1st week of Full Circle Workshop

My goodness, 300 people on Facebook of this workshop, there is so much artwork posted, I hardly manage to see everything. The workshop is very inspirational like all Misty Mawn's workshops, they are always above any expectation and I am already so driven to do various creative yummy stuff - I cannot stop! What I created on the 1st week:

Life Mandala, 20X28, acrylics on paper, available in my Etsy shop.

Anna Pavlova, charcoal on paper, 16X22, available in my Etsy Shop.

This was assignment on who you were before and who you became (photography and poetry).

My first Mandala.

Following project is not part of Misty's workshop, but I did it anyway, because it was fun. I took my baby's formula jars and re-purposed them. First I painted them in cream acrylic paint (house paint from hardware store), then chose from selection of my napkins (and I am embarrassed to admit how many napkins I've collected). I glued the napkins on the tins using acrylic gel medium, but you can use modge podge as well. That's it! Can be used as pot for plants, containers for utensils or art brushes - anything you want really!

Here comes new Misty Mawn Workshop

I cannot overemphasize how incredible Misty Mawn art workshops are, and how much they will do to your development as a beginner or established artist in a very short time span. The amount of tips and tricks I learned, the amount of great artists I became friends with, I even sold my small artworks online, which I never even though of before. You will never regret taking her workshop, that happens every year in January, and massive comunity of online artists literally live from January to January to participate in it. Not to mention that Misty Mawn herself has incredibly magical artworks, once few of them appear on Etsy (which happens rarely), they usually sold within 3 days, I hardly managed to catch one myself. The course starts tomorrow, 20th January 2014, but you can join any time later and catch up at your own pace, it's usually stays open for a year or longer. These are just a few of my artworks I created during Misty Mawn last year workshop, and I am so looking forward to the new one:

Vintage room for baby and toddler

Tallulah Jade Rainbow Hamman turned 2 on the 6th. In the past year I've been working creatively redesigning my toddler’s bedroom, to give it a vintage look. I have collected many vintage decorative and functional items for her room, and now that it's mission accomplished - it's time to share it with the world.

Hand embroidered vintage table cloth re-purposed as curtains:

Collection of vintage dolls for Tallulah:

This book shelf and a bench were made from recycled pallets, I really love their organic rough look:

I've been hunting for vintage wooden crates to create this display. More vintage dolls and toys:

Hand embroidered vintage table cloth made into curtains as well:

I store my toddler's chalk and crayons in these vintage enamel cups:

My collection of vintage fabric buttons, that I sowed into one display:

Display of many vintage findings on the wall, from thrift stores, charity shops, online shops and antique markets:

Collection of vintage cushions, dolls and hand made toys, vintage crocheted through:

This baby table and chairs are modern, but I painted them in bright colors:

I made this red stand from 3 vintage stools:

This vintage lamp was cleaned up, then buttons and tussles added:

Vintage drying rack repurposed as child's shelf/ display:

I eventually filled this display box with vintage toys bought online:

How true:

These cushions for baby's chairs I made from vintage tapestry handbag:

I rescued this Pink Panther for $1 from a pile in charity shop. Boy, she was ugly, I prettied her up with new nose, bow, skirt and shoes, all made from recycled vintage fabrics:

Tallulah's room before:

I hope you enjoyed seeing my results of vintage hunting and creative ideas. Please sign up for my blog updates at the bottom of home page and visit again.

Restoring vintage dolls

I started collecting vintage dolls for my daughter Tallulah, as I am not impressed with what's in mass production today. At first I collcted chaotically, not knowing exactly what I love the most, but eventually focused on rubber, vynil and plastic 50’s to 80’s, they are most nostalgic for me. I especially enjoyed finding an old, dirty, half ruined doll and fixing it to a gorgeous princess. Really pleased with results, and planning to sow some vintage dresses for them. I used various methods to clean them up, for most stubborn spots using permanent make-up remover - oily substance that does the job so well. Ordered some wigs and shoes from ebay.com (what a vintage heaven!), and even bid on real vintage dolls dresses, that arrived here from US. I am not planning to keep them in a display cabined behind the glass, my daughter will have them to play when she is at least 6. I love uniqueness of a vintage doll and will teach her to appreciate it too.

Up-cycled vintage cribs, I sowed all these frills and covers to decorate them, using recycled vintage linens from charity shops. My daughter is already playing with them:

Upgrading home with vintage

If to think, when adding vintage - may be you actually downgrading, not upgrading your house? To me, house looks cosier and more beautiful with well looked after items of the past. Here are my this year's house transformations and vintage additions, oh how I travelled to far far away to various places to hunt for these treasures. And I have sown all these patches on the couches, something I won't do again, cause it took like forever:

I did take 1 hour drive to another town to buy 4 of these vintage military crates from a hands of a dealer and just piled them up as side tables in my lounge. Apparently they come up only once in 3 years, I just could not miss this opportunity:

I looove this vintage scale repurposed into a pot plant holder, and adding just that bit of green into my red Christmas window. I found in at the famous Rosebank Rooftop Market shortly before it relocated to Norwood:

The moment I saw this cow online - I had to have it, and drove to the dealer's house to pick it up. What a lovely touch of cute and rustic:

Collection of vintage and modern glass jars, had to hunt around to gather them together:

Russian "Samovar", vintage tea maker, this one runs on coals and probably about 100 years old. I had to bid on it on bidorbuy.co.za, as they don't come up that often, and at $70 it was a steal, as they usually sell for $150-250. What a piece of history!

Many vintage collectors have a thing for tins, I was proud that I am not one of them, until I figured I can actually use them to store my kitchen food and they do look cute together:

I do hope I did good housekeeping job this year with all this creative home making. This vintage enamel plate was plain and scratched, I glued napkin birds on it and actually plan to turn it into a clock:

Here goes the famous trend for mismatched chair at the dining room table. Turns out I am not immune to trends. I started hunting for these vintage carved chairs, called by antique dealers either "Colonial" or "Vintage", or "Riempie". Whatever they called - they are beautiful, 6 found, 2 to go:

My husband had to make me this table out of recycled railway slippers, so I could put all my antique chairs around it:

I doubt this is true vintage, probably a replica, but still very cute and I always joke that I am in fact offering my handsome husband for sale for an hour or two...

This vintage cookie jar is huge and was packed so well when arrived in my post, that I almost could not unpack it:

I really had a vintage hunt adventure this year, gathering so much knowledge that you could not learn in any university. Love my home, filled with pieces of history.