paint » by elke

Garden Tote

This is the third version that I’ve made of this bag. For the first one I copied a pattern & when it was done, it worked but was not the proportion I was looking for. The second time I made it, I ended up using it all summer as it was made from this really great brown & white heavy linen stripe. The THIRD time I tried this bag, I used the concept but made my own pattern. Instead of the 3 pockets on each side I revised it to 2. Plus the 2 outside pockets on either end it still had 6 pockets which was just fine with me. After I cut out the pieces I painted the white bits by hand then sewed it together. Instead of a lining I just added a natural twill tape binding. To finish off the inside hem I painted a bright yellow stripe on the cotton webbing for fun. The straps were also hand painted on the tips. I finally made the bag that I was thinking of. I think this would make a fun 2 part class……

Painted Cork Board

I picked up a regular old cork board at the local target & slapped on a coat of red paint. Afterward I had a rubber stamp in the shape of an irregular circle that I stamped across it. Since the print was so light I used it as a guide & painted in the circles with light blue paint. Then I went back in & painted a 1/2 circle in darker blue. Done. I like to use those little paint testers that you can buy at a hardware store. There are tons of colors to pick from & they are very reasonably priced. It’s so easy to make something so basic a little more special especially since it’s hanging in my kitchen.

Props: Before & After

Because this is my first craft show, I needed to get some things to display the goods. I ended up with old wooden ironing boards to use as tables & ladders & shutters for shelves. I had an old chair in the garage & that also did not escape my painting frenzy. At first I was against painting the pieces because I have never painted natural wood before. I’m a firm believer in the beauty & warmth of wood. Saying that, I looked over the ladders one more time & they really didn’t have any charm- Just dirty with layers of paint. My products are so full of color that I needed to just make everything look clean. This is what I ended up with: (Please forgive the fuzzy shots as I took them with my phone & they just didn’t tranfer well…)

Leather Can

Leather can with painted stripes

There is definitely room for improvement but I do like how when you first see it , it appears to just be a regular can. After you look more closely you realize it’s not. Then you touch it- Warm, soft….. Wa-La!