Time to Swap

The day has come...I found out Saturday morning the name of my junk swapping partner for "The Junk Swap" hosted by Junk Market Style.

After reading this post in January I knew it was something I had to do...read on from Junk Market Style's Blog...

What is a junk swap? It is the act of trading some of your found objects for some equally as desireable junkables chosen for you by your junk swap partner. We're talking junk in the rough here. Anything you can come up with that is found curbside, in your garage, or perhaps even a dumpster will do. After you have chosen the loot, package it up and send it via Wells Fargo Express to your partner. What''s the twist? This time we're making it a challenge. Upon receipt of your junkmail, it is your duty and obligation (trying to sound official here) to look at your junk, close your eyes, forget about what it was, and think only about what it can become. After you have collected your thoughts, it's time to collect your tools and get creative. Once you have finished your projects (with some or all of the junk you received) it would be fantabulous if you would post your finished project on the site.

So now if I weren't busy enough, I'm adding one more thing to the mix. This is how I roll. The more I have going the more inspired I become.

 My partner for this project is relatively close by which will hopefully spark a new junking friendship. She is incredibly talented at what she does and I am really looking forward to working with her. We will be choosing "special junk" for one another soon and I will let you know more about the project as we go but today I want to send you to her blog for a peek at her talents. Again...incredibly talented. The name of her blog is Down Home DIY.

On the agenda for this week is to begin listing all the guitar catalogs and brochures. I've decide after much research to list the rare ones and some with duplicates on ebay and the others in my etsy store. I will give you a heads up when they are listed. Some, I've found out are really rare, so if you know of a collector you may want to pass on the info.

I am hoping to finish the end tables/night stands this week as well. They continue to evolve and are really going to be something more than I first envisioned. I hope and pray there are other people like me out there that can appreciate "western cuteness". Not cutesy like nursery cute...oh well, you'll see what I mean later.

Have a great week!

We Have A Winner

Hand Painted Red Bandana Coaster Set

 

The winner for the hand painted coaster set is Jessica of Jessica Interiors. Since my boys had gone on about their day and couldn't pull a name out of the hat I used an online tool called "Random Line Picker". What will they think of next? 

Congratulations Jessica. I will be in touch soon.

Curb Appeal

I have a confession to make. I haven't been posting because I am totally self absorbed in my life. I will be the first one to admit that when things are going well, I am happy and busy, it's extremely hard for me to slow down and sit at the computer and upload photos and write about my day.

Here at the Ranch it is raining once again, but I have gotten past the complaining stage and have dug my heels into the tasks at hand. I am now grateful for the delays the weather has caused because as it always happens...things are still absolutly just fine. The extra time to think and plan has been a blessing. I've had time to really think about the exterior of the shop now since I can't get anything done inside yet.

 

My dad gave me 4 buggy wheels several years ago and I never did anything with them aside from putting him off and saying I would get them "sometime". I brought them home recently and set one out in front of the studio to size it up for it's new purpose. Railing. Perfect. I'm going to put one on each side of the door.

I thought too, that I would make a board walk onto the porch so that anyone in a wheel chair could also be able to get in easily...and too it will make it easier for us to move large items in or out on a hand truck. I may want to use the other two wheels in the walk railing. It's one of those things I will have to look at when the time comes.      

I'm going to add some stain to the trim and finish it out like the barn...white around window and door frames. I am on the look out for screen doors that will be red. I love having the doors and windows open on nice days.

My sister had this old church announcement sign that I want to use in some fashion. We bartered a few services and this was part of my deal.  I'm thinking it will be great for dates and times...easily changed for each open house. I don't really like the color but I love that it is all chippy so I will probably keep it like it is.

And one last thing I wanted to show you from the container....

 

What a great chair. It's a Royal Easy Chair circa 1910. It is a recliner and a wire basket pulls from under with a foot rest attached. The tray is for newspapers or any kind of reading material. This photo was taken before I had it all cleaned up. It's in near perfect condition. In the dark trailer and under all the dust I had hoped the upholstery was leather but it's only naugahyde, but in great shape. I brought it in the house Saturday and it looks so wonderful beside the fireplace I'm not sure I can part with it. Another perk of not having the shop ready yet...the good stuff has to be stored somewhere.

I am working on some end tables this week that will also work as bedside tables with the twin beds I recently showed you. I can't wait for you to see them. They are very kitschy in character but oh so cute!. Also, I've found some old guitar catalogs that I will begin listing on ebay this week as well. I will keep you posted as I go. They are very rare and mostly from the 1960's.

Lastly, the February give away winner will be chosen on Wednesday the 24th. Please leave a comment here (February Give Away) , or on my facebook fan page for a chance to be chosen to win a pair of hand painted coasters.

Have a nice week!

February Give Away from Free Rein Studio

We have been enjoying our first snow of 2010...in fact it is our first snow in a few years that we could actually get out and play in. No ice for once, but now after 4 full days our driveways are compacted to the point that it is treacherous to walk on. My trip to the barn yesterday and today was dicey to say the least, but today the temps will reach almost 50 so I am hoping a lot of the slick stuff will melt.

house, studio and barn

It has been so beautiful, especially with the full moon over the weekend. It's so odd here to look out at night and see so much white and then get up in the morning and see farther out into the woods and hills because of all the snow on the ground making a contrast between the ground and trees. I love winter. It won't be long until all the surrounding trees are green again and will close in around us making our little farm seem smaller and contained to only what I can see up to the tree line.

A Peek at God's Artistry

creek on the back of our property

thought this was interesting 

and thought this was pretty

icicles on one of our many, many Randolph County rocks

moo

our sweet Chico after a good roll

and back to business...our Give Away for February is not anything with hearts or lace or pink or chocolate but it is something you can use to sit your mug of hot chocolate on this month or your glass of lemonade when it warms up and we are wishing for cold weather again.

Below is a picture of a pair of coasters from Free Rein Art & Design, my art studio. The art is inspired by tipi art from a Hugging Bear design. I have adapted it to my square coaster and square and rectangular floorcloths by squaring off his legs. My 6 year old nephew just yesterday, was laughing at the funny little bears lying on my coffee table and told me that real bears could not bend their arms and legs like that. Out of the mouth of babes!

To enter the contest to win a pair of hugging bear coasters simply leave a comment here and tell me what's wrong with this picture. My niece, the sister of my little critic I spoke of above also noticed something peculiar with the pair. In my haste, I hadn't noticed and have been displaying the photo on my websites. lol.

If you are the winner of the coasters, I will custom paint these in a colorway of your choosing or will let you choose another design, also to your color preference.

The coasters are hand painted onto heavy weight canvas and applied to a cork backing. They are finished with 5 coats of acrylic poly for protection. They have my artist mark instead of signature on the front with the date, and will arrive with a certificate of authenticity. The prize is a $35 value.

The contest will be open until the 23rd of February and the winner announced the 24th.

Good luck to all. 

Rein in Your Fears...Paint Your Furniture

Last week I showed you the twin beds I had started painting black and had just started painting the spindles in jewel tones...

 

 

This week I finished painting all the spindles and snapped a few photos along the way to give you an idea of what it takes to get from the original stained finish to a chippy painted finish.

After painting the spindles ...and you will see, that I didn't have to go to much trouble keeping the lines straight...I got my black paint back out and painted another coat over everything. I almost wished I had done a bang up job and was able to leave them this way...but I had plans and was excited to see the result.

 

After all was solid black again I sanded off just enough paint with my hand sander to allow some of the color to peep through and in some places I got down to the bare wood. In keeping with my old chippy theme I aged the newly painted and sanded foot board with a coat of burnt sienna, left it for a few minutes and wiped off the excess.

 You will notice a big difference in the area that is aged...much richer.

The trick is knowing how long to leave the burnt sienna on before wiping it away. Too soon and it's like you did nothing, too long and it's just another coat of paint. 

 

I like to add a couple of coats of acrylic poly to make the color pop and to protect the wood...not that a few bumps would hurt it now.

 

It's hard to see the detail in this tiny photo but you can double click for the larger view.

I realize a lot of people in my business would have thought the beds in their original condition were treasures just as they were...and I do agree...but I can not leave well enough alone when I get an idea...and I really like them better painted, chipped and looking like there may be a story that goes with them. 

You will be seeing them again in the shop this Spring and here again on the blog when I get far enough along to show you display photos.

Want to learn to paint your own chippy furniture or frames? I will be offering workshops this summer here at the studio...upstairs above the shop. Stay tuned for details...or go ahead and let me know if you are interested and we will try to set up dates. 

It's Another Giveaway...

...but it's not mine...It's Flea Market Style's. You remember, the new magazine that will be on newstands in February.

There are ten signed and numbered rose prints up for grabs. If you are a winner, it will arrive to you in a 5x7 acrylic frame; or you can frame it in your favourite flea market frame!

The print is a beautiful souvenir of the magazine and the fresh take on vintage beauty they pride themselves on delivering. To enter, hop over to their blog and leave a comment.

On another note...I am busy in the studio this week up to my elbows in old furniture and paint. I hope to have photos up here by the end of the week. I'm really excited about the little twin beds I showed you last Friday.
Super cute!

The Winner of our January Giveaway is...

Kristi Taylor from Vintage Window Congratulations!

We will have another giveaway in February. 

Watch for the announcement 2/1/10.