Pretty Blue Basket

This project didn't come out the way I planned it too, but I am not unhappy with what I learned along the way.  I have a friend who paints everything in their yard Sail Blue by Rustoleum.  To really describe the color it's like a yacht club awning blue.  It's bright and chipper and nothing faded about it unless, of course, you bake it in the hot California sun for two years.  I visited my friend a couple of weeks ago and was getting a tour of the latest additions to the back yard since my last visit and I spotted a French wire plant rack that was stunning.  It was faded to the perfect blue, so soft it was almost bleached to a whitish blue in some parts of it.  I walked over to it and realized it was Sail Blue and I commented to my friend who said "Oh yeah, I'm going to put some fresh paint on it soon."

 At that point I decided to get a can of the paint and see if I could dull it down with some gesso.  I didn't factor in two things.  One, it is high gloss paint, and two, I was using it on this basket that is not a flat surface.  So I think I will color match it with one of those sample cans and see if I can do a tray to achieve the look I want.  I am definitely not done with this color.

 Here is the basket when I started and below you can see how vibrant this color is (and shiny).  My second lesson for the day was copying an image onto fabric.  My image is a perfume label from the Graphics Fairy. Click here for the image.

 I saw a tutorial on this at The Polka Dot Closet.  Carol has a great blog with many great how to posts.  I used a Target dish towel for this project and I think it was a little too thick, but it worked for today and I'll keep working on that too.  I simply cut the piece of fabric a little smaller than my sheet of copy paper and taped it all the way around.  Ran it through my copier and then cut out the image and decoupaged it onto my basket.  I decoupaged the back and front of my perfume label.  I'll definitely keep working on both these techniques.

One last thing before I leave you for today.  We all know summer has arrived and that means it's time for a party.  Four of my blogg'n friends and yours truely are hosting a Hot Fun in the Summertime party through the whole month of July.  So get your hot summer fun projects done and be ready to link up.  As with most summertime parties, anything goes.  That means you can link up projects you've done, summer vacation pics, how you celebrate the season, movies you would like to review, favorite recipes and you can fill in any other blanks you can cook up.  The party will run starting the week of July 5 and run every week in the month of July.  So that gives you five different weeks to link up. So don't be a party pooper.  We're expecting you to be there.

My four beautiful co-hostesses will be Bliss of Bliss Ranch, Lorraine aka Miss Flibbertigibbet, Karen at Somewhat Quirky, and last but not least the beautiful Holly from Bella Nest.  So please join us for some Hot Summer Fun!

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy     Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing