Waiting for Spring

I am longing for springtime and the time when I can get in the garden and start digging. Meanwhile, it is still cold and wintry here. The chilly temperatures aren't keeping me from doing some spring painting however and I want to share a few pieces with you.

The first is a door crown that is a Terrye French Design. My dear friend, Diane, who lives in England is the new owner and I know it will look lovely in her home. We exchange notes about the comings and goings in our lives. Her writings of trips to Sweden and working in her cottage garden just sweep me away!


I have another friend, Linda, who is suffering through the long winter as I am. Living to the north, she is receiving more than her share of snow and frosty temperatures. We both talk of how spring is surely around the corner and how we are waiting impatiently for its arrival. She recently purchased this "springy" prim bread board. Don't you just love the black bunny and the little robin's nest with its blue eggs?

Wendy, who lives in Japan, is getting her share of snow too. I hope this prim sheep skillet will give her a glimpse of springtime. We have become fast friends through our convos on Etsy. What a dear she is!

Snow is in the forecast for today so my beloved pup, Suki, and I will stay inside my warm little studio. I tell her to be patient but she wants a warmer, sunnier day. Hugs go out to all of you from the both of us!!!

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?