Supporting Fine Arts and Crafts #1

Visiting Midwest Artist-Kellie Truppa

Good morning, grab a cup of coffee and sit down

and enjoy some NEW stunning artisan works by Kellie Truppa.

Every now and then, I'm going to showcase an artist who works with an OLD vintage feel, or GREEN recycled materials, or is just darn gorgeous. 

And, Kellie Truppa's work demonstrates all of these.

OldNewGreenRedo

Unbelievably, this was Kellie's first art show, and she has apparently been doing this intricate beadwork for quite awhile. We found her at a small art fair on the square in Palatine, Illinois earlier this month. Her inspiration for this piece was the ceramic medallion as the focal point.

OldNewGreenRedo

 I love the way she echoes the motifs and works them through the whole piece.

While we gushed and 'ooh-ed and ahh-ed', Kellie told us she is basically self taught. She chooses natural stones or materials and found pieces...and 

lets the key focal dictate her other choices of beads and stones. 

I can't emphasize how gorgeous these pieces are. The subtle mix of the natural stones and iridescent beads, besides the intricate designs, were breathtaking.

OldNewGreenRedo

She had quite a few larger pieces elegantly displayed on black velvet 

and a few accessories in her booth. 

One side was filled with bracelets, that my pictures didn't quite catch. 

So I'm just going to show these stunning necklaces.

OldNewGreenRedo

Here you can see the wide variety of beads and stones she uses, 

all had stitched onto a backing and then lined with microsuede. 

I should have taken a picture of the back of one of her unfinished pieces,

 as the web of threads is art work in itself.

OldNewGreenRedo

 I love the Egyptian feel of this piece. 

We recommended she contact the Natural History Museum gift shop here in Chicago, 

for that venue would be perfect for this gorgeous work.

OldNewGreenRedo

Here the natural Carnelian and Malachite stones and beads are accented 

with several different kinds of gold and metallic beads.

 Exquisite!

OldNewGreenRedo

 Here's Kellie generously sharing her process and her goody box of unfinished pieces, 

each one more beautiful then the last.

OldNewGreenRedo

The box of works in progress.

OldNewGreenRedo

 Here is how she begins a work...starting with the focal bits and then building out. 

All the beads are stitched onto a base of felt like fabric. 

She told us everything is double stitched so nothing will ever become detatched or lost. 

OldNewGreenRedo

I love the rustic look of this piece with the wood-like stones surrounded with the pearl beads. 

The backing is eventually trimmed away and the face-lined with microsuede. 

The edges are then enclosed by beading and stitching the collar shut. 

OldNewGreenRedo

Wow! This one is going to be a stunner, I can see it now...with just a touch of bling with those iridescent Czech glass cabochons encircled with stone-toned beads. 

STUNNING!

OldNewGreenRedo

Kellie says, she is never quite sure where the design is going to take her and takes the organic approach of 'going with it for the ride'.

Even the simpler designs are intricate, 

here the focal stone dictates the bead rings in the collar. 

Remember every stone and bead is double stitched 

to the backing with amazing craftsmanship.

OldNewGreenRedo

Kelli has yet to start a website...but can be reached by email, please send your comments or inquiries to her or here, because this work needs to be appreciated and seen. 

Kellie Truppa -- k.truppa@att.net

Hope you enjoyed visiting an artist's work.

 I will be linking here to the following sites:

Lets Talk Vintage 

Vintage Inspiration Party

What's IT Wednesday 

Share your Cup Thursday

Sandi

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Fall Arrangement for Our Porch

Fall Arrangement for Our Porch

Hope you all had a beautiful weekend.

The weather was gorgeous here in Chicagoland and I was busy in the garden, attending a fab art show, my writer's group and the grand baby here all day on Sunday. 

Temperatures have dropped, but the pumpkins are still GREEN in the garden. 

This morning, I had to REDO my porch one more time.

In My last post I had begun to make Happy Fall on our front porch. 

There were a few places still waiting for some Fall action though. 

OldNewGreenRedo

This hale bale just screamed---FALLIFY me. 

The lime dracena plant so much like too-green cornstalks. 

Behind a corner shelf is full of some house plants that will be back in the house soon. 

But, what to use, here?

Years ago before we had the patio furniture, I had a big round table 

staged in the corner every season, with a big arrangement or artifact display. 

So I went in search for my OLD antique gray graniteware coffeepot.

OldNewGreenRedo

Then I remembered my Junkin' in Grannys' Garage post and the marvelous bucket of flowers

 I found to REDO with.

I have to confess, my original antique/craft shop had a garden theme. 

And everything was filled with flowers, greenery, fruits, vegetables, or some sort of rocks, moss or candles. I have tons of product left, as I closed rapidly before I could sell it all. 

Thinking I would do shows, I kept way too much.

So now, all I have to do is go to the basement and dig---and it's all there. 

(I have donated tons---though and only kept what I actually love.)

OldNewGreenRedo

Here's the OLD Graniteware coffeepot filled with rustic wildflowers, grasses and thistles. 

I always use naturals mixed with silks to add a GREEN element.

Normally I would use five sunflowers as focal points, but that was just too much. 

So there are three dark purple Delphiniums, three Cattails, five of those burgundy thistle balls, 

five multi stems of brown-eyed Susans from a bush, the three Sunflowers, one triple stem of Queen Anne's Lace, half a gray bush of some sort of grain stem, 

and lots of naturals/grasses, twigs, zebra grass, curly ting-ting and more.

OldNewGreenRedo

Here is how the arrangement looks in its designated corner. 

TIP:When doing arrangements for outside---avoid using

 any hand-wrapped berries or high-end flowers. 

Less expensive stems will hold up longer. 

Nothing in this arrangement was over $5.00 a stem at today's prices… 

and most suppliers sell NEW florals on SALE discounted 50% off every other week.

 Estimated cost for this selection would be $30-35 at sale prices.

Custom done----way more! LOL.

OldNewGreenRedo

Heres a wide shot with a bitty pumpkin from our garden and 

the dracaena (cornstalks) next to it. The little cherub plaque looks on adoringly.

I think its just the right amount of color pop needed here.

OldNewGreenRedo

Closeup on the grasses and other elements in the design. 

Choosing naturals, helps to make the arrangement look not so 'designed'.

OldNewGreenRedo

Lots of grasses and structure elements in the back support the flowers. 

We have heavy wind here and I know from experience to arrange this way. 

Also weigh down your outdoor containers.

 Rocks are in the bottom of the coffeepot and three blocks of floral foam, 

so the stems are inserted deep into the container.

 I attached picks to stems or gobs of hot glue to really secure things. 

TIP: The test of a well done arrangement is to turn it upside down and shake it. 

Nothing but tiny bits of moss should fall out. 

OldNewGreenRedo

 This shows the backside fan structure in this 3/4 arrangement. 

I knew I would only be using this arrangement for this space, 

so I designed it front facing and sized for that particular spot. 

You can see how cheap the cattails are. 

It's hard to find quality cattails, for some reason, 

so I always use them in the rear of my fall arrangements.

OldNewGreenRedo

"Fall is Pumpkin Time!"

Behind is the OLD chalkboard I used in my brick and mortar shop, 

BarberryLane, to announce specials or just to say 'Welcome'. 

OldNewGreenRedo

Speaking of Pumpkins, my squirrel decorator continues 

to enhance my pots and displays with walnuts. 

This one was found right in the back corner of the frame, 

so I moved it up front. 

Squirrel said, "One always needs a bit more green."

Thanks for stopping by, if you have any questions, please ask.

Linking at these Fab blog parties this week:

Inspire Me Monday 

Amaze Me Monday

Something to Talk About 

Monday Funday link party

Inspire me Tuesday

Make it Pretty Monday

Tweak it Tuesday 

Vintage Inspiration Party

What's IT Wednesday 

Share-your-cup-Thursday

Grammys Grid 121 Fall Crafts Decor

Sandi

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Finally Beginning Happy Fall!

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Beginning Fall on the Front Porch

Good Morning, it's finally FALL!

Slowly I have been starting to do Fall as temperatures have finally gone down in Chicagoland. Yesterday was spent in the garden, pulling up done plants, 

and trying to find our pumpkins and squashes. 

Not the best year--all my pumpkins are very small,

except for two FairyTales (one in a tree) which are not even a bit orange yet.

So last June, I found this NEW great greenhouse garden frame for $4.00 at a craft store discount aisle,  I showed it in an early post here: Somethings Old….

 I thought this would be great for a REDO vignette for Fall, with the rich rust coloring on the metal.

I wanted to use different things this year on the refurbished porch, 

I thought this would be a great addition for cool Fall nights, an OLD kerosene lantern.

Here is a closeup of my Grandfather's watchman's lantern cleaned up from an early post:

Junkin' in the Garage

I confess the garden-shed frame was tucked away behind the settee on the porch all summer. The porch was a mess, undergoing new railings and stairs---with NEW 'out of stock' materials since May---holding up the whole show for almost six months--that's a YELP story for another day.

Still not 100% done, the porch is ready to style a bit and use now.

 We bought the larger pumpkin at the local grocery store, as ours were too small. 

The gourds are from years past; dried and left natural grown in our own, GREEN, garden. 

 Everytime I walk by, I fiddle with the gourds, and occasionally 

find a walnut stored in there by one of our local squirrels.

Do they really think the corner of the stairs and my Fall vignette is a hiding place?

 I did spray the gourds with some Johnson's Wax-Pledge when they were fully dry to enhance the color and seal in the dustiness of the gourds.

Here's our Zinnia's--oops we found out they were Sunflowers in July. I picked one of the dried blossoms and used it for the 'GREEN' element in the front.

Another sprig of smaller sunflowers was put in the back. 

Adding a few pinecones and that is pretty much it. 

I'm sure this will change when my Fall bins are delivered by hubby, from upstairs in the garage.

The craft wood Scarecrow was from a painting project I taught at Michael's back in the 1990's. I taught free-hand painting without patterns---back then, which was out of the norm. 

Somewhere I have a photo  of 14 of these all painted differently by the students.

This scarecrow is a favorite of the Grandbaby as the arms move up and down. He has long since lost his "Pumpkins for Sale" wired sign. My gosh, he is OLD and vintage now.

A straw hay bale waits over in the corner with the houseplants, for a pumpkin or two or three--

they are really small!

The pensive angel tile was a NEW rescue from 'HomeGoods' two seasons back.

The one plant that was very happy outside this summer was my Rosemary--I'm wondering where on earth I am going to keep it in the house this winter. It smells so good.

Here's a  view of the entire seating area--with a lightweight throw REDO

 for those cool nights-perfect color for the porch from GoodWill-$2. 

I added smaller mums in the summer planter box.

 Granpa's OLD lantern and a stoneware candle pot from my potter days, probably from the 1980s finish off the table top. A REDO antique crate serves as a table between the chairs. 

So Finally---beginning Happy FALL, 

from my front porch to yours.

Sharing at these great blog parties :

Share Your Cup Thursday

Friday Features Linky Party

Feathered Nest Friday

Best of the Weekend

Share it One More Time 

Funky Junk Upcycled Link Party 

DIY Sunday Showcase 

All Things Pumpkin Showcase  

Sundays at Home

Vintage Charm

And Always, Thanks for stopping by, 

Sandi

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Junkin' Finds with a touch of *Fall*

Fall leaves sprinkled on 5 Libbey OLD Fashioned glasses-1960s 

These have gold and some GREEN sprinkled on them. Haven't seen this pattern before. 

They have the cursive L on the bottom, definitely Libbey.

GREEN Depression glass oval bowl, perfect.

I will have to research this---identifying OLD depression patterns can be tedious, but I will...or maybe make a present with these, below.

 

 GREEN, These two small wines have leavesy on the also and are unusual, marked Glen, Colorado.

 Gilding is still almost perfect, these will be a gift for a friend.  

A small pocket mirror, unmarked silverplate or sterling, will go on Grandma's dresser for the Grandbaby to look at herself in.

 Going to have to polish hard on this one, but perfect for little hands.

 Notice the tablecloth, 90" round hopsacking, rusty red, NEW never been used...$2 and a keeper for  my huge kitchen table.

The compass is unusual, almost looks to be OLD celluloid, totally unmarked will have to do an 

item search on this. The type style makes me think at least as OLD as the 1950s, perhaps much older.

 

 Two really nice NEW faux artichokes. Look to never have been used, perfect for Fall decor.

 

I confess to a horrible addiction to OLD tins. Any kind of tin, especially the British ones. 

This is sweet, not in perfect condition, bits of rust on the knob...I don't care, 25 cents.

 

Super deal of the day! 

Two frames with triple mattes around vintage prints. 

Will save these for my bedroom REDO. Oh...10cents each...honest-ta-goodness!

 

 Nice bunch of OLD silverplate, simply marked Community.

8 Soup spoons but only 2 teaspoons...12 knives, 12 forks, 8 salads, and a few serving pieces. I may use this to supplement my silver and then try to find the teaspoons.  ONLY $5.00

 Cute OLD silver tray on feet. Small with some brass showing through--or is it GOLD, lol.

 Early in the week, I bought a Vintage Barbie Horsie, all by itself.

Sunday, I found the blanket, curry comb, brushes, riding hat, spats, sponge brush, buckets, pitchfork 

and SADDLE. Also a Few clothes and accessories for Barbie/Ken. Huge bag of goodies--50cents.

I have been collecting furniture and parts for a NEW Barbie Dollhouse 

we are going to make for Christmas.

Now we have to add a stable....golly!

 Very cute Christmas bird cage---in a wall bag from Savers this week.

But will be perfect for the Barbie House! 

Barbie, of course will have excellent, OLD< NEW<GREEN< REDO taste!

I loved this, Botannical print all the way around, and some light gold here and there. 

I may REDO and antique this up a bit more...

Love the fact it is wide but not deep. 

Will end up next to my chair. (I thought when I bought it, would be a container for florals, 

but it's really just too practical and pretty).

 

OLD Garden Globe in Clay. 

 I love architectural details, so I will find a place for this somewhere in the yard. 

It's quite big and heavy, but needs some mold on it. 

Buttermilk sprayed on it a few times, and it will age and be GREEN in no time. 

It was fun getting out in the junkin' world, been stuck at home way too much this summer. 

And Fall garage sales are always great---sellers are motivated, 

to get their garages clean for winter here in Chicagoland.

Linking to these great parties:

Inspire me Tuesday 

Make it Pretty Monday 

Let's Talk Vintage 

Vintage Inspiration Party

Share Your Cup Thursday

Share Your Style 

Thursdays Favorite Things  

Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

And always, thanks for stopping by, 

Sandi

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle