Monday, August 23, 2010

Fall and All the good stuff

Mwahahaha…it is nearly that most terrific time of year….. Halloween!  I always have as much fun decorating for this holiday as I do for Christmas and a lot less stress!  The fall colors are so scrumptious with all the rich oranges, reds and browns with the deep greens of  leaves hanging onto it’s last remnants of summer.  Then we get to throw in the wicked eerie greens and deep purples.  Yummy colors!

I just learned of  Wendy’s Adventures in Wonderland and her Spooky Mondays.  I am getting a late start on my entry for the day, but here are some pics from prior spookiness.

pedestal-pumpkins Pumpkins on a pedestal.

halloween-tree Halloween tree.

boo-pumpkins Boo to You.

scary-cat Scary Face.

I couldn’t have been able to get my Scary Cat to pose any more perfectly for the moment.  He just loves to decorate for his special day too.

Ciao for Now

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Set a spell….

This Friday was a surprise garage sale kind of day.  Not planned, meaning no 6 a.m. wake up alarm, which was wonderful.  I still scored a neat set of chairs that I am super excited about.

the-chairs-web

Each one has it’s own little stamp of character.  I have a vision of them hanging on a wall holding a lush fern, assortment of my collectables and who knows what else.  I can hang many of my old linens from the rungs.

woven-chair-seat-web

This is the woven seat of one of them and it is in better condition than the actual chair.  The texture is gorgeous and I may take more pics of this for backgrounds in my altered art projects.

3-chairs-web

I think we could just set here a spell and watch the ONE car drive by. 

tin-funnel

I also found this cute little tin tray and a funnel/filter with the screen still intact.  Just in case I want t0 strain the fresh-squeezed milk from the cow that we don’t own!  I’m just sayin’……

Friday, August 20, 2010

Paint is my friend

I have a love affair with spray paint.  Ok, I’ve spoken it out loud…well, at least typed it really hard on my keyboard.  A simple can of paint can do wonders to transform everything around us.  Ahhhh, such a simple pleasure in such a simple form.  We had recently repainted our house and we all know when that happens, everything else looks so dull and lifeless compared to all the fresh color.  Soooooo, I must share my most recent affair.

Our front porch lights had a good shape and were just the right scale for the space.  Problem is they were beyond Yucky or as the Sweet One says…”Duck” with the accompanied scrunched up nose.

2010 07 26_2334

It is quite obvious that the seasonal swallows love to roost here.  I dismantled them which quickly became 20 pieces and cleaned them scrumptiously.  Then came the joyous part of painting! 

porch-light-after-2-web porch-light-after-1-web

I love my new fixtures.  It was certainly a lot easier than shopping for the perfect one for a day or two.  I even painted the shiny little reflector plate with a chrome and it looked fantastic although the pic doesn’t do it justice.

At this point, I am just plain high with happiness ( or paint fumes…whatever!!) and I proceed to the next project.

Again, I conquer another light fixture in my dining room.  I have kept my eye out for the right chandi for quite a while and they just don’t quite fit the bill of requirements.  PAINT to the rescue again….

  The old BRASS version.

Quick change lamp shades for a change of seasons.

The presto chango…

Isn’t that just Awesome??!!

shade-1-web 

                                       shade-2-web

                                                               shade-3-web

I updated the shade also with a bit of ribbon wrapped around the shade and tied.  My grandmother’s earrings were then clipped onto the knot.  They are all different and just look FAB dahling.  Super quick and lots of effect.

Thanks for sharing my paint-love today.  I scored some cool old chairs at a sale and will post those pics tomorrow.  See ya then.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

ATC’s , TAG’s, OMG

I discovered ATC's (artist trading cards) over a year ago and was hooked.  I love putting together mini art using all my mini scraps.  If I weren't an AVID crafter/artist, I'd be called a Hoarder.  I can't seem to toss even the teensiest bit of paper or trim!  That is when the ATC comes to my rescue.
The next issue at hand becomes WHERE to store all these little goodies that you have swapped with other AVID artists. 
I was inspired by this book…

2010 07 06_2121Created by Laverne Johnson.

It’s folded pages were the perfect solution to hold many papers.  So I commenced to folding and tearing and gluing to create this…

atc-book-full-view

I added extra mini pockets to hold even more goodies.

atc-book-front-inside

I have adhered business cards and labels to the backside of the  pages so I have a crazy record of all my artsy friends out there.  Everyone who sees it admires all the works and flip through the pages so I would say mission accomplished.  I want to enjoy and be inspired by what others have created and shared and it’s just so convenient and cute!

I also recently surfed onto The Blissful ATC swap.  This looks like fun to me and had to join in.  Of course, it must be regarded as therapy for an AVID  hoarder  crafter so I may release all my bits and bobs into the world.  Hop on by and check it out.  You may get hooked also.

I’ve put together a few tags for a new swap using DOVE chocolate wrappers with the sayings on the inside.

2010 08 14_2409 2010 08 14_2411

They are still in the working stage, but I luv, luv, luv the COLORS.

Thanks for stopping by for a chit chat and I’ll check ya later alligator.