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.
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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
                                    

Maison Clement Drop Leaf Desk

A couple of weeks ago I sold at The Little French Flea Market in Tarzana, California, and here are a couple of small desks that I sold right off the bat.

This first desk is a very small drop leaf desk.  I thought it would be great in a kitchen or any small nook would be perfect.  I painted it white and then applied my images using the reverse mod podge method for transfer.

I used various pastry shop images I have purchased on Etsy.  These images always appeal to me for some reason.  Maybe it's my sweet tooth.

This desk sold the first day of the market.  Below is the before photo.  It was just an unfinished pine piece that was in desperate need of reinventing.

Here is a second desk that was the first thing to go.  Unfortunately by the time I got around to photographing it, I was getting the afternoon shadows.  I always shy away from these desks, but it's so hard to find inexpensive pieces to re-do lately that I went ahead and took a chance on this piece.  I just stenciled it up, added a little chair and away it went.

I even decorated the side.  It was an easy project and I was glad to have an extra piece to sell.  Perfect for a teen girl's room.

Thanks for your visit.

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Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                  

Dresser with French Script

This was a very simple dresser makeover.  I am getting ready for the Little French Flea Market this weekend in Tarzana so I am churning out projects left and right.  This was a simple pine dresser, probably was one of those unfinished pine type dressers.

I bought an inexpensive stencil from Wall Masque stencils on Etsy.  It made the project so easy.  I just painted the piece my usual white and then used a medium brown acrylic paint to do the lettering.  It turned out so cute.  I love it.  Below is the before pic.

If you are in the area this weekend, stop by for a fun flea market experience.  I'll be selling with 30 other dealers including Pat from Aubergine Emporium and Jennifer from Hoot'n'Anny.  The weather will be perfect!

           

Thanks for stopping by.


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Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                 

Mint Chip Lady's Desk

I found this beautiful vintage lady's desk last weekend while out searching for treasures.  Structurally she was in wonderful condition, but the finish was in need of a complete overhaul.

I decided to use up my mint colored paint that I had used on a couple of previous projects.  I distressed the final coat of paint to reveal her warm brown tones underneath.  Hence, I am calling her mint chip.

The older furniture has such great detail.  Look at those cute chubby little legs.  Aren't they sweet?

All the hardware was original.

She just needed to reinvent herself.  Below is the desk as I found her.  I'm so glad I brought her home.

Thanks for your visit.


Partying at:
French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    

Vintage Aqua Bedroom Suite

I don't usually take on entire rooms of furniture, but finding great items lately to resell has been nearly impossible in my neck of the woods, so when I found this complete bedroom set I scarfed it up.  The headboard and the mirror are not pictured here, but this was a complete bedroom suite.

The dresser is a full six feet long which is pretty darn big considering I usually stick to smaller scale pieces.  I started with a very bright aqua paint on the base of each piece and painted the tops old white.  I should say my husband painted.  I watched.

Going into the fall and winter months I didn't want this set to look too spring time, so after my husband did his magic, I did a light distressing around the edges of the top and the drawers.  Then I used a Minwax gel stain and glazed the whole piece.  I never have great luck with the dark waxes, and I feel I have more control wiping a regular stain back to the level I want.

When the glaze was finished and set up, we sprayed each piece with a heavy amount of clear coat spray to protect the finish.  The hardware was left in its natural state and I think it adds to the vintage feel of the set.

Here are all the drawers waiting to be cleaned up and painted.  The set turned out great and it's already at the shop waiting for a new home.

Thanks for your visit.

I may be partying at...
                                           

Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                      
                                  

Sweet Petite Roll Top Desk

Hello everyone.  I have been away from blogging for awhile now.  I took a fabulous vacation, and I'm ready to get back to work now.

I found this adorable petite roll top desk at a flea market.  It was an oak reproduction from the 80's and it needed a whole new makeover.

It got a coat of my favorite white paint.  I left the hardware and the brass rail on the back in their natural state.

The hardware really popped against the white.

Here is the before picture.  This piece was destined for the thrift shop for sure.  The white paint really revived it and gave it a whole new life.

I'm happy to say this sold in a week's time...just in time for back to school.

Thanks for visiting.

I may be partying at...

Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed

Rose Typography Table

 This will be a quick post to show off my new design.  I purchased this table from a friend.  It was missing some of the decorative moulding.  You can see the before picture below.  My husband stripped the moulding from the edges and I went to Lowe's and purchased some inexpensive moulding to wrap around the top of the table.

 I tried to trace on some typography, but I didn't like it so I used this Graphics Fairy French type image, but this time I used Picasa and converted the type to sepia tone.  I thought the brown would be softer against the rose image I was using.  Picasa is a free download photo editing program from Google and it's very easy to figure out.

 This rose image is to die for.  I found it on Pinterest.  I reversed the image and I also used the image in the normal view.  When reverse mod podging  or normal decoupaging like this, you need both views of your image.

 This might be one of my favorite projects to date.  In addition to needing new moulding, the drawers were also missing bottoms and had a lot of other issues.  Once again, my husband saved the day and helped me give this wonderful piece a whole new life.  The following photo is a before photo.

 Here is the Graphics Fairy image.  If you do a reverse mod podge transfer method, remember to reverse your image so the type comes out correctly and always use a laser image.  Any local copy center has laser copiers.

 I believe I found this rose image on Pinterest.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Thanks for your visit.  I haven't been sharing projects because my work schedule has been crazy busy which is a good thing.  I am heading to Paris next week so I will be sharing some of my travels when I return.  I will try to get one more post up before I leave.

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
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme