Officially official

 No holding back now! I sold a painting to a complete stranger, and now my family's pride and encouragement towards me is making things like this card happen! My daughter, a graphic designer, put this card together and has already taken it to Office Depot, printed, and cut them!  She says that her mama is an "official artist" now.  We'll see......

I love my cards Maddie.  You are so good!  Seeing my name with my art in print like that does make me feel professional!  Thank you.

New art: Blue Flowers

This last picture is a 5 X 5 mini.  

I did this one to work out the colors for the larger piece.

Link parties this week:
Inspire Me Tuesday

To sell or not to sell?

 I have never tried to sell a painting.
Never wanted to part with my work.
My family kept urging me to take a risk.
I experimented.
Painted two almost identical.
Figured I could part with one if I had one I could keep.
Asked a shop owner about consignments.
Dropped off one of the paintings last Tuesday.
Sold today.

Mixed feelings.
Thrilled.
Scared.
Am I ready for this adventure?

Silver Spoons!

What do you do when you come across a box labeled 

"Junk Silverware" and the whole box is $14?

Make silver napkin rings!

I had seen these in stores but just wasn't willing to pay the price.... mainly because I would want 12!  I had seen others on Pinterest as DIY projects.  A workbench vise, a 1 1/2 inch pipe, and a rubber mallet was all I used to bend these odd assortment of spoons into 17 new napkin rings.  I also saw that people use toothpaste to polish silver...worked great.  This was an easy one hour project!

Link parties this week:
Funky Junk Interiors
Inspire Me Tuesday

Use every piece!

Left over stuff from the up cycle of a mens dress shirt.... 

what can we use the cuffs for?

Little bags!

Fold and stitch edges together.

Oh, the little things I could put in these:

Family jewelry, embroidery scissors,

 ear buds, lipstick tubes, contact case, 

kindle charger, money, business cards, etc. 

All dressed up in a man's shirt!

I have been working on a project....

not furniture, 

not napkin rings, 

not art!  

I have been recycling men's dress shirts into 

lady size pillowcase tops!

Why should little girls be the only ones to have cute clothes?

I love loose roomy cotton tops and this one feels great on!  Great for wearing around the house or working in the yard.  I think I am going back to Good Will tonight and find a few more shirts and ties.

This was upcycled shirt number 2.
My daughter did the sewing for this one!

(I am not a seamstress, but I figured this out on my own after seeing a picture on Pinterest.  

I am sure any one with basic sewing skills can figure it out and have one done in an hour!)

Just the basic steps:

1. Mens dress shirt in a size larger than you would wear.

2. Remove sleeves and collar.

3. Cut across the top of fabric, just beneath the back placket line to square it off.

4. Use single fold bias tape to sew to and finish off the arm holes.

5. Turn down tops of the front and back. Then stitch to make a casing.

6. Thread a mens necktie through both casings and tie up on one shoulder. Or you could try the simple belt buckle option like in shirt #2.

This was a really fun sewing project!

Patriotic Party: New Art Work

This is a very large mixed media piece.  

Some of the elements included is party paper stuff:

Cupcake liners, doilies, and crepe paper streamers.

This one is going on the mantel for July decor!

I hope I can inspire someone to use all those nifty paper things
 laying around the house in their own mixed media art work.
Or maybe just inspire someone to do
 a little red, white, and blue decorating of their own.

Joining several link parties with this patriotic piece this week:
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Inspire Me Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesday