Pink Door No. 3

 

I've had a little bit of fun today painting and waxing a shabby pink Paris chic door!  As much as I have been longing for a pretty door to lean against the wall behind my chaise lounge, this one is on it's way to the shop.  The thing is, I have three more of these doors in the garage awaiting a paint transformation...and I've decided that this week my shop space needs inventory.  I can wait for my door.  Also, I have been envisioning a slightly larger door for this wall.  Now I'm not so sure.  What do you think?

 

 

Formerly part of a closet door removed from an older home, this shabby pink paneled door is now a statement piece, ready to add charm to any room.

 

I started by painting one coat of antique white in a latex paint.  I am so used to the quick drying of my ASCP that I could hardly stand how long it was taking for this paint to dry!  I got impatient and starting slapping on a coat of Antoinette.  The latex paint still seemed to be tacky, which made the chalk paint go on rather unevenly, but being that I was going for a distressed look anyways, I just went with it!  The result was a lot of wonderful texture that really became prominent with the dark wax.  To create the worn away look in spots and reveal the layers of white latex, and then dark wood stain, I took a damp cloth and rubbed gently before the second coat of paint was dry.    

 

 

Before waxing the top panel, I decided to add a little more interest to the piece by painting No. 3 in Graphite chalk paint.  I lightly distressed it with a piece of sand paper before completing it with the wax.

 

It's a bit shabbier than my usual style but I love it and I am loving how it plays off of the more formal furniture in my front room.  I can't wait to work it into my display at the shop!  Now, I have a few more pink pieces to wax this afternoon that should pull the whole look together.  Time to head back to the garage!  I will be praying as I work...I have friends and family on my heart who need help and healing today. 

 

Thank you for your sweet visit.  Take care!

 

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

 

 

 

Sharing this post with these fun link parties:

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at The Pickett Fence

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

Au Revoir Rustic Trestle Table!

I am so glad I got this photo of my booth space last week after spending a few hours moving things around and fluffing my display.  I say this because it doesn't look quite as nice today after having sold my trestle table which I had just brought in.  As thankful as I am for quick sales, sometimes I wish my pretty displays would just stay put until I had time to gather more treasures to replace them with.  Silly, I know.  At least I have the photo as evidence that it really was this full and nicely arranged!  I also snapped a few shots of the table at home before taking it to the store and have been looking forward to sharing a bit about it with you here!  I hope it is all settled in and looking beautiful in it's new home now!

 

In spite of the layers of thick old sea foam green paint and a few spots of warped wood and water stains, I knew this little table was a treasure when I spotted it on Craigslist.  Still, had I thought it needed to be sanded and stripped, I might have passed it up.  Thank goodness for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!  I simply wiped it down and cleaned the spider webs out of the nooks and crannies before slapping on two coats of Old White!  Our garage is so cold right now that the paint was taking a little longer to dry than normal and I was not enjoying my painting time as much as I usually do.  My mom suggested that I buy a space heater.  A quick trip to our little local hardware store and $20 later, I was feeling so much more comfortable and the paint was drying much quicker!  My mom is so clever, isn't she? 

 

 

I slapped the Old White on thick and in an uneven, criss cross motion to produce lots of texture on the surface that would become even more pronounced with the dark wax, giving the table a very rustic, weathered look.

 

 

I love the look of sanded, distressed edges on painted furniture, but in this case I didn't want to sand back to reveal the sea foam green paint, so I relied on the dark wax settling into my brush strokes to give me a worn, aged look.

 

 

 The dark wax was also used to accentuate the neat detail on the sides of the table.

 

 

A basket of freshly laundered and pressed vintage linens looked so pretty on the rustic table.  I love the contrast of the crisp white against the creamy paint finish.

 

 

 Thank you so much for your sweet visit today! 

I am working on more pretty things to share with you!  I am enjoying all of the Valentine's Day inspiration out there in Blogland and on Pinterest, aren't you?  It puts me in the mood for flowers, hearts and lots of pink!

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda 

 

 

 

Sharing this post with these fun link parties:

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at The Pickett Fence

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

A Christening Gown and Frame Made Over in White

 

I had just a few moments this afternoon to put together a simple vignette to share.  A soft dusting of snow was coming down outside, and I was inspired to keep my palette white! 

 

 

Let me first tell you about the frame. As you might notice in the before photo above, it was one of two vintage ornate gold frames that I recently brought home from an estate sale. It was painted in Annie Sloan's Old White and waxed first with the clear wax, and then with dark, to take it from Victorian to French Chic!

 

This antique christening gown received a makeover as well!  I really do try to be an intentional estate sale shopper, looking over each possible purchase with care.  However, I often get wrapped up in the moment and have come away with many a chipped dish or soiled linen.  This gown was one of those purchases that I regretted once I got home with it.  I hadn't realized just how badly stained it was...all over!  I must have had my treasure hunting blinders on!  I have never had any luck getting old stains out of vintage linens, and therefore in spite of my love for pretty antique fabrics, I do my best to steer clear of any that need major laundering!  Not willing to throw in the towel on this challenge, I decided to try a serious, hard-core stain removal method!  First I sprayed each of the stains with Resolve.  Then I boiled a large pot of water, added 1.5 scoops of Oxyclean, turned off the burner, and submerged the soiled gown.  I left it to soak overnight.  In the morning I washed the gown on the gentle "hand wash" cycle in my washing machine.  My fingers were crossed but I wasn't holding my breath.  After all, those stains had probably been there for several decades!  I was so pleasantly surprised by the results.  Though not absolutely perfect, 90% of the stains are gone and the gown is now crisp and white!  I will think twice before passing up another stained linen at an estate sale!

 

Just for fun I thought I would see if I had a photo of a baby in a christening gown to share in this post.  Turns out I did, and a special one at that!

 

 

I bought this darling photo at an estate sale a little over a month ago.  A very sweet friend of mine called me up to tell me about this sale she had attended where she saw lots of things she thought I would like.  That afternoon my mom and I hopped in the car and drove over to the sale.  It turned out to be in the home of an older couple that we had known years ago.  We were glad to hear that the woman had just moved into a retirement home.  When we came across this photo, we were quite sure it was of the woman's husband, though no name is written on it.  The people running the sale assured me that the family had taken everything they wanted, and that this photo was meant to be sold.  I was so glad to take it with me, having known the kind man years ago. 

Isn't he sweet in his christening gown?

 

Not until after I had photographed my little vignette and written this post did I notice that my very dear friend, Phyllis had also just written up a lovely blog post about how the snow had inspired her to dress her fabulous boutique in white this month. 

Please go visit her!  You are sure to enjoy her post! 

Enchanting Play of Light

 

Thank you for your visit today!  I hope your week is off to a great start!

 

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

 

 

 

sharing at:

Savvy Southern Style for Wow us Wednesday

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

When is a Piano Bench More than Just a Piano Bench?

 

I absolutely love the whole idea of using a piece of furniture in an unusual or unexpected way.  I know that the repurposing concept isn't new.  In fact, my grandma was turning floor lamp bases into vanity stools long before the word "repurposing" was chic!  I like to think that I inherited some of her furniture rehab intuition. 

 

 

Anyhow, I saw this simple but well-made, sturdy vintage piano bench at a thrift store last week and considered the possibilities.

 

 

If it was jazzed up with some paint and a Frenchy chic stenciled design, it could leave it's one simple state of a place to sit in front of a piano, to a focal point below a window, or at the foot of a bed.  Maybe it could even sit beside a pretty slipper tub as a place for candles and a good book.

 

 

So, I painted her up in Annie Sloan's Paris Grey and Old White and layered a lovely stencil design on top.  I then distressed the edges and finished her off with Annie's clear and dark waxes.

 

 

She's in my space at the shop now and I am hoping that someone comes along and shares my vision for how a piano bench can be so much more than just a piano bench.

 

 

Thank you so much for your sweet visit!  I hope you are having a wonderful week!

 

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

 

 

 

 

Sharing this post with these fun link parties:

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at The Pickett Fence

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
 

Favorite Posts of 2012...Yours and Mine!

Happy New Year!  I've decided to cut myself some slack for posting just once in the entire month of December.  Instead of apologizing and listing out my excuses, I am going to just jump right back into it with a quick review of some favorite posts from 2012! I hope you all had a cozy, peaceful Christmas!  I am not quite ready to say goodbye to our lovely tree!  I am still enjoying it so much!  It will surely come down soon, but we are in no rush.

By far my most viewed post of 2012 was "10 Projects...One Can of Chalk Paint."

 

Followed by, "My First (of Many!) Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Makeovers!

 

 

 

The project I am probably most proud of would be my "Jane Austen Inspired Window Display."

 

 

 

 

Another personal favorite project that I am continuing to enjoy is "My Creative Space"

 

 

A painted piece that I reluctantly parted with was "The Inspired Chifforette"

 

 

 

 

What started out as a simple post about a Frenchy table makeover, turned into a sentimental share about "A Special Bowl"

 

 

 

 



 I could keep going to but for the sake of time I will stop there!  Time to get back to some projects in -progress in hopes of having some new pieces to share soon!  If you want to see photos of most all of my painted furniture projects from last year, see the "Made Pretty With Paint" link on my sidebar!

 

A heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to all of my dear friends who have taken the time to stop by throughout the year, follow along, look at my photos, read through my thoughts, offer kind words, and pin favorite projects.  I so appreciate your interest,  your feedback and most of all your friendship.  I wish you all a very happy, blessed, peaceful and prosperous 2013!

 

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda



 

 

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