French Blue Tea Set .........

This beauty is a six piece  Oneida  tea set that had lost it's luster, literally!  I added acrylic paint and some gold guilder's paste, then sealed it so it can still be used as a coffee/tea set.  If you would like additional information please drop me a line as it is ready for a new home!

A Postal Offering......

This little chest was on its way to the landfill.  I loved the size and the lines!  It is well constructed and the drawers are on smooth operating rollers.  It needed a little help though.  I offer you......

" The Postal Chest"

(before)

 Painted with gray acrylic, top and drawer fronts covered with postal imaged papers and enhanced with gold wax.

detail of top

drawer detail

$350.00. (Includes tax and free local delivery.)

Major credit cards accepted

A Paris inspired chest....

Saved a small table that was missing it's drawer.

Saving old furniture...one piece at a time!

Giving new life to old stuff.......

I decided that I needed another large piece of furniture in which to store paints and art supplies.  This dresser was at a local thrift store and we brought it home in "Bob the Truck" for a paltry  $10.00.  Here are before and after photos.  Roy repaired the hinges on the center door, I sanded it, painted it and used a beautiful Rose Gold metallic paint on the hardware.  My art supplies are so happy.....

Adventures in Furniture Painting

Since moving into our new home and setting up my studio I have been looking for additional storage options for all my art supplies.  Recently we found an old dresser, much used, at a thrift store for $25.  Roy fixed a couple of the drawers, I sanded it all down and got ready to paint. The result makes me so happy!  I will show you before/during/after pictures so you can think about doing something similar. 

Before (such cute legs - hehe)

 Sanded and primed drawers

Drawers painted with Glidden "Oregano"

I painted the insides of the drawers with leftover pastel paints I already had.

Close up of the details on the smaller drawers. I used two different stencils for the graphics.  I kept the original hardware, just painted it the cinnamon color and then gilded the edges.

 The three small drawers across the top of the dresser

 Now you can see two of the four larger drawers.  The dresser body is painted with Glidden "Cinnamon".

And here it is! 

" Mostly Apples"

"Mostly Apples"

30" X 30"

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

" Room Temperature " .....

More of my fascination with bottles and glasses.

"Room Temperature"

acrylic on wrapped canvas

16" X 20"

$160.00

"Wine Bar"

This painting was inspired by an image I saw on the internet.   (there was no artist information. ) I had this very large canvas in my studio which had a most uninspiring image on it from some years ago.  Voila!  A new painting has immerged!

 "Wine Bar"

acrylic on wrapped canvas

A Special Upcycled Denim Jacket !

This denim jacket has no size label in it but is VERY roomy with slight gathering along the bottom.  I would guess L/XL. It has been embellished with fabrics and laces and beading and interesting items in interesting places!  $165.00 and FREE shipping. (Continental US only) Email me at  judekirby@aol.com  if you would like additional information.

 Jacket back - fabric, lace, hand stitching, and beading. Bottom portion is stamped with gold stars using permanent paint.

 Jacket front - detail showing gold tone studs and an old and interesting zipper pull that has simply numbers stamped in it.  No idea what it means!

 Jacket back - detail.  Clothing labels, hand stitching, beading, lace, stamped image.

Jacket front - bottom section is over sprayed with turquoise. Zipper, lace, gold star stamping, gold tone studs.

The "Jude Original" clothing line is back!

It has been awhile, but my sewing machine and I have reconnected to bring you original, one of a kind, upcycled clothing !  I had forgotten how much I enjoy the design challenges of recreating fun and exciting clothing from previously worn pieces.  Here are some photographs of the pieces I have been working on the past few weeks.  If any of them speak to you, and you would like additional information or photographs, just drop me a note : judekirby@aol.com.   Enjoy! (Have fun with your clothes and embrace the inner rebel in you.  Are you brave enough? )

Size L cotton vest, made in India.  Contains an insane amount of hand stitching and beading over almost every inch of the vest.  This was truly a labor of love that took months to complete.  It is lovely and there is no other one like it.

 Vest front - $130.00

 Short denim skirt,  Liz Claiborne, size 8P.

I added a fabric ruffle created from a piece of vintage cotton fabric from India.

$57.00

 Denim tote bag. 13 1/2 X 13 1/2 with a square bottom.  Embellished with vintage Indian fabrics and the graphic is beaded.

$30.00

 Bill Blass size PM sleeveless blouse, painted with fabric paints and beaded. $75.00

 blouse back

Blouse front detail, includes a metal pocket embellishment.

" Her Flower Garden" ....

Another example of my ongoing love affair with joint compound from the hardware store.  It is easy to use, smooth, and so far has held up extremely well. In this example, I simple put down piles of the compound and then added acrylic paint in the colors I wanted in the painting, and mixed. 
The compound dries over night to a hard surface that can then be painted over if you want to do some touch up in areas.  I sealed it with a water based acrylic sealer and the results are very good.  Enjoy!  And try this yourself!

 side view showing the texture

" Her Flower Garden"

16 X 20

acrylic on wrapped canvas

Moving my studio.......

 

Is this the way to move a studio?  I am really not sure!  BUT, I am so looking forward to a new studio, in a new house, in a new city. !  Just not sure which city that is !!??!