Junkin Jewels and Journal...

Found this gem of a fish vase while junking the other day.
It is going to be perfect in the main bath.



I added the red for a pop of color.

Last weekend My sister Meghan, my niece Katie
and Roxy the circus dog came over for a girls weekend.
We watched silly chick flicks ate lots of junk and played in the studio.

Katie is participating in a vet shadowing program at our local animal hospital,
in preparation for college.
Her goal is to became a Veterinary Surgeon someday.

She has to take notes on what she observes while the doctors work,
so she made this super cute journal to take to work.

We are so proud of her!
Did I mention she is only fifteen and in addition to working at the vet she also works at the golf course four days a week.
I can't remember what I was doing at fifteen,
but I am sure it was nothing as responsible as this.

You go girl!!!

Not much to mention in regards to the sun porch,
there was a problem with the window installation so that kind of slowed things up a bit.
It's not a big deal though cause our weather has been awful.
I think today's high will be 65 degrees with rain:(

Well back to work...
Ta ta for now.

Mary

Sweet Treat And Nesting News

Look at this super sweet gift I received as a Thank You
from artist Julie HayMaker Thompson.





Julie's little pooch Peanut had to have surgery recently,
so I sent her a little get well gift and sweet Julie sent me one of her fabulous pieces.

Thanks Julie I love this piece, and it matches my kitchen colors!
You are a sweetheart:)!!!

Julie is an amazingly gifted artist,
I am a huge fan of her delightful work!

If you love mix media that is whimsical, dreamy and cheerful then you will
want to take a look here.
Julie Haymaker

The sun porch is moving right along,
I can't believe how much they have accomplished already.

They said the will have it all enclosed by Tuesday, yippee!

and here is a snap shot from our backyard looking down the hill towards Mullet Lake.

The weather has finally cleared up and it is a beautiful day.
Well, the hubby wants to go kayaking so I better say good day.
Hope your weather is lovely and you have a great weekend.

Wishes and kisses,
Mary

Nesting News!

I know I have been quiet for a while with my blogging,

but that's because we have been so busy!

We have always wanted to make lots of improvements to the cottage,
but never had enough time.
Now that we are here for the entire summer we are going full steam ahead!

Here are some pictures of the projects we have underway.

We have dismantled the back deck, which will be replaced with a three seasons sun porch:)
Construction starts tomorrow!!!

Here is how it looks now.
The other projects are small by comparison but still time consuming.

This is our main bath.
A few years back we installed new flooring, stripped the wallpaper and painted the walls green.

We never changed the floral tiles around the tub for several reasons.
One of the reasons was cost, the other was time...we never enough time to do it ourselves.
So the other day while taking a bath I had an aha moment...
"why not cover them up with paper."

And that is what I did.

Before shot.
I cut squares out of hand made paper that is green in color with flecks of brown.
Then I soaked the paper squares in water and patted them off between two towels.
This made the paper easier to work with,
then I added white glue to the surface of the tile and one side of the paper.
Waited till it was tacky and applied the paper to the tile and let it dry.





Once dry I sealed it with four coats of varnish.
Will it last forever? Most likely not, but it was quick and inexpensive.

And now it looks like this,

much better.


Now I just have to hang some art, attach fabric to the doors of a little storage cabinet
and turn this estate sale find into a decorative mirror/shelf for the empty wall over the tub.


Oh, the Trees of Glee are coming along I will share photos of them soon and more
nesting projects.

Thanks for visiting and for hanging in there with me through the posting drought:)

Wishes and kisses
Mary

Sping Bugs

Ah, spring the season for blooms, bugs and allergies.

I have seasonal allergies and usually they don't bother me too much... but after a week of sneezing, coughing, and congestion I gave in and went to see a doctor. Well, what started as allergies is now a full blown sinus infection, with a side dish of migraines. Oh joy!

I am sick of being sick!
Guy (the hubby) won't let me get up to do anything...
I am going crazy!
So yesterday when he went to the store,
I slinked into the studio to finish up a few projects
and snap a couple of pictures of some work in progress to share...shh!




This is a little paper clay sculpture of my Ollie baby,
I still need to add her base with some sort of saying.

I love how she turned out,
so now I need to make one of her sister Otter baby.
I think it would be fun to offer custom mini pet sculptures like this, as one of our products.
What do you ladies think?
So many ideas never enough time...sigh!

And a sneak peak at the Trees of Glee.
These trees are made of paper pulp and paper clay with wood trunks wrapped in fabric.
They will be mounted to a decorative base.


I am really excited about these and hope to have a few finished by Sunday.

I feel so behind, I hope I have more energy soon!

Take care and don't let the Spring Bug get you too!

Ahchoo...
Mary

Tilly's New Tutu!

Tilly's tutu is complete and she was happy to pose for a few quick pics !

I just love her, I can't help it she is so tiny and sweet!

She was inspired from my Bunnarina Collection I created a while back.

The collection consists of an entire alphabet of little bunnies
in toe shoes and tutus in the shape of letters.

The alphabet took for ever to paint but it has brought me lots of joy;
it has been the spring-board to many rewarding projects.

Such as Princess Babbette,
who is the prima Bunnarina and the main character in my Bunnarina
picture book I am writing and illustrating in "my spare time." lol!

And this little girls bedroom I designed.

If you would like to read more about this room and see more photos just
go here www.bloomingideasllc.com/bloomaroom.htm

While we are on a bunny theme I thought I would share this as well.

This is a photo of one of our signature Sugar Cookie Ornaments,

I played with it in Photoshop and
doubled the scalloped edge of the cookie.
Changed the colors a bit, and used a watercolor filter on it.
Then placed it onto a pink canvas background.

We are thinking of introducing a small line of greeting cards using images like this.
What do you think?
We would love your feedback on this.

Well thats all for now and I will leave you with this,

Just a snap shot of things to come in the downstairs work room.
My husbands going to freak when he sees what I have been doing to his work room!
Now that I need two separate work areas we have to share this space.

It was very uninspiring so....
well you know just some fluff here and there can make all the difference!
Tee, hee:)

Ta ta,
Mary

The Craft Cupboard Cronicles

Most of the boxes have been unpacked,
and our cottage is beginning to feel more like home.

I have even had some spare time to fluff my little nook of a finishing studio.
Due to the nature of the medium I work in (paper mache) which is so dusty when sanded
I need two separate work areas.
One for messy work and one for finish work.

So here are some pics of my little nook on the first floor
and the re-purposed old pine armoire.

(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO VIEW LARGER)

This is the view from the door way.
We built the window seat ages ago but I just added the skirt.
Great for storage and it adds a nice finishing touch.
Now truth be told I don't sew....the skirt is made from two store bought curtains
attached with a ribbon that is strung across the wood seat
under the cushion.

I just put the ribbon through the rod pocket on the curtains
and slid them back towards the back of the seat until it was the right length.
Works for me!





These little chairs are just the right size for this room,
but way out of proportion with the giant armoire/craft cupboard.

I don't care their just to cute!
I found them about a year ago at an antique mall in Ohio.
I had them in my old studio and just could not part with them.

I drafted a design and handed them over to my seamstress,
I think she did a beautiful job.

The fronts or face of the top portion of the slip covers
are made from two place mats I had in my stash.

They have a pattern stitched into them reminiscent of crewel work, so yummy.


I was going to paint them but I think I will wait and see how the rest of the room shapes up.
I still want to paint a small floor cloth and that will add color.

So now on to the craft cupboard....


Almost...

Lowering the work top....



ta da!
Here is what I have done so far;

I have added an upholstered board to the inside backboard using a quilted cream fabric.
I will also be attaching painted chicken wire over the fabric
to create a display/memo surface to this area.


I covered the work surface in a floral mini print in cream and white,
and then topped that with a piece of clear vinyl for easy clean up.


Organized all my stuff,


and added some fun string lights for twinkle.

I did not care for the green electrical cord the lights came on,
so I wrapped it in fabric strips.


I filled it with some of my favorite finds and keepsakes,
like this vintage bunny vase that holds my late Nana's paint brushes.
My Nana was such an amazing artist and person, she was so inspiring. I am so thankful
to have these brushes. I have many treasures from her estate but these will always be my prize
possession. My Nana brought her beautiful dreams to life with these simple tools.
They remind me to start simple and dream big.


And some friendly faces to cheer me along as I work,

Oh, and one more thing a sneak peak at my newest creation.
Twinkle Toes Tilly The Bunnarina.
She is hiding behind the garden gate because she does not have her tutu yet.
She said, "no respectable Bunnarina would have a picture taken of them in just a leotard."

Wow I just finished making her yesterday and she is already a Diva!

As soon as I finish Tilly's tutu I will share some pics,
that is, if it's ok with her. Tee hee:)

Ta ta my lovies!
Thanks for letting me share,
Mary

Just hoppin in...

Just wanted to post a little note to say...





I hope you all had a lovely holiday!

I meant to post this earlier today but was having computer issues.
So a little late is better than not at all.

Happy Easter my honey bunnies!

xoxo
Mary

On the road again!

Well here we go again.

Our nephews hockey season has ended, he is back home in Sylvania, Ohio.

Guy and I... well we've packed up the studio and apartment and have moved from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

to our cottage in Indian River, Michigan which is an hour and a half to the south.

If you are new to this blog and wondering what I am talking about here is the short of it;

our seventeen year old nephew Brian has been playing hockey for forever.

Last summer he got some really big news when he tried out for a travel team

located in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich and secured himself a position on the team!

Needless to say everyone was excited about this new chapter in his life,

but none of us were real comfortable with him moving six hours away from home.

After a lot of consideration and some anxiety (actually a lot of anxiety)

Guy and I decided to move with him.

So last summer we sold our house in Sylvania, Ohio and moved to the "Soo"

that's what the locals call it.

Anyway now that hockey is over for the summer we figured we would be moving back to Sylvania.

But if we did that it would mean buying another house

and if Brian signs on with another team out of state he's going to need us.

Doesn't make much sense to buy a house in Sylvania if we are going with Brian again in the

fall. Right?

So for now we are kind of in a holding pattern living at our cottage

waiting to see what happens with this kid and his hockey career.

"Phew" I am out of breath, and out of juice from unpacking boxes and bags.

When we sold the house last summer there really was not enough time to move

so we crammed most of our stuff into the basement at the cottage and into a storage facility.

The house in Sylvania was a moose, and I thoroughly enjoyed decorating it!

I guess you could say I have a bit of a furniture fetish,

so it's time for a few yard sales, cause it's not all going fit.

Speaking of fitting, my new studio at the cottage is small and cozy just the way I like it.

I have always used a little area of this room for crafting and such

but now that I have to fit most of my supplies in here I needed to be inventive.

I found a craft cupboard online for the bargain price of $ 800.00 dollars!!!

Ya right, not!

So like my mom always said necessity is the mother of invention.

That furniture fetish is starting to pay off.

Take one old pine armoire, add a fold out desk top by Hubby Construction Co.

some plastic storage bins from Wally World and you have a craft cupboard

for around 40.00 dollars, minus the armoire of course.

But spring is here, so hit those yard sales ladies!

You never know your craft cupboard could be out there waiting for ya!

Well as you can see in these pictures we have lots work and decorating to do

so ta, ta for now my lovie's!

Mary

I Wish....

I wish I were here.....

But sadly I am here,

This was the view outside our studio yesterday.

Still pretty snowy here in northern Michigan,
and there is not a lot I can do about it.

Except create art that reminds me of warmer days.
In My last post which was oh so long ago... ( I have been sick in bed with acute bronchitis for two weeks for the second time this winter!!!!)

I said I would be tackling a mirror sculpture and so I have.
I am very pleased with the image and overall scene especially the beach chairs and umbrella.
I was very hesitant to try and sculpt Adirondack style chairs
but I think they turned out pretty good.

( This might make a really cute print or greeting card...hmmm.)


I had some difficulty
with the armature I chose to sculpt on.

Medium density fiberboard also known as (mdf).

As it tends to warp as the pulp shrinks and drys; I was concerned this might happen
so to try and prevent it I sealed the mdf with varnish first,
to repel the water that would leach from the pulp.
I must have missed a spot or two...oops live and learn, oh well it will look cute in my guest room.

Now that I am finally feeling better and have had a couple of days
back to work I have a few other new pieces to share.

Another Bodda Bloom...

in yummy shades of pink, vanilla and brown.
Makes me think of cake and ice cream!
But come to think of it lots of things make me think of cake and ice cream, hee hee.

Our signature Cocoa Cottage in Buttercup yellow,
mounted to a scalloped wood plaque that is painted in fun colors, so sweet.




And some spring Birdie Sugar Cookie ornaments just in time for Easter.









All this fun springy stuff will be headed to our Etsy shop in a couple of days,
I will keep you posted.

I hope it's getting springy in your world!

Cheers,
Mary

keeping Busy

( click on photo for better view)


I wasn't kidding when I said I was addicted to making these Bodda Blooms,
again I think it goes back to my dire need of spring.

It's a balmy MINUS 8 degrees outside!
So the pups and I have been indoors all morning at the studio making stuff.

The wall tile above is my latest idea incorporating a Bodda Bloom.

I love the Colors on this piece it makes me think of a little sea side cabana in Key West,
aged and weathered by surf and sun.

Here are a few more views.
To get a better look click on the photos.

Side view.

The next piece I am making is a mirror I hope it turns out well;
wish me luck and let me know what you think of the Bodda Blooms tassels and tiles.

Your thoughts and comments are most appreciated as I go through the process
of product design and development.

Thanks for letting me share,

Mary

Spring Now, Please!

You know you have cabin fever when ice fishing sounds remotely entertaining!

I have cabin fever, and no I don't care how bad it gets I refuse to go ice fishing; I will go insane first!
Ah, that feels better....

It's been a long cold winter here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
and I think I am in need of some spring.
Since spring will not be coming here any time soon,

I decided to share some of my spring themed creations I have been stockpiling.
I was going to wait until early spring and unveil them on my Etsy store and Lollishops but I can't wait, any little glimpse of spring I can get.... I'll take.

These first two pieces were inspired by a poem I wrote called Robin's Nest,

Here is the poem.

and here are the pieces it has inspired.
( click on picture for larger view)

Spring Garland

A mixed media assemblage comprised of paper clay, wood, twig, yarn, ribbon,

hand painted, fabric, beads, buttons....you name it's in there.

I really like this piece, it even has the first stanza from the poem on it.

This piece made me think back to when I was a kid and we would vacation in Traverse City, Michigan and visit our Grandma Grace.
She lived along the west shore of Grand Traverse Bay.

I would spend hours on the shore line collecting small pieces of drift wood, pebbles, shells and whatever else I could find to make picture collages.
Gracie and my Mom would give me pieces of scrap cardboard and Elmer's glue.
I was in heaven and so were Mom and Grace;
now they could play cards without interruption... for a little while anyway.

I guess this is what started my love for mixed media and collage.
I have always admired the works of others, but never considered this a creative outlet for myself as an adult until recently.

Thanks Mom, thanks Gracie...

This next piece I created when I was invited to participate in a show called "My House"
that was hosted by Three Pines Gallery in Cross Village, Michigan last spring.

The show was inspired by Sarah Fishburn's book "In This House"
which you can check out here at Sarah's site http://www.sarahfishburn.com/

Sarah is an amazing artist and her website is bursting with beautiful art,
information and inspiration. It is well worth the trip!


This is the piece on its base, the house wraps around the tree that holds Robin's Nest.
I am not going to go into great detail about this piece because I want to dedicate a blog post
to it in the near future, so here are just a few pic's for now.

This is the base alone,

and this is a view of the house's exterior.

and a gallery shot.

Moving right along,

what would a glimpse of spring be without blooms.

Here are few that are new to the garden at Blooming Ideas.

When I first sculpted this flower my intent was to create four different blooms and use them to decorate a round mirror frame, which I still plan on doing.

But, when I gave the bloom to my husband to make a mold for me he asked if I was making more tassels/ornaments and I thought hey that would be cool too!

So here are the first few blooms fresh off the vine,

So springy, I am addicted to making these.
We will be adding these to our product line in March!

Well I am off to make some more Bodda Blooms (bodacious)....
I hope these images of spring brightened your day,
I know they did mine.

Mary

Happy Valentines Day

In honor of Valentine's Day
I thought I would share some art I have created over time that relates to the holiday because the images speak of love and friendship.

This first image is of my dear friend Sha Sha Fanelli a character I created a few years back;
in her world she is a talking poodle that lives and works in New York City pursuing a career in fashion design. Sha Sha has been patiently waiting for me to finish her first picture book.
The story is finished and all the illustrations have been drafted.....when it is polished and perfect, I plan on self publishing the book.
Hang in there Sha it's almost done!

If you would like to see more Sha Sha Stuff you can check here out on my website http://www.bloomingideasllc.com

This next image was inspire by my sweet little niece Katie Bug,
Katie you will always be my Valentine love ya kiddo!!!



This collection is my most current,
It is called Love Doves.



And last but not least this is my Valentine to all of you.... a little home built on love,
Come on in there are plenty of hugs to go around!

Have a happy day,
xoxo
Mary

Mr. & Mrs. Flake photos

Here are more photos of the Flakes.....

Mr. and Mrs. Flake are finally finished!

FLAKES
Originally uploaded by Blooming Ideas

Well, here is the happy couple huddled against the winter chill.
Mrs. Flake in her pink and powder blue snowflake scarf and her her hubby Francis in his straw hat with blue sash and sprig of holly for a festive touch.

It took some work to get the molding process down for these two snow people sweeties but well worth the effort I think.

These pieces are first sculpted by hand in paper mache and paper clay, from there we make a mold of the originals. Then the new pieces are cast in a paper pulp mix. Once dry the finishing process begins. Sanding,priming,painting,varnish and then embellishing.

I am so pleased with the results we are definitely adding these to our new product line.

let me know what you think we love to get feed back.

Thanks for stopping by the studio,
Mary

Blooming New Ideas In The New Year

"Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your business grow?"

"Like a garden." I've always said.

To me, the cycles in business are a lot like the seasons in a growing garden.
First come the seeds of inspiration or ideas which you plant in a fertile environment.
You cultivate and nurture this environment(in this case with advertising).
You water it a lot, with your own sweat and tears!

Then you wait, watch and pray and pray....... and pray a little more.
Then one day you start to see growth; those seeds begin to take root!
Soon beautiful blooms appear and you begin to attract others to your garden.

Seasons pass and those few seedlings are now many. The garden is lush and beautiful.
You have mastered growing and caring for these blooms, yet those seeds of inspiration keep coming and coming.

Pretty soon the garden is more like a wild jungle that needs taming!

Like any good gardener I know it is time to prune my garden.

So with a lump in my throat and an ache in my heart I bid farewell to the past seasons in my business and prepare for a new season of growth; a season of branching out and venturing down new paths. Painful, yes, but necessary if I want my business to continue blooming, and thats who we are and what we do.

We bloom ideas...hence the name Blooming Ideas LLC.

We, my husband Guy and I, have been carefully planning and cultivating our new product line for some time. Some of our new ideas have begun to bud while others are still just seeds of inspiration, but I know our dedication and enthusiasm will produce a bounty of whimsical gifts and home decor.
Being an artist, naturally I am a very visual person and when I am embarking on a new venture
instead of making a task list, I think out loud through sketches. For me this adds dimension to the abstract, making it more tangible and real.

Here is a sketch of my vision for our new garden of goodies, these are just my first ideas.




I am sure it will change over time but this visual will help make it less overwhelming.
I hope.

The first order of business is to temporarily close the garden gate (our website) while we
prune the product line to make room for the new. Once the new ideas have formed into blossoms we will reopen our garden of goodies.

In the meantime I will be periodically posting and boasting about our new designs.
Your feed back and thoughts on these new products would be most appreciated.
So please comment!

We are preparing this new line for our first trade show this summer.
It is called Beckman's Handcraft www.beckmans.com it is held twice a year once in January and then again in July.

I have attended this show many times as a buyer, but now that the shoe is on the other foot it feels very strange. I guess I can chalk it up to growing pains,
and like the old saying goes "no pain no gain."

Well thats all for now from my little corner of the world.
Take care and thanks for stopping in.

Mary

Cocoa Cottage/ Gingerbread Delight

Grab a fork and a glass of ice cold milk!

Here is the newest in our Cocoa Cottage Collection this one is called Gingerbread Delight. Mrs. Gingerbread is busy inside baking while her Gingerbread man Mr."G" has been decorating their house and yard with home made frosting and sugar coated snowflakes. Even the trees are tied with a festive sash and glittery goodness, Yummy!

Mr. and Mrs. Flake

Mr. and Mrs. Flake
Originally uploaded by Blooming Ideas

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Flake! Made from paper mache and paper clay. The happy couple is paitently waiting for their molds to be made.
Once the molds are ready they will go into production and be added to the Christmas Collections of Blooming Ideas. Look for them on Lollishops.com and Etsy.com

Sold

SOLD!

Yes, believe it or not we recently sold our house in Sylvania Ohio.
In less than five weeks and by owner no less.
No small miracle in this housing market......I know!
So this blog entry is a fond farewell to our yellow house on the hill, we will miss you!
Yes we will miss the house but not all the work preparing it for market, as well as the general day to day care of a very old house.

That's what first attracted us to the old gal, her age, character and charm.
Not to mention she was in dire need of some T.L.C.
which for some reason draws us like a moth to a flame.
My husband and I had already been through one major redo on our last house
and we swore we would never do it again.

Ya right! Well....she just needs some powder and lipstick, we told ourselves.
Ha, powder and lipstick?
More like a face lift!

So we hired some help and in a few short months she was looking grand,
if I do say so myself. Before we knew it four years had passed and it was moving time again.

Although the house was looking good she was still not grand enough for this painful housing market. There were still areas that needed improvement, but with so many houses for sale in our area and prices falling everyday we did not want to put more money into an already shrinking market.

That's when I got out my paint and brushes.
Ah....paint, relatively inexpensive, user friendly, instantly gratifying and truly transforming. That's just what our bathroom floor needed.... some major transformation cause it was butt ugly! Old dated worn out vinyl in a small checkered pattern, which only made the small bathroom appear even smaller. I couldn't take it any longer it had to go!

Below you will find a step by step outline of how I fixed my ugly floor along with photos.

Note about photos: In the hustle and bustle of moving I have misplaced the CD containing some key images...ugh! So two of the photos here have been altered using
Photoshop to show you the process.

Preparation:

Step 1. Clean and remove all wax residue from floor.

Step 2. Very lightly sand floor, just enough to scuff the surface. To much and you will ruin the floor. ( use a finer grit sand paper)

Step 3. Vacuum sanding dust from floor and wipe floor clean with water only. Let floor dry.

Tip: for floors with a lot of texture or pattern use a deglosser (available at most paint stores) to remove any excess gloss the sanding process may have missed. My floor was so old the finish was already worn off, so I did not have to do this step. Make sure you read manufacturers instructions carefully.

Step 4. Take a break and drink some wine or some coffee depending on your time zone. Fortunately for me I live in a wine zone. LoL!

Step 5. Tape off base molding.

Step 6. Prime floor let dry. Then very lightly sand, vacuum and prime again.
Remember this is a high traffic area and two coats of priming will ensure the longevity of your newly painted floor.

Step 7. With the second coat of primer dry you are now ready for the paint. I brushed on a golden yellow color for my first coat. I let this dry for maybe two hours.....I am a very impatient person. I recommend you let the paint cure according to manufacturers suggestions.

Step 8. For the second coat of color I cut a taupe colored latex with a glaze medium. Glaze is an additive which when mixed with paint gives the paint a transparent effect. Perfect for creating faux effects. like marble or in this case tumble stone. My floor was heavily textured so I used this to my advantage, by adding the glaze it only exaggerated the texture.

Here is a close up view of taupe color.

Step 10. Because this room was so small I used lighter colors. Once the taupe/glaze is dry I applied a whitewash layer. To achieve a whitewash cut white latex with glaze. A ratio of 1 part paint to 2 parts glaze. Using a wide brush off load your brush on a rag before applying in haphazard strokes. Then using a slightly damp rag while whitewash is still wet gently dab or pat to soften brush strokes.
Let this dry.

This is a view of the floor, showing the difference once the white wash is applied.

I know I know, hang in there we are almost done....have some more wine. LOL!

Step 11. Now to achieve even greater depth and texture I enhanced the floor with a Burnt Umber colored latex. Again I cut this with glaze which allows the colors underneath to be seen. I applied this with same technique I used for the white wash layer. This color cut with glaze is a great way to add an old world, aged effect. Perfect for a tumbled stone look.

This is a close up of the finished floor.

Step 12. Once the Burnt Umber is dry you can seal your floor with varnish.
I used Minwax Polyacrylic. Two coats of course.

And that's it!

Again I am sorry about the photos; these are the only ones I have.

Now do I recommend that you run right out and try this?
No, what I do recommend is you read up on decorative painting techniques,
faux finishes and doing several practice boards first.
On a scale from one to ten, ten being the most difficult
I would rate this project at about a six or seven.

I learned how to do this when I worked as an apprentice for a muralist. Then years later a started my own design firm where I honed my skills further. Anyone with enough patience and desire can do this you just need to practice and allow for mistakes.

Its not brain surgery but, it can be taxing. Now with that done I could focus on givin the old house a good fluff. So here is a little peek at the yellow house on the hill, or as I liked to call her The Bumble Bee House.

The following 2 photos are of the living room.

These next photos are of the dining room.


Here's the tiny kitchen
with the cozy coffee nook.


First floor sun room.

I hand painted this floor as well.

This room and my studio were my favorite rooms.
When we first moved in this room had dark paneling which we painted a lovely shade of green and then we tore out the old blue shag, yuck!

Much better......... don't you think?

On to the second floor.
This was our guest room.





Up stairs den.



Master bedroom



And last but not least my studio,
which was actually a sleeping porch before the days of air conditioning.
Remember I said this house was old, it was built in 1929. This room is very small but with windows all the way around the light was perfect for studio space.

I also hand painted this floor cloth for my studio.

Obviously I like painted floors and floor cloths.
It just adds so much for so little, and I am always having to decorate on a budget.

I miss that little shoe box of a studio.
My new studio is big, in fact there is so much room a lot of it is unused.
Hopefully I will fill that space with my creations.
Here is a photo of my new studio from the outside.
I will add more pics soon.



One of my little assistants Otter baby.

Ollie must have been on a break, but here is super cute picture of her.
She would be mad if I didn't include her in this post. You might be wondering why we moved, it's a long story so here is the short of it.
Our nephew Brian is a very talented hockey player and last spring he tried out for a travel team that is based in Sault Ste. Marie Mi.
He is only seventeen still in high school and has never been away from home before so........ my husband Guy and I volunteered to move with him. We have no children of our own so it was easy for us to make the move.

He's a great kid, and we are enjoying being with him. The three of us and the two pups are living in an apartment, that is right next to the famous Soo locks, which is the shipping channel that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron via the St.Mary's River.
Here is a view from our apartment of some passing ships.


This first photo was from early fall.
This one is from just the other day brr....... Well I am off to the studio now, So thanks for letting me share and as always take care.

Mary

Cocoa Cottage frosted pink

Cocoa Cottage frosted pink
Originally uploaded by Blooming Ideas

Here is the latest from the Cocoa Cottage series. I love making these.
The cottage is a casting from my original sculpture. My husband makes a mold of my original and then he casts the reproduction out of a special mixture of clay and paper mache. The base is wood and the trees are wood sticks, wrapped in fabric that has been painted and glittered. The tops of the trees are out of paper clay. Each tree is adorned with a hand painted paper snowflake topped with a gem. I am currently working on some other cottages, who knows maybe a whole town.

Take care and thanks for letting me share!

Mary

Making new friends...

Two weeks ago (I think it was on a Thursday,) my cell phone beeped with a new text message. My dear friend, Julianne was up with the sun and wanting to do something. So I called her and we decided to meet for coffee on my patio.
I had just put the finishing touches on my wood awning

( I blogged about this in an earlier post) and she wanted to see how it had turned out. By the way, Julianne is an amazing artist, she has a degree in graphic design and is an accomplished painter so I was eager to see what she had to say.

So we sat and chatted over coffee and watched the antics of my two favorite furry people, my pooches Ollie and Otter.



With coffee finished, we decided to go visit one of Julianne's favorite furry people, her gorgeous horse, Rio. So not fair!

After working with Rio for a bit we decided we needed some nourishment because our day so far was really quite hectic. LOL! Off we went to our local cafe, Chandler's.

Up to this point my day was laid back and quiet. I was totally unprepared for what happened next. Adjacent to the cafe is a lovely little boutique called Canterbury Home which is owned and operated by the very talented duo Michelle Bassett and her mom, Bev.





The shop is filled with vintage treasures in the shabby chic flavor. From hand crafted jewelry to French inspired antiques it is like a trip to the candy shop, simply scrumptious. Michelle has also been kind enough to take some of my paper mache creations on consignment.


If you can't visit her store in person you can shop the boutique online at www.canterburyhomeandgarden.com. It is definitely worth the trip.


Like I said my day up to this point was pretty normal, but when Julianne and I decided to go over to the boutique, everything changed. Michelle was just wrapping up a three day photo shoot of her home and store. It will be featured sometime after the first of the year in the national magazine Romantic Country. Wow, how awesome is that?! Trust me, I have seen pictures of her home - you won't want to miss it.

Michelle introduced Julianne and I to the magazine's editor, Fifi, or as she is known on her blog, as the Fabulous Fifi and fabulous she is. We chatted briefly and I asked her if any of the magazines she worked for featured artists. She said, "Yes" and to send her some photos of my work and she would gladly pass them on. Hurray!

Fifi asked if Julianne or I knew of anyone in the area with a shabby chic style house or studio. I was thinking to myself Julianne's house is super cute and she has an amazing studio, but before I could speak, Julianne was inviting Fifi over to my studio (stinker bell.)


This is a photo of my studio on a clean day.

Ugh! Did I mention I was goofing off all day and my house looked like a hurricane went through?! Well it did and that hurricane was me. My husband's nickname for me is Hurricane Mary. LoL. Before I could utter the words "No, my house is a disaster," Julianne, Fifi and Michelle were out the door and on their way to my messy house, ugh! I was horrified that an editor of a national magazine was on her way to my house, HELP!
(Did I mention it was messy?)

I am lucky I wasn't arrested because I broke every traffic law known to man to buy myself some time to beat them home.

Fifi took lots of pictures and answered lots of questions. She is gracious, warm, giving and a very talented lady. Her blog is beautiful and inspiring and she was kind enough to mention Julianne and I in it. She also posted some of our work and a link to my website! What a sweetheart!

Thanks again, Fifi. We will never forget the day we met you and we will forever follow your work.

Wow, what a wonderful wacky day.

Take care and thanks for letting me share,

Hurricane Mary