LittleMissMaggie: 6/17/12

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Jules Belin

Here is the sign I wanted to post about yesterday, but unfortunately it took me two days to finish it. I can't begin to do a tutorial on this because it would make us all crazy. Let's just say I did not have to purchase any stencils to get it done because I had everything on hand. Yeah, I know. I'm a little crazy. However, some of these stencils I have had for at least 10 to 12 years. I made several mistakes doing the layering of this sign. It is about 5 feet wide and even though I am very experienced at painting signs on cabinet doors, it never occurred to me that the knob, which I wanted to keep, wasn't centered. Duh! Oh well. My lettering isn't totally level either because by this morning I was starting to freehand a few things like the Old English lettering at the top and the brandy at the bottom is off a little too. I will tell you though, I do love the finished product. I always intend for my signs to look hand done, aged, and, of course, they are all one of a kinds.

Another thing I should mention is that I sell a lot of old authentic advertising signs and displays and I shy away from tobacco and alcohol related items. I don't like to encourage vices in people. No judgment here. I have plenty of my own vices and my husband would say blogging is at the top of the list. That said, I was looking for inspiration to do some layering of images and typography, and this one captured my attention the moment I saw it. So I stayed true to the subject matter. Besides, it's French and who can resist a Frenchman?

I was looking for layered inspiration and this vintage label delivered in spades.

You can totally tell my Old English printing is freehand. I finally taped it off to keep it level. It was hard to keep the word brandy level because I was working right up against the frame. I also freehanded the bell.

Here is a blurry picture of what inspired me. Yep, this is all I could see. I researched this on the internet and found a modern version of the label to help me get the wording correct. In case you are wondering it is from the 2012 3rd edition of Jeanne d' Arc Living Magazine.

I used a magnifying glass to make out the words so I could research the label and hopefully find a copy on the internet, but I did not find an exact match. I still love my sign. I guess you could say it was a copy cat challenge of sorts.

Thanks so much for visiting. I love it when you drop by.

One last thing. Here is the door before I went to work on the transformation. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

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

Friday, June 22, 2012

Home Goods and Paper Doilies

Today I planned on working on a new sign to take to the shop this weekend, but I got side tracked with some other things. So my sign is only half done and I hope to finish it tomorrow. So instead I wanted to share these wonderful paper goods I found at Home Goods.

Aren't these beautiful? I found them while standing in line at Home Goods one day. They both came packaged together. They are great for cakes and baked goods, and last week I used them to layer my black and white tablescape. Although they are not black and white, they are very neutral and very versatile.

Usually I just find the paper doilies, but I really like these.

I love the scrollie design and the scalloped edges. Next time you need to layer a table, try something like these.

Thanks for visiting. Tomorrow I hope to unveil my new sign. It was inspired by an antique wine label I saw in one of my Jeanne D' Arc magazines.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

French Bar Stools

This post would have been a whole lot sooner, but I had to re-do the base of one of these bar stools. I'll show you why in a second. There is nothing out of the ordinary about these two stools. I picked them up at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. My husband painted them for me with some left over paint. It's a white that is almost a pale yellow. It's called Churchill Hotel Vanilla and it's a Valspar paint you can purchase at Lowe's. The only sanding I did on these was right around the edge of the seats and a little over my lettering to blend it a little bit. The red is cardinal red by Delta and the yellow is moon yellow by Americana. I shaded with antique white and raw umber. All are acrylic craft paints.

I used a grain sack stencil by Maison de Stencil. This is a long stencil and everything you see on the seat comes from one stencil. You can visit their website by clicking on their link on my side bar.

To see how I filled in the details of this stencil to give it more depth, click here for the last project I did with this very stencil. The tutorial is there. The following photo shows the details I added before applying Minwax Special Walnut stain. Just a very light coat to help with the blending and add a little patina to the finish.

Now here is why this post is being done so late. Look at this mess and I do mean mess. I was mad as a hornets' nest yesterday and I mean the entire nest. My friend keeps telling me how she uses Minwax Gel stains so I thought I would try them. They were $16 per can and I just didn't feel like spending that much since I have a whole locker full of regular Minwax stain. I use their products all the time and am always pleased with the results EXCEPT for this one time. Instead of getting a gel stain, I opted for one of their water based stains. It's hot and I didn't want to deal with the smell and the heavy gloves and all that so I tried to take a shortcut. Stain does smear when you apply it; right? But then you smooth it out with a rag and everything is fine. Well, this water based stain has no workability. This is how it went on and there was no wiping it back. It just stays this way. Thank goodness I did not apply it to my hand painting. So take my advice and stick to the normal Minwax products they are known for and save yourself a headache. Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Hancock Park Revisited

Last week I shared some photos I took while sleuthing around Hancock Park. It turned out, I had to return for another job the following day so I traveled some new streets and took a few more photos. In the above house I love the garland that is surrounding the front entrance. That is a real vine. It's beautiful. And what about the following house? Is this medallion incredible? I wish I could have gotten a better photograph. It really blends in with the stucco on the house. This home sits on a corner lot, and the entrance to the home is on an angle so you see this directly from the corner.

I'm sharing three pictures of the following home. Of course, I love the red door surrounded by all the white. This arched door makes a real statement, and the walkway leading up to it is so inviting and lush.

Here is a side view of the walkway. This home screams curb appeal, doesn't it? I love the tree roses. I so wanted these on my walkway which curves very similar to this one, but we have too much wind so I opted to go with regular rose bushes.

Check out the size of these tree roses. Just regular iceberg tree roses, but they are incredible, aren't they?

The next home has beautiful eyebrow ornamentation about the windows. I love all the details on these homes.

I fell in love with the next house. I love climbing roses. When I got a little closer, I realized there is some beautiful hand painting on the inside of the foyer. This home was very Tuscan in feeling.

And how about these morning glories? They were certainly glorious on this sunny morning.

Last but not least, there was not a lot of color to this front yard, but I love the tree lined entrance and the manicured hedges. This was a very stately home.

Well, thanks for taking another tour with me. I love to visit other people's gardens especially when I can admire them and not have to take care of them.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Rag Fringe Table Topper

Sunday I did a black and white tablescape using this little tablecloth I made from a drop cloth scrap. I am trying to use up my scraps so this does have a seam in the middle, but for my purposes it was perfect.

Two sides of this were already hemmed so I just hemmed up the other two sides. I took some upholstery roping, the kind you use for welting, and tied my rag scraps onto it. Just a simple tie. You don't need to knot it and just lay your pieces right next to each other. You don't need to bunch them up. It comes out quite full. This makes the fringe part of the tablecloth. This fringe is so cute, you could use it just like it is for party decorations, swags, garlands. How about some pillow fringe? I love this stuff.

I laid the fringe down on the right side of the drop cloth and then from the back, I just did a tight baste stitch to attach it. I tried stitching from the front side, but it was turning out to be a nightmare. So the underside method worked the best and it is on there nice and secure. Doesn't it look cheerful? I am going to use this at Halloween too.

If you have one of those special cutters and know how to use it, then by all means do that, but here is how I cut these strips lickity split. I took a yard of fabric and folded up a third of it. I cut on the fold.

Then I folded that one third yard of fabric in half, salvage to salvage end. I cut on the fold.

Now I took both those pieces and folded them in half going the same direction and cut them on the fold. I kept folding my smaller and smaller pieces and cutting on the fold until I had twelve inch long strips by one inch. For this project I used one yard each of three different fabrics. The toile was 60 percent off and the other two were just inexpensive cotton so the whole project was under $20. It makes a cute accent tablecloth. It's pretty much a no sew, meaning no sewing machine required. I even hemmed the drop cloth by hand because I was too lazy to get the machine out. I did the whole project while I caught up with my Tivo. Give this fringe a try. It's what I call a happy project, and by the way, don't worry about getting toile or any other directional fabric going in the correct direction. When it's all finished you can't tell the difference anyway. Happy crafting everyone.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Script Paper Flowers

Sunday I published a tablescape post and used my script paper flowers as napkin rings. I had a couple of comments asking how they are done. I purchased the ones I used in the tablescape, but I could tell they were made by some crafty person and I knew when I purchased them I could come up with a way to make them myself. So here is my rendition of the script paper flowers.

First thing I did was go through my Graphics Fairy stash and found this beautiful script. It is not French and I don't have time to find the link as it was saved on my computer, but I am sure I did a search for "script" and this one came up called Power of Song. If I have time later, I'll amend this post. I copied the image on BOTH sides of the paper. You'll see why in a minute. Then I went out to the garage and found this stuff. I buy this at the nursery and have had this can for years. It's for training vines and what not. I love this stuff and it has many uses. Perfect for this project.

Post script: Pat C., a wonderful follower, was kind enough to look up the graphic and she sent me the link. Thanks so much, Pat. To get the graphic I used click here.

Grant's Plant Tye

I cut two pieces per flower at about 12 to 14 inches long. Then I held one stable with one hand and then twirled the second stem around the first one. This made a stem and two branches.

Now to get an idea of the size of my flower, I got one flower out of each paragraph. You can see how basic this flower is.

Next I took some scalloped craft scissors and cut them out just inside my pattern line. Pinking shears would work just as well.

You can see the original flower I was copying in the next photo. I found these doodads at Joanne's to use as my flower centers. I also found some cute things that would have worked from Martha Stewart, but truly, how much stuff can a girl stockpile so KC won out.

Stick the doodads in the middle of one side of your flower. Whoops, I just realized I skipped photographing a step. I'll explain it. BEFORE you cut into your petals like you see in the following photo, place your flower center on the paper like I just explained. Now turn the flower over and apply some hot glue from your glue gun and make a glob. Make sure your paper is going in the direction you want it to go. Now stick a stem on it and cover it with a little circle of paper. I cut little centers out of my scrap script paper and applied a small circle over the glue and the stem. You can see it below. Do the same for the leaf pattern on your other stem.

Now your flower should have a stem and a leaf. NOW cut into the flower with your craft scissors as far as they will go in and then snip further with regular scissors. Now you have petals. Take a pencil and roll your petals in whichever direction you want them to go. See in the photo below how I used my little circles and square scraps to hide the glue? This is the underside of the flower. See how it also has the script on the reverse side?

Voila! You now have paper script flowers. I used these as napkin rings, but they would be great on packages, stuck in a wreath, intertwined in a garland. Let your imagination run wild. Happy crafting everyone.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Black and White Tablescape

Happy Father's Day everyone. If I had been thinking, I should have done a golf theme! But I wasn't so this is the tablescape I had planned. I'm going to do a golf theme though very soon to be sure.

Today I'm doing black and white. Last week I found four black charger plates for 25 cents. How could I resist?

I used my etched glasses today and I see they are not showing up very well in the photographs since I did not fill them with anything. Our cupboard is bare since I haven't shopped for this week yet.

I picked up these cute black and white desert/salad plates at Home Goods a few weeks ago. They are simple in design, but beautiful, and they represent famous landmarks around the world. Today is Big Ben and the Vatican.

I used my paper script flowers that are on wire for the napkin rings. Aren't they cute?

Here's a close up of Big Ben.

And another close up of my French script paper flowers.

Here is a close up of the Vatican plate.

I also used a lantern I purchased from the Home Goods clearance table and put my white orchid plant inside of it. I think I am going to keep it in there permanently. Can you see Cindy in the background? She's had her daily swim and now she wants to go in the house with wet fur! Sorry, Cindy. Not just yet.

I hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends. Thanks for dropping by.

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             The Style Sisters
                                     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