Make Mine Mercury Glass!

I've been playing with paint again!

Have you seen the movie It's Complicated, with Meryl Streep? Do you remember the bathtub scene in that movie? She had the most gorgeous mercury glass votive candle cups in her bathroom...LOVE! I've been dreaming of perhaps scoring some mercury glass in my thrifty adventures, but so far....no such luck.

Enter my friend, Blogless Kimm. She mentioned that she was going to try and create some faux mercury glass. She specifically wanted to make her own version of a mercury glass pumpkin she had spied at Pottery Barn a while ago.

I've seen several tutorials on recreating the Pottery Barn pumpkin online...but our endeavor is a bit different in that we aren't using a solid glass pumpkin....nope. We're using a pumpkin candy dish! I'm sure you've seen them! We each picked one up at G'Willy's on the cheap!


I found the Krylon Looking Glass paint at Hobby Lobby ...and it is imperative that you get the Looking Glass paint, because otherwise you'll just end up with something silver. I also picked up another candle cup for cheap to practice the technique.

Basically you tape off your container.


LIGHTLY mist the inside with water....a FINE mist is best...ask me how I know! ;o)


And then...SHAKE the can of Looking Glass paint VERY WELL...and begin to spray on the INSIDE of the container....you must spray on the inside, so whatever you're making in to mercury glass will NOT be food safe, but that was fine with me...I'm thinking candlelight! Turn the container upside down and allow to dry between layers of paint. The paint, the water, and the gravity will all work together to give you the look of mercury glass!

It takes quite a LOT of layers of the Looking Glass paint to get this effect. I like it!!


This weekend I tackled the pumpkin. Who knew that creating your own mercury glass could be so fulfilling...yet cause marital strife?


I cannot help it if we are living in the frozen tundra...there's creative work to be done! So I cracked open the window in the store room of the basement and set to work. Thus the marital strife!


Apparently one should use only a UL Approved paint booth for such endeavors! HA! I'm being sarcastic, but hubs was NOT happy that I was spray painting in the basement.


We weren't overcome with fumes.....there was just a strange scent in the air for a bit.


Of course this sent a certain someone over the EDGE, but hey...like I said...creative work to be done and a climate that does not cooperate with outdoor activity...deal with it!


I really like the way this turned out.

Again...many coats were sprayed......(ahem....it's nice to have a fan going)


I am sold.


The glow of candlelight...the look of mercury glass.

I still have quite a bit of paint left in that can! I'm going to collect some small votive cups and spray a whole little collection....when it's warmer outside and I can do it in a well ventilated area, of course! ;o)

*Peace!

What's A Creative Soul To Do?

So with my monthly allotment of the SDW sampler complete, what's a creative soul to do when she's still laying low...recovering...with down time? Well...

I turned a heel.


Whew! That was fun! And it was so fun it instilled a faux sense of confidence in this little knitter. So much so that I shopped.


I must be insane. Rowan Kidsilk Haze?? Let's blame the pain meds...okay? I have always loved this wrap though...so...stranger things have happened!

I picked up a hook....and some wool...


and promptly decided I really must lay off the meds.


This will take FOREVER with #6 cuts!! What was I thinking? It's very sad because if you SAW the investment I made in lovely hand-dyed #6 wool strips..well...you'd be speechless. I'm thinking of switching to a wider cut. Thoughts?

Aaaand....I sewed linen to scroll rods and started two new samplers.


Lucretia Maus 1832 and a restart for And They Sinned. Thank you Margaret for enabling me to restart this with that lovely vintage pearled barley! Loving it!

And then I went back to work. *sigh*

But....now it's the weekend again so let the fun begin!!

*Peace!

Thrifty Thursday!

Wooohooo!! I'm back!!! Feeling better...back to work today...so that meant I could stop off at my fav' thrift store this evening! And of course I found some things!


Lovely white stoneware sugar bowl...you know...for my white stoneware sugar bowl collection! ;o) I'm going to have to start researching the best color for the backdrop of some shelves to display my collection! It's growing!

Also..true to form...pottery!


Isn't it great? Handthrown...a covered butter dish! Love the earthy pottery...I do, I do!

And then there was this...


Again...the earthiness grabbed me! Don't know that I'll use it as a canister. Probably don't even need the lid. It was really this that pulled me in...


earthy fruit! How could I say no? I think it would be a great container for utensils in the kitchen! We shall see how it fits in to the big scheme of things!

I found some other goodies and loaded them up in my Etsy shop! Take a peek! I plan to continually add to the shop and share in the thrifty finds! I'm also phasing out fabric listings on Ebay and adding them to my Etsy shop as well! Your one stop shop! ;o)

Feels good to be getting back in to the swing of things! and back to regular postings!

*Peace!

SDW Monthly Allotment...

is done! I'm only two months in...but two pages of the chart are done, so I'm on pace.

Now I have the rest of the month to work on ??? Oh the possibilities!

*Peace!

Sadness Madness & Gladness

Well hello! I'm back among the living somewhat now...finally! Whew! I actually got out and about today!

I made a trip out to see my buddy, Twyla, out at her quilt shop, Quilted Memories. It's with sadness that she has decided to lock up shop....and get her life back! Sadness comes from the fact that she had the most wonderful selection of fabrics, and it was always fun to head out to visit her there!

And now madness ensues! You would think we were never going to see a yard of fabric again!


I've done some damage...in person and over the phone with her! And I picked up that lovely red wire basket too! She's selling her shop fixtures and such, so I snagged that. And when I got home, I was sorry that I left the other so another phone call out to the shop has the matching basket waiting. This is insanity!

Gladness for Twyla though. It's rough being married to a shop 24/7. She was a hands-on owner, and so there was never time for her to go do fun things with friends. Now she has that time! We got a taste of it when we met for lunch today. That was nice! I'm glad for her and what lies ahead!

Gladness also because I have FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY put the Ohio Star quilt top together!


I haven't been coherent long enough to do long stints of sewing, but finally finished it up this evening!


Nice to get this one done!

All the foreign matter was removed from my face yesterday and though things are still sore and tender, I'm already breathing differently! And WOWZERS! This gives horseradish a whole new UMPH!!! It's been a rough week, but I'm hopeful it was all worth it!

And now I can get back to life...more Gladness!!

*Peace!

Finally!

Today...finally...in between zombie periods and naps, for an hour or two I sat down to the machine.


Ohio Star blocks were completed.


A chunk of fabric was pulled.


And they're playing nicely together!

Tomorrow I hope to have quilt top completion........finally!

*Peace!

Stitchy Friends & Sampler Books

I've been quite fortunate to make many needlework friends via the internet. Sue is one of the first friends I 'met' on the Legacy bulletin board. While I hardly ever frequent the Legacy board any more (am I missing out on anything?), I have remained in contact with Sue, and other Legacy BB members, via Facebook. Stitchy friends are the best...don't you agree?

Recently, Sue decided to pare down her needlework book library and being the great stitchy friend that she is, asked if I was interested in adopting any of the titles. She has quite the list! Wowzers! I offered to share her list and her contact info with other like-minded stitchy friends who may come across my blog. Take a look below and if you've been looking to acquire any of these wonderful titles, Sue's contact info is at the end of the list.

These are the books still available

American Samplers (HC) $35.00
Bolton and Coe
Condition: Very Good (some small tears, and minor wear to edges and corners of dust jacket; previous owners name/date/location in red pen in inside cover)

Tokens of Love (HC with dust jacket) $65.00
Vivian Crellin, Published by The Sampler Guild, UK
Provenance, purposes of English needlework samplers.
Like New

An Anonymous Woman Her Work Wrought in the 17th Century (SC) $125.00
Kathleen Epstein
Hard to find; very collectible
Condition: Very Good (slight rub to the spine; small price sticker mark on cover)

Historic Samplers: Selected From Museums and Historic Homes $40.00
(HC with dust jacket)
Patricia Ryan and Allen D. Bragdon
Like New

Painted With Thread: The Art of American Embroidery (SC) $20.00
Peabody Essex Museum
Like New

Quaker School Girl Samplers From Ackworth (HC with dust jacket) $75.00
Carol Humphrey
Like New

Samplers From the Victoria and Albert Museum (HC with dust jacket) $60.00
Clare Brown and Jennifer Wearden
Like New

A Gallery of American Samplers (HC with dust jacket) $25.00
The Theodore Kapnek Collection (1984 edition, Bonanza Books)
Glee Krueger
Condition VG


Payment by Paypal (preferred), checks will be held 10 days to clear before book is shipped. Shipping costs will be quoted depending on the book and where it is being mailed. Contact Sue at smclaugh@wpa.net.


*Peace!

Biding My Time

These are the things that have been trying to occupy my time. Every day is a little better...and heck, I may even actually SEW tomorrow! It's been a slow road....or at least slower than I would have liked, but hey...I'm on the mend!

*Peace!

Just Do Drugs...

that's my motto for now. I think I survived the surgery, but have been staying in as much of a drug induced stupor as I can. I'm sure I'll be up and moving a few days.

Thanks again for all the thoughts, prayers and well-wishes.

I'm going back to bed now.

*Peace!

Thrifty Thursday! on a Wednesday Night!

As promised, it's Thrifty Thursday on a Wednesday evening! It was horribly cold this week...but I am a die hard and made two stops this past week. To the same store.


I spent a whopping $5.00 and brought this little haul home. One stop netted the box you see there under the ironstone pitcher. The box was a buck-fifty.


And the little ironstone pitcher was .75. I'm hopeful it will clean up nicely.

The second stop, just 2 days later, I found this great piece of Wilton Armetale.


It was $2.00! I always grab these pieces of WA if they're reasonable. Classic pieces!

And would it be Thrifty Thursday without pottery? I think not!


It was .75 and it's signed and I couldn't pass it up. Now if those birds looked like the geese from the 80s, it would have stayed on the shelf, but they don't...so it didn't!

Thank you everyone for your well-wishes and comments on my "nose job" tomorrow. I'm more than ready to get it over with! I'm sure I won't be sidelined too long! I've got things to do ya know!

*Peace!

Revamps In Progress....

I've got some revamps going on around here!

First these.


I picked this pair of vintage lamps up on a thrifty outing, with a plan.


They weren't expensive, and I thought they'd be great lamp-revamp projects!

I taped off the important parts.


And coated them with a coat of Krylon Metallic Silver.


Hmmm...rather glitzy! And 'tin' looking. Yet still somehow better than the original.


Still they needed some depth. So this morning I grabbed some black paint and got busy rubbing these down.


Okay...better! The black settled in and calmed down the 'glitz' factor.


Revamp is still in progress on these....I now need to find some cool shades! Thrifted, of course!

Speaking of thrifting.....I will be posting Thrifty Thursday tomorrow at some point, as I have my own personal 'revamp' of sorts taking place on Thursday, and I may be AWOL for a few days. I'm going in for a nose job. ha! Okay..an internal nose job! Years and years and years of sinus problems and now some breathing issues are going to land me on the surgical table at precisely 7:30AM Thursday morning. I'll be undergoing a septoplasty along with functional endoscopic sinus surgery. OUCH! Have I mentioned it pains me to even pluck a nose hair? I'm not sure how I'm going to handle the aftermath of this! But...we'll just have to deal with it. Sometimes revamps require some pain I suppose....and some good drugs too! ;o)

*Peace!

Mondays Are Fundays!!

Aaah...it's true! Mondays are once again FUNDAYS for me! Wooohooo!! I must say, it took me awhile to get going today. I sat in a trance for a while...trying to grasp the idea that I have an extra day off every week again.

I fixed myself a tasty treat for breakfast...


mmmmmm! Yes...those ARE leftover cream cheese stuffed bacon wrapped jalapenos from yesterday's Super Bowl bash (BTW...WOOHOO PACKERS!!!!). These delectable little treats are AWESOME atop an egg on a toasted bagel.

Later in the morning, I pulled out the BriWax....ripped up an old flannel shirt, and got busy on a couple picture revamps!

Remember this?


It was a might bit too pastel for me. But I'm not sure if I like the way it turned out. It may need additional work.

First I painted the frame black. I did this a month or so ago. I should have sanded the yellow frame better. It didn't want to stick. But for the most part it did. And I rubbed some off to give it a weathered look.

Today...I rubbed BriWax on the frame....and let it dry.


Then, once dry, I rubbed it to a slight sheen.

Eh...


not sold on this one yet. I need to 'live with it' for a bit and see. I think I'll do another coat of wax maybe.

But THIS one...


oh yeah! I did the same thing. A month or so ago I painted the frame black.

Today....rubbed with BriWax and let it dry.


And then rubbed it to a lovely sheen! I LOVE the way this one turned out. Warmth from that red and black mixed with the dark brown BriWax.


I love my $1.99 picture even more now!

It's been a busy weekend, and so there wasn't much time spent in the sewing room. I did get down there for a bit this afternoon.


I'll have Ohio Star blocks soon!

It took me a while to warm up to the idea that I really COULD have fun today even though it was a Monday. I don't think it'll take me that long next week! ;o)

I hope your Monday was a Funday for you! Stop back tomorrow and see what I did with spray paint tonight!

*Peace!

Saturday Night's Alright!

Hello and Happy Saturday Night! Aaaah...Saturday.....the first day of a 3 day weekend! Yes folks...it's true. I'm back to part-time at the office! WOOOHOOO!!! Excuse my excitement.....I'm so ecstatic to be back to 3 day weekends! It really takes some of the urgency and stress away from my days off knowing I have an extra one!

Today, I had planned on sewing, but instead was graced with the presence of little Miss Avery while her mom and dad went snowboarding. We had some "fresh powder" fall today, which apparently was an awesome event, as my teenage son informed me, and so they all went snowboarding. And so I had a couple hours of laughing and holding Avery.

All creative pursuits were not lost though. I did finish Ida Mae Crow this evening!


I purposely left off the fence at the bottom..and plan to get her framed in a big chunky molding!

I also had a chance to make a trip to the grocery store and pick up things I need for the big game tomorrow!


I've got a good start on the food prep this evening! The bulk of the 'work' tomorrow will be preparing the cream cheese stuffed bacon wrapped jalapenos...one of my all-time favorite Pioneer Woman recipes! Yummmmmm! Can hardly wait!

Until tomorrow, bloggy friends!

*Peace!

Thrifty Thursday!

Hello Thrifty Thursday friends! With the way the weather has been, I haven't been out and about much, but I did manage to stop after work on Tuesday and found two things to share on this Thrifty Thursday!


Mod 70s style flower pot...love that drip glaze! And yet another piece of handthrown pottery to add to the collection! $4.00 lighter in the checkbook. So not bad!

Also this week, I'm finally armed and ready to revamp some of my former Thrifty Thursday finds!


I picked up some metallic spray paint earlier, and then finally this week I ended up ordering some BriWax after I was unable to locate ANY in any of the stores here. I first saw the results of using BriWax when Alma showcased a lovely round box that she had distressed. I was intrigued! I can't wait to get my hands dirty!

*Peace!