Creative Dawn

I am sooo excited about this table!  It cost 3.99 at the Goodwill and now it is an incredible work of art.  There a few before and after pictures as well as in progress.  Let's call it a mosaic of painted designs.  What I really love about the table is that the sides are collapsible so that it can be used for many different purposes and it's on wheels too!

After a recent trip to Goodwill I got quite a few wooden plaque type items, so my options were open as far as 'canvases' for my ideas.   You need to be able to look past what the item is to truly be creative.  Souvenir spoon racks and wooden calendars are perfect once you remove the display parts.  Lately I just want to paint everything I can get my creative little hands on.  Luckily inspiration is overflowing right now too!  This is a cool idea and would also make a great gift for any cook/baker out there.  We all have our go to recipes but usually need a quick reminder about quantities and cook time.  Why not paint the recipe basics and hang them in a convenient spot in the kitchen?  The one on the right painting is just a pretty design created from a spoon display.

I have the ability to paint just about anything, but patterns are so fun to do.  It is relaxing to just doodle with the paint and create interesting designs.  Here are a few of my latest. This is a small cabinet that was 2.50 at the Goodwill.  It is heavy for it's size and very sturdy.  I added new knobs in addition to the fresh paint job.  Cabinet before This is the top for one of the inexpensive side tables.  It has been in my basement collecting dust until I recently decided to give it new life Sometimes scraps of wood work for a canvas.  This was free and used to stabilize a shipping box.   Now it is a brightly patterned wall hanging. This is yet another Goodwill find for next to nothing.  It was probably used to display fruit or some kind of other decorative items and was originally bright yellow.  The new pattern is fun and the color scheme works well in my living room.    ...

Wow!  I am nearing my 400th post, time to get busy blogging here.  Lately I have been paint obsessed.  Anything I can get my hands on has ended up with an artistic touch.  The bargains at Goodwill have been too good to pass up and here are the first few items that I have finished. This cute wooden dolphin was fun to paint, it has a Hawaiian tribal type of design.    This copper colored fish started out with a dated color scheme from the 80's, now it has a fun fresh coat of paint and a new life. Finally this fish was a great bargain for just a few dollars.  It is a cutting board that had seen better days.  My dilemma with this one is how to hang it, the weight could be an issue and it is about twenty inches wide and about a foot tall.  

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

Way last October I got two little houses at the Goodwill.  The first one was painted like a haunted house for Halloween and this one was going to be a gingerbread house for Christmas.  Well, it just didn't look right even after painting it a few different ways.  It was set aside until an idea struck which was in the past few days, just as my blog is winding down.  I decided to paint it in fun colors and just randomly make designs.  It is what my style is really all about, crazy patterns adorn mostly everything and color is the key.  This house is a DVD holder but we own too many to fit in here.  There is a shelf inside so it could be used for many things, I'll think about it and figure it out later.  One more day to meet my goal!  It is such an accomplishment for me to have been able to do this blog.  As mentioned a few times before, the blog will continue I just won't be posting daily.  Still not sure...

I couldn't wait to post for today!  This is my super cool new painted lamp.  As stated yesterday, it was a Goodwill find and cost 1.49.  I almost bought a few more but there isn't enough room in my home for more lamps.  A few ideas were bouncing around in my head but this was the final result.  The design that I wanted to do was a leopard print and you can see a bit of that in the finished piece but it also looks like a floral pattern.  No matter what it is still awesome!  Lamps are so fun to paint, you have a lot of area to cover and the possibilities are endless. My husband isn't really a fan of this one but the decoration of the house is my area not his so as long as I like it that is all that matters!

It was an awesome relaxing day off.  A bit of laundry was a nesseccity but after that it was veg out time.  My husband and I took a wonderful walk at the little park and lake by our home and afterwards we sat outside for a while.  Because it was such a beautiful afternoon I brought my painting stuff outside as well.  Two projects got finished today which was great.  The hard part was deciding which one to post today.  In the end the tray won.  Both tomorrows and todays items were purchased at the Goodwill.  That is truly one of my favorite places to shop.  You never know what you will find! OK, so this tray had a nice sunflower design on it.  I debated whether or not to just keep it as is but in the end my creative juices started to flow and this is the idea that came of it.  Just a side note, last night I was dreaming colors and patterns, my head is full of designs so hopefully the last week of the 365 days will be a awesome. ...

Guess where this was purchased from!  You are correct it was the Goodwill.  It was an Easter decoration on a wooden board.  It measures about 8 x 24, so it worked out well for a design like this.  For a week it sat on my todo pile until this idea for some styalized flowers came to me.  It is like a really modern still life vase painting.  This is one of those things that I couldn't stop adding details to.  Some dots, some squiggles, and a few more vines, the more I painted the more interesting it became. 

Let's see, purse, check, phone, check, keys...WTF!  Where are my keys!  My husband makes fun of me all the time because I lose my keys.  They are usually at the bottom of my purse underneath everything or I walk past them sitting on a table and don't even notice.  I cannot be the only one this happens too!  Solution buy a hook at the Goodwill for .25 and paint it with my initial so that my keys have a place to 'hang out' everyday.  OK, in theory this is good, now to test it an see if it works.  You all know how it is.  It's like trying to be organized but things still end up cluttered about and messy.  BTW, I have two updates, one, the post about a week ago, the fall felt decoration, was inspired by Better Homes and Garden Holiday Craft magazine.  The second is that tonight is my class reunion, so I will update you on the success (hopefully) of my games. Have a great Saturday!

Here is yet again a Goodwill find.  He was a less than a dollar and I think he was used to display collectible spoons.  I just thought it was different and fun to paint.  The first thing that I thought of was polka dots for a design.  It just seemed to be a good fit.  The finished fish is actually upside down, but it looked better to me that way.  Since it is made to display something, I got the idea to make some charms or other items to adorn the slots.  Whatever is made to hang on the fish with definitely be another blog post. Just a side note, lately I feel like my inspiration is lagging a bit.  Maybe it's the beautiful weather, it is just too nice to stay inside especially when we haven't a lot of good summer days this year.  It also could be work and coming home too tired to create.  Just because there will no longer be the pressure to do a daily post, my best inspiration will most likely be starting in September....

This is what ended up being my post today although originally my plan was for something else.  This seems to be happening a lot lately but that is what being creative is all about.  One idea leads to another and you come up with an unexpected result.  It's like art experimentation, one idea can lead to many many more. This is a great frame that I got at the Goodwill for a few dollars.  It didn't even need to be painted or decorated.  

Owls are everywhere.  There is a resurgence in this popular Seventies design.  At work there are quite a few fabrics and kits with an owl theme.  I have to admit that even though trendiness is not my thing, the owls are a favorite of mine so here is a uniquely painted owl.  This small wooden plaque was a bargain find at the Goodwill and until it was painted in a harvest gold shade the design wasn't in my head.  After painting it the first thing that came to mind was this little guy.  The pattern also wasn't planned.  The paper that was used for the stencil had a pencil sketch of something that I posted a few days ago, the circle design.  When outlining the owl, I pressed down to be sure the paper didn't move and transferred a bit of the pattern.  The way that the circles ended up was perfect for the eye and it was visually interesting with the asymmetry. 

 BEFORE AFTER Due to a problem with our Internet provider we were without service for yesterday and part of today.  What a way to start my last month.  Now that everything is running there will be two posts today. This is the post scheduled for yesterday.  I got this candle holder at my work marked down to .80.  My guess is that no one wanted to buy it because the paint was smeared.  Lucky for me!  This was a simple fix, new paint in a more neutral color and that was that. This wooden heart was from the Goodwill and cost 1.99.  As you can see on the before it came with 'checkers' attached to it and it had seen better days.  I removed them and set them aside for a future project.  I coated the heart in a light shade of green and added the purple swirl design.  It looked good like that but with the addition of the word 'hope' it was much improved.  This is a donation to a friends benefit for ovarian cancer.  It seeme...

My nieces birthday is coming up and she requested that I make something for her.  She did this last year too.  It's great because then I don't need to think about what to get her and it's what she wants.  Last year she wanted a small drawing of Audrey Hepburn for her dorm room this year the request was for a container that was colorful and fun to keep stuff in.  For the past few weeks I have been looking for a container like this to paint or decorate.  Yesterday, finally, there was the perfect one at the Goodwill.  It's wood so painting it would work out great, the hardware on it is really cool, but, the main design on it wasn't painted on, it was paper that was adhered to it.  It should have been easy to remove but it took over two hours, UGH!!!  As mentioned yesterday there was a delay in the planned post and that is why.  In the end it was worth it because it turned out great.  I just hope she likes it.  Happy Birthday to my ...

These bags have been mentioned in a few past posts and now after seeing my Mother in Law still using hers figured it was time to blog about it. This is her bag, and where this cabbage fabric came from I don't remember but it is a fun pattern and great colors. The handle is also extra long so that it can be slung over your shoulder. A few years ago I made tote bags for Christmas gifts.  Everyone got a bag filled with goodies.  They weren't small bags, they were big enough to carry a good amount of stuff.  Most of the fabric was bought at discount prices and I also used sheets that were purchased at the Goodwill to save on money.  The simplest ideas are sometimes the best and this proves it.  I was trying to do a green type of gift and my family loved it! 

A few weeks ago I was walking around my home trying to find stuff to paint.  This is a Goodwill find from a few years ago that I always meant to paint but never did.  It's a nice looking chest that was all gold and it's current use is storing old cards and miscellaneous memorabilia.  The green paint was the first choice for a background and then cream stripes were added.  Today, after glancing at it I decided that the stripes just didn't work so after covering them with a few coat of the green these designs developed.  It's got a little of a psychedelic feel to it without bright colors.  It's fun to see what you already have that you can update. 

I didn't originally buy this wall hanging for two posts, but that is what happened.  I used the small wooden heart from this Goodwill find to make a fun necklace on 6/14/11.  Today, I painted the other part in black and cream design. Sometimes after things are painted or drawn, I wonder how the design would look as fabric or wallpaper patterns.  It would be interesting to be able to see them in that way.  Remember the post about dream jobs?  That was a listed idea and it is still something I think about.  What if? It's good to have dreams and ambitions no matter what.  To quote John Lennon, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"...    

Black and white is a favorite combination of mine.  This is a great fabric that I found a while ago at Hancock Fabrics.  It has a girl power decade motif from the 50's to the 2000's.  From the moment I saw it, it was meant to be!  For a few months now, it has resided in my fabric bin until today when this idea came to mind.  The smaller of the two had almonds in it originally and the taller was just an empty canister bought at the Goodwill.  For the smaller one, I covered it in a circle design fabric and then added the decade black and white motif as a pincushion topper.  The tall canister was first covered in a black and white polka dot print and then I cut out the decade motifs and adhered them to that fabric.  At this point in time the taller canister has no specific purpose other than general storage but the smaller one is my new safety pin holder.  I did add a fun black and yellow taste to the one canister for a bit of interes...