Little Building Block Houses

I found a bag of the most precious old building blocks at "the yellow house" antique shop last week and I am just now getting to play with them. Isn't it fun to take something and turn it this way and that until that little light bulb in your head goes off and you have idea??!!!??? That is exactly what happened with these little houses. Actually, my work space was a huge mess with buttons and snippets of papers scattered here and there. Out of that mess came my idea for the blocks and since my band saw is only a paintbrush throw away from where I work, I was sawing then sanding to add even more "age" to the blocks. Here is what I came up with. A little prim village of cottages covered with ephemera, antique buttons and stamps. I think I am going to make a set for each season.... Christmas, Halloween, Easter, 4th of July!!!!! FUN! FUN! FUN! The workspace will stay in disarray for a while longer ---- I am having a swell time!

Everything Old is New Again!

My vision problems have calmed down (I thank your for all your prayers and words of encouragement). I had a wonderful day painting on some "treasures" I found last week at my favorite little shop. Oh how I wish you could come a ramble through it with me.... it is an old yellow house just filled to the brim with all sorts of wonderful things. I spend hours there, just pouring over all the findings, thinking about what I could do with them. So, back to my painting.... I found a cake cover, a funnel and an old enamel lid. Here is what I came up with:

The lid is painted with a new Terrye French design. I just fell in love with her "Old Muslin Chicken" and had a great time painting her. The lid is now a towel holder but I think an old piece of lace or some old hankies would look just as nice.

The next whimsy is a funnel. I always think of my dear father-in-law who had a large cotton farm "back in the day" when I find pieces like this. He had all sorts of wonderful things in his barns and tool sheds. Oh, what were we thinking when we walked right past them and didn't even look their way??? I know he would have a good laugh about me painting on something as insignificant as a funnel.

Finally, I painted an old aluminum cake cover. Rarely do I find one without a few dents here and there, but this one was absolutely perfect! I love to paint on black backgrounds and this one was great fun to do. The wood knob is original to the piece and such a nice, warm wood tone, that I left it as it is.

Today I am meeting friends for lunch (I wish you all could come too!) and then going back on another treasure hunt at the yellow house. I have inquiries about painting an old watering can and another kerosene can, so those top the "must find" list. But..... who knows what other gems will be calling my name? Oh goodness, what fun!

What an inspiration!!!

Do you ever fall in love at first sight? Oh, I don't mean the "romantic" kind of love, although I do believe in that phenomenon having been a victim 30 years ago myself! I am referring to the kind that you feel when you see a little vase, a piece of silver plate or, for me, a precious antiQue doll trunk. I found this gem at an estate sale not long ago. The outside showed that it had been well loved by its previous owner but the inside is in almost perfect condition with the original paper and hanging rod still intact. I used one of my Terrye French patterns for inspiration and painted this "twilight" angel on front. I cut her wings from my collection of vintage sheet music and applied another piece on the back. All that was needed for finishing touches were the ribbons and lace tied to the handle along with a cast iron key.

Transformed Traincase

I found this great traincase at one of the consignment shops I love. It is bigger than most and a perfect container for books, file folders, or anything!!! The design is one of my own in the springtime series. I love the hollyhocks that are growing beside the cottage. Sadly, I have had no luck with any I have planted so these will have to satisfy my longing for those beauties. I decoupaged wallpaper bluebirds and a picket fence around the bottom. My dearest reminded me that everything I paint lately has been pink. I guess I need to switch from this phase but I dearly love that color and just can't help myself!!!

Blessings on you, little lamb

It is beautiful here in Dixie this morning.... I have the studio door open and I can here the birds singing. My dogwood is ready to pop open its blooms and all's right with the world.

I am still determined to paint and craft with what I have in the studio before I go out and haul in more "stuff" (she says with determination, but in her heart she knows better!). I had one more wooden frame left in my stash so I decided that the project of the morning would be this adaptation of a Terrye French design. The frame is distressed for that shabby chic look and the little lamb is painted on canvas. I love her little friend who sits on her back. The frame needed a little puff and fluff so I lettered "Blessings" across the bottom.

Alrighty, I think I will go work on an altered book box that is waiting in the wings. Suki says, "Come and throw the ball" so I may have to hop outside for a bit, play with the pup and soak up some sun first. Then it's back to work.

Old Sifters --- New Life!

I am drawn to old kitchen utensils. I love to find old flatware and serving spoons that have been well loved and well used over the years. Old teapots and coffee pots are my delight!!! I go back to my childhood when there were no coffee makers and my mother would perk coffee every morning on the stove top. Who needed an alarm clock when the smell of fresh brewed coffee did the trick? I can see my grandmother even now as she baked in her kitchen. My job was always to sift the flour and, even though I got more on me and the surrounding work area than in the bowl, she never lost patience.

Sifters of all sizes are perfect pieces to breathe new life into for me. I love their knobby cranks and handles and the indentations for the measurements. It is so much fun trying to decide what do do with each one that comes my way. Here is a tiny little sifter, only one cup, that I found at my favorite thrift store. It was just the perfect size to hold pencils and maybe a pair of scissors. I think a bunny and rosemary make a great design for this little guy.




Sometimes it's not what you paint on the sifter that is important, but rather what you put in it. Using an old sifter as a container for a little kitchen Christmas candle light composition was just the ticket for this piece. Cinnamon dough ornies, little apples with evergreen and "candies" formed the perfect compliment to the cinnamon coated light. Even the silicone bulb had that fabulous spice in its coating.


My latest repurposing started with an old Bromwell sifter that had seen a lot of use. I decided to try out one of my new designs and use it also for a candle light. This time a wooly sheep surrounded by a verse from Psalm 100 seemed the perfect thing to paint. I have pieces of an old antique quilt that is so worn the cotton batting is coming out. I used a piece to cover the top (and the bottom) of the sifter. The candle light is stained to make it blend in with the old pieces. And the hang tag???? What better than "This Little Light of Mine"? I have always told my friends I have never been bored a day in my life. How can I be when there are so many sifters to paint?

Rosebud Baby Shoe Pin Cushion

I love baby shoes! I search high and low for them in all my favorite thrift stores and antique shops. The older, the better as far as I am concerned... I wonder what story each little pair could tell about the tiny feet that once wore them, about the little toes that wiggled in delight inside.

I found a tiny pair recently and knew exactly what I would paint on each one. Here is the first, a little rosebud nosegay painted on the side and lace painted on the toe. I covered a piece of pink toile with antique dresser scarf lace to give a nice layered look. On the opposite side I hand-lettered "Rosebud".

My Little House of Dreams

by

Louisa Cook Don-Carlos

My little house of dreams!

Who knows how warm, when fall the winter snows,

How bright its fires, how fair its rooms,

How safe and still 'neath starlit glooms,

My cozy little house of dreams,

All seasons are its best--it seems.

My house of dreams!

Where order reigns

Behind its glistening window panes.

Shady its trees, its garden fair

And best of all, my love is there,

With shining eyes and calm, sweet face,

The benediction of the place,

And peace and joy and heaven's light beams

Within my little house of dreams.

Spring Challenge

Old Farmhouse Gathering on Etsy has issued two celebration challenges to be posted in the near future. One is for Spring and the other is for Easter. I love a challenge.... the chance to stretch my creative thinking is always a good way for me to "turn up the volume" as Ina Garten would say. I have completed two out of four projects that I have planned and I am pleased with the results so far. The first is a wonderful piece of vintage 1934 sheet music, "I believe in Miracles" that I have painted with an apple tree branch and a bird's nest. Just to guild the lily I added ephemera, wood buttons and and old key. After all, isn't the promise of Spring really a miracle?

The second piece is perhaps my favorite of all gourd pieces that I have created. This is a little peep all ready to celebrate the first day of spring. She has on a polka dot party hat and is carrying a little "chicken wire" basket filled with spring berries and eggs. She stands atop a bandbox that has been decoupaged with vintage sheet music and trimmed in robin's egg blue. Her wings and tail are cut from gourd pieces as is her beak. I love the quizzical look on her little tilted head. Is there anything sweeter than a little downey, yellow chick? Her papier mache cone party hat has a whimsical little medallion that says simply, "Bliss." Her momma has instructed her to stay inside the little picket fence until she is old enough to venture out on her own. I would say that is a wonderful idea! This little chick has been named KaDee for one my precious nieces.

Cottage Teapot Easter Tree

My husband says I will paint on anything if I can get it to hold still long enough.... I just smile and nod my head. I guess it's true. I have painted a ukulele, more chairs than I can count, and bushels of gourds. But I must say here and now that my favorite thing to paint on by far is a teapot! Tall and skinny, round as can be, dented or not, I love them all. This teapot has been in my stash for a long while and today it was calling my name. So I decided that it would be the perfect palette for a new cottage design. Here is the result.... a pink plaid background with a little cottage, flowers and picket fence. The eggs are gourds (yes, really!!!) painted and trimmed with ribbon and forget-me-nots. The birdhouse is decoupaged in pink polka dot paper on the sides and pink toile on the roof. I can't wait to show my dearest this one --- he will just smile and nod his head.

All hung up....

I smocked so many little dresses on bonnets when Megan was little. She was always decked out in some creation that had tiny flowers and bunnies, ladybugs and strawberries or just her monogram. I keep one on display always --- I can't bear to pack them away. I wanted a special way to display her little frocks. I cut a piece of wood to make this baby hanger and I love the way it turned out. I made two little hangers..... one to keep and one to put in my shop!


Here is another idea using a premade wood hanger... a whimsical way to display your lovely old doilies and handiwork. These are old family pieces made by my mother-in-law years and years ago. I think I will make another to put in the cottage kitchen --- perfect for a dishtowel collection I think!!!

My little bird friends......

The mockingbirds are once again preparing for a new family! They have begun to build a nest in my now bare crepe myrtle. Mr. Bird takes this construction very seriously and makes a great show of flapping wings and loud cries if anyone, including Suki my dog, gets near. I decided that this would be the perfect inspiration for a painted and decoupaged canvas. The bright blue egg and robin are the ideal heralds of what Shakespeare calls the "best season of all." Now, off to my little studio to see what else I can dabble with today.

Cottage Attachements

The buttercups have been blooming for almost two weeks and the tulips are getting ready to pop open. But the queen of all flowers, the rose, has been my favorite since childhood. These little "attachments" are meant to be the ultimate cottage organizers for a bulletin board and fridge. The small glass bubbles are thumbtacks. One clothespin has a magnetic strip attached to the back for holding lists and notes on the fridge and just in case there is more than one reminder to pay attention to, a large glass bubble magnet with lovely shepherdess will do the trick. The button clothespin can hold recipes, calling cards or photos.