MY FUNNY VALENTINE

MY FUNNY VALENTINE

YOU'RE MY FAVORITE WORK OF ART

STAY, LITTLE VALENTINE, STAY

EACH DAY IS VALENTINE'S DAY

Another from the archives. Large oval paper mache box. Painted Folk Art Baby Pink and decoupaged with Mary Engelbreit Valentines. Crepe paper ruffle on bottom. Again, Mary Engelbreit border around lid. Top has large slit decorated with polka-dots and Be Mine letters. Love it!

Tissue paper nosegay sits next to the Valentine box.

Now, I know I usually just put some lyrics here, but ladies and gentlemen, THIS IS TOM JONES! Just have to have a video. Ladies, get your panties ready! :)

Tom Jones
(SINGING)
MY FUNNY VALENTINE

ENCORE!!! ENCORE!!!

Tom Jones
(DANCING - THAT MAN CAN DANCE!)
You've Got To Watch This
TREAT HER RIGHT

S.W.A.K.

P.S. If you ever get the chance to see Tom Jones live, grab those tickets, FAST! He puts on the greatest show. My husband and I have seen him three times so far and we'd go again in an instant. Last time, we brought our son, David, with us (he was probably about 14 years old at the time) - even he enjoyed it. We had third row, center seats at the Stamford Palace Theatre (one of those old refurbished theaters and there isn't a bad seat in the house). David had the pleasure of sitting next to Paul Schaeffer (you know, the orchestra leader for David Letterman). We've seen The Beach Boys and Johnny Cash there as well. Next time we go, I've got to bring Frannie with us, she'd love it!

THE MULBERRY BUSH

Do you remember this nursery rhyme/children's song? Well, that's what I thought of when I took a picture of this:

Revamped this old desk back in 2006 for Frannie's room. Yup, it's pink alright - Folk Art Baby Pink to be exact, with some Wicker White mixed in to tone it down a notch. Had a Mary Engelbreit image that I enlarged and then traced onto the side and painted.

Hand-painted Frannie's name on top with a scallop border of Apple Green and white polka-dots. :) Created the font in Illustrator and traced it on. And just in case there wasn't enough pink, I found some glass knobs in the perfect color. I also re-did the chair (have I shown you that before?). Same pink with a seat I made (original was wicker that was not repairable). Drew a pattern for a plywood base, covered with foam rubber, batting and fabric. Also made some pink stripe piping to go around the edge. Love the fabric! If you'll notice, the desk is under the wall pockets. Someday I'll show you what I painted on the other side. Oh, yes, I decoupaged and painted the heart switch plate too.

THE MULBERRY BUSH

Here we go round the mulberry bush
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush
Here we go round the mulberry bush
So early in the morning...

...This is the way we sweep the floor
Sweep the floor, sweep the floor
This is the way we sweep the floor
So early Thursday morning

To view entire Mulberry Bush lyrics, go here.

S.W.A.K.

TREASURE CHEST

Here's a treasure chest I painted and decoupaged several years ago. It started out as an unpainted, wooden chest with just hinges and a latch attached. I painted it my favorite robin's egg blue and detailed it with red, yellow, and black with white polka-dots (what else?). I used the computer to create a font and printed the letters out on the reverse side of the polka-dot paper, cut them out and decoupaged them onto the lid. Next, I added a red and white checked paper with a black outline for the top border.

The four sides of the treasure chest have a yellow and white checked, scalloped edge decoupaged all around. I used a large circle punch for this shape and cut the scallops on the diagonal. Next, I added one small red polka-dot to the middle of each scallop. The red and white checked border was repeated around the bottom edge. The lid of the treasure chest has a tiny black and white polka-dot border decoupaged all around. Also, I used 2" round ball knobs as feet after painting them black and gluing on white polka-dots. They were screwed onto the bottom of the chest for security.

And last, but not least, I created a handle for each side of the treasure chest by using a dowel, painting it red and inserting the ends into two smaller round knobs. The handles were also screwed into the chest, so it could be easily carried around.

This chest usually contains American Girl doll clothes, but Frannie temporarily took them out to put in her latest treasure - Halloween treats! Look, Georgie has to get in on the act - he's just checking to make sure the candy is safe, he won't actually get any of that treasure. You'll notice that I finished off the inside of the treasure chest with a coat of creamy white paint and decoupaged black and white checked paper along the edge of the lid and chest.

Have I shown you the table the treasure chest is sitting on? Maybe next time.

S.W.A.K.

SERIOUSLY CUTE STUFF

I made this clothes tree for Frannie when she was just a baby and she hasn't outgrown it yet. I went to one of those big box hardware stores and purchased an unfinished newel post with a ball cap. My husband, Frank, made the base for the clothes tree. The pattern for the base came from the Martha Stewart Magazine way back in 1999, and the pattern is still available today here. They are actually supposed to be wall brackets, but we did our own thing with it. I enlarged the pattern to the appropriate size and Frank traced it onto some wood and cut it out with a jigsaw and sanded it down. He also attached them to the newel post for me. I did the decorative part. Of course, it's Folk Art baby pink, to match the rest of Frannie's room, with yellow, white and black accent colors. I decoupaged tiny black and white striped pieces of paper around the different sections for a little extra zing. Mary Engelbreit paper doll clothes were decoupaged on both the top and bottom. These doll clothes were from her magazine, a new set of clothes is included in each issue - I've kept them all - you never know how you will use these things. I've also used them to decorate a clothes hamper, but that's another post. At the top, Frank attached a clothes hook right over each outfit. I am really happy with the way it turned out and Frannie just loves it! So here are lots of pictures so you can have a really good look at it.

Side 1 - Complete

Side 1 - Top

Side 1 - Bottom

Side 2 - Top

Side 2 - Bottom

Side 3 - Top

Side 3 - Bottom

Side 4 - Top

Side 4 - Bottom

Did I mentioned that there are polka-dots on the top? :)

S.W.A.K.

IT'S 10 PM - DID YOU ENTER YET?
ONLY 6 GUESSING DAY LEFT

THERE ARE WINDOW BOXES....

I'll paint and write words on almost anything that isn't nailed down. That's what I did with my window box - love that expression!

AND THEN THERE ARE WINDOW BOXES

How about a new use for an old standard. I have named these "Wall Pockets" and they are better than shelves because you can fill them with lots of things (in this case, stuffed animals) and they won't fall out. I took two used window boxes, painted them with Folk Art baby pink on the outside and apple green on the inside. Then I cut small flowers out of an old Mary Engelbreit calendar and decoupaged them along the scalloped edge of the box. The bottom is black with white polka-dots (what else?). I purchased some unpainted wooden scroll-type brackets at Home Depot, painted them apple green and screwed the wall pockets onto the top of the brackets so they are secure and cannot tip over. They were also securely fastened to the wall. You can't really tell from the photo, but Frannie's room is butter yellow. She has a white iron bed, and the rest of the furniture are pieces that I have painted (mostly baby pink) and then decoupaged and/or written on. More children's room ideas to come! Stay tuned.

S.W.A.K.

DON'T FORGET...