Inspired to Create...a Girly Little Vignette!

 

As I waited in line to pay for my treasures at a recent estate sale, I looked over the items in my basket and suddenly had a very distinctive vision!  Vintage dresses for real babies and doll babies alike, a felt hat, tiny shoes, a curved handled baby spoon and a collection of old photos inspired a couple of small makeover projects and then ultimately this very girly little vignette for my booth space at Camas Antiques.  Often times when I go shopping for treasures, I don't have any idea of what I am looking for or what I might find.  I love it when I come home with a collection of things that ignite a flame within my creative soul and inspire me into action!

 

 

A rather simple but sturdy small chest of drawers had a romantic makeover with a couple of coats of Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan.  I started with a custom mix of Antoinette and Old White for a soft, pretty pink.  I added the scalloped design in Old White and a simple hand painted flower chain in the custom pink along the edges to give it the look of eyelet lace.

 

Vintage photos add such charm to a vignette.  A photo of a cheerful little girl is attached to a bare lampshade, layered with a tiny vintage slip dress alongside a skirt, shoes and pearls.

 

This gorgeous handmade baby doll dress was badly stained when I brought it home from the estate sale.  After an overnight soak in Oxy Clean, it is bright and beautiful again!

 

 

A dark, cast-off lamp base was full of potential but in need of a face-lift.  I brushed on two coats of Old White and followed up with a wash in French Linen.  After a coat of Clear Wax and the addition of a shabby floral shade, it has a soft, pretty new look! 

 

 

I quickly chose these older hardback books primarily based on each one's cover and it's subtle hue.  Once home with them, I flipped through the pages and was pleasantly surprised by the intriguing content as well!  Books are such treasures!

 

Old photographs are fun to use in vintage inspired crafts or when creating vignettes.  I pick them up whenever I find ones that speak to me.  When I was little I bought old photos at antique stores and then went home to write fictional stories about the people in them!  I have scanned my most recent photo finds to share here and invite you to print them for use in your projects, or to inspire you to write stories or create vignettes!  Enjoy!

 

 

Creative inspiration for me comes in many forms and from many different avenues.  It can't be forced and it's a shame to waste it!  So, get out there and be inspired, and when the spark ignites...create!

 

Thank you so much for your sweet visit today!  I can't tell you how much I enjoy hearing from you!  Your kind words encourage and inspire me further!    You are a blessing and a treasure!  Have a fabulous week!

 

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

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

 Furniture & Paint Party at Start at Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours

What's it Wednesday at Elephants and Ivy

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground 

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

 Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

 

Monogrammed Dresser, for my Honey with Love

 

Earlier this month I picked up a pair of dressers at the thrift store.  I had every intention of painting them for the shop and had just gotten started when I caught my husband giving this one the once over.  After a little discussion and consideration, I agreed to paint it for him and repaint his older, smaller, slightly less masculine dresser for the shop.

 

 

A few years ago we painted our master bedroom a pretty deep purple.  I got some lovely new bedding for Christmas that year and had always intended to repaint our dressers, but never seemed to get around to it.  The old dressers are vintage and sweet, but I had painted them bright white years ago and they were a little to stark against the deep purple walls.

 

 

I chose Country Grey in Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan for his dresser.  I would consider this color more of a taupe than a grey.  I have been so fond of the greys lately, that choosing this color was like stepping out of the box a little, for me.  I am really pleased with it and love how warm and rich it looks in our room!

 

I wanted to keep the design simple as our room already has a lot of pattern and clutter, but I couldn't help adding just a little bit of detail.  The trimmed out rectangle painted in Old White was the perfect place for a monogram!  I painted the letters on in French Linen and then lightly distressed over them with sand paper.  Clear wax sealed the whole piece, along with a little bit of dark wax here and there.

 

 

So, I think he likes it!  I told him it was an early Valentine's Day present!  I put my heart and soul into it, after all!  Now that we have a freshly painted new-to-us piece of furniture in our room, I am itching to do more!  Isn't that always how it goes?  It's the domino effect.  I've made a master bedroom décor to-do list and priority one is a makeover for my own dresser, followed by some new curtains!  Once it's all put together, I will share a post on the whole room!

 

Thank you so much for your visit!  I hope you're having a lovely week!

 

Many 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

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

 Furniture & Paint Party at Start at Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours

What's it Wednesday at Elephants and Ivy

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground 

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

 Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

 

Favorite Projects of 2013

Hello!  Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you had a blessed Holiday season and are as excited as I am to begin a fresh New Year! 

Believe it or not, I rang in the New Year with my paint brush in hand!  We had a nice quiet night at home (quiet, if you don't count the neighbors with the loud fireworks and canons!)  I enjoyed spending the time finishing up a few projects for the shop that I will be sharing here very soon!  But today I thought I would do a quick "year in review" post to look back on my favorite projects of 2013. 

 

Pink Door No. 3

 

Trunk Love

 

Liqueur Cabinet Fit for the Abbey

 

Paint a Scalloped Design...So Lovely and So Easy to do!

 

Paint Me Paloma!

 

The Story of One Darling Little Commode

 

 

Tea Table...Accentuate the Pretty

 

My Eastlake Dresser Rescue

 

Shabby Buffet Makeover

 

Restyling and Repurposing Vintage Luggage

 

Feathers, Boots and Chalk Paint®

 

Use Your Printer to Create Oversized Art

 

Cinderella Cabinet Makeover

 

 

To those of you who are visiting for the first time, thank you so very much for stopping by!  I hope you will visit again soon, and I would be thrilled if you would also join me on Facebook! 

 

And to all of my blog buddies that have shared in the creative journey all year, thank you so much for your visits, your sweet comments and encouraging words and for inspiring me with your creativity and talents!  You are all so wonderful and very dear to me!  I feel so blessed to call you my friends! 

 

Cheers to the New Year!

 

Imagine, Create, Inspire!

 

Many blessings to you all!

 

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

What's it Wednesday at Elephants and Ivy

Be Inspired at Common Ground 

 

A Little Bit of Holiday...Home Tour

 

Yesterday, for just a moment in time our house was pretty clean (at least the downstairs was.)  The baby dolls and lego ships, sippy cups and bowls of fish crackers had been temporarily cleared away.  I decided to take the opportunity to shoot some photos of our home dressed for Christmas!

 

I had to do it quick...before naptime for one little girl and video game time for two little boys ended and the house was littered with Barbies and little Army men again.

 

 

There isn't a whole lot of Christmas in the kitchen...a snowman cookie jar on the counter, a couple of village houses and trees in the windowsill.  The kitchen was clean nevertheless, so I thought I would take a picture!

 

 

My Eastlake Dresser was moved into the dining room temporarily to make room for the enormous Griswold family tree that we brought home with us a couple of weeks ago (see it poking out there...on the left hand side?  It is truly a monstrosity!).

 

 

A few little Christmas pretties on the buffet... 

 

 

I could not remember whether I had decided to sell my Chic Snowmen last year or not, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover them packed away with the Christmas décor!  I found the perfect spot to display them on the buffet this year.

 

 

Our rather large tree fills a whole corner of the front room and spills into the dining room!  It's the risk of cutting a real tree...you never really realize how big they are until you set them up in your home!  We are enjoying it, when we're not getting attacked by it's pokey branches!

 

After searching for an all white nativity for years, I finally found one over the summer at a little church rummage sale!  They were asking 25 cents per piece!  A few of the animals are chipped and one of the kings is missing a nose, but it still displays well and it has quickly become a favorite Christmas decoration at our house!

 

 

It is such a large nativity set that I have a hard time fitting it all on the mantle!  I just love the camels.

 

 

I mostly stick with a white/cream color scheme on the tree, but the kiddos have special ornaments that they have made at school or were given as gifts that they are always excited to add, so there are bits of red here and there as well.

 

I was excited to find a place to hang this sweet vintage inspired plaque this year!  I had bought it last year on impulse and then couldn't find a place to put it.  Now I have my lovely old door...perfect spot!

 

 

 

My one new Christmas décor purchase this year... a beautiful vintage German porcelain Mary with Baby, found in Michelle's booth at Camas Antiques!  Thanks Michelle!

 

Thank you all for joining me on my little tour.  There are so many lovely homes out there in blogland, all gorgeous and glammed up for the season!  I love looking at them and getting inspiration for next year!  This year, I am done...calling it good!  Time to sit back and enjoy!

 

My Christmas wish for you...

A peaceful and contented heart as you celebrate the holiday season surrounded by people you love!

 

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

What's it Wednesday at Elephants and Ivy

Be Inspired at Common Ground 

 

Vintage Harlequin Suitcase Makeover

 

I have been anxious to paint a harlequin pattern on a piece of furniture but thought it might be smart to practice on a smaller project first!  This little suitcase with all of it's mod chrome hardware was crying out for something a little more funky than my typical romantic vintage style makeover.  It was the perfect harlequin candidate!

 

 

 

This was one of those old luggage pieces that unfortunately came with an unbearable odor that wasn't going to be masked by any amount of kitty litter, coffee beans or baking soda.  The fabric lining had to come out and an odor blocking sealer applied.  You can read more about this fix in my post Repurposing and Restyling Vintage Luggage.

 

 

Painting around the hardware was really only a little bit tedious.  I keep baby wipes handy while I am painting, just in case.  Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan cleans up so easily with a damp cloth.  It is very forgiving!  The colors are Duck Egg Blue and Old White.  I completed the finish with Annie Sloan's clear wax and just a bit of the dark wax here and there.

Painting the harlequin pattern was harder than I had expected!  I made a template of the diamond shape with cardboard and then traced around it with a pencil.  From there I used painter's tape as a guide to get nice straight lines.  I love how it turned out, and I am sure I will do it again, but I'm glad I tried it out on a small piece before tackling a big project.

 

This suitcase will be up for auction at a fundraiser this month for our local school district.  I hope they raise lots of money to benefit the children in our community!

 

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

 

 

Sharing With:

 

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life

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 Elephants and Ivy

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Anything Blue Friday at The Dedicated House