Football Ticket Pillow

I'm on a roll with making pillows!  I had a vintage football ticket and I enlarged it and printed it on fabric (thank you Spoonflower).

I think this would be great in a man cave!

Pizza Peel Sign

I took a long break from the blog...too much life going on!

I've got some great stuff to share....starting with this trash-to-treasure!

I took this very used pizza peel (destined for the dumpster) and turned it into a very cool sign.

BEFORE:

AFTER!! 

Red Rooster Stool

Winter's snow and frigid temperatures kept me indoors.  Lots of baking and refurbishing thrift finds kept me from doing the iconic scene in "The Shining" (think "Here's Johnny!")

When I saw this stool, it was not pretty, but underneath all the dirt and grime, I could see red.  I decided to paint the wooden seat black.  I ran out of Annie Sloan charcoal chalk paint, and decided to wing it and used an old can of black chalkboard paint.  And guess what?! It worked like a charm!!

Lyre Back Chairs

2 blah chairs.  2 coats Black chalk paint, ASCP clear wax.  Reupholstered the cushions with Italian linen fabric...  et voila!

Floral Hepplewhite Chair

Once again, paint and fabric transform an ugly chair to a pretty girly chair!

 

Chartreuse Fall Market Days

I will be doing Chartreuse's Fall Market Days again in September.  The dates will be September 6th & 7th.  I've got great pieces and will post them all this month.  So excited!

French Stamp End Table

Before:  Nondescript, blah table:

After:  Wow!

I like to paint with Annie Sloan chalk paint (old white).  The Graphics Fairy has fantastic images.  I really like this french stamp image.  It was tiny, but The Graphics Fairy has a tutorials on how to enlarge images and various methods to apply the images.  The stamp printed out on 6 pages (reversed image)!  After cutting it out, I applied Mod Podge on the top of the painted table; carefully placed each piece (face down) on top of the Mod Podged table and smoothed out all the bubbles.  After a night of drying, I used a wet sponge and with  a lot of patience, gently wet/pealed away the paper until I got to the image.  Some of the image pulled away, but I liked the look.  After the image dried again, I applied 2 coats of Mod Podge (drying between coats) to the top of the image.  Then hand sanding.  A dry brush with a bit of Annie Sloan Emperor's Red chalk paint. More sanding.  Finished with Annie Sloan clear wax; dark wax, clear wax. <whew>

Union Jack Accent Table

This is one cute table! Union Jack top, sassy casters on the bottom.  But, ewwww....this was once an ugly table.

 Once again, I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, the best paint in the entire world.

This section took me the longest to draw/paint.

Table will go on sale for the Chartreuse Market Days, April 5th & 6th.  Will consider early offers for purchase.

Halloween Memories

My parents loved Halloween; especially my Father.  He would design my outfits and Mom would design my sister's.

I am permanently scarred by some of my costumes...

Case in point:

1.  We were living in Kenner, LA while Dad was getting his masters degree (after 3 tours in Vietnam, the Army sent Dad to Tulane).  Laura was this adorable angel; I was a Viking princess.  All night people would hum Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries" to me or ask where was my "trusty steed"...<sigh>
 

2.  This goes down as the worst costume idea Dad decided upon...think of the time period...post Tet Offensive...the war is going badly...and my Dad puts me in black pajamas with a Montagnard hat...Yup, I was Charlie.  I love how much Mom tried to jazz it up with sequin bands.  Laura was this adorable bunny rabbit; she would hop up to each house, turn around wiggle her fuzzy tail and get handfuls of candy.  Me? Oh, I got the usual "Hey, Charlie!" and maybe 1 piece of candy...I felt just like the Charlie Brown Halloween special: "I got a candy apple! I got chocolate! What did you get Charlie Brown? "I got a rock."  <sigh>
 

3. And the last time I let Dad design my outfit.  Dad had spent time in Jordan and brought back several Keffiyehs.  Yup, that's me, a 12 year old girl; looking like a young Arab man....post OPEC Oil Embargo.  Look how cute Laura looks as Raggedy Ann!  I can't remember how many times I was called a boy and all the snarky comments that followed...<sigh>

For politically correct purposes I shall decline to show/discuss the other 2 outfits: Aunt Jemima Yes, a toddler dressed as Aunt Jemima in Ft. Benning, GA during the Civil Rights movement), and the white sheet ghost outfit (looked like a mini KKK...in 1960s Columbus, GA)...

I swear, I think my parents were trying to have me killed...

Decoupaged Pumpkin

I love, love, love Pinterest!

Saw some decoupaged pumpkins and this is my version:

I painted a dollar store pumpkin and some faux leaves ASCP white. Tore up my old English Lit book; cut up some left over burlap ribbon; gathered some sticks and small branches from the yard. I soaked the pages in watered down coffee, then let them dry; tore the pages into small strips, dipped them in mod podge/water mixture and placed the strips all over the pumpkin...making sure to overlap the strips.  While the pumpkin was drying, I cut up pieces of the branch for the pumpkin stem; applied Elmers glue to the pieces and leaves then rolled all of them in Martha Stewart glass glitter.  Before I assembled everything, I sprayed the pumpkin with Mod Podge sealer.  Then I went to town with a hot glue gun...et finis!

The Covered Bridges of Frederick County

Maybe it's the movie (The Bridges of Madison County) or the nostalgia of a bygone era, but there's just something about a covered bridge that pings my heart.

Last week's weather was gorgeous and I needed a "field trip".  There are 3 covered bridges about 90 minutes from my home.  All are in Frederick County; the last one, Roddy Creek Covered Bridge, is outside of Thurmont...close to Camp David.

Loys Station Covered Bridge

(my favorite)

 

 

  

 

 Roddy Creek Covered Bridge

 

Utica Mills Covered Bridge

French Label End Table

I am very proud of this project...

This was one ugly, beat-up end table:

 And After:

 

I painted 1 coat of ASCP (cream = soft butter color).  The wood stain bled through, so I had to paint the entire table with a primer/sealer.  2 more coats of ASCP (cream).  For the label, I used a french label from The Graphics Fairy.  To enlarge the label, there is a section on the website dedicated to transferring images.  I used the 1st method to enlarge the label.  It took 4 sheets of paper (8.5x11) to print the entire label.  I cut out the label; taped the edges together, and applied mod podge to the front of the label; then placed the wet image face-down onto the top of the table.  I then smoothed out the air bubbles with a putty scraper.  The image dried overnight. To remove the paper, I wet it with water and slowly rubbed the paper off with my fingers.  Some of the image came away completely, but I liked the look...it gave the entire image a worn/antiqued look to it.  I then waxed the entire table/image with AS clear wax, then antiqued the table/image with AS dark wax.  A little sanding; then clear/dark/clear wax.

Whew!

Vintage Floretine Nesting Tables

Aren't these nesting tables gorgeous?!

...and they were going to be thrown out! Luckily, Mom drove past them; squealed on her brakes; made a U-turn; stuffed them in the trunk; and promptly brought them to me!  

With a little cleaning they'll look fantastic.

Coffee Hound

Yes...I admit it...I am addicted to coffee. Cup of Joe. Cafe au lait. Latte. Espresso. Decaf. Machiato. Bring it on...

Can't believe I found this cup! 

Yes, I am

The hound was inside the cup!

Okay, sometimes I'm a Half Cupper, but never ever a Weak Sister!

Thrift Store Books

I was trolling for chairs at a local thrift store...no chairs, but 3 cool books!

The first: "A Treasury of Gilbert & Sullivan" (first edition, 1941)

Great book; very retro illustrations!

The second: Funks & Wagnalls New Comprehensive "Standard" Dictionary (1955)

With the flags of the 48 states:

and third: a book written in Russian. Defintely Soviet-era. Maybe a book about discussing religion...all religions were banned during the Communist regime.

I was going to use all 3 for crafts/art, but maybe just use the dictionary...hmmm

How Many Chairs Can One Stuff in a Beetle?

Why is it when I drive the little car I find big items?!  Last week I drove the 4Runner down to Richmond and only brought back books, a frame, framed art and some glassware...and today, I drive the Beetle, I find 2 chairs...hmmmm

I spent a whopping $12 for both chairs...woohoo!

I actually got both chairs in the beetle and got home before it started raining!

She may look ugly, but she's got "good bones". Some ASCP, and new fabric, et voila!

Love this vintage outdoor chair!

Thrifting

I've become slightly obsessed with thrifting...

Yesterday I made my way down to Richmond, hoping to ransack 6 thrift shops.  Alas, that was not the case, but! I did score some great finds!

1900's wood/gesso frame; this was filthy; cleaned up nice!

 

 1950s Italian watercolors

I'm planning on doing the tent sale at On a Whim in Lucketts, VA in mid-August.  It will be my first tent sale; hoping to get on the list for Chartreuse!