christmas surprise

Part of the reason I've dropped off of the blogging radar for most of the past month is that I've had some "projects" going on. Christmas projects. I really wanted most of my gifts this year to be original and made by me. I managed to do a couple of paintings and then...there's the desk.

A couple of months ago my oldest son said he wanted his own desk because he just didn't have enough space to draw. So the wheels started turning and since then I've been working on it bit by bit. Since it was a secret I couldn't work on it during the day since I have an entourage following me around the house every waking moment. So I worked on it at night in the basement. The cold, cold basement.

I started with a desk I found on craigslist for $35. When my husband sanded it for me he discovered that it's made of mohogany. I love good old finds!! I wanted something with good "bones" for starters. They just don't make furniture like they used to. Here is the beginning product:





And here is the end result of hours and hours in the cold, cold basement:





I based it on a theme of exploring the mountains, seas and space. I decoupaged his face and his brothers onto the fishermen and the scuba diver finding treasures under the water. Around the desktop I painted in gold: create, love, imagine, smile, believe, sing, dream, give, be, think, draw, write, rest, paint, wonder, play, read, laugh, explore, fly.



On Christmas morning he saw it but didn't get as excited as I'd hoped...but later in the day he was already at work:



So it was worth it all, even if Santa got all the credit. Now I just need to paint the chair...