Carved Angel Wings

When I first saw these carved angel wings from Pottery Barn, I was in L.O.V.E. Seriously, love.

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn

Once I started to do a little research, I found several antique French wings, that I loved even more. So I had to figure out a way to make them. Although carving wood was out of the question. I used only recycled materials.

Added coats of browns, golds and blacks. Gave them a slight white washed effect for age.

For the display I used a frame from a french door (we found it on bulk trash pick up day, HA!)

And my best friend gave me the remainder of a roll of paintable wallpaper.

Painted and hot glued together.

My all time favorite Christmas carol, and my Mom's fantastic typewriter.

The paper was stained with coffee, and then stamped with a sheet music stamp, and I printed out the song.

Some dollar store birdies (sans their ugly ornament hangers)

The cute little mirror tree was also a dollar store purchase, but was a little too bright and shiny for me, so I tarnished it with raw umber oil glaze.

A cute little frames and some paper that I spray painted and stamped.

I have wanted to be an artist my entire life. I can remember the first art set I was ever given, I was four. When I think back, it seems like when I opened it it was like that scene from Indiana Jones, when the Holy Grail is opened. Angels singing. You get the picture.

I am so proud to say that I will be exhibiting wings similar to these (but larger) at a very chic gallery, downtown next month. Words do not describe how excited I am.

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Kimm at Reinvented!

And Todays Creative Blog for Get your Craft on!

Seasonal Guest Bath Arrangement

Hello! Look at me, blogging two times in a week! Wow!

I have not been on a bloggy hiatus, just busy.

So I wanted to show you a quick and easy seasonal makeover I did for our guest bathroom.

Here is the before (rather boring, if I do say so myself)

(And no, I do not normally keep my hot glue gun and scissors in the bathroom....)

I got this at a garage sale for $1!

I loved the frame, my BF loved the canvas = PERFECT!

I took the canvas out, and cut two equal parts of fishing line. I looped the fishing line around four times, knotted the ends and hot glued the knots to the back top corners of the frame.

I trimmed the excess.
I have been saving this gorgeous moss wreath I got on clearance from Joanne's last year for $0.97. It was just a little too small for most applications (like hanging on a door).

I used some left over silk from this project. And cut a piece long enough to hold the wreath.

Hot glued the seams under.

No........I do not normally have pine cones in the sink...

Used the screws that hold the mirror in place and loosened them, slid the fishing line over and tightened them.

Had an urn that was formally brass, but I painted a distressed old irony black.
(You can see by the bottom what it used to look like...)

Has some sticks from our neighbors tree I spray painted white. I tied them together with twine, and did not use Styrofoam.

My Mom gave me some random green filler and added it to the base.

Placed pine cones from my Grandparents farm around the base to cover the twine.

I LOVE the outcome. Dramatic, but multi seasonal. It will work Thanksgiving through January.

And, it was free, using things I had around the house!

This is a pic taken with flash "off". I am trying to tweak my camera.

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Happy Halloween

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and a fantastic Halloween!

Hannah's costume looked adorable on, and she had so much fun in it! So girly!

Here is the back without the wings.

Mommy and Hannah.

We went to a Halloween block party and she had a blast.

Too bad our annual photo shoot was rained out last week. Boo!

Family pic.

Before trick or treating.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

If anyone is still interested I can post a tutorial for the wings (maybe for next year...).

As you can tell my Halloween motto seems to be "Go Big, or Go Home"! Ha!

Pleas join Kimba at DIY Day for more fun projects!

Sneak Peek...

Sorry to have disappeared off the blog-planet again.

I have MISSED blogging!

I have had lots of big things going on, good things that I can't wait to share with you soon.

And trying to make a "simple" set of wings. It seems every time I think a project is going to be "easy" and just take a day.......it takes five times as long, and is challenging. It feels like I have made approximately 578 sets of wings. OK, realistically, I have made 7. Seriously. And I have made wings several time before, so I don't understand what the holdup was. I could easily devote an entire post to when a good idea goes really wrong....

BUT, I am done. It's not perfect, but at this point it's just done :)

My daughter is SO much more girly than I ever will be, so I tried to come up with a compromise of both our tastes (Yes, I am saying that now while she is 3.....but I am not agreeing to it when she is 16...)
So tutu dress it is.
When tied behind her back, the painted petals lay like a petticoat.

The halter part that will tie behind her neck.

The avant garde hat, made of painted "petals" (painted and cut broadcloth), a painted silk flower, tulle, a few feathers, and a butterfly on floral wire.

(I wanted something more couture than antennas...........can you tell that I have been watching Project Runway lately????? :))

The wings, this is a terrible picture.....I can't seem to take a good one of them tonight. I promise they look much better than this, though. In real life they are not shiny, nor wrinkled looking....
They are hanging from the ribbon that will tie around her waist (under the tutu dress)

Another not so good pic....sorry. In real life, they move and are a softer looking fabric. (It is painted broadcloth)

We are planning on having the annual costume photo shoot at the park with our best friends
this week, so I will be updating these with better pictures soon!

I have missed you all! Hope you are all doing well!

I'm Back....

I apologize for being MIA for so long. I didn't plan on it happening. My Dad came to visit from Tennessee (he hasn't been in town since January). It is easy to forget how much you miss someone until you get to spend quality time with them.

Here are some of the highlights: (P.S. My Dad and my brother are going to kill me for this :)

In fact, I expect to receive a call from posting this any minute now.....)

These pictures make me smile, (and it's not because
my Dad and brother look like they have
had one too many yard long drinks at Mardi Gras...)
but because they laughed, let her dress them up, and were wonderful sports as Grandpa and Uncle. (I told my brother all the single ladies love this look :))
I love you both so much!

OK, back to home decor......

I have had my fall decor up for weeks now....and have obviously been procrastinating posting.

Over the living room mantle.

The sideboard (the bizarre white blur from the right of the photo was brought to you in part by Dora.......I am wondering if perhaps she might be radioactive...)

Our front door.

Metal pumpkins in the manspace.

The table scape on the living room coffee table.

A trophy (97 cent thrift store find) , pumpkin and bird on an end table.

In the kitchen.

A pumpkin on the pear topiary.

In the master bedroom, in a hurricane, layered with pebbles, moss and a pumpkin.

Our dining room.

The Moroccan lantern was $2 at a garage sale.

The ceramic bird $.99 at a thrift store.

The faux cloche. I found a broken hurricane candle scone at a thrift store for $.25 - the kind that attach to the wall, and a candle fits in the bottom of it (upside down). I glued a dowel rod end to the end of it to mimic a cloche. My Aunt recently gave me some gorgeous beaded fruit.

The acorn ball was also $.25 at a thrift store.

The nest was given to me, and a piled it on top of a faux fur sample I had cut the last time I was at the wholesale fabric store.

Here are the metallic topiary pumpkins I refinished,

I missed you all so much, and am so glad to be back!

Join Kimba at A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day!

Antique Window Turned Wall Art

I bought an old window off of Craiglist for $3. It was pretty, with chippy white paint.

I had so many ideas of ways to use it, it made it hard to decide.
I ended up painting it. (no surprise :))
I printed out an antique map from Biblical times.

On paper grocery bags. I felt like it added to the aged look. And they were in my pantry, which meant no trip to the store :)
Just taped it to the back!

Hung it over the door to my laundry room.
Ta Da!
$3 wall art!


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Painted Ceiling Medallion

I loved the ceiling medallion in the dining room that came with the house. It just never really stood out against the white popcorn ceilings.

The chandelier is a bit plain for my taste too, but not the focus today.

(I am sure if I scour Craiglist ,that I could remedy that situation.)

I didn't even bother to tape the area off. I just used a good angled brush with Kilz exterior black paint. (It claims one coat coverage, however you can see that's not the case)

Good brushes make it capable to paint a straight line without having to tape first.

I applied a second coat of black and dry brushed acrylic craft paint in burnt umber, with the same angled brush.

I used a sponge brush to highlight the raised areas with gold (acrylic craft paint).

I used some scrap fabric from my bedding to make a chandelier cover. Similar to what I did here, but instead I ironed the seams before hand, and glued it together while on a ladder.

Please join Susan, at Between Naps on The Porch for Met Monday.

And Kimba At A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day!