SUMMER: repainted thrifted signs

Turning one thing into something ELSE is my 'schtick'. 
Giving something a fresh look so it fits my decor colors and theme is part of that.

My favorite thing to give a 'makeover' to is signs - wood, metal, ceramic, paper, plastic - because I can indulge my love of painting and in just minutes have a whole new item to add to our home.

All of the signs in the photo up above have been given a makeover - simple applications of acrylic paint that completely changed the look of what I found!

I promise that it isn't hard to do - continue reading and I'll show you the before, during, and after of every one of those signs. It's LONG, but you'll learn a lot!

words of Thanksgiving wall art

time for a BONUS POST!
i just had to fit this one in before Thanksgiving...

here's a 'fast, cheap, & easy' last-minute decor idea
that will add a touch of personalized meaning to your celebration
( and might just help to keep the kids busy, too! )

make word art to decorate your front door or entry wall

all it takes is a word program, paper, a printer, 

and some interesting 'frames' to display the completed word art...

what i did with all of my May flowers!

after creating all of my flowers for the Instagram #flowermonth2022 challenge,
i decided that i wanted to enjoy them a bit longer...
so i combined almost all of them into one big flower arrangement!
but that's not all i included.

continue reading to see some interesting things tucked in with those flowers...

May flowers: art challenge recap

over the past month, i've been participating in a creative art challenge...
the #flowermonth2022 challenge on Instagram
was sponsored by three artists,
with thousands of creative people around the globe participating.
each interpreted the prompts - an alphabetical listing of flowers - 
in their own style and method.
it has proved to be not just a fun exercise for me,
but also an educational experience,
as i've seen many variations on the themes in many different art mediums.

my own creations for this challenge
were all made from materials & elements that i have here at home - 

all reused, repurposed, recycled, and turned into flowers & foliage:

scrap paper, paint, paint pens, colored pencils, felt pens, fabric, gift wrap, 
wood blocks, vintage crepe paper, tissue paper, wire, sweaters, yarn, 
vintage jewelry, sewing pins, even plastic parts from dollar store flowers.

though my original plan was to make 12 different flowers, as shown here,
it quickly expanded to a plan for 14 blooms - 

and then i added one more at the last minute!

continue reading to see all 15 floral creations from my studio...

May flowers: yarrow & zinnia

it's a two-fer!
i don't have enough time left in the month to add more posts,
so this one is doing double duty.

the two last letters of the floral alphabet challenge - Y and Z -
just finished up on Instagram,
and i made a Yarrow blossom and some Zinnia blooms...

continue reading to see the easy ways i created these flowers
using everyday materials here in my studio...

wire lampshade mobile

you've all read my statements that 'i see things differently'
and 'i never really use things the way they were intended to be used!', right?
i'm very into 'use what you have' decorating & crafting using 'everyday' elements.

one day in 2020 when i was bored outta' my skull here at home,
i looked at a stack of wire lampshades and wire domes in the corner of my studio,
 and just played around to see what i could DO with them.
they ended up as a giant kinetic sculpture / mobile hanging from my studio ceiling.
and i shared that version here on the blog.

since then, i've changed it up a bit, and added a new element that makes me smile.
wanna' see?

...continue reading for wire lampshade mobile part 2!

May flowers: gerbera

May 7 Day 7: Gerberas

this is another 'trash to treasure' assemblage / collage project

for the May Month of Flowers art challenge on Instagram.

this sunny bloom grew right outta' my recycle bin!

continue reading to see how i turned garbage into art...

May flowers: daffodil, daisy & dandelion

D is for daffodil, daisy, and dandelion!

(and a bunch more, like delphinium and dahlia and daphne)

continuing with the May Month of Flowers art challenge,

i've shared those three on Instagram on May 4 / day 4 / letter D -
and thought i'd share them here, as well!

several are older projects, and a few are brand new - created just for this challenge.

continue reading to see them all and learn how i made them...

May flowers: buttercup

'chin up, buttercup!'

ever heard that one?

in my last post, i shared info about a May art challenge on Instagram.

i'm not posting a new project there every day,

but i did share my first one on May 2,

and i chose 'buttercup' for the letter 'B' prompt.

this was a new project for me, using materials in my existing stash,

and i had to work out the details as i went -

and now i'm sharing it as a tutorial here on the blog.

when i was finished making my buttercup, i added it to a larger art piece

that i had in mind when i chose this specific flower!

continue reading for my easy tutorial...

'month of flowers' May art challenge

flowers are always on my mind in springtime...

and they are one of my favorite things to create.

this month, i'm excited to revisit some of the flowers i've made in the past

(and whooooo have there been a lot of them - some shown above)

and create different flowers for something NEW:

the 'May Month of Flowers Instagram Challenge'!

continue reading to find out the details!

the old rugged cross

in my last post, i shared my new faux Kintsugi painted eggs,
and in the background of a few shots you saw a small collection of wood crosses.
today, i'm focusing on those and how they are made from 'everyday' materials.

Easter arrives in just a few days, and it is one of the most important days of the year to me.
my faith is built on the miraculous events celebrated on this day centuries ago,
and my hope resides in the promises God made about what it all means for the future.

Easter is also the day that my sweet Dad went home to Heaven seven years ago,
just as the sun was rising and beaming through the windows onto his peaceful face...
a precious reminder about what is really important in this life.

having a cross (or collection of crosses) in my decor is important to me,
and i love being able to make them unique and personal.
i hope these ideas inspire you!

continue reading for details...

paint palette eggs!

this one came to me one day while i was going through my bins of spring decor.

back in 2020 i made some simple Easter eggs with varied finishes on them,
and as i saw those in the bin, i realized that their shape was very much like
the paint palettes that artists use... and a new creative idea was born!

...continue reading for this easy project

(and to see what those 'paint palettes' are REALLY made of!)

show 'em some love!

just poppin' in with a recent discovery in my files...
this project didn't make the blog last winter
and since I'm not currently making new things,
 I thought I'd share it for your Valentine's Day inspiration!

we've all become familiar with offering a little 'thank you' to the many service people
who deliver food and goods to our homes - especially during a pandemic.
our isolation is made more comfortable by them bringing us what we order online.

last year, I created one with a Valentine theme
from an old wall mailbox, all 'shooszhed' up with hearts
to express my gratitude to our USPS, UPS, FedEx, and Instacart delivery people...

continue reading to see how!

last-minute 'pumpkin party' decor

ever wondered how deb's muses work?
here's an example of the crazy ways things connect in my brain:

while in the process of cleaning up my studio
(an Herculean task, let me tell you....)
i found a plastic bag filled with some yellow paper party supplies
that i had picked up while out thrifting - and promptly forgot about!
the paper goods were immediately removed from the bag,

and tucked into a drawer where i keep all of the scrap paper & magazine tearsheets
so i wouldn't forget about them again - i'm in that drawer at least once a day.

just hours later, i scrolled through social media and saw a photo of a big fat bow,
thought 'that's cute', and kept scrolling. then i stopped.
in my mind, the big fat cute bow merged with the paper party supplies,
and became 'a pumpkin party' in my imagination...
pumpkins bedecked with ribbons and bows in a 'party' setting.

the combination of the two - plus some stickers and more party decor - 
turned out cheerful, happy, and so easy to create
and it took me just minutes to assemble the vignette shown above...
which makes it a PERFECT last minute decor idea,
and a great 'no carve' pumpkin decorating project for kids.

continue reading for the details...

harvest moon shadow box

miniatures are all the rage right now...

from dollhouses and tiny 'rooms' that sit on bookshelves

to tiny spaces behind walls and accessed by little 'fairy doors', 

it's a trend that engages our childlike imagination.

i was inspired by that to create a sort of miniature setting,

and chose to use a shadowbox frame as the structure for it.

a simple project that took very little time to assemble,

it makes use of items i have used in past projects...

and i hope it will inspire you to try something similar!

continue reading to see how it all came together...

paint + paper picture frame pumpkins

creating seasonal decor accents with paint and paper is my jam.

i love taking something i already have, combining it with scraps of this and that,

adding some paint, and turning it into something new

without spending a cent.

it's 'green'/eco-friendly, no-cost, easy to do,

keeps stuff from being 'stuffed' into storage boxes until it's that season again,

and it's a great way to ensure that my decor is unique and one of a kind.

i'm able to embrace current trending looks - with my own twist.

like..... yellow. yup. still doin' my yellow thing. alllll year long!

while these photos do indeed have yellow in them,

the project is graphic black and white - which is not just perfect for Halloween,

but easily incorporated into nearly any color scheme.

or, you know, altered to fit any color scheme...

you want orange? great! swap out the black for orange!

maybe you embrace all neutrals? okay! use soft sand instead of black with white.

and if 'cute' isn't your vibe, picture these made from elegant gold frames
filled with vintage book pages or wallpaper, with gold-painted wire 'stems'.
i want to inspire you to make it yours!

continue reading for details...

a different kind of sand castle...

bringing sand and shells home from a beach vacation is do-able.
a sand castle? not so much.

unless, of course, you find a new way to make a sand castle ;) 

and i did. 

continue reading to see the everyday material that inspired me and how i used it...

hello, sunshine!

summertime is here!

now that it's time to focus on sun, sand, and shenanigans,

let's bring some sunny summer vibes to your home decor!

i came up with a way to decorate a front door (or back door, or interior door!)

in just minutes with this 'fast, cheap, and easy' paint project...

continue reading to see several ways to have fun in the sun with this one!

send a message with stamped dishes!

sometimes an idea comes outta' nowhere.

sometimes, nature is the inspiration.

and sometimes, another creative person does something new

that makes me realize a possibility that intrigues me...

that's the case with this 'just for fun' diy project.

i saw something on social media and laughed.

then i thought 'i have a few china dishes that i could do something like that with....'

and so, i tried it just to see how it would look.

my approach is temporary art, as most of my decor projects are.

(actually, i came up with TWO ways to do this project that are temporary)

when i tire of this look, i'll be able to 'erase' it

and return the dishes to their original condition.

and when it was all done, another approach occurred to me!

...continue reading to see where my mind took me...

be a good (repurposed) egg

last spring, i created several decor elements inspired by paint chips. 

okay, okay... i basically spent most of 2020 finding creative ways to use paint chips! LOL

this year, i've pulled those out of storage and found fresh new ways to use them...

because the yellow just serendipitously fits my current color obsession perfectly

AND

because it's not necessary to have/buy/make ALL NEW things EVERY year.

(i felt a great disturbance in the force as retailers across the globe shuddered at that...)

it's fun finding new ways to use what you have!

continue reading to see the new ideas that i came up with...