february phm update and cathy…..

It’s time for the February Primitive Handmades Mercantile update.  I have four galvanized flower pots available this month.  Here’s a peek…

ewes

I should have these on the site, ready for sale, by midnight tonight.  If you are interested in taking a closer look, you can visit my PHM shop by clicking here.  I won’t be able to ship anything until next Thursday.

For those of you who asked about Cathy’s fabulous creations I shared with you last time, both her pieces are from her own design.  I’m not sure if she has her patterns for sale, but I will find out!  Here’s one more piece she shared with me….

cathy’s design and work

how FABULOUS is that?!

stay warm!

 

rebecca

rabbit and sheep rocker, and cathy’s finishes….

I’ve been debating between making Rabbit and Sheep Greetings into a pull toy and a rocker.  I finally decided on a rocker and thought I’d share the process with you.

choices

I can either use a slice of bowl, which you can see in the upper left quadrant of this photo or I can use my very last antique trunk strap, shown in the middle of the picture.  The bowl will need to be cut down, and were I to use it, I would cover the bowl with the ticking fabric shown using Mod Podge.  However, I think I’d like to use the trunk strap and Mod Podge the top of it with vintage ephemera.  So, I go to my favorite online source for vintage images and find some fabulous spring art….

looks like spring!

I love these vintage postcards from The Graphics Fairy (click here to visit her site ~ she has so many wonderful images, most of which are free and in the public domain, so no copyright confusion!).  I wonder what Otis thinks of my spring picks…

He checks things over thoroughly and decides that….

…what he really likes is my paint brush.  I, however, am reconsidering the Spring look and decide that Rabbit and Sheep Greetings should have correspondent-inspired clip art, instead.  The Graphics Fairy comes to the rescue once again and provides me with these awesome options….

I cut out bits and strips of the above and start Mod Podging the inner curve of the trunk strap….

first layer

I let the first layer dry completely before adding more ephemera.

Then, I add a few more layers and a lot of Mod Podge.  While I’m waiting for everything to dry I’ll show you two incredibly awesome finishes from Cathy….

I just love the carrot-mobile!

And, of course I can’t resist anything mounted on a porcelain doorknob!  Isn’t Cathy’s work beautiful?  Perfect!  Thank you, Cathy, for sharing your wonderful work!

Until the glue dries and we can continue on with this project, be warm and safe!

 

rebecca

rabbit and sheep colors and coffee….

rabbit and sheep greetings…

I’ve had some requests for the colors I used for Rabbit and Sheep Greetings.  Here they are….

valdani

These are all Valdani size 12 perle cotton.  I used two strands of each in my Cameo medium sized needle on the lowest (#1) setting.

jp11 ~ rabbit suit

p3 ~ sheep body

o196 ~ rabbit foot, hand, and head

h212 ~ sheep face and ear

pt2 ~ letters on “greetings” banner

5 ~ rabbit shirt, cuff, banner background

I purchase my Valdani from Snowflake Memories.  You can find their website by clicking here.

I’ve also had some requests for how I use coffee as an aging agent.  It’s really simple!

Take a bowl and add coffee.  It’s nice if the coffee is room temp rather than piping hot as you’ll be putting your hands in it.

Get your punched piece wet.  (“Humble” is a fabulous design from Lori Brechlin! You can visit her site and find her awesome patterns by clicking here.)

Squeeze out the excess water.

Place the piece in the coffee and push it down so that the coffee covers most of it.

Let it sit until you remember to do something about it. The longer you leave it in the coffee the darker it will be and the color will tend toward a greyish/brown. I prefer to have a brown-er and more water damaged look, so I try to remember to take my piece out after just a minute or two.

Put the bowl in the sink and squeeze/wring the piece firmly, removing most of the coffee.  I use two hands for the squeezing, but needed one hand here to take the photo.  :~>

If you want that water stained look ~ that is, patches of brown and patches of not so brown ~ keep the piece wadded up, like in the picture above and let it dry most or all of the way.  If the piece looks too variegated for your taste, rinse it, wring it and let it dry again.  If you want to start over, use a little gentle dish soap or laundry detergent to, almost, free the piece of coffee and then begin the staining process again.

See how the above has stripes and blotches of stain?  That’s from the wadding/drying part of the process.

ewe and ewe two…

The above ewes show that strong mottling achieved by wadding/drying.

If you don’t like that heavily aged look and want a more uniform “glaze” of coffee stain, try swishing the piece around in the coffee.  Then, after squeezing out the coffee, un-wad and hang the piece up to dry, rather than leaving it in it’s wadded condition.

I hope this helps!  If you have your own favorite aging process, I’d love to hear about it!

Next time I’ll try to show you how I put the bowl slice together with the rabbit/sheep to make a rocker.

Until then, think warm and happy thoughts!

rebecca