Giveaway Winner!

The results are in via the Random.org number generator.  And the winner is.....(drum roll)

Commenter #1 - Amy!  (her 4th of July flags gave me a giggle as well).

Congratulations Amy!  You'll be hearing from me soon to get your address so I can send your bowl.

A big thank you and a round of applause to all who entered, and for all of your wonderful comments and compliments.  And last but not least, a happy hello and welcome to all my new followers and fans, both from the giveaway and from the Aquariann's Autumn Blog Hop!

I had a lot of fun doing this and getting to talk to everyone, so keep an eye out for another contest soon.  I'm thinking a winter-themed item next time.

Coffee Chest Refurb--another update

Since the eventual home of the coffee chest will be the entertainment/TV room in our new house (whenever we get it), I've had some strict limitations as to what I could cover it with.  My husband insists on having alot of input in this room.  And he's as particular as they come. 

We agreed on a contemporary-retro style for the room, mostly blacks, grays, and blues.  After the long search I found this vintage 1960's wallpaper on Etsy:

I really hope it turns out like the picture in my head.


Don't forget to enter in my giveaway contest! 

My First Giveaway!

After having been a ghost of an Artfire member for over a year, I decided to take the plunge.  Their recent Out-Of-Beta promotion was just too good to pass up.   I signed on for one of their Pro accounts and, so far, I'm really liking their setup.  Lots of nifty little features and an ease of use that Etsy has yet to match.  (Note: I'm by no means closing my Etsy shop.  I love Etsy.  I'm thinking of my Artfire shop as a complimentary venue.)

And what kind of online businesswoman would I be if I didn't dazzle your eyes with the link to RadianceArt's new Artfire shop?

In order to celebrate this new venture, as well as my ongoing triumph over the dreaded "Mom Brain", I'm hosting my Very First Giving Away of a Thing!

Up for grabs is this cute little glass dish from the Autumn Breeze collection.  This is part of my new line of hand-painted glassware, which is so far finding a respectable amount of success.

If you're one of those industrious folks who labors to make your house reflect the passage of seasons and holidays, this is gorgeous for your fall decorating.  If you're kinda lazy and your house is no different now then it was in April well...you probably like candy, don't you?

Dump some Hershey Kisses in there and call it good.

To enter, tell me what kind of seasonal decorator you are.  Do you color coordinate the rubber totes your decorations are stored in?  Does your potpourri blend change monthly? Or do you still have Christmas lights up from 1998?  Do you even know (or care) what potpourri is?  Reveal your deepest darkest decorating secrets in the comments below.

Tweeting, blogging or Facebooking the giveaway gets you an additional entry--just be sure to leave a separate comment about it!  And, as always, be sure to leave me some way to contact you with your winnings!

Giveaway ends at 12:00 midnight (Eastern Time) next Tuesday, Oct. 12, with the winner to be selected via random.org and announced Wednesday.

Good luck!

Coffee Chest Refurb: an update

It's lovebug season here in Florida. (pause so those who know what this means can shudder).  For those of you outside the "Sunshine" state, a lovebug is a gross little beetley gnat thing whose only purpose for existence is to apparently replicate more lovebugs...with gusto.  Twice a year, they take to the air in swarms.

Funny thing about them is how much they LOVE car exhaust fumes.  Hence, they tend to congregate on highways and in parking lots.  However, the moment they go splat on your car, the clock is ticking for you to rush over to the car wash and remove them before their little bug goop eats into your paint job.  Wretched little things.

I dragged the chest into the driveway to put a coat of primer and spray paint on the areas I want to cover.  I also brought out a great little birchwoord storage cabinet I found on clearance at Micheal's.  Storage is good.  Storage I can craft up is even better.  And at rock bottom price: super awesome!

Then the problems began.

My paint didn't cover the remnants of the rough and ugly parts of the chest the way I thought it would.  Oh well, trial and error.  Now I've just changed the requisites of the fabric/wallpaper I'm looking for to heavier and/ or darker colored.  Let's just move on to the cabinet.

As I'm spraying the cabinet with this lovely hyacinth purple paint, I notice...visitors.  It would seem that, to a lovebug, there's not a whole lot of distinction between car exhaust and spray paint fumes.  And so, to save what I had done so far, I dragged everything in, closed the garage, and fled inside to wander the internet for vintage fabric and wallpaper for another week or so until the bugs are done doing their thing.

And that is why this post is NOT entitled "Coffee Chest Refurb: Part II".

Stupid bugs.

Baby Hulk and Coffee Chest Refurb, Part One

For years, our coffee table has been a cheap press board affair, recently mounted on caster wheels because every little scoot earned a loud, creaky complaint from one of the shaky legs.  I won't go through my list but, suffice to say, I was done with this thing.

My nine month old daughter obliged me a few mornings ago by somehow managing to flip it over and snap off a leg.  (Don't worry, she's fine.  Quite pleased with herself, as a matter of fact.)  After observing a minimum of disappointment solely for my husbands benefit (he actually liked the darn thing!), I headed out to my favorite thrift store, where I found this:

Its gonna take some work.  There's some water damage and it looks like its been not-so-lovingly stored for quite some time. And it smells like mothballs.  Blech.
The first thing I did (after leaving it in the sun to air out for, like, all day) was attack it with some sandpaper.  I discovered that although the hardware was rusted and beyond saving, the studs on the corners cleaned up very nicely.

Next task: stripping off that icky black canvas!

There, much better.

I'm keeping the edge strips because I like the idea of leaving a little momento of this trunk's former life and humble origins.  That, and those studs look like they'd be a pain to take apart.

Taking my inspiration from the great furniture rescues from the ladies of Mod Podge Rocks and infarrantly creative, I plan to decoupage this baby with whatever funky fabric or wallpaper that presents itself and speaks to me.  Hopefully that happens soon.  In the meantime, a coat or two of primer is in order.  Stay tuned for Part Two!

Craft Apron Sewing Project

I've recently started teaching stained glass classes for a local arts/crafts center.  I'm really enjoying it because it helps me keep my skills sharp and I love seeing folks hold up their project and see the light pouring through it for the first time.  I'm a firm believer that when people know just how much work and heart go into creating stained glass, they'll have more appreciation for those of us who are trying to make a living from it (and understand why it's so darn expensive!).  Nothing wrong with educating the public about what we do.  We're artists, not magicians.

Stained glass is a very tool-heavy craft, and I wanted a nice little apron to keep a few things on hand while I'm bouncing around the room.  One Yard Wonders to the rescue!

I used a bit of an old skirt and a few scraps of some faux denim I had lying around.  Since I'm a bit lazy whenever the instructions say anything like "press with an iron" or "fold, then fold, then fold some more", I opted to just buy some bias tape for the binding rather than make my own.  I'll do it someday, I promise.

After a few uses, I think i might adjust some of the pockets to hold more things of the pen/marker nature but other than that, this is perfect!

Jokes of a Piratic Nature

Ahoy there, Matey!  It be Talk Like a Pirate Day in these here parts.  In honor of such event, I be wantin' to share with all ye scallywags some of me favorite observations of our brethren. 

-How do pirates like to vacation?       In an aaaaaaaaRV!

-What kind of socks do pirates prefer?     Aaaaaaargyle!

-Whats a pirates favorite letter of the alphabet?  (R?)  No, the C!

And last, but by no means the least:

-What do pirates use to clean up spills on the deck?      Bouuuuunty!



Credit for these treasures goes to me pappy, who be captain of a vessel in the Disney World fleet and the scourge of the Seven Seas Lagoon!  He and his mates torture their prisoners with these voyage after voyage.

And if ye don't be liken' it, ye can walk the plank!