fish bowl with a difference

Posted on December 6, 2012 by zefiart

You know those wooden bowls you find in almost every op shop?

Well this one was fish-shaped. Different. Unusual.

It appealed to me cause things that are different and unusual always catch my eye.

This is what it looked like when I found it – boring, uninspiring.

This is what it looks like now – fun, whimsical and offbeat.

I’m not sure if you’d use it as a bowl or hang it on the wall. Either way, I think its cute and much much more interesting than it was before!

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odds & ends finials – counting down

Posted on December 6, 2012 by zefiart

The countdown to my first ever market stall is well underway.

I’m nervous.

I’m excited.

I’m hoping people will love my stuff.

I’m hoping people will buy my stuff.

I’m hoping my car is a lot lighter on the way home than it is on the way there.

I’m worried in case this doesn’t happen and I’m on the wrong track…

Wayne is worried I’ll buy more than I sell…

Meanwhile I’m wrestling with my To Do (In Preparation) List. Instead of getting smaller it seems to be growing. Its now going to be HOT on Saturday* so an electric fan has been added to the things I’m taking with me. And a small eski with ice blocks to keep some water cold.

*Only in Tasmania can you have snow on the mountain on Wednesday and a heat wave on Saturday.

I don’t do well in the heat. But enough about that.

I’m sharing a few more items which will be coming with me to the market. Here are some cute finials made from odds and ends I collected here and there.

I did a bit of mixing and matching (odds & ends, here & there, mixing & matching…hehehe) and when I was happy with the results I glued them together.

Once dry I gave them a couple of coats of paint, beat them around with some sand paper then glazed them with some burnt umber to age them.

They’ve come up really nice I think.

Sometimes I wish I had a bigger house and more room to display things. But then I’d never be able to part with anything…

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the flower tray

Posted on December 4, 2012 by zefiart

I found this worn and battered tray in my wanderings a while ago and brought it home to the tray hospital for some TLC.

This is what it looked like before:

And this is what it looks like now:

The colours are very soft so the photos were difficult to take but you get the idea.

This is another item coming with me to the market on the weekend. I’m getting there in terms of preparedness… the flyers are printed and cut and I found a cute little box to keep them in. The tags are all printed and aged. I have my wrapping paper and more twine for tying.

All I have left to do is finish off a few projects (or decide to forget them and leave them for the next market!) then tag, price and pack everything going.

And pack a ‘market toolkit’…

I have all the best intentions in the world. I come home from work all geared up to get stuck into it. I have plans buzzing in my head: finish xxx, make more of xxx, check xxx…

But I get home, feed dogs, cook dinner, clean the kitchen, check mail, look at the overflowing laundry hamper, at the living room and its piles washing to put away and the craft mess, the carpet that desperately needs vacuuming… and I lose all my energy.

Instead of crafting and organising I sit down and watch the episode of Bones or Grey’s Anatomy or CSI I taped, then go to bed.

I guess I’ll be doing an all nighter on Friday night.

I’m having some serious headaches lately. I think its a tooth which I got filled not long ago. I saw the doctor and ruled out ear infection. Now its down to either TMJ (long name for sore jaw joint from clenching – which I do in my sleep) or a dying tooth… maybe even an abscessed tooth. Yet when I saw the dentist (after the filling but before the headaches cranked it up to ‘killer’ status) he swore there was nothing wrong with that tooth or any in the vicinity, nothing showing on the xrays.

Great.

I’m popping pain killers like they’re going out of fashion but I think I’ll have to bite the bullet and call the dentist today and get in to see someone the earliest they can get me in.

Ugh.

Off to take another pill.

4 chalkboards

Posted on December 3, 2012 by zefiart

Chalkboards are a good thing. Not only are they all the rage, but they’re fun, practical and pretty to look at.

In preparation for the market I made these four beauties using bits and pieces I had in my workshop. They’re all different styles and sizes of frame, and all have old drawer pulls added to them for chalk holders.

The first one is a distressed antique white and has a black metal drawer pull with just enough chippy paint to make it extra special.

The second is antique white, glazed with burnt umber and has a rusty bronze coloured drawer pull. This one will have string added to tie onto the chalk for those who lose things.

Third is another antique white and glazed frame with a brass pull, again with a hole for string to be attached.

Last is a pale pink frame with a gorgeously patina-ed drawer pull. Before market day I’ll be adding string to chalk for each chalkboard and perhaps a bit of bling… see how I feel about that when I do it!

I already have 2 chalkboards in our home so I don’t really need any more. (Can you have too many chalkboards?) I have a huge one on the porch to welcome people when they arrive, this one has pegs up top to hold chalk. (My chalkboard art leaves a lot to be desired!)

The other is next to the fridge for the shopping list, also with a peg chalk holder.

it started as a square twig wreath

Posted on November 27, 2012 by zefiart

It all started when I was making wedding decorations for a friend’s wedding. I thought a lovely square wreath, with a sign inside it (their names and wedding date) would be a nice decoration for the church and for them to keep.

But somewhere along the way something just didn’t work. This is what it looked like back then – willow twigs as the main frame, smaller eucalyptus twigs as the decoration, twisted willow twigs with beads wired around them… wire hearts and jute twine.

I wasn’t happy with it. Even when I added the rusty coat hanger and crystal heart, it lacked something. So I did what any self respecting artist does when something isn’t working – I set it aside.

Then the other day I was inspired. I’d been cutting and painting chalkboards for other projects when I thought a chalkboard would finish this little beauty and make her practical as well as pretty!

I apologise for the photos. The lighting wasn’t the best and the sharpness factor just isn’t up to scratch. However, you get the idea. Lets just say I’ve used a filter to create softness… Yeah, lets say that!

This is what it looks like now, a pretty and unusual chalkboard.

Something you could put on the front door or in the entry to welcome visitors.

Or maybe write messages of love. I don’t think this pretty little thing is the shopping list type of chalkboard. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… I’m just saying.

This wreath was sold at the Shabby Market I took part in. It went to a great home… a young lady bought it for her wedding. Ideal! 🙂

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the pink shelves

Posted on November 25, 2012 by zefiart

Do you remember this little thing? I found it at an op shop crying out for some TLC.

It was painted white (badly) over a blue wash. I liked the idea of white, and I loved the blue (pity they painted over it), but I decided to do something different and painted it pink!

The pink is a colour I mixed up myself using paints I had on hand. It turned out to be the softest, sweetest pale pink. When I distressed it I varied the depth so that you could see both the original wood and the previous paint layers.

I just wish I had space in my kitchen for it! If it doesn’t sell at the market I’ll find a spot for it!

I’m still busy as ever. Running around finishing projects for the aforementioned market, organising what I’ll need and restraining myself from starting any new projects at this point…

“Just finish what you’ve started Zefi…”

I leave you with this photo of me and my beautiful Romeo, taken at the work garage sale about a month ago. Isn’t he beautiful? Our clients loved him, as did just about everyone who met him.

Better go. Things to do, dogs to groom.

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the old yellow tray

Posted on November 23, 2012 by zefiart

I love old trays. I love them as trays and I love them as just about anything else, as my letter holder/photo display of a few months ago will show.

This old tray had been used and abused by the look of it, but with a bit of paint and some elbow grease… it looks just as old and abused! 🙂

The before:

The after:

A better class of abused perhaps. Like an old dowager who’s gone to seed.

I like it better my way!

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framed coffee pots

Posted on November 22, 2012 by zefiart

This cute triple frame is another tip shop find. It was green when I found it so I painted it then sanded it back in areas to expose the original colour and the timber in spots.

Then, using dictionary pages and some graphics from The Graphics Fairy, I created a triptych of coffee pots & kettle which would look brilliant in any country kitchen.

I am loving the dictionary pages! I’ve made more of these little beauties to take to the Shabby Market on December 8th.

See you there!

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decorative grinders

Posted on November 22, 2012 by zefiart

Somewhere along the line I picked up a few broken salt and pepper grinders cause I just liked the shape of them. I mixed up some pretty pastel colours to try out then roughed them up a bit.

Not too bad for something someone tossed out.

I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time to write and I have a ton of things to finish, photograph and share. As the end of the year approaches I feel more tired than ever. Its gotta be psychological. I mean, how on earth can the end of a calendar year make you feel more tired?

Maybe its the anticipation of three weeks off work.

Time to relax…

…Time to recoup.

Time to paint the house.

Ahhhh.

No rest for the wicked!

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