In the Air

There is a change in the air.   The last couple of days have been a little cooler.   Yesterday it was overcast and we even received a little bit of rain last night.    I was standing outside looking an my large maple trees…

and  was thinking to myself….  It won’t be long and this will be happening…

I love Fall!   I love the crisp air.  I love the colors.  It’s time for college Football.   GO BSU!! 
I ordered this pretty ribbon from Prairie Bird Boutique on ETSY.  The colors are perfect for Fall cards.

I started cleaning out my painting workspace (third stall of the garage)  and made some Winter project plans.  
Here are some projects from Winter’s past.   I used to paint quite a few items and had a space at a local Christmas Bizarre.   I just don’t have the time anymore, so now I paint a few custom orders and paint a few for gifts.



 

Somewhere in between projects, I’ll squeeze in Christmas Cards.   What do you have planned this Fall?

aren’t you just the bee’s knee’s

Ever wonder where that phrase came from?   It became popular in the 1920’s;  probably because of the popularity of radio shows.    Bee’s carry pollen back to their hives in little sacks on their legs.  The allusion is to the concentrated goodness to be found around the bee's knee.    Hence the Phrase  “the bee’s knee’s”  meaning “the height of excellence.”
I started this project a couple of weeks ago, then have been busy doing other things.    Over the weekend I decided to finish it up.


If you don’t already know me very well,  I like the country, grunge, whimsical look.  Who knows what that means!    I cut out a piece of 1/4” birch plywood for the project.   Its about 24” long.  It’s sitting on top of the mirror in my entry.

I recently went to our local  Restore shop.   It’s a place for local contractors and homeowners to donate used and new building materials.   The shop sells to the public and all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity.   I found a stack of various sizes of  old kitchen cabinet doors.   They make great framed projects.   I painted the one below several years ago.   More projects to come…..

"My friends have made the
story of my life”   Helen Keller

Brush Strokes

Well..  I can hardly go a couple of days without coming up with more projects.  I haven’t picked up my paint brushes since last Winter.  I decided to gather up some surfaces, pulled out the scroll saw and started planning.  Sunday  I cut out a few pieces of wood and the newest projects have begun..



While I was in the garage working… we had quite the show going on outside.   That old Mr. Thunder sure can holler loud!  It was pouring rain so hard we had a little creek running down the middle of the Burbs.   I can’t believe its the Summer Solstice and we got down into the 30’s a couple of days ago.     On a positive note…  we’ve only had to use our sprinklers a couple of times.



Here is a sneak peek of one of the projects.    I like the country, prim look. 



“Each laugh makes you ten years younger”

All about ME

Since it’s my Birthday week, (Thanks to my Family and Friends for all of the Birthday wishes!)  and It’s all about ME, I’m going to post a few more things that I love.     Who am I kidding?  It’s always about ME!  Isn’t that what our blogs are?  We post about things that we love or hate and that are important to us…
 
These are all things around my house, that I love, collect or have created.   I Scrapbook, I make cards, I paint, I collect, I create, I take pictures. I have stuff..  probably too much stuff…  I’m pretty good about getting rid of most of the old stuff.  I don’t like too much clutter..     It’s all just STUFF!   For some reason… we love our STUFF!    Don’t sweat the small stuff..
 

 

 



By the way…  did you notice that I have an Etsy shop?   I’m not sure how it will do…  I listed a couple of things and hope to sell some of my cards in the future..    Link is at the top right.   I bought a 500 ct package of these paper bags.  I finally sewed a bunch of them, created a pattern and I’m now selling them.

Enjoy! Create! Simplify!

And the Stocking were hung...

Remember the sneak peak that I showed you the other day. I painted four of these signs. Two were stained and one painted Country Red with a little stain over it..
They're 42 inches wide and have pegs for hanging stocking on them..






Tah! Dah!



EnJOY!

Bunnies, Carrots and such...

All you need is some scrap wood. Sketch out some bunnies, carrots, flowers, and butterflies. Cut them out with a scroll saw. Sand the edges good. Grab your brushes and favorite paint and you'll be creating.

I decided to create these cute little bowl fillers. They're pretty simple.. Not alot of detail. After painting with my favorite Americana paint.. be sure to shade and hilight them.....



I glue the flower centers then sand all the edges. Reminder- I love old, country, grungy stuff.. I then painted on varnish. Something went amuck! I grabbed some bling and sprinkled Diamond Dust while the varnish was still wet. This is not my usual style but I think it made these Spring bowl fillers so much fun.


Diamond dust is crushed glass glitter. Its pretty chunky. I use it occasionally on my cards but have never used it on a painted project. (the varnish is still wet so they look a little milky.)



So.... What do you think?






EnJOY!
Michelle