bodner006

Meet Nathanial. Born in the 1970's, he was always a child of nature.  Rather than riding his Big Wheels down the neighborhood sidewalk, you could find him in his backyard collecting leaves and peering at insects through his magnifying glass.  As he aged, he never lost that love of nature.  Years ago people would have called him a tree hugger, but today, he's considered smart and sensible.  He recycles, and even takes the time to separate the cardboard.  Why not save another tree?   Nathanial can be whatever you want him to be.  A woodsy dresser to add that serene touch to the bedroom.  A console where your TV couldn't look more striking on top of this guy.  Or a buffet for your dining room where you hide all your fancy linens and silver.  Although he is painted grey, he is no Christian Grey, otherwise I'd be keeping him. {Oh no, I think I've revealed too much.}   I've got a thing for birch trees.  It's an illness, really...

While I'm working on another dresser (still chewing my nails deciding which direction to take it), I finished a few signs and another silhouette.  Yeah!! First, the silhouette.  I've been looking for some new silhouette ideas and a customer had me make this for them, and I was off to the races with this new concept.  What is different about this than the past ones I've made, is I created a box frame around the silhouette, which pulls the art away from the wall 2 1/2", creating the nice affect.  She measures 19" X 16" X 2 1/2". Here is a photo of the art on the wall (ugh -- why don't I have the perfect lighting in my house to have beautiful photos?!?).  I've made this little guy available in our shop on Etsy.  Now, for the signs.  Oh, how I love making signs.  So much fun, and they can make such an impact.  This Guest Cottage sign was made from reclaimed pallet wood.  It is all hand-painted and covered in a coat of polyacrylic and measu...

Okay, I feel like I'm way behind the times by not making a decorative wreath sooner than this as I've seen them on Pinterest forever.  But I recently came across this tutorial and I loved the look. She used felt for her wreath, but I had tons of painter's cloth hanging around from the lovely ruffled curtains I made, so that was the medium of choice. The mirror was screaming for a little help, so I listened.  And the dog doesn't seem to mind either.   If you'd like to make one of your own, first you need the supplies: 1.  styrofoam circle (and man these can be expensive, so use your coupon at AC Moore or Michael's).  I choose an 18" circle, but you can go smaller or bigger. 2.  scissors 3.  drop cloth (I used a good part of one package that can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot) 4.  straight pins 5.  pencil 6.  template to make your circle 7.  ribbon for hanging 8.  hot glue I chose to use a 4" lid from the top of a jar of n...

I love when people have a vision of exactly what they want.  I was contacted by a woman who saw my silhouette pallet art at Robin's Egg , and wanted something similar for her son's room. She saw this: But envisioned this: This baby is gigantic at 4' across. After finding a piece of USA clipart online, I used the Picasa program ( free download ) to make it into a pencil drawing (outline).  I then went to Staples with the file on a jumpdrive and they printed it out for me at the size I wanted (3' across) for less than $4.  I then put the planks of pallet wood to gether by using cross strips on the back.   Next, the whole thing got a coat of dark brown stain.   I then used carbon paper to trace my USA map onto the pallet board.  Using a wash of white, I painted the background.  As you can see, my dear customer requested the states be outlined in red too.  :) This piece is being hung in her son's room and she was thrilled with the results.  I'm ...