Small Treasures!

The thing that turns something ordinary into something extraordinary is always just the little "extra". The extras that you add, things that make you happy, may in turn bring a smile to someone else's face. Maybe not to everyone, but then that is ok, too. As long as a single smile is generated, any effort is well worth the doing. Yesterday, I posted a picture of some old table and chair legs. I had visions of wonderful things that would leap out of that pile and maybe be useful once again. Up-cycling! Sure, sure it could be called recycling but I do like the word up-cycling. A new and improved mousetrap, so to speak.

Today, I went through the motions of all my daily chores, pondering..just pondering possible crafts involving wood-turnings. The tomatoes were picked, herbs planted and beans weeded..I pondered. The laundry was washed and hung out to dry..I pondered. The kitchen was cleaned and a pot of chicken soup was cooked..I pondered. Finally! That pile of glorified sawdust and kindling wood got the best of me and I quit work. Time to play!

I pulled out the saw, glue-gun and paints, I knew what would be the first creation. Hopefully, the end result would be the same as what was in my head. Grabbing a spindle, I sawed it in half. I am not sure why I did this but it seemed highly important at the time..so I cut! Time to paint! Remember now, this wood was all rescued from Hurricane Katrina debris piles..it was dried from being in the salt water. It soaked up layer after layer of paint. Had I been smart and primed the thing first, perhaps two coats would have sufficed. No..not me..I am too impatient for prime coats. I want to paint color! I want to see results..not prime coats! Six coats of paint and finally I was pleased with what I saw. I think she turned out rather cute considering her humble beginnings. Her body is the broken chair leg, arms are pieces of a clothespin, the base is a can lid and her wings are made from copper wire that was pulled from trash pile. All up-cycled! Even the wooden beads and ribbon are salvaged from the junk drawer.

An hour and forty-five minutes later, she posed on the window ledge for her first portrait. My first chair leg angel! My Goodness, Angel, you look sweet!