Turning the corner with Sunflowers

This old frame was pretty beat up and just didn't look nice enough when I tried to repair the chips in the corners so I just painted a couple of Sunflowers over it.

I'm planning other changes to both the frame and the painting but will hang it up for now and move on to other projects.

Making Art from a Newspaper

Today's project is fun. I enlarged a copy of the catalog collage that I made this morning and began clipping all of the positive words out of yesterday's newspaper. The bad news is that there weren't many of them. The good news is that I can set this project aside until the next edition comes and continue my search for a positive spin on everyday things.

It amuses me to combine the catalogs and newspapers that people throw away everyday (we hope they recycle but a lot of people don't) into something that can be used and enjoyed by everyone when I put the design on products in cafe press and Zazzle plus of course the fact that the originals make cool "snail mail" for all of the people that I write to.

Painted Sewing Machine Cabinet, upcycled, recycled and new again

Her's a blast from the past. As I was sorting through things in the studio corner of my dining room I "found" this picture of a sewing machine cabinet that I did for a friend back in 2000. As far as I know she's still enjoying it and using it.
Aside from sanding and painting it I replaced all the knobs with wooden spools to go better with the sewing theme.
Yes, I grabbed some scrap paper and will be adding it to a note card for my friend. Who knows, someday it might matter who designed and painted it so this photo may come in handy and I sure don't need it here.
I seldom do furniture anymore and if I did I'm sure I'd move on to other themes and styles.
I'm glad I got a chance to share it with you too.
The other thing that's interesting about this is the fact that I've been decorating furniture since I was a little girl and got in trouble for it more than once. It may have slowed me down but it never stopped me.
I just love to make things better and brighter and I never stop trying...who knows, I just may give it another try someday...

More heart designs

I clipped these from a photo of a painting that I did last year. I'm looking forward to exploring new ways to use and improve them while using them as part of other projects. I  love it that old work becomes part of new projects. Everything just keeps growing and changing...including me!

Projects and ideas in photos and paint

 These went fairly well but I've got several days into them and I'm still adding layers of clear coat so it may be tomorrow before I'm actually finished with them and ready to send them on their way.

 Coming to the end of that project I'm kicking around ideas for what I want to do next. I started by photographing my Christmas stocking. So far the plan is that if I don't like the way the photo itself works on a greeting card I'll just use it to base a series of drawings and paintings on until I find an image that works for me.

There are several reasons that I love this stocking. Of course the top one is that I designed and made it out of a lot of great things that people I care about have given me. I'll give a short list as I finish this post.

 There is a stick pin that my sister Becca cross stitched for me and some some plastic "shrinkies" that she made as well (drawings on a shrink plastic that turns them into small charms)

 Some of the fabric is from my cousin Susan's wedding in Hawaii, there are buttons from my sister Chris and hand made paper beads from my husbands aunt Doris.

So many things from so many people, and now I want to share it with more. I'm hoping that they'll love it as much as I do...now I've just got to decide which photo to start with...

UpCycle and recycle ideas are everywhere

 I saw these ornaments in a catalog today and it gave me an idea.

 A broken garland

 A gift bag and some ribbon.

I had everything I need to make and present a set of these ornaments on hand. All I need now is enough time to get the job done. I'll just divide that ribbon up into pieces long enough for each ornament. I'm not sure how many I'll be able to make out of this but I'll get them up on the blog as soon as I finish them.

Re use and recycle garden project

It doesn't look like much now but wait until next summer when the roses are trained around it and blooming. The white and pink will be welcome pops of color in this corner of the yard.

Thrift Store Find

This is so silly but I'm really enjoying it. I paid 1.50 for this Feitx Humpty Dumpty teapot which had a missing lid and was full of fake flowers.

The flowers went into a shady planter where I hadn't been able to get anything but hosta to grow. It's nice to see a little  color among that.

Next I did a little internet research and saw it going from five to fifteen dollars so when I get tired of it I can always make a nice little profit on it. In the meantime I love the fact that I can keep my paintbrushes in the top and some pencils handy in the spout.

Recycling Denim

Once I'd cleared some space on my work table I figured that I might as well sort through the pile of old jeans a friend brought in and see what I could do with them.
Most of the time because they're so hard on my scissors and sewing machine I stick to tote bags and small throws that can be used as rugs or quilts.
Today I'm not quite sure so I'll be thinking about that as I cut out the best parts of the fabric and get some of the rest of it out of my way.
What's your favorite thing to do with them?

An easy container garden with stawberries

 A few strawberries rounded up from the mess that is my backyard.

 Sorted, cleaned and trimmed they're ready for a new home.

So far this container has raspberries at the center surrounded by strawberries and then it has radishes planted around the outside edge. I may add a few more things to it but I feel this little garden is off to a good start and am on my out to get a few more strawberries for it. As you can imagine, salvaging what I've got saves quite a bit of money and helps get things cleaned up and organized around here.

Free Garden Project Step by Step

 Round up any supplies that may be laying around your property. Today I found an old piece of deck material and a plastic pot.

 At the edge of my yard were a lot of common lilies so 1. we dug them up. 2. we dropped the decking in the area we'd dug up. 3. we dropped the lilies in the pot.

Later this summer we may add some annuals for color and in that metal holder I've got a pot that I plan to fill with tulips that came up in one of my rosebushes.

Finished Cigar Box Project with Horses

 Top and Front

 Top and Back

 Side and Front

Side and Back

Recycle Challenge: old arm chair covers

 This project started on the 15th  and I just finished it a few hours ago. You may want to read back to that post for more information.

 It's been a busy morning. Besides finishing the tote bag I finished the last "pin up kitty" as well as stitching up all the tapestry scraps to see if there's enough of anything interesting to make a couple more bags and empty that box.

 This bag reverses, I prefer the wildlife fabric on the inside because there are 3 pockets in it but it will be up to the gal I sent it to which way she wants to use it.

Distracted again but enjoying the detour

 The place mats didn't get made but we managed for tea. It was fun to see everyone again and they spoiled me rotten with gifts and treats. Thanks so much! I couldn't do the things I do without the kindness and support of my friends.

 As I sorted through fabrics to make place mats with I came across these old arm chair covers and turned them into a tote bag. All my bags are reversible so it's got the wildlife design on one side and a regular tapestry pattern on the other. In this case since the chair covers had a bit of wear I turned them to the inside.

As you can see I'm still working on this but it's a great recycling project as the other fabric came from old decorators samples and the straps are made from belt webbing. Yes, as the old song says "everything old is new again"

An old shirt, seashells and an idea

People often say they want to be an artist but can't afford art supplies. I say all you need is time and imagination.

I borrowed this shirt and laid out some shells that had been given to me years ago. I'll bet you're wondering why...

I thought this would make a cute Christmas card design for the people who gave me the shells and for my friends that go south in the winter. What do you think?

Our latest Recycle: Out of the dump and into the yard

Most people discard any unused pieces of vinyl siding but we've managed to use some up in this project. Not all of the trim bits were the same color but we're pleased with the results and the knowledge that we managed to keep a few things out of the dump and put them to good use.
We filled the bottom of the planter with weeds and the sod that we cleared from the area we put the gravel in. We filled the top with good soil and this hosta thinned from another area of the yard.
Inexpensive and good looking, there's a lot to love about this project.