A copy cat bird house

I have always liked "MacKenzie-Childs" things.  While looking through the catalog the other day I saw these really cute bird houses.  Whimsical and fun!  The only problem is the bird house in the catalog costs $200.  Since this is a little more than I normally spend on a bird house, I had an idea to make my own.

I found a $6.00 wooden bird house at Hobby Lobby.  I started with three coats of white paint for the base and then using a ruler I figured out my black and white squares evenly the whole way around.  After that I added color, and to top it off, I hung a crystal on the bottom of the bird house for some bling!

 

And this is how mine turned out.  It's not exactly like the MacKenzie-Childs bird houses, but close enough for me! 

 

My copy cat bird house.

 

  

"Nature" crafts

I started a few projects this week, and when I finished them, I realized they all had something to do with nature.  Funny...hadn't even thought about it until I was taking photos.   

So here are my "nature" crafts I've been working on.  

A white bird house for the fence post in the back garden.  

 I cut and pressed a fern leaf for framing.  

And I painted a rock with butterflies.  This will make a great paperweight and I'll be listing this on etsy.  

Simple and fun nature crafts.  

Chalk painting an old dish cupboard

Good morning, my friends, how are you?  I hope you're having a good week.  Can you believe it's August already!    
   

I want to show you a project I've been working on using chalk paint.  I have never painted with chalk paint before but I have seen beautifully transformed pieces of furniture on some of your blogs and I have been wanting to give it a try.  

Let me tell you first how this all came about.  I had an idea in my mind for quite some time, of an old dish cupboard that I wanted in the kitchen.  I've seen a lot of these cupboards in my "English Home" magazines and I love the look.  Well, last week, while antiquing with hubby and my sister and her husband, I saw a cupboard just like the one I had in mind.  I showed my dear hubby and he said, "I can make one for you".  Well......, yes, that sounded good.  

So the next day, true to his word, out of an old wooden door that he had stored in the garage, he made my cupboard.  Custom made!  Can't beat that!  

Here are some photos, before and after.  

Two coats of "Old Violet".  Then I used a dark soft wax to finish it.  

Above is the kitchen before.  

And the kitchen after.  

Thank you again, dear hubby, for making this for me.  

And I might add, using chalk paint is so easy, it covers just about anything, and you can use the regular wax or dark wax to get just the right color you're looking for.  
  

'till next time, 

Painting

"Glossy Colonial Red" is now the color of my old gray blue wicker table that stands beside my art table.  It needed an uplift and what better color than cheery red (quick and easy with spray paint).  I think this is actually a sewing table but I use it for my art supplies.  Works great.  

And on my art table is a 36 x 24 canvas that I am painting for my sister and brother-in-law.  They want something for their new home in Arizona which will hang in their guest house.  A western scene.

 These past few weeks have been crazy.  We had two commissioned wooden toy marble rollers, one purple "Carnival", and the other a blue "Sea Shell" which had deadlines and are now packed and shipped.  The marble rollers are fun to paint because I can use bright happy colors for kids.

One more paint project is a hanging plant holder for herbs or flowers.  A "barn red" color with a little purple flower on each side.  We just had a request for a black one, so that will be next.  You can find these in our shop, or if we are sold out just let us know what color you would like and we will be happy to make one for you.

  Lots of painting, lots of colors and lots of different projects.  I am thankful I have these to work on during the long cold gray days we've been having lately.  It seems winter has returned.  Time goes faster when you're busy, right?  And I can hardly wait for spring!
 

Painting a mail box

Our black mail box hanging on the front door in the full sun for many years had faded to a gray.  It was definitely time for some paint (or a new mail box). I opted for the paint.  

  I always seem to have a selection of spray paint on hand, doesn't everybody?   

This was my inspiration (below).  I found it in one of my English Home magazines.  What caught my eye was the fact that the colors were almost the same as our house.  

Here is our front door with the newly painted mail box.  An easy project, and it didn't cost a penny!  

  

A fun project

This is a cat and dog seesaw whirligig that just came out of Galen's woodshop. All handmade. I had fun painting it in bright whimsical colors.

He hand carved the cat and dog figures and added pipe cleaners for tails. The seesaw moves up and down as the fan spins and the whole platform turns in the wind.

I don't know where he comes up with these ideas!

Kinda cute though.

Find it at whimsytwo.

Just another piece of whimsical folk art.

A preserved recipe

How many of you have old recipes that were handwritten by a loved one....your mother or great grandmother maybe, and now those recipes are just laying around in boxes or stuck in between the pages of your cook books?

Here's an idea for you. Why not preserve one of these very special handwritten recipes?

I just finished one for my cousin ~ it was handwritten by our grandmother. As you can see it is old and stained and torn around the edges.

I used a 5 x7 canvas and painted it to look old. I used white, tan, and gold paint. After it dried I brushed on a layer of mod podge. Then I carefully placed the recipe on the canvas. Once you have it centered all you do is put on a few more coats of mod podge and it's finished.

I did one of these for myself last year. It was my grandmother's sugar cookie recipe. I loved those cookies, and now the recipe is preserved forever and displayed on the cupboard in our dining room, and whenever I look at it I think of my dear sweet grandmother.

It's an easy project.

Go ahead and try it and save one of those very old special recipes!

Faux tole

Black and gold painted flowers.

Remember this wooden wastecan I found at Goodwill?

Well, I spray painted it black.

I painted gold flowers on each side and trimmed it out with gold edges. Then I sprayed it with a high gloss paint. Looks like metal, doesn't it?

Here is my faux tole wastecan now sitting beside my computer desk.