ARTful: using or characterized by art and skill

Salvage: to rescue or save especially from wreckage or ruin


[ARTful] Salvage was born from a love of creating, repurposing and salvaging. I simply abhor seeing perfectly "useful" items headed for the landfill or tucked away in a cardboard box, never seeing the light of day. I believe there is always beauty to be found, even under a layer of rust or a coating of dust. I see scratches, dents or imperfections as badges of honor to be worn proudly. I have a great love for the history, story and life of a piece. We lovingly dream up ways of restoring new life to these discarded and neglected fragments of life. I am glad you are here and hope you will come again often. Please make yourself at home; friends are always welcome. I'd be thrilled to hear from you and get to know you better.

Friday, December 10, 2010

New ART to share....heading to a show

Finally had a chance to make some new repurposed ART. Made about a dozen new pieces.....looking at them as a group it seems I was in a blue mood! LOL They are heading with us to Lakeridge Winery for a 2 day show tomorrow, December 11th. The show is a fundraiser for the Annual South Lake Animal League Arts & Crafts Show.  Here you go....for your viewing pleasure! :)

Birdbath
Bird Feeder or Cake Plate
Bird Feeder or Cake Plate
Bird Feeder or Cake Plate

Bird Feeder or Cake Plate
Glass Plate Flower
Glass Plate Flower
Bird Feeder or Cake Plate
Bird Feeder or Cake Plate
Bird Feeder or Cake Plate
Bird Feeder or Serving Dish
Glass Plate Flower

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Some pics from the show.....

We enjoyed our beautiful weather yesterday in Bartow, FL. You really could not have hand picked a better forecast. We were lucky enough to be located under a big ole oak tree with a breeze. Attendance was great and the feedback was uber positive. Sales however were bleak....not even enough to pay for our booth rental! Seems this economy is really taking it's toll on folks everywhere. Hopefully it will balance out with more shows in December. :) We still LOVE what we do and believe in our ART so we shall persevere.....anywho here a few pics I snapped of our booth. :::smiles:::  

 Our booth

 Our booth

 Our booth - new chalkboard from a repurposed cabinet door

 Our booth

 Our booth - my fave window

 New plant hanger/bird feeder from a repurposed light fixture

  New plant hanger/bird feeder from a repurposed light fixture

 2 of my recent faves - mosaic bee stepping stone and the copper penny gazing ball

Friday, November 12, 2010

First show in Florida....

...is tomorrow! We've finally managed to relocate to my beloved Florida. It took me 25 years....but I'm FINALLY here and loving it! We are looking forward to moving ARTful Salvage into a whole new level now. It was sooo frustrating having the move take 6 months instead of 6 weeks!!  Ugh! But we are HERE!

So, I guess now you understand why there has been very little posting.....so sorry. :( But that is about to change. We are doing 3-4 shows before the end of this year and I have finally gotten my ART Studio and my Glass Studio unpacked and functional. Woot Woot! I cannot wait to get back to repurposing and making ART!


I wish you could have seen the poor packing people when they came. I am affectionately now know as the CRAZY glass lady. I had 30 Dish Packs of loose glass dishes (18 x 18 x 28), 15 DP with finished totems, not to mention probably 10 DP filled with stained glass. I doubt they will ever forget me!!  LOL

I will have many more pics to share after the show tomorrow but I can show you the new plate flowers I made. I finished up 12 and have snapped pics of a few that are heading out with us. Hubs needs to make some more copper stems before the next shows. Anywho.....here they are. (Do click on them to really see the details if you please).









Saturday, September 25, 2010

New freebie goodies - hit the jackpot

We are in the middle of relocating to Central Florida. It's been a 6 month crazy process but I think we are finally moving. (At least the movers say they are coming Monday). That's positive right??  So, as you can imagine, we have been sorting, organizing and throwing away (GASP!) many items. We had local friends come over today to look through the discard piles for their garden. After she took home all the goodies she wanted she called and said she had some goodies for me to look through. LOL  So much for downsizing!!  She has a gorgeous "Secret Garden" brimming with pretties (statues, stepping stones, mosaics, totems, sculptures....you get the idea). She has decided she is finished making these and was offering me some of the glass ware and plates she didn't want. Okay, never turn down free ART materials, right? So I now have 3-4 boxes of plates and glasses and doodads. I am totally psyched!  While I am loading these in the truck, here come Hubs carrying what appears to be a VERY HEAVY tote. It is FILLED with stained glass pieces for mosaics!!  Woo Hoo!!  I am dancing around like I have ants in my pants. What??  You don't want these anymore?  Okay dokey.....come to me my little gems!!  Now how could this get better you ask?  There are 4 more totes of glass, about a dozen shoe boxes of sorted by color glass, a flat filled with vintage church window glass, stacks of gorgeously patterned tiles, 2 adorable small shutter sets and the cutest handmade glass doors. People I am so blessed. This is the repurposing freebie Motherlode!!  I am humbled by the gift, truly. Can you imagine what I can do with all of this??  Anywho.....here are pics of "some" of the haul!! Oh, and FYI, those are filled to the rim 5 gallon buckets.....very heavy!  :::smiles:::









Thursday, July 15, 2010

This and that.....

Just popping in to share some goodies with you. Seems life has got us constantly on the move these days......more than you can imagine!!  :)  I've not had near enough studio (aka me) time lately. Here's whats just been completed and what's currently on the work table.

I shared this little unfinished stool last time in all it's naked glory. Well, here she is all glammed out with some new paint and shiny glass. I am happy with the results. I still may distress the stool a bit.....maybe......


I found these lovely cement insect stepping stones awhile back at my fave concrete place. I have completed the Bee and am working on the Dragonfly. I LOVE how the bee turned out. What do you think? I am trying to find good ways to use up all my glass scrap and he was a perfect example. I'm thinking the body of the dragonfly may be stones not mosaic pieces of glass.....still chewing on that.


















In addition to the Dragonfly....this little guy is waiting for some bling to his shell. I simply adored him. He was a one-of-a-kind, sitting in the damaged pile. I fell in love with him and knew I could give him some new life. He has shiny blue iridized glass so far and is getting 2 styles of textured clear glass for his shell and bead for his eyes and antennae. I'll share when he is "dressed".



Guess that's enough for now....stay tuned for more stained glass windows......

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Good Heavens....WHERE does the time go.....

Seems like I was just here and yet obviously it has been F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!  Yikes!!  So sorry!! We have been busy little bees acquiring more goodies to repurpose, doing a few shows and of course, actually doing the repurposing. We are bursting at the seams right now with projects (both finished, processing and waiting to begin). It's a good thing we don't entertain here. LOL The garage (aka the shop) already has all of John's woodworking tools and supplies, PLUS it has 2 tables of my glass totem building supplies, PLUS all the normal garage gunk, PLUS the extra frig, freezer and all the Boxes (still unpacked but not really stuff we want out, but yet can't bear to part with) from the move 2 1/2 years ago. Can you say, barely a path?? You know it's bad when I am out there working and cars stop and ask if I am having a sale!!  :::Sigh::: Maybe they're just scouting us for that show "Hoarders"......

I decided the only thing to do with the stained glass side of the business was to make room in my ART studio (paper, beading, yarn, paints.....you get the idea - my other ARTsy life). So, I commandeered the linen closet in the hall and cleared one half of my 6' x 6' shelving unit of beads and paper and replaced it with stained glass and the like. I now use my desk for the glass grinder and have added a new table we repurposed for a new workspace. I cannot find a before pic to share (argh!) but it was just a long, narrow homemade table (looked like an old door but it was nott) that we found for $5. It had a thick glass top and black wrought iron legs. The problem: the varnish had melted and the glass was stuck to it. Amazingly, with a little patience, a little luck, some wire, wood blocks and some weird chemical mixing that I probably don't want to think about, DH was finally able to separate the glass from the table (in one piece I might add.....what a guy!!). We then stripped the top, stained with Minwax Gunstock (my fave stain EVER) and then I began the tedious coating with the Poly. 5 coats later and some new black spray paint for the legs, she is gorgeous and living in the studio. The large piece of glass will eventually become a stained glass mosaic panel.....but that my friends is a project for another day.


Here are a few sneak pics at works in progress or new acquisitions for ARTful Salvage. We will be busy working hard this week and next as we have 2 back to back shows coming up......more later taters!! 

Bought this little guy yesterday at Michael's.
I'm thinking something mosaic on top,
probably painted distressed white, maybe??


LOVE the lines of this table. It will get a fresh coat of black paint 
and a stained glass mosaic top with lotus flowers and a dragonfly.


Old child's school desk - Wow what a hideous color!!  LOL


Set of large wooden blocks, probably 5" diameter each. No plans yet.

Now, go repurpose something.....it'll make your day!! :)