Having Fun With Making Do!

Whenever I can take something someone was going to trash and give it a new life in my home, I am happy and over the last few months I came across a number of such items and here they are:

Contestant number 1, come on down....

I rescued a few old drawers originally from an old bureau, that were slated for the burn-pile (yes they still have burn-piles in upstate New York) and made a few shelves that I think turned out quite cute.

After priming and then painting them I decided to add vintage wallpaper to the background before adding the little shelf. Well of course that wasn't enough so I fashioned trim from some basswood I had (although basswood is easy to cut it is also easy to break so 1/4 ply would have been better...oh well live and learn huh?)
Contestant #2, come on down....

I was given three huge bags of white silk flowers!!! What to do with fake flowers??? I gave some away and was about to despair when I came across my little fake Christmas tree and had an idea....and voila! Flower Power Christmas!
Contestant #3 Come on down!

 

Old frame bought at a garage sale for .50  and a roll of chicken wire being thrown away....some tacks, white paint, wire for hanging and ta-da we have a card holder!

And finally we have ....

Contestant #4 .......An Iron Thingy, black and dingy, but with some white paint, a little sandpaper for distressing and we have.....

A White Iron Thingy!!!

I have to admit this is one of my favorite things to do, salvage and restore or reuse. 

In closing I did want to add my wishes that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that this New Year will usher in a time of unsurpassed joy for us all. All of you I have gotten to know here on Blogger have become very special to me and I hope we will all triumph over whatever challenges come our way this New Year and come out the other end shining like the stars we truly are! God bless you and your homes!

Tina xo

P.S. Sorry if any photos have posted more than once. I have no idea why Blogger does that to me sometimes and I can't see it when I check the post so I have no way to delete any extras that may have been added. SIGH!

Christmas Birds Flying to Etsy

I got these little guys finished finally! I love papier mache, but it does require patience. All the waiting for layers to dry and then painting and adding glitter, making their little ribbon covered legs....etc.

What makes it all worth it? They put a smile on my face!

I hope you have some fun Christmas projects going that put a smile on your face too!

Tina xo

Winters With Gisele

Although I am not often a neutral colors person, I felt compelled to do this painting in those colors. Maybe it's how Winter softens everything, even color.

I chose to use the gauze and plaster on the surface of the canvas again as it allows me to scratch into the surface after it has dried and I love that.

I also chose not to over-detail the composition which I feel gives it a more wintery, misty look.
Gisele is a 16" x 20" canvas an I am putting her on Ebay, here's hoping someone will love the wistful look on her face!
Hope everyone is having a bang up day and keeping those fingers and toes warm!

Love,
Tina xo

The New Cut!

Yes I chopped it off and it's Winter, how much sense does that make? To me it means I can blow dry and get back to painting or crafting so it made perfect sense to me!

My friend Julie's mom was a hairdresser for many years and she offered to cut it and I said heck yeah!

                             How did Julie like it?

                                      Julie likes long hair, can you tell?

               And her dog Emma seems to be asking....

                           Who is that old broad?

Well I like it so there!

Hope you are staying warm today, it is COLD here , but the dusting we got last night of the white fluffy stuff has melted ....yay!

Love to all....

Tina xo

Commissioned Paint Project

Recently the gentleman I do some painting for asked me if I would be willing to take on a special project and of course I said "sure"! He had a very old rocker that the background design had long ago worn off and he wanted it to be revitalized.

 Working on something that is a few hundred years old did make me a tad nervous but he trusted me to do the job so I loaded it into my Explorer and brought her home.

I had to turn it in many different directions in numerous different lighting situations to finally have a slight view of the original design and even then some of it had to be guessed at as the finish had worn down so much over the years.

I finally got the color mixed, and with a nervous heart started to paint! It took quite a few thin coats to achieve the look he wanted but finally I called it done and returned her back home.

And here the little lady is sitting back in the salon close to the wood stove where she belongs and Don and his wife Diane were thrilled. Since Don is a retired Art History professor I was glad he was pleased with the work and maybe I will be less leery of accepting future commissions to restore antiques.


Now on to the next thing and here's hoping we all have many "next things" to look forward to!

Love Tina xo

"My Country is Winter" Painting

My country isn't a country, it's winter
my garden isn't a garden, it's the plain
my road isn't a road, it's the snow
My country isn't a country, it's winter

refrain from "My Country" by Gilles Vigneault

Growing up in Montreal Quebec I had favorite French singers and Gilles was one of them. His beautiful song about winter in Canada especially Quebec expresses my feelings perfectly. So thinking of this song the other morning I decided to paint a little 12" x 12" canvas similar to the wonderfully simple style of Quebec artist Jean Paul Lemieux (another personal favorite of mine) and here she is.

I really enjoyed painting this woman walking through the snow and may have to explore this style more deeply.

Have a happy, warm day!

Tina xo

My First Attempt at Soldered Jewelery

Well I finally did it! I soldered my first piece of jewelery and I think I am hooked.

Here it is displayed against a piece of my handmade paper. The photo I used was rescued from being burned at the end of a rummage sale and appears to be from the 1920's-1930's era.

It shows 3 cute little Adirondack girls from one of the towns around here in upstate New York.

I chose a simple piece of scrapbook paper for the back and I think it fits the theme perfectly. 

I have to say I am really looking forward to making more of these pendants (of course I haven't burned myself on the soldering iron yet, that may change my mind).
Let's face it I just love making things!!!
These little  ladies are going over to my shop at Etsy!
I hope everyone is having a great evening and that you had fun creating today too.


Tina xo

Dear Mariet!

Recently I entered a giveaway sponsored by Mariet Caris @ The Mirror. and won the most wonderful gift of 2 pieces of mohair used for doll's hair! I have wanted to try mohair on a doll for ages but could never find the extra money to order any. To say I was thrilled is an understatement and when the package arrived from the Netherlands I could hardly wait to open it!

I have been a follower of Mariet's for a while now and love her art and her precious dolls, if you have never been over to visit her blog please do take the time to pay her a visit....

Inside the envelope was the loveliest postcard...

with instructions on how to properly cut the mohair for placement on a doll's head and the precious mohair....

                   One piece white and one yellow!

Thank you so much Mariet for the beautiful mohair, I am so going to enjoy working with it and adding it to the dolls I am working on.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Tina xo

And So It Begins!

I was expecting a light dusting this morning and what to my surprise is waiting outside the door?

Ummm, where under the deck did I stash the snow shovel? Oh well thank goodness this is all going to melt over the next few days and I will get the chance to do all the winterizing I had planned on having done by now.
That will teach me to keep putting off the boring jobs!
Have a fun day!


Tina xo
 

Trying to Catch Up

I want to reorganize the house before Christmas and good luck to me with that plan..:)
But I just had to paint this weekend as I had a picture in my head that needed to be expressed so here she is...

I am putting it on Ebay this morning. 
I hope everyone had a great weekend? It has gotten so cold here this past week and although we are expected to have a few days yet in the 50's this week I think I can assume that winter is well on the way.
Have a happy, creative day everyone!
Tina xo
 

Uh Oh! Has It Been That Long Since I Posted?

Yep it has and you may ask why? Well 2 weeks ago I got a call about a craft show, that had been a total shut-out, that a spot had opened up and was I interested.

So I called my friend-in-crime Julie and asked her if she would be interested and willing to hurriedly prepare for it and she was game!
Although it was not a huge success for us it was still fun and I snapped a few photos of our little booth.

Here is my friend Julie who makes jewelery and paints (among many other talents)!

And this is me that morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed (thanks to Starbucks)!
It was a madhouse but it was great seeing crafters I had not seen in a few years and they are still going strong!  



              RANDOM PHOTOS OF OUR BOOTHS

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So although we didn't make loads of cash we had fun and I am checking into a local consignment shop that has opened recently to see if it would be a good fit for my style.
At least I can breathe a sigh of relief that the rush is over for a few days. I am so looking forward to visiting everyone's blog now that I have a minute to myself!

As always I had a horrible time with Blogger this morning so I am hoping most of the photos are not in multiples! If they are I apologize and hope you find the courage to wade through the craziness!