Sunday, April 18, 2010

Do you have Tiffany Blue?


Today a fellow creative friend, Sam, and I embarked on a new project. She found a fabulous fixer-up desk on Craigslist. So after some negotiation, we purchased the project for $40.

Then, after a trip to Home Depot, and a quart of the closest we could find to Tiffany Blue, we painted away our afternoon in my sunny backyard. Coat one is finished and the desk is waiting patiently for another jeweled layer.



Stay tuned for more updates and perhaps a showing in the Etsy store! (That is... unless we like our work too much!)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Let's count it off..

And here we have found ourselves, another project on my plate. I've been surrounded by creative people my whole life and have taken part in projects many times, never really considering myself a creative with the likes of the ones I worked with. Since I was little, I've made presents for people for holidays or just-because. Lately, I've come together with a couple of groups of very talented ladies to have craft nights and produce some pretty cool art. Finally, I decided, I can do this on my own. I can take the step from part time fun to full time hobby and craft.

I've begun to build up an inventory to sell on my (currently boring and empty) etsy store, soon to be found at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/2ndVerse. I've begun to push myself and create new sketches, new items, and new ideas. Some things I already have, waiting for attention and posting on Etsy are earrings made out of nuts and washers, hand embroidered t-shirts and embroidery hoop pieces, all made out of recycled or repurposed goods.

Sustainability is a very important part of my life so I make sure that a large portion of my products are recycled or found. Fabric remnants are one of my favorite materials to get to work with. Also, Salvation Army and thrift stores are a major supplier of some of my upcoming projects.

Speaking of upcoming projects...

Last summer, I bought a footstool from the Salvation Army in the city with the intent to reupholster the seat cover and be good to go. Instead, it sat in my apartment, then my parents basement, for a year and a half. Finally, with some motivation and the perfect-sized fabric remnant, I went to work. This stool has been nothing but surprises though. The cushion was not a thoroughly-used pad; it was filled with sand. Also, the nails used to affix the cushion are incredibly old.

This craft project turned history lesson has me digging around the internet, doing more research on these strange looking pieces of hardware. From what I've found so far, the nails are from the late 1800s and from the sand cushion, I'd say the entire stool is a very old period piece. Unfortunately, it's in very poor condition as well. So instead of just making a new cushion and calling it a day, I'll be doing some reinforcing, sanding, painting, and reupholstery.


Even though it's become a bigger piece than I wanted to start off with, I'm really excited to jump right in and make this into something beautiful.