SK On Elderberry

Saved Antique Details Of La Chicken

This poor baby was rescued for pennies. After I researched this little heavily built table, I discovered the hand carved front drawer panel was from a destroyed cabinet.

Smoke and burn marks are apparent. I envision this being in a old, beautiful and much loved cabinet. When the fire was extinguished, this little carved piece was all which could be saved.

The cabinet is built like a brick, well-worn and used. The body, legs and T-support were built from old wood. The builder wanted to save the hand carved drawer panel, so he built the entire table to showcase this feature.

I am excited to see The Graphics Fairy has featured this fun table. You can visit The Graphic Fairy story here:

Beautiful Farmhouse Table – Reader Featured Project by SK Sartell

Thanks Graphics Fairy. I love your work and use it as often as I can.

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Painting Stripes With SK

I love striped walls.

I just hate the whole taping process...So...I just made it easier on myself and still got the results.

These walls are very heavily hand textured. Trying to stripe them with any taping method is almost impossible. The tape will not stick to the nooks and crannies of this texture.

I painted the whole room with a satin based paint. I let it dry overnight. This particular color is called Satin-based Svelte Green from Sherwin and Williams. I also had my paint store mix a quart of the exact color in semi-gloss paint. This will be my stripes.

Using a 6' level, I taped the level into the corner of a 8.5 ft. piece of ninety degree metal corner. This metal corner is usually used in the application of sheetrock corners and corners of windows before taping and texturing.

I wanted my stripes to be 6'. I measured around the whole room, and with a pencil marked every 12".

With the level taped to the inside of this metal corner it now became an 8.5 ft. level. This makes it possible to lay this long homemade level on each mark, making sure it was plum and straight. I must say this is easier with two sets of hands.

Using a 6" paint roller, I run the roller filled with my semi-gloss paint along the outside corner edge of the metal.

Because of the heavy texture there is a hit and miss pattern that I really like.

This almost there look, is Imperfectly Perfect. My best effort of creating. Easy, fast and never being quite perfect.

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Smiles and Groans

There are certain days it should be a law that you just stay in bed. I have these just once in a blue moon, but this was certainly one of the days I should have taken precautions and at least stayed away from the old glue gun.

This old lamp shade has a great shape, but an old and stained silk fabric.

I thought I would try something new and clever. Oh Dear. Little did I know how difficult it is to create a nice lampshade. Maybe I should have done some studying up on the craft first. Naw. Not me.

I love the pattern and colors of paper. Hey, thats a great idea cover a concave surface with something that cannot go with the flow.

Looked horrible. But wait, maybe if I add some embellishments to the bottom and top it will look great. NOT!

I lived with it for maybe a half of a day. Nasty. I couldn't convince myself it was cool. My lifes work and creative skill is in jeopardy right now.

I made the monumental decision to start over. It took more time to strip the frame than to cover it in the first place, due to my exuberant glue gun techniques.

A razor knife and a few blue words latter I got it stripped. Paper, silk and glue flying.

I had to use a razor knife t clean the frame

Ok. Really it's that important to me to get this right? My pride and honor are at stake. Found some quilt fabric left over from a more extensive project so here goes.

I don't like cutting fabric. I can never get it just right. So I tore these pieces in 2.5" wide lengths.

I had planned on gluing the fabric on the frame. Then I had the recollection of the last glue disaster. So thought tying might be a better option. Then if I hate it, I can remove these strips of fabric with ease.

I pulled the strips up from the bottom of the frame and proceeded to just tie them in a little knot on top.
The more I added the more fun it became.

I started adding beads and turquoise rocks to the ends of little ribbons. This gives it a little sparkle.

Not an amazing project, but something I needed to do to fix the horrific aftermath of the first try. This might not last long, but for right now it makes me smile. Now I can call my life complete....

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SK's Wondering Artistic Mind

You're Welcome At My Water Bowl Anytime!

by SK Sartell

Do You Have Any Water For My Friend?

I couldn't have said it better myself.! This Is For You Dad.

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble… At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, ‘Excuse me, where are we?’

‘This is Heaven, sir,’ the man answered..

‘Wow! Would you happen to have some water?’ the man asked.

Of course, sir. Come right in, and I’ll have some ice water brought right up. ‘The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

‘Can my friend,’ gesturing toward his dog, ‘come in, too?’ the traveler asked.

‘I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t accept pets.’The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.’

Excuse me!’ he called to the man. ‘Do you have any water?’

‘Yeah, sure, there’s a pump over there, come on in.’

‘How about my friend here?’ the traveler gestured to the dog.

‘There should be a bowl by the pump.’

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

‘What do you call this place?’ the traveler asked.

‘This is Heaven,’ he answered.

‘Well, that’s confusing,’ the traveler said. ‘The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.’

‘Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That’s hell.’

‘Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?’

‘No, we're just happy they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.’

Author Unknown
You are all welcome at my water bowl anytime!

Thanks for visiting. sk on elderberry

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SK & Modern Masters Paints

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SK's Endless Wandering

Something From Nothing

by SK Sartell

I don't know about you, but I am impatiently waiting for that first garden tomato to show itself…In my opinion it can't come soon enough.

So to keep my artistic mind from becoming atrophied, I began to open my mind to creative re-purposing.. So I hit a dead spot creatively. Is this the same as writers block? I think the feelings could be similar. Frustration.

I’m walking the summer garden, while looking over the hill I spy two broken and downed trees. These smaller oak trees had been killed by the death grip of ivy. Some of the ivy vines were an inch thick. These poor oaks never had a chance.

As the winter ice had grown heavy on the oak and ivy it could no longer hold it’s own weight and snapped.

“Wow, Ron look at that. Those are so cool. Do you think you HAUL those up on the back yard?” “Really Shirley? Are you kidding?”

We get the trusty old come-a-long and chains and haul them both up to the backyard.

They both are worn, bedraggled and look like they need to be used as firewood. NO WAY! Hey let’s build an arbor…Ron sighed resignedly. He dives in cutting the grass back twelve feet and levels the area. Of course there has to be a step. What were you thinking?

If you know Ron, you know that he is a sweety. He will do just about

The yard is now a mucky mess. But hey, look at it this way, we will have less grass to mow..anything legal and or moral to keep me happy. Poor dear.

We embed four tall steel rods into concrete for strength. Then start to wire the curved trees to steel posts, overlapping the limbs at the center. We then cut stray limbs off to make the arbor more symmetrical.

Looks pretty bad at this point. But in my mind I could see it at the height of summer. Mind you, Ron still can’t see what I am envisioning. He just plugs along.

Now that the arbor is built we need to plant. Oh Wait…We need a bench so people can enjoy the view. Right? Wait, it gets better. To get to the bench we need stepping-stones. Agreed?

At this point Ron just wants it to end.I found an old fence and designed the seat so you could sit facing the valley or sit facing the yard. Simple? You would think so…I never think things through as thoroughly as I should. But Ron always makes it work.

The stepping-stones are formed from concrete. we poured them individually in the studio as it was raining cats and dogs outside. As they dried we took them out and placed them in the muddy dirt.

We have planted several varieties of roses. One is a white climbing vine rose and will eventually cover the arbor. I can’t wait ten years to see the result so I am planting hops which will cover the entire arbor by mid summer. Moss and small steppable ground cover will be planted among the cobbles.We eventually placed the last cobblestone. The pillows came soon after.

Can you envision the end result. Hope we get to see my grand scheme. Poor Ron.

Thanks for visiting. sk

Thanks for visiting. sk on elderberry

SK & Modern Masters Paints

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Thoughts Of Dad

Get The Water Down To The Bottom Of The Row!

by SK Sartell

Days Of Summer

As heat waves rise from my patio cobblestones, the pumpkins are sprouting and the ground is getting hard. These sweet weeks of summer bring back many memories of the farm where I was raised.

I miss lying in bed at dawn waiting for my dad to inevitably, come to wake me. I could hear a cicadas raspy calls, the frogs croaking and the occasional song of a whippoorwill. We used to call them road runners.

My dad was a great farmer. His eighth grade education never seemed to be a hindrance to his success. It was my father who taught me; anything could be fixed when you put your mind to it. If he had thought to have a motto, his would have been ; You can fix anything with baling wire, hard work and a good shovel.

My behavior must have been learned at his feet. I have always known I could accomplish anything, if I spent the time to learn, to work hard, to be honest, and civil (which seems to be a lost art.)

Sooo….I get to work and try to make my father proud I was his daughter. I will figured it out dad. I will be honest and ethical and even civil at times. OK. Don’t push me. I will try to be civil most of the time. How’s that?

Times are tough. We are feeling a bit sorry for ourselves with the lousy economy. People are out of work. The rent might be late. Hmmmm. Are we feeling a bit sorry for ourselves?

Dad would just quietly make a point of; “Shirley Kay, the water needs to be changed on unit seven.” We have to make sure the water gets down to the end of the row.”

“The water needs to get down to the end of the row.” What a complex thought, dad. He will never know how this statement has effected my life.

Finish what you start. Make sure you do the best you can. “Get the water to the end of the row." Endure to the end.

OK. So I will stop whining. And start finishing to the best of my ability. Be who I am. Create. Make something useful and beautiful.

The summer brings the memory of my father’s garden and life. His creations. All useful. All beautiful. I will try to do the same.

Copper Counters & SK

I love copper, in all it's forms. I started working with 16 ml sheet copper for my countertops. It. was an enlightening project.
To say the least, I learned a lot.
This might not be a project most people would attack. But when I want something, I jump in, and as well as getting something cool, I learn a little along the way.