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No one ever said, "Here Tif, take this life map, follow it and your life will be perfect." That's never happened to any of us, but ironically enough I am grateful for all of my life experiences. The good and the bad. Each experience has helped me to become the woman I am today--wiser, stronger and still willing to take risks.
I will continue to create because that is who I am.
“Beautiful minds inspire others.”
Melissa's beautiful teacher friends definitely inspired and encouraged each other through the painting process today. The original piece that led to our owl painting was brown, but Sarah's idea to make a snow owl inspired others to try it too. I feel lucky to have worked with such a fun group of women!
So cute!
Finished pieces.
Painting the background.
There is one thing I know I inherited from my mom's side of the family, and that is the ability to get shit done! My grandma, my mom and I all have this insane obsession to rearrange our furniture no matter how big the task may seem or how late the night may get. This weekend I got a "wild hair up my ass", as my mom would have called it, and totally rearranged, revamped and decluttered the art studio. It was no easy task, but thanks to my almost teenage son we accomplished the unimaginable! We moved the HUGE and HEAVY art island to the opposite side of the room. Now when guests walk into the space they are greeted with a cozy seating area and space for their belongings. Oh yeah, and two studio dogs, Brunson and Princess Leia as well. I still have more to do, but it is totally ready for Melissa's Owl Paint class on Wednesday and monthly classes to begin in 2017. I'll be posting new classes on January 1, 2017!
On Friday, November 18th we had a paint and sip party at Rishi's Community Yoga Studio. Special thanks to Laurie Claire Collection and Jamie Hermansen for inviting me to this event. We had a wonderful evening filled with laughter and good times while painting a tree of life inspired silhouette.
On Tuesday, November 15th we had our Wine, Women and Wealth networking meetup at Switchboard Networking Boutique in Westminster, but this time we spent some our time together painting a bison--the symbol of abundance, strength and living with balance. Kristen Judd does an amazing job each month teaching us about finances and empowers us to be good financial decision makers. I am thankful to be a part of this group and to have the opportunity to meet so many amazing women.
“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities are limitless.”
We are just about ready to hit the road! Finishing up final touches on the exterior and interior, getting artwork and merchandise ready and networking with other businesses for unique shopping experiences.
Exterior of the Cardinal trailer named Jayne.
The Journey of Jayne began in June 2016 and has evolved into the Blue Bucket Mobile Boutique and Gallery over the past five months. Initially when I found this trailer I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep the original interior and just work around it to fit my needs or take it out, but I realized I needed to take a chance if I wanted my vision to become a reality.
The interior of the trailer before the remodel.
After studying the space in this super cute vintage trailer, I began to sketch my vision of what the mobile boutique would eventually become.
These are the ideas I thought I would be doing in the trailer and for the most part the design has stayed the same, but with time and chats with a way more experienced person than me, Ken, we decided to make a few changes to the initial design.
Starting the demo of the interior of the trailer.
1950s fencing found on Craigslist.
When I saw this fencing on Craigslist, I knew it was going to be perfect for the back wall. Originally I had hoped to use it for the front of the trailer as well, but decided not to since I didn't have enough fencing to do both. The extra was used to create the sides to the wheel well covers.
For the flooring, a friend of mine had some tongue and groove Beetle Kill Pine so I decided to randomly stain planks with some dark and light colors while adding a little bit of color to some of the planks too.
These pieces were also found through Craigslist. This wood is salvaged from the flooring of a semi-tractor trailer. The two wide long pieces are intended for the counter top, the two wide short pieces are for the tops of the wheel well covers and the two long thin planks are for the shelving.
As we got deeper into the remodel, I realized it had more water damage than initially expected. As you can see, there is significant damage in the seams and corner of the floor. However, all of it was gutted and replaced with a solid new sub floor and beautiful paneling.
Reinforcement put into the walls so hanging the shelves won't be a problem.
In the pictures below you can see the new paneling throughout, the counter top installed and the wheel well boxes framed out and just about ready to be completed. All of the rotten paneling has been replaced, yay!.
The interior of the trailer is currently a work in progress, but it is coming together so beautifully. The 1950s fencing is on the back wall and the wheel wells. The counter top is made from the salvaged wood pictured earlier.
10/16/16 The flooring is completely installed and the wheel wells are solid now. I'm thinking about putting the BLUE BUCKET sign in between the two back windows on the feature wall. The shelves and lighting will be up soon.
Next up is the exterior paint job. The colors I have chosen to use are BODY: Freshly Washed (light blue), ACCENT: Spring Gentian (darker blue), DOOR/WHEELS: Dressed to the Nines (red).
“One kind word can change someone’s entire day.”
Life experiences have taught me that recognizing the goodness in people of all ages whether it's an eight year-old third grader or an 83 year-old grandma can positively impact someone's day. One of my favorite ways to show people I appreciate and notice them is by leaving little Notes of Gratitude and Inspiration. I love to carry these small notes in my car, purse and fitness bag so I can spread gratitude wherever I go. Find yours today at Unlisted Market in Centennial, CO, order here on b-bucket.com or check out the other artists as well at Gratitudealways.com and let's start spreading goodness and gratitude one little note at a time. Be sure to share your photos and stories with #bbucketboutique.
Little leave behind notes to brighten anyone's day.
The Blue Bucket Mobile Boutique and Gallery is coming together. The interior of the trailer is completely paneled and the back feature wall with reused 1950s fencing looks beautiful!
The reclaimed wood countertop is installed with cabinet space below.
The wheel wells are staged and ready to be finished soon with a combination of the reclaimed fencing and shipping planks.
Finally, the salvaged Beetle Kill Pine floors should be completely installed today. I put a random pattern stain on the wood pieces with a little splash of color on a few planks just to have an artistic flair to the floor.
There is still more to be done, but I'm hoping it will be ready to roll about the beginning of November.
“I always find beauty in things that are odd and imperfect—they are much more interesting. ”
Old fence planks.
Well, I think these old fencing planks definitely qualify as odd and imperfect which makes them perfect for me! I found 50 square feet on Craigslist which is probably more than I will need for the trailer project, but I figured I could use any extra for other art projects as well. The planks came from an old fence deep in the heart of the Cherry Creek Denver. The planks are 10" x 1" x 60".
First thing I knew I needed to do was scrape the loose paint off of the planks. From there I did a quick sanding because I wanted to keep as much of the paint on the planks as I could. The next step was scrubbing the planks with a wire brush and cleaning them off with soap and water.
After all the planks were prepped and cleaned, I began staining them. I used stain I already had in the garage from a previous project a couple of years ago. I had two dark walnut stains and used both of them randomly.
BEFORE
H helped me prep the planks.
Small planks stained.
Staining planks.
AFTER
This was a fun, quick afternoon project that took a total of about 4 hours. I hope this inspires you to do something creative too!
Tiffany removing seating framing and cushions.
Today Ken, Karen and I met to discuss the design and work we'll be doing on the trailer. I shared my sketches with them through email, but we still needed to meet and make adjustments to my vision so it meshes with the reality of working with a vintage trailer.
Thankfully, our meeting was super successful, and I am beyond excited! Ken and Karen of Vintage Trailers are swamped with work right now, but our goal is to have the total renovation done by August 1st.
A few things we plan on doing are removing the seating area (pictured above) and just making boxes to cover the wheel wells. We'll be removing the closet and upper cabinets so the length of the counter top will change from 61" and go the width of the trailer which is about 80". We'll also remove the upper cabinets on the side walls.
The back and the front walls are going to have salvaged barn wood installed horizontally. The two side walls and the ceiling are going to be painted white. Below is a pic of the the wood I found for the front wall above the counter. This distressed wood will be located from the counter height up to the base of where the upper cabinets are currently. We'll be adding a shelf at the point where the ceiling curves into the wall behind the cabinet doors. I love the blue grey distressed wood!
Distressed wood for walls.
The seating area is going to be removed and redesigned.
Current kitchen to be removed and redesigned.
Upper cabinets and closet wall to be removed and redesigned.
While I was there today, I pulled up the nasty stick and peel flooring to expose the sub floor which is just plywood. My plan is to find a salvaged wood tongue and groove type of flooring. I'll let you know how the search goes and keep you posted with the progress of the transformation.
“When a cardinal appears in your yard, it’s a visitor from heaven.”
1967 Vintage Cardinal Deluxe Trailer--Jayne
Photo Source: Tiffany Stout
So here she is, Jayne, a 1967 Cardinal trailer. Some may use words like old, useless, or a hot mess to describe her. Not me. When I look at this vintage trailer, I notice potential, charm and gratitude. I'll try my best to share my vision with you, so you don't think I've gone completely crazy.
The pop-up truck industry is booming across the US with food and fashion trucks, and although we're not ready to plunge into a step van we are super excited to transform the cute vintage trailer pictured (above) into our mobile shop. We are hopeful to make it just as cute as the one pictured (below) (source unknown) with our own graphics unique to the Blue Bucket Boutique.
Beautifully restored Cardinal
Photo Source: Unknown
The plan is to maintain the vintage charm while transforming the interior using salvaged wood for shelving, the counter top and flooring. We're thrilled at the opportunity to meet and share our most treasured gifts with the amazing people that bring us all together.
Finally, we are grateful for the many people who have ventured into the world of vintage trailer restoration and have shared so many wonderful ideas and helpful tips. We are just as grateful for the opportunity to transform something often looked upon as old, useless or outdated into a beautiful mobile boutique. We hope you decide to follow The Journey of Jayne and let our experiences inspire you on your own journey.
Photo Source: http://www.shopwanderlustvintage.com/p/our-shop.html
The summer art classes have been so much fun for all of us. I have enjoyed working with a small group of people from seven years old to adult on a weekly basis. I wasn't sure I would be able to do it. Fear sometimes does that to us, it makes us doubt what we are truly capable of doing. In one of our classes we created affirmation collages. My affirmation was, "I choose to be generous with my time, talents, and love." I feel like I've been living this way and it feels amazing! I love sharing art with others.
Creating our affirmation collages.
For those of you who know a little bit about me, I am a third grade teacher and for the last month and a half I have been busily preparing and launching the new school year. Every year I LOVE to create a yearlong class theme and this year is no different. Our class theme is Bloom Where You Are Planted. We are off to a great start and I am ready to share some of these creative juices at Blue Bucket Art Studio again.
Kids make the BEST self-portraits.
During the summer months, I fortunately had the time to devote at least one day per week to teaching classes at Blue Bucket Art Studio. The classes were made up of students from the age of eight up to adults. We created mixed media collages, pen and pastels landscapes, acrylic paintings, and tape resit paintings. It was a great experience for me as a teacher and the students told me they really enjoyed the classes.
My goal this fall is to provide the time, place, materials, and instruction for individuals to explore his or her creative spirit and find his or her artistic voice through various mediums.
Blue Bucket summer classes have begun! Once a week I am teaching classes for kids ages 8 and up. Our first week we did tape resist whales, second week patterns, pastels, paintings of landscapes, and this upcoming week will be an affirmation collage. I am so excited to be combining my love for teaching with my passion for art. It is so much fun to see the kids creating and smiling with their pieces.
Tape resist with watersoluble wax pastels
Patterns, pastels, and paints!
