Shabby Carved Table

Here is another sweet little table I picked up in my travels.  It's a heavily carved piece and it had a marble insert that was cracked.  I had my husband paint the whole piece with my favorite Old White.

I used a Graphics Fairy image of an old French label.  I opted for the image without the writing and I kind of wished I had used the full label image, but I'm still happy with the end result.

I have a real fondness for heavily carved pieces so I couldn't pass this one up.

Although I had some flaws in the application of the label to the table, that was still okay.  I do like everything to have a time worn look.

Here is a close up.  It doesn't bother me that some of the transfer rubbed off.  This piece still has a lot of charm.

Here is the image I used from the Graphics Fairy.

Here is a complete image with the writing.  I have a weakness for French perfume labels, and I surprised myself that I didn't use this version, but maybe next time.

Thanks for visiting.

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Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                 
                                         

Chef Piggy's New Clothes

This was a quick and easy makeover for this adorable piggy I found at a flea market a few months ago.  His clothes were burgundy, gold and green and he looked more like Chef Luigi.  Nothing wrong with that, mind you, but he didn't sell at three different locations so I decided to give him a French flare.  I simply repainted his jacket, pants, scarf and buttons.  I left everything else the same.  I wish I could show you a side by side of the before and after, but I wasn't thinking ahead.  

His chef coat has great detail which I accented with a little blue paint on the buttons and scarf.

His pants got a coat of grey and his jacket was painted with antique white.  In the end I gave him a color wash with some raw umber, then I wiped it away just leaving enough in the folds and crevices to give some definition.  I do hope now someone finds him worthy of adoption.  Bon appetit!

Thanks for taking a peak.

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


Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style   Ivy and Elephants
                                           

Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed

Paris Apartment Table

I found this little mahogany accent table at a local sale.  It was in very sad shape with a badly scuffed leather top.  There was no way to bring it to a perfect state so I stuck with the very weathered and worn look the table already had.

I'm not sure where I found this image.  It was probably on Pinterest, but I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.  I painted the entire piece with Old White and applied my image as I always do in the reverse mod podge style.  I know I keep showing you my pieces that I use this technique on, but if you love hand painted pieces and are not a true artist, this is the next best thing.

I went around the edges and the legs with a deep gray paint and then topped it with Modern Master's gold paint.  This gave me the layered worn look I was going for when I heavily sanded everything in the end.

While I was removing the original hardware, I dropped one of the little pieces that went with one of the drawer pulls.  I'll be looking for that little piece for the next five years.  I used these little inexpensive wooden knobs just to stay with the funkiness of the makeover this little table was receiving.

Next I used an inexpensive stencil and gave the table a little more detail to add to the old world Frenchy style I was trying to give this very traditional table.

It took me a while to get this project finished because I was participating in my third flea market in five months.  Yikes!  I survived, but I don't think I will be doing that again.  In the meantime, this little cutie visited us over Memorial Day weekend.  My little grandson will be a year old this month.  Time flies when you're totally smitten.  He's a true California boy.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to show you some more new projects very soon.

I may be partying at...

Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    

Night Table with Roses

I'm getting ready for another vintage market next week and I'm grinding out as many projects as I can.  This sweet little cabinet is from Drexel and it's pretty good quality.  It just needed a little updating.  I always admire the fabulous pieces that Christie Repasy does.  They are all one of a kind and she makes them so beautiful.  I, on the other hand, could take classes from her until I die and will never be able to duplicate her fabulous roses so I improvised with this gorgeous image I found on Pinterest.

I started out by having my husband paint the cabinet a lovely shade of mint green.  I did my old stand by reverse mod podge technique to apply this image and then took my acrylic paints and dabbed around the edges to blend my colors and make it look like the roses were hand painted.  I'm happy with the results.  

To add a little contrast, I painted out some of the trim with my Old White and then shabbied the piece back just a bit.  It has some nice romantic character to it now.

Here is the cabinet as I found it.  It was in great shape but kinda stuck in the 80's.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peak.

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Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    

Faux Etched Glass Utility Cabinet

I found this utility cabinet last weekend while gathering and hunting for treasures.  It was quite functional the way it was, but I thought it needed a little more personality.

It was a plain white cabinet such as the ones you find at Home Goods.  It was quite functional the way it was, but I thought it needed a little more personality.

I rummaged through my stencil collection and pulled out a Paris stencil that I frequently use.  Then I got out my Martha Stewart's Etch Effects cream.  It's so easy to use.  Just follow the directions on the bottle.   

I used bits and pieces of the stencil to embellish the glass sections which were easily removed.  This made it easier to stencil on them.  This took only minutes and then I screwed the glass panels right back in place.  I used the Etch Effects cream on the inside of the glass so that the front of the cabinet could be easily cleaned without affecting the image.  However, to clean this product just use a soft cloth and Windex.  Don't use anything harsh, lest you scratch off the etching cream.  You would really have to apply a lot of pressure though because this stuff is pretty hardy once it dries.

Now I have a unique one of a kind cabinet.  

I am not being compensated in any way for promoting this product.  I just happen to like it and thought I would share some of my project ideas with you.

Thanks for visiting.

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

Flower Girl on Cabinet

I purchased this wonderful vintage cabinet from a friend of mine who is turning her guest room into an office.  It was all white and was missing the back.  She used it for a TV cabinet.

I applied two images of the same beautiful woman carrying a flower basket.  I think she almost looks Grecian.  

I cut the images into an oval shape and applied them to the doors.  I knew I would never be able to cut my paper to match the curves in the top of the doors.  After I removed all the paper from the image, I used my acrylic paints and color washed around the oval transfers to blend in with the background colors in my image.  

It's not perfect and I have to work on this technique but I do love the finished cabinet.  I trimmed it out in dark slate gray and gold and then gave it a good healthy sanding to distress the piece.

My handy husband added a back and a shelf to make this a more functional piece for storage.

Thanks so much for your visit.

I may be partying at...
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style   Ivy and Elephants
                                                   
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Common Ground
                                   

French Quarter Secretary

I found this secretary desk at my favorite flea.  It was in pretty rough shape.  In fact, my husband asked me which landfill I found it in.  He's so charming and witty, sometimes I can hardly stand it!

I'm sure this desk came out of a teenage girl's room.  It had been painted lavender, yellow, pink, green, blue and silver and not all at the same time.  So lots of drips and caked on paint.  There was nothing to do but give it a funky, worn look.  I started with a coat of Old White, and sanded it down quite a bit to bring out the aged look this desk already had.

Most of the knobs were missing so I went with simple wooden knobs and I added an old finial I had in my stash of whatnots.

I added my French Quarter image that I found on Pinterest.  I added the image to the inside of the desk and the outside using my reverse mod podge technique.

I rummaged through my stencil collection and using the addresses and some of the phrasing on different ones, I mixed and matched to come up with different text for my drawers and the inside of the cabinet.

I love the end result.  I hope this desk finds a wonderful new home very quickly.  Just a little paint can go a long way to revive something that is destined for the landfill.

Thanks for visiting.  

I may be partying at...


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

Wednesdays      Ivy and Elephants