Creative Dawn

I like to come up with fun post titles when possible and today is a reference from Charlotte's Web.  I read this book when I was a kid and to this day, I always cry when Charlotte dies.  With my interest in reading rekindled in the past few years it reminds me of my youth when I read everything that in sight and that maybe it's time to reread some of those classics.  Hm... So, on with the post!  This is the third pig cutting board that I have found at the Goodwill.  This one was 1.99 and a bit different from the past two.  This board seems to have a more realistic shape than the others.  The painting idea came from a catalog that I got in the mail.  Even if I never order anything, I always look through them because at times a good design idea will come from it.  There was a cool looking sun that was painted in vibrant colors and shapes and I thought it would be fun to decorate the pig in that style.  There is no rhyme or reason to the placement, if a spot was blank I just a

I really think that I need a trip to a museum to jump start my creativity again.  Lately I have been so tired and blah.  A good few days of the sun shining will definitely help, hurry up Spring, get your butt in gear!  This cabinet is the home of my photo albums.  It was a five dollar purchase from the Goodwill and I really wish that I had bought it's companion at the time.  This is a kid's play refrigerator, there was also a stove, but at the time it didn't seem as easy to transform into piece that was usable.  When I first got it there were handles that more resembled the real thing.  If you look at this cabinet you can see the two separate doors that are supposed to be for the fridge and freezer sections.  The first step was to remove the old handles and add the cool knobs you see here.  They really are drawer pulls, but the design appealed to me.  As with anything that I paint or redo for myself, fun shapes are always the first thing that comes to mind.  You can s

My little idea for the day is another frame, but I glued toothpick to it for this project. From a distance it kind of looks like wicker. For a project like this, hot glue doesn't work it was plain old tacky glue so it did take longer to finish and set. I am still trying to decide whether or not to paint it. I guess it just depends on what picture goes in the frame.  I need to really find my muse again soon!  This job is draining my inspiration.  To overcome a bit of this, I am posting about my husband's Uncle John.  John was one of those incredible souls, he was a free spirit and enjoyed life so much.  He is the one who got my husband interested in Jimmy Buffett and was a very important person to my husband.  An avid outdoors man, he was always on the hunt for the perfect walking stick.  Here are three of them that we now have.  He had an eye for finding perfect branches for his creative outlet.  We lost him a few years ago at much too young of an age but we have these be

This is an extremely fast project.  I always have baskets around my home, they make it easy to transport things, are great for storage and are wonderful for gifts.  Throughout the year you can get baskets to suit your holiday needs.  Some have painted on designs and others are shaped for specific holidays but just because it has a theme does not mean that you can't use it year round.  This basket was part of a Christmas gift that I received and it is a great size.  It is actually the perfect size for dinner rolls for a large group.  I used it for Easter this weekend for that purpose.  This basket was very easily transformed into a general design.  The first step was to paint over the snowmen with a cream paint, two coats was perfect to cover them up.  Once it was dry I hot glued the ribbon around the top and there you have it.  You could even add a bit more interest by painting a small design on where you covered the original decoration.  Here is my budget tip for the day, once th

What a dreary day, it's cold, rainy and grey, but the birds outside are chirping like crazy.  If the birds are singing then it makes you want to be cheerful!  Speaking of birds, here is a drawing that I made for my mother in law.  Some people are easy to make things for and she is one of those people.  She likes gardening, cardinals and bird houses.  As you saw in a Christmas post I painted a floral themed chair, here is a bird house drawing that I did for here.  The frame was a second hand store find for less than five dollars and it is one that probably originally cost about $25.00.  This was a fun picture to draw.  Each house has it's own personality.  On occasion there are some drawing that you don't have to redo a gazillion times to get it right, this was one of those times.  It just came together!  

Today was another beautiful day and I have tomorrow off.  WOO HOO!  So many things to do and so many projects to work on.  As with any day off my to do list is probably way more than I can accomplish, but I love to keep busy.  Oh yeah, discount Tuesday at the Goodwill, may have to add one more thing to my list! While doodling, this idea came to mind.  It originally was going to be just three or four profiles, but I just kept building on it.  These were all cut out individually and then mounted on the black background.  It's cool because you can look at it as a whole and then look at each face.  I am in no way comparing myself to MC Escher, but it has that kind of optical illusion effect.  It is so exciting to me that after so many years of being an artist that I can still discover new mediums that inspire my creativity.

Happy Easter to one and all!  The sun is shining and the weather is beautiful!  Today I have a few quick ideas before it is time to head to my mother in laws.  Last night I dyed a few eggs for the kids/teens at today's festivities.  Most were plain, but three have initials that I made by cutting out masking tape letters and applied to the eggs before dipping them.  The one that is supposed to be an 'A' ended up looking like a four because the tape peeled off.  Instead of baskets, I used colorful lunch bags and glued the initial on each of them.  This is a last minute gathering so the bags have eggs and homemade chocolate chips cookies in them. The card is the last item and is for my mother in law.  I have a couple of trees that were freebies from work in honor of Earth Day and those with the card are her gift today.  She lives on a huge lot so there will be plenty of room for them to grow.  This is one of the cards that I cut out the middle and added my own decoration.  It

The day before Easter is normally a busy day for me.  Since I worked in restaurants for many years this was a weekend of work and not of family.  Over the past eight years this is the day that I did flower arrangements, made signs, organized a large buffet and bloody Mary bar, planned kids contests and also got very little sleep.  I am glad that I can spend time with family this years but in a way I miss the decorating and organizing.  As a creative person it made me happy to try to outdo myself every year in the way the buffet looked.  My favorite part was the flower arranging.  It took me hours and as each beautiful bouquet was finished a great sense of pride came over me.  I miss that part, but don't miss the early morning hours and working like a crazy person for 12 hours on Easter and running around without a break.  Tomorrow I get to enjoy a holiday for once!  So after work today I made my famous rolls, dyed eggs and made a pasta salad to bring to my mother in laws.  I can&

This is the Easter card that I sent to my niece.  She is a freshman in college and likes to get mail from friends and family.  I bought a package of eight note cards at Michael's for a dollar, but the design didn't appeal to me.  This is a great tip for anyone, I got out my ruler and measured about an inch or so from all of the edges of the card then cut out the middle.  There is always miscellaneous paper bits around so I cut a piece out to fit the opening and then made this card.  Instead of a drawing you could add a photograph and really personalize it.  This is a new design for me.  I don't usually do anything too religious because you never know who will be offended our what views they may have.  In general, politics and religion get emotional results from the public, so I steer clear of that.  This is a bit different because my niece has attended Catholic schools her whole life and is enrolled in a Catholic college as well.  I do however, love the ornately decorat

I made a necklace a while ago with pieces of a Peter Maxx puzzle.  That particular post is viewed a lot and every time I wear the necklace, people comment on it.  Because of that, I decided to do another one.  The pieces on this one are a bit smaller so more difficult to work with.  It's a good thing that this puzzle had a lot of pieces because a few of them tore.  Here is a helpful hint, apply a coat of nail polish to the backs, they become more sturdy and also have a smooth texture.  The design was more complex so it took a few hours to complete.  This is one of those puzzles that had a lot of small pictures to make the larger picture.  I really liked the shades of blue it gives it a turquoise like effect. There are so many options with the puzzles that if I perfected the technique they would be marketable.  But for now it is too time consuming to make very many and my hands got sore after making all of the tiny holes for the jump rings.  I am looking forward to showing off my

Today it actually snowed again! Ugh! I had to put a spring like post to get in a more cheerful mood today. There is a song by Prince called 'Sometimes it snows in April' and it is true, but I don't have to like it!  To combat the grey skies and snow this morning, my post is definitely spring themed. The accent lamp here was $1.50, what a steal!  It isn't meant to give off a lot of light, it just has a small bulb that you use in Christmas decorations.  It was too cute to pass up but I am still not sure were to put it.  The simple lines of this lamp are great but it needed a pop of color.  I got these flowers at Michael's for 1.99 and just removed the stems.  I still cannot decide if I want to keep the flower on the top.  There is a spike that probably had a finial of some sort attached to it.  The pointed end is not very safe, but I like it better without the flower.  I may have to get some sort of heavy duty wire clipper to remove it.  

This is an idea that kind came from the other post I did of a profile with flowery hair.  It like the idea of the same picture in graduated sized and in different colors.  The curly style hair seemed to work the best for this design.  The blue and greens are a great combo but in the end it still needed a pop so the red frame was added.  This is yet another paper cutout design there are so many things to make in this medium.  Between this and all of the felt creations there has been a lot of new things that I have explored while working on this blog. This design will look great next to the other picture, now I just need to come up with another one because I like uneven numbers.  Two is just not enough, three would round out the set. 

Another frame!  Yeah!  This one was going to be used for another purpose, but when I tried to take the back off, I broke the glass.  It could have been easily replaced, but instead I decided to embellish it and use the frame itself as the art piece.  I have a few containers with bits of this and that so I just started gluing things on.  There are buttons, screws, puzzles pieces, beads and other stuff just randomly attached to the frame.  It was kind of fun to just keep adding.  The idea came from a Nate Berkus Show when they cleaned out a junk drawer and made art out of it.  On the show they painted the entire thing in one color, but this frame looks cool with all of the colors in it.  It has personality.  This would be a fun project to get the kids involved in too.  They could use bits of broken toys, crayons, game tokens, the possibilities are endless.  Hope this gives you a bit of inspiration today!

Seventies owls are fun and have inspired me in a few past posts as well as the one today.  In a recent trip to Hancock Fabrics I was looking through their bargain section and came across this fun material.  It's bright and the owls are adorable.  It cost a dollar a yard so I just got the one yard because I didn't know what to do with it.  It sat in a pile without a purpose until the light bulb when off in my head.  The small owl was cute, but what if I used felt and tried to replicate it in a larger scale?  It turned out great!  Now what to do?  Make a pillow!  It was quick and easy and now I have a great little pillow that brightens up my couch.

Here is yet another idea that came about when I was trying to fall asleep.  It was originally different in my head.  The design was a single rectangle that was divided into six smaller designs.  The frame is what dictated the layout.  Once the drawing was finished, I stood back and looked at it.  To me it had the feel of Frank Lloyd Wright a great architectural designer and someone that was way ahead of his time.  If any of you are not familiar with his work I highly recommend that you check it out.  I have a book of some of his stained glass designs and they are spectacular.  At one time when I was visiting a friend in Oak Park Illinois I got the privilege of touring one of the homes that he designed.  As a creative person this was a high point in my life.  He has beautiful clean lines but it also has a lot of intricacy in it.  I cannot stress enough that this is something that you should google or go to the library and check out a book with his work or if you are in the Chicago a

Can you believe I got this Halloween decoration at a video store?  It was fifty cents!  The store was going out of business everything was for sale.  You never know what you will find at a sale like this.  It was kind of cute for Halloween, but it's even cuter now for spring.  It was not easy to rip off all of the leaves and raffia they were held on with some sore of super glue and because of this some bits were left behind.  For this reason I decide to add the flowers on top of the chick.  There was also left over glue on what was the front so I used the other side for my project.  It was simple to do, paint on eyes and a beak and flowers.  It took longer for the paint to dry than it did to put it all together.  It will hopefully help to inspire a feeling of spring since tonight we actually have snow predictions.  YUCK!  

Sometimes I come across an object that I have no idea for but there is potential in it.  This is one of those finds, the metal sides appealed to me because it was different.  Right away I painted it yellow and then it sat for a few weeks collecting dust.  Until today I didn't have a plan for it and then this  idea came to me while I was doodling.  A tulip shape was what inspired this design.  Each side is different because not all things need to be symmetrical.  The handle with the awful raffia had to go so I just took it off.  Just a side note, I hate raffia!  It is not something that I would ever use in a project.  GROSS! 

This is soooo cool!  For a while I have been wanting to make some lampshades and have been looking at my favorite budget stores for a great shade.  A few weeks ago this one caught my eye and it was only a $1.50.  The shade itself is nice and the shape is really cool.  Most people would be happy to have it as is, but not me, I had to tear off the fabric and recreate it to suit my style.  The original idea came from something that jumped into my brain just as I was falling asleep.  It seemed like it would work and in the end the vision in my head matched the final outcome.  My bin O' fabric was calling my name and it was saying black and white of course, then I had to add a bit of red to make it pop.  I started by making small cuts in the fabric that measured about a half an inch and then started to tear it apart.  After all of the strips were torn, I just knotted the fabric to the top of the shade frame and then secured the bottom also with a knot.  It is the perfect accent to my b

I could not resist buying this wooden piggy bank it was .99!  It is actually good sized too, it stands about six inches tall and is about ten inches long. It will most likely be a gift for one of my pregnant friends.  There are at least four people that I know that are currently expectant mothers.  Teddy Bears are definitely on my to do list as well, but it's nice to change it up a bit.  This little piggy is unique and so it is painted in two different colors.  The orange gives it a nice pop and the white is a great contrast.  It was fun painting all of the flowers in bright pink and yellow.   Who knows, I may decide to change my mind and keep it.  Who says adults can't have piggy banks! Short and sweet today, it's my day off and the weather is gorgeous, lots to do and it is Tuesday.  Hm...I hear the Goodwill calling my name. :)

Originally I had a different plan for my post today, but the paint didn't dry fast enough to finish it so that will be my post for tomorrow.  This was going to be something for later in the week, but what can you do? For a very long time I have wanted to make an Easter bonnet.  A friend of mine had actually won a contest many years ago and the idea was always in the back of my mind.  Well, since I decided to do this blog it gave me the perfect excuse to make it.  The straw hat practically jumped out at me while shopping in the Goodwill a few weeks ago.  It was 1.49 so I knew it was meant to be.  Initially creativity eluded me until today.  The supplies are a mix of things that I had.  The eggs were a recent purchase for less than a dollar.  I started out by cutting some fabric to the right size and then folded it to cover the rough edges.  The entire thing is put together with hot glue.  What ever did we do before the hot glue gun?  The assembly went quickly.  Everything came tog

It is so great to have warmer weather and start to see buds on trees and plants.  No more bundling up with layer upon layer of clothes.  Spring makes me think of pastels and flowers and of course Easter.  I already did my Easter Bunny post but I do have a few other projects for this holiday.  The shape of an egg lends itself to a variety of ideas.  Today, I did a little pop art type of design using my newly found medium of cutting out patterns and shapes.  The paper is in four great spring colors and came from a notepad that cost a dollar, it was in a bargain bin.  I drew out a basic egg shape and traced it numerous times then started making different patterns.  After about a dozen rough sketched, I picked four that were my favorites and started cutting.  Andy Warhol's style was the influence for the layout.  I like the modern feel of the picture and can't wait to hang it up.

Weird combination I know, but today music my inspiration.  Basically there are many types of music that appeal to me.  I do however have a few bands that top my list, The Beatles, The Who, Jimmy Buffett and my absolute favorite, Foo Fighters.  I was excited a few years ago we got to see them even though we did have nose bleed seats the show was still AWESOME!  New album out soon too, cannot wait.  I had to listen to Everlong while driving today, love that song!  So how is this inspiring?  Try not to be inspired by music.  Whatever your preference is, music can change your attitude.  It can get you tapping your toes, singing in your car and can bring a smile to your face.  I miss having a job with music in the background because it helps you get through the day.  How do you feel when you hear that one song?  It washes away the negativity and gets you going!  Am I rambling?  Probably, my bed is calling my name, YAWN!  Now to post for today... If you haven't guessed it yet, I like f

Right now, I have about five projects partially done, the only thing lacking is the time to finish them.  Sunday is my day off, so hopefully I will be able to go crazy and get a lot done.  Now, for today I have been racking my brain figuring out what to blog about.  Part of my problem is all of the unfinished projects, I want to get them all done, so the work is done simultaneously on all of them.  This is a bad thing when you are searching for just one item to blog about, but it will be good when next week rolls around and there are many items to choose from.  Many times I have posted about the meaning of the gift and putting thought into things rather than spending a ton of money.  Over the past few years as my niece and nephew have gotten older I have opted to give them an afternoon with Auntie.  When I first did this is was because I was unable to get to a birthday party for my niece.  We went and got pedicures together and chatted.  Since then, we have gone to lunch a few times