I confess...I'm a copy-cat

If you're on Pinterest, or read design blogs, I'm sure you've heard of Rebekka Seale.  Among other illustrations, she does these amazingly cute house portraits that are personalized with your name, street address, quote, etc.  Here are a few of my favorites...

Although I have NO experience with watercolors, I do have a tote full of artist paints that Grady has been begging to use for a while now.  This weekend we decided to drag 'em out & I thought I'd give a Rebekka Seale style house portrait a go.  It's definitely not anywhere near her level, but for my first attempt I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

First I printed out a few of her houses that had similar characteristics as mine, along with a picture of the front of my house.  Oh, I also printed out our last name, address, & a short quote in a font I liked in case I wanted to add that to the bottom.  Then I went to Joann & bought a small pad of watercolor/acrylic paper (4x6) in their dollar section.  (Grady bought a small bird house, also from the dollar section, that he was going to paint.)

I watered down my paint & layered it on in the rough shape of our house.  I just eyeballed it & didn't sketch it out at all beforehand & I certainly didn't try to get it perfect.  My house is just a box with no crazy angles, so it was pretty simple!

After getting the base painted, I filled in the windows, door, steps, trim, etc.  I also added random lines on the roof & walls for the shingles & shake siding.

Next, I focused on the details...the mortar lines on the chimney, adding a little depth to the windows & doors, etc.  I just kept tweaking it until I was happy with the look.

I didn't have much room below the house for text, so I opted to keep in simple with "Home".

Then I painted an old garage sale frame yellow & called her complete!

Like I said before...it's certainly not perfect, or nearly as cute as Rebekka's portraits, but it does add a little cheer to the kitchen & makes me smile when I see it.  All for a couple of hours of time & less than a buck!