The World may never knOW!

Remember this guy?? 

Boy! Am I dating myself here?!  This is Mr. Owl of course.  "Mr. Owl, How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?"  Another owl from my childhood that stands out and takes me back to simpler times.

I'm thinking that my old crate owl frame definitely resembles the all knowing Mr. Owl.  After a coat of antiquing medium, several coats of varnish, decorative tacks for eyes and hanging hardware, my Mr. Owl is complete!  The antiquing medium really deepened the teals and yellows, and found all of the cracks and crevices to give this piece a well worn but loved look.  You can really see the old wood but still have that warm time worn color to liven things up.

 

 

I really tried to make his backside as pretty as the front while leaving the crate label as much intact as possible.  A piece of colorful antique cigar box was used as a frame backing with frame buttons for an easy photo change.  The way Mr. Owl was made, he is able to be hung on the wall or sit nicely on a desk.

I'm hoping to enjoy him for the day and then send him onto his new home! And of course, Mr. Owl's answer to every child of the 70's question about tootsie roll pops....

The world may never know!

Happy Tramping

Angie

Old Crate Owl: What a hoOT!

I am fully enjoying the creation of the old crate owl frame but of course, am struggling with keeping it simple.  This is one frame where less is definitely more.  Rough, vintage wood calls for a simple, primitive design.  Not a refined, precise design but simplistic, chucky pieces. 

I've cut the frame pieces out of old crate wood that has lots of wear and character. I've tried to include the nail holes where I could and have left the grain of the wood lightly sanded.

What a great surprise to cut into the pieces, to have the amazing smell of this hard wood waft into my face.  I'm slowly learning how to identify different types of wood, but am quickly learning how amazing most of it smells.  Is it normal to catch yourself smelling pieces of wood??  I didn't think so!

The pieces have been painted then chipped not my usual chipped then painted.  I think by creating the pieces this way has given the piece more dimension, gives it an outline of sorts and also resembles feathers in a way.  I think I like the variation in this piece.

Here is the dry run before assembly.  I've used teal, antique yellow and dark burnt umber, and will antique them once assembled.  They will be a warm,  and a nice shade of YUM!

Happy Tramping,

Angie

Old Crate Owl Frame Design and PAttern

The base frame for the old crate owl frame has been assembled using the side of an old wooden crate and a basic 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 square frame.  I've attached the 2 pieces together with wood glue and some wood screws for a sturdy base. I plan on leaving the back of the owl form unpainted in order to show off the vintage crate label that is partially still attached.  The graphics and colors are amazing!  With the frame being lined up with the bottom of the cut out, I believe that he will be able to be placed on a desk or on the wall!

 

 

The pattern pieces for the eyes, beak, feet, ears, and wings are complete and have been traced onto some old crate wood.  The grain, patina, and the wear and tear on the wood is amazing!  Hard to duplicate the real look of old wood. 

 

 

The pattern pieces will now be traced onto the crate wood and cutout.  Then the wood chipping begins!  Its going to be a fine balance of wood thickness, chipping and paint in order to maintain the chunky and rustic look I am going for.  Enough paint to give it some vibrance; yet preserving the patina and wear of the wood.  We'll see how it goes.  Keep it simple stupid. Keep it simple stupid.....

Happy Tramping

Angie

Owl INspirations

My next challenge is to create an owl picture frame for one of my family members.  The real challenge for me is to keep it simple, kinda chunky, and more rustic than some of my latest pieces.  Keeping it simple and not over thinking it will be the hardest part for me. I've created a quick drawing, found a base frame, disassembled an old crate and come up with a basic design.

I'm excited to create this piece because I know it will be treasured by a fellow owl lover. Owls have always held a special place in my heart.   Starting from way back, they have always sporadically popped up in my life.  Always providing that feeling of being watched over ...taken care of.  They have always provided direction for me when I needed it. Strange, I know!

I can remember back in the 1970's when I was like 8ish, my favorite outfit was a matching owl shirt and green bell bottom pants.  I loved it and I think I wore it just about every day my mom would let me.  I pretty sure that back then, most of my school clothes came from the Sears and Roebuck catalog, but boy did I stand tall when I wore my owl outfit!

When I was 11, I painted this owl sponge painting  which went on to win a local contest and traveled all around the state of Maine for 2 years. I was so proud of my masterpiece and still have it today.  I truly believe this owl fueled my love of painting!

Owls have also played a big part in my journey in creating tramp art frames.  Here are a couple I have created along the way.

To this day, I still enjoy my strolls around the Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary, admiring the birds and owls that have been brought there to heal.  I especially enjoy the feeling of awe, peace and security they still give me when I've had one of those days or weeks when only the wise old owl can get me back on tract.

I know that owls will continue to help me along my life path and that is comforting.  Here's to hoping that my old crate owl picture frame will inspire others to love and appreciate these amazing creatures also.

Happy Tramping

Angie

My Tramp Art EPiphany!!

After a vacation week of basketball practice, starting to prepare for the holidays and Thanksgiving festivities, I'm hoping to get the Downeast Tramp Art and Whimsy blog caught up.  It was a busy week of fun family stuff but I still managed to squeak out a little bit of creative time.  Thanks to my helpful teenagers!

The Key to my Heart II frame was antiqued and varnished several times when I realized there was something missing.  HMMMM....the color balance was a little off.  What to do?? 

Definitely needed a little pop of color....YELLOW!  I created a wood chipped tramp art yellow border with red detail that encompasses the frame and really makes all of the colors pop.  Just the oomph it needed.

Now here comes the Epiphany part!!  While designing this yellow border, I realized with a gentle touch and with some additional hard wood pieces in key places, I can also build my tramp art layers from the back side of the frame.  This opens so many more possibilities for my pieces! Endless!

Here is a picture of the final piece with the skeleton key embellishments in place.  I'm pretty happy with the end results!!

My next mission is to create a very simple, rustic, and cute (of course!) owl picture frame for a family member.    I'm thinking chunky, old wood owl with a small picture opening in its body. 


Maybe from this old crate side....Stay tuned!

Happy tramping,

Angie