Saturday, August 11, 2018

SUMMER PROJECTS 2018

Summer is almost over and boy, have I been busy.upcycling stuff , painting, sewing and doing all the things I love to do. So I'll divide this blog post into categories.

1. Seamus the Scarecrow

I want to scare away the pesky birds from attacking my vegetables and fruit so what better way than to make a traditional scarecrow? Seamus is bigger than life and since this was my first time trying to make a scarecrow, I had great fun. The best part is I made a little vest for him from fabric that my sister gave me from the States about 20 years ago!


I also made new markers for my crops.



2. Fish and shell mural

I love shellfish so instead of discarding the shells after a meal, I decided to create a wall mural. First I made the fish out of clay. After firing, I painted them with fluorescent acrylics. Sticking them to the wall required loads of patience.





3. Water Barrels

Planters created out of water barrels are rather fetching. Due to adverse weather conditions last year, the 2 barrels that I painted were a sorry sight so I gave them a makeover.


Then I got another barrel and painted a new one for this year, inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's sunflowers.

free hand painting with acrylics.

4. Milk Churns

I purchased 2 vintage milk churns that didn't come cheap. For the one below I used stenciling and free hand painting.



Then I used grout for the poppies on the second milk churn to give a 3 - D effect.


And this was the original milk churn


5. Love the Birds

I made 3 bird boxes for nesting next Spring. They can also keep the birds warm during winter.




Then for the existing bird house, I gave it a summery feel. Notice that Mrs. is wearing a red bikini.




6. Ceramic mural

I did the abstract ceramic tiles last year and decided to paint them this year and mount them on wood.


7. Denim season

Apparently denim jeans and tops are back in fashion. I thought they'd look great in the garden too as planters! So I made a whole family: daddy, mummy and junior.



8. Gifts for friends

For their ordination as full time ministers in church, I made my friends memory boxes.




And for a lovely friend who called for tea, I made her a cactus pin cushion.



I'm back to painting with chalk paints and am in the midst of creating some new stuff so watch this space!