Fuzzy Lampshade

I got this great shade for 1.99 at Savers.  The fabric was torn, but that just made it easier to tear it off.  The yarn was on clearance at Joann Fabric for .97 a skein.  I wasn't sure how must it would take to cover the shade so I bought 4.  It only took one and a half!  Now there has to be a project for the remaining yarn, oh bummer...

Basically the fabric was torn off and I wrapped the entire frame with the purple fuzzy yarn.  It is a fun lampshade that is definitely a conversation piece.

I've Been a Bad Blogger!

What I need to do is give myself a goal so that I post more often.  I have a lot of things painted and a few other things made so it is really time!  Lately, I have been on a chair and lampshade kick.  If it's a good deal, it is difficult to pass it up!  Currently there are 3 chairs that need some updating and a few lampshades.  My brain is chugging away trying to come up with some good ideas.  Once that happens it will be blog mania for me.  Here are a few of my painting projects and believe me there are definitely more to come very soon.  Have a great day and keeps creating!


Yet another pig cutting board





Paper mache pig and cow

Nothing fancy just a fun design

Beaded Lamp

BEFORE

AFTER

On 1/27/2011, I posted a lamp that I repainted.  This is that same lamp now updated again.  Sometimes an idea comes along and it is better than the original.  This is inspired from a Pinterest posting that used old jewelry.  Well, that can get expensive so this is made from wooden beads that are painted gold.  The beads came from a thrift store and cost 3.50 for the bag.  I still have some leftover for a future project.  The beads are just glued onto the lamp and painted over with gold and pearl acrylic paint.  I got some jewel-like buttons and added them for accent.  The perfect lampshade was on another lamp in the house, so I just switched them up.

How much did this cost?  The lamp was 1.49 originally, the beads 3.50, jewel buttons about 5.00.  What a bargain for a one of a kind home accent!

Parrothead Inspiration

I have posted quite a few Adirondack chairs on this blog and will probably post many more.  The chairs are fun and the opportunity to paint them came about because my husband broke his leg in 2000.  Weird huh! 

We are in a Parrothead club and went to see Jimmy Buffett at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin.  My husband had broken his leg early in the summer and he wanted me to paint it with a tropical design because we were going to see Buffett.  The then president of our Minnesota club, StMinnesomeplace, saw the cast and asked if I was able to paint some chairs.  Well, sure, why not!  Thus Dawn the Artist came to be, that is how that name was started. 





I just finished the chairs that will be auctioned off at the end of March and got news that the club founder, the one who asked my to start painting chairs had passed after a battle with cancer.  Jerry was my inspiration to start painting tropical designs.  It was because of him that my life long love of art was rekindled after a dry spell.  These chairs are dedicated to him...Thank you Jerry...Sail on...

Cat Cutting Board Take II

2nd Cutting board painted

Until I started blogging and trying to find thrifty items to paint, I never realized that cutting boards were available in so many shapes.  Of course there is the basic paddle board style, but there are also many animal shapes.  This is the second cat one that I have found. 

There is a small area in my home that had a black and white theme so like the past cat that was posted this one is also B & W.  The design is a variety of patterns, kind of a signature of my style.

Oops!  Thought I posted the first cat, but didn't.

Here it is.



1st Cutting board painted

One of a kind lamp shade

I kind of dropped the ball around Christmas time.  As usual I made many gifts, but forgot to take pictures before giving them.  Some of the ideas came from pinterest, others from my imagination.  My sister in laws all got glass block decorations, my nephew got a framed cross made from an old baseball and my niece got a painted cookie tray.  If I can talk my family into sending me pictures, these items may be posted in the future.

For today's posting here is a very unique lampshade.  The shade had a cool structure, but the fabric and trim were not in the best condition.  I used my stockpile of yo-yos and sewed them to the frame of the shade.  Next I used some old bits of lace and added the fabric to it.

It is very different and not everyone will like it, but it goes with my eclectic and colorful decor.

Funky Chair

Before

I am so addicted to Pinterest, but it has given me some great ideas.  This is a chair that I got at the Goodwill for about $6.00.  It is in great condition, but the fabric was dated so I updated it with some fabric scraps.  It is so funky and fun!




After

Can Tab Lampshade

I will have a few new posts over the next few days.  This is a project that I finished a few weeks ago.  There have been many ideas for can tabs and lampshades have been done before so this isn't a new concept, but my way of assembling it is probably different.


This is a larger shade and took me longer than expected to complete, but it turned out great.  The tabs are wired with green floral wire.  The strips of tabs are sideways and there was 16 in each row.  Hope you like my version.

Animal Ink Drawings

Kids are always challenging when it comes to gifts, but I'm lucky because my nieces and nephews like my creations.  About a month or so ago, I emailed one of my nieces and asked what she wanted for Christmas.  She replied that she loves my ink drawings of animals, so that is what I made for her.  By the way she is a senior in high school.  How many teenagers make requests like that?

Instead of one drawing I made three for her.  My fave is the owl. 

Sometimes as an artist/creative person I am amazed that these things are made by me.  It may sound strange, but there are times when the drawing is finished and I stand back to look at it and say to myself, WOW, did I really do that?  That was the owl for me. 

 

Tropical Table Top

Hello!  So, I'm slacking a bit but no worries, Christmas is approaching and there will be more posts as gifts are created.  Plus, there is something in the works that is a bit more time consuming.  That should be finished in the next week...hopefully.

A very wonderful lady that has me paint a lot of stuff recently asked me to paint a small table top for her.  You know those round tables that are fairly inexpensive? That is what the 'canvas' was.
She is in the Parrot head club so of course it had to be tropical.  This is the only picture taken of it.  The final design had a small beach chair added, but oops, it slipped my mind to take a last photo.

She is going to put it on top of the milk can from a previous post. (March 31, 2011)