Friday Finishes, Yes, I actually finished two things!

I finished the piece I was working on and the piece I finished earlier. The old houses is a design by Primitive Spirits, gifted to me by a friend. I loved the design and had thought I would mount it on wood and add nail hooks for a key holder, but I changed my mind.

I remembered I had a square box and it was the perfect size for this piece. The box was gray, but I painted it white, then sage green and sanded it down. I was hoping for more white to show, but my hand is still messed up, so not strong enough for heavy sanding. I ended up antiquing it to match the piece. The punch looks lighter than it is, it is more stained than shows, so it goes perfectly with the box. I think it would make a nice gift and something they can use to put items in.

The second piece was a free design by Julie of The Old Tattered Flag. Another design I loved when I saw it and the perfect gift for a friend who has a birthday coming up. I like making pillows, they are small enough to fit anywhere and go nice in settings. I also remembered why I don't use java stain on punched pieces, it leaked out and the hidden colors like green, came out. I had to rinse it a few times to get it out, but it left some darker staining.

Today was one of those days when I felt overwhelmed with all I had to do. We are heading to camp tomorrow for a 3 day weekend. I had to cook food, clean up all the messes, pack clothing, laundry, clean house and finish some rocks to take with me, but I got most of it done. Just a few more dishes and I will vacuum and tomorrow I can get last minute things done. The nice thing about camping nearby is we can leave later and only a half hour away. We are camping at the state park on the lake with a spot next to the boat launch, so I plan on relaxing and paddling and getting some bike riding in, this time.

I wasn't doing very well with my painting last week, so I took a few that weren't too bad and finished them up quickly. Not the best, but I am sure, whoever finds them will have fun and that is what counts. I can do the rest, next week, to take on our next trip. Then that will be it, I have lots of quilting and things to make and the holidays will be here before I know it.

I hope  you all have a nice weekend, and prayers for those in the hurricane's path.

Oldies but Goodies!

Nothing new this weekend, Bill had to work and I just crashed, so I rested most of the time and redid my drawing to get the rocks right and straighten out the buildings.

I also wanted to color in the design to see how it looked but I couldn't find my colored pencils, they seem to have disappeared. So, I used my watercolor pencils which are limited but it gave me a general idea of how the lighter green and rocks looked against the sea, much better contrast.

I over painted on the right and top, was just fooling around with colors and contrast but I do like how the light green pops and then the rocks will be more defined. Now to start the new punch, though I may change something else before then, we never know;)

One of the reasons that my pencils are limited in colors is because I use them for frakturs. I like using the pencils to start and then I use the better water colors for definition and shading. I thought I would show you some of my old frakturs, something I used to love doing but not so sure I can keep a steady hand now.

I like to find old designs and redo them into something new, this was a fun one to do. I used to write sayings in fraktur style, now I forget what it meant;)

This one was done for a friend, for her anniversary. I always enjoyed making custom pieces for special dates.

This one was based on an old fraktur with a few of my own touches. I usually sold them on eBay or gave as gifts.

And I also enjoyed painting boxes as gifts. This one was made for a friend who had collies. I think it says friendship. With the script I used, not sure what letter that is, my brain is mush. I hope you enjoyed seeing my pieces, another creative side of me.