Sunday, September 13, 2009

Halloween Yard Art

I had a rough week and went through more than one of these bottles of Boulevard Double-Wide this weekend. Great, hoppie IPA if you're into that sort of thing.

I managed to get some mums planted last weekend and got my Halloween yard art out.

I just love cutting this stuff out of sheet metal. My friend Jenny gave me the idea to do candy canes for xmas, so I'll be busy making lots of those. They'll look better in clusters, some larger than others. It's important to add some color during the winter months.

I got these great antique gym baskets on Craig's List and this one looks cool with the mums and greenery just stuck in with the landscaping.

My friendly spider.


You can see my miniature spruce in the background. I've done a little planting but I have a whole lot more to go.

And above is the new color for the house, Antique Tin by Beher. I started off with Light French Gray below, but it was too powder blue for me.

I've decided I bit off more than I can chew with the house painting. Stucco is really hard to paint and the house goes to two stories in the back. I have someone coming in a couple of weeks to knock it out for me. It's going to really make the house pop. There was zero curb appeal when we bought the place.

I'm filling in one of the walls in my living room with thrift store and flea market art. Now all I need is a couch.


I made a few of these out of aluminum flashing for the Halloween season. Well, back I go to my organizing and pricing. My friend Katie has motivated me to have a garage sale in a couple of weeks. I have wayyyyyy too much junk.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Creepy Crawlies

First, an update! My friends and family know that I'm not much of a cook, but I can whip up a mean pie. I make it a point on each of my pies to tell a story or make a comment through the vent holes. Strange, but true. Anyway, here is my latest cherry pie and the vent holes tell the story of a house, my new house that I am absolutely loving! I'm still adjusting and changing some things to make it our own, but we are getting there and I FINALLY began setting up my mosaic studio last weekend.

I like to get into the swing of Halloween early so I can enjoy it for as long as possible. I'm not into dressing up, but I love the interior decor, the whimsical possibilites, the bright colors, the scent of Fall in the air. Ahhhhhh . . .

Much of my work is tongue-in-cheek like the fly switch plate above. I will never be accused of taking myself too seriously. The cockroaches are an old favorite and give a fun twist to the Halloween theme.
No room would be complete without a switch plate with a large rat on it, don't you think? And giant ants are a good complement to any design style.

I had a great time making this Halloween treat box lined with fun scrapbooking paper.

I again incorporated some creep crawlies.



I included lots of fun elements in the Halloween corkboard below. I just love old bottles or bottles that are made to look old like this one. I got it in a cool little shop in Greenwood, Missouri, a really fun place to spend a Saturday looking for treasures.

The shoepolish bottle reminded me of a tombstone.

These pins were fun to make. The witch's hat, pumpkin, and ghost are polymer clay.

I got the clown figurine at Urban Mining some time ago. If you haven't been, check it out!

And another switchplate. Pink and black are good together.

And while I was dropping off my new creations at Stuff, I marveled at the wonderful sites in this store. I love art that has been cut out of sheet metal or old tin like this fabulous, giant flower.

Sloane and Casey are always creating new and interesting displays like this one with the ducks floating in a cicular stream of water - vintage chic. And the wonderful dog portraits are by Hoop Dog Studio

More Hoop Dog fabulousness!

Here is a very eclectic and cool interpretation of a flower cut out of old tin. Love these, and how cool would they be in a bunch in a loft space or small cottage?

It's not too early to start searching for the perfect holiday gift for those on your list. Go talk to the girls at Stuff, they will have just what you're looking for.