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....

Thanks for visiting.

sk

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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!

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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

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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.

Stuffed & Painted

With left-over canvas fabric I learned how to sew simple pillow covers. Simple enough project.

Each pillow is painted on each side. The one side is for spring/summer/country, the other sides are painted for winter/valentines.

PoppyCock

Brrr...

 My grandbabies love flipping every pillow over, hoping for another new surprise.

You can now order your own hand painted pillows or Lady Bug Book from SK's Etsy Shop at: https://www.etsy.com/people/sartellart?ref=si_pr

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SK & Modern Masters Paints

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Using What You've Got

When a gift is given I look at it with a very open eye and mind. What could it be used for? What kind of life can I give it. Is it needed and usable. If not for me then as a gift for someone.

I was given two very 1960' TV/bookshelf cabinets which had seen better days. They were solid oak, so I knew they were worth saving. I wish I had a real picture of them as I started to dismantle each one, not knowing what use I would eventually have for them.

In retrospect these were one of the most loved and useful pieces of furniture I have ever gotten. They actually weren't a gift. I was ask if I would take them to the dump by a client. Sure. My house first...

There were two 23" deep cabinets. There were no shelves at the beginning. So we had to add those.

This picture is as close as I could come to what they resembled. One of the two cabinets did not have a back.

I never just throw something away. I will save it until some inspiration or need arises.

I needed bookshelves but these were just a little deep for a usual bookcase so I knew I would need to make something useful from them. We built pine open fronted doors and stapled chicken wire to the back.

 We also added a couple of cross boards for stability. These cabinets were six feet tall. I didn't want all my unorganized junk showing, so the doors were a must.

This is our first reincarnation of the TV cabinets. We split them up added feet for height and an angled platform between them for my computer area. I don't like my computer on my desk. But it needs to be close to where I am designing and drawing. We added another find. an abused oak bookcase. I painted them an antique green from Sherwin and Williams called Svelte Green. I sanded them back as if used for a hundred years and then antiqued with a chocolate wash. I sealed the whole mess with a satin poly. I also had found this old oak desk on the side of the road and I made it my own.

When we moved I took these bookcases and newly doored bookcases with me to my new cottage. This is how I made them work again in a very tiny space.

We were heating our little cottage with a little electric fireplace. It works great. Couldn't stand to look at it. We brought in the old bookcases.

This is the results and how we did it all.

My wonderful hubby built an enclosure and raised the electric fireplace. The old green bookcases were place on either side. He attached them to the wall studs for sturdiness. The upper blank area was wired for TV. So we built up the top of the fireplace area to make it all look more custom. I used two beloved rod iron rose pieces and overlapped them attaching them to the blank space above the fireplace.

I then tiled the surround with a pretty cream glass tile. This helps bounce light around in my tiny space. I used an italian chair rail along the top of the tile. I love the textual look.

I bought small feet from Lowes and then added six inches of 4x4 to make the feet taller.

Hubby Crown molded all the kitchen cabinets and these new additions. I painted the red cabinets several colors of red and then antiqued them. The kitchen cabinets are painted a cream and the upper cabinets have beaded glass.

I added the curtains to the back. I am using these cabinets to hide oven and microwave. Plus another pantry. All the stuff I don't want to be seen.

My crazy fun fridge sits next to the red cabinet.  You can see all the gritty details on this site:http://sksartell.blogspot.com/2014/04/sks-fridge-to-vintage-steamer-trunk.html

These are the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen area.

I added a antique looking beaded glass to my upper cabinets after I had painted the interiors dark chocolate. I also have electrical in each cabinet for lighting which is upcoming. I hope?

So that's the details of all my kitchen/living rooms cabinetry. But I may have left out a detail. The counters are a chocolate concrete. a totally different story.

Thanks for visiting.

sk

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Canning The Light

I loved canning with my mom. Good fresh picked farm food from our own gardens. I never saw a grocery bought vegetable till I got married. So I have a fondness for these beautiful old canning jars.

I used six different types of Ball canning jars and figured out how to make them into lights for my little cottage. I try to surround myself with things which remind me of my farm life. They make me smile.

Good thing I have a an amazing hubby whom will work with me tirelessly. Sorry I didn't take progress pictures showing how this was accomplished. there are many tutorials on the internet.

Thanks for visiting.

SK