Paris Collage Tray

A few months ago a friend of mine gifted me these two trays she had found in her travels.  They were plain wood and she thought I could do some kind of design on them.

I had found some wonderful old documents, namely a high school diploma and a wedding certificate, and I thought they would be perfect for my trays.  

I painted the trays with Annie Sloane's Old White. The original wood finish was a bit shiny so I wiped the trays down with a deglosser and then painted with the chalk paint.  Then I decided to do a reverse mod podge technique that I have become very adept at only this time the document did not stick.  Notice in this photo the paint adhered fine to the slick finish, but my document did not.  I'm not sure why this happened, but it happened to both of the trays.

I had two choices, scrap both trays to the trash or try to turn a negative into a positive.  I got out my Maison de Stencils because even if I don't use the entire stencil, I can use an address here or a name there or a French phrase and they really add some punch to my projects.  

I still needed to fill in tiny spots here and there so I got out my Paris rubber stamps and my StayzOn ink pads and stamped anywhere I needed to fill up space for my collage look.  When I was happy with the look, I used a dark oak gel stain and then sealed it with a clear coat spray.  I trimmed out the edges of the tray with some gold paint and I love the results.

I have three layers of print starting with the documents, then the stencils and then the rubber stamps.  The stain gave it some depth and character.  I took these to the Little French Flea Market and one sold immediately.  I still have the second one, and I'm sure it will go before long too.

I just want to state on the record that I am not compensated by Maison de Stencils for promoting their stencils.  I simply like using them, and while they are somewhat expensive, they have great sales which is when I try to buy them, and if you sell your items like I do, it's nice to have a quick way to turn something plain into something magnifique.

Thanks for visiting.

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Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs         
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Tuesdays           A Stroll Thru Life   
                                   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style
                                           
Thursdays          No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                     
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Common Ground

Paris Cart

I took a week off for Thanksgiving and I'm finally working on several new projects.  This is the first one I have finished.  I only wish the photos could bring out the true finished product.

While this is not my usual fare because I don't really like old wood, I just let this little cart tell me what it wanted to look like and I'm actually okay with the weathered finish that was the end result.

It started out as a teak wood cart, pretty plain and boring but I could see the potential right away.  I wanted the piece to be suitable for a bathroom or a kitchen so I shied away from perfume images or bakery wording.  First I painted the whole thing white, but that just wasn't very interesting either.

So I took several of my Annie Sloane neutrals and painted here and there and then I took my electric sander and sanded the piece way back.  I got out all my Maison de Stencils and used bits and pieces of a few of them to give a Frenchy motif.

I found the knob with the back plate at the salvage yard.  It was in a box of odds and ends.

This is a great little cart.  It's small and versatile and the top lifts up so you can store things inside.

Here's how it started out.  Functional, yes; personality, no.

While I was away for the holiday, this is what I filled my time with.  Saturday was Carter's first trip to see Santa and I think he was mesmerized by the magic of the season.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Thanks for your visit.

I may be partying at...


Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    
                                   

Pretty Little Cabinet in Gray and White

While I was grazing through Etsy to look for possible images I could use for tags for the flea market, I came upon some fabulous gray tags with delicate soft scroll work in white.  I fell in love with the tags, but unfortunately I thought they would eat up too much ink and toner.  My next project to paint happened to be this lovely cabinet in forest green that probably hearkened from my newlywed days, and I won't tell you how long ago that was, but let's just say it's been awhile.  

I sprayed the outside of the cabinet with primer gray and the inside with heirloom white.  I watered down some gesso to soften the harshness of the primer.  I'm not sure I would have used the gesso in hindsight, but it added a little texture to the finish.  For the delicate scroll design I used part of a stencil that I had.  This was a rather large stencil and I needed to fit the design to the scale of the piece.  Then I used one of my Maison De Stencils in the middle.  This was a quick and easy project.  I took it to the Little French Flea Market.  Many people commented on the cabinet and loved it, but they had no place to put it.  Such is life.  It's now in my space.  The day I put it in, two people immediately went over to look at it, but it's still there.  

I hope this little cabinet finds a good home very soon.

Thanks for stopping by.


I may be partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy 
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday


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

Recent Projects

I missed posting last week because I was feverishly getting ready for The Little French Flea Market last weekend.  Although I didn't get to snap photos of my space this time, I thought I would share some of my new projects that I took with me.

One of my fellow dealers at Aubergine Emporium did a grouping of glittered paint brushes which I instantly fell in love with.  While it wouldn't be fair to take my version to the shop, I put my own spin on them and took them to the flea market.  They were a big hit.

I found this cute wire shelf at a yard sale.  It was hot pink and I do mean hot!  Ya gotta love those teenage girls and their love of pink.  I toned it down with heirloom white and had my husband cut some scrap wood so the shelves were more solid.  This went fast too.

I found a new source for some specialty stencils that are very economical and good quality.  I will be sharing the source soon.  I did a lot of projects from this stencil, but never got them photographed.

I had a stash of tiny old bottles that I attached some simple vintage style labels too.  I sold quite a few of these.  This whole label thing might be my newest addiction.

My friend gave me some round mirrors.  I ran some fabric through the copier to duplicate my bird prints, attached them to a burlap backing and trimmed them out with some black twine.  What?  You don't have black twine?  I spray painted some green twine with flat black paint.  Worked like a charm.

One of my followers, 20 North Ora did some cute bottle brush trees with some spools and some tart tins.  Here is my spin made with some large wood pieces (you could use wine corks too) and some silver stars and a whole bunch of glitter.

Here are some bird statues I found at another sale.  They were a bronzy color.  I painted them white and silver and added glitter.  These are great for the holidays.

Last but not least is my Paris tray.  I did two of these trays in reverse mod podge and I have to say they were a near disaster.  In a future post, I will tell you how I turned the negative into a positive.  I love the result.

Thanks for visiting.  Tomorrow I will share a small wall cabinet that I did.  My inspiration was a gift tag of all things.



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           

Spice Cupboard

A friend of mine found these two identical cabinets that are nice and roomy, but they were as plain as plain could be.  I suggested she put a stencil or some kind of design on the fronts of them to perk things up.  Her response was that I should put the design and then we would share in the sale.  That seemed like a good idea to me so I set about coming up with a design to spruce things up.

This is the first cabinet.  I made it a very tall spice cabinet.  These cabinets were over three feet tall and both have shelves in them.

I used my old stand by transfer method of reverse mod podge and filled in the empty space with some horizontal stripes.   You can see my tutorial on reverse mod podge here.  To do the stripes I used Frog Tape.  This is my first try with the tape and it worked like a charm.  The stripes are crisp and clean, just the way I like them.

All of these images came from the Graphics Fairy, and I printed them in black and white.

You can see the second cabinet here before I decorated it.  I finished it yesterday, but I haven't photographed the end result yet.  I will share it very soon.  
Thanks for your visit.  I will have a lot to share because I am getting ready for the Little French Flea Market next weekend and it's also beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Aubergine Emporium as well.

I may be partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy 
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday


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

Ottoman Makeover in Burlap

I found this little gem last week at a sale at the very end of the day.  As soon as I saw it, I envisioned it in black with burlap.  That doesn't happen often, but when something speaks to me that loudly, I listen.

Of course, I didn't think burlap was enough so I put a transfer on it using my Lesley Riley Transfer Artist Paper which I have done my last two posts on.  When transferring an image onto fabric, it can't be beat.  I used a Graphics Fairy image using a full size page.

Here is the before pic of the way I found this little piece.

Here is a recap of the makeover.
Unscrew seat and remove old yucky fabric.           

Paint wood the color of your choice.  Cut a piece of burlap and a piece of osnaburg fabric the same size to fit the top of the seat.  

First lay down the osnaburg so it is your first layer on your seat cushion and then the burlap.  Turn the seat over and staple in place so that the seat has new clean fabric.

Copy an image of your choice using the mirror image setting and transfer it onto a piece of osnaburg that is a little larger so you can create a fringe edge.

Use tacky glue to glue the transferred image to the burlap.  I went around the edge of the image and then spread the glue in a grid pattern on the back side of the osnaburg so I got even adhesion to the burlap.

I then tacked the image in the corners with a little baste stitch to keep it secure.

Using the thin grosgrain ribbon I made a border on my transferred image.  I glued the ribbon down and in the corners I did a little tack stitch to hold my mitered corner in place.

Next I screwed the seat cushion back on the base, and, voila, I had a new ottoman.  This project took no time at all and I love the results.

Thanks for your visit.  I am behind on answering email, but I will be getting caught up very soon.  Happy Halloween.

I may be partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy  
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
           

Chippy Little Jewely Cabinet

This project could easily be called the project from @!#&.  If anything could go wrong, it did.  Last week I did a tutorial extolling the virtues of TAP, otherwise, known as Transfer Artist Paper.  I love how it transforms my plain towels into a work of art, and somewhere along the way, I know I read that you could use it on furniture and glass.  As much as I love TAP, I do not advise using it on furniture.  I found a dated 80's jewelry cabinet with an oak finish.  I painted it with my Annie Sloan Old White.  It was really thick so I thinned it down with water.  I thinned it too much and I didn't get good coverage on the second coat.

Oh well, I was going to sand it back anyway.  Then I copied an image from the Graphics Fairy onto my TAP paper and attempted to do a transfer onto my wood.  I should have stopped after the first transfer, but I was convinced I would get the technique down pat.  After all, I'm convinced I read somewhere it could be done.  The image bubbled and crystallized and smeared and pretty much frustrated the heck out of me, but I persevered until I got the whole thing done.

Now I'm asking myself why I just didn't switch to a wax paper transfer method, but I'm stubborn like that.

It's really not that difficult to paint these little cabinets.  The first coat takes a little patience.

You can see how bad my transfer bubbled and yellowed.  Oh yes, it yellowed.

The long and short of it is I won't lose money on this piece but I sure won't make anything on it either.  I also believe in sharing my successes and my failures and this was a major flop.  Thanks for looking anyway, and stick to designing beautiful towels and fabric items with your TAP and leave the furniture transfers to other tried and true methods.

I may be partying at...

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