Lost in a World of Painting

This week I'll share some

of my most recent creations. 

The following piece

is dimensional. I designed 5

raised pieces that were cut

out and attached to a 

plywood base. 

Trim was added to the edges

to frame it out. 

Blue Kitty. 

Purple Kitty with some mixed media additions. 

This is a sweet little kitty that started

as a pattern I drew and my husband

cut out for me on our scroll saw. 

He used pine and said it was a really nice

material to cut. I painted the sides to

match the floral motif on the front. 

I also drew a fish pattern for my husband to

cut out for me using the same pine. 

It was fun painting something new. 

Lastly is this yellow kitty

that I just finished this morning. 

Such fun! 

I hope you're having a wonderful day! 

Thanks for stopping by.

Terri 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall. . .

One of my neighbors kindly gave me

a big mirror a couple of months ago. 

It's 38" x 32". 

Another neighbor that knows about the mirror

keeps asking me if I've done anything

with it yet. 

Well, it's finally time to call her over

to see the mirror. 

I should say, the frame of the mirror. 

I'll let my husband get the mirror

part securely back in the frame. 

The frame was initially a brown

mottled paint and it was primed

in white to start the process. 

These first few pictures were taken at sunrise.

That's why they're a little dark. 

Next, I drew out my design and made

patterns for wood pieces that my husband

gladly cut out for me on the scroll saw. 

I placed the pieces where I wanted them

just to check my design, before

they were adhered to the frame. 

Voila! The finished piece. 

It's much more bright

and cheerful now. 

Thank you for stopping by.

Hoping you have a wonderfully

creative week! 

Terri

Giving New Life to an Old Guitar

My dear friends and neighbors

will sometimes give me things

they think I may like to paint. 

This old broken down

guitar is an example of one 

of those things. 

It's been sitting in the corner

of my art room for  a couple

of years waiting to be brought

back to life. 

I had a design percolating 

in my mind, now it was a matter

of putting it all together. 

The same friend that gave me the guitar, 

also gave me the cool wooden heart she'd

designed and had her husband cut out for her. 

I designed a pattern for wings and the "Love"

sign, and my husband cut them out for me

on the scroll saw. 

I strung beads where the tuning keys

would've been.

I used my wood carving tools to 

give the "Love" sign a little dimension. 

I also decided to change the plain heart 

into a flaming heart. 

My husband made

sure every piece was secured

properly with a combination of 

liquid nails and nails or screws. 

Here's another view from the front. 

I'm pleased with the way it 

turned out. 

It was so much fun to create. 

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! 

Thank you for stopping by. 

Terri

Painted Lamp

I've been all out of sorts when it comes

to artwork these past few weeks. 

My husband is home for the summer

and my daily schedule is all off kilter. 

My creative spark has fizzled

and I'm hoping it's just a temporary slump. 

I've figured out it's going to take

some effort on my part to get back 

on track and figure out my new routine

while he's here. 

Don't get me wrong, it's nice having him home,

it's just that it's not the same as being alone. 

I'm working on figuring it all out. 

* * * 

In the meantime, I've been doing some spring cleaning 

and rearranging in the house. 

There was an all white lamp and shade on my 

nightstand that I decided to move into our family room. 

Before I did that, I thought, 'Why not give it some color?'

I think it turned out pretty

cute and gives a nice pop of color

to the family room. 

Now it's on to the rest of the day. . .

I hope you're enjoying yours. 

Until next time,

Terri

Cats and Skulls and Magnets, Oh My!

The past weekend was so much fun! 

My daughter and son-in-law

took their "mom's" out for an early

 surprise Mother's Day celebration. 

(It's so nice being good friends

with my daughter's mother-in-law.)

The four of us went to the 

English Rose Tea Room

in Carefree Arizona. 

It was just perfect. 

Being a tea drinker myself I had

to up my game the following morning

and forgo my usual mug for Grandma's 

porcelain tea set. 

While it wasn't quite as delicious without

the real cream and lump of sugar,

it extended the delightful memory just the same. 

If you ever happen to be in the 

area, it's a wonderful place to visit. 

* * * * *

Moving on now to my 

art creations of this past week. 

Here's a pic of my purple kitty plaque, . . .

. . . . my new skull plaque, . . . 

. .  .  and some fun little art magnets. 

These little guys are all painted on 2"x 2" pieces of wood. 

I decided to make some one of a kind 

mini artwork magnets as well. 

This little kitty is one of those. 

So much fun! 

Hope you have a wonderful week. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Terri

Goat Folk Art Painting

A dear lady who owns a farm animal

sanctuary asked if I could do some more

artwork for her. (My husband and I have done

some work for her in the past). 

She'd like a goat, pig, and cow painting. 

I've got the goat just about finished, and have

been working on a few other things

to help cheer and brighten up her place 

(not that it's not already really cheerful). 

I thought of this unconventional funky frame idea

after I'd already started this piece. My husbands 

been working on that. 

Unfortunately, for him to attach it, it may mean

a lot of nail holes and wood putty to cover those holes

of the front of this piece. 

I told him to just do what he needs to 

do and I'd go back over and fix what needs

to be fixed. 

Between you and me, I'm hoping not much. 

When I finish something, I like to wash my

hands of it, and not have a potential redo in my future. 

I'll be sure to post a picture

after the "frame" has been attached. 

Hoping you're having a wonderful week. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Terri

"Home Tweet Home" Bird House with Stand

It feels so good to have this one finished. 

I've finally freed up a little more floor

space in my art room. 

It's funny though, solving one problem can 

sometimes create another.

The newly created space in my art room

is now filling up space in our guest room.

Oh well, hopefully we'll get some of

these sold and that'll free up that room.

Dream big, right?

I wanted to take this out in the yard

to get some pictures, but we had

a much needed rain storm last

night and the ground is still wet. 

This'll have to do for now. 

We've made two stand sizes for our

bird houses. This

size is the shorter of the two. 

The flower embellishments on the sides of 

this house are raised wood cut-outs. 

I drew a couple flower patterns on

wood and my husband cut them out

and affixed them to the sides. 

The next two pictures I took from underneath

so you can see that every spot is painted. 

This was an important tip I learned

from a very wise gallery owner and art dealer. 

Don't leave any blank spaces!

Thanks for visiting!

Folk "Heart" Bird House with Stand

This cute little bird house has been sitting

on our guest bed just waiting for me 

to paint a stand for it. 

I've had 2 unfinished bird house stands sitting in my 

art room/studio FOREVER (it seems). 

They're taking up a bit of floor space

and starting to get in my way. 

It's one of those projects that I know

will take some time, so I put it off. 

One day rolls into the next and

well, you know. . . 

Last weekend, I felt the need to check 

it off my list and "get 'er done"!

I set a goal for myself of one day

to accomplish it. 

It was such a good feeling to have 

finished it in the time I allotted myself. 

Today's goal: 

*Paint the 2nd stand. 

The only problem is that today's goal

is in competition with 5 loads

of laundry AND changing the bed linens. 

We'll see, I'm going to push myself. 

I'm all about striking while the iron is hot!

Folk Art Bird House 5

This bird house gave me a little

trouble at first. 

My initial idea for it (which I was

really excited about) bombed when 

I told my husband what I wanted to do. 

He told me how hard he worked

on certain features and I was going to cover

them up with my idea. I could see his point 

(after a long discussion) and I decided 

to move on to a plan B. 

By the way, after this incident, we made

the decision that he'll do his thing when it

comes to building, and I'll do my thing when

it comes to painting. Our team projects have been

harmonious ever since.

Back to plan B. .  . I had to come up with

a new idea, and instead I just sat and sat in

front of this thing, starting at it and 

wondering where to start. 

Ever been there yourself?

After a grueling amount of time passed I 

decided enough was enough. 

I set a timer for 20 minutes and started painting

a base design without thinking about it. 

"Just paint!" I told myself. 

After all was said and done,

I really liked the way it turned out. 

Sorry my pictures aren't the best.

I keep this bird house in my daughters

old room and the lighting isn't the best. 

I think the gist of it comes across though. 

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Happy Creating. 

Terri

Hearts, Flowers, and Cross Shrine

This was such a fun project to make.

Just looking at the picture inspires

me to want to make more of them. 

(In case you missed my other shrine posts

you may see them here and here.)

Everything was handmade from the

paper mache shrine box, to the 2 kinds 

of clay that I used. 

One was cold porcelain clay,

and the other one had a flour and glue base. 

For the candle wicks I

stripped a twist tie of it's paper

and used that to suspend the flames.

The cross, leaves, flowers, and candles

are made from the cold porcelain clay. 

The top center heart was made from the 

flour and glue based clay.

It was a little harder to shape

into specific designs, but it was

good for building up dimension. 

I also used some puff paint to add

some texture. It worked great. I was

a little unsure because I think it's mainly

used for fabrics. 

Now here's a behind the scenes

look at what usually goes

on when I'm trying to take a picture

of my work outside. 

"Maybelline! Move your head!"

She's always at the ready

to lend a helping hand paw. 

She loves being the center

of attention, so I thought

I'd give her that honor today. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Terri

Folk Art Bird Feeder

My husband and I finally 

hung our bird feeder. 

It's the Chirp'n Chomp Cafe

where you can eat Cheep Food.

Cheesy I know, but I'm my Fathers' daughter. 

We learned a lot with this

project. It was one of the first we

made together. 

For instance, there're some things that

need to be painted before

the piece is put together. 

You can see the inside. It's

so narrow that I can't fit

a brush to do any painting in there. 

(As I write this, I realize I probably

could've done some stamping.

I'm tempted to go do that now, we'll see.)

Fortunately, most of that blank

space will be filled with bird seed

and hopefully birds!

Most of the painting was free hand work

with the exception of the "landing pad"

where I used a paper doily as a stencil.

It's a little hard to see in the picture.

Because I couldn't reach the inside,

I made sure to cover all

the sides I could reach including the bottom.

I want it to be pretty for any

kids looking up at it. 

All that's left is to add bird

seed and see who shows up. 

Thanks for visiting. 

Hope you make it a great day!

Terri

Pink Castle Bird House

I'd love to share some pictures

of our pink castle bird house. 

I say "our" because my husband and I

collaborate on our bird houses. 

He builds, and I paint.

We work well together because

I let him do his thing, and 

he let's me do my thing.

Originally my intention was to have a 

pink stand for the castle. 

When it was time to place it 

on the stand, I happened to have

this brown based stand ready at the

same time. 

The brown based stand ended up being the right fit. 

I made a beaded chain with thin gage wire for the draw bridge. 

Inside on the back wall is a surprise not visible in the pictures.

There's a mini cow skull with a halo of colorful 

cold pressed clay flowers. 

Every surface is decorated so you

can see the folk art design from all angles.

Please excuse the "background noise" in my pictures.

The stand and birdhouse are affixed 

to one another and it's not the easiest piece to move. 

I did use all exterior house paint and

finished it with a marine spar varnish.

It'll be safe in the elements, but for now I keep

it in our spare bedroom until it sells. 

 Thanks for stopping by! 

Terri