Walking through my house, I often joke that the walls talk as much as I do. Each room has at least one decorative item that needs to be read, and often I find myself putting items down in the store that "speak to me" if only because the room I want it for already has a lot of wordy elements in the mix.

It is fairly easy to connect the dots here: I have a soft spot for words and books, and so I am most drawn to home decor that features quotes or typography. Words can bring a certain vibe or purpose into a room in one fell swoop. For instance, the word "create" is often found displayed in craft rooms, or "eat" in kitchens. Words can also be very evocative and personal. A favourite line from a song, movie, or book can infuse feelings into a room in ways that fabrics and paint swatches are no match for.

Lately I have been looking for ways to nod to my literary, lyrical and linguistic interests in more subtle ways. I came up with no easy solutions. So, instead of trying to prove that a picture is worth a thousand words.... here is a roundup of art to make your walls talk.

Seeing as yesterday was Mother's Day, it seems appropriate for today's DIY post to be about what I gifted my mother.

Several years ago, I accidentally broke a pitcher that had belonged to my grandmother by pouring hot liquid into it to cool for iced tea. The pitcher was beautiful, and my mother was devastated (and a little annoyed... I was old enough to understand the concept of tempered glass).

Since the day I broke the pitcher, I have been looking to replace it. It was clear glass, with little red hearts and cute dashed borders, and an elegant, straight shape. I hit up thrift shops looking for an exact replica, and eventually gave up and started looking anywhere and everywhere for a plain version with the same shape. It took about five years, but I finally found almost the right shape! I was cutting my losses and going with something at least close...Which then left me with only one problem: How to pattern it with hearts.


Despite my handy dandy Silhouette Cameo, I decided against using a vinyl decal on the glass. I wanted it to be more authentic, and more permanent. That's when I discovered that Sharpie makes paint markers now, and took a leap of faith that the Sharpie brand I love so much wouldn't let me down.

I decided to do it freehand, as there is a slight taper to the glass and I don't have the patience or mental capacity to figure out how to format a stencil for such a slight curve... So, I used a mason jar as a test run and then just jumped right in. (As you can see below, there is a messy spot where I tried using masking tape as a guide for the dashed line... it didn't work. Don't try this at home.)


I discovered a few things while painting hearts on this pitcher. That I am terrible at drawing hearts. That in repetition, even ugly hearts look cute. That cute messages written backwards on the bottom of glass so it can be read from the top is a darling touch. And I also discovered that I am very happy with the imperfect way it turned out, because it can and never should compare to the original. It needs to be an obvious stand-in or it just isn't respectful to the original.


I used the oil based paint for this project. The packaging says the paint is water resistant and won't easily wear. The paint itself was dry within minutes, but I left the glass to cure without fiddling with it for a day or so, just in case.

In the end, I tied on a gift tag and mother's day card from Thunderpeep. It looks adorable all together! And let's be honest, I haven't "made my mommy" her mother's day gift since I was in grade school, so it was about time.



In the future, I might look more closely at the options and select a different size of marker (I used medium point, but I'm guessing there is fine point as well). Other than that, it seems to be holding up to general use pretty well so far--but only time will tell. On the bright side, this pitcher is tempered glass..............

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For about a million reasons, I am totally in denial that it is time to do my April roundup. I can't believe it's already over! Time sure flies when you're having creatiopathic fun.



Here is a roundup of the various recipes and other fascinating things I was busy with over the month of April (in no particular order):