LittleMissMaggie

Saturday, April 6, 2013

The French Connection

Have you ever fallen in love with an inanimate object, something that was totally silly and didn't make sense? Well, that's what happened when I found this board at the salvage yard. It was a six foot long 1x12 board that someone had painted a beautiful pale green color. It's almost like a wood stain that penetrated the board and when the paint started flaking you could see the green stain underneath. I was determined to keep the board intact and do something wonderful with it.

Since I'm selling at the Little French Flea Market in Tarzana in two weeks, I thought it would be fun to paint the words The Little French Flea Market on it or some combination of those words, but they just wouldn't fit.

So after I painted the words The French I decided on finishing it as The French Connection. Then because I wanted to really make this more than just a board, I also found some used molding at the salvage yard and asked my husband to frame the sign to make it a little more professional looking. I think this is my favorite sign to date. I couldn't wait to finish it so I could get it into the shop. I really appreciate your visits so thanks for stopping by.

By the way, does anyone know what's happening with Google? I heard they're making some changes this summer.

I may be partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Coastal Charm
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays   Savvy Southern Style

Thursdays        The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays           French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday   Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays      Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Fresh Roasted Peanuts

When I visit my daughter, one of my fun things to do is browse through her Pottery Barn catalogs. She is a Pottery Barn girl through and through, and since I don't shop there, I don't get their catalogs in the mail. However, I love their look and I love their vignettes and in one of the catalogs I spotted just a corner of this sign and I fell in love with it. I had a free piece of wood that I picked up at a yard sale a few weeks ago and I knew this would be the perfect project for it.

It was a simple project because I had everything on hand, the wood, the stencil, the paints and the motivation, and it's pretty darn close to the one that Pottery Barn has for $89 plus shipping and handling in their catalog.

Thanks for visiting. I started a ton of new projects today. This was the first time in three weeks I have actually been home to work on things so I will have lots to share very soon. By the way, this was my free piece of wood, and it was perfect.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Hens and Hollyhocks

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Saturday I attended another workshop with Christie Repasy. This time we painted hens and hollyhocks. Christie said I was definitely improving. I've had no formal painting classes and I so wish I could attend these workshops more often but time and distance only permit me to attend every two or three months.

At least it's obvious these are chickens; right? The workshops are loads of fun and I've made some great new friends too.

Christie treated us to this fabulous bouquet from her garden. Isn't it beautiful? If you ever have a chance to learn from a great teacher, grab the chance and get to know your inner artist. I believe we all have one residing within us. Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone.

Happy Easter

(Photo via Pinterest: Pixhaus.com)

Friday, March 29, 2013

Old French Books

Okay, my title might be a little misleading. These are not old books nor are they French, but they are real books. I wish I could take credit for this ingenious idea, but I confess I saw this project on Maison de Stencil's blog. Aren't these gorgeous? I want to make some more. I think I'll tie them with some black hemp and I may put a little key or medallion on them.

I had everything on hand to do this project including the fabulous stencils from Maison de Stencils which I wish I could get more of, but every time I try to hit a sale I'm too late. One of these days I'll splurge and pick up some more.

So here is what I did according to what I remembered from the blog article. I painted the books with Annie Sloane Graphite and stenciled the French graphics using my stencils. I used ivory craft paint. Then I took my champagne gold craft paint and painted the pages of the books which I forgot to show you. When you paint the books paint even the pages of the closed books. That's what I trimmed out with the gold.

I also rubbed a little paint on my fingertips and ran along the rims with the champagne gold. To finish it off I used a little wax. Don't worry. I didn't deface good books. You know they are an endangered species since every Barnes and Noble seems to be closing (boo hoooooo). I used these abused encyclopedias and gave them a second chance to be beautiful decor accents. Happy crafting. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend. I am off to Temecula tomorrow for another Christie Repassy workshop.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Circus Invitations

I just wanted to share with you these adorable shower invitations I found on Etsy for my daughter's baby shower. Her best friend and my youngest daughter are hosting the shower, but my contribution was to send out the invitations. I found these on Etsy. They were designed by Jilly Bear Designs. The theme of the nursery is circus so I wanted to stay with the same idea.

The monkey and the banner are all die cuts layered beautifully. I gave Sammie, the creator of these beauties, the wording and she printed them for me so I didn't have to mess with that. The order included the coordinating thank you cards as well.

I saved the image to my computer and had the postal service make coordinating postage stamps.

Also included in the package from Jilly Bear Designs were these darling hang tags the girls can use for party favors or gifts. The whole package of 18 custom invitations and thank you notes plus tags only came to $81.50. I think for everything I purchased which was all custom and including printing, this was a great deal and my oldest daughter loves them. So if you are looking for invitations, you might keep Jilly Bear Designs in mind. You will find her on Etsy. Thanks for visiting.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Getting Framed

We are back from visiting our daughter in Northern California and lest you think I was just goofing off the whole week, my husband and I painted every room in the happy couple's new (90 year old) home except for the kitchen and bathroom. I also helped with some yard clearance and helped them pick out the baby's crib, purchased some baby clothes (what first time expectant grandmother wouldn't?) and also selected baby's first toy elephant to go with the circus themed nursery. Whew!!! I need a vacation from my vacation, But baby's room is coming along beautifully and will definitely be ready for its debut. I have to call it baby because my daughter and son-in-law do not want to know if it's a boy or girl until the big moment.

So on with my post for today which was ready before I left, but, really, who had time to upload the photos with all the fun and games? I found two frames while shopping the yard sales a couple of weeks ago. One was heavily gold leafed. I almost felt guilty painting over it, but I just didn't feel I could sell it the way it was.

The first thing I did was ditch the linen liners that were badly yellowed with age. The outer frame was the gold one, the inner frame was scratched up high gloss wood toned.

I painted the gold frame with old white and the wood frame with graphite, both Annie Sloan paints. The white frame was too chalky looking so I toned it down with some Delta champagne gold which comes in a big pot. It's a cross between silver and gold so maybe a platinum?

Then I took dark wax and rubbed it into the crevices and buffed it out. Added a little clear wax and did the same. For the graphite painted frame, I rubbed on the clear wax and then used gold Rub n' Buff on the beautiful details.