L@@KIE what just landed over in our Etsy shop!

Just in time for a Spring......ARTful Salvage is proud to present: "The Chit Chat Club." I was given this pattern by a great friend and fellow glasser. I knew when I found this 3 pane window it was perfect for these little birdies. I just absolutely LOVE how it turned out.

We believe in retaining as much of the history in each of our 'found' raw materials as we can. For the windows, that means leaving the original glass. It also means, leaving the original finish when possible. We believe there is always beauty to be found in the 'signs of love' in the passage of time and a story to be told (or imagined). We do, however, realize that not all paint and finish is desirable for your home. We seal all of our windows with Polycrylic so they are safe and easy to clean, yet still showcasing there lovely patina when possible. (Small commercial break - We LOVE Polycrylic around here and it is almost ALWAYS our go to sealer. We use it on paint, wood, paper.....you name it. It has NEVER let us down) We now return to our regular Blog post! :)

The birds were lovingly created by hand cutting and grinding a rainbow of colors of stained glass. The background is created with a random fill mosaic of clear seeded glass, again all individually cut by hand. We make our mosaic windows by gluing the stained glass to the original glass. The window is grouted in a coordinating color and sealed. After a good cleaning and polishing, the window is ready to be displayed in your home or garden.

The Chit Chat Club can be purchased in our Etsy shop. More windows (actually 9) are on the work table and will be hitting the shop soon.

As always, we welcome your feedback. We'd LOVE for you to share our blog with you friends, family and associates. Any questions, give us a shout. Contact me here or on Facebook or our Etsy shop! Love the concept but not this window....by all means, let us know. We LOVE custom orders!

Ars Gratis Artis - ART for ART's sake

New stained glass mosaic windows - UPDATE!

work is progressing well on the 8 windows. I already shared the first version of the orange window with you. It has since undergone 2 revisions and will be glued down this afternoon. Woot Woot! Here are the 3 new windows, glued and ready for grouting tonight. They are so unique it is hard for me to choose a fave. How about you?

These windows are sold but we will happily design and make a window to your specifications. New windows will be listed soon on Etsy. Contact us for info! :)

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:::

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......