Refinished Toy Bin for Baby Meg

One of my best friends in the world is Jess...she's about to be a mom.  In like a week.  She amazes me.  She is even more beautiful than I've ever seen her--maybe its because of "the glow" they say you get when you have a baby...especially your first baby!

Anyway...we had dinner over at her and Robby's house last night and had such a good time catching up on life while we followed the precinct election results.  I can't believe the next time we will see them they will have an addition to their family.  A MAJOR addition I might add.

Of course being the artsy people that they are, Meg's room is so adorable.  Light lilac, yellow and brown are the colors they chose.  It took me a while to decide/find what I thought would go in Meg's room...something that would be fun to look at but also functional.

SO...

I found this heart shaped newspaper/magazine holder thing-a-majig and thought it would be cute to refinish and paint...Turns out I like it so much I thought I would keep it for myself.  Makes me miss being a little girl. 

Of course I forgot to take a before-picture.  

So I found something similar to what it looked like on google images.  

First I painted the whole thing with 2 coats of yellow house paint.  Then I painted designs on the end with some contrasting colors...white, lilac, purple, and lime green.

Then I scuffed the paint a little with sandpaper to give it an old look and stained the entire thing with wood stain...thought it still lacked something so I added some lilac-colored fabric around the sides and made bows for the inside.

I was pleased with the results...much better than plain old wood.  Don't you think?  I love a transformation project!

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think!

Thanks for visiting my blog,

I am linking to:

Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle

Take-a-look-Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts

My Etsy is Back!

One of the things I wanted to do before school started was to get my Etsy page back up and running...I did that yesterday and its a good thing because school starts...

TOMORROW.

So even though my free days will be gone, I still plan to keep producing work to sell on Etsy.  Please keep me in mind when you are shopping for gifts for others--or for yourself:-)  

I also wanted to remind my followers and fans out there that I also do commission work...pretty much anything you need (painting, pottery, mixed media...abstract or realistic).  Just contact me through my blog, Etsy, or Facebook.  So if you already have ideas for Christmas presents, its never too early to start planning!

On a different subject...earlier on in the summer the girls in my small group at church decided they wanted to sign up for a class to paint pottery.  I volunteered to teach a class instead...that way they could actually make something and glaze it.  So we had two sessions...one where they made a slab platter and the other when they got to choose their own glazes and glaze their finished pieces.  I was so proud of the way they each turned out that I decided to put some pictures on my blog!

Keep in mind that none of these girls had prior experience in ceramics...they were AMAZING students. Wish all my high-school students were like them:-)  

Happy Monday and don't forget to check out my Etsy page!

art and what inspired it...

One of the best parts of summer is getting to work on projects I've had in my head for a long time but never could find the time...

Lately I've been inspired by several different things...colors I saw in South Africa, small treasures from an antique store in West Point, small clay pots my dad brought back from Costa Rica, frames I saw at a market just last Saturday...

Its funny how my mind works...ideas floating around driving me crazy until I do something about it.

Here are some pictures of some of my inspiration:

Wooden giraffes I found at a market in Cape Town...love the colors!

...and painted gourds

...and fun colorful coasters I made into magnets.

I fell in love with this antique phone (made in 1973) when 

I saw it in an antique store in West Point, MS...

...I also found this fun and colorful bracelet for $2 & couldn't resist!

My dad brought these back from Costa Rica...they're actually for Kristin 

but I get to display them until she comes home!

This was a frame I bought at the Farmer's market in Clinton Saturday.  They are actually made by Kyle and Whitney Sephton, (good friends of mine and Buster's)..."Whyle" frames is what they are called.  Check out some of their work here...you'll love it!

And now for my most recent creations--made possible by the inspiring work of other creators!

This was definitely a time-consuming project/puzzle!  But I really liked how it turned out.  The colors are my favorite part about the whole thing.  Surprised?

This was an antique recipe box given to me by a very dear friend for a wedding gift...I have loved using it (I can't believe its already been 3 years!) but I wanted to give it some color...

So here it is--in color!

I forgot to take a before-picture of this antique mail organizer...We have also used this daily since we got married.  It needed some color so I painted it my favorite teal color with some red accent flowers.

With only a few more weeks of summer vacation left, I'm determined to work on and hopefully finish all the other ideas I still have floating around in my mind...I'll keep you all posted!

Have a great week and God bless!

Travel, Art, and a New Life

Since returning from seeing Kristin in South Africa (I ended up putting my pictures from Cape Town on Facebook), I have been able to rest and take even more advantage of my summer break!  Being able to do some traveling, painting, projects...of all kinds, and visiting friends, I feel truly blessed and thankful.

A few highlights of what I've been up to:

**** A weekend with Kimsey and Alan in Ocean Springs:  George Ohr & Walter Anderson Museum, some great food, walking on the beach, playing with Liddy, and of course---it was "Scrapin' the Coast" weekend!  (FYI, "Scrapin' the Coast" is an annual get-together for low-rider trucks and vehicles...brings out some pretty interesting folks which makes for great people watching.)  Good times!

Alan's Avalon fit right in with the low-riders...

Buster needed a break after all the museums!  I'm sure he wasn't too bored!

****One of the biggest projects I've worked on this summer is for a lady in Tupelo.  She commissioned me to do this tryptic of some dahlia flowers to above her queen-size bed.  I had alot of fun coming up with the idea and painting it!

****Yesterday I went to Tupelo to deliver the paintings and to see some close friends, Amanda and Brock, that just had their baby!  It was such a special time...getting to meet their sweet little girl, Cora Grey.  Its amazing how something so small can be the greatest blessing...our God truly is the giver of life.  It is good to be reminded of that...

This is what I made for Cora's room...got the idea from a good friend.  Thanks Kimsey!

Thank you, Lord, for summer...thank you giving us eyes to see and enjoy the things you've made--and the things that others have made with the gifts you've given them.  Thank you for the gift of community and for the love that is shared between dear friends.  Thank you for life...for the miracle of new life.  Amen.

Happy Friday!
Love,