Un-Forgetable Frogs

 

Hello, crafters! Today I feature a couple of deck decor items. Whenever I see a lonely frog figure in a thrift store, I often buy it to paint or alter it and put it somewhere in my garden, yard or on my deck. These two fearless friends are standing on front my deck, although I took their photo while still in the house. I used one of my paintings on wood as a background. 

I inherited both of them from my neighbor across the street, with whom we became fast friends. Unfortunately, she passed away and her daughter offered them to me as she cleaned out her mom's house. I gladly accepted them as a remembrance of Sharon. She had an artists' eye.

When I got them, they were not painted at all, For my little amphibian, I sponge-painted his body with a couple of greens and a little gold for texture. I gave him black arms, legs and head while keeping his eyes a shimmery green.

As for my garden-loving frog, I painted her a bright green and gave her facial features. Her watering can was black so I gave it a rusted, coppery look. I was going to use hot glue to give the illusion of water trickling from the can's spout, but decided against it. The base on which she stands is almost the same color as my front deck so it blends in with the stair step she's on...

Challenges I am Entering:

  

Something Old, Something New

 

When I was growing up, my Gramma and Mom were always crafting. Gram because she was a frugal German, and my mom because she was a Girl Scout leader for several years. One of their earlier projects was a kitchen shadow box. It was filled with botanicals, uncooked beans and whatever else they could fit into the small cubbies. The beans (Pinto, Navy, Split peas, etc.) were coated in Mod Podge, an up & coming craft supply that quickly became a household name. Sealed behind glass, their boxes  made lovely, homemade decorations for the kitchen. In fact, after Gram passed, I inherited her shadowbox...

...which gave me the inspiration to create a new" shadow basket". Using a shallow basket (maybe it's the top to another container?), I gave it new life by adhering bright, blue tissue paper as a background (with Mod Podge, of course).  I then arranged flower blossoms and petals and blossoms and adhered them into my "garden."

To make it more earthy, I stuffed green moss, into the empty pockets between the flowers. To tweak the scene, I used a small piece of a succulent in the corner, and then added a butterfly to finish off my basket shadow box. It's now hanging on my own kitchen wall. I'd like to give a shout out to my Gram and my mom for passing down their crafting genes. Gram also had the greenest thumb in the county, and Mom wrote poetry as  well as crafting projects for family, Girl Scouts and in her later years, craft fairs. Love you both, miss you with all my heart...

Challenges I am Entering:

Dragonfly Dreams - Butterflies

We Love 2 Create - Anything Craft, Card making & Scrapbooking Mixed Media

Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Florals Goes with Optional Mood Board #29

Morgan's Art World - Anything Goes

The Crafting Challenge - Anything Goes

The Four Seasons - Summer season