Painting Fun

I love going to Value Village.  Yes, you DO have to watch prices, because to be honest, the people doing the pricing don't always realize that you can buy the new product for not much more...and it will be pretty much guaranteed smoke-free.
But sometimes, I do find treasures.  I usually browse (slowwwwly) through the sci-fi and fantasy (and vintage) book section, then the glass and the bagged up "etc." stuff. 
Yesterday, I found a large bag full of those cheap dollar store plastic pumpkins:  one large, several small (as in...a couple of dozen?) for $4.  Had to get it, those of you who have seen some of the pumpkin decorating ideas online would completely understand.  I also picked up two white ceramic cherubs.  My original plan was to buy some bronze or copper spray paint, but by the time I got home, I was in too much of a hurry and used the silver I had on hand.  The result:

The cherub on the left just needed the sealer, the one on the right is just after he was spray painted silver.

I moved on to the pumpkins...the small ones.  First, I went with...what else?  silver.  It was handy.
The before and after:

I want to try other colours for the pumpkins, including a hammered metal spray, and that idea I saw where the pumpkin looks like mercury glass.  After some searching, I found some at Michaels in Windsor, at $19.99 +tax.  BUT...more searching showed  a Rust-oleum product that promised the same effect, for $15.99 at Home Hardware.  Other places may have it in-store, but not searchable online.
**please note, these prices are valid at my local stores as of the date of posting this.  Prices may change, or may vary according to location.

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I'll post pics of more as I finish, I may even try some seaglass paint!

Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime

And I can feel the heat.  Not complaining, though, since I can well-remember looking forward to this when temps hit below freezing and an early morning shift meant scraping my windshield and possibly digging out my car.

So, what am I working on?  An afghan.  A nice, cozy, warm afghan.  With no air conditioner in place yet.  I had started it several weeks ago...February?  March?  Then my interest kinda fizzled, and I couldn't think of anything I really wanted to work on.  This past week, I finally picked it up again, figuring I would do a nice square afghan, 9 12" squares...then a border.  I finished assembling it this morning, then looked at the yarn I have left, and *think* I can do 3 rows of 4 squares before a simple border.  I hope so, at least until I get a thin border of cream colour done, the rest I can do white.

I chose cream and white, a simple monochromatic afghan, using my Autumn Warmth square.

The picture, to be brutally honest, stinks, but it gives you an idea.  I plan on posting this for sale in my Etsy shop when it is finished, so hope I can manage to get much better pictures of it!

It's DECEMBER!!

It happens every year, and much as I may try to prepare for it, December always manages to take me by surprise.

After quite a long creativity dry spell, I designed two crocheted gift card holders.  One was one of those lightning bolt ideas I love so much:  I had thought of crocheting a snowman, then thought maybe a gift card holder might be nice....and then I saw exactly how it was going to close....

Made with worsted weight acrylic yarn, plastic buttons and some dimensional fabric paint.
Then I thought I would do another version, this one closes with a loop through a 'handle' that forms a pompom of sorts as well as doubles as a hanging loop.

Made with worsted weight acrylic yarn, buttons, dimensional fabric paint and size 10 crochet thread.
The pattern includes instructions for both snowmen designs and is available in my Etsy shop, click on either picture to view the listing.
*Finished gift card holders can be purchased, I have one listed here, and a few others finished that I have not yet listed (including the green ones shown here)