Sneak Peak.... My Entries In the Old Farmhouse Winter Holiday Celebration

The Old Farmhouse team on Etsy is going to have a Winter Holiday Celebration. I managed to get my four entries finished in between working on Megan's wedding!!! I tried to come up with four unique pieces that would add to any one's prim holiday decor.

The first is an "altered" gumball machine. I thought his bright red base was just perfect as it was. The globe is painted with a jolly folk art snowman. He is wearing a cotton sock cap that is dusted with glass glitter and has a rusty snowflake and rusty bell for embellishments.

Number two is a hand painted gourd Belsnickle. This Alabama gourd has been turned into an "old world" type Santa and is riding in a cinnamon rusted metal sleigh. His hang tag and two rusty bells are tied to the stem that I left attached.

These "everlasting candles" are made from wood. I found them in a wonderful shop while on vacation in Florida last summer and they have been patiently waiting to be painted. I created a new design that I call "Silent Night" just for them. The grubby hang tag is hand-lettered and has a snippet of vintage hymnal music attached.

Finally, here is an old coal shovel that has been repurposed as a door hanger for the winter season. This is another new design for this year's holiday season. I wrapped the handle in homespun and added a rusty bell and cookie cutter for a bit of prim whimsy.

The celebration will begin Sunday... you can find other entries by typing "WHCOFG" in the search bar on Etsy's home page.

Let's Have a Parade!!!

I have been looking and looking at this tricycle that I bought months ago. Do you do that too? Sometimes I have to really think hard about what I want to do with a piece that comes my way, especially something as unique as this little vintage inspired jewel. The lightbulb went off yesterday as I thought about the Halloween Parades we used to have in elementary school. This was long before things got so complicated .... we children would walk home for lunch (remember when we could do that???) and change into our costumes. No premade outfits for us! We had homemade costumes that were ever so much better than the "prefab" Ernie and Cookie Monster you buy at K-Mart now. Then we would rush back to school for our parade that ended with a great party in each classroom. I decided that these gourds should have a parade, so I painted them up and perched them on the tricycle (after all, everyone knows a pumpkin needs some sort of transportation!!!). Hope these guys make you smile!

Grandma's Vintage Kitchen

When I was a little girl, I loved to go visit my grandma and grandpa. They had all the things that my family didn't.... a chicken house, the best garden ever, and a huge kitchen where the most wonderful things to eat were created. There were things in that kitchen that I loved. Old kettles and pots, long handled spoons and balls of twine. I guess that is why I am fascinated with any vintage kitchen piece I can find to paint on.

This matchbox holder is a reminder of the one dear Grandma had hanging on the wall by her stove. One strike of a match and the king of the kitchen was fired up and ready to get to work.

Grandma also had a scale, similar to this one. She canned everything she could, always saying, "Won't this taste good this winter?" She used recipes that called for "5 pounds of apples" or, "3 pounds of Kentucky Wonder green beans." How I wish I could go back in time, drag that chair out from under the table and stand in it watching while Grandma worked her magic in that wonderful kitchen of my childhood.

Hurry Up Autumn!!!

I am surrounded by pumpkins, vines and dried berries in my little studio. I love painting anything to do with my favorite season. Today I found an old vintage cheese box at an antique store and couldn't wait to get started on it. I love the three crows sitting primly on the fence. Don't you wonder what they are thinking? This was great fun to paint (my design).


And speaking of crows, this old lunchbox was just the ticket for the perfect piece to paint one of Terrye French's designs on. I love the way the colors "pop" on the black background. Wouldn't the person who carried his lunch in this think it is so funny that it is now a piece of folk art?

I think aromatherapy is a great concept. My precious Megan brought this to me as a little surprise last weekend. It is a plug-in from Bath and Body Works and is just the best thing for getting you in the mood to bake pumpkin pies and think of Fall being just around the corner! It is not overpowering at all.... just perfect!

The Frost is on the Pumpkin.....

It is beginning to look like Fall has arrived, or at least in my studio anyway!!! I love this season for its glorious colors --- all the crimsons, golds and bronzes just make everything glow. Here are some of my latest pieces:

The first is a kerosene can. I love the curly stemmed pumpkins and the little saltbox village. I would live in the red house, if I could, and give the sheep names like "Maggie" and "Estelle".Here is an old sewing machine drawer that I painted up with the most prim jack-o-pumpkins ever! I love their toothy smiles!!! The drawer is filled with frosted pumpkins, gourds, berries, leaves and cinnamon sticks.

Finally, this is an old vintage leather suit case I found while I was on vacation. Don't you just love those black crows that are flanking the banner? I used real antique shell buttons on the pennies down each side.

I have more ideas rolling around in my head and more items already primed and ready to paint. I wonder what it will be today? Hmmmmm, another sewing machine drawer or a coffee pot? I never know until one of them speaks to me and says, "Me, me!!!! Make something out of me!!!"

Prim Chicken Gourd - Miss Pitty Pat

I love painting on gourds!!! They are all unique in their own way and when cleaned, the surface is like silk! My stash is running low, but the Farmer's Market is up an running, so my gourd man will be back and I will be a happy, happy girl.

Turning an otherwise hum-drum gourd into a chicken is so much fun (and I give them all names). I decided to take my new favorite Terrye French design and see if I could paint it on a gourd. I am happy with the way this little lady turned out. Her beak, comb and tail are cut from wood (this takes some time, but well worth the effort). Her shawl is a piece of tatted lace and it is tied with a homespun "ribbon". She sits on a nest that rests on an old bed spring.

Stay tuned..... I am going to paint another chicken tomorrow. I think I feel a new trend taking shape in the studio!

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.