Pumpkin Update....

I am just now Finally getting the pumpkins loaded into Etsy. Between the rain, the car dying on us, and everyone having a cold.... well.... you know how that goes...... I just fell behind. So I thought I'd drop off some pictures to share with you:) When you get a chance, you can check the rest of them out on Etsy:)

All of my pumpkins were sculpted by me using a toothpick- and not because I don't have the right sculpting tools, but becasue for some reason I am more comfortable using a toothpick?! Each were painted with a base coat before being painted with LOTS of coats of acrylic paint. After they were crackled, I went back over them with watered down paints to add more age. I feel like I've been painting for weeks, lol. Each pumpkin was also sprayed with an acrylic sealer to protect all those coats of paint.

....look, it has a hat?! ...too cute!

Love those little pink flowers behind the pink pumpkin! With it being October- I just had to make a pink pumpkin! Save those Ta-tas!!

So... Earlier today, I was outside taking pictures.... came in the house for a minute.... and when I came back out the sun wasn't shining in my yard anymore.... So when I started looking around, I spotted my neighbors Beautiful Orange pumpkins.... and knew they'd make a good backdrop- my neighbor wasn't home, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind:)

My biggest pumpkin.... and my smallest pumpkin:)

And of course I can't go anywhere without my shadow!

My neighbor has dogs, so when she's home.... JD doesn't get to come in their yard..... But now that he had their yard to himself..... he was making sure he left his scent Everywhere! Poor dogs- When they finally get outside, they're going to go crazy trying to figure this out!

I still have some more pumpkins to upload into Etsy tomorrow.... but for tonight, I'm done...... well... with the computer at least. I have 'other' pumpkins that need to be finished and one that I'm hoping to have done for a giveaway here soon. Don't worry, it won't be one you can buy it the store, it will be special:)

Ok..... before I go..... I want to thank those of you that leave comments! I know I've been slacking in the whole blogging department and even worse when it comes to leaving you comments, but I'm hoping this will change soon. I was thinking that when the kids went back to school I'd have more time, but for some reason, some one is stealing my days, and I just don't know where time goes these days?

So....
Until Next Time......

What I've got done so far....

I've been painting heads all weekend, and just wanted to show you what I'm thinking. I took one of those columns used for cake decorating, and spray painted it with a coat of the stone spray. Then I went back and layered the colors on to give it some depth. I still want to add a piece of something under the girl to give the piece more height, just haven't found anything that would work yet.

Here's an up close of the paint treatment I'm doing...

I just love the crackle effect. I'm using a different brand crackle medium, and I don't think I like it as much as I like the Folk Art brand, but it's what I have... so I'm using it....

This lady is probably one of my favorites...

Her nose was already broke... so I painted around it, and left it to look like it had broke off years ago. I also added some ink to this to dirty it up a bit.

I'm still working on these... I tried painting one green and it just didn't look right, so they're either going to be white or cream-sand colored. And a few got the stone treatment. Waiting for the paint to dry in between coats has been the hardest part.

So..... as the saying goes......

Until Next Time....

I couldn't help it....

I had to paint something pink!

Casey sent me this a little while ago, and although I don't think she thought I'd do this to it, I hope she understands:) I started with brown paint, then painted it white. And after applying a coat of Crackle medium, I painted it a dusty rose color.

One day, this too will go to live in the Painted Lady.... Hopefully this summer I can find a fish tank to put it all in. I want to use a tank, cause If I put a lid on it, the cats can't get in to it:) And I need a long roombox to fit all this stuff I keep making in, lol. And I think a fish tank will work perfectly!

Happy Halloween!

And Happy 'Belated' Birthday to my youngest. His official birthday was yesterday, but we tend to celebrate it on Halloween. Before things get crazy around here, I wanted to stop by and wish everyone a Happy Halloween!

I even made a birdhouse to celebrate. No, it's not mini.... It's for my front porch. It was one of those $2 birdhouse from AC Moore's that I had picked up. The handle is a drawer pull I took off my neighbors dresser that he was throwing away. WHat!! Those things are expensive, and I think I got about 20:) ...lol... I was out there early one morning, using a little girl's barrette(someone had left it in one of the drawers) to unscrew each one, lol....glad no one saw me:)


...Yup, I'm still crackling over here... Would you believe my jug of medium is half way gone:(

...I painted the house with 2 coats of dark brown paint, then 2 coats of crackle medium went on, then the top coat of paint was applied. After everything dried, I went back and 'aged' it~ I took the Dremel to it:) Then I went back and inked where I had dremeled~ this adds even more character to it:) When the ink was dry, I sprayed the whole thing with an acrylic sealer. ((Actually, these are the same steps I use when I'm making my mini birdhouses.))

I really like how this turned out.....

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you and your family have a Safe Halloween!

I'm off to get those last minute details done, And then it's time to Party:)

**Before you leave though, You should stop by and say Hello at the Party that Kat The Hat Lady is hosting.... You can find it here:) http://katthehatladyhalloweenhouse.blogspot.com/

Until next Time:)

Random Pics today....

Happy Friday Everyone!
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ahead of them. I'm hoping that today's weather comes back again, It was beautiful today:)

I'm still working on my little birdhouses ..... and/or houses.... And have listed a few more on Etsy earlier. These 2 will be up tomorrow, once I go back and paint that roof! Didn't realize I hadn't done it until I got them on the computer. I really like these ones! Very Girlie, and yet it has that Gothic touch.....


And I made a few more Halloween ones...


Thought you might like to see the Stickers that I ordered from Etsy! Aren't they Beautiful. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE Dragonflies!! So how could I resist! You can find similar ones here: http: www.etsy.com/shop/PoshGirlBoutique And of course you can order them to say anything you'd like!


And how about a kitty pic or 2.
Here's Wilbur dangling from the side of the couch. Yup! He jumps up, sinks his teeth into it, and hangs there....lol.... That's Jasper looking down at him trying to figure out what he's doing! Crazy kitty!!!


And one last pic.... Of Boogs!
This is Fred's brother, who hopefully will come inside permanently one day. He's the sweetest cat I've ever met!! And look at those whiskers, Have you ever seen em' that long before. Isn't he just beautiful!! Good Ole Boogers!! ((He was investagating me taking pictures of minis the other day, and I thought I'd get a couple of him! ....I swear he was posing for me:))

Until Next Time...............

Halloween Birdhouses

Thought I'd make a few Halloween Birdhouses to go with my other ones. One day I'll pull out Katie's Corner and show you where they're all going..... But for now, Here's a few that I have listed on my Etsy Page.

I'm also gonna talk about this darn Crackle Paint..... Last week Americana paint was on sell, so I picked up a few bottles in Halloween colors. I came home, and tried to crackle some sticks.... But had No luck. I thought maybe I wasn't using a thick enough coat of crackle medium, so I went back and repainted them, using 2 thick coats of medium.... and Still... Nothing!! At this point, I assumed it wasn't me, and it was the paint I was using, so I started all over again..... This time using Folk Art brand paint, and I had NO problems...... strange, huh!! Think I'll be sticking to the Folk Art when I crackle from now on.... Americana is good paint, gives me a pretty even coat, it just won't crackle?! So....

Remember the bookcase I refinished not to long ago? Remember the hardware I took off the doors?? Well, that's what I'm using on the purple birdhouses..... worked out pretty well, don't ya think?? I used the same knobs on the orange ones that I had used once before, But this time I painted them black. I also went back and highlighted the raised areas with gold paint, to make it stand out a bit more.

You can see the gold highlights in the following picture...

Then I broke out some of those (finger) nail stickers we have:) I used a cut down dollhouse shingle for the roof... and highlighted the edges to give it an aged appearance.

I just love this little skull!!

But this one has got to be my favorite!!! It's a Kitty over cross bones. Isn't it awesome:) One of these will be going to live in Cora's Gothic Room!!

Believe it or not, I still have a pile of houses to get listed, and another batch ready to get started after that... We'll see how long it takes me to get bored of it???

Until Next Time...

You gotta see this Bookcase:)

On my way home from running errands yesterday, I decided to stop by the thrift store to have a 'look'. Now why is it when your just having a look, you find more crap then you know what to do with?? And yet when you go in there with the purpose of buying something, you can never find it?? Anyways...... I couldn't believe what I saw!! There were 7 different dollhouse furniture sets. And they were only $4 a piece. Do you know how hard it was to just choose one??!! LOL... Here is the one I choose.... Now, there is no plastic on this..... It's just that freakin shinny!! Damn Varnish!!

I decided to redo the piece at the top........ Ready to see what I did:)
First thing to go was all the doors.... I saved them for another project, and even lucked out with 6 new cabinet drawer pulls!!

Then that Varnish had to go. This step took the longest! It was pretty thick!

Next, it got 2 coats of brown paint.......

I know, I just couldn't help myself.... But I had to crackle it:) I did 2 thick coats of crackle medium, and let them dry in between coats. Then I used a sand color paint to do the top coat!

And I couldn't be more pleased with myself. It's stunning!! :)

My last step was to sand again.... Hitting all the edges to give it more character!

I absolutely LOVE this piece. Don't have a home for it yet, but I'm thinking one day it's gonna need it's own shabby chic room! :)

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend.

Until Next Time

Today's Birdhouses

Just wanted to show you the birdhouses I finished today..... These were really easy, but once again time consuming. Keeps me on the couch resting though:)


...yeah! There's more. LOL.... I wanted smaller ones....


The one in the middle is the smallest.... And the one with the 6 holes is the biggest~ doesn't it remind you of a Lego?

I think I'm over the birdhouses for now?! Guess I should get back to thinking about that dress form. Thank-you for your tips.... I will let you know where I went with it when I finish it:)

So..... Until Next Time

the 2 little birdhouses

OK... Can someone turn off the rain! It's been raining all week, and I'm a little over it! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE THE RAIN......But this is a bit much! ..... I've written this blog once already....the power went out, and I lost the post! But I'm back......
........So............
I only got 2 birdhouses done yesterday.... I used the lefts overs from the signs I've been making. I haven't showed you the other signs I made yet (The rain has totally killed my picture taking skills...Everything is just so dark!) .......I used the tongue compressor sticks to do these. Not used sticks, but I guess you could use those, too..... You can buy a 'fresh' bag from the craft store:) Anyways..... Here they are in all their glory... As you can tell, I'm not all that thrilled with them, but they will work...... I made some different ones today, but they still need roofs.... I probably won't get to them though until later in the weekend. Tomorrow, I have to spend the day with the doctors...and then Saturday..... Get this!!! There's actually going to be a dollhouse show in my town!! Well, not in my town, about an hour away, and I'm excited.... I just hope the 'tests' tomorrow don't wear me out too much! I really, really want to go to the show!!!

Next is the bottle of crackle medium I've been using.... I do believe it came from Michael's, but It was quite some time ago! I've used it a lot, and I've only been through 1/4 of the bottle.... It seems to last forever.

And then we have kitty pics! I have LOTS of kitty pics, just don't want to go overboard with this whole sharing thing...SO here are a few of my favorites:

First is Jasper........ He's upside down because that is how he was sleeping.... He's soooo freaking sweet!

And what about another pic of Freddy? Here he is sleeping in a brown paper bag full of magazines...

And then there's Rufus (Fred and Jasper's Daddy!) .....Ever time I see this pic in my picture file, it cracks me up! I just love how they sit on their butts like this..... so funny!

Ok then...Here's me wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!! :)

Until Next Time...........

Getting the rest of the Crackle out of my system...

Nope! Nothing is safe around here at the moment..... If it sits still, it's getting crackled, HAHA!
So, these little houses aren't mini...but I thought I'd share them anyways. Found all 6 unpainted for $2.... Actually it was one of those cases where I saw them at the thrift store, and thought they were too expensive, so I waited....


I painted each one brown, then went back over it with a thick coat of crackle medium...Then I painted each one a different color.....and when they were dry, I sanded the edges down. I still think they need something, but my mind is telling me they are cute the way they are??

Don't you think they need windows, or big chunky numbers...or something??? I dunno~ If I stare at them long enough, it will come to me.....

...but for now, I'm off to finish the birdhouses I've been working on today....I'll be back when they're done........So

Until Next Time

And the crackling continues.....

Sorry I've been a little MIA this week...... I have lots of excuses.... Wanna hear them?? ......No?? LOL...... Me either.......... Let's talk about fun stuff, ok!! I have my other blog for all the nonsense....

So....... I made some shutters. Actually I just needed an excuse to play with the crackle some more, And I thought they'd make a cute backdrop some where in The Painted Lady (the glass house).

A couple of people had asked about the crackle finish.... So I thought I'd give a few tips. First.... Practice makes perfect. I have crackled A lot of things, and those first few things weren't the best! It is hard, but once you know how...You'll be like me, And Crackle everything!! LOL

First paint your base coat color, and let dry! (I use a cheap brown paint)
Next paint a thick coat of crackle finish on, and let that dry!
Then.... Using a Good acrylic paint ( I used FolkArt brand), load your brush up really good....
Start in a corner and work you way up. You can NOT paint more than one or two strokes, or the crackle finish will smear!! That's the trick really.... Putting a thick enough coat of paint brush and only painting it once. As the top coat dries, the crackle will being to appear. Let this dry before you do anything else with it. (I sand the edges down at this point, and then go back over those edges with a brown stamp pad) I hope this helps..... :)

...... I was trying to find more word stamps in my stash....And came across this:

Wouldn't it be cute in a Halloween house??

Then I made some of these:

These will be perfect in a cake shop, kitchen...... Thought they were supper cute!! (This stamp came from AC Moore's)

And while I'm here.... Here's what the stamps look like that I used on all the other sticks.... I've had it for awhile, so I'm not too sure where they came from, but thought a picture would help. You can use any words really, well anything that is small enough to stamp onto a Popsicle stick anyways. I used single letters to make some Cupcake signs, but it's a little tricky to get the words straight.

And before I leave I thought I'd share a pic of Freddy..... It cracks me up when they sleep like this!!!

......Mom just called to tell me that they're coming down for the weekend!! :)

And my first thought was 'Ohh Sh*t!! I gotta clean this house! Doesn't she know that I've been sitting/laying on the couch all week painting Popsicle sticks!!' lol

Until Next Time.........