Small frames

We visited friends in Fredericksburg, VA back in September and I picked up these charming mini-art pieces for our nursery.  Fredericksburg is full of antique stores - perfect if you're on the hunt for unique objects.

1. An antique needlework of "animal crackers?"  Yes please.  Once I got this home I painted the frame gray to blend better with our color scheme and to enhance the 'crackas.

  2.  This gem has a wizard!  I spotted the wizard first, and THEN I read the poem.  How perfect are these words for a little baby's room?

We like how these mini-art pieces add a special touch to Abel's room.

-sc

Baby Abel's mobile

Sorry for the long absence but we've been pretty busy preparing for the arrival of our sweet baby boy, Abel Kye.  He was born Friday, November 23rd weighing 7lbs 12 oz and stretching out to 21 3/4 inches.  (So that's why his kicks were pretty brutal in my belly).

Prior to his birthday, I crafted up a storm in order to decorate his nursery.  One thing I definitely wanted to make was his mobile.  I researched a bunch of mobiles on etsy and blogs and came across one that I knew I could make myself.  Unfortunately, I did not save the link and cannot find the shop anymore!  Ugh- I'm sorry.  I'll keep searching.

Here's how I made the mobile:

1.  I drew woodland animals onto cotton muslin using black permanent pen.  I decided on a bear, a squirrel, raccoon, fox, and wolf.  Any animal would work but I liked choosing ones that lived in similar habitats.

2.  Then I cut around the drawing and sewed them to assorted cotton fabrics.

3.  Next I attached white string to the tops and tied the strings onto a white clothes hanger.  Sorry for the lack of pictures for this step, but you get the idea.  Just bend the hanger into a circle and tie the animals.

You can see the mobile hangs in front of a vintage painting.  The artist of this painting is actually my Mom as a high school art student.  She painted her boyfriend's football picture.  Her boyfriend? - my Dad.  

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend,

sc

Bear Scout

Finished up a painting in the wake of hurricane Sandy.  Meet "Bear Scout."  He' a 12x9" original watercolor.  

sc

Mug, cup, mug

16x12" acrylic painting on pastel board

New painting in the shop!

sc

Pine cone mobile

Yesterday, while bracing for Hurricane Sandy, I decided to make a quick centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table.  We're hosting Thanksgiving this year and I thought we needed a little color to our decor.  I collected four pine cones from our backyard (actually - I collected the four pine cones like a month ago and they've just been sitting on our dining room table annoying Kyle -sap and all).

I chose three colors of acrylic craft paint: Coral, Turquoise, and Cream (I didn't want the stereotypical autumn palette).  I painted the pine cones halfway - leaving a bit of their natural color on the top.  I wanted that effect but you could easily paint the whole cone.  Then I shellac'd the cones to seal and cover up a bit of the sap.  

Next, I hung the cones from our chandelier.  Super simple, quick, and fun.  

 Have a great day, and stay safe if you're in the path of the storm!

sc

Weekend DIY

We went to our local ReStore this weekend.  Do you have one near you?  They're an awesome resource if you need scrap wood, tools, hardware, random pieces of furniture, etc.  Everything in the store is low cost and sometimes you'll find pieces that become a weekend project- which leads me to this post.  While walking around the store, I came across a junky white board with a $10 price tag.  Something in me said, "I need this."  So fifteen minutes later this huge white board was shoved into the backseat of my teeny car.  

We swung by Lowes and picked up Rustoleum's magnetic paint and Valspar's chalkboard paint.  Have you guessed the project yet?  Chalkboard!  Believe it or not, I wanted a school-like chalkboard in our kitchen for sometime.  I'd use it for lists, messages, recipes, whatevs.  Plus, who doesn't like writing on a chalkboard?  Since I was going to all this trouble I figured I'd make it magnetic too.  Let the painting begin!

The magnetic paint was a MESS.  Holy moly.  What a pain to mix and clean.  The directions say your surface needs three coats.   I applied four and the board is magnetic - but not as strong as I'd like it to be.  It holds weak magnets and is strong enough for coupons and thin paper.  I'm happy with it but wish it was a bit stronger.  

The chalkboard paint is lovely.  It washes with soap and water and goes on smooth.  I applied two coats and sanded in between.  love, love, love chalkboard paint.  

Kyle found egg-shaped chalk at our local thrift store the next day.  I think this project was meant to be.  Here's how much it cost:

Whiteboard: $10

Magnetic paint: $21....kind of steep for all the work

Chalkboard paint: I had some already, but it runs around $12

Egg chalk: $1.00

=$44.  I'd say that's a pretty good price for awesomeness.

hope you had a great weekend,
sc

Outdoor rug

Yay for thrift store finds! Not sure where I'll put our chairs yet, but getting a rug is my first step in the deck re-decoration. Enjoy the weather!

Sc

over the river, and through the woods

Chester, WV on the left, East Liverpool, OH on the right

We traveled to my hometown of Chester, WV over the weekend for much needed family time.  Although sad reasons brought us together, it was nice to see siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

While in town, Kyle and I stopped at our favorite antique store in East Liverpool, Ohio called "Pottery City Antique Mall."  The place is huuuuge.  Incredibly filled to the max on each of its 3 floors (plus a basement we didn't even see) with trinkets, art, furniture, and you name it.  The best part about this antique store are the prices.   Everything is reasonably priced - or borderline cheap.  Here are a few of our finds:

Metal horses, set of 3 for $5.00

old school desk, $15.00, !!! 

Viewmaster with slides, $15....the same amount as the desk...but worth every penny

vintage flash cards, $2, memories of third grade anyone?

set of fisher price wooden blocks, $8

Didn't we find amazing things?  The sad part is that we didn't get to see the whole store - our eyes were buggin out after two hours of browsing.  Maybe next time.

Anyone out there been to Pottery City Antiques?

sc

Oscar pillows!

     I wanted to make a doggy pillow ever since I saw this pin on pinterest.  When my fall allergies kicked in I took advantage of my resting time on the couch, stayed inside, drank tea, and tackled this project head-on.  I have so many pictures of Oscar, selecting two was quite difficult.  I knew I wanted a simple square pillow, and a small round pillow - so I tried choosing pictures that would fit those dimensions.  

     After I selected the pics, I printed them on HP fabric transfer paper.  I ironed the designs onto creme colored linen, making sure the entire image transfered using a normal, hot iron.  Once transferred, you trim to your liking and sew the edges.  

I used a sewing machine for the square pillow, and hand stitched the round pillow.  You can't tell from the pictures, but I chose a beige, polka-dot fabric for the pillow backs.  It's a subtle pattern and matches Oscar's brown color scheme.   I stuffed the pillow with poly-fill, but another option would be to turn these into pillow cases.  You'd just have to plan the size accordingly.

Keep in mind: The HP fabric transfer paper was 8.5x11.  I enlarged both pictures, but you can see that the pillows- especially the sleeping Oscar one- are fairly small.  Since I'm using them more for decoration, the size doesn't bother me.   

Overall, it was a super easy, and inexpensive project.  All I needed to buy was color printer ink and poly-fill- I had everything else around the house.  I'm happy with the results and I think they add an element of fun to the room.  

Oscar pillows make me happy,

sc

September subscription

Icosahedron (water)
oil pastel + pencil

Icosahedron on society6, iphone case

My latest artwork for Project Dispatch.  Can you say triangle obsession?  You can snag this iphone case and prints of "Icosahedron" at my society6 shop by clicking here.  If you like the original, consider subscribing to me via Project Dispatch.  Thanks everyone,

sc