Paint By Number

Years ago, probably five, I went to a small garage sale at a house on a cul-de-sac in a neighboring town. It was the end of the day and there wasn't much left, but I got out of the car and looked anyway. I always stop for garage sales.

Nothing grabbed my eye except for a paint by number ballerina. I'm not a collector, but the colors matched those that were in my bathroom, and she was cheap (I think $3), so I decided to buy her. My bathroom walls are covered with some sort of metal that was painted over, so until I started to hammer the nail into the wall, I had no idea. But it just wouldn't go. Holes can only be drilled into the bathroom wall, and frankly, I wasn't committed enough to take a step so big. The ballerina simply sat atop a basket over the toilet. For years.

About two years ago, I found a second paint by number, that I liked and was well priced. I think it was from my fave shop, Savannah Hope Vintage, but I may be wrong. Anyhow, it was a bouquet of flowers and it just grabbed me when I saw it, so I got that, too. I hung them side by side in a small nook in the upstairs of my house. They hung there for quite some time, waiting for a third to make their little set complete. I didn't want just anything, so I waited, leaving the space open. It took a while, but then I found a Lindsay Lohan paint by number. It was one of her mug shots, created and being sold (unpainted) by PopParty, a Jersey City based shop that sells on etsy. They offer other unfinished paint by numbers, too, including custom paint by numbers, and while I'd love a paint by number of my family, I thought it best to start small. I love Lindsay, and thought that painting her myself would be a lot of fun, so I decided to buy it.

On the left is the printed sheet showing how Lindsay should look.
On the right is my finished version.

I had a blast painting her, and it was easy enough since the paint, the brush, and the how-to was all included with the set.

Once she was done, I went out searching for a vintage frame that would be work beside the other two paint by numbers. It took me months, and though I never found a vintage one, I did find a frame for $4 at Michael's that works perfectly. Now Lindsay, the flowers, and the ballerina are one happy family.

Lovely together.