New in the store: Saturday, June 7, 2008

Lots and LOTS of new things to show you this week.  I painted lots of birdhouses, frames and BIG candle pedestals . . . played with seashells . . . . got in some new scrapbook embellishments . . .

DON’T FORGET!!!  We are now open Saturdays only; 9 am – 4pm.  Nearly all the new items are ‘one of a kinds’.

Weathered beachy blue birdhouses.

LOVE the way these turquoise birdhouses stand out on this green chair!

There are also some WHITE spindle birdhouses like there.  I just forgot to take a picture of them!

Sugar cookie scent panrty jar candles.

One of a kind primitive red candle holder comes with the grubby candle.

Loooooong black primitive tray with cinnamon dusted votives.

Turquoise pedestal candle.

These next three candle pedestals were made from ONE vintage table leg cut into three pieces:

One of a kind framed grubby flag.

A few more little birdhouses on posts:

Little silicone dipped replacements bulbs have arrived!

LOVE this estate sale find clear ginger jar lamp filled with shells!

Lots of little jars of pretty shells too.

Primitive ‘carved’ black frame.

LOTS more black frames just in!

I ‘tried’ to get up close to show the detail on these . . .

And some shabby white frames:

And of course some turquoise frames!

 

How to make lamps tutorials

Sue Clark or Unique Retiques put together these tutorials on how to make and wire lamps.

Wiring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YY7rLWfG8M

Making a Lamp out of repurposed materials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtyNd_v3RkU

Americana eagle lamp

This old lamp is so tacky, it’s COOL!  Michael collect eagles and I thought for sure he’d want to keep this one!  Thebase part that is painted like a flag was originally just maple stained wood.  I sanded it, basecoated it black and painted the flag.  Once dry, I sanded a bit to distress (just enough for some of the black basecoat to show through) and applied a coat of matte varnish. 

It was a very BIG and tall lamp and I could not find a new shade big enough for it.  This old shade looks ‘okay’ until the lamp is turned on and all the cracks show through.    So, I sold it ‘as is’ in need of a new shade.   And off it went to a new home!

OUR WEBSITE:  www.cscrafts.com/aj.html

Another lamp ~ rag lamp shade

The shade, jar lid lamp adapter and old half gallon canning jar all came from different garage sales at different times; I just had to put them together!

The shade is ‘rag wrapped’.  I cut the strips of fabric (some people prefer to tear the fabric, but it drives me nuts to have all those loose threads sticking to the glue on my fingers!) use tacky glue to glue on first strip down at the bottom of the shade on the inside (so when you pull it over the front of the shade it is RSO, right side out)  Wrap strip of fabric around the shade from bottom to top, going wide at the bottom, and overlapping more at the top for proper coverage; over and over until you run out of fabric.  Glue other end of strip down and start another ‘wherever’ the previous one ends.  As the fabric strips overlap, you really don’t notice where you have glued, so don’t worry about the overlaps being on the front of the shade.  It’s hard to explain ‘how to’, but it really is easier than it sounds!

I decided to fill the jar with rag balls made from the same fabric as the shade, a kind of multi colored quilt pattern.  Just wrap thin strips of fabric around any kind of small ball and glue with tacky glue. Aglue to fully dry before enclosing the balls in the jar.

 Lots of other fun things you could fill your jar with:

Seashells, old clothespins, old bobbins & buttons, old marbles, potpourri or pinecones, old cookie cutters & tart tins, old aplhabet blocks, old broken crayon pieces. . . . use your imagination!

OUR WEBSIRE:  www.cscrafts.com/aj.html

Okay, no more slacking off. . . .

. . . . time for me to get back to talking trash!  (although I haven’t really been slacking; just neglecting the blog while busy with a show!)

Here are a couple very simple lamp re-do’s.

I just painted over the existing bases with black craft paint.  On the first one, I then wiped off a little bit of the paint to emphasize the basket weave pattern.  Then along the top and bottom rims of both of the shades I used tacky glue to attach a band of black ‘hairy’ yarn.  These lamps worked great in the shabby Paris display I had in the shop.

Now kitty Spike IS slacking!

OUR WEBSITE:  www.cscrafts.com/aj.html