Art & Alchemy by Jess

08/16/2026

07/10/2026

I haven't posted in awhile, and honestly might not for awhile again 😅 Currently going through burnout, but also have a ton of house projects on my list to do, and that typically replaces my motivation and energy for my art pieces 😬 I will try to get the bench and bird mirror shelf done in the next month or two, and will post them when done and ready to sell. I hope everyone is having a nice summer so far. Make sure you get outside and have some fun ❤️

06/28/2026

I'm feeling a little defeated. In the past month, I've dealt with 2 different scammers 😓 One made it so far that we were customizing that bird mirror (hanging wall shelf) for them. I went out and spent over $130 on fancy wood and supplies so that I could get a better idea of weight for shipping costs, and then (after communicating for a week and them acting completely onboard) their profile magically disappeared and I could no longer reach them 😡 Lesson learned.

In the future, I will likely only be selling locally. Shipping costs for heavier items/ weird shaped items is really high at the moment (over $100) and I HAVE shopped around. If you are someone looking for something customized and/or want it shipped, I'll need a deposit up front before we start the process. Hopefully that will help deter the scammers. Sigh 😥

06/25/2026

Fun little side quest! My Mom had an old birdhouse decoration that she wanted made over to put on her front porch. I didn't get a good before picture, but originally it was painted red white and blue and had textured wood on the outside. She wanted sunflower decals on it (to match her other decor) which would be difficult to add to a textured surface, so I knocked the whole thing apart and reversed the boards in the middle to be able to do so. I also made a new homemade version of chalk paint that I like a LOT more than my previous recipe (just mix in a little joint compound to pretty much any interior wall paint and viola!). It went on so smoothly and no little white specks left behind, which is a big win! I delivered it today and she's thrilled 🥰 The last picture was it in place on her front porch 😊

06/18/2026

Just placed an order for the winning fabric you all voted on awhile back. It's expected to arrive by July 6th. I'm so excited 😁

(Photo borrowed from Etsy review)

05/16/2026

Trying to keep that algorithm going by sharing some stuff I did in the past...

This was a custom headboard I created for my parents a few years ago. They needed a new one but were having a hard time finding what they wanted. Luckily, I had some really cool pieces left over from an old canopy bed, so I asked if they would be interested in one being made for them and they said, "yes, please!" 🥰

I already had some really cool Douglas fir boards on hand that I just had to cut down to size, but they ended up being perfect for this project. After sanding them down, I used minwax oil stain in special walnut and applied several coats of oil based polyurethane. Little wooden buttons were stained to match and hide the bolts. The black finials on top were purchased from Lowes. The scrollwork in the middle just needed a fresh coat of paint. Voila! ✨️😁

05/13/2026

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Now I just need to build a base for it with a couple of drawers 😁

05/09/2026

A lot of my practice pieces I purchase at local thrift stores. There's so many things you could recreate... just need a little imagination ✨️

05/02/2026

Making some progress on the original mirror project (the one I was practicing for). Funny, this one didn't act ANYTHING like the practice one. Oh... and the glass is tinted blue! 😆 The chemical stripper worked MUCH faster (5 minutes as opposed to 15) and the bleach spray did NOTHING (where it starting working immediately with the practice one) 😅 I ended up with streaky looking edges, which was a bit disappointing, but I grabbed some metallic silver and bronze spray paints and hit the edges, then removed the middle again. It looks like mercury glass to me now and I'm pretty happy with it ☺️ I'll be steaming the paper tomorrow to remove the creases and applying it to the back with modge podge. Then I just need to find some nice oak boards to build the base for the fancy frame I have to go with it.

Lots of progress photos added with descriptions, just in case you're curious of the process 😉😊

04/29/2026

There are SO many videos out there where you get to see the before and after within a minute or two, and the work that's shown is sped up considerably (often lacking the mundane or tedious parts that take the longest). Yes it's fun to watch, but it gives people a false sense of how much time and effort these things actually take.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EPQX2ubkT/