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.

Artists are Explorers and Pioneers

Never thought I’d have anything in common with Picasso, but I too can say, “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

Today’s Art Quote

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
Pablo Picasso

Some of the people I’m closest to have referred to it as a disorder. I can’t tell you how many times throughout my life I’ve fielded the question, “When are you going to settle into one art form?” But I somehow manage to brush off their comments because little brings me as much satisfaction as learning how to do something new.

Pablo Picasso is probably best known for his paintings and his sculpture, though he also left the world with a collection of ceramics, drawings, prints, tapestries, and rugs. Right now, I specialize in stained glass and Bauernmalerei from different regions. Over the years, I’ve also caned chairs, made cut and carve candles, sewn clothes and home décor, refinished furniture, laid tile, sculpted figures out of both salt dough and polymer clay, dabbled in ceramics and photography, and recently have been learning taxidermy. I may even have forgotten a few…

What about you…

Leave a comment and tell us what you’ve dabbled in and what you specialize in and leave a link to your online store if you have one.

Tips for Transforming the Ordinary into an Extraordinary Experience...

When making a turkey or ham sandwich, try adding some of your favorite jelly (cranberry, currant, mint, raspberry, etc.) for an unexpected but deliciously complimentary flavor that takes an ordinary sandwich and makes it extraordinary.

Adding jelly to a grilled cheese is also scrumptious.

This “tip” is something my Mom started doing a long long long time ago when I was a child while making sandwiches with the leftover turkey meat from Thanksgiving, and I think of her whenever I do it for my children. And yes sometimes I even do it just for me, and I do it anytime of the year when I want to add a little pizazz.

So Thanks Mom!

Did your mother have a special tip or trick she used to take something ordinary and make it extraordinary? If so, leave it in the comment section below and let me know if I have your permission to post it on the main page.

What does it mean to appreciate the unnecessary?

I’m glad you asked. Many of us are pinching pennies during this time of economic struggle. But if we focus solely on what is necessary for our survival, we can become so pre-occupied with satisfying our hungers (and the hungers of our loved ones) that we become weighed down with practicality. I know that when I slip into this “all work and no play” mentality, I become stuck in a downward spiral of anxiety and miss out on much of the beauty that surrounds me.
Remembering to appreciate the unnecessary in life is the way I become unstuck and the way I reopen myself to enjoying life’s little freebies. For example, eating food is a necessary part of living. It satisfies my hunger and fuels my body so I can accomplish the work I need to do. However savoring the flavor of a bite before swallowing is an act of appreciating the unnecessary that elevates my experience of eating by adding enjoyment to my satisfaction.
Other examples of appreciating the unnecessary might include stopping for a second on my way to the car to listen to the birds sing, or waving back to the child in the rear window of the school bus ahead of me in traffic, or inhaling the aroma of a cup of coffee before taking a sip.
Art is all about appreciating the unnecessary in life. Artists are extraordinarily sensitive to the beauty that surrounds them, whether a physical beauty or the beauty of human experience. They see something beautiful, then they try to depict it in such a way that others will experience a heightened connection to that beauty.
Auguste Rodin, one of the greatest sculptors the world has ever seen, depicted the ordinary everyday act of thinking as something beautiful and noble when he created “The Thinker.” When I saw this piece in person, I was struck with awe at the magnificence of a man pondering his thoughts. Yes, this piece of art pointed to a simple truth that I probably already knew, but I had never before given it a conscious thought. As I circled around “The Thinker” in the garden of the Rodin Museum, I remember marveling at how at man’s ability to think and how that really elevated us above all other animals. The longer I gazed at this statue the more clearly I saw the dignity of every human person. That is an example of how an exceptional artist and one of his masterpieces was a catalyst that triggered a life-altering moment for me.
But what about art that we can enjoy everyday, like the pictures that hang on the walls of our home, the knick knacks on our shelves that remind us of special people and events in our lives, the jewelry and accessories we use to complete an outfit, and other ways we enhance our experience of the ordinary.
All of us can use our creativity to help others appreciate the unnecessary by highlighting the lagniappe in life. Maybe it’s as simple as singing songs with the kids on the way to school, or lighting candles so dinner becomes a dining experience, or leaving a “love” note in your spouse’s pocket where they will find it in the middle of their workday. Maybe it’s taking that old but still functional table and giving it a new coat of paint, or making an arrangement of fresh flowers from the garden for the coffee table. And all of us can pay even closer attention to the beauty that already surrounds us. Making a habit of appreciating the unnecessary (the extras) in life can lift us out of survival mode and give us a general sense abundance.
How do you appreciate the unnecessary? Share your answer with us in the comment section below.

Excellence vs. Perfection

Today’s art quote: “Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it,” brings back terrible memories of my childhood and young adulthood when I was a perfectionist.
Have you ever been afraid you weren’t good enough? I grew up with that constant fear and lived moment to moment always doubting myself. It was an oppressive attitude that kept me from reaching my potential.
It wasn’t until I began to see my value as a unique person, that my compulsion to be perfect began to subside. And the more I realized and came to believe “that I am fearfully, wonderfully made” by God (Psalm 139:14) the more free I became to reach my potential.
But in giving up my need for perfection, I never gave up striving for excellence. I’m always in hot pursuit of self-improvement.
As a person, that means ever taking time to consciously recognize my vices and replace them with good habits. As a wife, it means choosing to honor and cherish my husband even when I don’t “feel” like it. As a Mom, it means learning to listen better and to accept my children right where they are even when it’s not where I want them to be. And as an artisan, it means striving to master the tools and materials of my craft. And how do I do that…
I do that by asking questions…
Some would refer to me as “over the hill”, and I have to admit that white hairs are quickly replacing my dark brown ones. My body may be getting older, but I’m young at heart, because despite the wisdom of my years, I’m still eager and ever ready to learn and to grow.
Earlier I said that gaining confidence in my own goodness, freed me to reach my potential. But there’s a funny thing about my potential--I’ll never really reach it either. However, I’m having a good time in the process, and I just keep on getting better and better.
So, do you have a question for me. Just leave it in the comments below.
And enjoy today!
Coco