Vintage Pretty

So, I've been working with a few friends who are responsible for putting together a couple of wedding receptions. . . something I hope to be doing more of in the future!  I shot some photos as 'ideas and inspiration' for one bride to look at and choose from. I thought they turned out so pretty that I wanted to share them here.

Imagine some baby's breath tucked in here and there.

Tiny chalkboards and vintage treasures. . . 

Table numbers painted on weathered old barn wood with vintage lace. . .

 Glass containers filled with happily aged items, vintage tins and clothes pins. . .

 
Pressed glass milk pint on monogrammed burlap. . .

Vintage and colored bundt pans creating nests and surrounding jars to hold baby's breath. . .

Tea stained tags to personalize in any way. . .

Doesn't a barn wedding sound fun?

The Apple Cup Lamp

Hehe.  I couldn't resist.  A little tribute to my beloved Washington State and a play on my own blog name.  :)

OK, now down to the details.

Oh, and I know my potting bench isn't the best back drop for this lamp, but it is one of the very few places in my house with decent natural lighting and I really needed that to show you the finish on this lovely.

First, the lamp shade is painted Oil Rubbed Bronze and you can't tell in this photo, but it ***sparkles***.

Have you all read about the faux Mercury Glass paint treatments?  I've tried a few of them I've found on various blogs and haven't really been happy with how things turned out.  I decided that was because I was doing them on glass (duh?) and I wanted something more solid behind the finish.  Plus I hadn't really loved how the finishes turned out.  They looked TOO painted.

So today I think I found my magic formula.  Of course I don't have a before pic. . . I know, I suck.  But just think about those heavy bronze lamps that you see quite often in thrift stores.

I alternated spraying a very fine mist of water and a very fine mist of Krylon's Looking Glass Spray Paint in very quick succession, being careful not to let the water build up enough to run.

I took a zillion shots trying to capture the finish close up. This is as good as I could get.  See those whitish looking spots on the flat portion of the base?  Those are actually covering the entire base and are not white at all, but just create a nice 'texture' in the paint, although it is totally smooth when you touch it.  I really love how it turned out.  The brass offers a solid back and a when the light hits it you see subtle hints of amber beneath the finish.

Here are a few shots of the intricate details on the base.  Pretty, aren't they?

How about one last full shot.

I liked how it turned out so well I almost decided to keep it.  I need a lamp on my night stand, but this one is just too big and would be out of scale, but I may be on the lookout now for a smaller bronze lamp to call my own.

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I'll be sharing at Domestically Speaking's: Power of Paint

Spring

Spring is finally here. For us that just means more rain, but warmer rain, usually.  It also means it's time to plant stuff.

Our yard is full of lovely bulbs.  The tulips and daffodils have all ready come and gone, but iris are my favorite, so I actually went to the effort of photographing one.  They are pretty aren't they.
 

I also planted my herbs in vintage bunt pans and a vintage enamel mixing bowl.  I'm a little bit in love with them.  They are currently lining my front walk.  I'll probably move them to the back yard because it's off my kitchen, but they do look happy here.

Of course my rusty old tool box.  It will look amazing when these pretty blooms fill in.

I had a smaller vintage pan.  I'm not sure what it was used for.  Succulents are a favorite of mine.  I picked up a few at a church plant sale last weekend.  I planted one in here.

The others I planted directly into a few small places in my flower beds.  They will fill in and give me a some worry free spots next year.

Athena

I occasionally have a man (yes, always a man) wander in and lament the painting of wood furniture *GASP*!!!!  I had one such visitor at the last show I did.  I have my ways of dealing with them (I'm nice, despite the fact that they obviously aren't going to buy anything.)  This particular man, however, saw this dresser and decided that he liked this one.  He described it as "post-apocalyptic."  Well, I'm not sure that is actually a design style, I could be wrong.

Anyhow, in his honor, I am naming this dresser Athena, goddess of war, wisdom and the crafts.  Seems appropriate, don't you think? 

She has good strong bones, as solid as they come.  If any dresser was going to survive an apocalyptic war, it would be her.

This finish is an example of one of the few times I've used an existing finish as part of my finish.  The cream color is the color she was originally stained.

She was then coated in blue, perhaps that was her uniform?

The graphite?  Well, any warrior worth her salt is bound to pick up some soot, right?

Her knobs and legs are painted the same graphite color.

I love how this finish turned out.  As a true goddess, she would look right at home in a variety of settings.  

 

OK, how about one last full body shot.

Behold, Athena, in all her glory!

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Athena is for sale.  See more information on my Portfolio/Available page.

I'm sharing at:
Today's Creative Blog's: Get Your Craft on Tuesday 
Domestically Speaking's: Power of Paint 
Miss Mustard Seed's: Furniture Feature Friday 

Phoebe's Dresser

I love Seattle.  They have the BEST yard sales.  I wasn't even LOOKING!

This is what I found. . .

Isn't she horrible?  Actually, she is incredibly beautiful. The bottoms of the drawers are made of bird's eye maple.  It's been a long time since furniture was made with such care and quality workmanship.  She was pretty beat up, though.

I sanded down the drawer fronts and the top.  Notice the second drawer down, though.  It had a thick wood veneer in three panels over the drawer front with the grain of the wood going in the opposite direction of the other drawers.  When I stained it it looked strange, so I needed a new solution.

I painted the top and bottom of the drawer the same color as the body of the dresser, then I used piece of sheet metal grating (not sure what's it's intended function was) as a stencil on top of the stain on the middle panel. 

The panels were divided by a thin rounded piece of wood that was originally painted gold.  I painted them red- like furniture racing stripes!  

The knobs were off of a dresser I refinished last year.  I always hang on to old knobs, and here's a good example of why!  A little extra red jewelry to match her racing stripes!

Just a bit of distressing and a top coat of dark wax gives the pale gray paint a bit of age, interest, and protection.

This little girl is in the running for my favorite furniture revival of all time. 

 

 

And I'm rarely organized enough to have a side by side before and after, but since I'm playing favorites anyway!

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Phoebe's Dresser is for sale.  See the Portfolio and Available page for details.

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I'm sharing at:
Today's Creative Blog: Get Your Craft On 
Elizabeth & Co's: Be Inspired 
Restore Interiors: Restore it Wednesday 
Miss Mustard Seed's: Furniture Feature Friday

Mini Buffet

Two weeks ago I drove to Newberg to pick up some chairs that I had found on craigslist.  I was with my mother-in-law and we took the scenic route to Newberg, where there is no cell phone reception.  When we got back down in the valley, about 3 miles outside of Newberg, and about 40 minutes from home, I got a cell phone call.  The man had all ready sold the chair and hadn't realized it.  The word irritated came to mind. . .  but he told me to come by his shop anyway, there may be something that I might find interesting.  Well, what did I have to loose?  I'm so glad I did.

I didn't leave Newberg that day with any chairs, but I didn't leave empty handed, either.

This lovely mini buffet came home with us.  It was in good shape, but just needed an update.  

I painted her body a soft gray.   The top drawer and the doors got painted a pretty Tiffany blue/green.   Then I dry brushed over everything with a wheat color, distressed the living day lights out of it, an finished it all off with a coat of dark wax and a good buffing.

  I used some vintage copper knobs I purchased last year off of etsy.  They looked pretty scary before spending 15 hours in a bath of vinegar and meeting the business end of a green scrubby pad.

They do make fore pretty jewelery, don't they?

She will be going with me to my first show here in Oregon.  It seems appropriate that my first Oregon show should be in my new home town, and so it is.  I will be a vender on Saturday at Artisans in the Grove here in Forest Grove.  If you are in the area I hope you can join me.  I'm working on a few other pieces of furniture, and some fun decor items to take with me as well.

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The Mini Buffet is for sale.  For more information see my portfolio page.

I will be sharing at
The Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday