mid-July.....summer heat will be half-over!  It's rarely 90+ in the last two weeks of August, so that's something to look forward to!! :-)
Although, I hate to rush anything, even summer heat -- it's over so quickly anyway, and I try to BE in every day, good or bad, hot or cold :-)

So now it's on to the next project.....I really should get some things finished around here!  It seems like I'm always in the middle of something (or "somethingS" LOL) --- do I even know HOW to live a "finished" life???  I wonder about that.....
Here are some other things I have laying OUT around here, that I'm waiting for the motivation to finish - small projects, too!.....
1. paint the double drawer chest I glued together, and put the knobs on (probably a 45 minute job)
2. paint the baskets and wooden box I picked up at the thrift store last week (less than 30 minutes, each, to finish)
3. arrange some special things on that shelf in the cubby in the living room (THAT could take me 2+ hours)
4. hem and hang the curtains in the living room (45 minutes? 1 hour, at most!)
5. paint the freakin' trim in the hallway! (that will take half-a-day, but so freakin-what! WHY did I wallpaper if I wasn't going to freakin-finish?!! :-P)(<you knew that face had to show up eventually - there's at least ONE in every post!)
6. there's more, oh yes, you know there is....

Well, if I can tear myself away from Pinterest tomorrow, maybe I'll start on one of those...???  IF..... ^-^