~ The Entry - Just Simple & White

Old gilt mirror was looking a little tired. In addition to a little touch up with Treasure Gold, the inset on the frame was painted a blue green. First lime green, then French blue, then an antique varnish/glaze. Still looks old, nothing newly painted.

The plaster artichoke came from out on the porch back inside again. It was painted with some umbered green first to settle in the crevices, then dry brushed in Old White chalk paint. That type of paint helped to maintain the look of the plaster and allows it to be cleaned up but still chalky looking.

As shown previously the fabulous vellum book that was a gift/giveaway on Willow Decor by 3 Fine Grains. Stunningly beautiful to see and hold. The walls have been painted with a few layers of paint and glazes. The golden yellow which replaced the off whites is gone, now replaced with ... off whites and taupes, again. Much the same as several years ago I suspect.

After finding the little heart stones at the beach, it took over a year to find a shadow box that would work and that I actually liked. This one was perfect.

The ex-voto heart, my three shells and an antique key make the perfect house blessing.

Although this table changes more than anything in the house, a few pictures were snapped before the things moved around. I love the white on the wrought iron table. It's a fun and different look from before.

A small entry, and just some very simple things. And lots of white .... again.(Before)

See Y'All Soon~
Have A Wonderful Day
Donna

~ Beau Bunny Rabbit GiveAway - Fanciful Twist Mad Tea Party 2011

It's that time again.

So grab your
funky shoes & hat
and go party!

Beau Bunny is so sure
he is the original
white rabbit.
Don't tell him,
he's not really white. :)

This art print is 5 x 7 inches.

You must leave your comment
on this post
for my GiveAway.
(Be sure to leave an email addy or blog link.)



A Fanciful Twist

There are many arty, fun blogs to see.

Some of us are not listed in the sidebar,
but there is a partial list on the blog.
In the comments section of the party
post you can find everyone partying.

But look around and you
might find some of your favorite people
are joining in but might not be listed.

A special Thank You!
to Vanessa - A Fanciful Twist
for creating & hosting this
most delightful event again this year.
Don't miss her amazing blog entry!
..........................

WINNER:
Thank you to each of you for stopping by.
The winner is
In The Land Of Spice

(chosen by random number generator)

~ Vintage Mix Blog Party Day ~ Books, Keys & an Urchin

A couple of old books
One very, very old vellum
a gift won on line
such a treasure.

An old skeleton key,
love them.

And an urchin,
Gift from the Sea
and found by
Sweet Daughter
who made it a gift
to me.

Simple treasures.
~
(The antique vellum book on the very bottom
was a treasure from 3 Fine Grains through
Sweet Gina of Willow Decor.
The reddish book with The Decorated House
on the edge, is artistic photoshopping. )

A dizzying display of creativity!

Click on button to see
or join in.

~ Rust Love .... Faux Real

Rust hasn't always been embraced for its beauty. But you might love rusty old things. Rust is just such a beautiful thing, except when it appears some place where it's truly not wanted. You might have had your own adventures with navel jelly and sanding and painting to get a perfect finish on a metal piece or two. I have as well. But in the last few years, I've fallen more and more in love with the simple yet complex beauty of rust.

After

The wrought iron table in the entry was last painted black, and it was a lovely verdigris green previous to that. I'm trying to remember back 20 years or so wondering if it was white when I first found it. It was a garden piece way back then. But as I was searching for an iron table that wasn't way too expensive for the entry, I realized it was perfect for the entry area. And it's been there ever since.

This time I painted it an aged white, and did a little distressing (sanding) and faux rust with paint. I was not looking for a very distressed, totally chipping look. I painted it from my stash of white paints and not the chalk paint at first, but did touch it up with the "old white" Sloan chalk paint after painting the plant stand with that one.

After

The "plant stand" was really, really rusty. Quite a bit too much for bringing indoors. It has been outside acquiring its patina for a very long time, probably about 10 years. What got me started with using it in a more rusty state was another iron table that is on the front deck. It was in such bad shape of totally peeling, chipping and rusting, that it was set aside to go in the garbage when we could figure out how to get it there. Then suddenly, you know how those things hit you, I realized it could be saved for its next incarnation. That table was slightly dry brushed with white paint with its purpose to be very, very old looking. It worked! And it led to this planter coming in the house and having a new life of its own.

This time I wanted it to look older and more aged. So when I dry brushed the chalk paint on it, it was with a light hand so that the rust would show in the spots I wanted. In order to keep it from becoming too white, it was a little slower process. Just so you can stand back, take a look and then decide if you want more white or less rust or if you might be done.

To create the faux rust look, you will notice that rust has many layers of colors and it is not really just one color. It ranges from a very dark, almost black, brown to shades of burnt sienna. So all you really need is a dark brown, and the burnt sienna with a beige or light brown to make a few different colors.

For the planter I used the chalk paint (old white) because it had the exact look of old paint that I want. You can of course use any white paint of your choosing.

See Y'All Soon~
Donna

~ Entry Before... Stay Tuned

The entry January 2007! Although it has had many different arrangements on the table, the colors and walls had been the same until lately. Next up, the new entry. Stay tuned. Happy Weekend!

Revisiting the entry in 2007...

I confess I gave in and brought the bell jar/cloche out of the garden and into the house some time ago. A Mary Garrity effect, and of course I've seen them decorated beautifully in magazines and other places. I was ready to take it back outside. But not today. This one sometimes has the normal small plant like Victorians would do. Today it has something different. This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter. Her cheeks are so chubby and she is playing with leaves, oblivious to everything but the beauty in nature. Along with the picture are some antique books including a old bible which belonged to my husband's great grandfather. The inside of the jar changes with the seasons, but today I have a snapshot of my heart inside it.


The living room was repainted last year. It is still a simliar mix of colors, so no big change. The entry table is the same, but with a new top. After looking for a new iron & marble entry table, I wasn't finding anything much different than what I already had, except mine had a wood top. However, I had a black marble top in the guest room. So I just switched them out.

I was longing for an old mirror, but the antique ones were more than I was willing to pay. I found this one hiding in the back of a store that has junk, old stuff, and antiques. It gives a new and different feeling to the entry. It was cool out today, but isn't that sun shining in so beautiful?

~ The Decorated House - Blue French Provincial Nightstands - Makeover

Revisting the French Nightstand Makeover ~
It all began before Sweet Daughter even purchased her home. We shopped a little here and there for at least a year, or two, ahead of time. Setting up a new nest can be expensive and this certainly helped. For Christmas or birthdays she would often ask for things for her one day home and she kept a list of things she would need. When we found a pretty blue and brown comforter set and put it away. That is one of her pillows and the pillow sham in the first picture.

Although blues are beautiful, Sweet Daughter was not that excited about my painting her nightstands blue. She thought black would be just fine. And I'm sure I'll paint them black or white ..... one day. Of course the obvious thing was to paint them white. The bedding has been in her room for a little over a year, so she might want to change things out in another year, and of course since she purchased her home, her rescue lab puppy has arrived in the meantime. But you know he is not allowed on the bed, right? I think Saturday & Sunday's are days of clemency. Sssshhh.... he's not supposed to know.

{Edit: 2011. Cody Puppy is a bit calmer, and now has his own coverlet and is allowed on the bed at his other house. And although he's worth it, he still doesn't get on the Nana's bed. :) }

You've seen this type of nightstand so many times at garage sales, consignment shops and flea markets I'm sure. I did too, unless I was looking for them. Then it seemed they were much harder to find. It was especially difficult to find ones that someone had not already sprayed white including the drawer pulls and marked up quite a bit.

This worked out great! I bought a set that had the nightstands, a headboard & footboard, and 2 different sizes of dressers. Both of the dressers are smaller ones which is perfect for what I needed. She got the nightstands and headboard, and I took the dressers. One of which will be the same Tiffany blue as the other painted one.

The tops looked more like a formica surface than just wood, and was a bit slick. So I sanded them lightly and painted with a white primer so the paint would adhere, and last longer.

(Edit: 2011 These were painted before the blogworld explosion of chalk paint use on furniture. I have not tried it on this type of shiny top surface, but would have been happy if I had that paint when these were painted.)


The only problem I had with this project was the fact that Sweet Daughter's light is quite different in her bedroom than it was in my living room where I painted the nightstands. I don't recall ever having furniture "change" colors on me as much as this blue did. But this was the first time I was so sure of the color and then found it was different at another location.

They appear more blue at her house. Even though they look so good, I used to think I would sneak over there one day and add a touch more green to the blue. But not yet. She might want something else entirely one day anyway.

The drawer pulls were a more simple design than the last ones, and she asked for them to be in a similar finish as her curtain rod. So they were painted with a dull dark pewter metal spray paint and then gold Treasure Gold (rub n buff type product) was added to the top.

It seems like there was a period when we saw more of the French Provincial furniture painted blue. But I haven't seen any in a long time. So this seems kind of new and fresh. I think my daughter is just happy to have something to put the clock on! (Edit: 2011, sure seems like a lot more blue going on since the chalk paint arrived!)

1. Sand lightly as needed.
2. Prime if any surface is slick or you need to cover up old paint.
3. Paint in color of your choice. Slate Blue in this case.
4. I repainted the gold to a softer, more aged gold. (Looks a lot brighter in that last photo than it is in real life. It is a very aged looking gold.)
5. Add as much aging as you wish. I kept this very light handed, and just added a bit of burnt sienna brown to the top and wiped it off. Leaving more at the edges.
6. Topcoated just the very top with a wipe-on polyurethane.
   
7. Added one coat of paste wax on top and buffed.

Happy Weekend!
See Y'All Soon
Donna

See lots of painted makeover treasures for this week at
Miss Mustard Seed's blog.

~ Silver Heart Ex-Voto & ADD

I remember looking for a silver ex-voto for quite a while before finding the three I have. Now with a simple search, they seem to be very easy to find. It is very difficult to tell whether one is old, or more newer. Often made of tin, not silver, they have a beautiful patina without being old at all. That was fine with me. The antique ones could fetch $800 or more, so the newly made ones work well since I just love the designs.

ADD-like symptoms seem to strike often these days as I have a little trouble finishing one decorating project before jumping to another equally enticing one. I am by nature a planner. Even after spending days on end choosing the right color, furniture and adornments, once I see the individual parts are perfect, I'm ready for another project, another challenge. Not the best way to actually get things done. Sometimes worse, after getting most of an area done, but not finished and moving on to other projects, when I return to the first room, I have new ideas for it! A little attention deficit at play.

To turn over a new leaf (oh sure I am!) the entry way is getting all the attention. Starting small might make this easier. The wrought iron table has been repainted, the mirror touched up, and finally, finally, I am putting together a little "House Blessing" with my silver (tin) ex-voto and the beautiful heart shaped rocks/shells I found on a beach vacation which I wrote about here.

Thanks for the lovely comments
on the flower pots in the last post.
See Y'All Soon~
Donna

~ June - White Flower Pots With Lots of Color

The urns have been dark and light, and now they are white antiqued with gray. I'm liking them very much in their latest incarnation. More of my favorite flower and plants combinations, blackie and marguerite sweet potato vines flowing over the edges with the same colors being repeated in the coleus and Persian shield. The dark pink pentas reflect the colors also found in the coleus, and those tiny blue and purple flowers are so wonderful with the larger purple plants.

These sit on wood columns in the front of the house. They are such a nice addition for a little curb appeal. All of the flowers will last through the whole summer and most will winter over as well. As long as I can keep them watered until some rain comes.

They were planted about 3 weeks ago. To speed them up a little bit, I purchased the green sweet potato vine at the nursery and pulled the black/purple from the backyard. The coleus were both small and a couple of gallon size. All of these lovelies grow quickly which makes them favorites of this impatient gardener. And they do well in part sun, if you have the time to keep them watered! And that is everyday for us if there is no rain.

See Y'All Soon~
Donna

~ It's A Beginning

Beyond this little plate with the beautiful antique keys, is a really big mess! I took everything out of two bedrooms and now I'm switching them somewhat. In the meantime, there is a huge mess in the living room. It was the only room that was still empty enough to accommodate such a really insane amount of stuff. One thing about people who love creating is that it takes a lot of eggs to make those omelets, or a lot of junk sometimes to make arty things.

I have a little trick I play on myself and that is asking myself what if I were moving, in a very short time! Then try to remember that with everything I touch. Asking do you need to take that with you? Why???? Does this work, a little bit, I hope.

The old rule if you haven't used it in 6 months, then you don't need it? That does not apply to art supplies. You might have something for 10 years and then it is suddenly exactly what you need to complete a project. Excuses....

So it's a beginning. The beginning of a huge mess that is leading me to organize and downsize to less. Less, less, less. It's a beginning.

Thanks so much for coming by
and sharing your kind comments on
the kitchen courtyard garden.
Happy Weekend!
See Y'All Soon~
Donna