Breathing New Life into Old Treasures

While taking a stroll through cyberspace this week, something caught my eye and held my attention as it tickled my trash to treasure fetish.

Elena, of EP Designs based in Australia, wrote about what she did to breath new life into some old discarded gravy boats and a friend's well-used silver trinket box. Elena's store Timeless Treasures is hosted by BidMate.au.


I'm a decorative painter as well, but have never thought about painting some of my old, well-worn, silver plated pieces. So thanks Elena for getting that light bulb to go off in my head. The article that inspired me is entitled: "Created With Love" and can be found on Elena's Blog.

Not only did her article fan my passion for transforming trash into treasure, it also introduced me to something called "Pink Saturday". Now being a tomboy at heart, and not much of a girly girl, the color pink isn't usually something that captures my interest. However, what Beverly, author of the blog How Sweet the Sound, started on June 6, 2008 has caught on and spread like a wild fire among fellow bloggers. "So Just What is Pink Saturday" describes how Pink Saturday got started, and "Let's Talk About Pink Saturday" is an update on the goals and rules of engagement.

If you're a blogger, you may want to look into this. This past Saturday, 157 bloggers participated. There were six new participants this week, so it's not too late to jump on the bandwagon. Even if you decide not to participate by posting something pink on Saturday, visiting the blogs of those who do and seeing some of their "Pinks" is a hoot. So, have fun poking around. It's so much more entertaining than most of what's on TV these days. I even saw a photo of a live pink poodle. (I suspect the photo was altered digitally, but maybe not.)

Enjoy!


Photo Courtesy:

Top and Middle Left: Elena of EP Designs

Botton Right: Beverly of How Sweet the Sound

Writing for HandmadeNews.org

I highly recommend HandmadeNews.org as a great resource for both buyers and sellers in the world of handmade. It's a comprehensive site, with a dynamic staff of columnists and editors writing for 14 sections or departments including:

Main Feature
Craft Techniques
Guild & Teams
Just for Fun
Craft Trends
Marketing
Business Tips
Inspiration
Green Wise
Featured Artisan
Item of the Day
Crafty Kids
Front Page
Most Popular

This site was launched on June 8th and is quickly growing in popularity. Some of the articles I've found most interesting include:

Create Your Own Seed Paper
An article about making seed paper that you can write a note on and
then the recipient can plant it rather that put it in the trash

Vetrazzo-The Ultimate Example of Trash to Treasure
An article about a company who makes gorgeous counter tops out of recycled glass
that competing as an elegant alternative to more expensive granite

Snow Globes For Any Occasion
These would be a great craft project for kids--even teens, a fabulous table decoration for a fundraiser or as a wedding favor or a get well present for someone stuck in bed.

Sock Coffee Cozy: A Craft Supply Challenge Project
You don't even have to be crafty to do this project. All you need are a stash of lonely socks who lost their partner to the hungry monster in the washing machine or dryer.

Recrafting Yourself in the Second Half of Life

Some of you may not be there, but at 50+ and in the second half of my life, all I can say is, "Amen!"

That's a sampling just to whet your appetite. New articles are published every day in each department. Now that I'm a columnist in the Guild & Teams department, I don't have as much time for perusing. So, why don't you go to HandmadeNews.org and read an article for me. If you really like it, use the comments below to recommend it to the rest of us.

Enjoy!

Trash to Treasure Using Old Plaques

Fellow artist, Sayo Granich-Lee, found some old discarded plaques and wants to turn them into display pieces for her jewelry. In an article entitled "New Displays" on her blog she solicits ideas from her readers. Her article got my creative mind to whirling and believing that the more ideas the merrier, I thought I'd try to direct a few creative geniuses her way.

I'm thinking she should go ahead with her plan to strip and refinish the plaques. I'd do it in a natural wood finish (either light, medium or dark). I would then mount a hand on one, a pair of ears on another, and maybe a neck (with or without a manikin style head) on yet another turning them into 3D displays similar to taxidermy mountings. The protruding forms could be made of styrofoam, paper-mâché, clay, or other easily sculpted material and then covered in a black flocking giving them a velvety felt like finish. Plaques could then be hung on a wall or other vertical surface and rings could be displayed on the fingers of the hand, earrings could dangle from holes in the ears, and a necklace could be draped around the neck.

The remaining plaques could be topped with a raised black velvet pad and placed flat on a table or shelf (like a plate or tray) and Sayo's jewelry pieces could be laid on top. Or maybe...

Oh, Oh, Oh, my brain is racing away with me. Another option would be to affix a cork pad to front of the refinished plaques and a frame brace on the back. Pins could hole the jewelry in place and the plaques could be displayed angled slightly back on a table or shelf. Or she could prop them up on an angle for a more sophisticated look.

Enough of my ideas. If you enjoy transforming trash into treasure as much as I do, why don't you head over to the article on her blog, let your imagination run wild and leave your ideas in her comment section. I know she would appreciate your creative insights as she takes these ordinary plaques and turns them into an extraordinary display for her artwork.

Who is Coco?

I was born and raised in New Orleans where the atmosphere is rich with culture and where imagination is celebrated through its architecture, its music, its food, its Mardi Gras and its other festivals. New Orleans is a large city with a small town flavor and a special love of the arts—visual, performing and culinary.

As a military wife of 30+ years, I've experienced different cultures within the United States and abroad, each exuding their own indigenous artistic flair for transforming the ordinary in life into something extraordinary. Beauty abounds if we just take time to notice.

As the mother of five children, necessity has often been my inspiration and on a fairly regular basis has proven to be the mother of invention. Parenting has been a wild and unpredictable ride, and I'm excited about becoming a grandmother this July (2009).

Among other endeavors, I am a self-taught artisan specializing in stained glass and decorative folk painting (European style stroke work). Over the years, I've also dabbled in carved candles, soap, clay, needlework, fountains, basic carpentry and refinishing, various types of sewing, and jelly making. Often while creating something in my studio, I am tapping into my knowledge of and skill in more than just one artistic medium.

My other passion is for transforming trash into treasure or giving new life to something old. Both the process of creating and the process of transforming objects are spiritual experiences for me--It's when I feel most alive.

I look forward to sharing my infatuation with everything creative. Hope you will visit often (bookmark me now or subscribe to be a follower of this blog). Read about what interests you, and please, Please, PLEASE, leave your comments, make suggestions, and ASK QUESTIONS. Questions can be about art & craft techniques, selling on line, life in general, or even about me personally.

Enjoy!