Refurbished drawer display cabinet, dragonfly sculpture, and gathering nature

My oldest daughter Angie, my granddaughter Kaylee and I went in search of nature over the weekend.
We harvested some wild bittersweet along a fence row.  We just had to wade the weeds to get to it.
Next we ventured to the local cemetery to gather buckeyes and acorns.  The squirrels had beat us to most of the acorns, but we gathered some of the hairy caps. Then Kaylee and I gathered some tiny pine cones from beneath my black forest spruce tree.  But it can't be all work and no play.  Kaylee needed to go swing in the back yard for awhile.

I also made a very delicate dragonfly sculpture.  This dragonfly is much smaller than most I make.  It's wings are made of a strip of brass flashing off an old door. One wing even has a nail hole in it from where it was fastened to the door. The side of the brass exposed to the weather has a beautiful patina. It sits atop a steel rod, inserted into an a piece of antique walnut.

And I painted this old drawer to convert it into a display shelf.  It can stand or hang.

Other than this hubby and I took a short trip on the motorcycles to get an ice cream cone, we did a little tinkering in the garage, but mostly I was lazy.

I hope you found something fun to do with your weekend. 

Give away

I'm finishing up the dragonflys for my new freinds, but I have only gotten addresses from 5 of the 8 people.

So, Robin, Lona, Carmen, Peggy and Cheryl - yours will mail by the weekend.  I had to get some clear coat to protect them.  I picked that up on the way home from work today.

Sherry, Tricia and Stacy.  IF you're still interested in a dragonly please email me your address so I can send you one.

Todays' weather is absolutely perfect here in central Ohio.  The hubby has been holding down the recliner watching football.  I hope you're doing something fun wherever you are.

Myra

Country Living Fair 2011 and winner of a hand carfted, found object dragonfly...

My sister Heather, daughter Rachel, my sister's friend Shelly and I attended the Country Living fair sponsored by Country Living Magazine yesterday.  Lucky us, it was held in Columbus, Ohio which is about 45 minutes from home.  I had been wanting to attend for a couple of years but always had other plans on that weekend.  Well yesterday I got to check it off my bucket list :)  We were all worn out by the time we left, and on sensory overload!  There was so much to see, and so many beautiful and wonderful items.  We got a few ideas to try, and of course everyone had an arm full to haul to the car.  As we were sitting in line to get in, we saw license plates from several other states.  There were a lot of people there.

Lil Raggedy Angie wasn't able to attend because she was selling her handmades at the Old Time Farming Festival in Centerburg, OH.  I saw several items very similar to hers, that weren't as nice, or cheap. Hopefully she'll sell more at her next show.  I helped her Friday evening and Saturday.  The weather was perfect, and it was nice spending some quality time with my daughters.

And regarding the giveaway of my hand crafted found object dragonfly...

The winner is...... since I only had 8 people interested, each of you will receive a dragonfly. It won't be exactly like the one pictured, since each is unique, but within the next two weeks Peggy, The Cranky Crow, Sherry, Lona, Tricia, Carmen, Cheryl and Stacy will each receive some sort of whimsical one of a kind dragonfly. Email me your addresses to: mystevens@columbus.rr.com. 

We planted some gourds this year.  This is one of my beauties.

Hubby built us a fire out back last night and we enjoyed just swinging, listening to the crickets and bugs, and enjoying the fire.

That's my weekend.  Anyone else do something fun?

the making of a found object or folkart dragonfly

For those who are interested in winning my dragonfly, I thought I'd show you what it used to look like...

This old chair was a bit wobbly so I took it apart and salvaged most of it to make other things, such as dragflies.  I little whittling, a lot of sanding, some paint, and accessories like eyes, mouth and wings.... and a wooden spindle evolves into a one of a kind garden accessory, aka yard art.  :)

Niagara, My mother's birthday, Monkey has a new red shirt, and a dragonfly giveaway

Hello,

I, like many people have been thinking about 9/11 off and on all day.  About the disregard for those who would be killed, and the hate that exists between people who have never met.  I have been thinking about my niece serving in the Navy, and I have been thinking about my dear sweet mother.  Saturday September 17th will be her birthday.  My mother died almost two years ago.  In some ways it seems longer, and in some ways more recent.  I'm sure its that way for everyone who loses someone they love.

The hubby and I went to see one of the natural wonders of the world last weekend.  It was very cool.  We took a quick 6 hour road trip to Niagara Falls.  Since hubby doesn't have a passport we only did the US side, but for anyone who hasn't been there, I recommend it.  Here is a pic we took.

Kaylee and I went to an estate sale last Saturday, and what do you think she wanted to buy..... a pop can cozy that looked like a shirt.  She wanted it for her monkey.  I wasn't sure it would fit monkey but she was confident. Turns out she had a good eye.  Here is monkey being pushed on the swing, and playing on the bar in his snazzy new shirt.

Look how lush my wheelbarrow still is.  It's my favorite thing this summer.

And for anyone who would enjoy one of my hand crafted folkart dragonflies here it is.  This dragonfly is made from an old oak spindles out of a 100+ year old kitchen chair back, with eyes made from grommets, eyelets, and flashing wings.  It sits on a small steel rod.

All you have to do is leave a comment about what you like about the dragonfly and your name so I can contact you after a winner is chosen.  Very easy :)  I will pick a winner Sunday 9/16th.