In the back of my head I have lots of craft and DIY projects that I would like to get to one day. Most of them require space, tools or other resources that we don’t have. But not all!

So when I was out on a walk in the neighbourhood the other day and saw this sitting on the curb on trash day, I immediately thought of Project # 5901 in my head, and knew this would get me going on it.

It’s not the painting I wanted. It was the frame. “This old thing?” asked Mehmet in disbelief.  He no longer rolls his eyes when I bring home rubbish… he just laughs. But he couldn’t imagine any value in this one.

But I had the vision in my head and it wouldn’t take long. First I threw out the painting and old backing, then sanded the frame. Sure, I could have gotten an inexpensive frame, even one at Value Village. But what’s the fun in that?

Next I put Mehmet to work and had him paint the frame – several coats over the next couple of days.

I bought 1.5 feet of this metal screening at the local hardware store, and we painted one side of it as well.

We cut it to the exact size of the frame and inserted it.

A bit of hot glue to keep it in place…

And then some hooks.

All done! So, do you have any idea what I was making?

It was a jewellery holder!

None of this is expensive jewellery, it’s just my colourful stuff that I wear every day.

What do you think?

In the meantime, I’ve started my next project. It involves this!

My goodness… it’s been too long since I’ve written. I notice there are a number of comments throughout past blog entries from new guests, including some friends and acquaintances from overseas who happened upon my blog. Welcome! I really enjoy reading the comments; it’s what keeps me writing.

You know, it was not that long ago that I was able to write about exotic adventures and my ultra-interesting neighbourhoods overseas. Even my daily walk to work was interesting when I lived in another culture and country. Last year (2009) things were quite new for us here in Canada. We were getting used to life here, and there were numerous adjustments that were not easy. It’s a daily temptation for both of us to long for life overseas, where things were so much simpler and exciting.

So now that we’ve settled in a bit, and things are not so ‘new’ anymore, it’s hard to maintain that underlying feeling of excitement that I got used to after so many years of that lifestyle.

But we have chosen to be here, and there are lots of good things! We’re looking forward to spring, so we can go biking and exploring the city again!

In the meantime, I’ve kept myself busy through the last weeks of winter. One of the activities I missed most while living overseas was doing crafts and DIY projects.  Now that I feel more settled, and have access to the materials I am familiar with, it’s all gung-ho!

Mehmet is getting used to me coming home with ‘treasures’ like this. People on our street regularly put out boxes of books, toys, clothes, and furniture (often broken or old) that they don’t want anymore. It’s almost always gone by the end of the day! I sometimes come home with stuff:

Mehmet doesn’t see the beauty in an old scruffy lamp or a broken, seatless chair that’s half painted.

But when I communicate my vision, he always gets on board!

In this case, being on board involves sanding and painting…

That was the fun part. Recovering the lampshade was brutal.

In fact, I never want to talk about it again.

I kind of wanted the shade to be a brighter yellow, and maybe one day I’ll redo it.

But for now, it’ll do. I love the glossy black base!

Okay, so the lamp is done… what about this chair?

I really pictured it bright, and wanted it yellow and funky. It took at least 6 coats of paint to completely cover the blue paint and the wood.

Besides lots of painting, this project involved a seat being made by Dad (thanks Dad!), as well as foam… fun!

After cutting out the basic shape, I trimmed the top edges so they were rounded (not square).

We covered the foam on the seat with the material,  then stapled my  material of choice onto the wood.

Voila!

This has been my favourite project… I really love the result!

Then there’s the batik. We bought this at a street market in Penang, north Malaysia, on one of our lovely beach trips a couple years ago. Batiks are made by hand using a process called wax resistance – they paint wax on the material, dye it, remove the wax, then paint more wax on… and eventually create the whole picture.

The woman holding (and selling) that batik was mute, and all the batiks she sold were done by people with various handicaps. We spent a long time choosing the one we liked most!

So finally, last week I found it in my boxes of ’stuff’, unfolded it, and prepared it for it’s purpose.  First of all, I sewed a black border around it.

I had sent Dad the measurements, and he made a perfect frame for it. Thanks Dad!

We stapled the material to the frame, with the intention of keeping the black on the edges.

Stretching it just the right amount while keeping it all even took a lot of work… these things look so much easier than they actually are!

We both really love the finished result! This piece of art symbolizes our time in Malaysia, and stirs up a million wonderful memories of our first two years of marriage.

So that’s what’s been keeping me distracted and busy, and plodding through winter! There’s no end to the ideas in my head, and I’ve got to just decide what’s next!