A Custom Window

Has it really been almost a month since I last posted anything?  Where has an entire month gone!?  Christmas is just five days away,  Gulp....

My only excuse is I've been very busy, you know how it is this time of the year.  I had a few custom jobs to do & that's what I want to share with you today.  

My sister called me a few weeks ago & wanted to know if I had any ideas or anything special she could give for a Christmas gift to one of her clients.  We discussed a few ideas & decided on a window.  I had several to choose from but they were all to big.  The one that would work perfectly was already painted. This is what it looked like before I started:

It's actually an old cabinet door.  It was in my booth all summer & I had pulled it out to re-paint it anyway.  It's the first time I have stripped any of my graphics & I have to say it was painful to do.

After I scrapped the graphic off & sanded the coral paint I wiped it all down & started over.

I painted the wood black first, then painted two coats of white.  Before I painted on the white I rubbed a little Vaseline on the edges, so it would distress nice & chippy.

Next it was time for the graphic.  You can read my tutorial on how I put the graphics on the glass here.  It's a tedious process but so worth it.

This was a quote the client had on a wall in their home already, but they are moving & my sister thought they would love to have it in their new home.  

Now it was time to make the special gift wrap.  I sewed a "slip cover" for it out of drop cloth.  I tore it so it would have frayed edges.  I have to admit, I am not a seamstress.  Simply sewing up the two sides took me forever!!  I am sewing machine illiterate.

Once I finally had the sides sewn up I added the graphics.

Made the matching ribbon, hand stamped & so perfectly shabby...

All wrapped up....

And here it is in it's new home.  They loved it.  I think I like this version better too.

 Thanks for stopping by & don't forget to check us out on Facebook. I hope everyone has a safe & very Merry Christmas. 

Shabby Fireplace

Can it really be Turkey week already?  I can't believe how quick it got here.  

It'll be Christmas in the blink of an eye. Now that I've totally freaked us all out, I want to show you what I did with another Roadside Treasure.

I know, I know... the Roadside Treasure fairy has been really good to me lately.

During one of our delivery days we passed this small fireplace someone had set out to the curb. 

It is such a cute petite size. It looked like it had been one of those electric fireplaces that you plug in.
I thought it would be a perfect display in my booth.
I had an old antique four pane window that worked perfectly for a back.

I spray painted Krylon's Mirror paint on the glass & screwed the window to the back side after painting the whole thing shabby white.

How cute is that?

I added some Birch log candle holders to the inside & put it in our booth.

It's so pretty when the tea lights are flickering & reflecting off the mirrored window.

If I had a bigger house, this would have stayed with me.

Here are some pictures of a few Christmas items I've got in my booth at Collette's Vintage Mall. 

Cute Chicken wire burlap Christmas trees.  I am displaying some ornaments I made with Plaster.

Burlap Bird on a Wire.....

I just love the pop of red sprinkled around the booth.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. 
Thank you so much for stopping by, don't forget to check us out on Facebook for some more inspiration.
Have a great day!  Dee

Shabby Lamp Makeover

During one of our after dinner walks this summer my husband & I noticed one of our neighbors putting a floor lamp out to the road.  Well you know me,  these are my favorite finds.  I was told it still works, they just didn't need it anymore.  I let him know we would gladly take it off his hands.  He was happy to oblige, he always thought it had potential.  I couldn't agree more. 

Here is a picture of it before:

I knew just what I wanted to do :)

I had seen some french paper online that was waiting for the perfect project for an excuse to order it. 

This paper is translucent & would make a perfect lamp shade.  I found it on Etsy, here is the link if you want to check it out for yourself.  I know, the wheels are just spinning aren't they?

I painted the lamp shabby white & stripped the wicker off the lamp shade frame.  Then I waited patiently for the paper to arrive.

I was NOT disappointed!  This paper is lovely.....

I saved the panels of wicker to use for a pattern.

Whew!  With only one roll, I had just enough for this shade.  I cut each panel out, making sure I would have enough to overlap the edges. I used Modge Podge to glue the new panels to the frame. 

Here it is all put back together......

I just love the end result....

It's so pretty when you turn it on. These pictures just don't do it justice.

I even tried taking a picture outside to see if I could get better lighting.

Here it is in my booth, all dolled up for the Holidays.

Well, now I can scratch that one off my "Dreaming about doing" list.  What would you do with this beautiful paper? I would love to hear your ideas.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Check us out on Facebook to see what we're up to.  Enjoy your day,  Dee

Cornbread Yellow Cabinet

A couple of weeks ago I went to our local flea market at Collette's Antique Mall,  I found a couple of nice things on that beautiful day.  The captain's desk I showed you last week, you can see it here.  I also bought this cute little cabinet.

It's child size & had seen better days.   It looked like it had been used as a display at some point,  there was a sign still stuck to it. There was also a drawer missing.

We had envisioned using chicken wire somehow inside the drawer opening but, that proved to be impossible.  We went with the easy fix, a false drawer front.  So much easier & in the end looked so much better.....

This is what we came up with. We painted it with  "The Vintage Farmhouse" chalk paint in "Cornbread" Yellow.  Then to break it up we added white to the false front & top.  It still needed a little something, so I added a couple of sweet Chickadee's on a Wire.

Here's a close up:

Soooooooo Cute!

Some little girl will be in Shabby Chic heaven with this.  I could even see it in a Bathroom or Entry way.

Here it is in our Booth:

Sorry for the fuzzy picture.  I had to take it with my phone & had a little trouble keeping a steady hand.  It gives you a better idea of the scale of this cabinet. It's small but so cute.  I love the pop of color it added to the booth.

Now we are working on Holiday pieces.  It won't be long before we are decorating the booth for Christmas. YIKES!!!!

Now that I've scared the dickens out of you, make sure you check us out on Facebook.  Thanks for stopping by.  Dee

Captain's Desk

It's been a beautiful warm fall, until 2 hours ago.  This morning it was almost balmy, now it's cold, rainy & blowing like the dickens.  Well, that's typical of Michigan, wait 5 minutes & the weather will change.  Luckily I have worked very hard these last couple of weeks on getting my garage cleaned out so I can park in there again.  That is a huge deal here in the north.

Last weekend was one of those perfectly perfect warm fall weekends. The kind you dream of when you live in the north & so much of your day depends on the temps & sunshine.  We went to the best flea market in our area, Collette's Vintage & Antique Mall, & I scored yet again. 

I bought the most adorable Captain's Desk.

 Have you ever seen a desk like this?  It has four drawers on both sides & the top lifts up for more storage.  It's petite so it can go anywhere.  I just had so much potential.

I decided to paint it "Garden Gate" Green. It's one of the colors in my new chalk paint line from The Vintage Farmhouse.  I painted the drawers in "Dairy Cream".  Then it sat for a couple of days, I had a graphic block.  Ever get that?  I was trying to think of the "Blow your mind" kind of graphic & it just wasn't happening.  Sometimes you just have to go with the familiar.  

This is what I ended up with:

My all time favorite French script stencil.

I know you are all probably getting bored with this one, but I love it!

I plastered it all over this baby.  The top, the sides.....

And the front.  So pretty....

I paired it with a petite chair painted in the same cream.

Here it is in my booth.  You can see the chair peeking out from behind the desk.  I just love how much storage you get with a desk like this. The petite size with that kind of storage is a perfect combination.

Stay tuned, I will be posting about that cute yellow cabinet next!  Check us out on Facebook to see what we're up to.  Love to hear from you. Thanks for stopping by,  Dee

Sweet Waterfall Vanity

This has been my month for the Roadside Treasure scores.  It seems like I have found something cool every week for about a month now.  Seriously, I'm just counting in my head & I'm at at least 9 items. My best score was the Charak table, you can read about it here.  I found this sweet little Waterfall Vanity the very next week:

It was missing the mirror, but was in great shape!

I added a little trim here & there, cleaned it up & painted it with my new Vintage Farmhouse Paint in a color called "Milk Pail".

I wanted to use a fun color on this piece & this was perfect.  The same week I found the vanity I also found the perfect mirror to go with it & yes! it was also a Roadside Treasure.  I swear!!!

You can see the silver is very worn & perfectly chippy.  It was just meant to go with this vanity.

Here they are together in my Booth.  LOVE IT!!

I had a bench we picked up a few months ago just waiting for a vanity. We painted it "Mason Jar" in the Vintage Farmhouse chalk paint & put some funky fabric on the seat cushion.

How cute is that!?  Some teenage girl is going to so want that.  

What do you think? Is it to over the top?  I like it!

Have you painted anything fun lately?

Thanks for stopping by, check us out on Facebook to see what we're up to. Have a great week,  Dee

Le Petite Numbered Dresser

I can't believe fall is upon us already.  It's my favorite season but it sure got here in a hurry. I have been in a race against the weather.  My days of painting in my garage are numbered.

A couple of weeks ago I found a cute petite dresser in the flea market at Collette's Antique Mall where I have my booth.

I spotted this little beauty as soon as I pulled into the parking lot.

It's made of pine & had a heavy shellac on it.  

Do you ever see a piece of furniture & immediately your brain starts picturing exactly how you want to paint it?  That's what happened with this dresser. 

I needed a small piece to try out my new paint on.  I am now a retailer for "The Vintage Farmhouse" chalk paint.  Have you ever heard of it?  It's made in Texas & comes in 17 beautiful colors.  You can check out their Facebook page here.  Tell Tresa "Dee from My Painted Stuff sent you."

I chose a color called "Old Scale". It's a true black, not a grey black like most chalk paint blacks.

How cute is that?!

The stripe is in a color called "Dairy Cream" & the Fleur Di Lis is in "Milk Pail".  I envisioned numbers on the drawer fronts the minute I seen this piece.

It needed a little pop of color, so I added the Fleur dis Lis at the last minute.  

Super cute in a bathroom or a child's room.

Here it is in my booth.

It compliments the vanity on the left, it's painted that "Milk Pail" color I mentioned earlier.  I'll be writing a post on that next time.

Now I need to get busy & finish up all the projects in my garage so I can park in there before the snow flies.  Check us out on Facebook to see what we are up to.  Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day,  Dee.

Chippy Blue Dresser

Hope you all are settling in to the back to school routine. I for one am thoroughly enjoying it. It's amazing how much more I can accomplish once school starts.

My Mom surprised me with the cutest little dresser she picked up one day in her many travels.  She warned me it was in rough shape.

This poor little thing was so dry that two of the drawers had big cracks in them & it was also cracked on one side.  The paint was also cracked & totally chipping.  

There were crayon scribbles all over on it.

You can see in this picture the crack on the side & how dry it was.

We decided to start by sanding off the chipping paint.  So my ever patient Husband took the palm sander to her.   Once she was sanded & smooth, she didn't look so bad.  

She has this amazing aged patina. With all my faux finish & painting knowledge, I doubt I could duplicate this beautiful patina.

I decided to just clear wax her.  It would be a sin to strip & paint this little beauty.

Here she is with her new polished look.

 I just love the different depths of color & texture.  And the size is perfect for a bathroom, dining room or guest bedroom.

This is by far the chippiest piece I've ever done.

Which is probably why I love it so much.

She shined up beautiful.......

She's not perfect, one of her drawers is wonky, but their all tongue & groove. 

This little beauty is going right onto my booth.  Wish we could keep her because both me & my Husband just love it, but alas we have no room for her.  I'm sure someone will love her with all her wear & imperfections.  

Don't forget to check us out on Facebook to see what's happening. Thanks for stopping by & a have a great day!  Dee