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. 

Wood Plaque Art

 My community has a neighborhood newsletter

that's delivered every morning to my inbox. 

It's filled with trivia about the particular day, or 

something special about our town, 

or it's residents, past and present.

 Neighbors may post things they are selling, giving away, 

services they want to recommend, or are in search of. 

One of my kind neighbors was offering dozens

of bare wood plaques along with some wood boxes.

Although I wasn't the first to respond, 

I was the only one that showed up. 

That's a metaphor for life isn't it?

The people most likely to succeed are the people that show up!

I need to remind myself of this incident and be ready to 

show up when opportunity arises. 

Fortunately for me, she gave me everything 

she had. She said she was going to throw it all in 

the green barrel (plant recycle) but decided 

to see if anyone could use it first.

I was truly grateful and expressed my appreciation to her. 

There were about 50-60 wood plaques like this!

I only spent about an hour on the following

piece. It was an early Christmas present for me. 

I was so excited to make something, . . . anything!

I decided to make the subject one 

of my "life verses". 

I'll probably go back in and do some more 

work on it (after the holidays), but here it is so far. 

Oak Stool Upcycle

I found this oak stool

at the thrift store for seven dollars.

I saw some potential and couldn't pass it up. 

It wasn't wobbly, or in need of repair

which is an extra bonus for me. 

All it needed was some paint and a little TLC. 

Pieces don't have to be cosmetically perfect for 

me to work on. I don't do much

sanding and patching, unless it's really bad. 

A really good full coverage primer

to start will usually takes care of things to my liking. 

After priming, I started with a bright green acrylic base. 

I usually pick out my colors in advance,

but the design is created as I go. 

For no rhyme or reason, I typically choose an odd 

number of colors (usually 3, 5, or 7), and it 

always seems to balance nicely.

Here's where I drew out a rough pattern

on the seat and started filling it in. 

Now I'm starting to get somewhere.

Here's the finished piece after

I gave it a couple coats of polyurethane. 

This is a close up of the seat. 

This project took me about a week to complete. 

Turning trash into treasure

is one of my favorite things.

Personalized Key Holder Plaque

I want to show you what I've been working on this morning.

These are some family Christmas gifts I need to

finish and get out in the mail.

The clock is ticking loudly, if

you know what I mean. 

I just want to get them done

and on their way. 

I kept it simple with the two colors

and am fairly pleased with the way they turned out.

I wish I was in a better frame of mind,

and not letting the stress of the holidays

get to me. . . already!

As you can see the "Lenart" plaque

still needs it's cup hooks and 

some finishing touches. 

I may be finished with the "Petersen" plaque,

but who knows. I can never say for sure 

until it's all wrapped up and ready to be mailed.

I may end up doing some sort of embellishment

around the cup hooks themselves. It looks

a little bare in that area. 

I hope they like them. 

Te Amo Niche Shrine

This project was an experiment

with a variety of mediums.

Paper Mache

Cold Porcelain Clay

Air Dry Paper Clay

Niche Design and Creation

Nothing was purchased for this project. 

Lately I've been trying to create things

 from materials I have on hand. 

I've always loved niche/shrine/diorama art pieces and

decided to give one a try myself. 

This one took me about 4 to 5 days to complete.

I ruined a perfectly good sauce pan cooking the cold porcelain

clay, because I mixed it in the pot instead of a separate

bowl first and then I cooked it too long. 

It made me a little sad throwing that pot away

that I've had for 28 years! Next time

I'm buying a cheap pot from the thrift store and using that. 

That's what I get for being a rebel and not paying 

attention to the suggestions on the youtube videos I watched. 

I found the easiest way to color the cold porcelain 

clay is with markers. Just poke them into the clay and knead away.

Sharpies are fine and won't permanently stain your hands. 

The flowers, leaves, candles, and pink hearts are

all made from the cold porcelain clay.

The big red heart at the top and the center cross are

made from the paper clay. 

I used acrylic paints as well as dimensional fabric paint 

and sharpie markers on the design.

I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out and have started

a couple more. 

Let me know if you have any questions. 

Happy creating.

Terri

Folk Art Bird House

My dear friend Dede designed a series of bird houses

and her very handy and skilled husband made them for her. 

She gave me two of them as a gift. 

The one featured here was unfinished.

It was a "blank canvas" for me to play with. 

I began by taking off the hardware and taping off the roof.

I decided to go with a light warm neutral base

(because it's what I had the most of).

My design theme prior to starting was rustic

Mexican folk art. 

I was inspired by my recent trips to 

Tucson and Albuquerque. 

I may work a little more on the back. I was in a 

hurry to finish up. Actually, I wanted my kitchen

table back after 4 days of having it covered with

newspaper and paint supplies. 

Happy Holiday and Happy Creating!