My Centerpiece came together nicely

I often get inspiration when I am at a thrift store or even when I am waking up in the morning.  I had a beautiful cloche and enjoyed using it all year long, when I accidently dropped it one day onto the granite fireplace.  It shattered in a million pieces and I was very sad.  When I was at the thrift shop last week, I particularly was looking for some glass piece that I could use to turn over and pretend it was my cloche that I broke.   I found this glass vase . . . . .and while I was carrying it around I remembered something for the top I had at home.

I used epoxy to glue this cast iron finial from an old iron fence to the top of the glass and the finial was spray painted. . . . . . .

 and then. . . .I found this terra-cotta pot I had in my bedroom.  (it was painted gold with flowers that I was wanting to change anyway) I spray painted it then sanded it off in various spots. . . 

and epoxied this vintage large plate to the top rim. . .

and here is the results of that for my dining room table.  I love the way it turned out!

You can see how perfectly the bottom of the plate fits onto the top of the pot!  Yeah!

 The accordian accent at the bottom was made a while back out of vintage music pages and mounted on chipboard.

I sanded the finial off in spots too!  It will be fun changing what goes inside and the plate can double as a cake stand!  Woo Hoo!

The little piece inside was something I also found at a thrift store, and came home to decorate.  I had a little plastic fluer de li and I glass glittered it to be featured inside this tiny glass terrarium.

New projects completed

I found this antique drawer insert at a yard sale for .75 and turned it into this shabby Gem. . . . . . .

I painted it with an old bristle brush and just didn't cover it perfectly and the wood had been worn already so I got a great effect before I sanded off the edges.  And then printed mirror images from graphics fairy DIY site and did the transfer onto the wood.  I was so tickled at the results for this.  It will go into my new kitchen redo that I am working on now.

 Painted this sconce with my favorite hammered iron spray paint.  The before and after

Three colors of paint does this tarnished silver look on an old 60's wall plaque.  I found this for $3.00 at a sale.

 chrome silver, hammered iron and sprikles of gold are the paint colors I used

I was recently at the Home Depot and found these really cool stencils in the paint department.  I was wanting to do something cool to the new window treatment I have done for my kitchen.

 Stenciled on off white damask fabric

 I came home with the stencil and did this window treatment with burlap piping and top ruffle.  I love love burlap.

and another decoupaged project.  I bought this glass framed unusual piece that said live laugh love on it, but it just was not the right color.  I again used hammered iron by rustoleum.

Stay tuned later for the new kitchen reveal, just as soon as I paint the walls.  

Most recent finds

Been sailing through the yard sales both here in Southern Nevada and in Utah on Saturday mornings, and the following pictures are most of what I have found.  I think I am going to have fun changing up and displaying some of these things.

 Found this cute reproduction french footstool that looks brand new.  I am wanting to put different legs on it and make it just a little higher maybe.

 What a fun teacup this will be when it comes time to brew up my loose pack herbal teas.

 This precious little bottle jumped right out at me hidden in a whole flock of old bottles
 I think this was from the inside of an old drawer.  I am planning on doing something really cool with this in my kitchen redo.

 Remember these?  It is a Good Seasons cruit salad dressing mixer/shaker.  I was tickled to find it!

 Sad story with this one.  It had a lovely lid to it that got broken after I bought it.  Please provide bags for people when you have a yard sale, especially for the breakables.  I had a toddler and an armfull of stuff and the top fell to the concrete.  I was so sad!  I just put the mercury glass pinecone in so it would'nt look so plain.  Love the shape of it though.

I loved the blue for a fourth of July post I will do later.  I found two of these.

 This looks like depression glass, but it is a reproduction.  Loved it still!

 This frame will be perfect in my kitchen redo!

 cute old chair that will be in my craft room.

 one very pretty placemat!

now I just need to find some little trays to go underneath of the cover.  

Adventures in Chalk paint

My husband and I aquired this antique buffet about 25 years ago.  We were so thrilled to get it because it was a family heirloom.  I was told it came from Sweden on the boat with the first Askeroth to come over in 1880  It had been painted in a gold leaf type finish and the top was left to the oak finish.  There used to be lead and cut glass in the curved sides, but that got so broken up that it had to come out.  Then in the 90's when everyone was tole painting, I put the little scrolly touch on the bottom drawer.  Just last week, I decided to finally paint it again and give it a little update.  I used Annie Sloane chalk paint color "Poloma" and the result was exciting.  I then put a layer of the cream wax on it and lightly sanded it off.  I know if I put the dark wax on and rub it off, it might change the color.  So for now I am going to leave it as is.  I love it!  And I would love to have some input here on it too from my blogging friends.
Here is the before. . . . . . .

 . . . . and the After with the chalk paint finish.  The Poloma color is grey with a lavendar tint to it!  Almost all of the hardware is original to the piece, and I spray painted it with Rustoleum "Hammered Iron" and added a carved element to the bottom drawer to give it a little bit more drama to the buffet.

I am thinking of maybe putting a dark vintage wall paper in the back behind the dishes.  Any thoughts on this?

and in April I did my first chalk painted project, from a cabinet I bought for $5.00 at a yard sale.  Here are the before and after pictures of that cabinet. . . . . .

It was quite dirty and the glass was broken out of the door.  

I did my chicken wire treatment on it and added some braided molding on the drawer.  this chalkpaint is some that I made myself useing unsanded grout powder in the paint.  I sold it for $55.00 so that was a good profit with that one.  

Have a new chalk paint project coming up, can't wait to see how that one turns out.  

Happy Memorial day to everyone!

New for the Etsy shop and some new cards

I have been in a blog posting slump.  So I have gotten together some photos of projects that were recently done for Mother's day sales.  I have had some strange and crazy things happen in the last little while.  I hope to get out of the slump I have been in.

I have been taking vintage dishtowels and turning them into something else.  This embroidered one took on new form of a swag for a retro kitchen style.

I made some cards recently.  They are all different with some being for thankyou and some just because!

some of the cards were already in celaphane ready to sell.

A very Country French one

I made some burlap bags for the Country store too.

Framed shabby French pieces

Lots of cards