The Homeless Finch Has Found Her Nest: Projects, Plans and Peace

Jehane Lyle, Watercolor on paper, "Cuppa" - detail

This week has been a complete blast.  Getting my hands back into creativity has been wonderful. I had actually forgotten how much I really enjoyed up-cycling furniture.  I've been elbow deep in tiles, thin set, cutting wood, fixing drawers with glue and clamps, painting, cutting, pasting, staining, sanding and creating instant patinas.  I'm constantly searching online, on the side of the road and the occasional stop at a thrift store for little treasures in need of a redesign.

I've got several projects in the works and many more waiting in the wings.  I find myself constantly planning The Homeless Finch's initial and longer term inventory.  As I work with my hands, my mind is in a whirl of creativity and ideas.  I am sorting through and developing an action plan, a philosophy and setting goals.  My mind wanders through my storage areas remembering so many great things that I have collected over the years.  So many unusual objects that I've been hanging onto for 'that day.' I'm developing how this business will play a role in service within my tiny community.  I make decisions to only sell local made items with the intent to showcase the artisans of the valley and give them an avenue to sell their creations. My friend Jehane is an artist and an art restoration expert.  She has been creating a series of fun, whimsical water color books and paintings on paper (image above) and we are planning how she will be offering these yummy artistic treats for sale in the shop once it opens. Everything feels right. 

Eric's shelves (detail)

Eric has been busy building custom shelves for a client on the west side of town.  His precision is arresting to me.  The project has multiple odd angles and measurements and he is completely enjoying the challenge.  I ponder over how together we make such a great partnership. We understand each other, but also compliment each other at the same time.  He helps me problem solve even if it's his silence that speaks strongly! (HA)

I am working on a complete re-design of a desk, rescuing a small stand with paint and tile and designing a new tile top table out of natural stone, granite and marble.  Each project has challenges and I am enjoying the twist and turn that come as the process is revealed. 

I would normally ask myself, "Why did I ever stop creating for The Homeless Finch?"  But I already know the answer.  Where I used to live didn't have a market and no one was interested up-cycled creations.  In so many ways, I was a finch fish out of water!  California is different.  These are my people.  It's a state full of souls who love the environment, try to conserve our resources and celebrate renewal.  It is here in this tiny little Ojai Valley that The Homeless Finch has finally found her nest and I am home. 

Desk Re design in progress (detail)

The Homeless Finch Makes It's First Rescue

Another Upcycle, but of a different nature

A little over six months ago, we were on our way out of town to see my adult kids in Los Angeles.  As we got to the edge of town, this little sweetheart of a vintage truck came rambling by in the opposite direction. Almost giving myself whiplash, I swung my head around just in time to see a 'For Sale' staring at me from the back window.  Conflict ensues.... Do I keep on the path to be on time to see F.G. and Mimi? Or do I turn it around and chase this rusty crusty red pick up down and inquire.  Well, my kids would have to wait and I hoped they'd still love me.

The chase!

I've been accused of being impetuous. I'm okay with the moniker because I have found that whenever I go with my gut and run in the directions of my crazy ideas, it usually works out very well...most of the time. (wink)  This was no different in my mind.  We chased old rusty down driving all around Ojai trying to safely catch up and take a closer look.  Within an hour, I had negotiated a deal, gone to the bank and snagged her for my own and took off to meet up with my kids! They forgave me the moment they saw the pics!

 Over the last half year, we have spent a few dollars getting a few things fixed on her, but have come to the decision to take her renovation to the next level.  There is a guy here in Ojai, C.J., who can help us upcycle this truck into a very usable vehicle and we have decided to send her off for surgery.  Currently, we are searching for a 'donor vehicle.' It's kinda like a donor organ, only more involved like putting a new body on a beautiful face. Sounds gross... Let me re-state this.  We are searching for a discarded/totaled old Chevy Suburban type vehicle in order to harvest it's engine for our little red gem.  Once we locate it, C.J. will begin the renovation. 

Once the transplant has taken place, we will be commissioning her to represent The Homeless Finch as our mascot truck. We are both super excited about this endeavor and I will update you on our progress. 

This past weekend, The Homeless Finch made it's first acquisitions for the new shop.  Today, I will start to sort through the finds, design and plan for their upcycle and jump right back into making this dream happen.  Onward....

The Start of Something New for The Homeless Finch

"All life is a journey; which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there." - A Little Book of Happiness

I started this blog in 2011 with the idea that I would be able to share my ideas and give inspiration and instruction to whomever might be interested in the same things that I was...art, upcycling, re-newing that which is vintage, exploring flea markets, gardening and surrounding myself with the things that I love and in which I found value towards making a life well worth living.

After many years and several life changing events, which took me away from blogging, I now live in beautiful Southern California; a dream of mine since I was a teen. I bought a circa 1928 Spanish Style bungalow in the Ojai Valley and am hard at work renovating, decorating, redesigning and loving my new creative and peaceful life here. I've met a wonderful best friend and partner, Eric.  You will be meeting him soon too since he will play a major role in the future of The Homeless Finch.

For those newer people in my life, I haven't addressed 'why The Homeless Finch?'  I am a serial upcycler and re-purpose-aholic, vintage maven, fixer upper. I have the compulsive need to rescue all that is homeless. The funny little lost and discarded treasures I find bringing them into my life to make new again... or to which I give new purpose.

Today, we opened an account and filed for an official limited liability corporation in the State of California, The Homeless Finch LLC.  The goal is to open a small retail space (brick and mortar and online) sometime within 2018, but we have a ton of work ahead of us to plan, build an inventory and scout out an appropriate location here in Ojai. We are also in the middle of rescuing this wonderful 1956 Dodge pick up to use as our company vehicle!

The Company Vehicle!

I am excited, after a ton of research and heartfelt exploring of myself, to embark on this great new adventure along with such a wonderfully talented artistic partner. We plan to merge our art, my passion for upcycling, gardening and the work of other Ojai Valley artists and artisans into a jumbled mix of whimsical, useful and fascinating arts, gifts and furniture. 

Nothing should be homeless. Everything is renewable.  At almost 54, I am going to renew myself too...again. Join me on the journey...

Simple Little Work of Art for Someone Who Means the World to Me

My week has been a little trying and I haven't had a ton of time in the studio. I also haven't had the time I would want to read some of my favorite blogs. So if you haven't heard from me, I apologize. Life gets in the way sometimes. Regardless, I wanted to post a mini-project that I did last week.  It was fun, quick and a delightful gift to give to my bestie.

I took this pic...well, I actually stole this pic off of my friend's Facebook page. He posted it a few weeks ago with a caption that read:  Happy Dog.  This is my best friend's Maltese, Missy chilling out at their beach house in Florida.  The overall feel and soft tones in the photo made me want to use it.

I popped it into Picasa and played around with some of the settings and then reduced the photo into a pencil sketch.

After printing the pencil sketch version out on a piece of 8 1/2 X 12 watercolor paper, I washed the different areas of the images with gouache.

As I worked with the medium, I made subtle changes to the image, changing the lines and direction in the foreground, creating a little more drama in the atmosphere and intensifying the depth of the ocean color.  This was a fun, relaxing project and I had a blast delivering it to him at his new art gallery that is under construction as this time.

It's fun to create something for someone you love.  There is a certain nervousness that is involved in such an endeavor, even with something as simple at this little piece of art.  In the end, I think he loved it. After all, it has his sweet Missy in the image.  Who wouldn't like something like that?!  

***

Linking this to 

Paint Party Friday

Artist Dates and Small Works Make for More Than Just Paint

As an artist, I have come to realize how important it is to be connected to a community of creative people.  I love all my friends, whether they are creative or not.  They all play a different role in my circle of friendship. Heck!  My husband isn't a creative and I think he is pretty darn cool himself! But my artist friends understand me at a level that is only possible if you are crazy, weird, nuts sewn together in way that creative thinkers are knitted.

After reading through the first half of Julie Cameron's The Artist Way, I decided to take the initiative to champion a Artist Studio Date once a month with two of my favorite creative friends.  We get together once a month with a sketchbook and limited supplies to create small works of art, but more importantly to connect and talk and share.  The idea is to come with a loose idea of what we might paint on the page.  We paint, chat and stop for lunch. We sip Prosecco and laugh about our lives, our men and bounce ideas off of each other. These ideas are both about our studio work and about our lives.  We are three months into our dates and I wanted to share with you the three pages that I have completed.  

In my bag of tricks I pack drawing materials, a limited supply of brushes and tubes of gouache.  Here are the results of each month's date.

Pic from the first Artist Date

In the above small painting, I came with the goal to just paint something without thinking.  I brought a few brushes, pencils and gouache.  (For those of you who don't know what gouache is, it's a watercolor paint that has nice qualities that allow if needed for a more opaque result than most standard watercolor paints.)  I just did without thinking, laying down a layer of bright yellow and then just adding the elements.  I have glue relief stamps that I made and tossed in the bag that I used to create the square and rectangular shapes.  During the afternoon, one of my friends said, "You can't be erased."  It wasn't a direct comment at me, but an overall pronouncement.  It stuck with me, so I used it in the piece on the bottom right corner.



On our second Artist Date, I brought with me a copy of a photograph that my daughter took of herself to use as inspiration.  Here is the photocopy. It's a somewhat somber image.  She captures herself in many different moods.  I thought this image would be interesting to tackle both thematically and structurally.

Below is the small painting I did based on this photograph.

I decided on a brighter color palette and put down a basic background sketch using pencil.   I made the decision at one point to open her eye because I thought the downward gaze would help me illustrate the mood of the image. We, as a family, have been through a lot in the last few months.  I wanted to document this moment.

This past week, we met in MY studio for the first time. Boy was I excited to host the day.  We all three have come to look forward to getting together to share our work and our lives.  We can say anything and the other person doesn't judge.  We 'get' each other implicitly. Weirdos like other weirdos. Hee hee.

Gypsy the Studio cat!

For this week in addition to the Artist Date, I was attempting to also participate in an online community linky party sponsored by Inspiration Avenue.  Maggie picks a theme each week and all the participants create something based on that theme.  I rarely participate in these parties because my work is my work and I find it hard to paint something that doesn't apply.  The theme this week was "Retro Art 1950s and 60s."  I had the hair brained idea that I would create my Artist Date page based on the work of the 1950s and 60s artist Mark Rothko.  I love his work and thought it would be fun to explore this idea.

It turned out to be not the best idea.  I am not Mark. Will never be Mark. I hated the painting. It didn't feel like me. The rectangles were all off or something.  Couldn't put my finger on it.  Maybe it was that I drank too much Prosecco? (wink)

In the end, I was so unhappy with the painting that I added this random tree.  Why not?  It is what it is for sure.  One of my friends said that the painting reminded her of Jasper Johns, another painter from that time period. So hey, it's my Retro Art. Ha!

An artist's life can be very isolating.  I think it is important to get out with other creative people.  We feed each other.  We validate each other.  Sometimes...we just need to 'be' together, if nothing more than to realize that there are other weird people out there just like us!  It's worth the effort. I promise.

***

I'm linking this post to: 

Paint Party Friday

Inspiration Avenue

Pouting, Painting and Pondering

This week I am in the studio doing small works on paper.  I needed a break from my larger work after my husband left a door open on my studio allowing a gust of wind to turn the painting I blogged about last week into a sail which resulted in a large rip in the canvas.  I could try and repair the rip and continue, but the painting wasn't really working anyway.  I just don't feel like investing the time into something that is already damaged.

I was disappointed. Yes.  I did take most of the day to pout, bitch and complain.  I behaved horribly, which I felt obligated to do. (wink)  Sometimes...ya just gotta stomp your feet and get it all out!

Perhaps he did me a favor.  The event forced me to change course and start on something fresh and new.  My other studio work can wait for a little bit while I explore this avenue.  I am having fun with it.  I showed this one painting to my friends on Facebook yesterday and I have gotten nice feedback.

Gouache and pencil on paper. 6 inch X 6 inch. 

My husband called it whimsical.  Another friend called it bubbly delicious!  I haven't called it anything yet. Which is kinda strange because I usually name every last thing I paint.  Anybody out there care to help a girl out?!  Wanna take a stab at a name?  Who knows....perhaps I will use it.

So, I could have remained stuck in that rip-in-my-canvas moment.  I could have used it as an excuse to impede the momentum that I am attempting to build in my studio work.  To many...including my critical self, that would have been understandable...even justified.

But why?  What was I to gain from remaining in that negative place? What benefit or growth can be achieve if we allow ourselves to be tied down?  There might have been something to gain in that place. I think there is something to learn from in every circumstance.  But I chose to let it go and move on. I chose to untie from that entrapment and explore what a new freedom might offer.

In order to feel good about not languishing in that place, I had to completely switch it up and work in a different manner. My husband knew what was good for him, so he helped me rearrange and clean up my studio space over the weekend. I set up the tables in a different configuration that is more conducive to working on a paper. It's amazing what a little clean up and switch up can do for perspective!  Fresh path.

Who knows to what this path might lead. I think it is worth traveling.  I think that this matters.  I think letting go of what ties us down matters.  It allows us to move on...

“You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.” 

― C. JoyBell C.

***
Linking this post to:
Paint Party Friday

Sometimes Ya Just Gotta Turn Things Upside Down!

There is this thing that happens to an artist while working in the studio. It is inevitable  We all experiences it from time to time. It's like hitting a stone wall. Let me explain...You have this painting in progress.  The problem is...it's stalled. There is no progress.  It's trapped in a place. We stand looking, realizing that there are some very obviously things wrong, but more importantly...there is something elusively wrong too.   Many times we continue to layer paint, add elements, squint at it, turn our heads to one side, stand with puzzled faces and sometimes just plain walk away in disgust!

My friend, Riitta and I also sometimes chose to put those paintings in 'time out.'  I call it putting it in the closet. Riitta calls it the punishment box!  We chose to laugh in spite of our frustrations, because in reality sometimes you just gotta laugh!  So why the rambling over this inevitable circumstance?  Well.... I've got this on an easel wasting the days away in a suspended purgatory...

Painting in Progress

So...the obvious problems?  Just above the mid-level area of this painting, the colors need to change. Obviously?... This painting is far from worked to completion.  So why am I 'stuck?'  It's been like this for days, without an answer.  Sometimes, I will send an image to Riitta to get her take.  But this time...I have just let it sit.  Deep breaths...

Detail - Painting in progress

Okay...so here's my solution. Well, it's not MY solution, it's one of those 'tricks' we are taught along the way. Perhaps, it's just a coping skill we learn...ya know, the skills all of us employ on a daily basis in an attempt to stay sane?!!  I am going to put a Voodoo curse on this painting. Just Kidding!  I thought I had ya there! (wink) I am going to simply turn this painting upside down and start fresh...well, kinda fresh.  I have something on this canvas and I am going to try and re-address it from another perspective.

Many times this technique will help me re-establish a color palette direction. Sometimes it will allow me to correct composition issues.  Sometimes it is just as simple as forcing myself to enter stroke marks from a different direction which can change the overall energy or flow of the painting.  I might also cover a few areas that aren't working for me with gesso.  We shall see what develops in the upside down world.

Regardless...this painting needs the big 'switcherooy!'

So today...I'm flipping out!... uh wait... No.  This painting will be flipping over. Yep...Not me, the painting.  Got it. (Sometimes it feels like both.) Ha! The key to being able to do this? Letting go... Whatever I thought this painting might be, is a thing of the past.  Let's see what happens...

"Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to." Anonymous 

***
Linking this to Paint Party Friday

Finding Answers and Searching for the Recipe One Step at a Time

My son is a musician and a song writer.  He discovered his passion for music at age 13.  In high school, he was an honors student and pretty darn amazing at remembering facts and figures.  He always excelled in the sciences.  He had a gift for understanding scientific concepts.  When he was quite young, he would love to get as gifts large coffee table books covering all sorts of biological and animal life subjects.  He would devour the contents and to this day can still pull up details about strange creatures and organisms.

He is one of those people who is fascinating and is knitted together quite differently from most others. He has the intellect of a geeky kid, but not the personality.   He is extremely outgoing and social.  This fact has made growing up tough for him. Even though he was one of the smartest kids in his classes, he struggled to perform academically because of the negative distractions.  He has not had an easy road. At the age of 18, he has experienced much more hurt and heartbreak then most people do in a lifetime.  His struggles have been epic...but he is a survivor.

I was told once by an elderly lady whom we came into contact with when he was a toddler that I had been given a gift. She told me that I had been given a child that was here to change the world.  Oh course, she was saying this based on his current headstrong and unrelenting behavior, but somehow she saw something in him.  During some of the toughest days as a mother, I would cling to those words, thinking that they meant something.  I told myself that she must have been an angel send with a message.  It got me through a lot.  I am grateful to this day that she took the time to impart her words. We should all do that more often.

Paris 2011. He spontaneously joined a group of street performers. He played for two hours with these guys who had mad respect for him.  He even drew a pretty huge crowd of people.  I think he still sees this moment as one of the
happiness afternoons to date. 

I had always just assumed that both my kids would have a great high school experience.  That my house would be filled with friends and parties, football games and school activities. I assumed that I would be able to guild them into choosing the best, most well selected colleges that would match their passions. I guess that I always thought that if I worked hard and became the best mother on earth, that they could move mountains and that everything would work out just great.  I assumed a lot, but learn oh so much more.  They say that when life throws a curve ball, you better have your mitt ready.  Well, we caught the ball...and we are still trying to recover from the sting...we are also looking for the recipe to the right lemonade.

This image was taken back in 2012 by my daughter, who is a gifted artist and photographer.  I have a ton of images of him throughout the years walking away. Kinda a strange happenstance.  I realized this during the last 6 months...that he always seemed to be walking away, in search of something.  Perhaps we will help him find that something now.

So now we are on a new road.  A new normal.  A one day at a time future.  The recipe is somewhere out there. No doubt Life will point us in a direction.  Life has a way of doing that.  I still believe that I am that great mother who can help my kid move mountains.  It just so happens that we've moved to a new range.

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"

Dale Carnegie

***

Taking a Moment to Breathe. Reflections from the Studio

You may not always have a comfortable life 

and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once 

but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.

Michelle Obama 

The last week has showed me that sometimes hope and courage in combination can move mountains.  Many of you know about the struggles our family has faced over the last year, especially the last 6 months.  There has been a huge turning point to the positive and I am...for the first time in a long long time able to breath again.  The hope that I have held onto so dearly has changed shape going from a desperate hope to a hope that with it carries a smile.  

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else on this earth.  It's gentle and sweet during the easy times, but tenacious and ferocious like a lion when put to the challenge of defending and saving her own.  I know this having experienced it first hand.  Don't mess with the mamma! 

For the first time in my life, I have used my art to get through it all. It has distracted me when I needed to be distracted.  It has comforted me when I needed comforting.  Through this time, I have re-connected with my artist child, clinging to it like a baby clings to it's blanket.  I don't intend on ever letting it go again because I realize that it is so much an important part of who I am.  I am amazed at what I have learned about myself. Without this difficult trial, I might not have ever found my way back to me.

F.G. in Gouache, Gouache and Charcoal on Paper

This was a quick painting based off a photograph that I took back when my son was 12.  He was standing up on a hill in Central Park in New York City.  I saved the photograph for years hoping to use it in the studio.   On a particularly gloomy day, I decided to make this piece using a combination of Payne Grey in Gouache and charcoal. 

The road ahead will not be easy.  But if I have learned anything, I have learned that every path has a purpose...no matter how dark it might be...there is always light somewhere down it. You just gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other.

***
Linking this to Paint Party Friday.

Still Trying to Get By...Snapshots from the Studio

"Traverse," acrylic on canvas. 24 X 30 inches

Well, I thought that I might be able to pull this blog up out of the dust, but life is just too crazy.  Perhaps I will just put tiny thoughts down and post a few images for now.  I am not taking 'professional' photos of the work yet. These are just iPhone snap shots of the paintings on easels in the studio space.

On the right, is one of my recent paintings.  I completed this about a week ago and it is no longer on the easel in my studio as pictured here in this quick snapshot on my iPhone.  It is sitting on the hearth of my fireplace along with a basket holding a blanket.








Here are a few more snapshots of some recent work.  The first one is an older painting that I took back into the studio for a few changes.  Sorry....the pic isn't centered, but hey, it's the best I got for ya now!

"Finding Answers" - Acrylic on canvas. 3 x 5 ft.

This second one is another recently completed painting.

Mood Disorder, Acrylic on canvas 3 feet by 5 feet.

I've have two paintings in progress in the studio.  I just took this quick snapshot of them sitting side by side.

The long, tall canvas is just in the beginning stages. I like to put a background of color down to start.  I just let myself paint and try not to over think the choices.  I know that most of it will be covered up in the end.

The large, square painting has three layers of paint at this point.  I started with straight-out-of-the-tube color in a block style,

Then painted a wash over and added a few opaque areas of white.

Yesterday, I covered the surface with gesso and created a mottled surface with plastic bags.

Here are a few more detailed snapshots of the surface texture.

I will be putting some sort of wash over this surface soon and add some imagery.  Still pondering on this one.

So that is it for now.  My personal life is spinning all around currently, so you will have to excuse my lack of consistency and not-so-great photos.  It's all I can do right now.  I'm okay with that. Hope you are too!

Favorite quote this week:  In dreams and in love, there are no impossibilities.

***

Life is a Journey. The Homeless Finch Returns.

Hey! Hello!  Remember me??!!  My last blog entry was back in August of 2012.  I just dropped off the face of the earth. Well, I didn't really do such a thing.  But I did have an abrupt happening in my life that changed it forever.  I have decided to come back to my blog and start back writing.  It's been too long.  But I have been through an extremely painful time of my life and I just wasn't able to keep up with The Homeless Finch. The places I have been were all too difficult to open up and write about and all too encompassing for me to be able to ignore in my writing. I'm a truthful person...almost to a fault. But I knew what was happening needed to remain private and was all too crazy to share in an open forum like my blog.  Perhaps I will share some of what has happened in a retrospective way in the upcoming weeks.

iPhone Pic from the studio

In every dark day, there comes an enlightenment.  I have learned a lot about myself and have grown exponentially as a person.  Life is a journey. We pack a bag and in it we take ourselves, our heart, our hopes and our dreams.  We live thinking we know certain truths, certain rules, ways of thinking.  As a mother, I have learned that nothing is defined in truths, rules or thinking. We cannot live our lives thinking that if we do all the right things as a parent, that everything will just magically fall into place.  Life is a constant flow of redesigning our paths to fit what lies ahead of us.  It's about finding our true self.  It's about adapting to what is, not what could have been. It's about the simple things, like stopping to notice something sweet in nature...to recognize the beauty around us.  It's about today. It's about right now.


I am currently working on week 5 in Julie Cameron's The Artist Way and will most likely write about my related experiences. I have been writing my Morning Papers religiously for over a month and participating in Artist's Dates bi-weekly. I consider myself an artist in recovery. If you don't know what I am talking about, I will explain in upcoming posts.  I have finally started back painting in the studio and will show you my progress.  I am working toward finally finding my artistic voice; a voice I was not entitled to as a child and have never really been able to find throughout my adulthood.  Life is a journey...

Expect a change in the "look" of my blog coming up soon too!  Glad to be back!

***

The Start to a Cozy Guest Bedroom and Throwing the Towel in on Making Money in the Blog World

These walls are not yellow!  See next image. More accurate.

Just wanted to check in to let you know that things are much better (for now!) around here.  Getting my teens back into school this week has given me a little time to myself.  I have slowed it down a bit around here.  I've also been trying to feed our souls, like making a nice snack in the afternoon for them and still getting the mani/pedi that I so desperately needed to do for myself! That darn hot towel on my legs was to die for!

Okay, slightly blurry and  that lamp cord needs
 to be hidden...but I really don't care.
Spending more time on things I care about! 

In between I have been slowly working on a guest bedroom.  I found a beautiful Ralph Lauren bed ensemble of which I am totally smitten.  I placed the bed off-center from the room and I kinda like the juxtaposition that it creates.  I am using my Pineapple Table as a side table. I picked up that cool mango wood lamp with a burlap lamp shade at a consignment shop that I ducked into yesterday.  Set it up on some of my favorite country style decorating books adding a little ice blue vintage ash tray as a table coaster.  Simple.  (click the highlight Pineapple Table to see that project from last year. Pretty cool)

Love this antique iron bed I picked up
in Atlanta about 12 years ago.

For those of you who have faithfully followed The Homeless Finch, I have an update. I have decided to just blog post when I feel like it.  I will probably not be as consistent as I have in the past.  I am okay with that.  I got all caught up in the "you have to stay consistent to build your blog" mantra.  I thought that I could actually build my blog to a level of making money.  But the truth is that few blogs make enough money to justify the time it takes away from other areas of our lives.  You might hear from me twice in one week, but then not again for a month. Hope you are okay with that.  If not, oh well you are out of luck!

Gonna head out today to haunt a few of my favorite antique and collectible shops.  Taking it slow.  Sometimes, slowing it down is the best recipe for a happier me.  See ya soon!

What's a room without an owl?!!
Thanks to my sis for this little dude!

-The End-

Nature's Promise of a Brighter Day

Woke up this morning to the first bloom on an orchid that I moved from our previous house.  What a beauty.    Is this nature promising me that there is always a chance for renewal?  I think it is...

True confessions...I have been really having a hard time keeping up with my blog lately.  Life outside my blog life as been such a tough up hill battle.  Motherhood has turned out to be tougher than I ever imagined.   There are days that are so hard to face, so hard to keep one foot in front of the other, that the idea of writing about art and home seem so unimportant.  For the past year, I have used The Homeless Finch as my refuge from the daily struggles with one of my kids.  Now, I have reached a point when I can't write about a sofa, a pillow or a painting.  My mind is just too cluttered with sadness.  But don't worry about me, I haven't given up hope.  Nature helps me remember that there is always hope...there is always a chance for brighter days...and there will be.

Just hang in there with me.  I might not blog as much as I have in the past.  I'm okay with that and I hope you are too.

To every thing there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to get, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

-Until Next Time-

Little Worn Out Cabinet Becoming A Cute Little Unit to House Sound Equipment Has Me Singing

We have a little room off our pool we call the Cabana.  It's not really a cabana because it doesn't have running water, unless you count the hose off the side of the outside.  No sink, no bathroom, nothing.  It's kinda just a little 15 X 15 place to rest and enjoy the lake views and chill.  My hubby wanted to put a small sound system out in the space, so that we could enjoy some music while relaxing with a cool beverage.  The problem is that we keep this room wide open at all times and putting sound equipment in this space unprotected was just plain stupid.

We devised a plan to find a little cabinet that we could use to house the equipment.  We know over time that this little cabinet will probably take a beating from the weather, so we didn't want to spend much money.  I have a pretty awesome, under shopped thrift store near my new house, so we set out to find a cabinet.  Lucky us, we found one.  I really like the size, basic lines and the hardware on this little gem.  For $14.95, how could we go wrong?!





The cabinet was in pretty rough condition, with a rut in the top from someone's drink and pitted hardware, I had to get my elbow grease and creativity out to get this job done.

I got to work using AS Chalk Paint in Old White on the cabinet and Rustoleum Metallic Silver spray paint on the hardware that we removed.  I sanded lightly, applying more pressure to the area that had the rut.  Three coats of paint did the trick.

Even my not-so-crafty hubby helped out with the hardware.

Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and is super amazing at what he does for a living.  Let's just say, he isn't a carpenter.  Here's proof...

I asked him to drill two holes in the back so he could get the cords and wires into and out of the cabinet. Notice the "workmanship."  Oh well, the cabinet is for his stuff and this will work.  I said nothing to him about it.  I guess I kinda snagged myself here.  He reads my blog!!  Sorry Mister! (wink)

I finished the piece with a coating of BriWax in Clear to give it a little seal.

Done.  Ready to play some tunes...

Fun, quick, easy, cheap.  My kind of project!

-The End-
Linking this to:
Metamorphosis Monday
WOW Us Wednesday - Savvy Southern Style