This week we are looking at "Trash to Treasure" -a subject near and dear to my heart. When I moved into the neighborhood I met and took a class taught by my neighbor, a local artist. It taught me some of her techniques for turning trash to treasure. She uses paper mache combined with clay and her special painting techniques. But more than that she teaches her students to look at the shape of an object , not the condition, and she a new way to use it. I loved that! Some of the first projects I finished were these 2 candle holders. I usually use them decorated for Christmas, but I dusted them off and gave them some summer flowers.
These are made from flower pots, wooden salad bowls, paper towels, clay, wall paper paste and paint!
This one also has an old metal candle holder, some artificial grapes and some cording. I had such fun in this class. We even took a field trip to some thrift shops to gather our trash. Then we experimented with stacking things up and balancing them so they weren't top heavy! All the angels and roses are clay. We learned how to make molds to reproduce the shapes. The roses were molded from buttons and the angels from a terra cotta angel! The possibilities are endless!
When I found this picture frame for $1 it was missing some of the detail. I made molds of the pieces that were still on it and replaced the missing ones. Then repainted using some of the aging techniques I learned.
The next treasure was in my nursery and then spent 40 years in my parent's basement storing tools. My talented husband turned it into a vanity by repainting it and running plumbing between the drawers.
Also in the bathroom is an old wicker chair that was on our front porch when we moved in. At first I was going to put it on the curb, but I saw one in a magazine that had been spruced up with a little work. Where the wicker was broken I put doilies with ModPodge. A little spray paint and some new pillows and it will last until another chair wins my heart!
Out on the porch now is another cast off chair from the barn of a friend's aunt!Please don't sit on it though!
When my artist/neighbor moved some of her leftovers came to live at my house waiting for me to give them a new life! Old windows.....
And a great old sewing machine table....... any ideas?
Be sure to check out the other creative ideas on Sugar*Sugar! And thanks again to Cheri and Analise for hosting this each week!
The view inside the Spring Project suitcase..... Before I paint the suitcase I take out all of the old insides. Most of my cases are thrift store or estate sale finds and they are often in poor shape. A coat of primer is next - inside and out. I use fabric, old wallpaper, or even scrapbook paper to decoupage the inside. Finally I paint the outside to match!
Two more nifty storage items are here by my "Grandma" chair that I do my hand sewing in. First the lovely file cabinet! It was really rough. DH did not see my vision when we dragged it home. A few coats of bright pink spray paint cleaned it up and gave it personality! Here I keep patterns in one drawer, scrapbook supplies in one, pictures and photos for inspiration in one and school memories from the kids in the last drawer. The ottoman is great fabric storage and I kick back with my feet up to baste or rip out here. The best thing about it is how I made it! One patchwork slipcover + one foam scrap + one 
Pull off the top and there is a big tub to put all the fabric that you have forgotten why you bought!
Moving into my guest room are more suitcases. These are where I store painting and paper 
The 
Finally two vintage sewing baskets that Mom found on 
