French Wreath Garden Panels

This is another one of my projects using stray cabinet doors, the kind you might find in a salvage yard or perhaps on the curb in your neighborhood.  I wanted to do a garden themed vignette at Aubergine Emporium, the little shop I am a dealer at.  Don't they look wonderful on this old chippy gate?  Just the look I was going for.

They started out as boring wood run of the mill cabinet doors.  My husband painted them a dark gray something akin to primer gray.

Then I picked a white I had on hand.  If you like Annie Sloan chalk paint, this is sort of like her "Old White" color.  Not a white white at all.  My intent was an old French garden look.  Then we used epoxy glue and attached the beautiful wreaths that I purchased at The Bella Cottage.  I use her embellishments all the time.  They are great quality compared to some other ones I have found.   When everything was painted white, I took my sander and heavily sanded the doors.  The paint I used must have had a lot of yellow in it because it revealed a yellowish cast in some areas.  Didn't bother me at all since I wanted the layered paint look.  Then I took the razor blade scraper and went to town chipping away some of the paint to reveal the bottom layers.  Now they are all ready for spring. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Here is the link to The Bella Cottage's website click here,

Clock Face Tray

At first I wasn't at all pleased with the way this tray turned out.  I took a cheapy silver tray, not a fine vintage one, and decoupaged the clock face on it that I have shared with you a couple of times now.  I had to piece the pattern onto it which meant I had lines showing in the pattern so I took some tissue paper, plain white, and sort of scrunched it in and decoupaged some more.  The result was a disaster which shows in my first picture.  Back to the drawing board for this project. 

So I took the paint scraper and scraped and scraped and scraped.  I lifted off the scrunchiness and was left with what looks like an old paper clock face that got wet somewhere along the line and then tore.  I have actually sold real clocks that had this kind of patina.  It's growing on me.  Not the way I had envisioned it when I started, but sometimes you have to go with the flow and see where things go on their own.  I am currently working on another tray project, this time with my homemade tissue paper.  We will see what road that project wants to take me.  Every project I try I consider to be a lesson.  I try to learn from my mistakes and improve the next time. 

I do like the finish.  I have been visiting Rosemary's blog at Villabarnes a lot and decided to try the gesso.  The tray was painted primer gray and then just washed with the gesso and wiped back.  I took this out to the shop yesterday.  If nothing else, it will be a great prop.

As an afterthought, I am adding the link to this graphic I shared a couple weeks ago.  If you would like to use it, click here.

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Tea Towels

Today I tried my hand at transferring an image to a tea towel.  Nothing new about this except that it is new to me.  I have been seeing on other blogs helpful hints on how to do these and I thought I should try it too.  I made a trip to Ikea last week and found these white tea towels with red striping down the sides for .79.  Very French and I couldn't beat the price.  I brought them home and washed and ironed them so they would be ready for their makeover.

I used Avery light transfer paper.  With sales tax it was about $22 for 12 sheets.  Sounds expensive, except that I was able to copy two transfers onto each sheet thus making the cost of the transfer around .91.  So I am still under $2 per towel.  Very reasonable indeed.  I downloaded some images from the Graphics Fairy, resized them in my Word Pad program and transferred them onto the transfer paper.  One word of caution.  If you are dealing with the printed word, be sure to make a mirror image and also check the top and bottom so your image is not only reading left to right, but you also do not want it to be upside down.  Just follow the directions and there you go.

I included photos of the first two towels I did.  See how yellow they got?  I left the iron on them too long.  Not a problem.  I should keep a couple for myself just so I know how they will wear and hold up to washing.

I received a comment from another blogger that tried these to give as party favor gifts.  She's a brand new blogger and she did a great job and used three different crown transfers.  You can check out her project here.  Thanks for sharing, Susan.

Spring is in the Air

As I have started doing these little vignettes of teas, it takes me back a few years when I used to do monthly teas with a few ladies that I met in a not so convetional way.  I first met Sue because I wrote into Victorian Homes magazine and my letter was published.  Sue contacted me and the "tea group" was formed.  Sue met Luci through a luncheon they attended that was hosted by Victoria magazine.  The three of us became fast friends.  Alice was a nearby neighbor that was a party planner and we had some incredibly memorable experiences from those monthly get togethers.  Alice became ill and dropped out.  Judi joined the group.  Luci moved away and then we were joined by Debbie.  My point to all of this?  There were six women who touched each other's lives in a very big way by just meeting once a month over the course of a few years.  We really did not socialize with each other other than that one monthly experience.  Out of the six of us, two have passed away at the young age of 60.  One other was diagnosed with a very serious cancer in the earliest of stages and thank goodness is still alive. 

We never know the impact we have on one another with the simplest art of communing together if only for an afternoon on an infrequent ocassion.  Everyone is so busy racing about nowadays, we forget the little things such as picking up the phone to stay connected or meeting for an hour or two for a bite to eat.  Those teas are some of my most memorable experiences because not only did we commune with each other, we shared our creativity and marveled at the talents of others.

I'd like to share a quote I read by Florence Farr from 1910.  

"We are more moved by one conversation than by many eloquent discourses.  After all, what is so permanently delightful as communication of ideas?" 

This is what the blogging community brings to me, and I hope I bring something to you as well  I am blown away by the talent and sharing I encounter each day when I visit the link parties and see what others have come up with and the fact they are willing to share so freely their creativity.

Just to share a little bit about this vignette, this tablecloth is the only vintage tablecloth I have actually saved for myself.  I love the old cotton tablecloths, but once I restore them, I take them to the shop and off they go to a new home.  I just could not part with this particular one.  I think it's luscious!  Speaking of luscious, what could be better than lemon blueberry scones?  No, we didn't make these.  I got them at Trader Joe's.  Yummy just the same - probably better.

Last but not least, aren't these cake pops beautiful?  Cake pops are the latest craze since cupcakes.  If you want a really good chuckle visit my friend Bliss.  She did an insanely funny post on the art of making cake pops click here.  Thanks for visiting today.  Now pick up the phone and call someone you are thinking of or make a lunch date!