As all of you know,
it takes a lot of time and hard decisions
to make a plan come together,
but I have never had a struggle
like I'm having
with this room that we are working on now.
The Captain says
we are taking entirely too much time
to get it done,
and while I certainly agree,
I can not let it go
until I feel completely satisfied.
There is a missing link to the picture
and, until I can figure out what it is,
the project will not be worthy,
in my mind.
So...
speaking of the whole picture,
I can let you in on certain aspects
that are completed
and show you how
I achieved them.
Here are two pictures
that received a small amount of work.
As you can tell,
the frames are quite different
and I wanted to make them
look more cohesive...
...here are the same pictures
after a little paint
was applied to each frame.
I used a sponge
with black craft paint
and applied it to the frames,
covering them fairly well...
...then
while the black paint was still wet,
I applied a small amount
of various colors,
with the same sponge
over top.
I just picked out random colors
that were in the paintings.
If one color seemed too much,
I just applied a little more black.
After it was dry,
I applied "Rub and Buff" gold leaf
with my finger,
hitting the high spots
on the frame.
I picked up this lamp shade
at K-Mart.
It was priced $11
but the plastic covering was off
and there was a smudge of dirt
around the bottom edge.
I knew I would be covering that part up,
so I asked for a better price
and I got it for $5.
The ribbon, I gathered and hot glued
to the edge
and applied the small trim to the top.
These two items came from JoAnn's.
The base is one that,
until recently,
was in the master bath.
This really sweet
little plant stand
we found sitting on the curb
marked free.
I am bummed
that I didn't take a 'before' picture.
Although it was in really good shape,
it had been painted a number of times
and was all chipped, dirty and peeling.
I can see
a number of you
rolling your eyes,
but, believe me,
it wasn't the 'beautifully chippy' stuff that you would have been happy to keep.
I painted it with Annie Sloan Old Ochre
and finished it off with Shabby Paints
clear vax and hazelnut re-vax.
Here is a little idea
of how this project
is going...
An old rocking chair
that we have had
for ages...
Oh, No..
Oh, H*** No..
Third time a charm?
We shall see.
And that was just
one
very
minor
issue!
I have had a few good days,
however,
and just so you don't think
I have totally
given up...
I am very pleased
with my little
'historical' sign.
When the kids were small
and we lived in Soquel,
in the house that Tami, Tim and Jake
now live in,
we put a swimming pool in the back yard.
We had to install a fence
around the yard
and the wood for this sign
came from that fence.
After forty years,
Tim replaced some of the fence
and gave me a few
of the old boards...
...the boards still have
the old blue paint on them
and I picked up the chipboard letters
at WalMart.
I started with the same sponge
that I used for the picture frames
and applied black paint
to the letters.
While that paint was still wet,
I applied metallic silver paint
over top
and kept sponging
until the paints were blended
to my liking
and resembled tin.
I also added a very tiny bit
of burnt sienna
to make it appear
that the letters are showing signs
of rusting.
I then hot glued the letters
to the board when the paint was dry
and added a little cottage
for the tiny porcelain birds
that were a gift from Tami
many years ago.
I had ordered something from WalMart last Christmas
and they were unable to fill part of my order
so they refunded me $10
and since I had never cashed it in
until now,
I paid about 43 cents
to make this sign.
So,
there you have a few things
that make up a part
of the whole picture.
I just hope that
'whole picture' will materialize soon.
I promise you
that I will keep
'painting' until it does.
...Judy...
Sharing today at these fine parties...
I'm sure the picture will come together and it's going to be awesome!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have a really good start on things, Judy. I know what you mean- sometimes it takes forever for all the pieces to fall into place. It WILL happen though- xo Diana
ReplyDeleteOh what prettiness - and clever re-use of items. I love how the photo frames came out - and the sign that says cottage is just wonderful. I am planning a re-do of our bedroom - I'm hoping to get some warm weather so I can paint the furniture - bed table and dresser - and maybe a wooden lamp. I have no room in the house to paint and no garage - so have to wait for the rainy weather to be gone and the temperatures to warm up. I also want to paint and/or replace all the photo frames so they coordinate - you gave me that idea. Love your work so far and can't wait to see how it all comes together.
ReplyDeleteWell, that is quite a tease Judy! I LOVE the sign! It sounds like you have done lots of painting!I just know the end result is going to be wonderful and you And the Captain will love it! Blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteI think that there is nothing more important to a room than those little details. I completely understand how you feel about adding them. Funny, my recent post is about the difficulties of redecorating... and don't feel bad, my poor room has been sitting half finished for several months.
ReplyDeleteYou have done a lot of changes and artistic craft work for this room makeover and I can't wait to see it all together. I love the Cottage sign and how you made it. We have 2 old sections of board fence that need to come down and you have me conjuring up ideas to do with the boards now. :) Have a great day. Pam
ReplyDeleteOh Judy, your cottage sign is so delightful! I absolutely love it :) You have been quite the busy bee, my friend.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a joy to have you share your loveliness with Roses of Inspiration. Hugs to you!
Hi Judy, just love the colors your rocking chair AND the frames have now. And also your cottage sign, it's great. I'm sorry my translation has gone on my blog, don't even know where to, lol, and I haven't been able to get a new one. Hope you'll have a great weekend. Here we have a long weekend with May 1st tomorrow, it's the workers day here. Love Elzie
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DeleteAh-ha!! I just knew you'd been cooking up some good stuff!!
ReplyDeleteBusy gal!! Love how things are working out for you, and I love that you've been able to exercise your creativity and end up with great results!
Tho... I do like the chair red.... I know it just wouldn't work with your color scheme :)
Adorable "Cottage" sign!! Pretty special having some old wood from the old fence at your old house..**smile**.
Have a great weekend!!
~K.