What Do You Think?

Occasionally I run across items that give me too many ideas.  I have had this old drawer for a few months now and cannot decide what to do with it.  One option is to list it in my shop as is, but I really don't want to do that.  It is 12 inches front to back and 9.5 inches wide.

One option is to paint the outside of the drawer and another is to paint the entire thing - inside and out.  I would then attach the brass handle.

So if that option is the choice, what color would I paint it?  White is typically the choice, but would another color go well with the drawer handle?

Another option is to add hanging hardware to the back and make it a hanging shelf/curio.  This option would preclude it from being used on a flat surface.

So... What do you think?  Please comment and help me narrow down my options.

A Fun and Fabulous Studio!

The talented and multi-faceted Rebecca of Phoenix Art Studio on Etsy has been kind enough to share her glamorous work space.  Rebecca has been painting her entire life and completed a BFA in Illustration from Ringling School of Art and Design.  I have always loved stories and have a large collection of fairy tales from all over the world. I find them fascinating! 

This love of stories is what eventually led me to theatre and costume design. While I had always made necklaces and things as a kid, I think that this was my first official venture into accessory design. After that, jewelry making was a way for me to convert my artwork into something wearable.

Her creativity is just as visible in her work space. Rebecca's love for the Art Nouveau period is quite apparent in the decor, especially the stained glass.  I love the baroque style mirror she uses for self-portraits and the pink on the walls looks energizing and sure to get those creative juices flowing!  Gretel is the puppet behind the easel.  Rebecca made her a few years ago during her time as a costume designer.

 

Since she often has many different projects going on at once, Rebecca has two different tables in her studio as well as an easel. The table by the window is a drafting table and is often used for her watercolor paintings and ACEOs while the large table is used for her polymer clay work. The easel is used for her larger paintings. Because it is a rather small room, she placed everything around the perimeter and away from the center to keep the space open.

I asked Rebecca to share some organization tools she uses in her work space.  Here are a few:

1. Above my drafting table I keep a "project board" that holds ideas, sketches and  inspiration for pieces that I'm working on.

2. I keep a large portion of my painting/drawing supplies in a single drawer tower. Everything is labeled for quick access (brushes, colored pencils, watercolors and drawing supplies, pastels, charcoal, etc...)

3. Keep frequently used books and flat materials handy. I keep mine on this shelving unit: watercolor and drawing papers, jewelry catalogues and reference books.

When asked what makes her work unique, Rebecca said "I love antiquities and spend hours scouring though antique shops looking for treasures, but the one thing that I realize I love most about ancient artifacts is that they have a preciousness to them. So much detail! You can tell that so much time and effort and love was put into these pieces. That is what I try to do with my work. Create something precious.

Something that you can tell has hours of work placed into it and a lot of love. I think that this is what makes my work unique. Whether it's a small miniature painting you can wear around your neck, a meticulously painted and beaded polymer pendant, or a detailed ACEO. Whatever it is, I put my entire heart and soul into it and am not afraid to take that extra time for the little details that make it special."

Follow Rebecca on Twitter (where I found her).

My Collection: Tea Cups and Saucers

I don't know why I haven't shared these before, but I collect and adore tea cups and saucers.  My collection started when I was 16 years-old.  My angelic grandmother passed away and I was given this dainty cup and saucer with purple flowers that had belonged to her.  I didn't drink tea or have a desire to, but I loved my grandmother dearly so this became a very meaningful posession.  It is Bone China called Sweet Violets from the Royal Albert Collection.

I was also given this cup and saucer when my other grandmother passed away.  It is not a family tradition, just coincidence.  This one is larger and more stout than the other.  For years, these were the extent of my collection.
 

In recent years I started really looking at tea cup and saucer sets at antique shops, estate and garage sales and anywhere else I could find them.  I love the shape, the flowers, the pretty handles...  These two are pretty ones I found a couple of years ago - both Bone China.

Ironically, I never drank tea until about a year ago and now I am hooked!  I drink black tea every morning with breakfast, another tea with caffiene mid-day, and usually a cup of chamomille tea in the evening before bed.  Also ironically, I have yet to have a cup of tea in any of my collected tea cups.

This is my most recent set I received from a friend.  It is Summer from the Duchess Collection.  She knows me!  I love the dainty sets the most and there is something about pink and yellow that I love!

Finally, one of my favorites because it is a 3-piece set which I think is rare (but don't really know) and I found these pieces at two different sales over the same summer.  With all of the gold, it is a bit gaudier than what I usually like, but I love that it has 3 matching pieces to it.  It is Phoenix Bone China, made in England.

Perhaps one day I will actually have a cup of tea in one of my tea cups - imagine!

Upcycled and Repurposed Treasures

I absolutely believe in upcycling and repurposing.  I not only enjoy finding previously loved treasures and getting them at a great price, but also knowing that I am not buying something new.  One of my favorite finds from Summer (my busiest treasure hunting time) is a pair of glass containers that I actually found at two separate sales.

Do you recognize them?  They are globes from mid-century light fixtures.  They make perfect candle holders that go with a variety of decor styles, depending on what they are paired with.  One vignette here uses tealights and a rustic decor style.  The other a lighter, softer cottage style and uses pink votives.

Whatever your style, you can't go wrong at 25 cents for one and 10 cents for the other!  One candle costs more than both of these together!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

A lot of recipes lately and I'm not sure why that is, but I hope you enjoy them!  This one is definitely a comfort food and great one for the cold weather that's coming.  I love it because it's easy, it uses just a few ingredients which you probably already have, and everyone will love it!  It's macaroni and cheese!

Here is the enormous ingredients list of 4 items...
- macaroni pasta
- 2-4 different cheeses (about 1.5-2 cups grated)
- milk (about 1/2 cup)
- water
Who doesn't have all of those?


Step 1: Boil water.  (Hopefully I don't have to explain this step further. If I do, you probably shouldn't be boiling water.)  You can grate the cheese while you wait for the water to boil since you'll just be standing there anyways.

Step 2: Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Stir occasionally and drain the pasta once it feels like the texture you like when eating pasta.  *You can use pasta other than macaroni for this... You will just need to change the name to spaghetti and cheese or penne and cheese or zitti and cheese.  You get the idea.

Step 3: Pour half of the pasta into a large oven-safe casserole dish with a lid.  Cover the pasta with half of the grated cheeses.  Pour the other half of the pasta on top and then cover it with the rest of the grated cheese.  Pour the milk over the pasta and cheese.

 Step 4: Bake at 350 degrees with the lid on for about 30 minutes.  When you take it out the cheese should be melted and the milk should be completely absorbed (not all sitting at the bottom of the dish).

Step 5: This is a difficult one because it is going to smell really good!  Wait a few minutes for the pasta to cool before serving.  This would be a good time to prepare a vegetable side or two if you haven't already.

Enjoy!

Upcycle Your Baking Pans

If you're like me, you don't like throwing things away.  I often have items that I know I could use for something else, but sometimes have to think for awhile about what to do with them.  Here are several ideas of how to reuse or upcycle your baking pans.
 

Cookie sheets can double as serving trays.  It's as simple as putting a pretty napkin over it and setting the goodies on top.

Cookie sheets also make great magnet boards!  If your looks a little less than something you want to hang in your home, just clean it thoroughly and paint with silver spray paint.  That's what I did with this one which was pretty well used beforehand.

Bread pans are very versatile!  They are perfect for storing office supplies in a drawer or on a desk surface.  They would also work great in a junk drawer or to organize drawers in your kitchen or bathroom.

Larger bread pans can also store mail or stationery.  These could also be spray painted and one could get quite creative with the colors!  Think of the savings (economical and ecological) when you reuse pans rather than buying a new container at the store.

Here is a very creative upcycle use for a cake pan by MCDB on Etsy.
 

Muffin tins can be very useful! They are perfect for holding small items such as:
- jewelry
- beads
- buttons
- hair accesories...

The possibilities are endless!  Feel free to comment with your ideas for more upcycle uses for baking pans.

Strawberry Lemonade - A recipe!

For your Labor Day barbecue or just for a sweet, refreshing drink - strawberry lemonade.  Now I love recipes with few ingredients, so just buy some delicious lemonade and strawberries and you can make this!

I recommend using both fresh and frozen strawberries.  The fresh berries look much better and have a more pleasant texture, but the frozen strawberries add a lot more flavor!

Start by cutting the fresh strawberries in halves, thirds, or quarters depending on the sizes of the berries.  (The riper the strawberries the better the flavor.)  Put them in your pitcher along with any frozen berries you will be using.

Add the lemonade.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  The longer the strawberries are in the lemonade, the more their flavor will mix with the lemonade.  If you let it sit long enough, the lemonade will be pink when you pour it into a glass. 

You can use a spoon to scoop out some strawberries to add to the glasses or just place a few slices in each glass before pouring the lemonade.  Enjoy!

The End of Summer

A blog post I am not excited to write, but is necessary...  Summer is coming to an end and as sad as it is, I em enjoying reflecting and remembering all of the fun times we had!  With family and sometimes friends, we enjoyed so many fun activities.  Perhaps this is why it's so sad to see it end.

I will remember the fun activities with the kids.
 

They visited children's museums.

They went to a fun park and played miniature golf for the first time.

I will remember ALL of the baseball games...

...and my daughter's obsession with the team mascott.

My son was more interested in collecting balls, bats, and autographs from the players.

We also had a lot of projects...many of which are still not complete.  The kids finally got their dad to build that fort they've been talking about for years. 

It just needs paint now. Thank goodness we still have a couple more weeks!
 

I will also miss the simplicity of summer: barbecuing, picnics, trips to the park, flowers, bugs, fresh fruits and vegetables...  I hope you enjoyed your summer too!

A Day of Oregon Beauty

We spent an afternoon at Silvercreek Falls earlier this week. It was the coolest day of the week and overcast, but it did not detract from the beauty.

There are waterfalls and miles of trails through the forest.

The last time I visited this State Park, we saw a baby bear - exciting and a little scary.  We didn't see any wildlife this time, but we enjoyed all of the views!

There is also a stream that is full of people cooling off on hot days...not this day.

 We enjoyed a picnic and played soccer and frisbee.  A fun time for everyone and a beautiful trip if you are ever in Oregon!

Before and After

I love before and after pictures of projects and post as many of mine as I can.  I don't always remember to take the before shot and sometimes get too excited to get to work that I miss the before picture.  Well here are a few that I did get...

I found this shelf at a thrift shop for $15.  It is wood and is exactly the size I was looking for for my daughter's room.  So I cleaned it up (a lot), primed it and painted it a fresh coat of white and it looks brand new.  It is now full of her toys and she is very proud that her "Mommy did it".

An item that is now in my shop is this pretty vintage tissue holder that I painted white and distressed.  It was tempting to leave it, but it was a bit rough.  A good amount of the gold was damaged and there was this old tape that I had to remove from all 4 corners of the top - that took awhile!

Tissue Holder at ShabbyNChic

Finally, a shelf that was unfinished and just needed some paint.  I decided on a creamy white as it goes with almost any decor style and any color palette.  Amazing what a couple of coats of paint will do!  This is also currently in my shop.

Creamy White Shelf at ShabbyNChic