Peggy Del Rosario's Lovely Painted Home

For some time now, friends from my antique business world have been telling me how much I would love faux finish artist, Peggy del Rosario's home.  Knowing my affinity for old world paint finishes and vintage and antique decor, they encouraged me to visit if I ever I had the opportunity.

I had that opportunity this week!  The experience was one that I will not soon forget!

My dear friend Phyllis, formerly of the Portland shop The Purple Pear, invited a few woman whom she had met through her store over the years to enjoy refreshments in her own lovely home and then take a tour of Peggy's home.

This group of women, Peggy and Phyllis included connected through their love for decorating and creating beautiful surroundings.  We were almost giddy with excitement over the inspiration and magic that came with touring Peggy's home and chatting about the common thread that had brought us together.

Peggy's home was warm, inviting and so carefully curated.  Everything about it spoke true to who she is and perfectly reflected her impeccable style.  What made the tour extra special was the details that Peggy shared with us as we meandered from room to room.  The classic art pieces that inspired the colors and finishes she chose, the stories behind pieces she had purchased new and then painted to look centuries old...all of this made each room all the more magical.

Anyone who has ever walked into Peggy's home will surely never forget the canvas painting on her sitting room ceiling!  Peggy shared with us that her great uncle, a prolific faux painter himself had painted this round canvas and it was one of Peggy's most beloved treasures.  She said she had it hung on the ceiling because it was too large for any of her walls.  

The result is both genius and breathtaking!

One of Peggy's more recent painted pieces resides in her dining room.
The colors and details she applied here are exquisite.

It has been said that Peggy has touched each and every corner of her home with her paint brush.  I believe that statement to be true!  Her attention to detail is absolutely amazing and so inspiring.

This attic space bedroom took everyone's breath away!  We all agreed that it were ours, we would never want to leave this decadent room!

Just beyond the sumptuous bed is the most beautiful claw foot bathtub!

Peggy shared that when this bathtub first came into her possession, it was black with cartoon-like fish painted on the sides!  I wish we had a before photo to see the transformation which I am certain would be astonishing!  The finish that Peggy created on this tub is beyond stunning.  

Another example of Peggy's eye for detail and unique approach to decor...

We'll end this photo tour with Peggy's charming outdoor space.  This out building was a labor of love, built by Peggy's wonderful friends using reclaimed wood and other unique architectural pieces.  What an enchanting space for a garden party!

I feel so blessed to have met Peggy and this group of lovely, like-minded women and to have shared such a wonderful afternoon with them all.  I came home that evening feeling so inspired and motivated to go beyond the furniture with my creative paint finishes and to spend more time adding personal touches to our home.  

I was also reminded of the importance to slow down, appreciate and enjoy even the smallest details that make life special.

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Easy DIY Decorative Hangers

I hesitate to call this a DIY as it is really more of a crafty "idea" than a project!  

I love pretty little vintage baby dresses and am always looking for hangers that are equally as lovely to display them on, both at the shop and in my little girl's room!

Surprisingly, really pretty hangers are not as easy to find as you might think!  So, I have been buying plain wooden hangers and painting them with Chalk Paint® for a few years now.  Sometimes I just paint and wax them, while other times they also get a stenciled or stamped embellishment.  

I recently thought to add an embroidered embellishment by way of vintage doily.  

It worked beautifully and was so simple!  Best of all, I found another use for those little round crocheted doilies are always so plentiful!  

I chose a few pretty little round doilies from my stash and simply poked the metal end of the hanger through the centers of each of one.  A dab of hot glue would hold the doily in place, but in most cases the hole in the center of the doily was so small that glue wasn't necessary.  The doilies stayed in place on their own.

With the addition of a cute tag, these hangers are ready for the shop!

Pleased with the end result of this project/idea and how simple it was to put together, I thought I would do a quick share!

Thank you so much for your sweet visit today!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Wash Stand Telephone Cabinet...

There are some months when I am on the hunt for furniture pieces to paint for my booth, scouring CraigsList, searching the thrift stores and hitting up estate sales.  

But now and then I get a call or an email...

I have wonderful friends, friends who think of me when they have furniture to sell.  A couple of weeks ago I had one of those calls from one of those wonderful friends.  This friend was in fact the mother of my best friend and the furniture piece was this sweet antique wash stand with a little cupboard that had held their telephone in the upstairs hallway for as long as any of us could remember.

As loved and cherished as this piece had been in their home, another cabinet with even more history and sentimental attachment was on it's way to the house and this one had to go in order to make room.  

Just look at that hardware!  When I come across a piece with hardware this beautiful and complete, I typically choose to keep the paint finish simple and let the hardware take center stage.  A simple cleaning was all that this hardware needed.  I love the patina.

The cupboard door needed a bit of structural work and beyond that it looked to me like an empty frame begging for art.  I had toyed with the idea of stenciling on it, then went through my ephemera stash and found a piece of French sheet music that I had been holding onto for a few years.  It was the perfect fit for the door.  It was meant to be.

Annie Sloan's Old White and Clear Wax was all this piece needed as far as paint finish goes...simple, clean, elegant and lovely.

  

A big thank you to the Mattson family for thinking of me when a piece of furniture needed to go.  

This little cabinet was a pleasure to paint and is now available in my booth at Camas Antiques!

Thank you for your kind visit to my blog!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours

What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Quiet Elegance

A dear friend of mine was sweet enough to pass this lovely dresser along to me when she decided she no longer had a use for it.

I love it's subtle curves.

I decided to give it a soft, understated paint finish, a quiet elegance.

I started with a coat of Old White, applied thickly and unevenly with a rounded brush for added texture.  The next coat in Paris Grey was applied in the same way.  Once dry, I used a damp cloth to distress the edges, in some places down to the original wood grain.

I then applied a very light wash in Olive.  It's subtle, barely noticeable in most places, but gives the Paris Grey a slightly warmer hue and adds a certain degree of complexity to the finish.

My Bonica roses were in need of pruning, so I took the opportunity to use them as photo props!

I also painted the detailed lines on the sides of the dresser in Olive, helping to tie in the wash I had previously applied.  When all was said and done, I finished the piece off with Annie's Clear Wax and touches of Dark Wax around the edges.

I couldn't resist a shot of clean up time as I hauled the pile of roses away in my rusty old wheel barrel!

I can't wait to add the dresser and several other fun treasures to my booth at Camas Antiques this week!  These pretty vintage slips have been popular sellers as of late and I love stocking them in my pink wardrobe!

Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more frequent peeks at my projects and vintage finds!

Thank you so much for your sweet visit!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours

What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Artful Blogging Feature

A few months ago, the editor from Artful Blogging reached out to me about writing an article.  I am sure you can imagine my excitement!  What an honor!  

The task was thrilling and scary at the same time!  

My article was just published in the latest issue, released the beginning of May!  

I was elated to see that they chose to use three of my photos on the cover!

I have always compared my photos to the work of other blogger's and felt like mine just weren't up to par.  It was very affirming when the editor of a publication that featured artists and bloggers whom I have followed and admired for years reached out to me for a feature!

On the other hand, being asked to write an article to go along with the photos was quite intimidating!

I was given free reign on the subject matter, which as freeing as it may sound actually made the task more difficult.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the process!

   

Overall, it was a fun and exciting experience!  The best part was walking into Barnes and Nobles with my little girl and seeing the look on her face when we took the magazine off of the shelf and opened it up to a photo of our handsome kitty, Boots!

Thank you so much to all of you who have followed me along on this blogging journey and continually showed your support and encouragement!

I appreciate you, more than you know!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Winged Cabinet Video

The latest addition to my You Tube Channel is a video showing the progression of this "Winged Cabinet."  Don't you love this gorgeous new stencil from Artisan Enhancements?  As soon as I received it I knew it was going to be the focal point of an upcoming project!

This vintage radio cabinet was the perfect candidate.  The "drawers" on top were faux, so I removed the hardware, filled in the holes with wood putty and proceeded to paint right over them.

The rest of the process is all here in this short time lapse video!  I will admit that it goes fast but I have included title pages to explain which step is coming up next and the products I am using.  As usual, my furry four legged friends make several debuts and I think they add something special to the video!  

Enjoy!

Thank you for your sweet visit today!  

As always, I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Subtle Details...A Vintage Buffet Makeover

Last week this lovely little vintage buffet made her way into my booth at Camas Antiques!  I was putting the finishing touches on her just moments before this photo was taken!  It was kind of a mad dash to get her to the shop, so I didn't quite get as many photos as I would have liked to!

When I picked her up, she was sturdy, clean and had great hardware but she was dark oak and I envisioned a much lighter, brighter look for her.

I mixed Old White and Pure White to create the color Annie Sloan calls "Original."

On the doors I applied a raised stencil relief using Artisan Enhancements VP Antico and their Fleur with Laurel and Crown stencil!  If you're interested in learning more about the raised stencil relief, please visit this blog post where I have described the technique in detail and shared a time lapse video of the process.  Normally I jazz up the relief with foils or glazes but I decided to keep it simple and subtle this time...just a hint of French elegance.

I did go over the entire piece with a light French Linen Wash and a little Old Ochre in select areas.  Unfortunately it was hard to capture in photos the subtle depth that these washes created.

On the inside I painted a pretty grey-blue.  It was a color I had mixed some time ago and had just enough left over to complete the interior.  I'm afraid I didn't make note of the color ratios...I am just not that organized!  If I had to guess, I would say it was a mix of Louis Blue and Paris Grey.

Rhododendrons, our state flower but not my favorite.  I enjoyed this one from our front yard during the short time it was a pretty pink this year

There she is...perfectly snug in my little booth, awaiting a new home!  Tomorrow the booth gets an overhaul...ready or not!  Follow me on Facebook for the reveal!

Thank you so much for your sweet visit!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Image Transfer Time Lapse Video, Mon Chéri

As promised, I have a quick time lapse video to share with you today!  This one features Artisan Enhancements Transfer Gel, Pearl Plaster and Scumble Glaze!

Have a look and then scroll down to the bottom of this post if you are interested in the step by step details involved in creating this finish!

I found this beautiful authentic vintage tinted photo on Etsy and had it printed to fit my cabinet door at my local UPS Store on their laser color printer.  Your image must be laser printed to work with the Transfer Gel.  If the image had any text on it, I would have needed it printed in reverse in order for it to transfer correctly.

I painted my cabinet door first, but I have also transferred images directly onto wood, so I know that works too!  I like to transfer onto a smooth finish, so I lightly sand my painted board before painting an even coat of Transfer Gel onto it.  I apply it with a brush but you can also roll it on, just make sure you put enough on that the image is really going to adhere, but not so thick that it's drippy and oozing out the sides.  Lay down your printed image immediately, before the gel starts to dry.  Smooth the paper out carefully with your fingers, avoiding creases and bubbles if possible.  

Allow the gel to dry completely.  I usually let mine dry overnight but I have left them for several days and still had good luck with the image transferring.

Once dry, you are ready to carefully remove the paper fibers from your project to reveal the transferred image.  Roll up your sleeves, grab a damp sponge and don't rush it!

It’s important to know and remember that the image is supposed to sit on top of the Transfer Gel, so if you rub too hard and rub away the gel, you will also rub away the image.  I strongly recommend practicing this process once or twice on a sample board before attempting to transfer an image onto a surface that you have gone to a lot of work to prepare.  As tempting as it may be, don’t use the scrubby side of a sponge to remove the paper!  Just roll the paper pulp gently with your fingers, and do your best to be patient with this process.  It will be well worth your effort!

You should know that as many times as I have done this, I always end up with areas where I've rubbed a little too hard and removed some of the image.  I like to think it adds to the antique look of the image and I play it up by further distressing the rest of the paint finish.  Even the image transfer masters admit that their transfers aren't perfect, at first.  Many will come back and "touch up" their image with their paint palette and a small brush when all is said and done.

When I was satisfied with my image transfer, I had some fun creating a raised stencil relief with Artisan Enhancements Pearl Plaster.  I used the Leafy Scroll stencil from Artisan Enhancements for this one after I made a few adjustments to it with my scissors so that it would lay flat inside of the cupboard door's "frame."  If you want to read more about raised stencil reliefs, have a look at my Crown Jewels project.  I go into more detail about the process there and although I used Artisan Enhancements Fine Stone for that one, the technique is the same.

Artisan Enhancements Scumble is a tintable glaze-like medium.  I created my own custom glaze for this project by adding about a teaspoon of Pearl Plaster and a teaspoon of Provence Chalk Paint® to 5 teaspoons of Scumble.  I brushed this mixture all over my piece (after the raised relief was completely dry) and let it sit for about two minutes before wiping it back with a damp sponge.  I played with the glaze for a bit, adding more and wiping it back again until I was happy with the effect.

I chose Clear Finish by Artisan Enhancements to seal this project when it was finished and completely dry.  Clear Finish is a protective sealer that provides some sheen which was what I needed to highlight the shimmer of the Pearl Plaster glaze and relief.

To see if there is an Artisan Enhancements retailer near you, visit www.artisanenhancements.com and enter your zip code on the "find a retailer" page.  The full line of Artisan Enhancements products and stencils are also available to order online here:  https://shop.artisanenhancements.com/

Thank you so much for your visit today!  More projects are in the works and will be shared soon, so please be sure to connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and if you're a fan of the videos, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel as well!  

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours

What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Elegant Lady Art Board

Just a quick post to share an art board I finished up and delivered to my booth this week!  I found the beautiful image on The Graphic's Fairy page and transferred it directly onto the board using Artisan Enhancements Transfer Gel!

I am finishing up a still frame video of the transfer process that I hope to have ready to share with you later this week!  So many of you have asked about the Transfer Gel and although the tutorials are helpful, I think you will get a better idea of the process when you actually see it happen before your own eyes!

Once I had completed the image transfer, I painted around the image with Old Ochre Chalk Paint® and then applied Artisan Enhancements VP Antico for an aged plaster look.  I then used the Rosy Vine stencil to create a raised relief in areas, also with VP Antico.  

Annie Sloan's dark wax added a bit more depth and patina to the finish and I accented the vine motif with gold gilding wax.

I hope this post leaves you inspired to experiment with some new painting techniques and finishes!  There is just no end to the possibilities of what you can create!

Visit again later this week to see the image transfer process in my next jazzy art video!  See it first when you subscribe to my YouTube Channel and please follow me on Facebook for more project updates!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours

What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Revisiting an Old Favorite and a Few New Projects

A couple of years ago I shared the details of this little keepsake I created for my daughter's room, here.

The project started with this thrift store find.  The frame I loved, but the print was not so nice.  Would you believe that I recently found the exact same framed print once again, this time at a garage sale?  It must have been one of those mass produced decor pieces.  I wanted to do something a little different with it this time around.

I painted the frame and print all in Antoinette Chalk Paint®, sealed with clear and dark wax then highlighted the frame's details with gold gilding wax.  I then added a vintage beaded earring that acts as a clip to hold a photo or other memento.

I first tried adhering the earring with epoxy which usually works for just about anything.  After allowing the glue to dry overnight, I pulled lightly on the earring and it came right off!  Darn!  I believe it was the wax that it had a hard time sticking to.  Determined to make it work, I used my staple gun to carefully secure the earring in place, then glued a piece of decorative trim over the staples to hide them.  That earring isn't going anywhere now!

While I had my Antoinette Chalk Paint® still out on the counter, I decided to paint a little vintage train case that had been sitting in the garage.  I used the Floral Scroll stencil from Artisan Enhancements to add some fun detailing in Old White and also painted the inside of the case in Provence.  I sealed it inside and out with Artisan Enhancements Clear Finish which is super easy to apply and gives a nice wipe-able, waterproof sheen which I thought would be ideal should someone want to use this case for makeup or even to pack food in!

These little Avon lotion jars are another thrift store item I come across frequently and always pick up when I find them for a good price.  The jars are glass but the lids are plastic and usually have a silver finish that is flaking off.  I painted these in Old White, added a little Clear Wax and a whole lot of gold gilding wax.   

In addition to all of these little makeover projects, I also added several beautiful vintage slips to my booth.  They can be found hanging in the vintage pink wardrobe and I have more to bring in over the next few days!  So pretty and so fun!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank you so much for your visit!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing With:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours

What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants