Bird Bath Face Lift

Recently I posted about how I wanted to make changes to my yard.   My first change was posted HERE    All of these changes take a lot more time than I originally plan on, but worth the time.    I could have done some of the work myself, but with achy bones, I decided to hire some of it done and I will post those pictures soon.  

In the course of getting some of the work done, my bird bath needed to be moved.   It weighs a TON and I had the landscape guys move it.    Since it was moved, I decided it needed a face lift.   It was a gift from my husband in 1983 and has been with me ever since.   (So has the husband).  

 

The poor thing is very dirty.  I sanded the base and the bowl of the bird bath.  

After sanding, I painted all of the bird bath with a mixture of latex paint that had been thinned by half with water.   It covers nicely and wipes off easily.

 

As you probably have guessed, I don't throw a lot of stuff away.   My friend Michele gave me a broken lamp and that is the floral pieces and a lot of the blue and white is leftovers from previous mosaic projects.   The little blue round pieces are new from Dollar Tree.   They reflect the light very well.  



The blue glass tile around the edges are also from Michele.   I thought they gave a nice 'frame' effect to the top.  

 

Finished!

 

Now I am just waiting for the birds to find it in it's finished shape.   

 

The yard is looking really good.   The rest of the project will be featured in a couple of days.  

 

 

Aprons, Aprons, and more Aprons

I love aprons and always have.   I can remember when I was a little girl, my mother always had fancy aprons to use when they had parties or dinners.   I loved them.   She also had 'work' aprons.   Those aprons that were meant to be worn to save your clothes and take the brunt of all the tasks you do in the kitchen and around the house. 

I decided one of the gifts my daughter in law needed for her birthday was a fancy apron.   One she could use for those events where she needed something pretty to cover up her clothes. 

 

I was very pleased with the apron and decided my sister needed on for her birthday.   Two March birthdays can make a lot of work.

 

I did the red one for my sister. 

Well, not to be outdone, I decided I need one.   I was going to the Art and Soul Camp in April and thought it would be great to have a pretty apron to take with me.   I got it done and was so pleased with it, I decided I didn't want to risk getting paint on it so I left it at home.   It is still waiting for a great occasion to wear it.   I hope my Daughter in law and Sister are using theirs.  

 

 

On to more projects.    

 

 



Art for the Young!!!

Last week was a really interesting week for me.   My son is grown and I kept him very involved in art projects when he was young, but then he grew into all sorts of sports and the art was relegated to the back seat.   My friend Michele was going to teach a class or two for The Studios of Key West and I casually mentioned that I would be glad to come to a couple of her classes and take pictures so she would have them for her blog.    Well, those couple of classes turned into 6 days of classes and I went everyday and I must say it was certainly fun.  

The first five days the classes were held at the East Martello Museum.   The view is inspiring in to many ways. 

The first day the kids did flags.   They could decorate them any way they wanted to.  

Sample Flags:

 Lots of stamping on this flag.

 I think what I was most amazed at was the abandoned way they stamped.   Most adults try to plan out the whole project and in general just over think a project like this.   Kids do it for the original purpose, and that is to create something fun.  

 

Day 2 and 3 will be devoted to masks.   Some of the samples that Michelle brought. 

 

 

The masks were constructed by things that are normally recycled; and what a clever way of recycling these items.  

After assembling the mask with boxes and plastic containers, it was covered in shrink wrap.  

 Day 3
A bunch of really cute masks. 

 Really cute teeth! 

 Elephant

 The flower on the hat is really cute.

 Elephant embellished. 

 I just love the glasses on this mask. 

Day 4  

 

Michele is a fantastic assemblage Artists and these are a couple of her pieces.   I feel inspiration every time I see them.  

 

 Lots of stuff to work with!!!

 Lots of lovely finished pieces.   

After the boxes, they made snap bracelets!!!  

Very cute bracelets.   They just snap on around the wrist.

Day 5 - They made greeting cards.   Most made Father's Day cards, and one made a birthday card.   They also made puzzles that were put on tongue depressors and then cut apart to form a secret puzzle.  

Day 6 - different location.   The site was changed to The Studio's space.   They did more bracelets.  There was one of the same kids in the class, but Michele, for the most part,  had a whole new group of children. 

 Lots of embellishments to choose from. 

This young lady had made one earlier in the week and most excited to make more snap bracelets. 

 

I must say that my only task was to take pictures but it wore me out.   I can only imagine how tired Michele must have been.    It was great fun.   It appeared that all the kids had a great time.   I was glad to be a part of it in some small way.