Snowmen on the loose.......

I couldn't resist painting some snowmen now that my last spring show is done. The darling little rusty tin buckets were perfect for these Barbara Lloyd snowmen. Add in a little greenery or fill with candy, and they will make the perfect country accent!
And I love the faces on these snowies!! This pattern is in the new Betty Bowers "Down Home" book.
Spent most of yesterday finding lots of new goodies to paint. Hit the "Designer Disaster" sale in Bothell, then headed to Country Expressions in Purdy. Sad that they are closing down, but got some wonderful pieces. Will definitely be going back soon to get more.....

Working on lots of new pieces, will be posting new pics soon. Sta tuned!!

Cyndy

Junk Salvation

Today's post shows pictures of my booth at last week's Junk Salvation show, put on by the Funky Junk Sisters. What a wonderful show!!!
My booth contained the usual mix of vintage "finds" and hand-painted primitive crafts.
This pic shows a little Americana vignette I put together.
Now that Junk Salvation is done, I am busy preparing for fall and holiday shows....that means punkins and snowmen!!!! Just finished a set of rusty tin snowmen buckets, and working on some snowman ornies. Have some "punkin" stuff in the works too!!

Big changes are in the works for the blog!!! My "webmaster" (AKA son-in-law Scott) is working on some fun updates....pretty soon, if you see something you like, you will be able to purchase directly from me, and not have to wait for a show!! Also, thanks to the wonders of an IPad and Intuit, I am now able to accept credit/debit cards!!

A couple of calendar updates coming too....will be doing another Country Creations show in Bellevue in mid-October, and a yet-to-be-announced show in the first week of November.

Back in a few days!!

Cyndy

Are You Ready for Funky Junk??

The Funky Junk Sister's "Junk Salvation" show is this coming weekend in Puyallup. Over 90 vendors selling all kinds of awesome "junk"!!

If you are going, be sure and print off the $1 off coupon on the right side of the blog...

Today's pictures are of a few things I finished over the past couple of weeks for the show (haven't been painting much because I was redecorating my family room.....)

All the signs are painted on slats from old wine crates.....one of my favorite surfaces!!






The other pic is a great old Barb Jones "Snow Jobs" pattern of a little "Yankee Doodle" snow baby.....I couldn't resist painting just one snowman.......

Keep checking back for exciting changes to the blog....we are also looking at doing a regular website to give our customers a chance to order direct without waiting for a show!!
Many thanks to my son-in-law Scott for all his hard work.

Picked up some great stuff this weekend when we went exploring in the Olympia area. Love Wisteria Cottage and also look forward to their sales!!

Time to get back to painting!! See you at Funky Junk!!

Flea Market Folk Art part 2 --where to find that perfect surface

Finding the perfect surface can be a pretty easy task if you know where to look.......

Some of my best surfaces have been freebies from family and friends....ask around, see what they have in their garage, attic, basement, etc...what is junk to them could be something totally awesome with a little paint!!

Once you have exhausted all the "freebie" options, time to go searching!! Garage and estate sales are great, you never know what you might find. Look at all the media for leads---newspaper, Craigslist, community billboard, signs, etc. Flea markets are also great, but the competition for great pieces can be fierce!! One of my faves is the Funky Junk Sisters "Junk Salvation" show. Country Chicks in Rochester is also great.
Thrift stores are great for everyday pieces you intend to re-purpose. I am currently on the hunt for softballs.....Saint Vincent De Paul is good for simple wood chairs and shelves, old metal canisters, stock pots....and they sell at very reasonable prices.

When all else fails, search regular retail outlets. Michaels and JoAnn's are very affordable when using the 40% off coupons....Ben Franklin Crafts have great little pieces for $1 if you need several similar items for gifts.....

And if you prefer to buy the item rather than create it yourself, there are alot of really nice "country" or "primitive" style shops in the Puget Sound area......my faves are FolkArt Gatherings in Sumner and Centralia, This-N-That in Enumclaw, Speckled Hen in Snohomish, New England Saltbox in Sumner, and Wisteria Cottage and the Clement House in the Olympia area.

Flea Market Folk Art.....finding a surface

Sorry it has been a while since I posted....have been busy busy busy with my real job.......

As promised, the next few posts are going to talk about how and where to find surfaces for your "flea market" folk art.......

First picture is of a couple of great metal pots I recently got from my friend Helen. These pots are great for a variety of patterns. If you have been to my blog before you have probably seen the pics of the painted "laundry powder" pot I featured before. That is just one idea....would also make a great candy bowl for halloween....(can you just imagine one painted black, with "witchs brew" on the side.....hmmmmm.....)

I always look for old pots like these at flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales....they are usually very reasonably priced. Make sure you clean it thoroughly and use a really good metal primer (I like Rustoleum).

The next picture is of one of my favorite surfaces....cupboard doors. Never pass up on a reasonably priced cupboard door.....I was heartbroken to find out my favorite vendor for these doors, our local ReHarvest Center, closed earlier this year.
Hit up your friends and family, thrift stores, garage sales.....these are fabulous!!! You want to look for something panelled....flat "modern" looking ones just don't look right....you can paint anything on them. Vintage looking signs, a great winter scene for Christmas, an advent calendar, a simple little snowman....you are limited only by your imagination.




The last picture shows a surface with significant damage....something you should probably pass up......this is even a bit much for me to bring back, but I am going to try......what you want to look for when you find a piece you are interested in is how much damage it has and can you easily fix it?? This old scale has a crack across the face that was repaired with tape, and the top plate is badly bent. If it were just the top plate, that is pretty easy to bend back (just takes lots of muscle) but the crack on the face makes this piece a challenge. What I am going to "try" is removing the face by punching a hole and breaking it out piece by piece. Once it is gone I can paint directly on the face....I hope.....

That's it for tonite.....next post I will talk about where to find pieces like these and some of my favorite haunts.....please follow along and let me know what you think.

Cyndy

Getting ready for Country Creations....

Just a really quick post this morning as I'm getting ready to dash off to work......trying to get in a few hours before I have to set up my booth at the Country Creations show at Pickering Barn.

First pic is a couple of cute little rusty tin "frying pans"....with a couple of simple little sheep...one of my faves.

And the sheep theme continues with the second pic, two sign boards with Kim Klassen patterns.

Third is a darling little coffee pot I found at a garage sale last year. A few coats of paint and a little house and it makes for an awesome kitchen accent.

Fourth picture is a vintage suitcase painted with an adaptation of a Terrye French pattern. I love to paint on suitcases, plus they are handy to store away goodies.....awesome place to store away dog leashes and toys, winter mittens, etc.

Last picture is another Terrye French pattern, a three angel tray. Is done with a layered paint technique (dark color, crackle coat, light color) and I am very happy with the results.

Have to run, I've got oodles to do today. Will be back Thursday with pictures of my show booth.

Cyndy

Penny rug primitives......

Painting like mad getting ready for the Country Creations craft show at Pickering Barn in Issaquah next week......


This is a set of papier-mache boxes done with a primitive penny rug pattern. It is from an older Kim Klassen pattern. I'm also working on an old suitcase painted with a penny rug pattern, adapted from a Terrye French design. Hope to have it ready in time for the show, but it may have to wait for Funky Junk......

Also recently finished a cute little coffee pot and round wood tray. Will try and post pics of those in the next few days.

After the Country Creations show I hope to do a little series on how to choose flea market and garage sale items for painting projects....what to look for and what to avoid. Some of my favorite painting surfaces are "recycled" items. Check back the first week of April for the first installment...

Cyndy