Through the window pane....

Well here it is...my newest creation.

It took a little while as I've been busy with a few other things and was only able to dabble at it here and there.  You likes?  I know it's a little out there, but when I look at it, it makes me smile.

I saw these cute little steel watering cans at the Dollar Store back in May when the summer inventory was coming in, and fell in love with them....

Every time I went to the store, I would see them but didn't have a good enough reason to purchase them.  I knew I could paint and use them as vases (which I think look beautiful), but it was missing a little something.....

Enter the old window frame we found on the side of the road the night before garbage day.  We were leaving my mom's neighbourhood and as we turned the corner, I let out a scream that made hubby screech the wheels.  After his few chosen (not to be repeated here) words, I asked him to please put them in the trunk of the truck, but would he?  No.  In an effort to try and "help" me conquer my shyness, he made me go and knock on the door of the house they were sitting outside of, just to make sure they were being disposed of.  After several minutes of calling each other's bluff, and him putting the truck in drive, I once again conquered my fear and made my way up the driveway of this stranger's home.  The lady was not only extremely kind, but appeared somewhat perplexed that this stranger was interested in clearing her 'trash' for her. 

Anyway...it finally hit me.  How cute would it be to paint those little watering cans and nail one to each window panel?  See the nails on the handle? I thought of wrapping twine around it to hide the nails, but I think it looks fine just like that.

A little paint....

Some varnish or outdoor paint if you wish the paint to remain on the cans.  I used regular acrylic paint without varnish as I want them to flake and rust naturally. Once they achieve the 'aged' look that I want, I will cover them with varnish to seal the look.

Because I live in Canada, I am not sure if your local dollar store will carry these beauties....but you can easily recreate this by drilling regular cans to the bottom of the panels.  That was my initial thought, but hubby suggested hanging them by the handle (he was right...again).

I'm not sure what type of plant this is, but I wanted a nice contrasting colour.  I also thought the plant should be a hanging plant.

I hubby will be hanging the frame upon the fence, but I'm not sure if it will hang on a slant or straight.  Do you have a preference?

I'm so happy with this crazy little garden. I really hope you like it too.

This morning, I got drunk with what will be the last bit of silence I will experience for a while as today was the kiddies' last day of school.  But I'm soooo happy to have them home all day long.  While those little squabbles and finger prints on the fridge may seem annoying at times, knowing that they are with me and are safe under my care is what brings me the most peace.

So nice of you to visit, I will be back soon and hope you will be too.

Many warm hugs and much love,

Lucy

p.s. I am agonizingly behind in replying to many of the sweet words some of you have taken the time to share with me.  I'm so sorry, but will try to find some time to write back soon. 

Linking for the first time at

Centsational girl garden party

KEEP CALM and PAINT ON...

Happy Monday Everyone!

A post or two ago, I shared I would be beginning a project for church.  Each year, our church runs an amazing summer camp where children can explore the beauty of God's creations while having fun. The theme last year was underwater treasures and I wanted to share some pictures from last years project. 

They asked for volunteers to help paint panels and hubby and I volunteered.  It wasn't long before my artistic eagerness took over and offered to paint something a little more, let's just say, detailed....(truth is, hubby volunteered me, but I'm glad he did).

The mural panels where approx 8'x8' and were

painted on thick cardboard paper taped together...

 A much larger (cardboard) canvas, complete
with portholes, sat on top of the mural panels...

Here is a closer look at the
porthole (rusty nails and all)...

 I wanted to recreate the look of a sunken ship
and old weathered wood (this was hubby's idea)

I've always been intimidated drawing dolphins - so I'm not entirely sure why I decided to paint one that was about 6' long (?) - but I can honestly say God was guiding my hand on this one.

My sweet hubby helping put up the massive canvas.

Doing a little Vanna, showing off the murals that we had to cut to fit inside window frames. 

The sunken ship canvas was placed over top of the murals, with the kids able to look inside the portholes as the window frame was recessed.  All done and so happy to have helped knowing that God has given me a talent and he has called me to serve him through art.

This year the theme is a bamboo forest

(PandaMania) and obviously I have started to

create some bamboo forest scenery.

Just like last year, I am using my

favourite acrylic paint by DecoArt...

It's photographed in most of

my tutorials requiring paint...

I love this product and will share some exciting

news with you when the time is right...

(but I think you can probably figure it out for yourself)

Here is a little chubby panda I started to paint, which my kiddies are in love with.  I have huge (and perhaps too ambitious?) plans for other pandas.  We'll see.

Art is such a part of who I am and somehow when I paint and create I feel immense gratefulness to God for this little bit of talent he has given me (please forgive me if I do not sound humble when I say 'talent').

In a couple of weeks, I'll share the complete project.  I can't wait to see it done.

Thank you for coming by and sharing your time with me...

much love,

Lucy

p.s.

almost ready...

Painting galore and locks of love...

Hi beautiful friends!  I hope you're all having a great weekend.

I wanted to give you a little peek into my weekend world so far...

During my morning run on Friday, I picked some more wild daisies and wished I had a nice contrasting coloured vase to put them in.  So this morning, I sprayed painted this dollar store vase to coordinate with my beachy sign.  Such an easy way to makeover an inexpensive and plain vase.

And speaking of makeovers, would you please come along with me as I show you the next little makeover; well HUGE makeover?

Our youngest son had been growing his hair for over a year as he wanted to donate it to Locks of Love.  A beautiful organization that makes hair pieces for children undergoing cancer treatment and other medical diagnosis.

Over the last several months, he was constantly being mistaken for a girl.  Even though I know deep down it bothered him a little, he didn't budge until he knew he had reached his goal of 10".  We are so proud of him...

I was so sad to see his hair being cut off; he had these beautiful red and blonde natural highlights, but at the same time, I am so happy to know that someone will benefit from his gorgeous hair.  Tristan has such a beautiful soul and the way you see him pictured here is his every day being. Always a smile on his face, ready to help anyone with anything.

My three boys; the apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it?

I'm also about to get extremely busy with a project for church camp.  I'm looking forward to sharing some pictures and some really exciting news with you about this particular project.  Let's just say God's works are amazing!

I started painting one of 5 panels, each of which will measure 11'X3 '.  It's going to be a lot of work, especially with the kiddies finishing up school this week.  I'll try and post updates and sneak in the occasional craft if I can.

The theme for this year is a bamboo forest.  I made several of these bamboo canes out of tons of paper roll tubes, with some measuring up to 11' or so....

Before I get too deep into my bamboo forest adventure, I hope I can finish this little project I stared last week.  Here's a hint....

...and another hint...this old window frame.

And finally, I'll leave you with the mural I painted last year.

 I hope to show you many more pictures next week.

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

Thank you so much for stopping by and saying hello...

luv y'all bunches!

Lucy

Faux French Vegetable crate..DIY

Happy day everyone...I hope your week is off to a great start.

As you may know, I have been very busy baking and sculpting, but I managed to sneak in some crafting time...

I'm excited to share with you this

little faux French vegetable crate....

I'm often inspired by so many of you and this particular project was inspired by several ideas.
I originally saw this little wooden crate at Dreamy Whites.  I'm sure you've heard of Maria and her gorgeous blog, but if for some reason you haven't, please stop by and prepare to be amazed.

And do you remember the little paint stir sticks frame I had made?  Sweet Chessa from Antsi Pants suggested that I could have also used wood shims to build the frame, and that set off the light bulb...

I immediately (well, a couple of days later) went to our local Home Depot and purchased a pack of wood shims for under $3.00.

I also remembered seeing my friend Michell from Girl in Air age her wood shims with vinegar and steel wool.  Ashley from Lil blue boo had also used this technique to age a beautiful lazy susan wine tray.

So I got to work...well kind off.  I had started the project a couple of weeks ago, but became busy with life and only built the frame...

So my Father in Law, who is visiting from England, eagerly stepped in to help with this project and surprised me one day with a finished frame, hence the lack of pictures (forgive him, he doesn't get the whole blog thing).

In order to be able to use the shims and make them sturdy, you will need to nail two together. Placing the thinner side on top of the thick side, this will form a piece of wood with the same thickness throughout.

I placed some steel wool in vinegar, let it stand overnight, removed the steel wool and with a brush, applied a coat of the vinegar/steel wool liquid onto the wood.  It's amazing how fast it changes colour.

I found that using a brush gave me a more uniform colour as opposed to using the steel wool directly onto the wood.  Allow it to dry for an hour or two and sand down a little.  Then staple some chicken wire and voila!

I also found that by rubbing some of the vinegar liquid onto the chicken wire ,the wire takes on a rusty effect (you can see it in one of the pictures above).

While driving the kiddies to school, I spotted these wild daisies along the side of the road and decided to pull over and make a little bouquet... so pretty.

So there you have it...a little French vegetable crate made of wood shims that cost me under $5.00.

I know I say this often but I truly appreciate the inspiration you offer.

much love,
Lucy


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