Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my online friends :-) I hope everyone gets to partake in some delightful company while chowing down on some yummy grub...

I'm sure everyone's home is decorated with fabulous artistic creations made especially for the days festivities...

Instead of sitting on the couch all day today watching a football game or parade---

I'll be working in my pirate yarrrrrd while its still relatively warm outside.... 

Pirates never get a day off....aaarrrrgggghhhh~
big hugs,
 

New Jewelry Stand

I have always wanted a spinning round jewelry display made out of a small wooden wire spool and a wheels rim... Imagine my surprise when I spotted one at the swap meet. The asking price was $5.00... I got it for $2 ---plus the jewelry you see hanging from it. It was in pretty rough (as in ugly) shape when I purchased it. It was very "home-made" and not in a good way. *wink*

Not for long though.....ah much better! Just what I was looking for!

I added some one hundred year old sheet music to the cylinder and the round piece at the bottom. Nothing adds instant charm like hundred year old sheet music in my opinion. The quality of the paper is much thicker than what is used in later years. I aged the edges of the antique paper with some ink, glued some lace to the wheel to dress it up a bit...

There wasn't a spinner on the bottom of this piece when I bought it. Luckily I had stashed under my bed a vintage "Twister" exerciser that I picked up for a dollar. The metal plate with the ball bearings is the best I have ever come across-- it was originally made to hold someones body weight, so it is very-very heavy duty. The top of the cylinder was open, so I created two pieces to sandwich the wheel spokes between to keep it centered. I used some vintage silver tinsel trim to cover up the edge.

To use as a necklace display, I simply looped the ball chain with the hanging stamped vintage spoon pendants on them to the wheels rim. Easy peasy and just what I wanted! I am loving this piece!

Not a bad $2.00 investment~
big hugs,

Flattened Spoon Necklaces

I came across a huge stash of old spoons recently and decided to make some flattened stamped spoon necklaces out of them. I stamped some new sayings on some.... whine diva and dumpster diver... 

It has been hard for me to transition from working in my pirate back yard to working on artsy stuff~

With the temperature outside getting colder, it does help keep me indoors forcing me to get projects completed.
 
I have a lot to do before the big Artist Holiday Market next month, but as soon as I feel it getter warmer outside--

I am drawn to go do something, anything in my yard....

The colder it gets though, the crazier that idea seems. *wink*

big hugs & kisses,

Vintage Tart Tin Christmas Ornaments

I pulled out some vintage fluted oval tart tins and decided to make them into Christmas ornaments...

I have a huge stash of vintage die-cut angels that I simply adore, that along with some one-hundred year old sheet music and I was all set to create some little ornaments.

 I matched each little cherubs sash color to the vintage seam binding I used as the hangers on the ornaments. yes, I have that much vintage seam binding-- hooray!

I also added a clear faceted glass bead to dangle at the bottom of each tart tin.

I punched the holes in each tin by using one of my eyelet punches. Some tins were a little thicker than the others, but with some work, the eyelet punch created very nice little holes in the tins.

 I will pack these up to take with me to next months Artists Market that I will be a vendor at...
 
big hugs,
 

Repurposed Tiki Torches

I was given some tiki torches recently that were missing the metal containers that hold the tiki fluid. I knew I could repurpose them into something--- and if nothing else, I would just cut off the tops and just poke the bamboo into the ground. Well... I came up with something that I absolutely LOVE! It was so easy and I think it came out so darn cute! I cut away the bamboo pieces that were woven around the tiki and then I just filled it with seashells. So simple and so darling!


 I also made one into a little cage that holds a small skull. This one I cut away every other bamboo piece so that the skull fit inside--- then I used the tiki cap to hold the four remaining bamboo prongs together.
This one below is my all time favorite..... Loving it!!!

 I think the stringy excelsior moss tucked in amongst the seashells really makes it look fabulous! Oh my goodness, now I want a bazillion tiki torches to repurpose!
big hugs,

Treasures

I found oooodles and ooooodles of fun pirate stuff recently....
I am always drawn to tiki torches. I love the thicker bamboo on these ones, soooooo they just had to come home with me!...

I have no idea what the large tin container with the lid was used for originally, but for only $3.00, I couldn't pass it up. I am going to paint it black and stencil "rum" on the side of it! All of the wooden chachkies will go in the Tiki store.

I also found two trunks for only $5.00 each. This camel back trunk has a fun crackle finish on it. I'll add some stain to the wood slates to preserve it a little longer.

I stained this wooden trunk already, it was so dry. The stain gives it a nice dark mahogany look.  I will keep these two trunks in my yard year round.

We also made some cleats that we bolted to our fence so we could drape the rope we bought months ago across the fence. 

Here you can see the black bamboo I planted recently... I love-love-love the way it looks! With this area finished it is soooo nice to be able to immediately place the recent pirate treasures that I find directly into the yard rather than just pile them up....

I also added some more of these small palms in the yard as well. The Depot sells them for $32 each, I got these at the swap meet for only $10.
 
Here is my neighbors cat "Bear." His real home is the next street over a few houses down... but he likes what is served on the menu here so he hangs around a lot! He is a little love bug~

I finished up the retaining wall to this small section at the top of our pool area. There is about 10 more feet to the right of what is shown below that is needing to be addressed. That area is going to be next to the pirate bar, and I am still in the "thinking stage" of that spot.


It is so much fun hunting for pirate treasures!  I am delighted it is coming together so nicely!
big hugs,