Paint Me Paloma

"Paint me Paloma!" was the quiet command of this confident and elegant vanity the first time I looked her over and decided to bring her home.

I had been anxious to paint another vanity and this one with her lovely lines, intriguing details and superb condition was just the project piece I had been hoping for!  A special thank you to a dear friend, Kenalyn who thought of me when her in-laws were down-sizing and looking to sell some of their antique furniture!  What a sweet friend to think of me!  And so, this pretty piece sat patiently in our garage for a few weeks before I had a chance to get started on her.  A quick cleaning was the only necessary prep work before I opened my can of Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan in the lovely color called Paloma.  The lighter accent color you see on the drawers and here and there on the trim is a 50/50 mix of Paloma and Old White.  I can't tell you how much I love this color!  The grey tones make this lilac hue so sophisticated and grown up.  

In the midst of this makeover, I dropped my brush and took a little trip across the river to visit my dear friend Phyllis at The Purple Pear.  Picking up this gorgeous fabric from her store was the perfect excuse for a quick visit with one of my favorite ladies!  Normandie Toile from Annie Sloan's fabric line was the one and only fabric I could envision on this bench painted in shades of Paloma.  It is just as lovely as I had imagined.  Thank you, Phyllis!

I have a confession to make.  I stole the hardware off of my Scalloped Bedside Tables for this vanity makeover!  It was a last minute decision, but one I do not regret.  The original pulls were well tarnished, which is what I love but when I went to clean them up a bit, they turned out to be brass rather than silver.  I really wanted to see a tarnished silver paired with this pretty lilac grey color.  The brass pulls will be painted and used on the Bedside Tables.  

After distressing the edges with my fine grit sanding sponge, I completed the paint finish with both clear and dark wax.

I was thrilled to find this sweet old Hair Pin box at a garage sale last week.  I knew immediately that it would be a great accessory for my vanity photo shoot!

I picked the last of my lilacs this morning and am savoring the delightful fragrance.  Now I am eagerly anticipating the roses!  All of my rosebushes are just full of buds!

We are enjoying some much needed warmth and sunshine here in the Pacific Northwest this week.  And it couldn't have come at a better time.  I will be taking my vanity, a few other furniture pieces and a great array of romantic treasures to the First Sunday Flea Market at Cottage Vintage Home this weekend.  My mom has potted up lots of lovely rare and unusual plants to offer as well!  If you are in the area, please come enjoy this fun event and be sure to stop by and say hello to me!  

Here are the details:

First Sunday Flea Market at

Cottage Vintage Home

Sunday, May 5th 10am - 3pm

2819 East Evergreen Blvd., Vancouver, WA.

I would love to see you there!

Thank you for your sweet visit!

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

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Silver Pennies Sundays at Silver Pennies

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

There is something very charming and whimsical about a scalloped design on a piece of furniture.  From Cottage Chic to Rustic Farmhouse, it lends itself to so many of my favorite decorating styles

The wood trim at the bottom of these bedside tables had a lovely scalloped design that I decided needed to be featured when I painted them.

 

So as not to detract from the beautiful hardware, I chose to keep the design somewhat subtle and
simple....just a mirrored image of the original scallop painted on the two bottom drawers brought out the charming detail of these pieces.   

The lovely green is Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan in Versailles and the scallops were done in a 50/50 mixture of Paloma and Old White.

 

 

  I finished it off with Annie's clear wax and a fair amount of her dark rustic wax to give these pieces a charming time-worn look.

 

 

Just before waxing, I distressed some of the edges where natural wear might occur with my fine-grit sanding sponge.

 

 

Can't you just smell the heavenly fragrance of these pretty lilacs?  They came a little earlier this year...a pleasant and unexpected surprise!

 

 

 The technique I used to recreate the scallop design with paint is so simple that I hesitate to even call it a technique!  You may remember that I used this idea once before...

 

 

 Weathered Folk Art Style Dresser

 

In this post I briefly described my method for painting the scallop but this time around I took step by step photos for you so that you can see for yourself just how simple it is to do!

 

 

1.  Lay your furniture furniture face down on a piece of craft paper, or if it's too large to do this, tape the paper up behind the decorative edge you wish to recreate.

 

2.  Trace the design with a pencil.

 

3.  Cut out the design...don't worry about perfection, especially if you plan to distress later and are going for a hand-painted look!

 

4.  Tape the cut-out design  onto your painted furniture piece with painter's tape.  I used a ruler to make sure my design was going to go on straight.

 

5.  Using a small paint brush, brush your contrasting paint color on, starting on top of your craft paper cut out and brushing up towards the top of the drawer.  Do this across the whole design.

 

6.  Remove the craft paper stencil and admire your handiwork!

 

Side note:  Of course a scalloped design would be lovely on a simple piece of furniture as well!  Look around your home for a scalloped edge to trace.  I have also traced the edge of a plate to create a scallop stencil!  Be creative and have fun!

 

 

 

 

Speaking of handiwork, these pretty little made over bedside tables never would have come to be if it hadn't been for the help of a very talented and handy friend of mine.  You see, when I bought these tables off of Craigslist some time ago, they looked as though some He Man had pryed them away from the vanity mirror that once held them together with his bare hands!  I wish I could have seen the vanity intact.  I probably would not have chosen to take it apart unless it was just damaged beyond repair (I do love these as side tables however, and so am not complaining)!  Anyhow, I knew this was a project that I couldn't tackle alone.  I am pretty good with wood putty and filler but these little tables were beyond all of that.  So, my sweet and talented friend and I did a little swap of services.  I painted a cute little wall shelf for her, and she worked her magic attaching trim, and filling in holes as needed on these tables for me.  She did an impeccable job!  They turned out better than I could have imagined!  Thank you SO much for your help, Angela!!!

 

And thank you for your sweet visit today!  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

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
 

New Found Treasures and Ever Changing Decor...

This weekend my mom and I enjoyed a lovely Sunday afternoon shopping our favorite antique stores!  I had no problem at all finding a few treasures to spend my newly acquired birthday money on!  I've had my eye on these gorgeous paper Paris Souvenir pendants.  I shared this photo on my Facebook page earlier in the week. These will be made into buntings...one for myself and a couple more to share!

I fell in love with this framed sheet music cover page from 1919.  Such a sweet image with beautiful colors...it has a new home in my little creative space.

Last but not least, this pretty little painting of yellow roses and a wonderfully weathered old door.  I was drawn to the painting and knew I had to have it for our front room where we have a chaise lounge slip-covered in a soft yellow rose fabric.  I knew the painting was much too small for the bare wall I wanted it for and I had been thinking that I wanted a door there.  My mom spotted this one and convinced me that the color and patina was just right.  Here is a look back at changes this cozy little corner has been through.

Last spring I shared the beginnings of the front room makeover.  I brought home this cushy chaise lounge, purchased from a friend and I painted the pretty ornate frame that hangs above in Versailles Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan.

When I started putting together my creative space on the opposite side of the room, I stole the frame for another project, my inspiration board.  Other priorities superseded decorating this little corner of the room, and for months the wall was bare.

 

Earlier this year, I painted a shabby pink door.  Although I did love the idea of a door on this wall, this one was just too small, and not quite the look I wanted for this space.  It went to the shop and then home with a happy customer.

Which brings us to today... A new-to-me, old, weathered lovely door.  What a fabulous birthday gift!  On this day it showcases a pretty oil painting of yellow roses.  I imagine that I will have fun changing up the look from time to time.  An old English porcelain house number would be charming, and perhaps a dried lavender wreath!  

Oh the possibilities!

Today I pray that you are happy, full of peace and feeling blessed.  

Thank you so much for visiting me.

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing with these fun parties:

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage

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
Silver Pennies Sundays at Silver Pennies

Back Home, Incredibly Inspired and Ready to Paint!

Hello, hello!  Well, I am home... although still unpacking and recovering from a whirlwind of an adventure to New Orleans for a week of inspiration and fun with Annie Sloan and a great group of talented ladies!  If you follow me on Instagram, you saw glimpses here and there of my trip.  I wish I would have had a chance to take more photos to share but our days were completely filled to the brim with busyness and I think my brain was too overloaded with ideas and information to remember to snap those pics!
 

 

Of course I was so inspired on this trip that when I got home I couldn't wait to grab my paint brush and get to work!  Yes, my suitcase is still on the bedroom floor (though nearly empty now) but you can see where my priorities lie.. I have a sweet little table to share with you today!

 

 

 What started out as a fairly simple, petite 1940's end table with a bit of an Art Deco look now has real Parisian flair! 

 

 

I started with a 50/50 mix of Old White and Paris Grey in Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan.  The drawer front was painted in straight up Paris grey.  The stenciled flourishes are done in Antoinette as is the carved detail on the bottom of the drawer.  The entire piece was completed with both clear and dark wax.

 

 

A peek inside the drawer shows a pop of pink to coordinate with the stenciled details.

 

 

This whimsical candelabra seemed the perfect accessory for the table, it's curves reflective of stencil design.  It is headed to the shop this week along with a delightful array of other treasures!  I will be posting a few peeks periodically on Facebook! 

 

 

Thank you so very much for your sweet visit today!  I hope you are having a lovely 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

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound
Silver Pennies Sundays at Silver Pennies

Easter Decor Au Naturale

Although I still love most of my sweet little ceramic bunnies and chicks, I found myself putting out fewer of them for Easter this year.  I have been drawn to a more natural look for Easter and Spring decor.

 

This old tiered server is tarnished and rusted...beyond being suitable for holding food.  So, I had fun transforming it into a mossy spring display.  The eggs could be swapped out for air ferns, succulents, mini pumpkins, pine cones, etc. as the seasons change.

 

I took apart a few store bought nests, replaced the brightly colored plastic eggs for real ones (insides removed of course) and swapped the raffia stuff for soft green moss.  I added a few dried hydrangea flowers to this one, but most I kept very simple.

 

 

 I had a couple of these pedestal dishes tucked away and I think I found their final purpose.  I am loving the combination of the rustic nest with the fancy vintage gold metal base.

 

 

I think this tiny basket once held salt and pepper shakers. 

 

 

 I went looking for some fun vintage images to make tags for my Easter crafts and of course found exactly what I was looking for and more from the Graphics Fairy!

 

 

And I thought you might like to see where I've been getting all of my pretty eggs...  This is my mom's charming little chicken house!  I have been collecting the eggs from her brood of pampered hens this week while my parents have been away.  It has been fun but I am so looking forward to mom and dad's homecoming today!

 

Thank you so much for your sweet visit!

 

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

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Petite Makeovers...Sweet, Springy and Pink!

Spring is definitely in the air!  I just love this time of year!  We have sunshine today after several dark, rainy days, my lilacs are budding and one beautiful bloom has opened on my pink Camellia bush!  Time to start decorating for Easter!

 

This vintage telephone table and chair set ended up being much more petite in person than it looked in the Craigslist ad when I first spotted it.  Pictures can be deceiving!  I should know that by now!  Still, it was old and fairly sturdy and had such a sweet look to it that I decided to take it home with me, in spite of it being much smaller than I had imagined.

 

 

A little glue here and a few nails there and this sweet set was ready for paint

 

 

At first I tried to talk myself out of pink and started with a coat of Old White, but it just didn't cut it.  This little darling was just begging for pink! 

I went with a mix of Old White and Antoinette for a soft, subtle shade of pink and distressed it with a sanding sponge on the edges to show a bit of the first coat of Old White and the wood grain as well.

 

  The size of this table and chair seems just right for an 8 or 9 year old girl and I pictured it beside her bed, with an arrangement  of favorite books and pretty things.

 

 

I like to display some of my own favorite books during this time of year, alongside my Easter decor.

 

 

 These very old, well-loved Beatrix Potter books are such little treasures to me.

 

 

I love that the bindings are worn and frayed and the covers are a bit tattered.  I have a newer set that the kiddos and I enjoy reading, but sometimes we very carefully look through the old ones as well.

 

 I look forward to taking my sweet little pink table and chair to the shop this week along with some other pretty pastel things, a couple of baskets and even a few bunnies! 

 

 

This rather simple vintage stool needed a little something extra to make it special.  Since I've been in the mood for bunnies this week, I decided that a primitive looking rabbit silhouette in Duck Egg blue was just the ticket!  Before I painted it in Antoinette, I brushed on a bit of Duck Egg here and there that now shows through where it was distressed.  Waxed with both clear and dark wax, this piece has a new "old" look and will be a fun accessory for spring decor or a super sweet seat for a little girl's room.

 

 

Thank you for your kind visit today!  I hope that wherever you are today, you are enjoying some cheerful spring sunshine!

 

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

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound

 

Liqueur Cabinet Fit for the Abbey

 

When I saw this Frenchy cabinet with all of it's frilly flourish, over the top detail I knew it just had to come home with me!  I could hardly wait to paint it and get into all of those amazing intricate carvings with some ASCP Dark Wax!

 

 

Though very well made, this is not an old piece of furniture.  I am guessing it is probably from the 80's or 90's based on it's construction.  No one at the store where I purchased it had any idea what it's original purpose was and I had to do some serious Googling to find similar pieces to compare it with.  Originally I figured it was some type of a media cabinet as there is a hole in the back panel that appears to be for cords and wiring, and I still believe that is probably what it was used for at one time.  However, the pieces I came across online were old and authentic and they were actually Liqueur Cabinets.  So there you have it, I am still not entirely certain what this lovely cabinet was originally intended for but I can think of a dozen ways it could be used now! 

 

 

The doors both lock with this beautiful key, another reason why this was probably a Liqueur Cabinet of sorts!

 

 

The body of the cabinet was made over with Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan in Old Ochre while the details were highlighted with Old White.  Both clear and dark wax were applied to finish the look.

 

 

Although there is nothing wrong with painting furniture to make it look fresh and new, I have a tendency to want to create something that looks time-worn, with history and depth and a story to tell.

 

 

In it's original oak finish, it was a dated, cast-off media cabinet. Now it's a stately French Liqueur cabinet that once graced the parlor of a fantastic castle and held expensive bottles of sherry and brandy served by a serious butler to elegant Lords and Ladies.

 

 

I like to dream up stories about furniture pieces as I paint them, don't you?  I also find myself influenced by the movies or TV shows I am watching when I paint.  My mom commented that this cabinet had a real Downton Abbey flair to it.  I liked the sound of that!

 

Thank you so much for you for your sweet visit!

 

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

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed