Vintage Basket Refresh for Fall

Last week I shared an old basket that I found on my latest vintage market shopping excursion, but I wasn't sure what I would do with the sad state of the finish on it. I thought about just painting it with a gray wash of chalk paint, but I really didn't want to mess with the original patina too much. 

October Fireplace and Mantel

 Hi Everyone, Happy October! This is my favorite month of the year... I can't believe that I didn't come jumping smack dab in your face to announce it! Well, yes, I can... this has been a long week already; more to that later. First I want to share my little owl friends that I've had for several years. They are excited to be back taking center stage on the mantel.

Painting Antique Frames

What a joy it was to turn over those calender pages, to see what March will bring. February was cold and snowy and brutal for so many of us. March is my Birthday Month, and it always signals the start of Spring. I feel my optimism and mood lighten with that one little flip of a calender page.

A week or so ago, Hubbs and I hung up a few oil paintings that he's given me over the years. They are my favorites, but I was just guessing at where they should be. Wall space in this house is scarce, and I'm trying to be selective about what I'm putting up. So we ended up changing things around because the space really needed something bigger.

The Botanical Window Returns

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we started going through some of the many boxes we have in storage marked "PRINTS". We only made it through about half of the boxes before we called it an afternoon. We grabbed several prints that I thought I could use and brought the rest out of our storage space and into the main area of the lower level family room area. They're still wrapped in bubble and shrink wrap, waiting for me to figure out where they might go.

Poor Hubbs, he's the one that had the brunt of wrapping and boxing them all up. He did a great job, so good,  that it's hard to see through all that green cellophane to tell exactly what you're looking at. But one box that I knew I wanted to get into was extra long, and I was pretty sure this was inside!

Moss Covered Heart: How-To

I can't tell you how long I've wanted to make one of these. Working with moss can be messy to say the least, but I had found a paper mache form in the shape of a heart at Michael's, so I thought I might as well dive in. literally. I didn't want to run around town looking for supplies, so I hoped that I had everything that I needed in my stash. (I was a little short on moss since I'd used a bunch on another recent project). Yesterday I shared my inspiration for a Moss Covered Heart for Valentine's Day that will go into Spring and Summer.

French Farmhouse Kitchen Chandelier Paint Project

OK, that's a mouthful. 

With only nine days until we get the keys to the house, I'm trying to get a couple of projects out of the way ahead of time. We've been making a list and it just keeps getting longer and longer. No matter how much you try to be frugal, moving just always ends up costing you more than you want to fork over. I'm trying to reuse our big Country French Chandelier from the previous Dining Room, but I wanted something new for the kitchen.

I'm showing the "afters", first...

All the rooms flow together, and while the lighting won't be "matchy matchy", I've sort of felt like the kitchen lighting needs to "blend in" and not stand out too much. I thought about a lantern, but I've opted to use a lantern in the entry, so I wanted to do something French Farmhouse-y and light for the kitchen.

I've been scouring the Internet since we put the contract on the house, and I found a great little chandy at a great price from World Market. It was just the right size, distressed wood and metal, and a pretty gray/white finish. We even checked it out while we were at one of the St. Louis stores a few weeks ago. perfect. but they didn't have it in stock.

So I ordered it as soon as we got home. It came in a few days, but the only problem was that it was painted a much darker sort of greenish gray than what I'd seen online or at the store. hmmmm?.... I had read the reviews before I ordered, so I wasn't totally surprised.

Hard to see, it's still a pretty chandy, just not what I needed, which was a grayish white. And it had a black cord which needed some camouflaging.

So, first thing was a coat of ASCP in Coco.

Then a coat of French Linen...

with a coat of Pure White on top.

then I mixed a combination of Pure White with a little Coco

 to tone it down a little.

So now it's more what I had in mind. Just took a little experimenting to get there. I will put on a light clear spray finish once I've had the chance to see it at the new house. Glad I didn't give up when I saw the out-of-the-box color finish.

love these acanthus leaves.

I probably should be packing some stuff, but I packed so much stuff for months and months, I'm totally burnt out. I've just decided I'm throwing the majority of things in laundry baskets and carting them over in the back of our suv. the lazy man's way of moving... But it's only a couple of miles away, so I think I'll take my chances. te he. 

Joining in at these great parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Treasure Hunt at From My Front Porch to Yours

Share Your Cup at Mrs. Olson's

Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo

Shabbilicious Friday at Shabby Art Boutique

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Sunday's at Home with Thoughts from Alice

Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality

xoxo,

Repainting a Dollhouse ...

I have to admit, this has been a strange week. My usual schedule; my comfort schedule, has purposefully been altered. This is the longest I've gone without sharing a blog post in the last almost 5 years. (Even when I've been in the hospital I've managed to get my hands on my computer) It felt a little like mourning, a little like freedom. But either way it's something I knew I had to do.

I said I'd post when I had something interesting to share with you all, and right now even though I have lot's of things on my mind, and still can grab onto some inspiring things, I've known that I needed to slow down and not feel any pressure and "compulsion" to blog. I think there have been a lot of us that have been blogging for awhile that can agree, blogging can become more than a little addictive. It's been a "good" habit for me, but still one that keeps a person always on the lookout for that photo, that topic, that subject that is begging for attention. 

So, this little dollhouse is something I've wanted to share for this last year, but just haven't gotten around to working on. Back in the 80's when we lived in Marietta, Georgia, dollhouses and miniatures were all the rage. I had my father-in-law put together two dollhouses, one for each of the girls, then I painted and decorated them. My older daughter is and has always been a person that loved to play with small things. The younger daughter has always been a bicycle, exercise, ball playing nut, so she wasn't quite as "into" the miniature stuff as her sister. 

This one is the younger daughter's. Even though she's been married for eleven years, this has set in our attic until last Fall when I asked her if she'd mind if I repainted it and use it for "decor". I think she was secretly glad for me to take the responsibility and itsy bit of guilt off her shoulders. 

It's been knocked around a lot and some of the gingerbread trim was lost years ago. The posts are a little wonky, but it still needed to be loved. A couple of coats of White and ASCP Paris Grey for the shutters and trim, did the trick.

My paint job is messy, but I wasn't going for perfection,

 just want it to be for decor right now.

Hopefully, I can get around to repainting the inside at some point,

 until then it's not going to show.

As you can see, it wore the country colors of the 80's, 

country blue and a mauvy-red.

Here are some wonderful images from my Pinterest Board

 on Dollhouses for Decor

And this last pic is from a sale at The Seedbox Antiques Spring Sale in 2011. I just fell in love with this old dollhouse sitting out on their porch. I should have gotten a better pic of the weathervane...can't remember now what it was.

So now I'm just waiting for my husband to set this up on one of my pieces of furniture in my studio. And speaking of studios, I've lost all control of it. It has turned out to be "temporary housing" for any and all things that needed to be brought over here. It's a mess.

On the big house, we're down to patching nail holes, working to pack the garage, and finishing up some outside work...we're shooting for mid-June to list it. I haven't been able to do much of the work. My hubby says he just wants me to "supervise".  

Thank you so much for all the wonderful notes and sweet comments. I've read each one with tears in my eyes. This is just something I need to do for now. I know you understand...when something so big takes over every waking moment, there's no getting around it. I need all my focus and strength dedicated to getting through this health situation, but I'm hoping to post once a week, and keep you all filled in. OK, see you soon...

Joining in at these get-togethers:

Savvy Southern Style

xoxo,

They're Back.....

My snow owls from last year have flown back onto the mantel for October. 

If you didn't see how I came up with them, then click here.

I just made some space for them instead of redoing the whole thing...

I'm a lazy "mantel-scaper". 

They DO cause a little ruckus and make a mess with all that glitter.

Oh, and they have a new friend this year.

An owl pillow decided to join the fun.

Remember the Give Away with Elliott-Heath Designs not long ago?

you can have one too!

Joining in on these great parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Blissful Whites at Timewashed
Inspiration Exchange at Ella Claire 
TTT at StoneGable
From My Front Porch to Yours
Shabby Art Boutique
French Country Cottage
Craftberry Bush
The Cottage Market
The Scoop

Be sure and come back tomorrow.

  I have wonderful Give Away planned,

with Love Squared Designs

Finding the perfect Greige...

You all are probably like me, and have this little memo board in your brain where you file away ideas and inspiration for projects... ideas that won't go away...but that you're just not yet ready to take on. Thoughts and plans for bringing something to life; it's just that we know it's not the time yet.

 Sort of like little Pinterest Boards in your head... 

Let me share some inspiration for that...

(remember you can click on any pic to make it BIG)

Last week I ran over to one of my favorite stores, Robin's Vintage Suitcase, here in Springfield. I know most of you have seen the posts I do on Robin's store. She doesn't sell on-line, but I like to share her displays and ideas for decor because there is always something to "take away" from just seeing the pics. I try to convey the atmosphere of her shop even though you might not ever be able to get there in person.

She keeps her displays fresh and current, so you never know what you'll see when you first walk in the door. That day I was smitten with her wonderful "gray" furniture and "whites" tablescape.

So, back to the deep recesses of my psyche where my Dining Room furniture lives. I've wanted to paint those pieces for. ever. But couldn't "get there" with the idea of just white. I've been thinking about the "stripped and weathered bare wood" look alot. Like this pic from Restoration Hardware.

...but, the gray, greige, idea has been vying for my attention. Some of you may remember that I painted my perfectly wonderful "gray" console a couple of years ago. (I'm not going to revisit that, some of you wanted to string me up) But I have to tell ya...that color of gray (with the blue undertones) just doesn't look good in my current surroundings where there's a lot of cream and tan. I need a paint color that has some gray, but with warm undertones. But, this wonderful gray paint patina on this old table just knocked me up the side of my head...

It's authentic, not recent...

see the green underneath peeking through?

As a companion piece,

 Robin had painted this fabulous buffet in her homemade paint concoction.

(here are a couple more store pics)

(and for all you locals,

 Robin's having a big sale that you might want to check out)

 I scoured Pinterest looking for other wonderful gray, greige, beige,
 "almost white with a little gray in it", furniture pieces...so take a look at these.



A couple of beautiful pieces from
 Kelli Wright at  Restore Interiors

Here's more...

My favorite color and technique so far...

Love this one too.

These are all pinned into my Pinterest Board

  Gray and Greige Painted Furniture if you want to take a peek.

This is my way of giving this idea in my head some credibility.

It might just be the table, or the buffet and table...

I'm not ready yet to take the plunge...

but I'm working up to it.

anyway, it's fun to dream.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Joining in with these parties:

Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

xoxo,