Very, very pretty Gail, you're an excellent painter.

Aren't the fan blades a fun surface. I think you can buy replacement blades, but the only time I used any was when my SIL's fan broke and she kept the blades for us to paint on. LOL

I love the walking sticks. That will make it lots more fun, and probably help strike up conversations with people along the way too. Very nice.

Luvs

I also did a couple of fan blades for Halloween last year. They are somewhere in the Gallery and I have an unfinished Santa in queue. Your's are lovely and I like the idea of doing one as an address sign. Very good idea. The canes are nice too. I should ask my MIL if she'd like me to doody her's up for her next time we visit. ha For sure if you have to use one it aught to at least be fun and pretty. TFS ~Anj

What I like is there's no prepping just prime and paint. I'll have to do some up for Halloween. Since my show is in Sept. they might sell. Thanks for the idea Anj :) Gail

Beautiful job! who would have thought, fan blades to paint on, and to think I threw some away, after stareing at them for months trying to think of something I could do with them.
love the welcome sine!
Oddie

When we were full time crafters and did lots of shows (25-30 a year), I painted on fan blades. We went to a blade company and bought several boxes of different styles. I liked the smaller ones best. Some have wicker inserts, and I didn't use as many of those. They were considered 'rejects', but I could find very few flaws-some needed only a bit of sanding and some might have just been 'overstock'. I still have a 'considerable' number of them. They are unfinished, so painting or staining was easy. I did some with bathtub cutouts, paint bubbles rising, and some with a toilet cutout, and put cotton eyelet lace around them. I also did some 'Welcome' ones.

Nona, that was a great idea to get unfinished blades, would never have thought of that.

I love the primers, they adhere to most anything with little or no sanding. I've used it on old, previously painted wood items and even on old suitcases. Covers up well, and gives good adhesion for the painting you do on top.

So how did you and Bill decide to go on the craft show circuit? Had you always enjoyed crafts even before you started selling your items?

Luvs

Nona, I am constantly looking for items to use when I do Art Day at our elementary school. I demonstrate recycled arts. Where did you find the unfinished ceiling fan blades. I would love to have some to paint them for my new collection for next spring. I have now added another school to demo at and may possibly be adding another. I have shown everything from bowling balls, coffeepot windchimes, repurposed bluejeans, windblown privacy fence painted (hurricane art). We are painting on glass bottles to show this year also. Thanks
Peg

What a great idea, Gail! I've seen a few painted fan blades recently, but the idea of using them for welcome signs and house numbers had never occurred to me. It'd be great to do up several for the various holidays or seasons and be able to change them out. I love being able to decorate seasonally, but don't have a lot of room to store decorations - these would be great since a stack of them wouldn't take up much space, but would add great color to your front door or entranceway.

Thanks, I've thought of doing just that. You could have one for every season or every month if you'd like. If it's a very windy day they do tend to get twisted, so what I've done is put a little velcro sticky on the back near the bottom of the blade. That seems to work. Maybe if you hang them with a craft wire it might not twist? Something to work on.

Luvs, I was my Daddy's helper when he worked carpenter jobs, during the summer when school was out) and my Mothers father was a sawyer in a saw mill. Wood was in my blood!
I always liked cutting wooden shapes, and got my first bandsaw for Christmas in 1973. My Sis-in laws were outraged! LOL I loved it! Still use it.
I took some tole and craft painting classes when Bill was at sea, and it just mushroomed from there. Painted on anything wooden that I could find at yard sales and flea mkts, because I couldn't take the Bandsaw to Charleston. When he retired in 1982, we went full-time. We had been doing local mall shows, meaning from Pensacola to Panama city (he was stationed in PC from '79 to '82), and the local outdoor shows here. DD and I lived in our house in Pensa. those years, so she would graduate from a local HS in '82. Bill bought a Shopsmith while in PC, and built a small shed to work in-he lived in our Motor home.
The only thing I can't do in the shop since Bill died, is put a belt on the 6"x48" sander. I hope my SonNLaw can figure it out. It has always been touchy! Now I have told you more than you wanted to know!!! LOL

Not at all Nona, I find it very interesting to hear how people came to do crafts, especially painting. It is so great that Bill shared your love of woodcrafts and the two of you could do the shows together. Know you met lots of nice people and were never bored. You have allot of talent lady--and there are so many projects still waiting to be painted. Grab that paintbrush and come join us. We can paint lots of good junk for our gardens too. Always love hearing from you. Luvs