Moving the Little Blue Bed and How to Recycle Artwork

My little nephew no longer needs to stay with us, so I decided to put his little bed (post about his bed here)  upstairs in the loft, in a little cubbyhole at the top of the stairs.  I think it's a perfect little corner for the bed and the grandchildren will love it- it's really cozy!  

So, we moved it up there this last weekend and I went to work decorating around it.  I tucked a tiny one drawer table into the small space beside the bed.  It provides just enough space for their personal items such as glasses, phone, and a clock.  I had already hung the painting of Little Leah on the wall to the left, so since the colors work, I decided to leave it there.  I pulled all of my small paintings out of the studio to see what else would work...

After putting them out on the bed so that I could see them all together, I hung several different pieces, and then combinations of pieces...Nothing seemed to work.  So, I went back to the studio...

I had intentions of donating this piece to our local thrift store, but I decided to try to recycle it instead.  It was just a cheap print on board, and it was in a frame.  I thought the shape was good for the space above the bed, and the size was perfect, too.  So, I started by painting it a mix of white and various blues.  White is the easiest way to cover something that you want to paint over, so two coats of paint later, you could no longer see the red.

I had no clue what I was going to paint, I sort of just started painting.  

Birds are always fun, and I was trying to stay close to the color palette in the comforter on the bed.  I thought a yellow bird would be nice.  Then I just started building on that- another bird, some green leafy things, rubber stamps of birds...

Then I pulled out some random materials that I decided I wanted to use, specifically little foil doily things that I had aged with alcohol inks.  I decided to cut the round pieces into wedges and use them like bell shaped flowers on the green leaves.

Then, I added an inspirational line that worked with the birds..."Those who do not jump will never fly"...I used alphabet stamps with permanent ink.

And, here it is hanging in the space over the bed.

...and, that was my work for the day!

Thanks for dropping in!  I appreciate every one of you who visit.

Judy

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