Decking the Halls!

Christmas is in full swing at Camas Antiques!  I am behind in sharing photos, so some of the items you see here have already sold.  I desperately need to restock this week!  As usual, I will be sharing sneak peeks and updates periodically on Facebook and Instagram.

I am so excited for the next movie event at Camas Antiques!  This year marks the 70th anniversary of Miracle on 34th Street and we are so thrilled to see it on the big screen at the historic Liberty Theatre in downtown Camas!  We have some fun in-store festivities planned for after the film!  

If you're in the area, please plan to join us and be sure to RSVP on our event page!

Thank you for your sweet visit!  I am off to work on decking the halls in our home today!  I hope to have more photos to share soon!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Fall in Review

As you well know, I'm sure...Life gets busy, priorities shift and time slips away.  Sadly, my little blog has been shifted down to the bottom of the priority list this year!  I had a few moments to myself this morning and was so excited to finally have time to share photos of my Christmas display at Camas Antiques.  I sat down to the computer and suddenly realized that I never shared photos of Fall or Halloween!  Goodness!  I am sure you're all ready for Christmas decor and inspiration, but I couldn't NOT post these photos here...  So very quickly, here is my Fall in review.  Thank you so much for bearing with me!  

Next up...Christmas!

This sweet vanity was painted in Old White, given a subtle wash in French Linen and sealed with Annie Sloan's White Wax.

(Sold)

These pillows were stenciled with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® using beautiful stencils from 

Artisan Enhancements!

(Sold)

I don't typically decorate for Halloween but the kids convinced me to add a little bit of spookiness to the house this year!  I agreed to decorating this one mantle.  I had some help from my friend Tracey with A Cottage Industry who made the banners and adorable "Party Crows."  p.s.  Check out her Etsy shop!  She now has a great selection of banners and decor for Christmas and New Years!

Thank you so much for your sweet visit today!  And again, thank you for bearing with me as I play catch up on blog shares!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

The Dresser that Caused a Commotion on Social Media!

I shared this photo on Facebook just after updating my booth display last month.  Questions began pouring in about the dresser...the dresser that I failed to get good photos of at home before delivering it to the store!  

I snagged this shot at the store later that week...decent but not a fabulous photo!  I decided to go ahead and share it along with the details, paint colors and techniques used.  

I was totally blown away by the response!  I do believe I had more likes, shares and comments than I have ever had on Facebook or Instagram!  Now, I am really really sorry that I didn't get more photos to share!  The dresser has since sold.  When I have another piece that calls for this look, I promise I will do a tutorial with lots of photos!  For now, here is a basic description of how I arrived at this paint finish:

I started by painting the entire dresser in a custom mix of French Linen and Pure White Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan.  On the drawer fronts only, I used the Floral Scroll stencil from Artisan Enhancements to create a random pattern, bouncing back and forth between Old White and French Linen Chalk Paint®.  I then lightly sanded over the stenciled design and distressed the edges and legs of the dresser.  After a coat of Annie Sloan's Clear Wax, I used a small brush to apply Annie's Dark Wax around the edges of some of the drawers.  I wiped back the areas that were too dark with a little more Clear Wax.  That's it!

Thank you to everyone who commented and shared my post on Facebook!  It kind of makes a girl feel like she's doing what she was meant to do...if you know what I mean?  In a world full of self doubt and second guessing yourself...a little praise goes a long way!

I am enjoying this final round of summer blooms from the garden!

A few more projects that I took into the booth last month...I used Artisan Enhancements Transfer Gel to apply the images to both the bucket and the bread board!  The table is painted in Cream Chalk Paint®.

One of my latest additions to the booth are these pillows, painted with Chalk Paint® using stencils from Artisan Enhancements...the covers are removable and washable!  There isn't much you can't do with Chalk Paint®!  I just added more designs to my display this month!  

Thank you so much for your visit!  I have some catch-up blogging to do but hopefully now that school has started I will be more consistent!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Loving My New (Bigger) Booth at Camas Antiques!

What an exciting month this has been!  After a couple of late nights at the store I was all settled into my much larger booth space...and loving it!

Customers and friends have commented that this new booth feels much lighter and brighter!  Just the look I was going for!

I've accented my neutral pallet with touches of blue and green.  I plan to bring in other soft pastel colors throughout the seasons.

It's been a great month so far and I look forward to continuing to stock vintage finds and hand painted furniture in this new space!

This beautiful French floral plate and ironstone pitcher sold quickly!

One of my favorite estate sale finds this month was this amazing Victorian butterfly brooch.  Although I can't bear to part with this one, it was a part of a collection that I will be bringing with me to the Downtown Camas Vintage and Art Street Faire on Saturday, August 26th!  (See flyer at the bottom of this post!)

Last week I restocked with more fun finds and a couple of new projects.

Still on an image transfer kick, I added this authentic French perfume label to this vintage box painted in Antoinette.  Of course Artisan Enhancements Transfer Gel is my go-to product for these projects!

The large grey/blue wall rack is a repurposed bed (footboard) painted in a mix of French Linen, Louis Blue and Pure White Chalk Paint®.

One of my favorite estate sale finds this month is a crowned cake plate that I simply cannot bear to part with.  At the moment it sits on a dresser in the living room displaying a few fun treasures.

The Downtown Camas Vintage and Art Street Faire is just one month away!  I have some fun treasures squirreled away for this fabulous event!  If you are anywhere near Camas in August, don't miss out on the fun!  RSVP on our Facebook event page for updates and sneak peeks from our vendors!

Thank you so much for your sweet visit!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Flowers, Finds, Paint Projects and Big News!

Let's start with the BIG NEWS!  After 6 years in my little booth at Camas Antiques, I am moving into a bigger booth on the next aisle over!  I could actually just throw my things over the back wall of my booth now to move into my new booth!  I won't do that, but it gives you an idea of where you will find me starting next week!  I have a handful of furniture pieces I am working on to fill this bigger booth.  I just finished this wonderful dresser and had a lot of fun staging it for photos the other day!

Here's the before.  As you can see it had some veneer issues.  I filled in those patches with wood filler and then sanded those areas before I started painting.  

It would have been challenging to get a smooth finish on this piece, thankfully smooth wasn't in my plan!  As usual, I love a textured finish!  I painted the body of the dresser in Country Grey Chalk Paint®.  The drawers are a combination of Country Grey, French Linen and Pure White.  I played with the finish for some time, applying each color individually, wiping back in places and doing a bit of dry brushing.

Once I had a look that I loved, I did some light distressing and sealed the entire dresser with Annie Sloan's White Wax.  The White Wax really softened the whole look.  

Although I am changing up my look just a tad for this new booth, I still plan to keep that pink wardrobe stocked with frilly, feminine vintage finds!

Roses are pretty close to the top of my list of things I love about summer!

Junking has been pretty good so far this summer!  These andirons were an exciting find!  A friend on Facebook noted that they were "Downton Abbey worthy!"  I couldn't agree more!  They will be making their debut in my new booth!

I never can seem to pass up a pretty dish.  These lovelies sold as soon as I brought them into the store. 

My latest image transfer project is in my booth now.  This big wooden trunk was made over in Pure White Chalk Paint®.  The typography is from The Graphics Fairy, applied with Artisan Enhancements Transfer Gel.  Annie Sloan's Black Wax and Clear Wax gave it the perfect aged effect and sealed the finish.

A project I've had waiting in the garage for a year...this kuckoo clock is finally painted and ready to hang!  My family is so excited to have this up in our kitchen!  I used a mix of Louis Blue and Old White for the birds and trim, Old White for the body, Clear Wax with a bit of Dark Wax for age.

Thank you for your visit today!  I have SO much still to do to prepare for the new booth!  

Please follow me on Instagram or Facebook for updates along the way!  

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda