Busy as a Bee

Phew! I have been as busy as a bee getting ready for Valentines Day, completing some unfinished projects and starting some new ones. One of the projects I just completed was 10 glass plates embellished or hand-painted to be sold as part of a fund raiser for a gentleman that was diagnosed with lung and brain cancers. Those snow days were really a Godsend last week or I wouldn't have gotten them done. (Put us way behind at the shop, but we'll catch up..we always do.) I was one of five local artists asked to donate our creativity. They could be done any way we wanted in any medium we chose. Here are mine.

The plate was painted a chocolate brown and I added a square of 1960's plaid wool and frayed the edges. The center is a 1940's hand-crocheted flowers accented with a vintage button stack

I wanted something a little modern so I painted this plate black and added a heart made of 1960's floral rayon and 1960's plaid wool. The center is a new heart button. I placed some batting behind the floral print so it stands away from the plate .

This Plate is all hand-painted . I gave the plate a brown base coat then added a black flecked finish. When it dried I I added a late fall garden scene . It reminds me of a place Hillsboro, Ohio where it's a bird and wildlife wetlands sanctuary with ponds where people can fish. I think Ducks Unlimited has taken it over. It's a quite place just

to sit.

I wanted a plate that was, simplicity. I left the glass clear and added a vintage 1960's round of calico and edged it with a complimentary rickrack. The center is a large daisy button.

This was a fun plate to create. I base coated it with white then added the greens for foliage's and the forget-me-not's. I framed the center with a blue monochromatic hand-crocheted rickrack to make it pop.

I used the reverse painting technique on this plate. I started by applying the lightest colors first and let them dry. I then repeated the process in varying saturations of color. When it all dried I coated the back of the plate in white. I then added a frame of vintage hand-crocheted rickrack to add some texture. The roses look like they're floating on the glass.

This is my Americanna/Monet-esque rendition. I hand-painted the farmhouse scene and accented by framing it with buttons. I didn't realize it until it was all done, but the farmhouse reminds me of my Great-Grandmother's farm, and, the painted gardens could be a picture of my Great-Aunt's carefully tended blooms in her back yard. Hope the people like it..I can smell the roses.

I again added a base coat of brown to the plate with black flecks. I dyed the 1950's doily a litter brown and added a raised medallion covered in natural cotton batting with an applique I created by taking a 1940's hankie and hand-embroidered a sunflower bouquet that was on it and carefully cut it out. This took a while to finish, but I think it was worth it.

This plate is folk art/country. The brown base coat makes the sunset coutryside stand out and the red gingham ruffle adds a little charm.

Now the paint has a to cure a little so it won't chip so easily, and, it's off to the fundraiser later this week. I get so nervous when I do things like this. I can't wait to see what the others did. I think I'll add these to my gallery page of my website. They'll give good examples for customer designs.

As a treat Sunday, since I've been stuck inside working so much, Jim took me on a ride. We went up to Columbus. I'll have some pics late of our excursion and vintage finds.