Beauty of Beginning

April Showers, Beauty of Beginning

March did start out like a lion and ended like a lamb.  Seems like we did not have our typical early spring, but I have known it to snow at Easter.  And my grandmother said that if there was thunder
in February that there would be frost in May.  So we will be testing this folklore but my Grandma was the most perfect (yes, I am predigous).  We have a cold spell that we call dogwood winter and another cold spell coming this week.  I don't know what winter this is called, maybe blackberry winter

This past month, I fixed the chairs from January's blog.  I made the stencil more intense
and reapplied the darkened wax.  The stenciling does show better.  I am happier with them
and feel that they are ready to sell now. 

I had a "happy" accident this past month.  I drop a can of paint (Duck Egg) and made a
big mess.  In the process of trying to clean it up and save some paint at the same time,
I scooped up what I could in my hand and sloaped in on this tray table that I splashed
in the accident.  I used my "Skylar's Lace" stencil to add a little decoration.  I think it turned
out really cute.  I have redone several of these tray tables.  They are fun and quick projects.

In March's blog I tried the back lite canvas that I was not happy with, so here is my
second attempt.  It works better that the first canvas but I am still not satisfied
with the results.  So I am hoping that 3rd time will be the charm.

The last project that I got done this past month was my ugly light.
 My mom picked this light up somewhere, yard sale or side of the road, who knows.  I cleaned this poor thing and painted it copper and rewired it.  It looks better and that's all I'll say about that ;-)














I have started the doily light that I have re-pinned on my pinterest boards, if you are interested in looking at it. I hopefully will have my first one done by my next
posting and hope that you will come back to see the results.

March - In like a lion

We have all seen on the news the devastating storms.  I was blessed
and thankful that my family and ourselves were spared.  I do worry that
this is the beginning of an over-active spring.

I have not done much artwork the past few weeks.  I tried my hand at
pyrography and filligree craving on a large 40" diameter gourd.
I have to harden my gourds because finding thick gourds locally for
carving has been difficult.  I hope to try some more in the near
future but still my favorite activity with gourds is creating baskets.

I was recently inspired by the decorating blog apartmenttherapy.com to recreate a backlite canvas in my own style.  I used foil instead of paint to fashion the exterior of the design.  I fashioned a box to contain the light and the light was 20 bulb string of mini lights.  I like it sorta.  It will take a bright light to make the design to show up well and it has a heavy feel to me.  I am going to redo this project to get the lighter uplifting effect that I want.  So you will see more in the near future. 

If you want to see the orginal inspriration for this project, I have it pinned on my
www.pinterest.com boards.  Pinterest is a really fun site for ideals and inspiration.
It contains just about anything a person could be interested in (food, photography, design,
clothes) and gives you the link to find the items.

Creating the frame box was the hardest part for me. I don't know how a person manages keeping
those 45 degree angles together properly so you can nail them.  All of mine are off between alittle and alot.  It is not painted in the pic.  But I am in the process of putting a silver metallic paint on it.  Right now I only have it primed.  You will see the finished frame box on my next visit with a different canvas. 

If anyone can instruct me on how to hold together 45 angles, I would appreciate your comments. 
Please stay safe and see you soon.

Celebrating Winter trying Chalk Paint

It is finally winter here in Kentucky.  It has been a mild season till this week.  Not enough snow to play in but temps are down.  We are staying in, keeping the fire going and staying cozy. 

I am so excited about these last projects, I have been working on.  The frame that I spoke of in a previous post, turned out very nicely.  In the pictures, you still see the chiping on the old frame but I (personally) don't think that it hurt the looks. 

I cut a mirror to size and did my favorite antiqueing finish to it. I used the "toile" design lace and etched a branch acrossed it.  Mercy! It is hard to take pictures of mirrors when you do not want to see what is in the reflection. 

I used the Annie Sloan Chalk paints for all my latest projects.I use "Provence, Duck Egg & Old White" in different combinations.  I am also trying the dark & light waxes for the finish coat.
The antique frame and chairs are painted in only Provence.  I applied dark wax to antique and the used the light as top coat. 

These chairs were received separately, thinking that they were the same until I got them together.

One started out white and the other brown.  This allow me to compare the coverage of the paint. This paint claims that you do not need to sand & prime.  I used several coats on both the light and dark chair to get a good coverage.  I have to say that I cleaned and scrubbed the chairs very well.  And I did some sanding on the brown chair due to the varnish coming off very badly.  But I did not sand them completely  smooth, leaving alot of chips and dents.  You can see these on all the projects.  If you want a smooth finish, I still recommend sanding.

 
I used the "Duck Egg" ASCP, to stencil the chairs.  I wanted the stencil to look worn.  I may have painted it too light.  When I put on the dark wax to antique the chair, it covered the stencil more than I like.  The stenciling is very hard to see in the photos.  The stencil that I used was a romantic "Springtime in Paris" for Royal Design Studios.  I really like the quality of their stencils.   I also took the mirror and glass workshop where I learn to antique mirrors thru Royal Design Studios.

Below are several projects I have also been working on.  A small reproduction medicine cabinet that I have had for years.  AS with everything in my log home, it was dark wood.  So I painted it "Old White" ASCP.  The inside was backed with a red calico material, I have painted it with several coats of an unknown "aqua-turquiosy blue".   Not "Annie Sloan Chaulk paint". And I also refinished the mirror.  I am not too sure about the outcome of the small mirror.  I may have to replace it and redo it. Sometimes I get carried away and overdo.  Here are some mirrors that I diy-ed a custom finish and frame for.   The far end has a silhoutte that has a rusted finish. 



 I normally go to my local Lowes and have them cut my mirrors.  But I really should get a glass cutter for these smaller projects at least for convenience.  Would make it quicker to make changes.  I look forward to doing and finishing my projects using the ASCP.  I have several small things that I have started.  I will place more pictured in my facebook album or etsy shoppe when and as completed. 

I hope you all have a fun Valentine's day

A Variety of Art Interests

I am study about my blogging. So according to "Hubspot" those who blog have 55% more website visitors. So I most definitely have a lot a learning to do (LOL). But anyway, for those whom
have read my humble blog, I hope you have gotten to know me better and that I have made your days a little brighter with my dialogue.
As for what I have been up to in the past couple weeks.....

I completed a basket since I last communicated with you all but not yet embellished it. It is a new style for me cause it has the wire handle. I haven't been able to figure out the best way to attach the embellishments. I feel like it is sort of plain with out them, as it is right now. Maybe you could help me. I would love to know what you would might think about embellishing the basket. Some of the things that I have considered is 1.drilling holes in the upper band of the gourd, 2.tying cording with embellishment dangling from the handle, 3. working the embellishment thru the weaving. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on this, so please leave comments.

I had a mishap this week with one of my favorite gourd baskets. When I list items in my Etsy.com shop, I will enjoy them around the house till they sell. Earlier this week, I found out that this might not be so wise. I was moving the swirl cut gourd basket (pic in an earlier blog) and knocked it off the shelf. It broke. There goes the time, materials and most of all the caring that one puts into creating any piece of art.

I have also been spending time learning a new technique.
This small apple gourd is my first carving project and I
hope that my carving of gourds gets finer. I also used
a gourd to make the leaf and then put one of the battery
operated candles inside. This was very fun to do.
Learning the control of the carving tools is hard to do.

I have been reading some of my favorite blogs since I last wrote. And they connected me a couple of new sites. One is Design-seeds.com, it is a wondersite for color exploration. It has given me some new ideas. I really like the old tin colors combinations. And plan on using some of this combinations. I just purchased some of the new chalk paints from a local distributor " Liz Douglas Design" and am currently trying it on some pieces that I am going to upcycle. But I have only just started them and will show you the results in my next posting.

According to what I have read, the prep for this paint is minimal compared to acrylic or oil base. So I have put the first layer on an old frame that I have. It is a plastered frame that is chipping away. I cleaned and sealed it hoping to stop the chipping. I also created some molds for the decorative corners and used paper clay to repair the missing parts. There is still some plaster missing but this will give it more character, I hope. So come back in a couple of weeks to see the results.

The other is the Gourd Art Enthusiasts forum (if that is what an "ning.com" is). The gourdartenthusiasts.ning.com provides a connection to those who grow and manipulate gourds into art forms. I enjoy making my gourd baskets and bowls but some of these folks are really wonderful sculptors. I enjoy the detail and beauty of these pieces. This site has a lot of information on growing and creating art with gourds. It hasn't seem to help me decide how to decorate my latest basket though ;-) It does give me so many ideals that I just don't know what to do next.

Some times when trying to decide, I will just paint a canvas. I painted the one below (a Jerry Yarnell pattern) and it is going to be part of an art display at the Clark County Library during the month of February. We have a great library that is dedicated to the arts and so many other interests. Our library does a lot with our community. I hope that yours does also. When going to college (so many years ago), I did not have time to read for enjoyment. I started checking out audio books and listened to them on the hour drive back and forth. I still do, I put them on the surround sound and crank it up so that I can listen to it while cleaning house, working on the computer or working on one of my projects. I really like to have one when traveling. And I still listen to them driving back and forth to work. I hope you will make the time to visit and see what your library has to offer. You are also welcome to come to Clark county and visit ours ( www.clarkbooks.org ).

UnResolved Resolutions But A New Year to Continue

2011 has been a good year.  I have been blessed in actions and activities that are not momentous but very appreciated.  And mostly there have not been any disheartening moments.  So my cup is more that half full.  Of this I am very grateful and hope that 2012 is as good and maybe better. 

My computer died in the beginning of November, so no post till now.  I really went thru painful withdraws and depression from not have access to my computer and all the pics and information I had on it.  I was able to save a lot of data, but the lastest pics of projects are still on that harddrive. 

Here a picture of the school desk that I painted and with the happy owner. 

The school desk was delivered to beautiful Florida when I took my mother to her winter home.  It was a pleasant 70 degrees for the few days I was there.  We worked hard for 4 days getting her Christmas decorations out and up.  Then I flew back home.  I had most of my Florida gifts done by Thanksgiving.  But not Mom's I am working on a painting for her even now.  Hopefully will get it completed this weekend.  It is now a New Years gift. 

I sold several items this year which is getting better.  The economy in my area of Kentucky has not been conducive to the unnecessary.  And since the computer death, my Etsy shop is in very dire need of attention.  This is one of my resolutions.  To maintain and grow my Etsy shop and sell more of my painted furniture and customized mirrors. (Wish I had some pics to show you).  I hope that you all will help me stay on track.  I have so many ideals but am so bad about getting side tracked or distracted.

I am working a regular job (8-5), but am not sure if it will be permanent.  I know that I will have
it for several months.  I am happy about a steady income and sad for lack of freedom.  And less time to work on projects if I want to reasonably maintain my laundry and home :-)

I think that I had better get to taking some pictures and putting items back in my Etsy shop. 
Here is one of the gourd baskets that I am going to place in my Etsy shop and hope to get a few more done this month.  Don't rush me, but please check distinctsurfaces.etsy.com once in a while to see what I have gotten done.

I also discovered Annie Sloan Chalk paint.  It is suppose to be great on furniture.  I have a couple of projects planned to test it out and will let you know the results in my next visit. 

Well, I better get to work on my resolutions. Love and Peace to everyone. Happy 2012.

Harvest of Life, Art and the Season

Happy Fall & Happpy Halloween.

It is a beautiful Autumn day.  Here is a couple of pictures up at my brother's Estill county farm. 

I have so much to tell you all.  My friends and I have had a busy season,  Had a great time helping and crafting at the Craft Camp in beautiful Jabez KY.  It is was cool and rainy but my friends made it a warm and fun time.  Here is a couple of the pictures of the project that I got to help my friend Pam taught (the Ghost gourd on the table) and my Homemakers group (Rowdy Golden Girls) having a great time on the porch.  

There are 2 reasons that I enjoy participating in

workshops. 

1.  The artist sharing their skills see a craft from different perspective and get you an opportunity to

use products prior to the investment and to see first hand results.  And 2.  It is a great way to be with current friends and make new friends that have the same interests as yourself.  
It was a wonderful weekend with the girls. 

Here are a few gourds that I have transformed

in the last few weeks. 

Did the jeweled gourd at the craft camp. 
 Angie Kilby (in the top) was the instructor
of this craft.  It gave me a chance to try a couple
of different alcohol inks and see how they differed.  
Angie had 2 types of alcohol inks available. 
One was "GourdMaster" available thru
http://www.wellborngourdfarm.com/ and
the other was "Adirondack" from Michael's. 
 I actually liked the more translucent
one on the gourd so that you can still see the
design of the gourd skin. This was the

"Adirondack"    I also used the alcohol

inks in this leaf bowl from a giant box gourd. 

 

My sunflower girl was quite a learning experience.
 I saw a painted  canvas doll made similar to it and
decided to try to make one using all gourds.   Her face is molded, and I used some Qwik wood to reinforce the petals, but I managed to keep of her
all gourd.  I am pretty proud of her.  I am trying to learn to sculpt faces to fit my gourds but so far they don't look too good. 

I am not too sure if any have read many blogs in the past few weeks.  I really haven't paid much attention this summer.  I am sure that my reading will pickup as the weather get cooler.   I have booked marked a few so that I can go to them when I have the time. 

One new blog site that I have found very interesting is kentuckynativeplantandwildlife.blogspot.com.  I have been trying to creat a native plant garden for several years.  But my gardening skills suck.  I do not have a green thumb unless  I dip it in green paint.   But I keep on trying.  I am very good a growing native weeds. Which are just plants in the wrong location.   My gardent looks great at this moment as it is mostly covered with the autumn leaves. 

  I finished the floor cloth for my son's room.  I could have put more color on it, but I decided to keep it simple with the two tones of gray and a few highlights.    

I am still working on the bar,  completed the new wall on the back of the cabinets to provide additional support to old the old reclaimed wood that will be the bar.  I never new that using a belt sander was so good

for building up biceps.  My arms and shoulders got so tired ;-)  Belt sanding old rough cut wood is alot more time consuming that I expected.    Even though my husband warning me.  I has been rumored that I am alittle hard headed. 

The days are getting shorter and I always need more time.  We have Christmas holidays to being to prepare for.  I am in the process and doing so and hope that everyone will give their friends and loved one something created with their hearts and hands.  These are the best gifts, filled with love.    Keep this in mind as we pass thru the next few weeks. 

Keep on Keeping On - Dog Days of Summer

"Be true to yourself; cherish whatever talent you possess, and in using it faithfully for the good of others you will not assuredly find happiness for your self, and make of life no failure, but a beautiful success." .... Louisa May Alcott

I must apologize for my lack of dedication.  I seem to get side tracked so easily.  I really appreciate you all putting up with me.  I have been on the road constantly and have projects spread out. I am working on multiple projects spread out in several locations.  I have run out of room in my studio area.  I really need to do some culling.  My sons threatens to turn me in to one of the hoarder shows, but I still have space, just not alot. 

 I am working on my floor cloth in my in-laws basement.  I have been putting 2 coats of gray tinted prime on each side of heavy canvas.  Today I get to put on my base coat of gray,  then will start stenciling and embellishing.  I have been waiting several days inbetween each coat so that every thing is throughly dry.  I clean a couple of times a week at my in-laws due to their various health issues and age (80s).  I have been blessed to be working for myself so that I have been able to help them out this summer. 

I also go to Mom's two or three days a week.  There an old school desk that awaits my attention at this spot.  This picture is of the desk just after it was cleaned and sanded.  I am not going to explain what I am going to paint on it.  It is for my cousin who (for painting this piece) gave me a piano bench.  I have one piano bench that I have a folkart painting on.  But this one will be much different. I will write about it when I am able to get it started.
 
At home, I got a new dishwasher for my birthday, so we have been switching them out.  Have you ever noticed that the connections never are the same.  AND they don't come with the new dishwasher.  Very fustrating when you live 10 miles out in the county.  I took off the back of the cabinets and removed my table.  I am going to put doors in to make access to the pumping in the corner easier.  Also am going to put in a bar with some 2 x 12 in oak that we have.  I hope that I will be able to cut it.  The longer oak sits the harder it gets.  Then LOTs of sanding.  I wish my brother and his workshop were a 1000 miles closer.

Plus, I am getting gourds ready for a class that my friend, Pam Price (a wonderful artist) & I are going to instruct a halloween gourd painting at craft camp in late September.   They are all washed, basecoated and pattern scketched on.  My old army cot make a great drying rack.  All of my gourds are clean.  Thats a first!  

For fun this past month, I took my first "Bob Ross" class.  I don't want to paint in oil .  I enjoy taking workshops and it is a fun way to learn new techniques plus get together with friends.  I did not finish my painting, but will. It just needs to a corrections and details. A lot can be transfered over to waterbase painting. 

Also, my homemaker's group (the Rowdy Golden Girls ;-) ) craft were these pinked and frayed cloth flowers. I got the directions off of Martha Stewarts web site.  They are fun and easy to make.  Just take a 4in strip of clothe folded in half.  You have to sew a basting line along the folded edge and gather to about half the original length.  Then roll up and whip stitch as you go.  The only tip I have is to keep your gather side as flat as possible. I glued my flowers to a purse that I purchased at Wally world and it really made it much cuter.   They can be put on hats, lapels, balls, anything!!!

I am glad that my Long Island girls, Sue & Kathryn, got thru Irene without any great losses.  Hope my family in the Carolinas didn't suffer too much water.  I haven't heard.  

I will catch you up on my doin's soon.  Stay safe.

PS. if anyone who reads this blog is interested, I have a "fencing" uniform that I am selling.  It is my son's and is a 42 in chest (medium). Just let me know and I will send you the info.