Patent Pending!!

It is official, I have my provisional patent pending for what are now called "Toni's Comfort Tees"    , Necessity being the mother of invention, I constructed three of these using large mens tee shirts for fabric and made some post surgical undergarments for my Mom ~the original mother of invention!! Production will be starting soon and then hopefully some distribution to local cancer support groups. So much to do for such a little shirt!

Just Faux Fun

My first faux painting was probably done at some point in junior high working on stage sets. But now, as an adult, (and an unemployed adult) I have tapped into my childhood resources and embraced my creativity as a source of income.   After being laid off from a corporate position, I worked at Gerardo's Italian Bakery for a bit. Taking over an unused corner of a local farm stand and turning it into an Italian haven of cookies and rum cakes we wanted to warm up the area. I volunteered my services and painted the back wall. One mildly distressed wall and one edge of cracked plaster. Not too bad. I was happy that my experiment worked out ok. The bakery expanded and soon my feature wall was stuck behind some shelves and a bread rack, but if you look closely you could see it peeking out.......

A year later, the owners of the farmstand asked if I would be interested in replicating the feature in the luncheon area. Why not?? So I started and before I was even half way done, the project was expanded to a second panel and then a third. Jamie jumped in to help. Another excellent day with him by my side!! We painted the back wall with crumbling plaster, exposed brick and a tiny vine breaking through to the warmth of the inside.

What a great way to spend the day, painting with someone you love, creating a fantasy for others to enjoy and being compensated for your time. Really? Can I just do this every day?

Before we started the wall looked like this: water stained plywood, a few rusty nails.....

Mid process Jamie is painting bricks......
When it was completed we achieved what we set out to do, made a fun wall that not so much copies exactly, but gives you an alternative to reality.

This left side wall and corner will be covered with shelves so we kept the detail here to a minimum. Rumor has it that the walls look better in person. If you would like to visit them, you may! Just go to Bolton Orchards at 125 Still River Road in Bolton MA. http://boltonorchards.com/

Order up some lunch, sit and enjoy the view!