Mirror Re-Do

I've had this mirror in my dining room since I lived in my lake house several years ago.  I *think* it came from Home Goods.  It was a dark, almost black espresso color and it's *very* heavy.  The frame is slightly convex, but it's hard to tell from the photos (mainly because the blasted light fixture is in the way!)

Anyway, I like it, and it's been serviceable, but I wanted something different for the dining room.  I really like wall messages, but even though I have fabulous landlords, I'm still leery of painting graphics and text directly on my walls.  I also like the chalkboards at French Country Cottage, but my dining room is rather small and only has one window, so I felt I needed the mirror to make the room look larger. So - I started to look towards the rather broad mirror frame as a background for text.

First step:  I had scored a sample of Valspar "Snow Cap" at Lowe's; 1/2 pint for $1.50!  I painted the frame with two coats that pretty much fully covered the entire original color.

Step Two:  I sanded and distressed the Snow Cap layer.

Step Three:  I wanted a phrase that captured the spirit of dining together with friends, but I didn't want to reference food in a direct manner.  So, I ended up with "...with friends...the wine is sweeter".  I used BabelFish (excuse me...Bing Translator) to translate it into French.

I used Word to type it out in Kunstler Script, and then cut and taped the pieces together to get the layout I wanted.  I used a pretty rustic method of transferring - I used a piece of artist's charcoal and coated the back of the strips with that and then used painters' tape to hold the strips in place.

I then traced over the letters with a pencil.  When I lifted the strips, the charcoal left streaks and marks on the frame which added more depth to the distressing - I love how that turned out.  I then traced the outline of the letters again with a Sharpie paint marker, then wiped off most of the charcoal - leaving the marks I liked. Finally, I painted the lettering with Martha Stewart Acrylic Gloss Paint in "Beetle Black".  After the lettering dried thoroughly, I lightly sanded it to fade it some, and then dry-brushed over it with the Snow Cap.

Step Four:  I painted and distressed the outer top & sides of the frame the same way I did the inner frame.

It turned out exactly as I had envisioned.  It looks really great on my newly painted "Natural Elements" dining room walls.

(how the *heck* do you photograph a mirror, anyway?!?)


Linked to:

Mod Mix Monday @ Mod Vintage Life
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House

For My Grandmother

I never knew my mother's mother; she died long before I was born.  My father's mother was a familiar presence in my life as a young girl.

Grandmommy was Bessie Isabel Daniels Brinson.  She was a typical Southern belle.  I always remember her wearing beautiful georgette or crepe de Chine dresses, and she smelled like Elizabeth Arden's "Blue Grass".  She and Papa (my grandfather) lived in North Carolina and we would often take the train up there from Florida to visit with them.  She always had a cookie jar full of homemade molasses cookies, and when you'd take a nap on her big four poster bed, you'd wake up with the imprint of the hobnail bedspread on your cheeks.

This chair was in her house.  Over the years, what I am certain must have been a lovely tan or cream background to the faux petit point upholstery had turned a distinctly unappealing shade of tobacco brownish/green.  The upholstery itself is in good shape as is the guimp trim.

Today I received 3 samples of Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Paris Grey, Antoinette and Old White.  I have been eager to try the paint, but budgetary reasons have kept me from investing in full quarts.  I was excited to have the samples, and I got one of my legendary "wild hairs" while sitting in my living room looking at the paints with my grandmother's chair staring at me across the room.

So...in about 4 hours time, we went from ^^^^^that, and 

this...

to 

this, and 

this.

The frame is Paris Grey with Antoinette for the rose detail and to highlight the other carved details.  The awful tobacco upholstery was painted with half Paris Grey and half Old White.  I thinned it with some water and used several light coats to get the desired color.

The welting on the sides and back was painted with Antoinette.  

As usual, my photos stink, but the back really looks like fine pale grey linen now.  Those aren't splotches, it's the lighting, and I gracefully forgot to remove a piece of painters' tape from the left part of the seat before I took this photo.

I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I am not sure if I'm finished yet; I'd like to do some silvering, I think.

I'm calling her "Bessie" in honor of my grandmother.

Flea Market Finds

I went to the Jacktown Antique Gas Engine and Tractor Show and Craft Show today.  And yep - there were gas engines and tractors there, and I managed to score some good stuff

Limoges plate - $2.00

old frame/mirror with bowed glass - $10.00 (dickered down from $20.00)

definitely old - the frame is hand-pieced together around the glass

side view of bowed glass

frame/mirror #2 - $10.00 (again dickered down from $20.00)

detail on #2 - the glass is also bowed, but not as much as on #1

vintage book - 50 cents (and yup...I read 'em)

However, nothing can top the woman wearing full battle make-up, black shorts, lots of gold bling necklaces, suntan pantyhose and silvery sequined flip-flops (yes, flip-flops).  Made my entire day.

Things You Learn In The Hospital

1.  You just *think* you're not allergic to surgical tape.

2.  If the Federal Bureau of Prisons had invested in the same light bulbs used in hospital rooms, "Escape From Alcatraz" would never have happened.

3.  The keening wail of the "pumping stopped" alarm on your IV machine will haunt your dreams until the day you die.

4.  Hospital roommates are worse than any college roommate you could ever imagine.

5.  "Visiting Hours" does not mean seeing exactly how many family members you can cram into your half of a hospital room.

5.A  That dividing curtain is *not* sound proof.

6.  Nothing will get a male nursing assistant's BVDs in a wad faster than asking him to please *not* call you "Honey" (mine ignored me - literally - for 2 shifts)

7.  Some nurses really do look like pre-Raphaelite Madonnas.

8.  It is apparently actually possible to fark up vanilla pudding.

9.  It takes up to 4 days for a diagnosis of "acute appendicitis" despite repeatedly stating "It's either my appendix or my IUD...it's either my appendix or my IUD".  If I had gone in with a hatchet in my forehead, God knows how long it might have taken for an answer ;)

10.  It's *good* to be home.

Cody - the World's Least Scary German Shepherd

he's been my constant bedside companion since I was discharged Sunday afternoon

Be Still, My Heart

I think I have found my perfect new bed linen.  Of course, I stumbled upon it by accident, and from what I can tell, it's out of production (Story Of My Life - Chapter Eleventy Billion).  It's called "Linen Rose" by Court of Versailles.  It's grays and whites and linen tones and I think it's going to be *perfect* for my bedroom re-do.

I would need the queen duvet, 2 king shams and 2 Euro shams.  The foo-foo accessory pillows would be spiffy, too, but those tend to be the priciest on eBay.  I've got the other items under watch, so hopefully I'll score.

My bedroom currently looks like this:

Attractive, I think, but I've wanted to ditch that Mediterranean blue paint ever since I moved in here 3 years ago.  The furniture finish will stay "as is". 

I'm going to Killz the walls to get a true white base, and then I'm going with a light gray paint and a very, very, very, very pale violet wash on that.  Accessories will be white, gray and pale violet.  I think it will make for a lovely, calm, quietly elegant scheme.

My bed is dark green metal with a slightly textured finish.  The nightstands are from the late, lamented Bombay Company, and are black wrought iron with slightly silvered medallions and white and black veined marble tops.

I cannot afford to replace the bed, and besides - I do like it.  My thoughts are to paint the bed and the black iron parts of the nightstands with a gray paint, and then with a linen color that will match the sheets (assuming I can win them).  I'd distress the pieces so the gray shows through.  The medallions on the tables I would slightly silver with Rub N Buf.  Does anyone have any input on the type of paint I might use?  Or whether or not this would even be feasible?

In the meantime, please pray that the eBay gods are kind, generous, and cheap!  :) 

UPDATE - 7.20.12

Duvet scored!  eBay for $69 plus $10 shipping.  Allegedly retails for $440 (says the skeptical blogger), but $79 is a reasonable amount to pay for it new in packaging.  Woot!

UPDATE - 7.24.12

Duvet arrived - wow!  It's *heavy* (in a good way!).  Linen/cotton blend and it's *gorgeous* - even more so than the pictures can show.  I can believe it retailed for $440...the finishes and the details are meticulous...very pleased!

UPDATE - 7.28.12

I scored two king shams and two Euro shams on eBay for pennies.  $21.99 each for the kings - retail sticker on unopened package says $113.00 each!  Waiting on the Euros - those were $32.99 each...can't wait to see what *they* retailed for!  I'm thrilled!

Neat-o, Keen-o Discovery O' The Week!

I have been collecting white decorative plates and platters from Crack for DIY Decorators Home Goods for a while now.  I want to use them in my dining room ala French Country Cottage.  

source - French Country Cottage

I have found some really nice ones - most for under $10 each.

Generally, the old-fashioned plate hangers work fine, but some of the plates are very heavy, and some of the platters are either too large or are oddly-shaped and the hangers just won't work.  

Yet again,  Courtney @ French Country Cottage comes to the rescue!  Look at these so-simple-they're-genius adhesive plate hangers!

They are available through the etsy store of Nancy - of Nancy's Daily Dish - the ne plus ultra of all things related to English transferware

And even more neat-o, keen-o is that Courtney is having a give-away for a $50 credit at Nancy's etsy store!

Well?  What are you waiting for?!  Go!  :)

Painted Chest

I bought this blanket chest about 4 years ago to serve not only as storage, but as a coffee table in the 3rd bedroom of my former home.  I used that room as an office.  I bought it from a catalogue, and boy was it hideola in person:

I needed a coffee table for my living room.  I had been using a tea table of my mother's, but it was too small. So, since I was home today for July 4th, I got a wild hair.

The graphic is from The Graphics Fairy.  First coat of paint is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in "Old White" - applied haphazardly.  Second coat is Behr's "Silver Screen" in a 50/50 wash with water.  The floral trim and the groove were painted with Sherwin-Williams "White Dogwood", which is a great pink that isn't Disney Princess pink, nor does it scream "I AM PINK!"  It's perfect.

I transferred the graphic using a stylus and graphite.  It's outlined and painted with a Sharpie paint marker.  After it dried, I sanded it lightly and then gave it another wash with the Silver Screen to soften and age it.

Both sides have the Paris wreath graphic from The Graphics Fairy.  Same transfer & wash method as the top.

For the front and rear panels, I used some French/English script invoices from a scrapbooking paper pad called "Life's Journey".  After they dried, I dry brushed them with the ASCP and wiped it off, then the same with the Silver Screen wash.  This softened the colors of the paper and aged them a bit.

detail of the floral trim and groove 

painted in "White Dogwood"

the finished table

I think it turned out OK for my first endeavor.

Linking to:

 Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Inspiration Friday at At The Picket Fence

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life