Zoo animals

Hi! Did everyone enjoy the sunny weekend?

I had great plans to do lots of printing and painting but everything went on hold for the sun! So, here is a project I started quite some time ago, and another example of re-using old toys to create something unique. More projects will follow shortly... weather depending!

Introducing...

my desk! Well, not really. I'm actually introducing Duduk, the little boy who stands on my desk. I spotted him in a charity shop a few weeks ago and felt sorry for him. I 'adopted' him for the pricely sum of 20p, in the hope I could give him a better life. To my surprise, however, the wee scamp has been moonlighting, performing at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest! If you don't believe me, see below;

Watch out for Duduk appearing on Ooft! in the future. He may just have developed a taste for travel!

Number 54

As I'm busy getting to grips with this blog malarkey, I thought I'd share with you an older project.

I've had this piece for a while now, turning out to be the prototype for some future projects I have planned. It is made up of old door frames, skirting and shelves from my old flat. The colour blocks were a colour which featured a lot over the years, and the number '54', was of course the flat number. I love the tones in the wood and they only get better with age.

Love/Hate

This is a project I carried out a while back but thought I'd share with you. It follows a theme of upcycling old toys; in this case, tiny toy guns. The name Love/hate came after I finished the piece. More upcycled toy art will follow in the future.

New favourite things

Kissing Horses

  Okay, so I have to admit, I've had these for a while now but I have only just teamed them together and I can't help but smile every time I look at them. My 'kissing horses' were bought in a charity shop for 50p each... they were totally separate in the shop and are not meant to be together. Pfft! Love blossoms in the strangest of places. I like to think of myself as a bit of a cupid where this pair are concerned...
  The picture behind is made up of individual hand embroidered squares whih used to come in cigarette packets back in the day (Slightly more elegant than the picture of a diseased heart you see nowadays!). These have been in my family for years but were kept in a bag in my mums sewing stool (i NEED a sewing stool!!). They now have pride of place in my sittingroom, displayed in a boot sale frame (£2 incase you wanted to know!). The perfect backdrop for the equine lovers.

So here goes, the first of what I hope to be many 'before and after' posts. I have a few more in the pipeline so watch this space...

I had been looking for a small chest like this for months (it's about the right size for a bedside table), so when I spotted this in a local charity shop, there was no question as to who was gonna be buying it! I had an exact plan for it and set about transforming it straight away.

Although I'm not a big fan of paint effects, I really wanted a slightly distressed look to the piece (I love vibrant colours on more traditional, worn looking items), so with gloss paint, gold spray (for the handles) and a foam sanding block, I set about creating the look. I LOVE the end result. Hope you do too.