Junk Mosaic Frame Class & Tutorial

I was asked to teach a class on making mosaic art frames.  I had given a few as gifts years ago, and these friends of mine must have a long memory.  I had glued and grouted different "junk" items on to a frame:  letters of a name, keys, broken bits of mirror, rusty hardware (these were gifts for guys).

Fast forward ten years: I don't like to work that hard anymore.  No grouting for me.  I wanted a substance I could just smear on a bare wood frame and stick objects in it.  I went to every major craft store and told them what I needed.  No, no and no.

So I experimented with wood filler.  The first brand I tried was "four times tougher than wood" so it stuck great (I had already known that it sticks great to fingers from previous projects.)  But it had a horrible odor, and I need to keep as many brain cells as I can.  Not to mention that it was chunky, and did not apply smoothly.

 

The second brand (Elmer's Wood Filler) did not knock you into next Tuesday when you smelled it.  It was a little smoother, but I decided I didn't like the color.  So I mixed a bit of flat black enamel into it.   The  I applied it about as thick as you would apply cream cheese to a bagel.   WAA LA. 

It colored great, and made it a great consistency.  It also stuck like granite to the bare wood when dried (24-48 hours).

Next I gathered up jars of "junk" to take to the class. 

Smooth rocks.  Typewriter keys.  Rusty keys...

 

 Game pieces....

Bits of broken mirror.  Beads.  Hardware.  Dice...

 

Shells.  Jewelry with smooth backs.

 

A few people did mosaics on canvas and those turned out cool.

 

I think everyone had fun,

and as a special bonus my daughter-in-law attended!

  

Antique Linen Collar & Lace Garlands

I am trying to get through all of the items that I had hoped to put on ebay this winter.  I had these vintage collars and lace pieces for well over a year before they finally made it on ebay a few weeks ago.  Alas, not much of a market for antique collars apparently.
But too cool to just throw away...

So I attached the to some ribbon to form two

separate garlands.

 

Maybe not a perfect solution...

but it respects the beauty of age and artisanship of the linens...

while giving them a fresh purpose.

 

Vintage Shell Mosaics From Ft Lauderdale

I was looking for inspiration (and shells) for my mixed media frame class that I am teaching soon.  We took a mid-winter trip to Ft Lauderdale (good timing - missed two snows and ice in just 5 short days).  We toured the Bonnet House which was interesting on many levels -- horticulturally, historically, artistically.  It had been built by artist Frederic Bartlett in 1920 and who continued to "embellish" the home until his death in 1953.  In 1983 it was deeded to the Florida Trust For Historic Preservation for all to enjoy. 

Frederic gathered seashells (he owned a good section of the beach,

lucky him) and pressed them in wet concrete to "frame" the doors, ceiling and niches

in the courtyard.  He also did the faux painting on the walls, and artwork on the ceiling.

 

But it is the eagle that I gleaned most of my inspiration from.

 

Just an "aside":

each of these bouquets is crafted from shells.

I think they hale from the Victorian era.

His wife had such a large shell collection that he

built her a special building in which to enjoy it.

That is an actual piece of coral in the center of the room!

Here is a similar mixed media arch gracing a section

of the office window at our hotel.

  I like the broken sections of mirror

that were incorporated (they may appear white here).

So, we did a little beach combing ourselves.

Looking for flattish shells, sand tumbled sea pieces

with soft corners and flattish coral pieces that could

be incorporated into mixed media frames.

(Love that aqua sink in our mid-century motel room).

A Forest Of Aluminum Christmas Trees

How did you spend Black Friday?  I spent it assembling aluminum Christmas trees and watching my favorite football team lose (again). 

But, (on a thankful note) I am grateful that an amazing FIVE mid-century aluminum trees came my way this year. 

The smallest is a little "wall tree", which means it only has branches on one side.  You can shove it against a wall and it doesn't take up much room.  Big bonus on such a little tree:  pom pom branches.

Tree #4 is almost a pencil tree, made by Noma.  Noma was a local company known for lighting,  and really didn't make many aluminum trees.  Bonus for it:  it is in one piece, no assembly required.

The largest tree is a seven foot beauty.  100 plush branches.  A real show stopper.

Sold the 7 foot tree on ebay for $220.

It took me about five hours to get them assembled and priced.  I wanted to make sure that everything was really in the box for the next owner.  Plus, there is nothing like seeing them in all of their glory to make someone want to buy them.  The plan is to get all five fully-assembled trees (and their boxes) into my van and transported to my vintage booth on Tuesday.  After seeing the size of the seven footer, I may have to make 2 or 3 trips.

Four Refurbished Vintage Christmas Bells

I had four slightly bedraggled vintage Christmas bells.  All of them needed some help.

I added a couple of vintage Christmas boutonnieres

and a great old glass bird ornament to each of the

plastic glittered bells.

It may be Christmas over-kill but

I kind of like that look.

But these are my favorite.  They were covered in

peeling foil.  I removed the foil and found the great

Asian newsprint underneath covered with a little glittery mica glue. 

Might be my favorite Christmas item now.

  

Ugly Christmas Sweaters For A Cause

Through this year I've kept my eyes peeled for really ugly Christmas sweaters.  I also got a few given to me by people who know my cause.  Click HERE to check out my ugly Christmas sweaters from last year.

Every Tuesday I donate a few hours at a "Free" Thrift Store.  They give away everything at no cost, to people who can't afford to pay at this point in their lives.
They give away children and adult clothing.  Household items, hygiene items, towels, bedding.  They give away many coats, mittens and gloves this time of year.

Many of the items are donated by individuals, churches or organizations.  But I can't tell you how sad it is when someone needs gloves or socks desperately and there isn't any in the store.  The proprietor and all of her little minions frequently reach into their own pockets to buy necessities. 

December is just one of those times in the year when so many people need so many things, and money is tight for all of us.  That is where the ugly Christmas Sweaters enter the picture.  I donate all of my profit from the sweaters to this organization.  It is fun for me to "enhance" the Christmas sweaters, and then I get a second rush when they sell and I can donate money to a cause I love.

Katie's Christmas Booth At The Rusty Chandelier

These are a few views of Katie's Christmas booth at the Rusty Chandelier.  Her style is so relaxed and natural.

 

Tiny Christmas Drawer Dioramas

Last year I made a couple Christmas dioramas using old clock bodies, click  HERE  to view them.  I had a couple little putz (German for "around the tree") Christmas houses that were not in great condition hanging around, and thought they would be good for this project.

 It did not break my heart to remove the little houses from their little damaged cardboard platforms. 

I am drawn to little drawers, and I think this one may originally have been from a coffee grinder.

Line Up Of Vintage Sleds for 2015

Last year I went a little crazy with whole sled thing.  I had stashed away nine by the time Christmas selling time arrived, click  HERE  for that post.  I wasn't able to break that record this year, but still managed to pick up eight.  And now, without further ado, here is our line up of vintage sleds for 2015:

Here is the "before" photo.  I decided to paint several black to look like chalkboards.  I purchased some vintage window stencils from ebay to make the job easier.  (So much to do for the holidays!)

These two are my favorites, I love the worn surface on the white one. 

I ended up selling the blue one without any stenciling.

But I loved how the stenciling enhanced the

vintage beauty of the white one.

Already sold, of course.

 

Here are some "after" group pictures.

I ended up doing two of the snowflake sleds.

The sled on the right was a vintage stencil.

This little sled was the only actual chalkboard

sled that I did this year.

And some more close-ups.

I purchased the "Bless This House" stencil at Hobby Lobby.

The border stencil was a Martha Stewart.

I think a mistake people make when decorating sleds is doing

a horizontal design (long ways on the sled).

People almost always decorate with the sled standing upright

so you should be able to read any writing without tipping your head..

A lacy all-over stencil on raw, aged wood.

The ornament stencils on this sled were done with the vintage

window snow stencils that I had ordered off of ebay.

Long story, but it took over three weeks for me to receive them.

I'm in love with the vintage stencils.

They were worth the wait.