Today's Color is RED!

I sit here at home on yet another cold, dreary, rainy morning eating a chocolate pop-tart and drinking hot green tea. I didn't plan my post for today to be all about the projects that I've made to be about the color red, it just sorta ended up that way & I can't believe I even thought to run with it for a blog post! LOL! What perfect color though to get myself out of the gray mood the weather has put me in?!

First, a little history on why I made the first project(s). I remember seeing a small picture in one of my Country Sampler magazines that had a cute Christmas vignette in all white with lots of pops of bright RED in it. VERY striking! But, in all there was to look at in this small glimpse was this pair of red and white painted Dutch shoes that was hanging between the fireplace and the mantel. I don't know what it was about them, but they just intrigued me and piqued my interest out of everything in the photo. I think I have always found them interesting, especially as a child when my aunt and uncle brought back a tiny souvenir of them from Holland, MI. In the past few years my family have stopped in at Holland, Michigan a few times, and I was even tempted to buy a decorated shoe then, but couldn't justify the cost of a shoe I couldn't even get a complete pair of, nor wear! LOL!

Then, at some point earlier this year when my hubby was between jobs, we went to our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and there was one shoe in there for $1. I had it in my hands, but put it back. I thought about it overnight & went back the next day to get it, and it was gone! stupid. me. :^(  But I waited and was rewarded late this past summer when I stopped at a garage sale that had a pair for $5. They were MIIIIIINE! Now I had to go back and find that picture, which luckily, I started a craft inspiration journal and put the picture in there. For once I was a little organized and knew exactly where to look! PSSSHHH! I gotta tell ya, THAT don't happen too often! So, I guess it was meant to be done!

This is how they turned out. They were originally just the natural wood with yellowed polyurethane coating before. I had to prime them in white to get the bright red look, even though the paint I used had the built in primer from Krylon. Boy, does that stuff smell and for a really long time too! They have finally de-scented at this point, but it's been about a month in doing so. (TIP: if you're interested in the Krylon Dual spray paint, you've been forewarned about the stank!) I cut out the designs in white vinyl with my Cricut. I wanted them to look Christmasy without having a Christmas theme. It makes it easier to sell things if they have a longer display life in someone's home.

My next RED project is simpler and falls into the more rustic look. Over the years, I have bought jar candles with aspirations of making them prettier than just the color of wax filling them. I've done a few, but not enough to reduce the amount of inventory I have. LOL! I seen an idea in the current Christmas Idea magazine I recently purchased and even though I found a few ideas in there, I didn't get the quantity or quality or ideas I was hoping for. I did, however, find the idea for this!

The picture in the magazine had a starfish on it instead, but I have been wanting to find something to do with this cool chair strapping...I just didn't know exactly what. I don't even know why I didn't think of this myself, but I did come up with the idea to stencil the stars on it & I even had the right color of Plaid Folkart Burgundy acrylic paint on hand that matched pretty darn close! I thought it would look cute to have the backside laced up if someone wanted that look or they can turn it around. I'm debating about putting a red 3D chipboard star on the lid for interest. I'm concerned with durability....we'll see.

Since I had red ticking fabric left over from my "believe" box that you can check out here, I decided to make the red ticking fabric version of the stuffed primitive star ornaments that I have made out of plain tea stained muslin.These also have a rusty jingle bell on one side and a button on the other like the others. Sorry I don't have pics of those. These have been tea stained lightly to give it a warm vintage look. I don't know why, but this fabric reminds me of Christmas and it really reminds me of my grandma's house with her red tick feather bed, pillows and her heavy handmade quilts that could have suffocated a cow! I still have the one that she sent home with my mom when I was a child. It's not very pretty at all, but I treasure it & it actually would probably be really trendy looking by today's rustic standards. I had to stay with my grandma on a number of occasions growing up, and my memories of her are quite fond - even though she was a fairly quiet person, she was sweet and kind with a strength that you just knew she had.

And so with that, I believe that is all of my RED posts for today with a couple of past memories tossed in for my own sake.  I guess it's time I need to get busy on more stuff so I can try to keep this blog going and have plenty of stuff for my shows. If you're new to my blog, I'd love for you to leave me a comment so I can say Hello back!

God Bless and have a great day! :^D