About the Mary Engelbreit, Trash To Treasure Chair.

I have been looking through photos stored on my computer, making sure that I have pictures of all of the rooms of our home before it all gets dismantled in preparation of the MOVE.

I came across pictures of a project I have never shared here before and I thought you might like to see it.  The Trash to Treasure Chair. A number of years ago I took a furniture painting class. We were to take a chair found in someone's trash and transform it with paint. As hard as I tried, I could not find a chair curbside, so I resorted to buying a chair, a pair actually, for $10 at a yard sale. I was going to paint one for myself and the other for my sister. It was a super fun class...remember, this was well before the repurposing trend started. I decided to paint my chair in the style of my idol, Mary Engelbreit! Bright colors and a cute theme were my guidelines.I used acrylic paint and stencils to create my chair.

Each rung of the ladderback chair is painted in a different way and you can see that Bugs! were my theme.

Ladybugs winding their way across fried egg flowers...

a jaunty checkerboard pattern...

I cannot explain my attraction to the bug motif but I have one!

A finial on just one side of the chair..

Polka dots, stripes and some bees...

The seat of this chair is an antique white, distressed...hard to see that in this shot. I must confess, while I hate to see real ones in the house, I love stenciled ants. I used to have them stenciled along the baseboard in the kitchen. It gave people quite a start when they saw them!

So, I painted this chair for me and then didn't get around to painting the other one for my sister in time for her birthday so I gave her this one, intending to paint the second one for me. It never got done and in May, I sold the partially painted chair at our moving sale. Maybe I'll find one in the trash somewhere in Delaware to finally paint for me!

xoxo

Joyce

A Swap For All Seasons...July...Share a Smile!

We continue through the year with our monthly swaps at A Swap For All Seasons.

July's theme was Share a Smile and the color for the destash was purple. Even though our card and tag do not have to be the color of the month, I find that I tend to use that monthly color in my creating. These swaps have enabled me to expand my color palette.....some of the colors we use are not ones I would naturally choose but I'm liking the challenge of it.

I am a great believer in the practice of laughing every day....it is good for my mental and emotional health. I have to say that being married to David provides me with a lot of comic relief. He is one of the funniest people I know and he can always say or do something that keeps me chuckling!

Over the years, I have enjoyed creating cards for women to send to their friends for no reason other than to share some mirth. I chose one of these cards to send to my new friend, Pam, of Virginia Retro. Pam loves vintage things and has an amazing collection of tablecloths from the 50's and 60's as well as other vintage goodies she finds at estate and yard sales. I swoon over some of the treasures she finds! Anyway, I thought Pam might enjoy a funny card featuring a pair of the cutest "mature" ladies whose image I found on-line years ago. I saw a funny quote once that said, "Old age is always 20 years older than the age you are." Don't we all remember when we were younger and thought that 65 was about the end of the line? Well, when you turn 65, it's suddenly not so old after all!

(I apologize for the quality of these photos. I continue to have computer issues ((insert REALLY sad face here!)) and the photos are not transferring properly)

Inside of card...

The tag was made using an image from Paper Whimsy. When I first saw this little girl I was struck with the thought that she resembled photos I have of my mother at a young age. She has the start of a sweet smile, don't you think?

Along with the card and tag, I pulled out some purple treats from my stash. Doilies, ribbon, rick-rack, letter stickers, embellishments and a funny magnet. It was a fun month!

My "donor" this month was Wendy of The Frog Palace. I had the opportunity to create for Wendy several months ago and now it was her turn to make a card and tag for me. I am glad that Wendy is not afraid to use color in her crafting. Her card and tag made me smile as soon as I saw them. The card, especially has a very funny sentiment inside. Great job Wendi...you certainly made me smile!

Inside of Wendy's card...

 She also sent me a huge number of stash items...WOOHOO! Lots to craft with!

For August, we are to create in our own style and we can use any color we'd like. This is going to be fun!!!!!!

On the HOME front, we traveled to Delaware last week and bought a new home in 36 hours. We have been wasting no time here! We have a date of August 25th to close here in Pittsburgh and August 27th to close in Millsboro, Delaware. Next up are home inspections here and there and find a mover.
I hope to be able to post some pictures of the new place, soon.
xoxo
Joyce