Make some "useable art" for your home or studio!

If you don't feel confident yet painting wall murals, then why not try making some useable art?

This is a brilliant idea for your home or studio or wherever you may have guests!

One piece I made by chance, has ended up being one of my best pieces and I have had orders for these.. When we were building our house, I was helping to clean up the site, when I came across some fairly big planks of wood that were used for forming.. these were 1 x 10 inches pieces of wood about 4 feet long, they had been thrown in the burn pile.. and I thought that was such a waste..I had to turn it into useable art!

They had been out all summer and had weathered and looked rustic in my eye.. My husband thought I was crazy picking them out of the burn pile, but I cleaned one up, then I painted it in a simple folk art fashion.. I painted it with a blue sky along the 4 feet and then hilly hills of green patches for fields and them blobs of white for sheep.. then a fence.. it looked cute!.. I then attached 4 coat hooks to this piece of wood, and my husband attached to the wall in the back entrance to our house (made sure that it attached to the stud wall) and we use it all the time for coats, hats etc.. we try not to overcrowd it, so that you can see the painting.

It ads colour and whimsy to a otherwise plain back door.. and it kept a piece of wood out of the burn pile!.. If you make something like this, just make sure to put on at least 3 coats of satin or gloss varathane for durability... try it!

There are all kinds of little ideas like this, that people will notice when they enter your home or studio.. you could make a smaller version for your dog leashes etc, and sell those at craft shows.. I call this "useable art".. and I find it sells more, as people feel they get two uses, to look nice and useable!