Treasures...

Warmer weather is always good for finding treasures...
This Saturday is the first of a series of mile long block sales that are coming up.

I always find things to buy.... albeit my standards for buying things are not as high as others *wink*

I am thinking about making a liner for my larger shopping cart. Nothing worse then not having room in your cart for your treasures!

Sometimes I see the original selling price on something and am shocked. This was the case with this brass/glass sand timer. I bought it for .50¢ and the original price was $49.95...wow.

It seems all I ever gravitate towards lately is things for my pirate backyard....

I finally bought some jewelry... its been a long while since I've done that. I befriended a 75 year old gal named Berta out at the swap meet about two years ago. I stop and talk to her every weekend, whether I buy something or not. She bags up all of the junk she doesn't want and sells me the bags for super cheap. I think all of this below cost me all of $7 bucks. I also buy some of her vintage necklaces too.... she is a real doll~

I'm excited about the mile long sales to begin! Bring it on!

big hugs,

 

Penny Table

I made another penny table....

This table came about because I had set down a small metal chair next to half of a barrel and instantly thought it was a perfect height to make into a table... so that is what I did! *wink*
 
This one I used only pennies, no other denomination of coins...

It was really easy to make. I cut a plywood circle to fit on top of the cut barrel. I added laminate trim to the edge and the hole for the umbrella and then just filled it in with pennies (that had been glued to tile spacers) Lastly, I just grouted the entire piece and now I have a fun table for my grand kids.

I have this small penny table in front of my grand kids pirate pet store...

So much to do, so little time~

big hugs,

The Pirate Pony

I bought a Butterscotch pony this past summer for $5.00 at a yard sale... Although, she looked nothing like she looks now.
When I first laid eyes on her, this is what I saw... an ear less, tail pulled off and laying on the ground sad-sad looking pony. I just had to rescue her!

First thing I did on this pony make-over was make her some new ears.

I pulled up the huge ponies mane and cut away some of the fabric underneath to use to cover the ponies new ears I was needing to make. I used thick cardboard for the new ears and just hot glued the fur on top. I sheered the long fur off of the ears using scissors held at an angle.

Once the ears were finished I just hot glued them in place. I also hot glued the tail back on, cut away some fur from the ponies eyes and added a rope harness and a fabric saddle blanket. 

 

Here she is in all her glory pulling the small wagon I have in my backyard.

 

I also rescued the colorful parrot, it had both of its feet torn off. I guess kids play rough these days! I made some new feet for the bird using wire, cardboard and some orange felt.

The monkey was another rescue.... although all I rescued the monkey from was a tacky Tarzan outfit.
big hugs,

Our World Our Art

For those of you visiting my blog for the first time during this International online artistic event called "Our World Our Art"
WELCOME!

My name is Cheryl and I have been part of the blogging community for approximately seven years. My artistic passion is not limited to any one particular medium... I like it all. Which probably explains why I am not to proficient in any one art form *wink* I think of myself as a "dabbler" I'll play around with one artistic form or another until thoroughly bored with it and then jump right into some other artistic endeavor with great gusto, often times leaving projects unfinished! ADD at its finest. For those unfinished projects... I just box them up and let them ferment awhile until I get interested in them all over again.

I'm going to share with you some of the things I've made in the past, and probably more than likely, I'll be making more of the same any given day!

I really like making things using antique silver plated spoons. Often times I pound them flat and stamp something funny on them.... easy to do and I get fast results!

Every month I gather up some of the things I've made and sell them at an Artists Market during our local Art Hop. It is a perfect venue for me because I like to create in bulk! and often times, I have people buying the things I make in bulk--- so its a win-win all around! One month, I had made so many necklaces, I was needing a way to display them for sale... Luckily, the same week--- I found this necklace display already assembled but in sad-sad shape. It looked so bad, I was embarrassed to buy it! I took it apart and reconfigured it, added 100 year old sheet music and an old vintage twister exercise thingie attached to the base, so the entire thing spins around. Not bad for a initial $2 investment. I love to repurpose things too!

*back to the spoons* I also like to use the actual spoons bowl to create pendant necklaces. I have sold hundreds upon hundreds of these both online in my etsy store "The Tarnished Crown" and here locally at the Artists Market.

 

I saved all of the spoons handles that I had cut off... so I began to make key chains...

and then finally--- FINALLY, I can now turn them into spoon rings. Ta~da!.... I made the ring holder too. I give a tutorial on how I made it on my blog.

I make a lot of jewelry each month. My pieces are all one of a kind and I like to think of them as fun to wear~

I like to paint as well. Here are some bird house tags I made in the past. Believe it or not, they are all flat tags. The only thing that isn't is the moss and the silver bird in the bird house opening.

I also love-love-love to play with fairies. Here I have fussy-cut some super small fairies which I've housed in little boxes behind glass. These little glittered boxes only measure about one inch in size.

I love to cage fairies too. When I whipped this one out, I made nineteen more cages at the same time. You know....just in case I wanted to make more. They are currently boxed up and awaiting to be played with another day...

I recently created a coin covered table top for my backyard. It was a lot of work, but in the end I am loving the results and I just may--- don't hold me to it, but I may make another one!...

I've also made a Barbie house for my five year old grand daughter. I shared a lot of tutorials on how I made the house and a lot of the furniture. This Barbie house has a brick floor on the bottom level and the other two are planked wood floors laid plank by plank by me. Yes, I do things like that... and yes, I DO have a lot of time on my hands! My next doll house is going to be a miniature house--- stay tuned for that!

If the weather is at all decent outside, that is where you will normally find me puttering around in my backyard. My backyard isn't the typical backyard though. I have a PIRATE BACKYARD. Yep... tis true matey! Here is the pirate bar I made using two huge barrels....
Pirates like their Whiskey!


This hutch came together from yard sale finds and some junky wood from my side yard. I just picked up the "In Wine There is Truth" sign yesterday. I love it!

I made the two crab cages using two plant stands that I cut the feet off of. I spray painted them black, added some netting and then some lobster and crabs inside the nets.

  

I am also working on a Tiki Store. Last year this area was the "Lick and Stick Tattoo Parlor" This year and forever more, it will be the "Boutiki" which will showcase a lot of wooden carved things that I've picked up at local yard sales.

 

Anything that resembles a ships net I like to snatch up and toss in my yard... This old net is actually an old hammock draped over an old steamer trunk. I think in total I have four steamer trunks in my yard and another four in my garage.... don't judge me. LOL

Everything has been carefully placed to showcase them individually yet hopefully make it all cohesive if that makes sense.
Netting, net corks, pulleys... and wooden barrels of course!
 
As a thank you for taking the time to peruse my blog-- I have two gifts to give away to TWO lucky winners. This giveaway is open to bloggers worldwide. My first hostess give-a-way gift is one of the spoon rings I've recently learned how to make...
 
 It is just as beautiful on the inside too...
The second hostess give-a-way gift is a necklace I've made using vintage components. Old beads, turquoise stones and a piece of an abalone shell along with an old medal of the Virgin Mary. 
 
Here is a close up of the bottom of the necklace.

Simply leave a comment with a way to contact you should you be one of the chosen winners. The winners will be drawn on April the 18th.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog "Artsy Fartsy" and for any visits to my Etsy online store, "The Tarnished Crown" If you look through the "sold" items at my etsy site, you'll find a lot of one of a kind jewelry pieces that I've made.... I have more made, I just haven't found the time to list any recently. In truth I'm puttering around in my pirate yard!!

If you would like to visit the hosting blog for this international online artistic event please visit "A Whimsical Bohemian"
big hugs,
 

Abalone Sea-shell Bowls

I always buy sea-shells whenever I see them at estate sales...  that is the one thing that always gets me to pull out my wallet every time. Besides just collecting them, I also like to make things with them too. Well... in truth, abalone sea-shell bowls... I just love these little bowls.

 This one is the smallest abalone shell I had in the lot.... the colors on the rhinestones on this one are very soft... so I paired it with a simple silver do-dad. Wouldn't this make a darling presentation container to gift a pair of earrings to someone?

 On this abalone bowl, I paired pink rhinestone with some drop pearls. I really like the look of pearls next to the abalone shell. On the underside of each bowl, I have two half pearls as feet to steady the bowls. Without them, the abalone bowls are a bit wobbly~

 This one is my favorite.... The colors on the rhinestone are darker and seem to match the abalone colors really well, which in turn make the abalone shell really pop... wouldn't this be fabulous on a nightstand at the ready to hold the jewelry you've worn that day?... All of these abalone bowls will be boxed up to be sold at next months Artist Market.

 I have linked up to Beverly's Pink Saturday~
big hugs,