Little Stone Houses

I had stopped at my favorite Goodwill store the other day for a quick skim of the shelves on my way home, when this caught my eye.  It's a house handpainted onto a rock.  They have books out there on how to paint houses and animals and flowers onto rocks, but this is the first time I have seen one of them on the resale market.....or anywhere, for that matter.  I paid the 99 cents they were asking for it and took it home.

This little piece of handicraft is signed on the bottom, 'Moe'.  I don't know who this Moe is, but they took a lot of care completing this little home.  The wood slats were done in a steady hand, and every shingle added. There are adorable details, the chimney, the eaves added as an outline to the rock with a sculpting substance, I forget what's used. You can even see curtains in the windows.  This would have been a lot of detailed work.  I know, because several years ago, my hubby and I also dabbled in finding appropriate rocks and turning them into little homes.  We just did a few, and they were varnished and put out among the plants on my patio. Let me locate my favorite.

Not this little bunny.  He was my only foray into the painting animals on rocks set, and while I'm very proud of him, I do notice that the paint is fading out on his coat.  I guess I'll leave him hiding among the bushes.

My husband worked on this Tudor style stone.  Never quite finished it. Don't know why we don't.

Aha!  There's the one I consider my best piece.  It's intended to be an English cottage, I worked a long time getting that thatched roof right.  It was a labor of love to make that blue door and the plants on the windowsill.  Okay, it's rather weatherbeaten out here, let me clean it up and  bring it in for comparison. 

Hmm, even with a quick wipe down, it looks 'rustic'.  That's okay, it's been a charming accent among my pots and plants for several years, what more can you expect.  The varnish has darkened, so the paint is not as clear and bright as it was originally. 

Side by side they look rather different, tho they're both very similar in intent.  I need to put a coat of lacquer or two on the new cottage, the Moe home, before I put it out to peek among my plantings.  In a couple years I'm sure it too will look rustic and weatherworn, and like it has been home sweet home for many years.

I'm linking up with Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.