I have been creating art on my kitchen island for years, but mostly for smaller projects. Sometimes I work in the garage on a table I have but, you know, it is in the garage. This morning was so beautiful I decided to complete a project I have had on the back burner for a while. I will not admit how long...

Here is the history behind what I did this morning. A neighbor was having a garage sale and had a table without a top. The glass got broken and they wanted to get rid of the base. It was free, so I loaded it in the van and brought it home. It has lived outside in the back yard ever since. In the meantime, we replaced our old wooden fence with a vinyl one and had the installer leave the "left overs" as I just knew I could find a use for them. They have lived in the back yard ever since.

This morning I arose, saw the beautiful morning, and decided I wanted to finish my current art quilt project outside and enjoy the bird songs and the cool of the morning. I put the table in the patio area, washed and scrubbed the vinyl fence sections and assembled them on the table. I now have a great work table (for free!) and I can still take the top apart if I need more patio space. How cool is that? 

Have you repurposed any yard sale or home items into something useful? Let me know, maybe I have that stuff lying around and would like to create your project.

Have you ever wondered what to do with those white Tyvek envelopes you get in the mail? Paint on them, of course!

I got out my wonderful Golden paints and went right to work. The first thing I did was a light wash of overall color with Phthalo Green (Blue shade). Does that even make sense?

As I waited for the "paint to dry", I defined what I wanted my final look to be. I decided on beach or river bank look. I selected Van Dyke Brown Hue, Paynes Gray,  Interference Violet (Fine), and Carbon Black.

With a thick bristle brush, I did dry stipple work with each color in order. The trick is to space out the colors evenly but in a random pattern. This technique is hard on your brush so use one that has seen better days.

I used a very small amount of each color. I start out with a tiny pea size and work randomly across the surface. A small bit of water or extender can be added but I really wanted to keep the dry grainy look of stone for this piece. This allowed the fibers of the envelope to work with the stippling.

After the piece dried completely I cut random ragged shapes on all edges and made tributary cuts into the body of the piece.

I took a heat gun and applied the hot air to the surface while varying the distance and exposure time. This is a delicate process as too much can produce holes in the work. You have to love the serendipity of the process.

I had so much fun with this process that I purchased a box of Tyvek envelopes at Staples.
Have you been inspired? Have you done this or a similar process. I would love to hear from you.