Sleepover Photo Shoot

What do you do when your daughters are having a sleepover? Book a photo session with Fantastically Funky Photography! I had so much fun photographing these girls. There was lots of loud music, singing and LOTS of outfit changes. 

If you're looking for a fun photo session, gather your kids and their friends and book a group session! Great for graduations and summer fun!  

The Definition of Fantastically Funky

Sometimes I tell people my business name and they look at me with a puzzled look. 

Or suggest another name I might use. 

But some totally get it. 

Well in case you're one of those that is wondering what the heck 

"Fantastically Funky" 

actually means, 

this fabulous red dresser is the definition. 

It's got good bones.

It's old and bursting with character. 

It's got good legs!

And that was all before it was shabbified.

But afterward.... It is 

Fantastically Funky.

That's really the definition. 

To have something great to begin with - which sometimes includes scars, dirt, and ugly paint,

 and to have a vision for it to become something amazing.

Something that you can't find just anywhere. 

Something that will bring you joy. 

I LOVE the people that get what it's all about. 

I don't think I would have been ballsy enough to paint her red, truth be told. 

But one of my best customers found her and when we talked color, and she said she wanted to go with red, I realized she totally gets it!

Once she was all painted, sanded and glazed, I knew that she was a poster child for all things Fantastically Funky.

Chalkboard Mania

I have a serious 

chalkboard addiction. 

It probably stems from my serious           word addiction.

I love having the freedom to add subliminal messages all over the place. 

I recently saw a chalkboard topped homework table on pinterest and knew I was going to use that idea for a table that was awaiting it's makeover in my workshop.

I painted it in my signature Shabby Turquoise, distressed and glazed it. I think it makes a great homework station or would be a whimsical grown up table!

But this is just my latest chalkboard adventure. As I was thinking about this post, I decided to wander through my house and see how many chalkboards there actually are.

This one has hung in my kitchen for ages. Filled with lots of great reminders.

(The door of my pantry is also painted but had too much personal junk to photograph...)

The bathroom cupboard got this treatment during a recent makeover. 

My children's favorite (not) is this chore board that I made from a leftover piece of bead board. It's functional but I couldn't resist including another small reminder! And yes, that does say "feed pig" - the pig on the other side of the fence gets all our kitchen scraps!

This one was made from an old cupboard door that was a roadside scavenge. I added a couple of cute knobs and handles and it hangs in my girl's room. I love that they wrote 
"be appreciate"!

And yes, I even went so far as to paint part of my studio floor. 

Call me crazy but I think it's a pretty fun treatment!

And of course, a little sign on my desk is another good reminder to be grateful.

Anyway, all this to say: wether it's a table, a floor, a door or something as simple as a regular little sign, all you need is a quart of chalkboard paint and a flat surface to get your imagination flowing! 

Give it a try and let me know what you've given the chalkboard treatment to.

The Little Couch That Could

Is there anything better than having someone say, out of the blue, "hey, I have this thing, do you want it"?

I say, very few things are better than that!

I recently had one of my awesome photography clients contact me with that very question. She sent me a picture of a rather sad little couch with the most excellent of bones.

I dragged my complaining teenage son with me to help me stuff it into my jeep, with not an inch to spare.

Then I ignored his negative words about how ugly it was and what was I going to do with it, blah blah blah...

A couple of weeks later I dragged him down to my studio again to help me move it into the other room, which consists of the wonkiest hallway situation you've ever seen. Where, not surprisingly he complained ceaslessley as both of us ended up stuck, along with the couch standing straight up, in the hallway.

I tried to teach him the value in not stating the obvious negative problems but in finding a solution. I'm not so sure he heard me. But when I unscrewed the legs in order to get it in the doorway and then began to attack it with paint (the legs were originally plain wood) and a new (Goodwill Score!)cover, I do believe he changed his tune. 

It's not the greatest recovering, I'll admit. But it was a no-sew fix, a huge improvement and will do for now. It has found it's new home in the sunny corner of my art room and has become a cozy spot to write, nap and chill. 

Even my dog has approved.

And as always, this little comfy couch has reminded me of the beauty of one woman's junk being another woman's treasure. 

Thank you Belinda!

Spontaneous Kitchen Attack

I'm wondering if I am the only person who one minute can simply be putting dishes away on a Saturday morning, and the next minute this happens:

I have lived in my little country house for 4 1/2 years now and love so many things 

about it. 

But there's one thing I have LOATHED the entire time, and that's the counter tops. Both the kitchen and the bathroom have been adorned with the most hideous PINK formica.

 You know, the kind with the little silver glittery flecks in it? 

Because I am not the type to actually plan big projects and be prepared and all, most times these things happen spontaneously. 

Like when putting dishes away when the thought pops into my head that i should just rip off the backsplash and paint it. Now. 

So I did. But then that just made the pinkness of the countertops all the more obvious. So before I knew it, demolition had begun. 

The idea has been in my head for a long time, actually. And a few months ago I did a little corner where my junk drawers are, just to see how it would look. 

By the time Monday morning had come, the entire kitchen had been painted, glazed, and coated with 3 coats of polyurethane. 

But of course, now every time I walked past the bathroom and saw the pink counter top in there I cringed. 

So......this: 

Turned in to this:

I am so happy with the change.

And may I just say, don't let a "big" project like this scare you or keep you from making a change that will infuse your room with fresh, new, fantastic funkyness! It was so worth the sore fingers and few days of upheaval! 

And if you are too nervous to do it yourself, call me. I can help....

  

All My (Plates) In One Basket

I am known to be a spinner of many plates. 

I went to the Shanghai Circus a few years ago and watched the guys who literally spin plates on a long stick. It's amazing enough to do one, but they kept adding more sticks and more plates until it was mind boggling to think that what they were doing was even possible. 

As I sat there watching, I couldn't help but feel like this was a metaphor for my life. 

This doesn't only apply in my personal life, but in my creative and professional lives as well. 
There are so many things that I want to do and learn and create and it sometimes feels like I am bouncing all over the place suffering from some sort of
creative-multi-personality-disorder. 

I have managed to narrow things down to my three main categories:
Children & Family Photography, Furniture Design, and Mixed Media Art. 
(Although I do also write a food blog called Swigs and Grinds, 
which I have been seriously neglecting of late).

I have been a boutique children's photographer for my whole adult life, and absolutely LOVE connecting with my subjects and creating artistic, candid, fun photographs that people will treasure forever. It is only recently that I have become a furniture maven, and that by way of clients always wanting to buy my shabby chic furniture that was in my photography studio. 

Then about a year ago, I had an overwhelming need to create simply for the sake of creating, not because an order had to be filled or a consignment piece had to be refinished. This is where I began to dabble in Mixed Media Art, and teach myself enough techniques so that I could have a fun way to create some positive and whacky "art", if you will.

So because I recently felt like I was spreading my spinning plates in so many directions all over the internet, I decided to gather them all and put them into one basket which has found it's home at the new "Fantastically Funky" website.  

There you will find portfolios for my photography, furnishings and mixed media art. 
There is also a Fantastically Funky Facebook Page.

Please stop by and say hello and also keep up with new pieces and specials going on in the studio. 
And THANK YOU for supporting all of the fantastically funky plates that I am spinning!

Amazing Armoire

"Shabby Turquoise" Armoire
$1900

I'm in love. Again. 

I just finished this amazing armoire, and I really think it is the coolest piece I've done yet. 

I needed just the right color, which I didn't have except in my head. 

So I set about mixing paint like a mad scientist until I came up with what I call 

"Shabby Turquoise".

It was pretty amazing to begin with.

But so much cooler, I think, once it got shabby-fied.

The glaze really brings out the details and the grain of the wood.

Now I suppose it's on to the next....