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!!!

Christmas Time!

I have been MIA for a while and I apologize to all my blogging friends. Dear Megan has been busy house hunting and we have been lending support (isn't that what parents do best?!!). I have also been treasuring hunting, cutting wood for projects and of course painting hours on end in my little studio. Here are some Christmas projects to get you in the mood. Check out my Christmas counter below... it isn't long until the happiest day of the year!!

The first project is an old cheese box. My dear father-in-law used to buy one of the "hoops" of cheese that came in this type box every year at Christmastime. Can you imagine a twenty-five pound piece of cheddar cheese? I found this lovely old box and painted it up with a Terrye French Santa.

What would make a better beard for old Santy Claus than yards of torn muslin. This Jolly Old Soul has two and a half yards of torn strips to create his magnificent beard. Lots and lots of glitter and mica flakes make him look as if he has been on a midnight ride for sure.


Finally, here is a sweet gingerbread teapot (my design) with a Christmas tree filled with all sorts of gingie delights. I have two Christmas trees in my kitchen for the holidays and one of them is always contained in a teapot. After all, don't you spend a lot of time baking and cooking goodies so why shouldn't you have decorations there too??? Oh my goodness, all this talk of Christmas makes me want to start decorating! Do you think my dearest would notice if I start putting out my Snow Village????

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.

Hurray for the Red, White and Blue (and watermelon too!!!)

I couldn't wait to paint one of the sewing machine drawers I bought yesterday. I knew exactly what pattern I would use... one of my favorites from Terrye French with my own twist. I just love that big fluffy sheep with the watermelon slice balanced on its back. The pear, the crows, the quilt and the sunflowers are the essence of a prim American summer, aren't they? I lined the drawer with a piece of an antique quilt. The tin star is painted with the stars and stripes to mimic the flag. I cut the watermelon piece and painted and distressed it. The candlestick holder is a copy of a "courting" type. Your daddy would adjust the height of the candle according to the time your beau could stay... when it burned down it was time to say goodnight! Finally, I covered the center of a sunflower with lots and lots of buttons. This was so much fun to make!!! I am already thinking about what to paint on the second drawer!

Kitchen Goodies...

I have found the most wonderful things to paint on lately! Dearest declares that we are going to have to build on an addition just to hold my "junk" --- I quickly remind him that it isn't junk at all and that I promise to reorganize my craft room to accommodate all my TREASURES!

Here are two little whimsies that I picked up recently. The first is vintage food grater that I repurposed to become a towel hanger. It was perfectly rusted so I left the surface unchanged and only added one of my saltbox designs. The other is a "short'ning and ice cream spoon" --- isn't that a disgusting combination??? I had never seen one before, but did a little research online and found out that you can find them if you are lucky. The shape was perfect for painting a little prim night scene. I had such a good time painting these pieces. So now, I have to get in that craft room and get serious about maximizing my space.

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!

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!

Vintage Saltbox Spoon

I found this old spoon in my favorite antique shop, hidden away from view behind boxes and books. I tell myself it was just waiting to be found by me. I decided one of my saltbox houses, painted in a watercolor style, would be the perfect thing to paint in the bowl area. The sheep seem quite content to graze on the hillside as the apples on the trees ripen. I wonder, as I look at the chipped and worn handle on this lovely old blue and white spoon, just how many jars of jars and veggies it helped can. I am so glad it found its way to me.