The Shrine of Wooden Utensils

I guess this is the beginning of a collection (THREE ..sets in this case.. would Make A Collection). Today I found the wooden spoon & fork set on the left at the Goodwill Where Things Go To Die on Poinsett Hwy. I scooped them up and brought them home to live with the set on the right that we bought in 1972 for my parents while we were in Hawaii during my husband's R & R. Since I don't have three sets, and the centerpiece is a sacred heart cross, I guess this is more of a shrine, huh?

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Clock

About two weeks ago we went to an estate sale where I found a clock to add to my clock collection. The price was right, only $2.00. However, the color was all wrong and it needed a little fixin'. Besides the awful blue color, do you see anything wrong?

My cup clock was missing it's saucer. I found a picture to show you what it should look like. When this clock has it's saucer, it can either stand on the counter or hang on the wall. Here's a "complete" clock.

Since my clock was missing the saucer, it really needed to be replaced. A trip to the local hobby store produced just the piece to make the repair, an unfinished 7 inch oval wooden plaque. The plaque had a beveled edge, so I could turn it upside down to replicate the upturn on a saucer's edge. Then I had to decide where to draw the line....the line to guide my saw to flatten this plaque on one side so the clock could hang on the wall when the new "saucer" was attached. I sawed off about a third of it. Then I had to drill holes into the "saucer"to fit the pegs on the bottom of the cup and do a little sanding to smooth the rough edges. 

 

Before I could attach the saucer, I had to paint it and I already had paint the same cream color as the "ear" on the coffee cup. But I still hated that blue color! In my box of paints, I had the perfect color, Really Red! So I removed the clock works and sanded away the blue, and painted the cup red. After proper drying time and re-assembly, I now have a coffee cup clock that I really love.

Now isn't that much better! I'm thinking it's time for a relaxing cup of coffee.

 

Wall of Clowns .... Two Days Later.... with Emmett Kelly

Here it is, 2 days later, and I have now placed the Emmett Kelly clown paint-by-number pair on my "Wall of Clowns". I changed my mind slightly on the placement of these two. Originally, I was going to put one Emmett Kelly above the Bozo clown puppet and the other below Bozo, but the one below would just be too low. So, I thought I'd post a photo of the final product. Final, that is, until I run across the next clown wall art! Here's how the wall looks now.

Clown Paint By Number Paintings & Emmett Kelly

A trip to the local Salvation Army Thrift Store was a success for me today. I didn't think I was going to run across anything, but my eyes wandered to the far wall behind the books and furniture. There I spied not one, but TWO framed pictures that required a closer look!

Off I went, only to find I was a bit too short to reach them. Well, really shortness wasn't the problem. The problem was the table and 2 boxes containing a various, jumbled mess of donated picture frames. The last time I was in this store, the table was there, but it appeared the Salvation Army store workers had been "unloading" the warehouse by the boxful! Not to be deterred, I scooted and scrunched and inched my way toward the wall. Finally, just by the tips of my fingers, I could edge the two pictures down for a better look. All the while I was thinking and hoping that the worker who priced this pair did a decent job and didn't think the paintings were "Louvre" quality and deserved a price tag to match!

I was in luck! The person who "painted" these paint-by-number clowns did a decent job, and they also liked them well enough to take them to a frame shop to be framed. The frames did have a few "bruises" and some dust, but overall, I was very pleased with the pair. Now, for the determining factor...the price....was it "too pricey" or "just right"? At $2.99 each.....the price was "just right"!

I have no way of knowing for sure that these paint-by-number clowns are, indeed, Emmett Kelly, but it sure looks like him to me. So I'm just going to call them "my Emmett Kelly's". 

Since I really like Emmett Kelly, I thought you might enjoy this video of Emmett appearing on What's My Line? TV game show on March 11, 1956.

I've already decided on the placement of the pair on my already full wall of clowns. One will go above the clown puppet on the right and the other just below it.

If you want to see more about my clown collection, be sure to check the Blog Archive in the right hand column.

Cheery Clown Surprise

Now isn't this a cheery clown? 

He doesn't look creepy at all!

This water color painting is the newest addition to my clown collection. It will soon be hanging on the wall with all my other clown art. 

The greatest thing though?? The artist. Here she is. Julia.

She is my best friend and has been since our days in Junior High.

Julia thoughtfully painted this cheery clown as a surprise for me. She recently started taking some art classes and, from what I have seen, there's been a hidden talent lurking in her all these years! 

Thanks Julia, for the painting and for your friendship.

Here is my collection after adding the Cheery Clown water color and my vintage Bozo hand puppet.

Creepy Clown Chair

What else can I say? It looks creepy to me. My son found this kid's clown chair this past weekend while on a thrift store outing, and he just "had" to get it for my collection. I like that my son cares enough to bring me an addition to my collection. Does it seem weird that he thinks of me when he sees "creepy clowns"?

From the inscription engraved on the underside of this chair, you can see it was lovingly constructed and painted by "Gramps" in 1982 for a little boy named "Travis". I'm sure Travis liked this chair.....unless his mom decided it would make a good place for him to take his "time-out's" for misbehaving! Maybe that's what makes this clown seem creepy!!!

I don't know yet where this creepy clown chair will sit in my house, I'm sure I'll find the perfect place. Should I place it in a corner? And if I do, should it face toward the wall?

You can see more of my clown collection HERE, HERE, and HERE.  

Clowns, Clowns and More Clowns

 

This tray puzzle is of clowns from the 1950s television show "Big Top". I remember watching it and I had a puzzle like this one as a child. You can read about it at CLOWNS - My Fear and Fascination, a post about my relationship with clowns at my first blog. Little by little, clown art found its way to me and I had a collection. More than three...right?

So I decided to display what I had. After hanging them (as seen above), I found the tray puzzle. A while later, my son and daughter-in-law brought me a large clown watercolor they found at a thrift store when on vacation. Then, a little over 2 weeks ago, I found another huge clown painting you can read about here. My small space in our computer room wouldn't hold my collection. Pieces were stored away. I would tell myself...."I really need to do something with all my clowns".

SO .....I DID! Finally. Two days ago I got a frame for the tray puzzle. It was the wrong color....or rather a color I didn't like. I found some craft paints and mixed my own color and painted the frame. Then I waited for paint to dry. Boy, that takes a while! When it did dry, I framed the puzzle and was satisfied with the result. Then. yesterday I spent a while arranging & re-arranging my various clown "art" on the floor, until I got an arrangement that I liked. Next, I got my tools....hammer, nails/picture hanging thingys, laser level, stud finder, pencil, yardstick....and commenced to marking & measuring & hanging all my clowns. 

My clown collection is now in my den and it covers a large portion of one wall. It's quite a lot larger than it was, now that it was all gathered together. Here's the final result.

 And here it is from the opposite end. I would need a panoramic camera to get a centered picture!

Now I have plenty of wall space....you know...just in case another clown finds its way to me!