My Favorite Things!

As most of you know by now, my passion in life is painting primitive and cottage art, but a little known fact about me is my love for the written word. I remember as a child, walking to the library, to get as many books as my arms would hold. I spent my allowance money at the bookstore, buying up every new Nancy Drew mystery that came out. Oops, now I am showing my age......:)

But in spite of spending most of my reading time today on the computer, with websites, and blogs, and yes, even the newspaper, there is still something magical about curling up on a rainy Saturday afternoon with a book you just can't put down. My love of words has never left me, and that is reflected in one of my favorite things.........signs. I have signs of different sayings all through my home, and garden. Usually just a word or two, keeping it simple as always. When people visit my home, they see what I hold dear, what is important to me in life, and what my approach to life is really all about. Weather it is on a plaque, a large wood sign, or stitched on a pillow, words are the easiest way to convey just who you are, and what you hold dear.

Now for the fun part........I wanted to show you a new sign that I just purchased from Rhonda of BeecharmerPrimitives. Now this one was just for fun, but I couldn't resist it. The primitive way she has done this has such a simplicity, and reminded me of the days spent in my grandmothers kitchen. I just had to have it.........:) Be sure to visit Rhonda's blog over the weekend. She is hosting a giveaway of one of her neat signs. I know I sure signed up. Have a great weekend everyone!

What I Have Been Working On!

This is an old paddle that has been laying around now for quite some time. It was painted bright white, and that just wouldn't do.....:) So I painted it black, crackled it, added a very deep beige topcoat, sanded, and antiqued, and now it looks like it has been around for centuries. I love this sheep design by John Sliney too.......it was the perfect design for this piece. Love how it turned out.

I received this recipe box from a dear friend, and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. It originally had been a maple color wood, and though cute, just wouldn't do in a prim kitchen. So of course I had to make a few changes......:) Again just a little black paint, some stars added to the sides, and you have a perfect prim addition to any kitchen.

I will be working on more trash to teasure items throughout the spring and summer. I set aside one day a week, to hit garage sales, estate sales, and moving sales to find some of my treasures. I have so many ideas, just need to find that perfect 'treasure".

Thank you Kat!

I recieved the nicest surprise today! I received the most wonderful convo from Kat of http://katscraftingcottage.blogspot.com/ telling me that she had featured me on her blog! She has written up a great article on my shop at Etsy and I couldn't be more honored! Thanks so much Kat! If you have a moment hop on over and visit her blog!

Some New Items

I have been doing a bit of trash to treasure painting this week, and it has been a refreshing change. If you are a crafter you know what "stash" is. Well my stash is overflowing, and with the spring days ahead, I thought it would be great to get back to a little simplicity. Many of the items that I paint are very detailed and time consuming, so this was like a breath of fresh air for me to do some of the simpler, and yet oh so primitive pieces. Here are three of my sitter blocks, done with designs from John Sliney. Instead of paint for the backgrounds these were done with a series of washes. The wash gives it that perfect primitive patina of time gone by.