A Fresh New Look

A fresh new life was given to some very dark, old and worn furniture pieces – some rather homely little pieces to say the very least.

I used Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint in the color Duck Egg to paint this small 1942 spindle legged solid wood table. Added some AS dark stain here and there and finished it with a clear paste wax. The little stool was given a new look, too. From drab to really pretty fab and cute!

This $3.00 child’s rocking chair had seen better days. Though I do like the look of old worn wood, I felt that if a child were to occupy the chair, it would be much softer (and fresher) to paint it so that it could be used again without the worries of obtaining an annoying splinter. Again, I used AS Chalk Paint, but this time in Old White. A few coats later, some sanding along the edges for that good worn look…

…and here it is all bright and clean!

One of my mother’s antique dolls looks pretty cute in the rocker…

…and even this pretty pillow that my friend JUDY CLARK gifted me after my mother’s passing. Judy is such a sweetheart and even sent the scotties Halloween scarves to wear today! **Thank you, once again, Judy for your sweet and precious heart! The dogs have their scarves on right now!**

This $3.00 wood jewelry box got a paint job with the Duck Egg…

…and here are all three pieces for sale in my space at the antique store.

Joining in again with Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday – her 145th MM post! Stop on over to visit Susan and see the amazing transformations done by other bloggers!

Happy Halloween and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend, Elsie!!!

Tis A Crime….

Oh gnome! Oh gnome!

As I was cruising through the antique store the other day, I spied this sneaky little gnome in the case! Did he steal some apples from Farmer John’s tree and was running as fast as he could before his misbehavior was noticed? If he would have been caught, he certainly would encountered a very angry farmer and be charged with a misgnomeaner, indeed!

I ask myself why I am so drawn to these quirky little gnomish beings. Could it be their short and squatty bodies, their big ears or their pointed noses? Whatever it is,

I am smitten! Call them pixies, elves, gnomes – there is no misgnomer there! A very talented fellow blogger, Monica (The Happy Zombie), loves them so much she designed her own line of fabric that came out last year. If you like to sew AND love these happy and quirky little people, then you may want to click over ON THIS LINK for some fabric love!

…hi-ho, hi-ho……..

hi-ho, hi-ho, hi-hoooo!

(and PS: the sneaky Pete and the tin somehow followed me home…I don’t know HOW they managed to do that! ;) )

Always Read The Labels….

….before consuming what is inside!

Poison, I don’t think so….but this Life Renewal Potion, well, maybe! Does it melt away inches, tighten the wrinkles on the face, improve eyesight and give a little “perky” backside? If so, then bottoms up!

The Naked Truth

Being your own boss has its advantages, however being a one-girl show means that getting the work done takes a bit more time. I do get help from the muscles in the family when it comes to the heavy stuff, thank God. And working from home means that home doesn’t always stay nice and tidy, like I prefer. Of course, blogging about the house means that y’all ONLY get to see the pretty and clean rooms, right? Not today….

here is the bare naked truth:

MY DINING ROOM IS A MESS!

***GASP!*** is right! OH NO!

Yup, oh no! Cannot be persnickety right now while I get Christmas bagged and tagged for the store. (And I did find a few little pixies to sell – cannot keep everything!)

Even the cute Santa will be going in….

…and lots and lots of Christmas linens.

Found this little crochet soldier, too. Now I need to be off and beating to the tune of my own drum!

Chow for now!

NOTE: Sarah asked on the last post if I applied the dark stain before I painted. Sarah, the first step is the paint and then add the stain to the areas that you wish to darken. The nice thing about the chalk paint is that any imperfections can just be sanded off. If you think there is too much stain, then use a fine sandpaper to remove it. Play around with it and have fun!

A Fun Chalk Paint Makeover

After hearing and reading for months and months how wonderful Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint is to use, I went to my friend Lisa’s Store, Unique Boutique, and bought two cans – Duck Egg and Old White. I found this old handmade table at a garage sale and thought it would be pretty freshened up with some Old White. Though it it not necessary to sand the furniture before painting with the Chalk Paint,

…I thought it would be advantageous to do so on the top. Who-knows-what caused the worn and corroded patina to the wood, so I lightly sanded it before applying the paint. After several coats of paint, the little table, who once was an ugly duckling, turned into a pretty little swan.

I added a very light application of the dark stain to the nooks and crannies, tops and sides and then sanded it off in some sections that were too dark. All of the edges were sanded here and there to give it a used look. To finish the piece off, I added a paste wax to give it a little shine and a soft feel to the paint.

The little drawer was lined with a pretty scrapbooking paper….

…with a soft paisley print.

This little section at the base of the table would be perfect to hold rolled up bath towels, rolls of toilet paper, magazines or even cookbooks. A great piece for a kitchen, bath or even a bedroom side table.

I took the table to the store, The Antique Warehouse, that I sell at and have it displayed with cookbooks…..

….and, to the top, added a little Christmas tree with vintage potholders hung on it. (Yes, I managed to take in a little Christmas already…though it still seems too early to me).

This is another piece that I painted with Old White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. No before photo to show you, but it was plain wood and kind of ho-hum looking. If this piece doesn’t sell, then I may have to bring it back home for my kitchen.

If you haven’t tried painting with Chalk Paint yet, then give it a try. It is water soluble and doesn’t have a strong paint smell. I even spilled some on my tile floor and it came up really good with water and a rag.

Joining in on the fun with Susan at Between Naps On The Porch with Metamorphosis Monday.

Happy Little Faces!

This arrangement was from Christmas 2008, when I did mostly an all vintage Christmas throughout the house. There is something very enchanting about the sweetness of these decorations. Makes me think of my childhood and sitting for long moments staring at each ornament on my grandmother’s tree.

Happy little smiles for you today…from the pixie bunch that are currently tucked safely away to be brought out again in a month or so.

:)

Simple Christmas Crafting

In a land long ago and far away…..well, NOT that far away, but a long time ago…lived a young woman who was just married two months before Christmas. Having always loved Christmas decorating with her mother, she was looking forward to having her very first Christmas tree to decorate with her husband. They did not have a lot of money to go out and buy store bought decorations, so she opted to make her own to mix amongst the very long homemade popcorn and cranberry garlands. Also tucked in the branches of the tree were pinecones that she added glitter to. It was a humble tree, but one that she and her husband were very proud of.

The young bride sewed by hand these Yo-Yo Christmas wreaths using Christmas fabrics along with red and green polka-dot fabrics. Each night, as she watched TV alongside her husband, she hand sewed thousands of Yo-Yo’ & stuffed each Yo-Yo with a cotton ball and strung them together to form a little fabric wreath. The Yo-Yo’s were 2” in diameter, so the finished wreaths were only 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

Over the years she gave them to friends and family but still kept a few for herself. I know this young bride very well, because she is me. Each year when I pull out the little wreath ornaments, I remember our humble first Christmas tree and just smile over the memories. Little did I know, but our next Christmas would be blessed with a sweet little baby boy – and more precious memories to cherish for an eternity.

For directions on how to make Yo-Yo’s just click on THIS LINK to take you there. For making the wreath, just add a small size cotton ball to the Yo-Yo before gathering up the edges. Using a strong thread, string 14 Yo-Yo’s together and form a circle. Add a little bow and a loop to the top and there you go! Something very simple to make and you can say you did it yourself! Nothing beats something made from the heart.

A Hands Down Favorite

One of my favorite things to look for when out scouting for antiques is old restaurant ware dishes. The quality of the dishes is substantial – enough to be used over and over again to hungry patrons. The red (or often called pink) dishes are my favorites. Even though they are made from different manufacturers, they look lovely together in a grouping. Some of the companies that made the old restaurant and hotel dishes are Tepco, Syracuse, Shenango and Wallace.

Another reason that I favor the red is that the color is a nice compliment for Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July and Christmas.

And….speaking of Christmas, here is another picture to get the old Christmas decorating umph going! Many of you shared that you could not believe Christmas is up in the stores, and I could not agree with you any more! I am dragging my feet big time in getting my space at the Antique Mall decorated for Christmas (it is still warm outside for heavens sake), however I’m feverishly working on pricing some fun vintage things to sell and pulling out items to decorate the space….hence the lack in blog time.

Now if only I had these two little elves to help me out! That would be just dandy and would sure free up some time for me to relax at the computer. Till next time, have a lovely day!

‘round the corner

…hard to believe, huh? One of the antique dealers at the shop that I sell at is unloading his vintage Christmas ornaments today. Guess this means that I need to get on down there to see what treasures he has. Time to think about decorating again!!