How a Vulture is Born...

Remember paper mache?  I think we've all done it as kids and I wanted to try it again for a halloween decoration - a vulture.  As we all hunker down for Hurricane Sandy, why not pull out the flour, water and newspapers and try and make something out of it?  It doesn't have to be a vulture, but maybe a pumpkin (cover a balloon)? 
Materials:
flour and water for the paper mache
newspaper strips
tray or bucket to mix paper mache
chicken wire (about $9 for a small roll)
Wire cutters
Pliers
Piece of wood to use as a stand
screws (to screw the vulture into the wood)
craft paint - black/white/red/green
black flowers
Small skull or bones to place beneath him

Start by using the wire cutters and carefully cutting some chicken wire to the size you'd like your vulture.  I used about 2 feet.

I shaped the wire into a imperfect football shape and then used a bit more wire to make two cylinders for his legs and I wired them on.  Whe you purchase your chicken wire on a roll, they use long pieces of wire to hold the roll together - that is the wire I used to attach the legs.

I used a piece of balled up newspaper and taped it into the shape of the head and neck, then taped it onto the wire body frame, about half way between the top of the frame and the ground.

Here is my framework, ready for the messy, messy part.  Somehow I didn't remember paper mache being such a sloppy mess, but was glad that I did this in the garage and used garbage bags to protect the area!  By the way, don't do this project right after a manicure!

 Looking a little more like a mummy than a vulture at this point.  To mix the paper mache, I used about 2 cups of flour and just mixed enough water in to make it a loose paste, sort of like a thick pancake batter (maybe a cup of water?).  I tore the newspaper into strips and carefully dipped it into the better and then ran the strip through my fingers to take off the excess.  Then I started to wrap.  I had to wait for one side to dry and then turn the vulture over and do the bottom since the strips wouldn't stay on upsidedown.

Doesn't everyone hang a vulture on their planter in the front of their house to dry?  My neighbors must think I'm nuts, but this was a great way to completely dry him!  Once dry, I painted the body black, the head red and the beak white with a black tip.  I also painted in the eyes.

The cost of black feathers was a little more than what I wanted to spend, but I found these black flowers at Michaels and thought the petals had that cartoonish look I was going for and so I pulled them apart and cut the petals off.

 The finished product!  His name is Marvin!  I used a coat hanger, bent to look like feet and screwed the whole thing to my board, which I painted green to blend in with the grass.  A small skull completes the look, but I will be adding some bones as well.  Unfortunately, with Hurricane Sandy coming to our area, he'll be enjoying his bones inside until Halloween!

See how the petals make a cute feathery necklace and bottom of his legs?

I will also build up his claws with some more paper mache since I think the wire is too spindly for such a large bird, but that will have to wait as I start preparing for our storm and bringing in everything that could fly away - including Marvin here!

A Walk on the Wild Side!

A Walk on the Wild Side
I love it when a designer asks me to paint their clients' existing furniture.  Some of the designs are so much fun and so different from the original that you'd NEVER know it was the same piece! 

If I've never done a particular finish, I will sometimes do a "practice" piece to work out the kinks on one of my own pieces instead of the designers.  More on that in a moment.

I was asked to change this charming chest of drawers from demure to wild zebra!  What a difference!  The idea came from the creative mind of Kristin Drohan (if you check out her website/blog, the console table in her header may look familiar... http://www.boulevardinteriordesign.com/)

Remember I mentioned practice?  Well, here's my practice piece:

I picked up this dry sink at a yard sale for $12 and decided to use it for our liquor cabinet in our dining room.  Because the doors open from the center, I opted not to do the center stripe that Kristin had requested on hers.  I had a piece of mirror cut (also around $12) by the local glazier (glass cutter) for the inside back panel to add a little sparkle.  You can just see the reflection of the crystal bowl in the mirror.  The inside I painted black and on  the doors wrote the saying
"With wine in hand, one reaches the happy state,
Where men are wise,
Women beautiful,
And even one's own children begin to look promising"
...it always makes me laugh!

I can't tell you how many compliments I receive on this piece.  Keep in mind though, that when you are using something that really stands out, like a zebra pattern, a little goes a long way!  You could look like you live at the zoo if you go too overboard!

Here are a few other ideas to check out and how I would paint them:

I found this console table at the left at http://interiorsmadeeezzy.com/category/furniture/occasional-tables/ and love the fact that it is an animal print, zebra again, but because it is all one color, it's much more subtle!  I would do this by using a matte finish on my base coat and then a gloss finish for the stripes, and probably the legs and top as well.  This may be a future project for me - I really like how it adds texture to the piece. 

The photo on the left is another example.  This time leopard and a silvery finish from furnituredirectnc.com.  Benjamin Moore paints have some beautiful metallic finishes and I would use one of them over a grey or brown basecoat to get the silvery finish on the sides and top.  The cool silvery tones with the warm browns and blacks of the leopard print are not usually paired together, but I like it. 

Of course it doesn't have to be a console table.  A little animal print on a barstool, chair, throw rug or even a mirror frame can add just that little touch of wild for you.  I found this chair on juliekfournier.com.   Somehow the mix of prints are adorable in a child chair!  Of course, for a child, we can always go over the top!

 Now I can feel you looking around your home for something to paint in an animal print...what will it be?  Have fun, be daring and GO WILD!

An Unfortunate Bug Problem...and Recipes!

When you first walk into my home, you find yourself standing in a small foyer which opens to the living room and dining room on the left and right.   Directly in front of you are two pillars which hold up the second floor (I think).  A perfect place for my giant spiderweb and spiders.  The smaller spider at the bottom was made by my son in third grade - oh yes, I use everything.  It's that same child who is now over six feet tall and keeps walking into the webbing.  He's complained about it to me, but truthfully, it makes me laugh so hard when he does it that I am not going to change it at all! 





I have a recipe to share - perfect for Halloween and VERY EASY!  It was given to me by a friend of mine named Sandi, who brought it to a party and almost had to pull us off each other as we devoured it!  Seriously, it is light and airy and totally delish!  

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
'Nilla Wafers

Directions
In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.  Serve with 'Nilla Wafers to dip.

The second recipe I am sharing is also from Sandi, but I haven't tried it yet.  I will tell you that when she described it to me, I think I drooled a little so I thought it would be share-worthy..let me know if you try it!

Oreo Balls

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
Make It
MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until well blended.
SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.
***************************Special Extras********************************
Sprinkle cookie balls with additional cookie crumbs.
Seasonal Variations
Snowmen OREO Cookie Balls: Prepare as directed, using BAKER'S White Chocolate, and adding a snowman face to each with decorating gels and frostings. Christmas Tree OREO Cookie Balls: Prepare as directed, using BAKER's White Chocolate, and using decorating frosting to draw Christmas tree designs. Top each with a cinnamon candy.
For Easier Dipping
Use a toothpick to dip the cookie ball into melted chocolate; shake off excess chocolate then place on waxed-paper.

ENJOY!

Scary Transformations

I am moving along on getting the house ready for Halloween.  I tend to not go overboard with decorating for the seasons or holidays, although I greatly admire those who do and wish I had the organizational skills and the energy!  I change up just a few things to make the house feel like it's shifted into a new gear, and one of my favorite things to do is to change the items in my china cabinet.  I have a "spring/summer" cabinet, and a "fall/winter" cabinet.  Because I love dishware, china, milk glass, depression glass and the like, rotating my collections is a way for me to appreciate them all during the year without having to keep everything out all of the time. 



Before - Spring/Summer Cabinet - Light, bright and floral!

 


Mid-term - Basic Fall/Winter - Red, Gold and Green Depression Glass!





  To the left is my basic fall/winter cabinet.  I will adjust items as the season goes on, replacing the gourds with silver christmas balls for the holidays and adding some Currier & Ives plates, for example. 

I have always saved little pieces of halloween costumes and trinkets that my boys have worn over the years, and I  use them to change the china cabinet into a more frightening showcase for the month of October!   It's a fun way to remember years past.

Skeletal hands coming out of tinware, weapons of a dark and sinister nature at the ready, and all manner of mice, bats and spiders! Oh my!
   




More "appetizing" eyes...



 






One lump or two?





Please pass the creamer!!!



Mmmmmm, cake!



 


Ready to do battle!

 

Bloodthirsty goblets!



He never expected we'd have him over for dinner!



Once again, I like it to look like a normal cabinet until closer inspection, but if you want to do the spider webs and blood spatter, go for it!  Of course you can do a more fun version for younger kids - save all of those tutu's, cute ghosts and friendly witches costumes and masks and make it beautiful!  Maybe remove everything and make it a showcase for a graveyard, or just put a bunch of scary masks on plates so they look like heads!  The bonus of using the china cabinet as a diorama showcase is that little ones can't get into it and grab small objects, but yet it's well lit and they can enjoy the display all season!

Now...whom shall I invite to dinner...(cue Vincent Price's laugh) Bwahahahahahahaha!

A Gruesome Centerpiece!



http://missmustardseed.com/2011/02/staging-my-homefor-me/

About a month ago, I found this tablescape on a blog called Miss Mustard Seed (http://missmustardseed.com/).  Not only did I think it was beautiful, but I realized I also had very similar glassware and could do something like it in my dining room.

Here is what I did in my room.  I used shells and coral instead of the greenery and birds, but I really liked it (my photo of it isn't great, but it looks very pretty in my sunny dining room)

Now it is Halloween time and I thought I could try and do something special with it for these next few weeks of October...something a little creepy...a little unexpected...and of course not spend alot of money.

I wanted to make it look like it is a completely normal arrangement, keeping the light colors, sparkly glass and doily, but on closer inspection the realization dawns that the little old lady that resides in this home is totally twisted!

Let me show you what's for dinner...

A little appetizer anyone?  These eyeballs are made from golf balls.  I just used craft paint which will wash off when I'm done with them.

A jar of mummy's heads.  I tore off strips of an old sheet that I've been using as a dropcloth and wrapped them around potatos, leaving a little space for either one or two eyes.  I used double sided tape to tape on the googly eyes (use the tape you find in the sewing department, it's much stronger than the office supply type) and filled the jar with them all.  Googly eyes can be found in all sizes at your craft store.

The creepy spider eating it's prey... The spider is of course a rubber one we've had for years.  I lined the bottom of the glass with fake web that you can buy in a bag, set the spider on it, then wrapped a rubber mouse in the fake spider web and added a touch of red food color..

For the last plate, I drew a blank.  I looked around the house for something gross or eerie to put under the cloche but was out of ideas.  Then I had an inspiration - make it look like something had escaped!  I printed the little sign on the computer, crumpled it and dipped it in some coffee to age it a bit, added some grass, stones and a few dead heads and from my flowers outside and bwahahaha!  An ESCAPEE!!

Look around your home and see what you have that could make for a scary and unusual centerpiece.  I can see a large jar containing a butcher knife and red food coloring smeared on the edge of it and inside the glass...a plate of press on fingernails, how about just a doll head?...too twisted?  If you have nothing, hit the computer and make up tags such as the one I made above, then set up the table as if everything had escaped!

Here are some other centerpieces that may inspire you!



betweennapsontheporch.net




Seriously, how long have these folks been waiting for their food!!




Brooklynlimestone.com




Martha Stewart





Wine-ing About Storage!

Over the past few years, my husband and I have been enjoying going to wine tastings and wine festivals and we've been buying several bottles or even a case of wine at a time.  We live in Virginia and there are so many beautiful wineries throughout our state.   I knew we needed some more storage for the extra bottles, although we aren't at the "wine cellar required" point yet.  I also knew I didn't want anything too fancy or showy and so I set about finding my wine rack.

This photo to the left is a faux bottle I painted on a client's wall, made to look like it was sitting on the shelf.  Since I'm talking about wine, I thought I would include it.  I used their son's name on the label and the words below the name described some of his wonderful traits.  But I digress....back to my wine rack!

Here is what we have now.  You can see how silly it looks, bottles sitting on the floor like that.  It appears as if there was a table, but it was zapped with a shrink ray and disappeared!

I gave myself a budget of $10 (helloooo big spender!) and started surfing Craigslist.  After about a week and a half, with many offers and many turndowns, a nice lady agreed to my price.  It's not an expensive piece, and I knew I'd be painting it anyway, so the finish didn't really matter to me, but it would hold alot of bottles and get them off of the floor!



 



It's nothing really special, but there is beauty in potential!  Plenty of space for the bottles and beneath the top is a rack to hang your wine glasses.





I removed the top to prime and paint it.  I would have liked to dismantle the whole thing, but the plugs they used to cover the screws appear to have been glued in and I didn't want to cause damage by trying to remove them.

The finished product.  I decided to keep the whole thing plain white, even though the top is a perfect opportunity to add something special; paint a wine saying, stripe it, add a color, for example.  My reasoning is that I already have a zebra dry sink in the room AND a china cabinet - both are focal points and fairly strong one's at that.  I really don't want any attention paid to the wine rack in this case.  Plain white will help it blend into the background of the wainscoting and it can quietly sit in the corner and do it's job.  Only one more question....would you like white or red?