Projects

Bonjour Mes Amis!

How is your week going so far?

Wow, it sure is hard to believe we are already into the second week of January, isn't it?!

Today I thought I'd share with you a few projects that I recently completed.

All are in my Etsy shop, if you care to take a look!

My sister has been busy cleaning out her attic, and found this cabinet door that she thought I could do something with.  Of course, I forgot to take before shots of everything I'm showing you today, darn!

Anyway, it wasn't vintage or anything, otherwise I would probably have kept its original paint and patina.

It was boring golden oak, and so ready for a fresh look and new lease on life!

Immediately I thought of creating a coat hook out of it.

So, I painted it in my favorite shade of light blue chalk paint.

 I then stenciled this gorgeous large skeleton key to the front.  (I wish it would show up better in the photos!)

I used several different colors for my stencil, to give it a dimensional look.

 One of the best things about this project was I had everything for it, except the hooks!

I found those at the hardware store and had my handy hubby mount them for me.

It was a fun project, and I am happy with the end result!

(so, my sister can pass along more "junk" from her attic to me any day!!)

 Next up is this large vintage wooden cigar box that I found while out thrifting.

I see plenty of cigar boxes on my hunts, but I've never come across one this large before!

It was very well made, and had a neat brass latch and hinges, so I just knew that I could do something with it!

 So, I painted it inside and out with a pretty creamy taupe chalk paint.  I left the inside lid unpainted, to show off the original cigar ad (wow, only 5 cents each, this box must be old!!).

I also knew that I wanted to decoupage something to the lid. After some thought I decided on these beautiful roses, compliments of The Graphics Fairy.

If you ever decoupage, you know how tedious it can be to cut out details by hand, but the results are worth it, I think!

 Just for fun, I added the address of a Parisian flower market to the sides.

 I just love finding boxes that I can transform with paint and a little tlc.

The one below was also a thrifted find.  It was a dark reddish brown when I found it, and I could hardly wait to paint it the same pretty light blue as my coat hook project.

The neat thing about this box is that it also holds a photo.  I placed a scrap of pretty floral paper beneath the glass insert for the time being. The lid has a metal insert, and features a beautiful floral cut out design.  

 Of course, I distress nearly all of my projects, to give them what I like to call

"that aged over time look".

I almost forgot to show you my knife, fork and spoon trays.
A few weeks ago, hubby came home with a set of three vintage wood trays.
I just love it when he comes home with goodies for me from the thrift store!
(he knows just what to look for!)
Anyway, they were a dark wood finish, and on their backsides was imprinted
"Toastmaster Hospitality Tray".
They were made right here in Michigan (Grand Haven), back in the 1950's.

 While I don't always know right away just how I will make something over,
if I look at the object long enough, inspiration will eventually strike!
So, since there were three trays, I thought it would be fun to decoupage them with these gorgeous copies of a giant knife, fork and spoon.  All were found on The Graphics Fairy.
First I painted the trays in the same creamy taupe that I used for the cigar box.

I had so much fun with this project!

 It's amazing how realistic and dimensional the silverware looks!

And I couldn't resist sharing a pic of Katie, perched on the wicker bench at the foot off our bed.

I had to laugh, as it looks like she's yawning from boredom over all my craft projects:)

Have a great week, can'w wait to see what you all have been up to!

Chalk Painted Pedestal Plant Stand

Bon jour Mes Amis!

Hope your November has gotten off to a good start!

Today I thought I'd share with you one of my latest transformations, an antique pedestal style plant stand that I gave a new lease on life!  Now, I know that many would cringe at the thought of painting an antique.

And if this were a fine antique, I would probably be hesitant to paint it.

But, the stand, which belonged to my grandpa, (my mom's dad) was looking pretty tired and literally dried out!  I had inherited it many years ago, and attempted several times over the years to strip the layers and layers of dark finish from it, to no avail.

 Then it finally occurred to me recently that it could look oh so much better if it were painted!

At first I thought I would use my usual favorite shade of cream, but for some reason it just didn't seem to suit the stand, which lives in our sunroom.

So I ended up painted it my very favorite shade of light blue, and am so happy with the end result!

 The same shade of blue is in the floral cushions of our wicker furniture.

Here is one end of our sunroom.  

It is our favorite room in the house.  I would dearly love to paint those wood walls, but someone 

(whose name will go unmentioned!)

doesn't want them touched!

 Anyway, I didn't have the shade of blue on hand that I had in mind, so I pulled all of my chalk paints out, and mixed up about 4 different colors, til I came up with this!

It only took two coats to cover, yeah!  I let it cure for a day, then distressed it a bit.

Dry brushing is a relatively new technique for me, and I knew that I wanted to try my hand at in on the stand.

So, I kind of winged it, and subtly dry brushed both a light gray chalk paint, as well as dark brown wax.  I could have just used dark brown paint, but I have a jar of the brown wax that I really want to use up.

 I didn't want anything looking too heavy, so if I didn't like the look, I would just wipe it down a bit with a rag as I went along.

 I also used a clear wax for a subtle sheen and protection. I must say that I am 

really happy with the end result!  

And I am glad that I went with this shade of blue, rather than the cream.

Perched on top is my grandma's (my dad's mom) Christmas cactus.  I've had it for many years, and have started new plants from it too.  I just noticed today a few little pink buds showing, so I am excited about that!

I think my plant stand is much happier with its new look!

Transforming a Gaudy Frame into a Glam Chalkboard

You know how much I love making chalkboards, right? Well today I thought I'd share with you my latest gaudy to glam chalkboard project!  When we were down in Savannah this past winter, I found a large vintage framed print while out thrifting.  While it was looking a bit worse for wear, I immediately was drawn to the ornate details of the frame.

 Here I am giving you a sneak peek of the end result, but it didn't start out looking this great. 

Oh, no! 

Here is what this puppy started out life as!

While I actually liked the vintage Italian print, which was mounted on hard board, it was looking pretty tired. And it just wasn't the look I was going for!

The frame actually was even gaudier in person than in this photo. The inner boarder was a gold velvety type material. But I didn't let that deter me!  Did you know you can actually paint over fabric?

Yes, you can!

So, after removing the print and giving the frame a good cleaning, I mixed up several shades of chalk paint by DecoArt, til I created a pretty shade of Robin's Egg Blue. One of my very favorite colors, I might add!

For that gold velvet border, I first painted it with Behr latex wall paint in cream. I didn't want any of that gold to show thru my chalk paint.  Once dry, I went over the entire frame with several coats of the Robin's Egg Blue.

Did I tell you how much I love that shade??!

 Then, I mixed both clear and brown creme waxes, also from DecoArt, and applied to the frame (but not the velvet border).  After letting dry, then buffing out, I was amazed at how the wax not only gave the frame an Old World feel, but highlighted all of the wonderful details that had been lost!

 I had hubby cut me a new piece of Masonite board, which I then covered with heavy duty chalkboard vinyl, and 

Viola!

A glamorous new chalkboard was born!

 I must say that I am very happy with how it turned out, and now I'm glad I gave that tired looking frame a second chance at life!

I've added it to my Etsy shop, if you care to take a look!

I wanted to thank all of you who visited my feature last Saturday, over at Junk Chic Cottage, and left such sweet comments!  I was beyond thrilled to be included in the Blogger Spotlight, and your kind words made it even more special!

Have a great day!

French Lavender Pot

My sister's birthday is at the end of this month, one day after mine.  It's so fun to celebrate together, so I wanted to think of something special to make her as part of her gift.

She loves gardening like I do, so inspiration struck and I created this French pot that I've planted a wonderfully smelling lavender plant in.

I began by painting a large terracotta pot in a pretty shade of light blue.  It's a blend of several different chalk paints, mixed to create just the right shade.  I really love creating my own custom blended colors!

After painting it several coats, I then aged it a bit with a watered down brown craft paint.  I also dry brushed a bit of white craft paint here and there to create a white washed effect.  I was going to take photos of all the colors and products that I used, but I got lazy!

I knew I wanted to add a pretty label to the front, so I headed on over to the Graphics Fairy and found this gorgeous French lavender perfume label.  Isn't it pretty?  I thought it was perfect for my project!

To age the label a bit, I used a bit of Tim Holtz distressing ink, then decoupaged the label to my pot using outdoor Mod Podge.  I then used a clear sealer and went over the entire pot.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out, and hope that my sister will love it!

 Oh, I almost forgot to show you two little visitors that were hanging out on my picket fence plant stand!  I moved my watering can to set up for my "photo shoot", and these little guys were hiding underneath it!

 I wish you could smell the lavender, it is heavenly!

 I also painted a terracotta saucer to match the pot.  I am bummed though, as I wasn't thinking when I put the label on the pot, that the bottom portion was going to be hidden by the saucer.  Darn, I should have placed it a bit higher on the pot!

 Here's one more close up shot at this oh so pretty label!

 Have a great weekend!

Latest Projects

Today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest projects.

I'd picked up an unfinished wood shelf last fall and had it in my "to paint" stash.

It was a bit boring in its unfinished state, and I wanted to add something special to it.

Finally inspiration struck!  I painted it a pretty light blue (my favorite color!), then added this pretty Frenchy stencil by DecoArt.

 I must say that it turned out even cuter than I thought it would!

 I love the curvy front, and the neat curved side brackets.

 I'm always hunting for mirrors to transform.  I found this over the winter when we were down south, and it was in a pretty sad state.  It had been painted layers and layers of an awful rusty color and just wasn't very happy!  So, after cleaning her up, I just knew she'd look prettier in pink!

 She looks so much happier now, I think!

 Next up are a pair of wood and metal vintage candle sconces.  I'd had them in my stash forever, and had practically forgotten all about them (do you ever do that?).  I painted them a soft light blueish gray chalk paint from DecoArt.  I am really loving this color!

 Geez, I should have taken "before" shots of all of my makeovers, but I guess I was just too excited to start transforming everything!  Trust me that these sconces look oh so much better than their former boring dark brown finish with black metal accents!

 I also used the same pretty blue gray to paint this crown moulding shelf.

 I then used DecoArt's cream wax to give it a nice hand rubbed finish.

 Now it's back to pink!  I found this cute vintage wall pocket basket, which was originally white.  I love the hobnail pattern, and the pretty ruffly top!

 This is the second one that I've found, so I knew I wanted to go pink with this one, just like the previous one that I did about a year ago.

 It's made by Burwood, as are these sweet little butterflies, that I found down in Georgia this winter.

 I think they would look adorable in a little girl's room!

 Since you know how much I love mirrors, I couldn't resist showing you this little cutie, below!

It is vintage, and actually found by hubby when we were out thrifting last week!

I guess I've trained him well, as he now has a very good eye!:)

 The frame was a really ugly dark brown, and was practically begging me to paint it a bright and cheery aqua!

And last up is a tall wooden candlestick, which also was practically forgotten in my stash!

I painted it the same wonderful blue gray chalk paint that I showed you in some of the projects above.

I really love the carved details of this piece.

 I used a darker cream wax from DecoArt to give it that aged look.

 I've placed all of my creations in my Etsy shop if you'd like to take a look!

Hope you all gave a great day!

Now I'm off to find something else to paint!:)