Must Be Something About September...

That makes me want to paint. Remember these ugly things? They're my kitchen cabinets that I painted last September
They ended up looking like this - all pretty and white and yellow. Only, this photo is deceptive...you can't see how streaky and icky looking the lower cabinets really are. I got so sick of painting by that time that I gave up and dealt with streaky, poorly painted (despite the 5 coats of paint on them) lower cabinets for the past year...until yesterday.
Out came the paint and paint brushes
and now, after 2 coats of white and 3 coats of yellow,
my lower cabinets are pretty, too!
Now I just have to finish the handles (the ones on the right have been baked, the ones on the left need to be and I still have 5 more to clay...and I have to buy some clear spray varnish)
The best part about the kitchen cabinets being done...the floor's next. Oh how I feel giddy at the thought of RIPPING UP THAT DAMN UGLY FLOOR! (seriously, go back to the pictures and look at that god awful floor - ewwwww!)

What to do when you're sick...

Quilt and paint! It doesn't require a whole lot of effort if you really take it easy, or if you have most of the quilt top finished and only need to do the center block. I started this one about 3 years ago, but never finished it. It's definitely different...well for me. And there's that one purple block that just doesn't belong; I just don't know what was up with that. If I'd been smart, I would have taken it out and replaced it before I started stitching rows together.
I also made a slip cover for one of my couch pillows - I love this fabric...I think it's a Kaufman. Mum bought it for me.
Finishing the coffee table was easy - I sat on the floor the whole time.
And when the coffee table was done, I moved onto canvas...'cause I was bored.
Now I'm just waiting for the Doctor's office phone to stop being busy, so I can see if I can get in and find out why I haven't been able to hear well out of either ear for the last three days, why the cough persists and why my nasal passages feel like they're going to explode! Then I have to take the dog to the vet...again...for shots.

**Update** I have a double ear infection to go with my throat....ugh!

Fabric Paint vs. Fabric Pens

The Mother's Day t-shirt is done - what do you think? I took a little creative license on the earth (I think I tucked in a few more continents than I should have - eh, it's close enough)

The tree tee below is one that I did strictly with fabric pens. I'm not as impressed compared to the fabric paint...which I have come to LOVE! The pens are great for outlining and small details (like the eyes of the woman on the red tee), but not as strong for filling in. The paint can take a few coats, but it blends PERFECTLY (and it goes a long way)! For the redhead's hair I did a coat of red, a coat of orange, a coat of yellow and then highlighted and tipped with each color here there and everywhere. Her face is white, orange and yellow blended. I'm just very impressed with this paint.

I have another tee ready to go - pink this time and for me - but I haven't figured out what to draw on it, yet. I've put it in a place that I have to walk past continuously, knowing that one of those passings will generate an idea. Until then, it's just a pink t-shirt taped to foam core board, looking silly.

New Toy!!

I have a new toy! Mum and I hit a REALLY good sale the other day and with our 50% off coupons, we each bought a SideWinder (for only $17.50)!! The SideWinder is a one button, portable bobbin winder that runs on batteries and fills bobbins without having to un-thread your sewing machine (which drives me nuts!). I haven't tried it out yet (which is killin' me!). I just haven't had time; I'm still working crazy hours - as a matter of fact, I'm still at work...14 hours straight and counting (:^P) and the concensus is that we'll be in late again tomorrow.

This weekend...this lovely 3 day weekend (Patriot's Day observed only in Maine and Massachusetts)...will be a rakin' the lawn, painting the coffee table funky, finishing the last 4 mini quilts (managed to get 5 done during my mad dash mini quilt catch up session) kind of weekend. I'm so looking forward to it!

And I've been inspired. I had a meeting in Brunswick on Tuesday and stopped into a furniture store called Seaside Mercantile (no website, unfortunately) because their window display featured an aqua colored couch with a purple sofa table behind it and an aqua and cobalt striped hutch off to the side. It was fabulous! It inspired my thoughts concerning my living room. I love painting rooms in great colors (remember my hall), but I've never been able to figure out just what to do with the living room (look here beyond the crazy cats to see the wallpaper and woodwork and here is the carpet and my hand me down couch). My idea is to rip off the wallpaper, paint the walls an eggshell color, slipcover the furniture in different colors, make new and funky fabric curtains, paint the coffee table, side tables and entertainment center in funkatude colors and patterns and paint my own canvases to go on the walls. I've never been a fan of white walls, but I think I can get behind this! Now it's just DOING it (there are still many projects that need finishing first).

Oh, we're done for the night and it's only 10:30 - Whoo hoo! I'm goin' to bed! Night!

(oh, if any of this is disjointed, blame 14 1/2 hours of work, sleepy eyes/brain and the fact that I'm going to post this without anal retentively rereading and editing it!)

The Shelf

I've had this unpainted shelf for about 2 years now, not quite knowing what I wanted to do with it. Finally, I decided that I needed it in the kitchen and that it should be barn red. I started painting it a few days ago and just couldn't decide what kind of a detail or design I should paint on it. I started with a brown vine and white berries...but that looked so boring. I needed inspiration, so I headed here (which I tend to do often) to wander through Anahata Katkin's art. I remembered something I saw on her blog back a while ago that I loved and hit her flickr page to track it down.

This is it - I just loved it, stared at it and wondered, "Can I paint something this colorful and funky and actually make it look good? No patterns, no real design, just making it up as I go?"

Obviously it looks nothing like Anahata's work, but she was my inspiration. Her work screams "Be not afraid of bright colors that you wouldn't ordinarily think go together" and "Don't be afraid to get messy!" I was sideloading and overloading colors so that orange showed through turquoise and pink and by the end of it, every color on my palette had every other color mixed into it.

It was creative abandon!

the green mile (aka my downstairs hallway)

"Kiss my grass"

"Below the Stairs"