French Inspired Picture Frame

At the end of last year I found this black picture frame for $1.00 at a thrift sale because it was missing the cardboard that goes behind the glass.  The glass was taped to the frame and I still need to remove the sticky tape residue from that glass.

I instantly thought it would be so pretty painted in a French gold and white style.

I wanted the details of the scroll work to make a better showing on the frame.  All black it doesn't show it's beautiful details.

Plus there were a lot of chips and dings in the black paint.

I gave the entire piece a coat of off-white chalk paint leaving the recessed areas black to give the piece more dimension.

Again I brush over the raised areas on the frame but this time with a gray color.

Next I hit a few areas with aqua colored paint.

Then I brushed a few areas with pink.  And distressed the edges lightly around the frame.

My final coat of paint was a brilliant white.  Again just hitting a few raised areas on the front of the frame just to tone down the aqua and the pink a bit.

The last thing I applied was a liquid gold leaf to some of the scrolls on the frame.

I just wasn't getting the effect of the gold on the frame in these shots.  I was lucky because today the sun was shining brilliantly and outside I went.

Here you can see a better overall view of the finish.  It appears to be white with only a hint of the aqua and  pink.

A very shabby chic finish.  I think I will add this to the downstairs half bath as soon as I have time and energy to repaint that room.  It will coordinate perfectly with the small oval bisque plaque I bought last time I went to the Vintage Market.

Right now that bath is painted a dark color and since it has no windows the room seems even smaller.  

Can't wait to change it up with a new coat of light paint and add some light accessories to that room including this frame.  Now I just need to decide which picture to add to the frame.

Happy Crafting!

Three Ltitle Rusty Lanterns

Many years ago I bought three little lanterns about 5" tall.  Their glass sides were red, yellow and blue.  I used them in the garden with tea lights for awhile.  After a few years they where forgotten and were stored away.  By then they where peeling paint and rusty.

But this morning on the internet I saw a lantern very much like mine painted pretty aqua color with clear glass.

Hmmm, did I still have my little sad lanterns.  Yep, I found them and decided to give them a makeover.

 I have already removed the red glass from the lantern on the left in the picture below.  I put the pieces of glass in a bowl of hot soapy water to see if I could soak the color off the glass.  After about an hour the color came off with a light scrubbing using a green scrubby.

Next I soaked off the blue color and lastly the yellow.

While the glass was soaking I scraped all the loose paint and rust from the lanterns.

Then I started painting the lantern tops and bottoms.

First one completed with glass reinstalled.

Now I have 3 refreshed little aqua lanterns ready for new candles.  I think I will use battery operated  tea light candles so these can be used in table arrangements without the fear of fire.

before

Hard to believe these are the same 3 little rusty lanterns I began with this morning.

Happy Crafting!

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Brass Lamp and Lampshade Makeover

Well, we are finally having our first heat wave of the year.  Time to hibernate indoors until the sun goes down.

Last night at about midnight I decided I needed a lamp on the bedside table I just finished.  Hmmm. The only one I could move into the guest room was brass with a dark green shade.  No! Just not right.

I think I get a little daring in the middle of the night. Anyway I decided to paint the lamp aqua.  Now what to do about  the shade.  Well, I read somewhere you can paint fabric with chalk paint.  So that's what I did.

Like I said it was the middle of the night so I forgot to get before pictures.  The shade was dark green like the one above.  And the lamp to the right is very similar to the one I had

I gave the lamp 2 coats of aqua chalk paint.  I really like the color and the shape, now.

The lampshade also took 2 coats of paint.  I used a small stiff brush to work the paint into the trim.

When the paint was dry I used a stencil with gray chalk paint to add the focal medallion.  I was initially concerned that the very dark green fabric would be difficult to hide.  But no, the paint completely covered the dark color.

The lamp gives off a nice soft light for bedside the bed.  Not too bright and glaring.  I have a reading light that is mounted on the wall directly over the bed.  So there is need for bright light from this lamp.

Now I just might have to paint the reading light shade to match this lamp.  I will have to give that some thought.  The fixture is also shiny brass.  Maybe I will paint that to match this lamp, also.

Happy Crafting!

Hidden Compartment Stack of Books

You might remember last December I bought this piece at thrift store on half price Saturday.

It was pretty beat up and the colors where all wrong for me.

The front book swings open to reveal a hidden area with two hooks.

Nice piece but again awful colors for my decor and lots of nicks and scrapes.

The first thing I did was paint the entire piece white.

Then I had to decide what color to paint the individual books.  I choose a soft gray for the outer books and pink for the front, aqua for the bottom book.  I also stenciled a few designs on the different books when the paint was dry.  Then I sanded to distress the stencils and edges.

All of the page areas I painted with a combination of tan and white to simulate paper pages.

Next I added pieces of lace and pearls with my hot glue gun and printed a vintage girl's picture for inside the frame.

Here is a peek at the inside.

Happy Crafting!