a non-quilty project

I wish I had a before pic.....  but I just didn't think of it.  When we went on our vacation to our family cabin in BC this summer - on the way home we stopped off at the dump to get rid of the trash from the trip.  Hubby spied an old set of moose antlers (there was a set of deer antlers too, but he didn't get those - and now I wish he had!).  He took home a set of grayed/weathered/slightly mossy moose antlers.  I wasn't too thrilled with them, especially since they sat at the base of my front steps for a few months.

THEN, I had the idea....  to paint and frame them!  YES, they would be fantastic.  And, I wasn't wrong!

First, (after approval from hubby), I let the antlers dry in the shop for a couple days, then brushed them off with a stiff brush.  Then, paint.  Aqua, of course.

This was kind of a pain!  I think it took at least 8 coats of paint - the antlers just kept soaking up the paint!

 The frame took almost a whole can itself - it is a vintage frame I have had for more than 20 years, but it was stripped to bare wood (it was gold when I got it 20 plus years ago, ewww).
The wood is cedar fence boards - I dry brushed them with white and aqua paint, then stained over them with a driftwood stain.

Hubby thought the frame needed a white accent, so he talked me into adding that (which I do like, although it definitely have a 50's vibe to it now, LOL).  The fence boards are attached with a strip of luan stapled at the top and bottom to the fence boards and the frame.

Then, I bolted the skull onto the wood backers! (The skull already had holes in it from the previous owner, so I used those holes).  I ended up having to do a BUNCH of grinding/cutting on the back of the skull to get it to lay flat-ish on the boards.  Not a fun job, but it was necessary as the cut the PO did wasn't very flat.

I hung it in my bedroom on the wall across from the doorway so it can be seen from the living room :)

Isn't it fabulous?!!!  I adore it SO much!


The thing you can see just to the left of the antlers is a shelf above the bed I made 18 years ago (I have sheers hanging from it that are my 'headboard') - I think it's time it come down and get painted (and maybe new sheers).......  It is displaying my hubby's snowboards.....  I am debating about what color to paint it though.  Walls are white.  I don't think I want white, but I think maybe white sheers.  My favorite color scheme is aqua/red/navy/gray/white (basically Bonnie and Camille minus the pink hehe).  Possibly a pale gray, lighter than the driftwood stain.....

Tiles quilt - take 2

I finally buckled down and finished my quilt top that I started for the Tiles Quilt-along.....

I love the way the alternating solids in the 25-patch blocks make the 100-patch blocks stand out.  They look like pixels :)  Now, to decided HOW to quilt this one!