Bringing the outdoors in for the Winter

Here is what I've been working on for my sister.
She has those ugly plastic blinds that get dusty and
broken (especially when dogs chew on them).
She was looking for a unique inexpensive way to
decorate her windows without covering them up with big curtains
the dogs would chew up and get dirty.

What do ya do?

Roller Shades



The old roller shades used to be actually made out of fabric.
Now they are plastic for the most part.
I sprayed them with a fixative to hold the paint a bit
better.
You should spray them when you are done
as well. You can use the fixative instead of
a varnish if you want.
A varnish has a shine which
I didn't want on this project.

Now she can look at her window and
enjoy the flowers all year long!

DecoArt Christmas Project

T'is the season!
Yes already!

Now I used to have a very strict rule
about not selling or displaying
Christmas before Halloween.
But when you are in the design world
we work 6 months ahead usually
so actually I am way behind (as usual).

This project
Laughter and Joy Santa Box
is for DecoArt, Inc.
They sell the fabulous
Americana Paint
that I've used on the project.
If all goes well you will be able to
find it on their
Free Christmas Project
list on their website.

I've painted on an 18" wooden band box.
I just sketch a basic picture
then transfer it to the surface.
Then I begin painting using all sorts
of really complicated tips and tricks
only master artists can handle.

Okay-or maybe only really really easy techniques
anyone can do.

I made up my own little saying here.
Imagine how you could personalize yours!
My version of Holly leaves.
That's the great thing about being an artist.
You can make your world any way you want.

Santa needed a fashion break
so he hung up his hot red hat
for a cooler hip pine wreath.
Now he smells good as well as looking good.
mmmm....manly pine scent.So since I have to wear readers now too
that detail was even more important for me to add.
Santa HAD to pull out his
Bling Bling Metallic Gold ones.
I'm not sure if you can see the
actual twinkle in his eye from the pictures.
I painted the iris with
DecoArt's new Sparkle paint
and then added
Crystal Twinkle Glitter
for the highlights.





I hope this gets you in the mood
to start painting gifts
for the holidays!
Let me see what you are working on!

What I've been up to

Well, by now I'm sure you have noticed
the obvious lack of postings
on this blog.
My world has exploded into a frenzy
of art activity.

No- not like always.
Like always times 100!!
There are too many wonderful
projects for me to address
in one post so
I'll just throw up a few pics and
a few hints with promises
of amazing posts to come.

Yes, I am still at Moon Dancer.
I have my Halloween Decor
on sale 50% off now!



Yes, I'm still at One World's
Lagron Miller

but it's under construction
and I'm sure you didn't expect me
to sit on my thumbs until they
were done!

To fill in my down time (ahahahaa.aa.a.)
I've been painting special orders
like this desk.

I love the old rustic shabby chic feel.
I antiqued and waxed it so it's

so smooth and comfortable to
work on.

I also painted the
old post office box shelf above last year.

Now throw in some trips to see
kids & grandkids

and a wedding


and then add
Christmas projects
for DecoArt
http://www.decoart.com/





and you've gotten to enjoy
my week with me.
Oh- except for the
REALLY Big News.....

Out on a Limb

At the
Moon Dancer
you can find my new creation
Out on a Limb!

As the weather turns to fall I am inspired to set aside my

colorful palette (temporarily of course)
and go
"Out on a Limb"
and enjoy a more
subdued sophisticated ageless
color scheme and theme.

Once again I am frustrated with myself that I didn't take before
pictures of this children's dresser
that had stickers of lambs and flowers stuck to
mismatched paint
before I recreated it.
I love how this dresser inside and out!
The edges have a beautiful old world gold gild as do the knobs.
I love the combination of taupe base with the soft gray drawers and insets
against the soft black check and dot pattern.
I hand drew and cut the tree and bird stencil on temporary paper
that I could just kick myself for now!
The tree took forever to cut every little delicate branch
and now after seeing how it all came out
I would have loved to do a whole series of bird themed things
in this style,
but this one is going
to truly be an original.
The final touch was to add wheels
so you can move it from your sun porch
to your hall way with the change of seasons!
It would also be awesome in a children's room
for a boy or a girl!

The dresser has a hard varnish covered by a waxed finish
so it's durable but still has the softness of an old loved
piece.
Let me know what you think of this new color choice and if you still
recognize me in this work even without pink or purple!
I wanna hear your comments.

Donations

I could paint full time just giving away donations for fundraisers and benefits.
I lecture myself over and over again about sticking to a dollar amount a year or the number of donations or the time I'll take to do donations... and I just don't listen.
I could justify my choices by creating scenarios for possible financial gain through the advertising of my work and that it's a tax write off but the truth is...
It just feels good to help someone out.
Maybe because I've been a special events coordinator for years and I've been they one begging for donations I'm more sympathetic or maybe it's that I am so glad it's NOT ME with those big woes.
Actually, I think if we would all just give a little bit more
we would all be better off and what goes around comes around.

On the subject of collaboration and cooperation,
this wooden crate was donated by Julie Vonachen of Moon Dancer,
where I sell most of my work right now.
It was a very old Cutty Sark crate with the prohibition stamp
label on the bottom of the box.
After a little discussion, Julie (of course)
decided to donate this crate to the
Peoria Art Guild Auction
for their Sept. Art Show held on Peoria's Riverfront.
We plan to fill it with beautiful hand crafted items
from the Moon Dancer to give to the Art Guild next week.
My assignment was to paint it to reflect the vibe of the store.
I just couldn't paint over the stamp!


But I am OVER THE MOON about my
Mr. Moon Man!
I'm hoping women swoon over his
metallic copper and silver features.
I tried to create a relaxed enchanting expression
that will render them helpless...
to not bid a billion bucks that is!!!
This is a treasure no matter which way you look at it!
I cut the moon and stars from Chinese pine used in
board breaking demonstrations
so they are full of good positive energy!
The box is painted on all sides
so it will look good no matter
where you display it!
I'd love for one of you to adopt
this magical piece and keep
the art world rolling!
The message here is live from your heart!
Reach for the moon and fall among the stars!
Live Inspired!

Check out my next post to see what
I've been working on for SALE!
Check out my brass jewelry here.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/susbyme