Sweet Annie Prim Hang Tags

I have just finished some hang tags. I have listed them on the website so go check them out. I will post pics and if your interested grab them. They are scented and grungied up with my concoction of different spices and coffee and tea. I really enjoyed making these. They are heavily scented and also sealed for protection. I plan on doing some more as the season changes to winter I love doing those. I usually put them on my products but there great on gifts or to hang on the tree. If you would like a larger amount just email me and i'll get to work. Thank you again for looking in.

Sleeping Ginger!

Hello guys...This is a gourd that I painted early in the year. It is also a lamp. It stands 10" tall and 28" around. It is a kettle style gourd. I have painted gingerbread guys on it. With flour, and sugar bags at their feet. I am going to place on the website for sale. Get over there and check it out. It is a one of a kind. The gourd is painted all the way around with Blue velvet for the sky, and Asphaltum for the ground. The gingerbread men are different colors of browns. I know the one pic is a little blurry but I wanted you to see that it is lit up. It has the moon and stars cut out at the top. I used the famous mini tool to do this. It is a fabulous little saw. Thanks for peeking in to see what i've created again.

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I'm Finished!

Well what do ya think. I finally finished it. I added a hang tag which has 2 acorns, and an oak leaf to continue the theme. It reads Fall Harvest. I also attached some homespun and sweet annie to the hang tag. I inserted a 7 watt light into the gourd. The way that I do this is using a 1" hole saw, I cut a hole in the back of the gourd. I do this before any painting begins. I also seal my gourds with gesso before I paint them. After I cut the leaves out I cleaned the gourd out. There are some places that have this cool tool to clean the inside of the gourd. One place that has them is Welbourn Gourd Farm here in Fallbrook California. I don't have one, it's on my list. I did it the hard way, scraping and using my hands. Once my gourd is finished painting and sealing I insert the light. The lights are corded and have a snap in effect. Perfect little night light. What's really neat is at night the designs that are cut out appear around your room or on your ceiling. So with this little lamp they will have leaves and acorns around there room. Well I hope you enjoyed this little project. Let me know what you think of it. If you would like me to make one for you please contact me through the comment section at the end of this post or email me. Check out my profile for my email address. Thank you again for looking on as I create. Have a great day.
Oh yea the window it's coming I'll work on it some more this week. Hang in there.

Good morning to all. I didn't put up the pics last night. I worked on it till 12:30 last night. It isn't completely finished. I have to put a scripture on it and seal it. I also have to add a hang tag and some sweet annie to it. I also have to put the light in it. Well thank you for looking in on my blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures. The colors I used for the leaves are antique goldenrod, gingerbread, and antique moss green. I also spattered the gourd. I really like the way it turned out. Can't wait to complete it.

Gourds Gourds Gourds

Well hello fellow bloggers...As you can tell the window is not reached any progress. What you see in the past pictures is as far as I have gotten. But I have started a gourd that I have to finish this weekend and this is what I did to it a couple of days ago. I am going to paint it as well. I have cut (with a mini saw to gauge size I placed it next to a mason jar.)out oak leaves, maple leaves, and acorns. After I got it all cleaned out I painted it with ochre and gingerbread. Now I am going to paint oak, and maple leaves also acorns on the gourd. Once it is all finished I will place a 7 watt light into it and make a little lamp. This is the beginning of what I have done. I am going to add pictures later on tonight so hang in there.
Linda

Hump Day!

Oh goodness 2 more days till FRIDAY! Whewhoo. Well I sent out emails with my blog and my website and I get a message back from my Loving brother. What do I want your blog for What the heck is it? Hmmm well now he's going to peek in here and see that I wrote about him.
I have been scrubbing gourds in case anyone wants to know. I have tons of ideas I just need some time to put them on gourds. I like for my time to be quiet and alone for me to paint. It's like my own little world. No, one saying Mom i'm hungry, or can you cut my hair, or whatever it is that someone needs. I want some work time so to speak. Just so you know I haven't finished that window...I will and you'll be the first ones to see it...
Two more months and the magazine comes out. I am so excited I want to show you what I did but I can't. You'll just have to wait for the magazine. Create and Decorate. December issue. Well have a great day and I'll be back.

Manic Monday!

Well good afternoon to all. Today is a beautiful breezy day here in Southern California. I have listed some items on Etsy and Old Primitive Sisters Marketplace. Just search Lakin on etsy and when you go to the website of Old Primitive Sisters Marketplace there you will find my items.
I have been drumming up ideas for more submissions. I am thinking of something with everyones favorite...A HO! HO! I am thinking of a gourd....We'll see fellow friends. If anyone has a request for something for me to paint please let me know.
Let me see if I can think of a tip for you painters...
I find that when painting with red if you use green as a base coat then paint your red you don't have to do as many coats. It also makes your red a little deeper.
Tea staining prims...this is good information I use coffee grounds as well as a tea bag. This makes a deeper staining. I boil my tea bag and coffee grounds and then dip my item in the soup de jour so to speak. You can also add vanilla for a light scent. If I want them to look a little older I put them in the oven on the lowest setting for about 10 minutes. If I see smoke I'm in trouble.
If you have some tips you would like to share feel free to leave them in the comment section and I will post them crediting you with the tip.

Windows

As you can see in the photos they are sanded down pretty good. I used 60 grit and it went so much faster. Then I'll come in and use 180 grit sandpaper to remove burs and splinters. After it is sanded down I will apply Americana lamp black paint to the whole frame. Front and Back. Then I will apply a clear mulsti purpose sealer to the glass so that the paint will adhere to the panes. I freehand my scene with either a regular pencil or a watercolor pencil. The water color pencil is the best because as you paint it disappears. Once I have finished my painting I seal it with an indoor outdoor matte varnish. Then I take and frost the back of the glass to make it look wintery or hazey. Like when your in a super warm house and its cold outside and you have the frost on the window. I will take pics as I go along so you can see this. If you have questions please comment me.

Have a great day fellow artists.

Wacky Wednesday!

Haha I took some pics of the window...Whewhoo! I am going to upload them for you. I finally got my belt fixed on my sander. What an accomplishment and it made sanding the old windows soooo much easier. I have recently gotten back onto the Old Primitive Sisters website. I will be selling my items on there so please check it out. It's been a little crazy around here because of the fires in Southern California. I live right behind Camp Pendleton so I have been busy preparing if we have to evacuate for the fires. I had to load up Betsy! Betsy is my husbands pride and joy. His Jeep! Anyone whom is married to a man who owns a Jeep will understand this kind of behavior. He wasn't at home so I had to do this. I loaded her up on the trailer all by myself. So she's ready to go. So that's what has prolonged the uploading and attention to my blog.
I have also listed some items on ebay. A lantern and A star. I will post pics of them as well. If you would like to see my items just go into ebay and type in OPSG in the search bar and it will bring up all the items in the group and scroll down and you will see my lantern and barn star. So here is the pics. First the window and then the lantern and star.

Thank Gosh it's FRIDAY!

Well as you last looked in you read that my belt broke and I had to get a new one. Well I got a new one and guess what! It was the wrong size...go figure. Just my luck sometimes. So I didn't finish my window...and no I didn't post the pics of it sanded. Today I will take pics of a barn star that I painted, and I promise i'll take pics of the window.

This weekend my neighbor is going to take 2 of my lanterns and a couple of stars to a show. I am excited. This will be the first things that I sell in California. I so hope they like my creations.

Did you see my logo? Well that lady on the banner is my Grama. She's the one that inspired me and her gourds are what got me started. The table she's painting at is the same table that I paint on. She was 11 years old in that picture. I loved my grandmother dearly she was one of my best friends. I learned alot from her, I spent many summers with her crafting, traveling and playing in the dirt. Those are some of my fondest memories, spent at my grandparents house. There's a little peak into where my business name came from and a little sneak at my life.

Something for sale!

I have placed one of my lanterns on ETSY. You can view it if you click on the ETSY mini. Check it out.

No I haven't taken a pic of my window....I got disgusted my sanding belt broke so I have to get another one. I really want to get this started because I have a show I want to take it too...Hang in there guys.
Have an awesome day.

Lanterns....I'm Hooked!

I painted another lantern. All I have to do is find the scripture for it sign it and seal it and it's done. I know I said I was going to do that window...Well I sanded it down. What I do is find old style windows from old houses. I sand down the old paint off the window. I then paint it with primitive looking colors, such as barn reds, blacks, deep dark greens, and mustards. Only the wood part. Once that is done I start on the paynes,I frostt the paynes then I paint a wintery snowman scene, or a fNew England style scene. In the am I will take a pic of the unsanded side, then the sanded side. I did at least sand it...So tomorrow you will see the start...Have a great evening ladies and fellas..

Ahhhh! It cooled off today!

What a beautiful day I had today. The weather was like fall, cool and crisp, what a refreshing day. I have been painting away. I have a barnstar that I finished. It has a snowman on it. I'll just post a pic. I started on the window that I am going to paint. I sanded two edges, the paint is really thick and old. I don't want to use a paint stripper because that is such a harsh chemical. So I just sand away. I will take pics I promise so you can see what I do. Trust me it is a slow process. But the finished product is so worth it. Well it's late and I really should be sleeping so good night to all. I'll leave you with a pic of my barn star.

What I've been doing besides melting from the heat!

Well hello everyone! I have been painting...hahahaha! I have some pics for you guys. I am sending these with my neighbor to a craft show here in San Diego. I am trying to paint and watch a little guy at the same time, which if anyone of you have little ones, you know this is virtually impossible....But I have succeeded. haha! But as you can see I have only done 2 lanterns. I have some old windows that I would like to get out and sand down then paint. Maybe this afternoon I will do that. I'll take some pics of the process so you can see. Whewhoo sounds like fun huh. Ok here's my lanterns enjoy. The Halloween one was inspired by Deb Richey...She's a very talented artist and I really admire her work.