Paris Chalkboard

This is a crazy busy time of year at work and I can't believe I didn't photograph this whole door but somehow I did not so I will just share snippets with you.

I would love to tell you this was an old door I salvaged from a fabulous flea market or salvage yard but this door is circa 1994.  The best I can do is call it "vintage Ikea."

After the Northridge earthquake when we repaired our house and did a little updating, my girls wanted Ikea furniture.  That was many moons ago and our youngest finally purchased her own place this year.  Did she take Ikea with her?  Heck no.  Coming up soon you will see another post about other things we did with her "vintage Ikea" furniture.

We demolished the TV cabinet which was ready to fall down on its own and my husband was able to save this door for me.  There were actually two, but he insisted the other one was too badly damaged to use for anything.  I wish he would have let me be the judge of that.

The pine door got painted a generic creamy white.  I added my raised plaster stencil technique which you can see here.  I also added some joint compound here and there on the door to give it a roughed up look and also to get my washy paint to give the door an aged look.

The door got a heavy sanding and a healthy wash of dark brown paint, probably raw umber or burnt umber.  Whichever one is darkest brown.  Just a wash was all it took to get in the crevices.

Next I added a little stenciling and a chalkboard finish to the top panel.  I love the way it came out.  I did manage to find another tall pantry door at the salvage yard this week and I plan to do the same treatment on it.

Here is the door with just the white paint and the raised plaster stencil before I did all the aging of it.

Thanks for visiting.

Friday Link Parties:
 French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed

Remembrance of Paris

Last summer I took an incredible trip to Northern France, and we spent several days in Paris so when I came across this image called Remembrance of Paris, I knew I had to do something with it.

I had some small pieces of peg board that I was saving to paint some signs on and they were the perfect size.  I painted the board white and applied my image.  Since the board had a funny texture, it was a little rougher than usual where the mod podge had been applied.  I wanted a very vintage look to the sign so that was okay with me.

I used tan and light grey and layered the whole board with several layers of washes.  I also used some stencils and applied some designs with my joint compound to make a 3-D effect.

I stenciled the word France on the very bottom and applied one of my small metal roses to the top.

Finally I waxed the whole board.  It's the perfect size and is a nice souvenir to help me remember my fabulous vacation.

Thanks for your visit.
I may be partying at...

Mondays           Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style   Ivy and Elephants
                                           
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    

Vintage Paris

It's that time again.  The Little French Flea Market is this weekend.  This is the vintage market I sell at four times a year, and this will be our second market for the year.  Our weather should be spectacular.  Here are two of my new signs that will be available.  I finished a few more, but I will have to share them later.  Didn't get them photographed yet.  

I love this Vintage Paris sign.  I painted three of them and one has already sold so I'm saving the other two for this weekend.  I found a great stash of these gorgeous metal roses.  I do say they make anything look fabulous.

My Paris Flea Market sign got a fancy drawer pull for its adornment.

It's amazing what an old cabinet door can become once it's rescued from the scrap pile

If you're in the area this weekend, please stop and see us.  It's a great little marketplace and you never know what you will find.

I may be partying at

Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style   Ivy and Elephants
                                           

Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Common Ground
                                  

Patisseries

Thanks to all of you who left comments on my black and white projects last week.  I will be responding to comments and visiting everyone in the next couple of days.  My sale at The Little French Flea Market was a huge success and the black and white went fast.  I have been wiped out and am just now getting back to normal.  I wanted to share one of the new projects I did for my show and this was one of the first things to sell.  It was made using an old cabinet door found at the salvage yard.

I combined several of my stencils to make this sign and it was a super quick project.  Last month I shared a new stencil source with you, and Loren has graciously offered to give my readers 15 percent off in her Etsy shop on her fabulous stencils.

This beautiful patisseries stencil is 20x7 and it is normally $26.  Considering the prices of the larger typography stencils that are on the market these days, that is an incredible price.  Just visit More Than Words Vinyl Etsy shop and see all the great products being offered there.  If you decide to purchase one of Loren's wonderful stencils, put in the code MISSMAGGIE and you will receive 15 percent off.

Since these stencils are the heavier Mylar, I was able to use my joint compound to make a raised plaster image which gave depth and dimension to this sign.  Then I put in some Frenchy addresses and words and completed the look I wanted.  To see one of my other raised plaster projects click here.  Of course, you can use these stencils in the normal fashion with just paint and a stencil brush as well, but I love having the option of using different mediums.

Also since I love old signage, I distressed this sign quite a bit.  This sign was well received and sold in the first hour.  I hope you will visit this wonderful Etsy shop and I hope you love it as much as I do.

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   Ivy and Elephants
                                           
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

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.

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           

Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe

This is my week for lettering projects and I'm trying some new fonts and stencils.  I found this back splash at the salvage yard.  It was so covered with mud and dirt I thought it had been in a fire and the wood was burned but I dragged it home anyway.

 I scrubbed it down and painted it black and painted Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe on it with gold paint.  As soon as I found this piece I knew that's what I wanted to do with it and the words fit perfectly like they were meant to be there.

 But there was still a matter of the roughness that remained after being saturated with the mud for so long, so I sanded it back to give it an old shabby look.

 I think now it has a perfect authentic antique look.
By the way, the name of this lettering is Chancery.
Thanks for your visits.

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           

Christmas

 

Happy holidays everyone.  I've been getting ready for our traditional festivities and wrapping gifts for Santa so today I'll just share this little gem I found that I think is perfect for Christmas.  It's painted on an old ceiling tin and has the most wonderful red patina with the word Christmas painted on it in script.  I added it to our front porch decor.  Hope your holidays are merry and bright.

Mon Reve

In case you don't speak French, mon reve translates to "my dream."  I don't speak French either so I had to look up the meaning of the phrase. 

That said, these are my latest pair of French signs.  If you recall, these are the recycled cabinet doors I found at the salvage yard.  There were two of them, and I experimented with the Modern Master's crackle finish.  You can find the tutorial here.  Then I did a reverse mod podge transfer method for the image of this beautiful lady.  You can find that tutorial  here.  The image is from Graphics Fairy.  I emailed the photo to Fed Ex office and had them resize it for the area I had to work with.

I love my French signs to have an old world look to them and that's why I chose to do the reverse mod podge.  It gives an aged patina, and you can see some of the paper rubbed off, but that's okay because I was going for a very old, antique look.

Next I applied some of my pretty rose appliques and then I printed some lettering.  I wanted these to be perfume signs from the get go, but the width I had to work with on the lettering was only 4 1/2 inches so I kept it short and sweet.  The signs are identical except that the image of the woman is a mirrored image, one from the other, and one says eau de parfum and the other one says eau de cologne.  I am pointing that out because my husband thought they were identical.

Here are the backs of the signs.  As you can see, I don't disguise the fact that these are cabinet doors.  I use this type of door for the specific purpose of getting some extra architectural details that add some interest.

Thanks so much for your visit.  I always love it when you drop by.


I'm 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           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Bistro Menu Boards

Here are my latest menu boards inspired by my recent trip to Paris.  I tried to give these a bit of European charm by using the black and gold.  My husband thought they were for a wedding because of the cake but that was just something I added instead of my usual wreath appliques.  They are touting pastries and cocoa and the like so a cake seemed fitting.  However, he did give me an idea for a wedding reception sign.  My wheels are turning now.

 To transfer the cake image onto the board, I traced a cake image I already had and then painted it in.  I put some swirls on the cake to give it some detail.

 Although much of these are stenciled, most of the creativity comes from designing these signs.  All my work is one of a kind.  I never repeat the same sign twice. 

 The base of these signs are my usual cabinet doors found at the salvage yard.  Then I get to work on an idea for the theme, the design and the background colors.

Thanks for dropping by for a visit.  I hope you are inspired to put your thinking cap on to create a one of a kind something or other of your own.

I'm 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           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Chambre des Fleurs

I had planned on doing another pair of menu boards this week, but it looks like it will be next week.  I got very side tracked when I looked up images of vintage Paris perfume labels.  I came across an incredible label that became the inspiration for this sign.

I wanted to share a complete photo of the actual image but for some reason it said for personal use only, not to be transmitted digitally.  I'm not sure what that means since it's already on the internet under images and my understanding is that any document or photograph predating 1920 does not come under the umbrella of copyright law.

I tried to be pretty true to the image I found.  Some of my lettering is pretty primitive, but it's supposed to be old.  Right?  I used a white that looks very vintage for the background.  It was something I had on hand and it's just plain latex paint.

I printed the image (for my personal use of course) and then enlarged it to get the spray of roses copied.  Then I took the splendid blender and transferred it onto the old cabinet door board.  Because the enlarged image was highly pixelated, it was a little blurry, but it transferred just the same.  I came back with a liner brush and accentuated the image with a little freestyle painting.  I can't draw, but I can wing it if the image is already there.

All the lettering is antique gold and burnt umber craft paint with a gray shading (mixture of black and white craft paint).

I always do a cursory sketch of the letters on paper first to make sure the words will fit and it helps me place the lettering before taking brush to board.

Here is the image after the splendid blender.  As the day wore on, I felt like the image was fading.  I'm not sure why.  The image I used on my caddy a couple of weeks ago looks as good as the day I applied it and it's sealed with clear coat.

Have a wonderful weekend and please visit again soon.

I'm 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         Ivy and Elephants
                                           
Thursdays        Embracing Change     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           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

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