the details begin:

Bench No. 1: hand-painted shading… It’s subtle. The spray paint was selected for the previous solar chandeliar project. It was picked as neighbor colors for acrylic enamel we have on hand from painting the interior rooms of the Cattywampus Cottage. Typically, I start with the spray base coat, which prohibits further rusting and seals the […]

3-in-1 garden project update:

With the week off from work, things are moving well on garden projects. Painting the benches has sped along, and I made the opportunity to spray metal wall hangings I’ve been gathering for fence panels for the flower beds. Both spray painting projects lead to a third: I cut some canvas panels for dropcloths to […]

bench project, phase 1:

Yesterday, I started into the bench project, cleaning off dirt, rust and cobwebs, cutting off rusted nuts and bolts… I removed the wood trim and inlays on the fancy bench: next step: wood hardener and likely filler I cut “dropcloths” for spraying. This is for an experiment to make my own textile print for the […]

score for a garden project

FB Marketplace actually paid out today. I have been looking to gather more seating for the garden. Of course, I want things that are old and hefty and beat-up and gorgeously worn-out. And I found them in one lump sum. They were enough of a deal that the replacement lumber shouldn’t hurt too terribly much. […]

monday, in the garden

Today’s stroll through the garden:

I am a unicorn!

A new blue and iridescent needle tree for the Sweet, Sweet Unicorn Tree this year. The pencil-thin candy cane tree is tucked away for a future project. And the new tree is glorious! The iridescence shifts the color throughout the day. Bunches of additions join the sweet festivities this year, starting with the gummi bear […]

the big, big tree…

The long holiday weekend without a packed schedule allowed me to compress a three-day process into two days. I present to you the big, big tree: The new ornament roster: Kris Kringle and Topper Rudolf: Bumble! Sam the Snowman: Little Cindy Lou Who: Frosty: This one I customized with a white paint pen to celebrate […]

it is back!

ST:TCT The Storytellers™ are complete this year, Bones and Chekov now joining the set. Some lighting issues surfaced this year, so we have varied white tones and brightness. I’ll likely need to relight the entire tree next year. Also, at some point, I need to wrap or paint power cords, but my husband is once […]

an early start:

There was always a reason why craft stores started holiday stocking early: making takes time. (This in no way excuses the trend picked up by retail stores.) For me, most of the high-volume handwork stuff doesn’t typically involve holiday materials seeing as most of my trees of thematic. Take the Unicorn Tree as an example: […]

life should be art

At least, that’s the goal. This was a typical silver/grey patio table from Costco. I missed a few steps in the process, but that is my creating M.O. I’ve done the technique more subtly before, but I’m sticking with the palette established by the solar chandelier last year. The tie-dyed effect is created through lace […]