I am trying this new thing with the slide shows. Initially, they are a lot of work, but I think they will be useful and fun over time.

Today I am sharing some of the things that I have made out of wood. I buy very few materials for these projects. I am an incurable dumpster diver. My garage and now my house are full of things I have found at the curb on trash day. Now my friends are calling me about trash finds. They call when their garage sales are finished so I can look through the leftovers. They bring me junk to church. I am having so much fun. There are just not enough hours in the day to complete the projects.

I am also working of a couple of commission pieces. My friend wants her husband’s coat of arms painted on a board. I will send pictures when it is complete.

I am repainting this desk for a Christmas present.

I get to be creative. It is for a 5-year-old boy. I am excited.

God and genetics have blessed me with talent. I am having a great time exploring the possibilities.

What else will this creative and crazy mind imagine?

Fence Pickets Reclaimed

Just let all of the skeptics scoff. Let the naysayers nay. Let the doubters doubt. They make fun of my collections until they need something or want a creation. After hurricane Ike I collected fallen fences. I have a very large collection of old and broken 1×6 and 1×4 pressure treated fence pickets. Some had been painted red at some point.

You may remember, in October I made scarecrows from the wood.

Now we move on to the next holiday. Years ago my sister bought some yard art pilgrims. My brother-in-law hates that kind of stuff. Lisa would come home from work and find the man with a wine bottle and the woman with a rolling-pin or the man upside down the flower bed. She finally gave them to me. My husband continued the joke. He sent a ransom note from the pilgrim’s captors. At one point they ended up back at Lisa’s. After the 100 mile trip they looked sad. The male had a 5 o’clock shadow and a hobo bag on a pole. She was dirty and had patches on her apron. I still have the poor pilgrims. They survived the flood so I used them as a pattern for my pilgrim creation.

Aren’t they sweet? I used the wire from old political signs to hold them in the ground. I stapled the wire to the back and then nailed a piece of paneling over that to hold it firm.

For Christmas I have made 3 kinds of Santas so far. One with names of my friend’s 10 (yes 10) grandchildren. She is my age and has 10 grandchildren. Well, we got perfection on the first try.

The other 2 say The Greatest Gift and have baby Jesus and presents or the nativity.

I have also made a nutcracker.

This weekend was very busy. We found out that our minister has a brain tumor. He is young with 4 young children. Please pray for him.

I also had 2 friends call and asked me to come look at their garage sale left overs. I no longer pay for my stuff. I find it at the curb or from friends. This is some of the stuff I got Saturday.

This week I have to get ready for the Friendswood Heritage Gardner’s Christmas Tour of Homes. I will be at the Garden Center at 112 W. Spreading Oaks. They serve lunch, desserts and have a bazaar. I will be selling my Creative Arts & Designs. Come by (the spell check wanted me to put BUY. That sounds good too) on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

After Thanksgiving is the Etsy Houston Event.