Vintage Sled with Hand Painted Snowman and Gingerbread House

How about a apple pie from a jar and a nice cup of hot green tea to kick off the morning?  I know... So much for watching my calories, but I will make up for it on the treadmill later. ;)   My quiet morning moment was spent with my mind conjuring up a list of things to do for the day.  Now that I have a few more days of the week open, my work schedule is made up by yours truly.  And let me tell you, my boss is a demanding one! ;) 

First job of the day was to get some photos of my newest creation.  This is a vintage children's sled with a snowman tole painted on it.  The design was inspired by a line drawing from Jamie Mills - Price (another one of my tole favorite artists).   I can't help but alter the drawings a little to fit my personality (the little building was originally a birdhouse), and the fact that I LOVE gingerbread houses! ;)  Plus after years of working with ceramics, I like to put my own eyes on my pieces.  It gives a sense of familiarity to the little being looking back at me. :)

This is one of my smaller sleds measuring 32 1/2 inches tall.  I left as much of the sled original as possible.  The metal and runners are rusty with a little bit of their original red paint.  The painted image is only on the top side of the seat, so the original wood is exposed from the back.  I could see some pine tree bough accents added to this sled, but due to shipping weight and box size, I decided to leave that detail to the new owner.

The image on the sled is approximately 21 inches tall.  I filled every bit of the wood space with the painted scene.  It made it a little challenging with the size of the sled, but it looks sooo cute!

I made a matching coffee stained hand tag for gift giving.  The snowman on the tag was colored with washed out acrylics to give it a watercolor appearance.

A close up of his darling face! :)

I really could have went crazy with the details on this gingerbread house.  They have always fascinated me.  My favorite holiday show is the gingerbread house competitions on the Food Channel.

I really love working on vintage sleds and have made it an option to do custom ones on my Etsy store.  Past customer's have really enjoyed the new life that it gives to their children's old playthings, and it really adds a wonderful touch to their wintry decorations. :)

Now, I am off to put a few coats of varnish on a vintage Santa sled.  There are some new wooden Christmas ornaments that need their photos taken.  Then,  I need to get painting on some little gourds... Better get movin'! :)

Painting Santa on a Vintage Sled

Here is my next work in progress from a pattern created by Shirley Wilson entitled A Merry Little Christmas. I love the use of contrasting colors on this piece. They accentuate the glow of the candle. It might get a little snow on the black background. (The sled will get sealed first and then the snow applied. That way, I can wipe it off if I do not like it!) I'll post the finished piece when the wood at the top gets its paint and lettering. A catchy name for the top has not transformed yet. Hopefully, it will come to me in the next few days! ;)

Painting a Bear on a Vintage Sled

I would like to begin this post with the confession that I am a flea market and garage sale addict :0) , and this post will show how I channelled this addiction to do good in my life...

I have found that both of the venues mentioned above are great sources for a variety of surfaces to paint on inexpensively (and with an earth friendly twist!) . I soon created a list of paint friendly items to hunt for and, along with the efforts of my parents, began to stockpile all kinds of inventory. At the same time, I was filling sketch books with roughs of original decorative ideas and began to collect books from various tole artists. I dreamed of the day when I would turn the items into 'recycled' collectibles. The only problem that I had was stopping long enough to put the plan into action. I am happy to announce, that with the creation of Pumpkin Hollow, my dreams are finally seeing the light of day. Yep... It's time to pick up the brushes! But where to start first? Hmmmmm...




SLEDS!! Cold weather is coming, and as you can see by the rafters in my garage, I could spare a few! I will try not to rant to much about my fascination with sleds (or vintage items in general). Okay, give me a little moment here...I can't help but think about all the different models and manufacturers over the years... Not to mention, all the generations of children that have enjoyed them... But what does one do with them when they have run out of use?? Well... give them the honor of being the decorative centerpiece throughout the season, of course!

For my first sled, I was excited to use a pattern from a favorite artist of mine, Shirley Wilson of Ladybug Art (see side bar). Her holiday art has that mystical nostalgic warmth that makes me feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. I armed myself with her book, enlarged and transferred the pattern, and created my own rendition of "Naughty or Nice". (I was never good at sticking to instructions!)


It may not be as expressionistic as Shirley's original, but I couldn't be more thrilled with the results!

I can't help but be reminded of a Chow Chow that I used to have when looking at it. (Her face resembled a teddy bear!)

I do really like this sled. It is hard not to become attached to a finished piece; even though, I know that I can make another. **sigh** The idea is to get enough pieces finished to make a new page of my blog or open an etsy store to sell the collectables that I create. So if there is an item that you are interested in, just email me at pumpkinhollowprimitives (at) hotmail (dot) com. I already have the next sled in progress, and a couple of gourds that would like to get dressed for the season!