Art & Crafts

How to Distress New MDF Furniture

Make your new furniture look like it's been in your family for generations

Post author:Domestik Goddess
Post category:Art & Crafts House Proud

The key to any good distressed finish is to create a plausible ‘history’ for the furniture or cabinet. We’ve all had hand-me-down furniture that has been scuffed, scratched, painted…and painted again over decades of use. With a little imagination, you can easily create a back story for your newly-built MDF or wood furniture that can guide you to making it look like it’s been in your family for generations.

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Feeling a Little Wonky

Post author:Domestik Goddess
Post category:Art & Crafts House Proud

JR’s grandmother was a Brit who used to talk about feeling “wonky” every now and then, when she was a bit unsteady on her feet (age, not vino) and had to sit down. I wonder if this (wavy-wobbly furniture) was the way she saw the world, at those moments!

The Mini Wonky Jewellery Box here, a little chest of drawers just under a foot high, is the bold primary version of a whole clan of these woozy dance-y little stash boxes from Canadian craftsman Paul Szewc at Masterpiece Cabinets.

In fact, there’s a whole gallery of even more groovy one-of-a-kind hand-painted boxes (and full-sized cabinets, real furniture, as well) to gladden the heart of your Alice Through the Looking Glass.
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Glorious Glass Beads

Ginger Pink Rose Beads - Serena Smith

Post author:Domestik Goddess
Post category:Art & Crafts

Serena Smith, glass artist of Oregon, caught my eye on Etsy a few years ago with her gently rounded feminine figure beads, all earth mothers and goddesses, and floral beads that are tiny fantastical garden gems... [read more]

Crazy Quilting Revisited

Post author:Domestik Goddess
Post category:Art & Crafts

Crazy quilting seemed to fall out of fashion for a time, with the passion for precise geometric piecing, but you'll still find many quilters of an artistic bent who love to experiment with this style of expression. Jude Hill is the guiding hand behind ... [read more]

Futurama Amigurumi

Post author:Domestik Goddess
Post category:Art & Crafts

Futurama and amigurumi go together like mac-and-cheese, Sheldon and Leonard, a rose tatt and advanced calculus... Take a look at some of these (free) original crochet patterns by crafty Futurama fans, and see how long you can resist grabbing a hook. ... [read more]

Driftwood Horses

Post author:Domestik Goddess
Post category:Art & Crafts

Beachcombing, a few years back, my friend found a piece of driftwood that looked exactly like three horses’ heads rising from the waves. Very cool. But that’s nothing compared to the driftwood horses of artists Matt Torrens, Heather Jansch, and Deborah Butterfield.

The differences between these different artists’ interpretations of “driftwood horse” are striking, but all have achieved a remarkable combination of driftwood’s naturally weathered graceful lines with the powerful majesty of the equine form.

Matt Torrens

Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta (“Cow Town”) and now living in southern California, the horse rendered in driftwood is a natural subject for sculptor Matt Torrens.

“Spirit,” the driftwood horse head sculpture by Matt Torrens shown here, was exhibited at the California State Fair in Sacramento, August/September 2008. Photograph by laura.bell.

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Natural Wood Knitting Needles

Post author:Domestik Goddess
Post category:Art & Crafts

My sister insists on wooden knitting needles. As she’s a genius knitter, I bow to her expertise when she tells me that wood is the best choice for working with real wool.

Lightweight yet strong, wooden knitting needles are naturally warm to the touch, which is apparently much nicer for those knitters who are troubled by arthritis. Or, I suggest, for those who just love the feel of smooth wood!

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