LittleMissMaggie

Saturday, September 15, 2012

An Interesting Week

Everyone has a week every now and then that just turns out to be an exercise in futility, and I am no different. Thank goodness these weeks only come along about once a year. This first photo is a pretty cute medicine cabinet. It was plain pine from the 80's and was missing the glass. I asked my husband to paint it black and put some small scale poultry wire in the front. He did all the work on this so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead and not touch it anymore. I'll take it to the shop tomorrow.

So what did I do with my week? I started early Monday morning trying to remove the glass from this 5 foot square window so I could hang it on my wall at the shop. I thought someone could make an awesome chalkboard out of it if the glass was removed. I broke out the glass panes as I usually do and in the process banged my hand. That didn't deter me though. I spent at least 8 more hours this week trying to get all the glass removed!

In 8 hours' time I can do a lot of DIY projects, get them photographed and then blog about them, but I met this window as a challenge. The front is white chippy paint with the old green showing through.

Pretty cool to use on a wall at my space at Aubergine Emporium, don't you think? But check out the next photo. This was the back side. I couldn't get the glazing compound out and therefore the glass around the edges stayed stuck! It's still not perfect on the back side, but all the glass has been picked out of the crevices and I shall use the front side for my display. In many years I have never encountered glazing compound that didn't just fall away. Has anyone out there had this same problem?

Then I decided to try my wood burning tool to transfer an image on to this wooden box. That didn't go well either. I think I blew the image up too large and didn't have enough of a solid image to transfer.

Not to worry, I will ask my husband to paint it and I will paint something of my own. Until then, I will try the transfer method on something else and let you know how it turns out. Next week will be better. I'm attending my favorite flea market tomorrow and I just know I will find something to inspire me for next week's projects. I hope your week was not as frustrating as mine. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

My Space

Between our vacation, visiting my daughter and then my recent bout with Whooping Cough, I was away from my space at Aubergine Emporium for approximately five weeks. Wow, that is a very long time for me! I try to bring in new things every week to keep things fresh and clean, but sometimes life happens. So I spent Sunday and Monday at the shop cleaning and rearranging. I tried to take in a lot of new items, but it still needs some more smalls and a little more tweaking.

Nonetheless, I thought I would show you what my space looks like going into fall and gearing up for winter.

I brought in some black, a lot of wood and my space wouldn't be complete without some red accents. I'm pretty much a color person, but I did a couple of neutral spots for our color phobe customers. Do you like color like I do or do you play it neutral?

Thanks for visiting. I hope your day is cheery and bright.

I'm partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
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           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tea at the Ritz

There is one thing I simply must do that has been on my long list is have tea at the Ritz, the one in London, that is. We did recently visit London, but the planning was rather last minute and I had many other cities to visit on our trip as well as London. However, when we were there, I decided to poke my head in the door just to see what it was all about.

First of all, I was dressed like a tourist with my jeans, T-shirt and sun hat. All I hoped to do was get a tiny little peak. The tea room was at the end of a long room on the other side of very gorgeous doors. The staff, however, was ever so gracious as I explained my circumstances and told them I knew I was not dressed appropriately but I just thought I would see if I could get a glimpse.

The concierge explained that a 12 to 14-week advance reservation is required in order to have tea there especially this year with the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, but if I would check at the front desk of the hotel, I might be able to pick up some information. So around the corner I went where I was met by another friendly face. I asked if I could get some information for the tea room and he whipped out this beautiful little menu that was made up in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. I uttered my delight and thanked him profusely.

Some day I will visit England, all of England. I will tour the inside of Buckingham Palace, see the changing of the Guard, and, of course, have tea at the Ritz. Next time I will make plans in advance. Let's just call this last trip a teaser as we only had two days in London and by golly there is a lot to see and take in.

In the meantime, I will treasure my beautiful menu and remember how gracious the staff greeted me. I am not much for buying souvenirs when I travel. My photographs are all I need to make me happy, but this little menu is something I will keep and treasure forever.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Butler's Chocolate Crate

I can't believe I'm actually going to sell this box, but I am. I found it at one of those sponsored neighborhood real estate sales. It's got a tool tray in it and it started out as a wood crate. The details of the crate are wonderful, but there was a very large oil stain on the top that I feared would bleed through a simple stain and varnish.

My husband painted it with Rustoleum Canyon Black brush on paint and top coated it with the same color spray. I gave him strict instructions not to do very much sanding because I wanted the old world feel to come through loud and clear.

I have no idea of the age of this crate, but it's been around the block, the tool shed, the garage, whatever you want to call it. Nicely dinged and beaten up from years of use.

For the gold design, I used a simple inexpensive stencil I found at Michael's. I didn't join the lines to make it look hand painted because I wanted to keep the aged primitive feel going. I used acrylic craft paint in antique gold and burnt umber. I put them sided by side on my paint palette and dipped the stencil brush in the gold on one side and then the burnt umber on the other side. This made for a very uneven coloration thus looking like some of the paint had been worn back with time.

I wrapped the gold design around the sides of the box. I used my script 3-inch alphabet stencils to do the lettering which was done with ivory acrylic paint. I came back with burnt umber on my liner brush and did a little shading on the letters just to give them a bit of depth. It's barely visible against the black background, but it did have a subtle effect. When it was totally dry, I came back with lightweight steel wool and rubbed the whole piece to dim any harsh lines from the stenciling. Then it got a clear sealer coat.

The next photo is the crate as I found it, dust, oil stain and all.

I love this look with fall colors, and I think at Christmastime it will look amazing with the traditional greenery, but honestly, I love this look all year round. The old world look is definitely my style.

Thanks for dropping by. As always, thanks for visiting and I hope you take away some inspiration for your own style and projects.

I'm partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
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
                                     Shabbilicious Friday
Saturdays      Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Chef Pierre

Let me introduce you to Chef Pierre. I have had him for awhile and he came painted like a regular figurine that looked more like Chef Luigi. I didn't like something about his skin coloring so I changed his whole look. You can see Luigi at the end of the post.

I've done this finish before, but this time I used a glaze to shade him instead of dark wax. I think it worked just as well and I didn't have to get the gloves and the wax out.

To start out, I sprayed Luigi with gray primer. I came back and dry brushed some gesso on him. The photo above is the primer with just the gesso. Then I dry brushed him with Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue chalk paint. Just a light dry brushing. By this time, he was clearly becoming Pierre. Next I took some Americana Glazing Medium that I purchased at Jo-Ann's in the acrylic craft paint section. I mixed three parts glaze, one part Burnt Umber acrylic craft paint and a couple drops of water. If you are in doubt, follow the directions on the glazing medium. In the creases of Pierre's hat and coat, etc., I used a little extra Burnt Umber in the mix and shaded in the crevices. I'll finish him with a clear coat to seal him.

In the above photo you can see the dry brushing of the Duck Egg Blue.

Now he goes with a lighter decorating palette. His pan was kind of a rusted metal so I gave that the same treatment. The below pic is of Luigi as he started out.

Thanks so much for dropping by. Have a great day.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Little Red Desk

I actually did this desk right before we went on vacation, but I'm just now getting around to doing a post on it. I have used this wreath applique on red shutters before with a very dark stain and I liked the effect much better than the way the desk came out, but be that as it may, it is ready to go. It's a simple drop leaf desk painted with Colonial Red by American Accents with an applique applied to the front of the desk to spruce it up a bit. Then I applied special walnut stain. For some reason the paint this time around was a little too shiny and my stain did not darken well which would have given it a more old world feel.

To give the desk a little contrast, I had my husband paint the inside with Heirloom White also by American Accents. It's a simple makeover, and now is the time to sell desks as the school year is starting so off to the shop it goes.

Just to add a post script, I have finally taken myself to the doctor like a big girl and have been diagnosed with whooping cough. Apparently the illness is not as severe in adults because we all get vaccinated as children and if we contract the illness later in life the outcome is more mild. All I can say is this "mild" case of whooping cough has certainly whooped me. I am now on antibiotics to conquer this beast once and for all, and I am expecting a speedy full recovery in a matter of days. Cough syrup should keep the residual cough at bay. Thank you to everyone who emailed me. The good news is that since I have felt so under the weather, I have only left the house minimally since we came home so I have basically kept my exposure to the outside world to a minimum. Thanks to you all who wished me a speedy recovery!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Signs of Paris

If you follow my blog at all, you may have noticed my absence since I returned from vacation. When we first arrived home, I attributed my feelings to exhaustion from a very hectic itinerary on our cruise and then our weekend stay in London. The truth is that two days before we disembarked from the ship, my husband and I both became ill with what we thought was the simple beginnings of a cold. We persevered knowing that we had precious time to enjoy the sights of Paris and London and we didn't want to miss a thing.

Here it is 12 days later and I am still in bed. This is the first day I have felt there is light at the end of the tunnel. That and the fact my daughter is threatening to take me to the doctor if I am not better today (I have not been to the doctor for illness in maybe 30 years?) My husband is not far behind me either. Our symptoms are simple ones such as my cough that is incessant and never seems to leave my side or my bronchi either.

I have heard that cruise ships can carry gnarly illnesses, but this being our 5th cruise, I thought we were immune. Apparently not.

With unfinished projects laying about, I think it's time to get back to life as I know it albeit a little each day. I have not even returned to the shop to work on my space for fear of contaminating the whole place.

With all that said, I will just share a few pics I took in Paris. You all know how I love lettering and typography.

The sights of Paris did not disappoint me in the least. I had not visited there since I was 18 which was many moons ago (okay, decades) and it was even better than I remembered.

Would you believe every chocolate shop I passed by in Paris and London was closed? What's up with that? Maybe they heard I was coming and I would buy up all of their inventory.

Here's to good health and not taking it for granted. Had I been able to get my hands on some chocolate, maybe it would have boosted my immune system. I have heard it's full of antioxidants.