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.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Another new window and two etched repurposed mirrors....

....that also made their debut at last weekend's show in Winter Haven. We had a good day sans the blistering sunburn and the gale force winds which saw fit to claim a few of our pieces! Ugh! But the people were great and we gave some ART new homes and that is why we were there. I think I may have picked up a couple of custom window jobs too which I truly LOVE to do!
Anywho.....here is the new window called "Denim Dreams."





also added 2 new mirrors to the lineup.....one has already sold. Every time I use this verse, "His eye is on the sparrow, I know he watches me" I can't keep it in stock! :) It was my Gma's verse! The other mirror is a fave of mine and says simply, "BELIEVE."






The sparrow mirror was repurposed from a vintage medicine cabinet that DH added a hanger to the back up that I rescued from a church tag sale! :) Check out our Etsy shop for these and other great repurposed works of ART.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

New goodies making their debut on Saturday.....

....at the Heart and Soul Festival in Winter Haven, FL. Thought you might like to see what is new for this weekend and what is on the work table for the future! :)

First up are 5 new pieces to our ARTful Salvage line of repurposed treasures. We have made 3 tier dessert stands. Aren't they gorgeous? And if you're like me, you enjoy having some things that are OOAK (one of a Kind). If you are interested in purchasing any of these, please shoot me an email (see the box on the left hand side bar). They are heading to the show on Saturday and the cost sans shipping is $30.







This is my next project on the work table. It is a HUGE 9 pane window (about 3 x 3) that I am making into a blooming garden of color and flowers. I really think I shall like this one.



Here is the finished window, "Confetti" after being grouted. I think it would be at home anywhere. The light pattern that comes through this onto the ground is literally amazing. She is for sale for $275.00 and heading to the show on Saturday as well. Pics of her step by step can be seen here.



These are the 2 newest ever blooming, no kill flowers that Hubs makes. These 2 are made from vintage deviled egg plates and other glass pieces and stones.  The flowers, with stem, sell for $35.00. They bloom on beautiful copper "stems" with hand tooled leaves. You can see more of them here.



Stay tuned.....more new pics to come tonight or tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed your "visit" to the glass studio today. Please share our site with your family and friends. We LOVE meeting new people. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Thrifting & Yard sale Jackpot!

Wow! Did we ever have a great day on Saturday out and about, enjoying the Florida sunshine! We had great thrifting and mostly yard sale finds. Here are some of my highlights:

We have been searching for a wine rack to repurpose as a guest towel holder in the bathroom.....yesterday we bought 2! So, I think this one is staying with us and the other will get repurposed into something.....stay tuned!




Some shots of the many miscellaneous glass and doodads we picked up for repurposing. We loved the decanter that came from a church thrift store marked that is was "against Federal Law to resell or reuse this container." Yes and I tear off those mattress tags too.....I'm a W-I-L-D woman. :)




This little gem will get some TLC and then become a wonderful little accessory for near the sofa holding sewing projects or the like.




You just never know what you may find at a yard sale, do you? How about this amazingly cool chain maile drawstring pouch. And yes, it was only a quarter. I was over the moon. It will probably go in Wonder Boy's Birthday pile.



The 8 yards of fabric is the perfect shade for the PINK bedroom, even though it photographed red....Geesh! I'm thinking curtain wooshy things for the top (yes that IS the technical term for them....I'm quite sure). Also, it was the day of the flower looms.....always nab them little puppies when I see them. I was thrilled to find the book of 1000 flowers too! Guess what treasures are to be found lurking in the coffee can........if you guessed buttons you win......if not.....better luck next time! 



Okay, so by now we have established that I am, well, weird, right? Okay, so there is this "When Pigs Fly" saying that just means a lot to me. I have seen this print before and really wanted one, but of course refused to pay the $40 for it......but $3 worked just great. This thing is huge, probably at least 2x3 feet. I cannot wait to find a place for this in our home......it stays with me.



One of my other faves was this "Simplify" piece. It too is bog, maybe 24 inches or so.....I think it will be going with the pig....seems to work.


These gorgeous platter will become a multi-tiered dessert serving set. I have more pieces that match and will be making a 3 piece, interchangeable set.....more on that asap. The biggest piece measures nearly 16 inches across.




 This is a very nifty old it's future after Hubs tightens up the frame.....it is a tad loose and VERY heavy.
The vessel and balls was just cool. The vessel will become a gazing ball stand for sure....the balls, well....tbd.


Loved this flatish old bottle. It will become a picture frame me thinks.....again tbd.



My uncle is having an issue obsession with the squirrel at his house in Illinois. This is just a funny for him.....but serious, a squirrel caller? Who knew.....learn something every day. Same company makes a crow caller, a coyote caller among others. Be bad If you grabbed the wrong one in certain situations....

And the award for ugliest bowling ball ever goes to.......But hey, we can fix her right up! :)


Those are some of the highlights of our weekend shipping trip......more goodies headed for the show on Saturday later today or tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.....

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Gearing up for a new show.....

We were fortunate to be chosen to attend an upcoming ART show on April 16th. It is the ART and Soul Festival in Winter Haven, FL. It is hosted by Drops of Jupiter. Please come by and say hello if you are in the area! :)

I am feverishly working on some new ART for the show. Currently on the work table are some stained glass mosaic windows. I have 4 I'd like to get completed.....one is finished except for the grouting. (And that my friends is Hub's job) <---smiles. This one that I can share is an all-over multi-color pattern that has been popular. Each one is unique and bright and full of color.

Also on the "in my head creating" list are: a chevron Frank Lloyd Wright inspired window, a 9 pane flower garden explosion, a very geometric squares, and some happy flamingos. :) That should keep me busy this week, don't you think? My current windows for sale can be found in my Etsy shop. I will be adding more pieces as time permits over the next two weeks. I will happily design a custom window for you too......just let me know! :)

I was extremely blessed by a dear friend before I moved to FL with the contents of her glass studio. One of the best gifts I rec'd was a set of 5 Five Gallon Buckets worth of glass pieces......yes.....5 Five Gallon Buckets. So, my challenge now is to draw up designs that allow me to use up these wonderful and colorful snippets of glass.
Bucket 'O Glass
5 gallons of Heaven
As you can see by the pics the glass is very dirty and covered in glass dust......so before I could use it I gave it a bath. Isn't it pretty just laying there on the counter drying?

Like an unassembled rainbow
Shiny gems
Anywho....here are some shots of window number one in various stages of completion!

Bare naked window
Glass before chopping into usable sizes
Glass just waiting to glow
1/2 way done
Finished sans Grout
Let the light shine
Up close and personal