Jeanette Janson-Mixed Media Artist

St. Patty's Day

Well, time is certainly zipping right by.  I thought I would wish you a Happy St. Partrick's Day.  I'm not Irish and it seems like a lot of people just use it as an excuse to go out and get drunk, but what the heck, I'm not one to judge.

Aren't these vintage cupcake decorations cute?

I love burlap banners.  This one with the shamrocks is really cute.

Wow, I am in awe of the person that hand crochets these earrings.  They are so intricate and a steal for only $16.

Crochet is nice, but rhinestones are more my style.  Not that I wear them all the time...I just like to look at them and decorate with them.

Here's a wreath made out of burlap.  I seem to have a burlap theme going through my head lately.  

All of these items are for sale on etsy, one of my favorite places to shop.  

Support small businesses and Happy Saint Patty's Day!

 

Brass Tags and Crosses

I've been spending some quality time in my new workspace and I'm loving it.  It is so nice to be organized and to actually have the space to work now.  My inspiration and creativity has come back in leaps and bounds.  

I've been working on these brass tag pendants and have them listed in my etsy shop.  They are fun to work on and I've got several more waiting in the wings.

These carpenter's crosses also got finished recently.  I cut phrases out of vintage hymnals and collaged them on the fronts.  They are embellished with rhinestones and religious medals.  You could wear them as necklaces or hang them from your rear view mirror as a safety token.

Here's a pair of earrings made from vintage piano parts. (At least that's what I think they are.)  Sometimes it's hard figuring out what everything is when you buy your supplies from auctions and flea markets!  If anyone can enlighten me, please do so.

I've also been working on some porcelain doll heads, but they are not quite done yet.  More about those later.

Whew, I guess that is all for now.  It's been a really busy week around here.  It feels good, though, to be getting ahead of the game a bit.  While winter winds down, this is the perfect time to spend my days in the studio getting something accomplished.  Those Spring days will be beckoning me outside before I know it!

 

Studio reveal

It was barely a week ago since I last posted, but it seems like longer.  After many long days, the studio project is finally done.  

The shelf unit went together with some careful planning (and a few splinters) and the pegboard map got mounted on the wall.  I rubbed some dark wax on it and then buffed it for an aged look.

I really love all the storage space I have now.

It's great to get everything out where I can see it...for me, things tend to get lost or forgotten when they're stored away in boxes.

 Yeah, some stuff is there just because it looks pretty, but that's OK.

I painted the closet door panels the same color as the ceiling and I really like the effect.

This is the other side of the room.  I took the pictures out of old frames and then gave them a coat of spray paint.  It makes a cool geometric pattern on the wall without being too busy.

This little dessert stand makes the perfect place to store old keys.

I have my antique organ in the other corner.

Not real functional, but it's fun to arrange my collections on it. 

The perfect place for old Statue of Liberties, too.

So now that my supplies are unpacked, maybe I can get back to work....

after a little recovery time, of course.

Let me make an exit now and I'll see you next time!

Bye...

 

Studio Reno continues

It's a little over a week later and I feel like I have been working on this studio renovation for a month. The beginning of a project is always so much fun...I am giddy with excitement and the possibilities.  Then reality sets in around day 5.  Day after day of work, the smell of paint permeating the house and all the nitty gritty details start taking their tole.  

Fear not, though, I am a woman on a mission and I will see my projects through!  I'm happy to say that the painting is done and I found the most excellent old wood to build my shelf unit with.  

After pricing new wood at Home Depot and thinking about how I was going to work to make the new stuff look old anyway, I decided to shop the local salvage yard and just buy old wood.  I found some hardwood planks that already had several coats of chippy white paint on them.

I was able to cut them to size and just buy what I needed.  What a deal and I don't have to do a thing besides add a coat of polyurethane.  Go green!

Next project is a pegboard for all my tools and anything else I can hang to keep at arms length.

I bought a large 8 x 4 foot sheet and wanted to jazz it up a bit.  

I started thinking about this map that I found at the flea market last summer.  I had it rolled up in storage waiting for just the right project to come along.

With a little paint and wallpaper paste, I think this might work.  The idea is to leave the bottom and top of the pegboard exposed and then pop holes in the map area as needed when I hang things.  

OK, that is my progress to date.  Everything is beginning to take shape and I can see the end in sight.  Wish me luck in these final legs of the journey, I'm going to need it!

Painting project

Well, I've been talking about painting and revamping my studio since last Fall, and I kept putting it off for one reason or another.  The time is finally here!  I began this past week with some trepidation, I have to admit.

The wall color was a tired green and it had become a collection of mismatched furniture thrown together without any real direction.  So I emptied everything out of the room, put down tarps and picked out paint colors.

The ceiling is really high and tended to get lost somewhere "up there."  It's covered with old bead board that sorely needed caulking and repair, so that was step number one.

Luckily, I had reinforcements and we got it done in one day.  It got painted light blue-inspired by the blue porch ceilings here in the south.  Read about it HERE.  It looks like the sky, plus it keeps the Haints away!

The new wall color is a light mocha.  I love the way it looks so far.

Now, some touch-ups on the molding and the hard part is done.  Tomorrow, I am making a trip to the salvage yard to scout out old lumber.  Gray barn wood with chipping paint is the plan, but I probably won't be able to find that.   I want to build some kind of storage unit above my workspace and I want it to look old.

I can't wait to get it done so I can start creating again.  I'll keep you posted on the progress!

 

Beach time

I recently had a chance to spend a few days at the beach and wanted to share a few pictures with you.  I am grateful to the weather gods for bringing us 65 degree, sun shining weather while I was there, even though it is February!

Weathered stairs leading to the beach.

Going for an early morning dip!

Deserted beach....I love this time of year!  

Treasures from the sea

Spanish moss...it's a southern thing.

....so's this-our SC state tree: The Palmetto.

They put up this fencing to stop beach erosion, but it sure looks pretty when it gets weathered over time from the salt air.

Solitude

Standing the test of time

Salt marsh.  Can you see the pelicans?

Footprints in the sand

These oaks are splendid old trees.  I can only imagine what they've seen over the years.  It's a miracle they survive through hurricanes, erosion as well as the over building of beach property by money hungry developers.

Ok, hope you enjoyed my pictures.  Back to work for me now as I catch up on packing orders, listing and artwork!

Charlotte Dolls- All glitzed up!

I've had some time over the past week to finish up the Charlotte dolls that I've been working on.  These are so much fun!

I usually spend a day doing the messy gluing and then I get to play embellishing them. That's the fun part; when I can lay out all of my "junk" and start adding a piece here and then a piece there.  I don't have to tell you that no two ever come out alike.

I've started listing them on etsy, but still have a few more to add.  I will get to it as I can.  They are HERE if you are interested.

On a different subject, I've been running every morning, trying to work off some of those holiday calories.  Christmas cookies are so good, but it's time for damage control.  I've been cutting out the sweets and watching my bread intake since the beginning of the year and it's going OK so far.  I don't want to jinx it and call it a New Year's resolution!  The weight comes off so slowly, though.....but I'm building muscle right?  Muscle weighs more than fat, so I can't expect miracles.  I've been down this road before, but I'm going to stick with it this time.  Anyone else trying to work off the holiday splurge?

Postagehike coupon

Once again the postal service will be raising rates.  On January 27th everything will be going up a little, but the international rates will be almost DOUBLING!  A 3oz package from Canada goes from $3.30 to $6.91.  A UK package goes from $4.56 to $8.88.  

I really hate that....it already seems so high as it is.  The larger packages won't see such a large jump.  A 1 lb. package to Canade goes from $22.09 to $27.40.  Still...it's a  lot to pay.  

So, I guess that means I will have to put in a bunch of computer time recalculating and changing my postage rates on all my listings.  Joy...I assume that will take several hours since I have over 200 items in my shop.  

OK, instead of being snarky and sarcastic, lets turn this into something positive....at least for today.  All day today, Friday the 25th until tomorrow morning the 26th, you can use the coupon code POSTAGEHIKE at Vintage Supply for a 10% discount.  The old postage rates will stay in effect until then, too.  So, in short, if you live overseas, this is a good time to stock up on supplies! 

My apologies for the rate increase...I don't like it any more than you do, but we'll make the best of it!

 

 

Assemblage dolls past & present

I've been busy in the studio for the past few days and I thought I would share my progress with you.  I've had 4 dolls on rotation and I finally got them finished up yesterday.  

It's always a building process when I make my dolls.  I have to work a bit on one and then put it aside, either to dry or to give myself some space from it and then come back to it later.

I tend to get bogged down and lose the big picture.  How's that saying go?  "You can't see the trees for the forest"....it's like that.  So I will keep them rotating and put one aside if it's just not happening.

I do like the way these all came out, though.  They are available in my etsy shop if you are interested.

After completing these, I got inspired and created an Assemblage Doll Board on Pinterest.  I am slowly adding to that and having a ball doing it.  Pinterest....such a slippery slope....so much eye candy.

Lime green Lilac Talc Doll

Isn't this one cute?

and I love this regal gal.

Here's a doll I made several years ago with a beach theme.

and another one with lots of dangles hanging down.

I made this awhile ago.  Sometimes I wonder where all my artwork is.  Still treasured by the original buyers?  For me it's always been more about the process.  I just enjoy making things and that's the fun part...not hanging onto what I make and hoarding it.  I do try to take pictures, though, so I don't forget what I've done in the past.   I'll look through them every once in awhile and get nostalgic, but sometimes I get inspired, too, and that's a good thing!

 

With the last of Christmas packed away, I've been having fun redecorating some different areas of my home lately.  To my surprise, the tree theme has popped up once again.  I was looking for a way to display all of my small artwork, so  I got this mini bottle tree out of storage and set it up in my living room on a marble top bureau.

An instant way to display a bunch of small things!

A gold leaf frame keeps my collection of oil cans and little bottles clustered together at the base of the tree.

This sweet little Charlotte came from Earth Angels.  

I bought this rhinestoned sacred heart in an antique shop when I was on vacation last summer.

Here's one of my Charlotte ornaments with a tintype dangly.

In the den we have a shelf unit above the television.  It's a focal point in the room, so I try to change it up once in awhile.

A few things I made grouped together with flea market finds.

This decorating has been therapeutic for me after the frenzy of the holidays.  We ended up having 10 family members visit between Christmas and New Years.  It was great seeing my sister and her 4 kids plus my own boys.  It's also nice to return to the relatively quiet days that I am used to!

Here's a picture of the whole gang huddled around the fire pit.  

Til next time!