Creating Beauty out of the ordinary-Practical decor-

I love the feeling of being resourceful. My mother taught my sisters and I, as her mother taught her. I remember hearing that my great-grandmother Hines used to hand-wash plastic bags, and re-use them. She also washed pickle jars out and used them like we would tupperware...now that is recycling, at its utmost.

Here is a creation that I have made out of old jars and a vintage cabinet door. With a little wire, old hankies, ribbon, cup hooks and hardware, it is the prettiest, yet most practical storage display piece.

It can hang above a desk, make-up table or in a kitchen to store pencils, paper-clips, cooking utencils or make-up brushes.

The possibilities are endless.

Stay tuned for a D.I.Y. feature on this item.

Decor and Design-An art in itself

I have been creating-creating away to fill my little shop/booth and for an art show that I did this past weekend.

I love getting lost in the world of creativity, but also thinking of practical ways that people can both decorate and have a functional use for those oh-so pretty things.

Here are some of my latest masterpieces: )...

This is an antique cabinet door that I make both beautiful and practical by decorating it in...yep...birds...my favorite, and attaching an iron hook for hanging purses/coats, etc. Truly a lovely display piece that can come custom in your colors/decor choices


This is part of a set of 2 small, round mosaic tables. I have used antique china plates in pink and green, roses, roses, galore for a wonderfully elegant shabby chic look. They are simply lovely on a patio or as coffee/side tables in your chic home.


This is a real butterfly wing from Rio de Janeiro, that was harvested in the 1950s. No butterflies were killed, the wings are taken after they "fly" on.
It is between 2 glass pieces and has glitter and a piece of vintage sheet music that says "free". This is truly a stunning piece and looks great as a bohemian, chic accessory.

This is a decorative mum made out of recycled coffee filters. It comes in an array or colors and can be purchased on my etsy shop. These are festive, fun and sustainable.

This is a necklace that I featured in my shop for Mother's Day, but makes a great gift for any special lady. It has your choice of silver or antique brass sparrows swooping into their "nest", made from costume pearls and wire. It is truly a unique piece of wearable art.

Brightening up!

The adventure of my own mini shop opening up this past month at an Art/Antique Gallery Extravaganza....has been so great. I have learned that brighter is better, in all cases, and have been playing with color. I transformed an old tea box into a lovely shelf/display nook, thanks to my Papa cutting a shelf, and to my Mother for inspiring the pink hue.






So, that was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to get it in my Flying Whimsy shop tomorrow....

I went ahead and did another pink piece, by re-vamping a barnwood box with a wrought iron cross I bought this fall at a craft show, locally.
I put some silk wildflowers and a hand-sew heart made from a vintage quilt block, complete with an adorable bee charm and some sweet buttons, of course!
It is soooo cute and makes me look forward to warmer weather coming!!! FOR SURE





....and finally, I cannot get enough turquoise, and I discovered this great color at my Mom's house last week...aquamarine, but I still consider it a nice shade of turquoise, anyway, I painted a little table and it turned it so cool I have been going crazy with it ever since! I bought a few more bottles, come to find out they still carry the same color, even after God knows how many years that paint has been bought....yayyyyay!






So, lots of color in my life, and especially in my studio lately. It looks like an easter basket exploded. I love it. I am having a great time.
All is calm, due to yoga/relaxation lately,
and all is bright, due to paint!
Go make your day bright!

-Flying Whimsy Lyndsey

February has come, that means Spring is even closer! Yay

Oklahoma has been feeling more like Minnesota this winter, and for someone like myself who enjoys the sunshine (and needs all the vitamin D I can get), this has been sort of a bummer. Two large snow/ice storms, and 2nd in line to the record snow fall record from 1947...we are at 19 inches, only 5 away from way back yonder.
So-sludge, ice, cold, cloud-cover...not my cup o tea.
I have had a lot to do indoors, so that has been great-I have had my etsy shop since this summer and decided to also open a booth in a local antique/art gallery called Rink.
It is the coolest place, an old ice skating rink that has been converted into the biggest treasure find of all time!!!
Since I decided to go for this, with the collaboration of my mother, I have been immersed in my art, sitting in my apartment listening to music (mostly Johnny Cash/June Carter seems to do the trick lately)
and painting/creating/gluing my fingers together. NEVER underestimate the power of super glue. ever.

Anyway, here are a few things I have created as of late...my favorite thing is to make something out of nothing, create treasure out of junk and art out of the ordinary...


Fun, colorful pool ball wine stoppers!!!! Quite a hit on etsy this Christmas!




I LOVE anything bird...and especially love garage sale finds from the summer like this old elgin lock that was .25!



So, with all of this creativity my apartment has looked like the bag lady's abode...and I was so glad to finally get it all (mostly) moved to the highly anticipated "booth"...and get the ball rolling.
My life has taken some different turns in the past few months, but I have to say that I am pretty content doing what I am doing.
I am happy that at any point in life we can made a complete 180 if we want to. We can be doing one thing one day, and realize the next day that we need to be doing something else. What was once fulfilling is not anymore sometimes and that is ok.
I have learned that allowing ourselves that freedom is what makes life worth exciting at every turn.
I never want to stop learning, growing, discovering, searching, helping, contributing and creating.
Above all I never want to stop loving.
That is what life is for, and what better month than the Valentine month to think on this.
So,
create something...
go ahead....
and love somebody...
or several, while you're at it.
This is the only life we have. Might as well make it a good one.