Catch of the Day

Today was a very long day.  I hit the yard sales at 6:30 this morning and started out with a crawl, but ended up with a bang.  I returned home at 11:00 and set out to clean my catch and get things organized.  I am dead tired and ready for a good night's sleep.  Before I turn in, I wanted to share just a couple of things I found that I thought were a little out of the ordinary. 

First I found this beautiful little mirror.  It's not an oldie, but it was so adorable.  The image can be removed and I think I am going to Xerox it and put it back in.  Isn't this sweet?  It's about 18 inches tall so it's a good size treasure.

 Next I found this awesome pig.  It is now residing on the front porch.  My greeter rabbits went back to the side yard where they spend their summers and winters.  They will return in the spring.

 This little guy is also about 18 inches tall.  He's metal and heavy.  I washed him off and I see his feet are still a little damp, but it was love at first sight for me.

 I also found this little quacker.  He's on a little pole and his feet and wings are rubber.  He's a homemade critter.  I am going to save him for a while as well.  His little feet move along as you push the wheels.  Too cute.

Last but not least, I found a great sale with used towels for 25 cents.  You probably wonder why this is news worthy.  Whenever I find used bath towels for a quarter, I buy as many as I can get my hands on.  Our local animal rescues are in desperate need of towels and blankets for abandoned pets.  If you love animals like I do, many of the local rescue societies in any part of the country would love to have these items donated.  I go to my local Petco.  They keep a bin for unexpired pet food and for blankets and towels, and the rescue people come by and pick them up.  It's kind of hidden so you need to ask where to find it.  So the next time you are out and about, please don't forget about our furry friends. 


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

Metal Table Topper

I found this cute little cabinet a couple of months ago at the flea market.  I instantly fell in love with the old worn paint, the hardware and the details.  The only problem was the top.  It definitely did not have its original top and what was on there was a sort of particle board that had been patched with a plaster of paris type material.

I purchased a roll of galvanized metal at the salvage yard a while back so I thought with all the industrial craze going on right now, why not put a metal topper over her make-shift top.  We cut a piece with tin snips and tried to nail it on, but it needed to be glued down first.  We used Amazing Goop to start with.  My husband could not get the bend out where the metal was rolled so he stuck some epoxy in with a skewer stick and then clamped and used weights to get the kink to lay down.  He still was not happy and wanted to start over.  I explained it was not going to come off with all that adhesive that we used.

 So we took some hammers and distressed it even more!  I could have kept going with my hammer but my husband decided we had abused this little piece enough.  I still thought the metal looked too new.  I read a post that morning about rusting metal at Treasures From the Heart blog.  Barbara Jean uses vinegar and salt.  Great idea.  So I gave it a try.  Only problem was it did not rust my top.  My husband said it's because galvanized metal will not rust.  It did however take the sheen away and that was good enough for me.  I do plan to use Barbara Jean's method on some other metals since I love rust so much anyway.

 The top fits the funkiness of the rest of this piece and eventually it will end up at the shop.  Even though I cleaned her up, I think I still need to use my magic sponge.

 This is what the top looked like.  Very weird material.  Thanks for visiting.

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

French Family Crest

I think this finish mimics old slate stone.  What do you think?  Of course, it's not.  It's one of my old cabinet doors from the salvage yard.  This finish was super easy so I'll just get right to the point and tell you how I did it, but seriously, do you think my name is bold enough in the picture?  What's up with that? 

 I sanded the door because it had a gloss finish that was super yucky.  Then I painted it with two coats of Americana Ultra Blue Deep acrylic paint.  You see, I wanted to make a look-alike blue enamel French address plaque.  Just wasn't in the cards.  To see the blue, look below.  It's bright!  I wanted to age it a bit so I took my Gold Rub n' Buff and went all around the edges to give it a border.  Again, very bright.  Then I took white gesso and went over the whole door working in sections and wiping it back with a paper towel.  This sort of streaked it and grayed it and made it look more like slate which does have a lot of blue.

 Then I took some craft glaze medium and mixed it with my black acrylic paint.  I washed it around the edges and on the gold edges which were already dulled way down by the gesso wash.  Then I used my new grain sack stencil by Maison de Stencils.  This is one stencil, not several.  I just laid it on my door and used ivory white acrylic paint but just a really light treatment.  This is supposed to look like an old French plaque that's been calcified over time.  Now I sprayed it with a clear flat sealer and voila it's done.

 Here is the bright blue I started with.  I may do some enamel copycat signs another time.  I do love this blue.

 Isn't this door ugly?  No wonder it was ripped out and replaced.  For the link to Maison de Stencils click here.  They have a wonderful variety and also the best looking stencils around.

The winner of the give away for my French wreaths is Sally Puckett.  Congratulations, Sally.  I'll be contacting you to get your address.  Thanks for leaving a comment and thanks to all of you who left comments as well.



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

Ice Cream Cone

Today I worked from home which allowed me to work on a few blog ideas as well.  Nothing is finished yet, but I have wanted to share this adorable sign I picked up at a yard sale about a month ago.  I really should sell it and I thought I would try to copy the sign and make a new one too, but I just don't know if I can part with it.

It's a new chippy peely painted sign put together with new old wire and an old new ice cream scooper.  Isn't it adorable?  It really looks vintage, doesn't it?  Well....on the back side it says "Made in China."
It sure fooled me.  How about you?  I say who cares?  I love it no matter where it was made, what its age, or new or old.  It just makes me happy and right now it's residing on the trellis outside my front door.  Thanks for taking a peek.  I think I'll go have some ice cream.

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

Chateau de Chantilly

A couple of weeks ago I saw a dresser that was posted by A Bit O' Whimsy.com.  If I remember correctly, she called it verdigris.  At the time of her first post, she didn't give a tutorial, but I loved her finish and tried to duplicate the look.  Then I realized she later did a tutorial on May 25 if you care to take a look.  This is my version and although it is not perfect, I absolutely love it.  You can bet I am going to try to do this again until I do get it right.  Now, of course, I have some tips from her tutorial to guide me along better.

 I started out with a very weathered cabinet door that had flaking varnish.  I love my projects to look aged so I didn't even sand it.  I painted it with my Valspar "So Cool" paint.  I purchased my paint at Do-It Center, but I am sure Lowe's probably has it too because they carry Valspar.  If you cannot get that color, just use a pretty aqua colored paint.  I purchased my appliques from The Bella Cottage click here for their website.  FYI, during the month of May, all of their appliques are 25% off.  Notice I'm using a different set of appliques than I usually do and I absolutely love them.

 After applying the appliques with epoxy glue and painting the cabinet door, I went in and dry brushed the appliques with Folk Art Warm White.  Then I used gesso over the whole project.  At this point I realized A Bit O' Whimsy did a tutorial on her method (which I'm so grateful for)  and I had a little guidance on how to proceed.  I went back with a watery brush and dabbed on Folk Art Hauser Green Light.  This is a fabulous green that mimics the color of moss.  After that was done, I used a copper leafing pen and ran it along the molding of the cabinet door to give the project a little definition.  I also went over the applique in spots to make it look like copper.  Notice I didn't get the aqua paint in all the nooks and crannies of the applique.  I left a little brown in there.

Next I took my French script stencils (3 inch) that I purchased on EBay from Stencils by Joanie and stenciled in my text with the warm white paint.  I filled in the gaps with my liner brush to make it look like real handwriting.  Then I did a little shading on the right side of each letter with Delta Cremacoat Stonewedge Green.  I still haven't sanded the project yet because it is naturally flaking and is really getting a patina'd look.  My last step was taking some glazing medium (I used Americana which can be found at your local craft store with the craft acrylic paints) that I mixed with Folk Art Metallic Solid Bronze.  I didn't use copper because I didn't have any on hand.  I mixed it up and went over the whole piece.  There is one spot that it didn't stick and I'm not sure why, but I am still happy with the outcome.  At this point I could have gone over it with some dark stain, but I think I'll leave well enough alone on this project and experiment again with a new board (and maybe a new applique too).

 Now be sure to put a clear coat of some sort to seal in all your hard work if you decide to try this.

 Thanks for visiting and I hope I have inspired you to try this technique.  I LOVE the look.  Thank you, A Bit O' Whimsy for your inspiration!!

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

Hancock Park

I had to go into downtown Los Angeles today for my job.  I don't usually go all the way into the city, so I thought I would stop by Hancock Park on my way home and take some photos of some of the gorgeous landscaping to share with you.  I am a member of the Hancock Park Historical Society, and in April I was a docent for their garden tour.  I was so excited to get some photos to share with you, and wouldn't you know it, I got down there with my camera and the SD card was still in my computer because I had just done a blog post.  Drats!!!  I saw some amazing landscaping too, but, of course, today I couldn't find the homes because they look different two months later with the hot summer sun beating down.  Even my own garden has changed in the last two months.  I did find a few yards to share though.
Hancock Park is a neighborhood that is very close to Beverly Hills and many of the homes date back to the 1920's or even earlier.  The lot sizes are enormous and so are many of the homes.  They were all built by different architects so there is no tract home feel here.

The homes are set back from the street so they all have beautiful sweeping walkways.  In the next photo I was enamored by the incredible iron work over the entrance and the front windows.  Isn't it gorgeous?

I love this little island in the middle of this walkway below.  It gives an air of mystery to the entrance.  Notice the huge trees.  These front yards are huge.

I have always loved picket fences.  The one below is lined with different colored bougainvillea.

These beautiful pink and purple flowers are the most beautiful hydrangeas I have ever seen.  I feed mine with concoctions for acid loving plants, but they don't look anything like these.  I'm still trying to find out how they get in there to trim and cut the flowers.  This garden was incredible.  My pictures only show it one-tenth the justice it deserves.  Mind you, I was being sort of sneaky about photographing as this is a private neighborhood.

Trimming the vine on this next house is no small feat.  I can barely contain my little wall that has this very vine.

Yes, these homes are perfect for a grand entrance.

These day lilies were beautiful and were planted everywhere for a border effect.

Last but not least, many of these homes have magnificent climbing roses arched over the front entrances.  You can tell they have been there for years by the size of their canes.  I wish my climbers looked this good.  The flowers below are marigolds.  They were the only ones I spotted today.  Thanks for going on this tour with me.  If these gardens could talk, I bet they would tell some fascinating stories!

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
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Mirror Your Windows

I have done a couple of posts on my mirrored windows, but the only ones I have showed you are the ones that were completed before I started blogging.  So today I thought I would tell you how I do them so you can see how easy it is.

I just finished four panels of windows I found at the salvage yard.  They were already painted white so we just freshened up the paint job and added some pretty appliques to the very top.

The most economical place I have found to cut my mirror is Lowe's.  Did you know they cut glass and mirror?  I never knew that until very recently.  It was super economical to have them do my mirror cutting since I paid a little more for these panels than I usually do.  I use an automotive glue.  It's very strong and can stand up to heat in case you want to use your mirrored panels outside.

I used Amazing Goop Automotive glue on these mirrors.  Be careful because some glues will eat the silver off the back of the mirror.

Now don't take the glass out of the windows.  You will use the glass as a base for the mirror.  Just goop up the glass and place your cut piece of mirror right on top of the glass.  Make sure your window is laying flat when you do this and you will want to keep it flat for a few hours until your glue sets up.  We use saw horses for ours but a table would work just as well.  Notice on the following picture, I painted the back of the window panel.  Just paint right over the glass.  This way you won't see the ugly glue marks and the back of the mirror.  Should you decide to hinge two panels together, you could even use these as a room screen.  I have done this mirror technique on French doors as well.  Makes quite an architectural statement and reflects your room beautifully. 

Thanks for dropping in.

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
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing