I think a brick walkway might be too much brick, considering all the brick on your very cute home. I agree that a walkway would be nice, what about exposed aggregate like your tiered steps on the other side or some type of stone, similar to what you used for the stacked planter bed. Its hard to tell how large the stacked planter bed is but it seems a bit small for the house. Do you have a way to enlarge it? I think a specimen shrub, pruned and grown into a tree-form, would look very nice as a focal point in that bed.

Pam If this is what you are talking about..I have copied a picture of photoshop...to fill something, you go to your toolbar and r. click on the tool bar arrow with the gradient and it will give you the choice of the bucket,which is what you flood fill with..if that is what you are asking. I hope this helps..If not let me know. Bev

My first glance didn't see the border as "too much", until it was focused on. Then it did seem a bit large. I would live with this for a while and add details as others mentioned. You could play with the tile using contact paper to change tile size, add black trim ect. But even the inspiration pics, there are things I would change. Final thoughts are the pattern is is a bit large and yes to wider black trim. A half round black on top of the upper tiles would work as a detail and easy to install. Not sure painting tiles is the answer. Love the BW ticking shower curtain shown. I just finished my kitchen with BW tile and bead board to bring back the feeling of my little 50s house. It is great to know others are around that have some comfort with this style.

Thank you! :-) I got most of my supplies at Michaels. Michaels sells the Gallery Glass (GG) paints that are best for applying directly on the vertical window. I also bought a few paints and a couple of tools from http://www.windowbutterflies.com/index.html. She sells the cling and the paints that are great for those. My advice is don't buy the GG liquid leading unless you have the world's steadiest hand. For my window in the bathroom I did it all right on the window with Gallery Glass paints and the instant leading lines. For my son's window I did the main art elements (butterfly, flowers, arc at bottom) with the paints from the windowbutterflies site onto clear vinyl clings. Then I cut them out and stuck them on the window. All of my straight lines are GG instant leading. Then I painted the big areas with the GG directly on the window. I also hot glue gunned on those clear marbles with the flat backs. Michaels (and eBay) sells lots of patterns and even kits with the tough parts pre-formed for you. With the patterns you draw them onto your window with transfer paper. Then just peel and stick the leading lines. Then make "solder points" where the leading lines meet (never cross them; cut them) which covers over any gaps and makes it look more like the solder points in a real stained glass window. I used the liquid leading from the butterflies site for that -- it's easier to control than the GG one. The painting is easy, but don't get too much on or it sags down -- better to do multiple layers. You just apply the paint right on the window with the tip of the bottle. The clear texture is easy -- you just make tiny little circles with the tip of the bottle until it's all filled in. On my first window it came out very thick so on my son's window I just applied the clear in zig-zag lines more sparsely, and used the tool I got from butterflies to make the little circles until it was all filled in. I have to go put on at least one more layer of green on the stem on my son's window, but I'll try to get a picture of it while I'm there -- I've done a lot more work on it and I'm really pleased with it. It took a little while because you don't want to smear wet paint, so you go take a break while the part you just painted dries. I talked with one gal who did her windows ten years ago and they're still beautiful, so your time is well spent. And yes, you can clean the finished window with Windex or whatever you use, just like your other windows (but I do it gently). If you're working on your window at home it's easy. You just work on it for a while and then take a break, then work again when you have time. So it took me a few days to complete it but it's not like I was working all day. I was pretty religious about cleaning the tips of the bottles well after each use. You don't want them clogged when you go to use them again. No, you don't need any assistance and there's no room for an assistant. There's nothing heavy to lift or any reason for an assistant. All you do is peel and stick and cut, and squeeze a little paint bottle. If you do your own design just do it on big paper and transfer it to the window with transfer paper. Use a ruler for the straight lines. I did mine on the computer and then somehow figured out how to print them out the size I wanted and tape all the papers together. But I like doing my own designs. You don't need to. I did try putting the pattern outside the window but it was too hard on a double-paned window to see where the lines really were, so I advise the transfer paper. Then it's just peel and stick your leading lines and paint. You'll need a good exacto knife to cut the leading lines. If you're unsure, then try some decals first. You do those on the clings (I think JoAnn fabrics sells the clings too). So pick a line drawing you like, lay the clear cling vinyl over it, tape it down, pipe your leading lines on and when they're dry paint. I did a hummingbird/flower one and stuck it to my sliding glass door so people wouldn't try to walk through it. I printed my pattern off something I found on the computer. I think that would be the easy/fun way to start. You can do little fun ones for your kids' windows. If you can color in a coloring book you can do this! You'll be amazed and delighted with your newfound skills. It's fun. Let me know, okay? I can't wait to see what you do.