It's good to be back on my blog! I took some time away to work on several projects...including 2 commissions for Christmas gifts (hence why I could not post until after Christmas!). It's been an exciting few months having had the chance to work on these gifts for friends, knowing that something I helped create was opened or given on Christmas morning. I hope the recipients enjoy them now as much as I did creating them!
A family friend from Fayetteville, Kerri Hurley, came to me back in August 2011 with the idea of repainting an old school desk and two old Sunday school chairs that she rescued from her church many years ago. She had been storing them in her attic with hopes of one day having them painted so she could gift them to each of her three children. Something they could take with them in life as they grow into young adults. I was so excited that she picked me to take on this project for her, especially since I babysat her kids when they were little. Each brush stroke was made with them in mind, making it so much more special for me!
The old school desk had seen better days. My favorite part about it was all the pencil scribbles, drawings and signatures written on the desktop by kids and teenagers many, many years ago! I hated to paint over the history, but we'll always know the secret of them being there underneath the fresh coat of paint.
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| Original signatures and scribbles from the past, so neat! |
Kerri had the idea of turning this desk into a "Tarheel" themed piece for her teenage son. They are huge Carolina fans! Most of you know, there's hardly a trace of Carolina blue in my house...as we are NC State and ECU grads...red and purple all the way :o) So painting with so much Carolina blue was new to me, but I enjoyed it...it really is a beautiful color....shhhhh, don't tell anyone I said that!
I really love this desk and I'm pleased with how it turned out. But I'm still a Pirate for life...ARRRRGH!
Kerri also has identical twin daughters that just graduated from college last May. They are gorgeous young women and are as kind and sweet as they are beautiful. Being identical twins, they have normally done most of life's milestones together....until recently. One of the girls took a job on the West Coast at the end of last summer, and the other has continued living and working in her hometown. So you can imagine how tough it must be on them to be apart from each other. I took this into account when thinking up a design for their chairs.
Kerri wanted the chairs to be really special, and I can understand, these are special girls! She wanted them to be white, with pink and green flowers, along with music notes. You must know, this is a very musical family...so very talented! We discussed adding a favorite quote or hymn to the chairs, something that was meaningful to the girls. Kerri came up with the hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and such a beautiful song. Sings like a prayer. She told me the girls sang it for their senior recital and it's one of their most favorite hymns. So it was set, and I would plan a design. Let the fun begin!
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| Both chairs before... |
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This chair used to be a school desk.
The arm was removed some time ago for it to be used as a chair. |
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| Smaller chair in rough condition. |
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| Where the desk arm was once located. |
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Where the desk arm was once located.
In need of repair. |
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| Smaller chair needing some TLC! |
So with some serious sanding, a little wood putty and 3 coats of paint, these chairs would be as good as new!
My design concept was to create 2 chairs that could fit together as a pair, but also stand alone if they were ever separated....just like the twins. When these chairs are side-by-side, the design flows between both chairs. But, when they are separated, each chair has its own design. I did this by incorporating a vine of flowers to connect the chairs.
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| Both chairs after... |
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| The connecting vine of flowers... |
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| First verse of the hymn, "Come, Thou Fount" on each chair back... |
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Incorporated the true music notes to the first verse of the hymn
that reads along the bottom of the chair... |
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| The vine and music notes continuing around the backs of the chairs... |
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| The connecting vine between two chairs...and between twins... |
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| Close up of the vine of flowers... |
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| Close up of the flowers... |
Now, no matter where the girls live, whether in the same hometown or on opposite sides of the country, they will each have a matching chair that connects to her sister's.
I loved RELOVING these three chairs! It's the biggest and most rewarding project for me to date and I couldn't be more excited about them. Thanks Kerri! For trusting me with these gifts for your children. It was a pleasure doing business with you :o)
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