Painted Chair

This was originally an old beat up

white chair that I found at a thrift store. 

I was drawn to it by the carved

flower on the top.

I picked out a piece of fabric from

my stash  to recover the seat.

The chair colors were chosen accordingly. 

I look for pieces that are unique 

in design and stable in structure.

I don't mind some repair work,

but usually nothing too extensive. 

It adds a bright pop of color

to my mix matched chairs at the dinner table. 

Ink Drawing

I've been a little out of sorts lately.

My husband and I are empty nesters for

the first time in 26 years. 

Some days have been great and other days

I feel like a lost puppy. 

Yesterday was a really good day.

Today I'm a lost puppy.

I think it's because I moved

my "office" into my 

daughters old room.

The finality of the whole

thing has been getting to me. 

One chapter is ending and a new one

is beginning for all of us. 

I have to remind myself to give it some time.

After all, it's only been 17 days, 14 hours, and 32 seconds.

I'm going to move on to another subject now. 

After all, art is the real focus of this blog.

I thought I'd share a drawing I made

using all sorts of pens and colored pencils.

I really like the way the flower, her eyes, and her lips turned out.

I'm still working on the mirror

and the tambourine, or should I say not

working on them. 

That's why I don't have

a picture to show you yet. 

I'm doing some organizing and deep cleaning

first, but promise to get back to them soon. 

Beaded Cuffs

I came across these amazing beaded cuffs

on my recent visit to Sunflour Market.

I LOVED them both.

The lighter one is my favorite.

Since then, I've been searching to find

something similar online and haven't had any success. 

I'd love to spend an afternoon 

with the artist/creator and learn her techniques. 

I've been scouring bead books at the library

and can't find anything like it. 

I want to know how to do this!

The cuff base is some sort of metal

or hard plastic.

The lining is a soft suede/leather of some kind. 

It's one of those things you see at the store and 

think, "Why didn't I pick that up when I had the chance?"

I hope it's still there the next time I go. 

Projects of the Week~ A Little Sun and some Music

Being the lover of quirky and funky things that I am, 

I was so excited to come across this tambourine

at my favorite thrift store. 

I know most people would've passed it over, but

to me this was a fun piece that I couldn't wait to makeover. 

Before I did anything to it, I had to search for

'Last Train to Clarksville' on Youtube and give it a whirl.

Davy Jones would've been proud. 

Maybe not for any intrinsic talent I may have, but

based solely on my sheer enthusiasm. 

I can't wait to beautify it!

First I needed to disassemble it to it's bare 

bones before priming it. 

I've only primed and base coated it so far. 

The other project I've started is my 

carved wood sun mirror.

My husband helped me disassemble this.

The mirror was glued in and he has more

confidence and patience when it comes to those things. 

Fortunately he was able to

get it out without breaking

the mirror or the frame.

I could've taped off the mirror

and worked around it, but this'll be much easier. 

The first thing I did was to prime it 

and then paint it with a turquoise blue. 

Next I glazed it with yellow ochre. 

I just started detailing and will be

sure to let you see the finished pieces. 

I'm hoping to get them both 

done by the end of the week. 

Happy Monday!

Quick Ink Drawing

I usually take several days

to work on a drawing.

This one took an hour or so. 

I needed shift focus

for a bit from some of my other projects. 

This was also a switch for

me because I worked in a  much more

free flowing and unbridled

manner than I normally work.

I'd call it a nice diversion, experiment and exercise. 

Happy Weekend!

Tote Challenge

I contacted a couple of my sewing buddies and 

asked if they'd be willing to do a "tote challenge" with me. 

There were no rules for design, style, or materials.

The only stipulation was to get it done in a couple of weeks. 

Me being the gal that wants to use the materials

I have on hand (rather than buy anything), got

out my big box of fabric and started sorting 

through it. 

I'd been listening to Simon and Garfunkel 

and was 'Feelin' Groovy' this particular day. 

The music inspired me to draw a

pattern for a VW van for my design. 

I cut out my pieces and ironed them

on with fusible web.

I measured double-sided panels for the sides, bottom, and back,

and sandwiched some batting in between.

My daughter showed me how to make some

cute fabric flowers and I added one of those to a strap. 

 I zigzag stitched the panels

together and free formed stitched

the raw edge applique on the front. 

I've since added a fabric covered piece of stiff 

cardboard to the inside bottom of the tote so

it stands and looks a little more polished. 

I may applique the words 'Feelin' Groovy,

or 'California Dreaming' on the back. . . .

My friends told me that I won the challenge,

but I think they won. They're much more

experienced sewers than I am. 

It was a fun challenge and I told them I wanted

to do a fabric book cover next, but we've yet to

work out the details on that one. 

My Artsy Thrift Store Finds

Hunting for treasures at my local

thrift store is one of my favorite things to do. 

I love finding unique things

that I can transform into something special. 

Some of the things I find are perfect

just the way they are. 

I've got a mix to show you

from my recent $12 shopping spree. 

The following is a carved

wood sun mirror that I picked

up for just 5 bucks. 

It's dirty and a little

beat up, but I see a lot of potential in this guy. 

I can't wait to pull out my paint and start working on it. 

The next thing that caught my eye

was this coral spider vein stone ring. 

It's big, funky and chunky and I love it. 

It goes well with my spider vein

turquoise Navajo silver cuff. 

I paid $3.50 for this ring. 

The last item I want to show you is 

this sweet Jenny Krauss zip purse.

It's handmade by women in Peru.

It still has the tag on it and was only $3.49!

This is a great time of year to 

check out the local thrift stores.

There're a lot of donations coming in with people 

wanting to start out the year free of clutter.

Someone else's junk was this woman's treasure. 

Happy New Year dear friend!