Stars and Stripes Tramp Art Frame: Palette

Can you believe it is June already??  We definitely haven't had our share of sunshine yet! 

With my stars and stripes frame underway, I've got red, white and blue on my mind.  I've created some new paint chips with some potential color choices but I think these four yummy colors are the ones.

Light ivory, antique gold, wedgewood blue and moroccan red, all antiqued and varnished to very rustic and yummy colors. Deep stars, with a single layer of red and white, outlined in blue. Tall blue circle stacks finished off with tacks maybe?  I'm thinking it will need a small pop of gold.  Gold gilding maybe?  Gold paint? Gold tacks?  I'm thinking this one will look best as a square frame. So many great choices and so much fun!

Off to create the pine picture frame base, shape the frame and map out my pattern pieces.

 I hope the sun comes out soon!  I'm out of sun tea!

Happy Tramping,
Angie

Starburst Tramp Art Frame : Assembly

I believe if we all think sunshine, we will get sunshine and boy do we need it! My garden and my tomato plants are waiting patiently.  So in the hopes of some warm sunny weather, I started to create this warm and sunny starburst tramp art frame. 

I have painted each layer a warm soft orange with bursts of ocean mist green.  Orange/teal color schemes always make me happy! This piece will include a pop of gold gilding around the parameter of the frame.  So far the colors look just like the shades I was looking for.  Once these soft colors are antiqued, they quickly become rich and yummy!

Here is a picture of my last dry run before assembly.  I use this step to double check my pieces, my colors, my fit and my nailing logistics.  Got to nail them so that the nails stay covered as much as possible!

This has got to be my favorite part of creating my tramp art frames: assembly.  I continue to be surprised at how interesting, beautiful and original they all come out. This is the stage where I can really see all of my sketches, pieces and work come together.  It is so much fun!

 

Off to predrill some holes and complete the assembly.  I can't wait to antique these colors and see how this starburst is transformed.

 

Happy Tramping,

Angie

Starburst Tramp Art Frame

My Starburst tramp art frame is well underway!  I've scroll cut all of the tramp art pieces and have done a piece check.  After replacing a couple of missing pieces (Thanks kitty!), I think I'm ready to start sanding and notching.  A great time to get caught up on my movie watching! 

I've darkened the picture so that each layer is more visible.  The base layer has been cut from oak to give the frame more bottom strength with the remaining layers cut from poplar. Easier on my fingers!

Because the picture was darkened, so was the palette samples in the upper left hand corner.  This piece will be painted a much lighter shade of teal and orange with some strategically placed gold gilding. Maybe.  We'll see!


This one is going to be sooo much fun!

Happy Tramping,
Angie

P.S. Happy 17th Birthday Maddie!!!  So proud of the kind, thoughtful, and beautiful young lady you have become. You'll always be my Madwoman! XOXO

Bring on the Starburst Tramp Art Frame

I've started to design my next project: Starburst Tramp Art Frame, which has been inspired by the sunshine that we so need after a week of wetness. Enough rain already!  

This pieces will be a starburst of warm, vintage orange with teal and dark chocolate, and should consist on approximately 88 hand chipped tramp art pieces with 3 - 7 layers.  Here is a picture of my sketch, pattern pieces and pine base frame.

I've settled on very warm, vintage orange (my favorite color!) for the points, teal for the knobby pieces and dark chocolate and gold gilding for the details. Here is a closer look at the palette I want to work with. Do you like the combination of vintage orange and teal?

I love this combination of orange and teal, but am thinking that I might go a little lighter on the teal in this piece. We will see......off to cut out the wood layers!

Happy Tramping,
Angie

Ocean Mist Tramp Art Frame is UNderway!

My Ocean Mist Tramp art frame is well underway!!  I wanted to create a frame that consisted of simple but precise shapes, soothing colors and with a touch of elegance.  I wanted to concentrate on the creation of the pattern pieces, the consistency of the wood chipping and the palette choice. 

After many different color considerations, I decided on a palette of Ocean mist green, dark chocolate, and coral, all sanded and antiqued to look shabby.  I love these soft vintage colors!  Here is a picture of my palette test.

And of course a splash of gold leafing!  Yes! Gold Leafing!  Another way to add some elegance and pop to my frames!  My technique is going to need some practice though.





I have cut, sanded and chipped all of the pattern pieces for this frame and tried to keep the cuts and chipping as consistent as possible but not enough to ruin the "trampiness" of the piece.  Here is a picture of the dry run before chipping them.

Now off to do some sanding and chipping, in my lawn chair!









While sanding and chipping of the pieces, I made a couple of little design changes and fine tuned some pieces.

 The flowers will have a 3-D element.


Now off to mix up some shades of Ocean Mist!

Happy Tramping,
Angie

Winter Star Challenge: Finishing TOuches

The winter star tramp art frame came together nicely with a few bumps along the way.  The old panel I wanted to use for the individual tramp art pieces proved to be too fragile. Wanting to use a strong wood that could be used for tiny pieces, I chose to use Baltic birch plywood.  This proved to be a good choice.

Trying to keep my lines, cuts and chipping as accurate as possible, I still managed to get a set of pieces placed crooked!  And a bottom piece at that!  This is where the strong Baltic birch came in handy:  I had to remove a whole point of the star, separate all of the layers and re cut the very bottom piece.  It was off very slightly but made all of the difference in the balance.

This little detour also proved to be a handy lesson in restoration and I'm sure it will come in handy in the future.  Delicate work takes lots of patience and a gentle touch!

After reworking the removed pieces, I installed a base on the back of the frame to provide strength to the face of the piece. I installed a painted back to the frame with some vintage hardware and antiqued the entire piece.

I'm pretty happy with the finished product.  Silvery blue like a snowflake with a pop of red, very tall and tight (9-12 layers), and the back looks almost as wonderful as the front.

 

 

Vintage battered hinges and latch, with hand painted embellishments.

Downeast Tramp Hallmark!

Please let me know what you think of my latest creation.  This piece has been listed on an ebay auction until Sunday.  It's on my wall to enjoy until a great home is found!

Happy Tramping
Angie

Owl Love Tramp Art Frame is COmplete!

Since I have a hard time blogging mid project, I have some catching up to do!

Let see.  Where did I leave off?

After painting and chipping the pieces, I did a quick dry run to make sure all of the colors where working together and that I liked them. I've started painting before I chip.  I think that painting them first then chipping gives the pieces more definition. More of a color variance between pieces.

Yep!  Looks good.  Can't wait to see how they look antiqued! The pieces were then chipped and individually sanded.This step is the roughest on my hands.  I've learned to protect them with gloves and such but they still tend to get sore and a little stiff.  Probably due to those wood chipping marathons I have which usually include many episodes of Downton Abbey.  Highly recommend the show! 

The frame was assembled and a few pieces were tweaked here and there.  A couple of new elements were added and it was ready for antiquing.  I had read about a different antiquing technique and tried it on this piece and have to say that I am quite happy with the results.  With lots of love (buffing and rubbing) the colors are all amazingly rich and warm.  I Love Him!!!!  I am finally getting the warm and rich pieces that I have been looking for.  This frame is my favorite creation so far!

 

 

 

 

Well...I will be able to enjoy him for the next week or so until he finds his new home.

I can't wait to start my next project!  I've got some great pieces looking for their new purpose.  Will it be the round antique table top made into a round tramp art frame?  Gotta call my glass cutter on that one!

Happy Tramping,

Angie

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

Tramp Art with a side of TUrkey!

Since I am currently creating my tramp art on my kitchen table, finishing the assembly of  the key to my heart II frame was of the up most importance for Thanksgiving day.  Loose pieces needed to be secured and finished, so that we could clear and prepare for our families Thanksgiving. 

A dry run of the assembly brought some uneven pieces to my attention and helped me make some final color choices.  I chose to use a bright turquoise which will look lovely after it is antiqued and will allow for the skeleton keys to show up better.  A little splash of yellow here and there with some hand painted detail to tie it all together.  Here is a picture of the dry run with keys placed on top.

 

After some quick tweaking, cutting and rechipping the tramp art pieces are secured in there places.  Again predrilling the pieces made the assembly incredibly smooth without broken pieces to recreate and an overall more solid piece.

 

 

Now the step that really changes the looks of things.  The antiquing medium will be added with a little more destruction here and there and VIOLA!!  deep, rich, and time worn colors.  Just the way I like them!

 

Sitting by my side as always, is my best bud Cooper.  Here is a recent picture of him sporting my reading glasses.  He is not very happy about the glasses and is counting the days until school vacation is over.  Too much attention from my thirteen year old when he is used to it just being him and I. He is a gentle soul and completely devoted to me! God love him.

 

 

Happy Tramping with a side of Turkey!     Angie

 

 

Mission ACcomplished

The sunflower tramp art frame came together nicely;  soft and yummy colors, solid and sturdy, and beautiful all in one.  Thank you Marguerite for your great artistic adjectives!  I have implemented several changes in my creation process and have come away quite satisfied with the results and have saved myself some time and increased the quality of this piece.

Having predrilled some of the smaller pieces of the tramp art layers, the number of pieces having to be recut, rechipped and repainted during the assembly was reduced greatly.  The predrilling will also help create a tighter bond between layers and cut down on future potential piece damage. 

I also religiously kept all pieces in sealed ziplocks so that my cat could not steal them.  No missing pieces!  Assembly was quicker than usually by keeping the pieces organized by color also.

I sometimes can't make the really tiny pieces that I would like to include on my frames.  The wood pieces gets fragile, hard to secure and hard on my hands when they are too tiny.  I don't know why I haven't done it before, but I did some hand painted detail and line work on this piece to bring it all together.  Before I started creating tramp art layers on my frames, most of my frames had hand painted designs and motifs on them.  So I'm not really surprised that the hand painted details are sneaking back in there.

The sunflower crown was created by carving two layers of petals with a vintage brass knob as the center. 

After the pieces was assembled and had had enough drying time, I coated the piece with a coat of antiquing medium.  I always look to deepen my colors and add that touch of time wear to the sanded edges and nooks and crannies.  I then gave certain areas a second coat to darken the edges and notches.  Three coats of polycrit later and we have the finished piece.

I am really excited to have been able to fine tune some of my steps and also save myself some unnecessary steps.  169 wood chipped pieces later, I'm quite happy to be able to send this piece to the Big Apple to fellow tramp art lover, Marguerite.

Happy Tramping,     Angie

Some Assembly RequirED....

One of the most important decisions in the making of my tramp art pieces, is color choice.  I really like to have my pieces appear time worn, colorful but antiqued, and richly colored  Sometimes, when a commissioned piece is ordered, the collector is specific about the colors wanted and other times, I rely on my own color choices to guide my creations.   As I look back over my pieces, I definitely tend to use some of the same colors consistently but continue to try to introduce new, rich colors into the mix.  Oh how I love deep orange, reds, teals, and blues.

When I make my color choices, I tend to lean towards the brighter range.  These brighter colors, sanded and antiqued result in the richer shades that I love so much!  I tend to limit my pieces to 3 or 4 color choices, as not to create a pieces that looks too busy and takes away from the art work or photo it is displaying.


After each individual piece is painted, I do another dry run placement on the frame.  This step is probably not necessary but is due to my obsession to make sure everything fits properly and to catch missing pieces before I get to far along.  Having my work space at my kitchen table, my many tramp art pieces are sometimes dispersed and stolen by my cat!!!  We constantly compete for the table space. Bad kitty!  Good thing she is so cute.

Before assembly, I choose to take care of my sanding and destruction.  This step is easier for me to do at the individual piece level.  Easier on my hands too.  There is a fine balance between too much sanding and just enough.  Especially along the edges, a nice sanding job can really provide a place for the antiquing medium to take well.  I sometimes will actually destruct with a hammer and large bolts leaving some interesting patterns on the wood.

Then the assembly begins!  This step gets really exciting.  To see how the colors work together and to see that original sketch come to life is very satisfying.  I have recently started to predrill most of the pieces which has cut down of broken pieces exponentially.  Santa is going to have to get me a mini drill for this task!  My frames are secured with a combination of nails and wood glue, which has proven to be overall the best and strongest choice.  I also sometimes use epoxy for those embellishments that are not nail friendly.

Here is the sunflower frame in the mid-assembly stage, in its bright, fresh, unantiqued colors.  I purposely did not show the crest of the frame so as not to reveal it quite yet to its owner.

 

 

Off to do my magic with the antiquing medium!

 

Happy Tramping    Angie

With the help of Dexter, the woodchipping is DOne.

After a couple of spurts of wood chipping and several episodes of the series Dexter, the chipping of the tramp art pieces are done.  I think the tentative count is 171 pieces ... but the final count will tell the tale.  I've taken the time to implements a couple of new steps to save on the old hands and cut down on blisters and sore fingers.  Maybe its getting comfortable with my craft or maybe its just getting more serious about what I do, but I discovered that taking this little bit of extra time to protect my hands, improve my lighting and paying more attention to my materials (wood, nails, paint, etc.) always results in a better, stronger, and more beautiful tramp art piece.

Some things I have learned recently creating Tramp Art:

The best time to protect your hands from the sore fingers and blisters that sometimes develop after completing the wood chipping, is to wear very thin work gloves from the start of a project.  The key for me is to never even let the soreness have a chance to happen.

Always using fresh, appropriate grit sand paper can make a project go so much faster and saves on your arms.  Don't forget what a sander is for and use it.  I have also found that a very tiny spring clamp that holds the small pieces, can create an handle that provides a more stable wood chipping surface and soreness.

My best time to do the wood chipping is in natural light during the day.  I can wood chip at night with my super sonic lamp but it is definitely easier on my eyes during the day.  My preference.

It has become necessary to keep more detailed project completion folders that detail the material used, colors used, and keep all of the pattern pieces together.  If ever there is a case of one of my pieces getting damaged, I can pull the project folder and have all of the creation details at my finger tips.  A real time saver.

I have also started to predrill holes into the final layers of tramp art.  I'm hoping this will help me with breakage and the need to create extra tiny pieces to replace them.

Back to the Sunflower Tramp Art Frame!!  Here is a picture of the after wood chipping dry run.  I've had to go back and tweak a couple of pieces but it looks like time for paint.

Lets see ... lots of green, red and yellow.  And maybe I should use this old brass knob!  We will see what happens.

Happy TRamping,      Angie

My Next Challendge: Sunflower Tramp Art Frame

I have been asked to create a sunflower tramp art frame similar to this beautiful piece.

 

This original piece was created by G. Mayer and dated 1899, and is an amazingly vibrant piece and is very beautiful in its form and simplicity.   I have had this one on my to-do list for some time and am hoping that I can create a similar piece while adding some of my own touches here and there.  It does promote some challenges though and has a few elements that are going to push me out of my comfort zone. Carving a sunflower, creating strong wood joint, fit of the pieces, etc.

 

I started by creating the pine base adding on the pointed crown using dowels to join the two pieces.  My miters still need some work and rely on the amazing powers of wood filler and my trusty sander to help me out of these never straight miters.  They continue to look better with time.

 

 

 

After some sanding to level out the work surface and the edges, I did a light sketch on the frame of the layout and pieces needed for each section.  OOPs!!  I forgot to cut the bottom design outline.  There, much better!

 

 

It's starting to take shape now.  I've got my sharp pencil, ruler, scissors and my card stock paper already to create the tramp art pattern pieces.  Off to my lawn chair and glass of ice tea...this gorgeous October weather makes this sitting time easier!!

 

 

Happy Tramping!  Angie

 

 

 

 



My Tramp Art EVolution

After a couple of inquiries, I just wanted to show a brief glimpse at how my tramp art creations and style have evolved over the years.  It was really fun to dig up some old pictures of earlier pieces.  It’s amazing how a few years of experience and growth can transform things.
 

My wood working started with trying to create a basic frame that would complement my fraktur paintings I was creating.  With no directions, a miter saw and a determination to  create something that that had that rustic feel,  I started creating very basic primitive frames.

Here are two early examples of my frakturs in frames.  The yellow tramp art frame was my first attempt at tramp art.  Not bad!

 

 

 

After getting more confidence and more comfortable with wood chipping knives, I experimented with different shapes, colors and types of wood.    I discovered decorative tacks and nails, and enjoyed sharing my creations with many collectors far and near.  I was honored to be featured in the book “Tramp Art: Another Notch, Folk Art from the Heart” by Clifford Wallach and am proud to say he is the owner of two of my pieces.

 

 

 

 

Just recently, I have started to solely concentrate on the design and creation of the frames.  I have found that this has allowed me to fine tune the designs and spend more time on material and embellishment selection.  I can see how this change has changed my end product more than anything.  More variety in design and color, better quality completed pieces, and a much more relaxed end product. 

 

 

 

 

 I have created other pieces outside of picture frames, but continue to call picture frames some of my favorite and best creations.  My pieces continue to change and evolve, becoming bolder and more complicated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It continues to be exciting for me to find that amazing chippy spindle, rusty spigot and that next amazing design.  

 Happy Upcycling!      Angie