Straight from the Witches Tea Party

Witches Tea Party

Now that it's officially Autumn I believe it's okay to start thinking about Halloween. I won't put out any decorations until October, and I don't really have many compared to some of my friends, but it sure is a fun holiday to decorate for!

I have always loved this photo and I really don't know the history behind it but it inspired me to create my own little tea party set this year.

" New" Vintage 1950's snack set

It's a Federal Glass Company Homestead pattern snack set from the 1950's. I found the spider web lace at the craft store and had no idea what I would do with it...just knew I loved it and it would be gorgeous on something. So, really it's just one of those things that just happens. Before I knew it, I had a light bulb moment and the rest is history.

They are fun to make...a little tedious in places, but fun! I have one listed in my etsy shop and several more in the studio if you'd like one. It's a nice elegant touch for your Halloween decor that would be stunning with a black candelabra and maybe an enlarged framed version of the Witches Tea Party.

I'm working on a shop update for tomorrow afternoon. I know it's been a while since I've had any news, but I've been working in the trailer unpacking boxes, sorting, cleaning and trying to get an idea of what I have and values. It's been a monumental task...but, more on that tomorrow.

It's a GO! Free Rein Art and Design has a new look.

We've officially re-launched our website as of midnight Tuesday and are so happy to have all that behind us! It's a simple design with a cleaner appearance than the version we've been sporting for the last few years. Now all that is left to do is get in the studio and produce new work for the new website!

This is our new back ground...I love the bright yellow...so different from what we had.

Normally, I wouldn't send you away, but today, I'd like you to take a look and see what you think. If you find any bugs please tell me.
You can find it at Free Rein Art and Design

Finding Beauty in Old Wood

Table top

Isn't this pretty? What I thought last week was a pink elephant has turned out to be a really nice check out area for the shop.

We decided not to try to move the 700 lb elephant down to Rick's workshop and to try and work with it where it sits. Remember it from my last post?

Big blue work table - aka the Pink Elephant

A little sand paper and paint went a long way on the base. And a lot of sand paper and muscle provided by my son went a long way on the top. It had been abused terribly with paint, oil, grease and lots of dents and holes.

Before polyurethane

One more of the pretty wood top

All finished

I think it turned out nice and it will be really useful. All these years it had been up against the wall and we had completely forgotten it had storage underneath. This is going to be where we keep our shipping supplies and I'm thrilled to get that stuff out of the studio and out of sight.

More next week...it's moving right along. 

Shop Update 8/23/20

Ranch Dressing - the shop - is finally cleaned out, cleaned up and newly painted. We even have new lighting...which is going to go a loooong way in heating this space in the winter....my word they are HOT. Next comes a dimmer switch. I should have remembered this from the gallery.

We finally got everything out on Friday with the exception of the 700 lb. steel desk that was previously used in a substation and then as my husbands worktable. Only because it's too much of a hassle to move, he's building a new one for himself and I am keeping this one as my checkout counter and for shipping supply storage underneath.

Shop before painting...grey, dusty and in some places...dirty!

I have wanted to use this color somewhere in my house for a year now but I just don't have the right space...so I am thrilled with it in the shop. I went with a neutral grey/green in the gallery years ago, but I don't have to be quite so serious here, thank goodness!

And, this is what it looks like on the wall.

A few final details inside and we will start moving things in.

More to come...and hopefully soon!

Worktable Wednesday: Not Black or Red

Hugging Bear Border Floorcloth awaiting leather rug fringe

If you will remember a couple weeks ago, I showed you some sketches in my journal of a new floorcloth design that got it's start from a standard design shown on my website. When I left you, the decision of what color rug fringe was left to the customer and we were all on the edge of our seats waiting...well, I would love to believe that...LOL...

After learning that there is NO black in the room although some black furniture exists in the adjoining bedroom, I suggested that we go with brown instead. There are lovely brown picture frames in sight of the future rug position and they need to be tied to something else in the room...so we switched out the black for brown and added turquoise to pick up that color from the shower curtain.

We are going with brown leather rug fringe with the rough side out for a soft look.

Brown leather before it's cut into fringe

Tomorrow I will begin cutting the leather into fringe. What do you think about using the rough side out? I haven't done this before but it looked like the obvious thing to do this time...and how do you cut YOUR fringe? Scissors, utility knife or rotary cutter? I have used all three.

Ornaments aren't just for Christmas

Hand painted ornament ©2010 Angie Nelson

I painted this handsome fella Saturday afternoon. I love painting on such a variety of canvases...and this is one of my favorites. I love the way the acrylics work on frosted glass...or maybe it's just the contrast of the detail against the soft white.

Anyway, he's headed to Oklahoma as a gift to the owner of this gorgeous stallion. Shhhhhhhh! It's a surprise.

I think I enjoy making the gift boxes as much as painting the ornaments. I never expected I would enjoy making them so much but this last year I've really gone quite wild with covering boxes with great papers and trims.

Hand painted ornament with faux ostrich/pink paisley gift box ©2010 Angie Nelson

For ordering details click here Pet Portrait Ornaments. It would be my pleasure to paint a mini portrait of your sweet horse or favorite pet.

Talk to you soon.

Worktable Wednesday...A Peek into my Art Journal

When a customer orders a floorcloth from me they can have anything under the sun they would like...some want something completely original and some like the standard designs just the way they are...and then some want the standard design, but customized. That's the beauty of a floorcloth...it can be tailored to your needs.

On the worktable today is a blank canvas waiting on approval of a design. The customer found something on my website that she liked but wanted something with fringe. In my mind I couldn't see fringe on it in it's original composition and I asked her if I could tweak it a bit in order to make it work with fringe.


Here's where we are today....

The Original Floorcloth Design      Hugging Bear            Angie Nelson© 2009

These are the sketches from my art journal...where I keep records of my designs and ideas..sometimes for specific client's and sometimes just things I'm thinking about painting. For this client I've scanned the page and sent her three options according to her thoughts on color. This is the first time she's seen the idea of using the bear motif as a border rather than as the only focal point on the rug.

Here are a couple pages from 2008 when I first started thinking about tipi art for floorcloths...I either use markers or Prisma colored pencils...and sometimes both.

Since my customer already knows what the bear actually looks like I probably won't do a mock up of the entire piece like I would do for a new design. There is a small design fee for new work that covers the time spent on the concept and I will actually do a small acrylic painting on paper representative of the actual piece. The fee is applied to the cost of the new floorcloth so it really is no additional cost.

So here I sit with the blank canvas...ready to start. I'm looking forward to seeing her decision...I'm kind of leaning toward the red fringe myself...how 'bout you?