every once in awhile john and i will sketch out some crafty projects together. this is one of those collaborations. i seriously love it when john and i create together – it’s one of my all time favorite things to do. inspired by this bookshelf he made for me a couple of years ago, this favorite photo frame, and some recent paintings i’ve been creating (like this one), we came up with an idea to patchwork a painting with salvage wood and other bits.

we gathered up some ephemera (the above is an old doorknob plate that i repurposed from this previous crafty project) and wood pieces and then john laid out the patchwork design and i got started on glueing, and embellishing. this is the part where i say that i dug out my old neglected glue gun and promptly fell back in love with it.

it was SO much fun. we used old game pieces, watch pieces, wrapping paper and on an on.

i’d highly encourage you guys to collaborate with your partners, your friends, your family. my mom and i collaborated on many projects a few years ago and i’ll always remember that autumn by all the things we made together – lots of assemblages (before i discovered paint).

speaking of my mom, my favorite part of this piece is the vintage handle my mom sent me years ago that’s been waiting and waiting (inside the junk drawer) to be used. i seriously love it.

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this one is about 14×14 inches. we got so inspired, we quickly made another one which is about 9 x 12. here it is:

using the same process, john laid out the wood and i went to work on gluing, collaging with wrapping paper, and embellishing with bit and pieces of ephemera.

nothing makes me happier than patchwork. and old bits and pieces. and color. and old pieces of slavage tin. and lace. and buttons. and….

faith. i wanted faith and courage to be represented in this one. this is a print, by the way, that i used in the middle (available here in the shop, if you’re interested).

so, there you have it. that’s what i’ve been up to with the help of john and my glue gun. i could make these all day long…..hope you guys are having a great weekend! more coming up soon…