Denim Does It

What says 'Country' as much as cows and hay bales, horses and barns, or tractors and gardens?

Denim and Patchwork.

Whether you're talking about coveralls or quilts, a peaceful country scene seems to come to mind. And, what can be better than combining the two?
Painting something to look like it!

The first time I tried this technique, I fell in love with it. It started many years ago when I was painting a large wood scarecrow with denim overalls. The knees came out kind of worn and ragged looking. Forgotten for years, it all came back when I started a new project for my granddaughter, who's learning how to sew. The small box was originally going to be something totally different, until I started painting. There's where it decided to be different. At the step pictured below, something more needed to be added.

 Remember FabCopy? It was just the thing to be added.

 Some glue, and then some hash marks for accent brought this little box to completion.

 With something to hold her thread and little whatnots, there needed to be more. I flew by the seat of my pants on this pincushion, but how hard could they be? The fabric was all ready to go- just paint, stuff, and glue came to be this:

 And then two pieces didn't seem like enough. My stash yielded a dry erase board waiting to be decorated. Projects and measurements must be marked down, so here's where she can do that.

 Now complete, all I have to do is get it to her.

 The denim/patchwork bug was burrowed in and there were more items in my stash, and my hand was itching to paint more. Slowly, I have been decorating the kitchen, trying to come up with a basic I could work off of and still have a large color palette theme to choose from. Having circled around a lot of options, denim and patchwork fit the bill more than anything.
First up on the work desk was this box, with it's random placement of 1/2" squares.

 Originally, I had painted stripping for under the cabinets, but it just didn't fit with the decor. Denim did.

 Here's a closeup.

 The spring and summer curtains, with cows and barns and Country Blue ruffles will fit right in!

 Now that this kitchen project is under way, I've got a focus point. I'll have to be patient and wait for more ideas to pop up about future denim decorations.

Potholders come to mind, but they'll be the real McCoy! If you have any ideas, be sure to leave them in the comment section below. I'd love to hear them!



 Toodles.



Cowland Studio