Toile Lazy Susan

This tray started out as a lazy Susan style silver tray.  It was pretty the way it was, but I liked the way the sides of the tray were totally vertical and I decided to re-style it.  I painted it a dark gray color except for the bottom of the tray, and that was painted cream so the toile would show on a light background, and then I covered it with my homemade tissue paper made from a toile print hand towel made by Caspari click here.  I purchased the package in the charcoal color.  I just purchased it a couple of weeks ago so I know it is currently available.

I cut out the main section of the pattern and pieced it around the tray and then took snippets of the pattern to fill in so no paint would show on the tray bottom.   Then I decoupaged it three times so it has a good waterproof layer to protect the tissue paper.

Tissue paper right off the ink jet copier.

I used gesso on the gray sides and underneath the tray to give it an aged appearance and to soften the dark gray.  To get more information on gesso application, visit Rosemary at Villabarnes.  I've been visiting her site a lot and she has wonderful projects.

I love the result.  I can think of a ton of things to do with this lazy Susan including putting it in the middle of my work table with pretty containers for pencils, scissors and other crafty items to keep them near when I'm working on a project. 

Now I have never done a give-away on my blog and I have a couple planned for spring, but in celebration of my upcoming vacation, I am willing to part with one of the hand towels in this package so you can make your own homemade tissue paper.  Just leave a comment on this post and I will have Pat at the shop draw the winner randomly as soon as we return on St. Patrick's Day.  One other thing, you must be a follower of this site to qualify.  I know it's a little give away, but it's a start.  I will be visiting Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina with my daughter.  I can hardly wait.  My sweet husband will be holding down the fort while I'm away.  The blog will carry on in my absence so please stop by for a visit.

Numbered Cabinet

Isn't this a great cabinet?  I stopped at Hoot n' Anny Home in Westlake Village, California, to visit my friend Jennifer.  She is much younger than I and tends to love more contemporary lines.  She has a fabulous eye for finding great pieces.  Jennifer's shop is very very trendy and I have featured her many times before on my blog.  I consider this another "must visit" shop if you are in the area, and not just because my friend owns it, but because you could literally spend hours in it studying all of its glorious contents, wonderful vignettes, and, of course, Jennifer's creative talents.
This cabinet could be used as a pseudo mantle like she has used it.  It has great lines, lots of storage on top and below.  I would love to have this in a craft room, wouldn't you?

Challenge Brand Vintage Typography

I have run out of my French typography, but I think this one is incredible.  Don't you?  I think it reads 1903.  I found 75 of these antique invoices and I plan to share one a week.  I know you all love the French stuff, as do I, so I will keep looking for more.  In the meantime, I am loving these just as much.  If you have trouble printing them, email me, and I will send it on to you.  They are scanned into my computer.

 

French Wreath Garden Panels

This is another one of my projects using stray cabinet doors, the kind you might find in a salvage yard or perhaps on the curb in your neighborhood.  I wanted to do a garden themed vignette at Aubergine Emporium, the little shop I am a dealer at.  Don't they look wonderful on this old chippy gate?  Just the look I was going for.

They started out as boring wood run of the mill cabinet doors.  My husband painted them a dark gray something akin to primer gray.

Then I picked a white I had on hand.  If you like Annie Sloan chalk paint, this is sort of like her "Old White" color.  Not a white white at all.  My intent was an old French garden look.  Then we used epoxy glue and attached the beautiful wreaths that I purchased at The Bella Cottage.  I use her embellishments all the time.  They are great quality compared to some other ones I have found.   When everything was painted white, I took my sander and heavily sanded the doors.  The paint I used must have had a lot of yellow in it because it revealed a yellowish cast in some areas.  Didn't bother me at all since I wanted the layered paint look.  Then I took the razor blade scraper and went to town chipping away some of the paint to reveal the bottom layers.  Now they are all ready for spring. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Here is the link to The Bella Cottage's website click here,

Clock Face Tray

At first I wasn't at all pleased with the way this tray turned out.  I took a cheapy silver tray, not a fine vintage one, and decoupaged the clock face on it that I have shared with you a couple of times now.  I had to piece the pattern onto it which meant I had lines showing in the pattern so I took some tissue paper, plain white, and sort of scrunched it in and decoupaged some more.  The result was a disaster which shows in my first picture.  Back to the drawing board for this project. 

So I took the paint scraper and scraped and scraped and scraped.  I lifted off the scrunchiness and was left with what looks like an old paper clock face that got wet somewhere along the line and then tore.  I have actually sold real clocks that had this kind of patina.  It's growing on me.  Not the way I had envisioned it when I started, but sometimes you have to go with the flow and see where things go on their own.  I am currently working on another tray project, this time with my homemade tissue paper.  We will see what road that project wants to take me.  Every project I try I consider to be a lesson.  I try to learn from my mistakes and improve the next time. 

I do like the finish.  I have been visiting Rosemary's blog at Villabarnes a lot and decided to try the gesso.  The tray was painted primer gray and then just washed with the gesso and wiped back.  I took this out to the shop yesterday.  If nothing else, it will be a great prop.

As an afterthought, I am adding the link to this graphic I shared a couple weeks ago.  If you would like to use it, click here.

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