Thursday's Thrifty Finds

Besides being wonderful glass globes do you know what these were in their first life?

 This one may give it away...the large ones are street light globes and the smaller ones are from security lights like you would have in your backyard. This one is the outer covering for the small one above. I thought it would look beautiful with a candle inside since it has a hole in the top. Imagine an outside dinner party at dusk. The ribbed glass will probably have a dramatic affect on the flickering light.

This one is hard to see through as well so it may serve well just as a cloche to protect young plants from a late frost...any decorative ideas?

We have the 3rd one on our kitchen table. This wasn't the best time of day for photographing but you can see how beautiful and purposeful they can be in their next life. My chickens are finally protected from accidental beheading by roudy kittens.

Like them? We will have two more large ones and two more small ones in the shop this summer. We are keeping our eyes open for more but so many were destroyed by the utility company when they were taken out of use that they are hard to come by.

Hand Painted Spring Placemats and Table Runners

Happy Spring! We had a beautiful day on Saturday and I worked outside all day enjoying the sun on my skin...something we haven't felt around here in a very long time. It was a wonderful day.

 While I was pulling out the dead in my herb garden it reminded me of a series of table top pieces I designed about 16 or 17 years ago for Lexington Furniture's Weekend Retreat Collection. It's a beautiful classic pattern that never goes out of style so I decided today to pull it out of retirement and offer it once again on my website for Spring, Summer and Fall  2010.

They can be totally customized with your favorite herbs, with or without sunflowers, in all shapes and sizes. The heart-shaped herb wreath on the placemat is also available as a circular wreath. The possibilities are just endless and that's the beauty of hand painted accessories.

The Ivy pattern was a major design in the 1990's when Waverly introduced the ivy wall paper and fabrics. We actually built the studio with the profits mostly from the Ivy floorcloths and tabletop pieces. I retired the pattern completely in 2001  because I just couldn't bear to paint another one. Now, I look at them with fond memories and too am bringing them out of retirement...for a while. I believe I will update it somewhat if I keep it open.


All the tabletop pieces are created on a #10 weight canvas, primed, hand painted with acrylics, and sealed with 5 coats of acyrlic poly. They are hemmed and cork backed to protect your table top.

For complete ordering information click here to go directly to the ordering page on Free Rein Art and Design.