Painted Metal Tray With Fruits and Flowers

The Find 

Not all freestyle finds require sanding, painting, or a significant overhaul. Some freestyle finds just require a proper cleaning before being put back into services, such was the case with the painted metal tray found earlier this year.  I took it because - in the dim light of an evening walk - the greenish color looked like it might blend well with the newly refinished kitchen table.  After a proper cleaning I was able to lay the painted metal tray on the table the compare, both items have aged grayish tones although the tray is greener.  

Metal tray painted with fruits and greenery

I decided to keep the tray for now since it covers up the seam in the middle of the kitchen table nicely, and provides a place to put produce.

Conclusion

Here is the current incarnation of the tray, serving it's painted purpose of holding fruit on the kitchen table; a perfect fresh-and-fruity centerpiece for every meal.

Metal tray and fruit centerpiece.

Happy Freestyling and Restyling!

Finds: Pastel insert & Pomegranate dessert

You might remember my earlier post about freestyle-on-the-road finds from my summer trip to the home state.... If not, I've included a picture below to jog your memory about the neat-o frames I found and was able to bring back to Cambridge. As I was taking this stuff across country I was reminded of those Antiques Roadshow-esque moments where someone is describing how they came across a tsarist russian medal/ ancient nubian war mask/ signed copy of the Magna Carta in some random basement/ flea market and everyone wonders just how on earth did it get there??? Yeah, well, this is how. People grab stuff they think is cool, pack it up, ship it all over, sell it/ forget about it/ pass it on to unappreciative heirs...and then bam, church basement rummage sale.  Hmm, maybe I should go to more of those...  Anyway, back to the frames, specifically the one in the upper right corner of the picture.

Garage sale leftovers, best served free!

 I gave the wooden one (with pastel-ish insert) to Creative Roommate as a gift from the heartland, she loved it. She also liked the free t-shirt I wrapped the frame in, grey, her favorite!  Naturally a frame is not fulfilling its highest and best use until it is accenting some art, especially if that art involves food.

I weeell be nomming this pomegranate.

Creative Roommate found inspiration in a cute picture of a meerkat nomming on a pomegranate. (For those of you who have never seen the site Cute Overload, 'nomming' is eating- but done by super cute animals. Be warned, clicking on the CuteOverload link can lead to many work-wasting giggle minutes.)

So there it goes, from distant free pile to Cambridge freestyle.  Happy nommings.

Four-part Freestyle Frame

Found: A grouping of four frames, with one unattached.

Location: Cambridge DPW

Time: Back in mid-july, where did summer go?

Something is off.....

I turned this over to Creative Roommate, who figured out a way to separate the top two frame elements from the rest. Add in some simian inspiration, and voila, new art for the feeding wall.

Nom nom nom nom nom

We've turned a corner in our relationship

The new frame is on the far right. Technically the feeding wall has expanded onto walls plural, we've turned a freestyle corner!  You can now see our electrical box, fetching isn't it?  Some of the other pictures on this wall have yet to be featured, check back for more detailed photos and descriptions.