Dreaming of a White Christmas???

Ok, I know what you're thinking!!  

"Geez, Halloween isn't even here yet, and this nutcase girl is talking about Christmas???!!"

Well, in all honesty I am usually not one to rush the seasons.

Oh no!

I cringe when I walk thru the craft stores in August and see the Christmas supplies and decor already out.

And I usually don't like to start even thinking of the holiday til, well at least Thanksgiving!!

But, since I am having major blogger block, I thought I might as well share with you my latest project, which I just completed for DecoArt.

(and I hope you forgive me for even mentioning Christmas this early in the game!!)

If you are a fellow crafter, I'm sure that you usually get a leg up on creating for the holidays well before the season actually starts.

When DecoArt put out the challenge to create Christmas decor in non traditional colors, I knew right away which direction I would take things:

AQUA!!!!

So with that, here is what I came up with...........

 I had so much fun creating this piece!

I began with a large unfinished wooden crate, styled after an old fashioned soda crate.

As soon as I spotted the crate at the craft store, I just knew it would be the perfect canvas for what I had in mind!

I used both chalk and acrylic paints, in vibrant shades of aqua's and blues.

Each opening is painted a different hue, which was pretty time consuming!!

 I knew that I wanted to include the words to a Christmas carol, and since 

Bing Crosby's  famous tune is one of my favorites, I went with that.

So I stenciled a few lines from the song on each long side of the crate.

That was pretty time consuming, as I was using an alphabet stencil and had to do it letter by letter!

For the piece de la resistance, I added wooden laser cut snowflakes, that I painted and glittered.

Because you know my saying.....

"You can never have too much glitter!!"

 For my little photo shoot today, I had fun filling the openings with pinecones, vintage glass Christmas ornaments, faux greenery, and even a tiny wrapped gift!

 Of course all of that involved getting into the attic to retrieve my big red and white Christmas tubs!

It did feel a bit strange doing that on a sunny and mild day in October!

I must say that I am happy with the end result!!

 Maybe this will inspire you a bit as you dream of a White Christmas!!

Ok, I promise not to get ahead of myself season and holiday wise next time!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Blooms

Ok, so it's not exactly spring yet in our neck of the woods, but it's beginning to look like it inside!

Isn't this rose amazing? Last week I treated myself to a bouquet at Trader Joe's.  For just $3.99, I couldn't pass up these beauties!

Pinky coral roses have always been one of my favorites.  What they lack in scent

(sadly, most of today's cultivated roses aren't fragrant), they more than make up in beauty!

 The buds were just starting to open when I bought them, and I've been amazed at how big they have gotten.  Each day they open more and more, and are actually bigger today than when I snapped these photos yesterday.

I also really love the hot pink roses.  The yellow alstroemeria have never been my favorite flowers, but they do make good fillers, and they last for weeks!

 I've put them in one of my favorite vintage milk glass vases, and placed them on our bistro set in the sunroom.  We eat breakfast and lunch here every day, and it's our favorite room in the house!

(well, my craft room is actually my very favorite!!)

And since my friend Diana loves multiple views of the same thing (I think she said "the more the better"), this post is dedicated to her, tee, hee:)

 Here's a view of part of the sunroom.  Sorry for the poor quality, with all of the light coming in the windows it was hard for me to get a good shot.

 Ok, now on to totally unrelated stuff!

All of the cold and snow from this past winter has left me longing for warmer days.

That must have been what inspired me to chose the bright and vibrant shades that I painted some of my latest Etsy shop offerings.

I was super excited to find this giant vintage wooden fork and spoon while thrifting on our Savannah trip!

 At nearly 2 1/2 feet tall, they are huge!

I couldn't wait til we got home to paint them this fun and cheerful aqua chalk paint.

 The color makes me think of the beach!

 And speaking of the ocean, while we were on our trip I had fun painting these cute cast iron sea horse hooks.

I mixed up a bunch of different colors to create this pretty aquamarine shade that I love.

Then hubby helped mount them on vintage wooden plaques that he found for me

(he makes a great picker!!)

which I also painted beachy blues and aquas.

 Aren't these little guys cute?

 Finally we are thawing out this week, with temps in the 50's.  That will seem like a heat wave for us!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Think Spring!!

Beachy Sea Horse Hooks

I love being able to craft while we are camping in our motor home!  To me creating is like breathing, I need to do it!  And I am happiest while I am working on projects.  

So I thought I'd share with you my latest creation, that I just finished.

Aren't these sea horse hooks just adorable?  They are made of wrought iron.  I painted them each a different beachy color, ranging from aquamarine to turquoise to light blue.  Then I distressed them a bit to give them time worn charm.  I am in love with these gorgeous colors!

 Sure wish that I'd taken a before shot of the wood board that I mounted them on.
(well, my handy hubby actually mounted them for me!) 

It began life as a dark wood finished and very country-ish (as in 1980's country!) plaque!
It had been hand painted with little Amish girls, and was definitely not what I had in mind!
I could hardly wait to transform it with this pretty light blue.
Here is a close up of the sea horses.
I think they are just so darn cute!

I've added it to my Etsy shop if you want to take a peek.
I am keeping a smaller version of my shop open while we are here in Savannah.

Next time I'll be sure to share with you pics of some of the pretty scenes around downtown historic Savannah!

Aquamarine

Hope you all had a great 4th!  It's hard to believe that it's over with already, isn't it?

Today I wanted to share with you two of my latest painted creations that I've put in my shop, in yummy shades of aquamarine.  I think it's such a happy color, it makes me think of a day at the beach!

First up is this chalkboard makeover.  I wish that I'd taken a before picture (bad blogger me!). The vintage frame was an icky shade of olive green (and I mean icky!).

It contained a print of a horse on cardboard. While interesting, it just wasn't the look that I was going for!

I knew right away that I wanted to paint this puppy in pretty aquamarine tones. So, I mixed up a bunch of different paints that I had on had (I love mixing my own colors!), and think it looks so much better!

I gave it a generous dose of distressing, followed by an antiquing glaze.

I had hubby cut me a new masonite board that I painted with multiple coats of chalkboard paint.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out!

Next is this solid wood wine rack, that I was super excited to find on our camping trip up north last month.

It is made of walnut, and was a dark finish when I discovered it.  You know me, I just had to cover it up as soon as possible!

I used the same shade of aquamarine that I'd mixed up for the chalkboard.

It took me quite a bit longer to paint than I thought it would, but I think it turned out great .  It holds 12 bottles of wine, and is really sturdy!

Look at these neat wooden pegs on the ends that hold it all together. Love them!

While we are on the subject of wine, I just had to show you the neatest wine glass that a sweet friend of mine gave me for my birthday in May.  I've never seen one like it, it's Paris themed, and so me!

(sorry about the glare, it was hard to get a shot without it!)

I love this quote!  So true!

Ooh, la, la!

My friend knows me well!

And here is one last look at the wine rack.

Now I just need to get busy and start painting the deck railing on the front of our house!

Craft painting is more fun than that, I'm afraid!

Enjoy your weekend, and keep cool and crafty!

Step Right Up!

Happy 2013!

Wow, it sure is hard to believe that a brand new year has arrived already, isn't it?

I am so ready to be out with the old, and in with the new!

How 'bout you?

This time of year, I love to focus not only on organizing and purging (some trips to take donations to the thrift store are in order!), but I also like finding some fun to projects to begin!

So, I'd like to share with you today two of my latest, which I've added to my Etsy shop. Well, actually I must give my handy hubby credit for these, as he was the builder, and I was the painter/distresser!

 Isn't this step stool neat?  When I told hubby my idea, this is what he came up with.  It is super sturdy, and has a fun vintage feel to it, I think!

 I painted it a bright and cheery aqua, followed by a bit of distressing.  This is one step stool that you don't have to hide in the closet!

 Hubby even added a nifty cut out on the back side for easy moving and lifting.

 Next, he built this adorable little mini step stool.  I think it's so cute!

 I painted it a shade similar to the larger one.

It would also make a sweet bench for a child, or a fun place to display treasures, I think!

 I'm so glad that I have a handy husband!

 I've also commissioned him to build some coat hook wall shelves, which we've both been busy working on.

I'll share them with you another time.

Here is wishing you a peaceful and creative new year!

Latest Projects

Hello ladies!  Hope you all are having a great week!

Today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest painting projects, all done in wonderful beachy hues!

 I love finding interesting candleholders to paint, and this set of four have the most unique shape.  Actually, I have to give credit to hubby for picking them up at a thrift shop (guess he's learned well!).  I decided they would be even more interesting painted slightly different beach inspired shades, ranging from aquamarine, to turquoise, to blue. 

 What I really love about these candle holders, aside from their vibrant colors, is their interesting 8 sided shape.  I've never come across any like this before. And of course I just had to distress them, which I think highlights their shape even more.

 I had fun mixing up the colors, too! I have so much fun mixing various paint to create new and pretty colors!

 I used two of the above colors to paint this pretty pair of tin wall hangings, that are reminiscent of vintage ceiling tiles.

 After distressing, I added my favorite antiquing glaze, which adds to their vintage feel.

 Love the details!

 I also am always hunting for mirrors that I can makeover.  I found this cute matching pair when we were in Northern Michigan a few weeks ago.  They are wood framed, and have a pretty raised design that I really like.

 You can never have too many mirrors!

 And least but not least, this sweet vintage pair of Homco mirrors, that my thrifting friend found for me.  You may have come across mirrors like these before. They were originally blah brown, but now I just love how vibrant and cheery they are done up in aquamarine!

 The mirrors feature a wonderful faux wicker look.  I really love their swirly borders.

 I've added everything to my Etsy shop, if you want to take a peek!

Now go out and paint something!