Crystal Eiffel Tower

This is one of my favorite art projects. I Mod Podged a fabulous Eiffel Tower image I found @ The Graphics Fairy to the back of this vintage crystal pendant. I attached this golden silk ribbon for hanging, or you could set it on some leather bound books. C'est Bon!

I'm linking this up to Passionately Artistic Party, Funky Junk Interiors & Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy

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Pillows

Have some tableclothes, curtains, or napkins that you want to recycle because of a stain or tear? I made these pillows from recycled linens. I got some great graphics from Karen @ The Graphics Fairy and printed right on the fabric using my HP printer. A little cutting and a little sewing and here are the results. More info on the process to follow, Enjoy!

UPDATE:

You can see this post with additional info on the process at the new The Graphics Fairy DIY.

Eagle for the 4th

Here is a great Eagle image just in time for the 4th. I love the vintage look perfect for a menu card or invite.

Bathroom Makeover Before & After

BEFORE
The vanity top was painted wood. Since this was a quickie project for a party there wasn't enough time to replace the top. So I decided to paint it.

AFTER

I did a painted Faux finish to create a Tiger Stripe Stone finish. Sealed it with 5 coats of polyurethane.
Instead of painting the walls 2 colors like before I thought that painting it all one color would make the beadboard more of a texture. The walls are painted Navajo White. This makes the new vanity top the focal point.

BEFORE
AFTER
I used 2 panels of regular drapes for the shower curtain. I wanted to hide the Plexiglas sliding doors.


Recycled glass wall vase and sculptural flowers create an artistic focal point.

I am linking this up to The Shabby Chic Cottage, Addicted 2 Decorating, and Frugal Fridays @ The Shabby Nest.

Vintage Window Makeover

I saw a variation of this in a book using old french doors as a bookcase and thought I would give it a try with an old window. I wanted more shelves so I turned the window sideways and built a simple box out of left over 1x6 pine from our house reno project. I had some left over beadboard that I used as the backing. I loved the distressed look of the window so that I left as is. Painted the 1x6 a color I call "Restoration Hardware Gray" that I hand mixed from some left over paints. I use this color all the time for a vintage barnwood look. I am going to take a sample to my local Sherwin Williams and have them match and mix a quart. I lightly distressed the beadboard and TA DA all done. It looks fabulous on the original 1880's wood walls @ The Design Haus. It really pops and would be a great way to showcase a collection.

I'm linking this up @ Addicted 2 Design and Funky Junk Interiors.

Baroque Shell

This is a Baroque Shell motif from an old Shakespeare Collection. The book has some wonderful designs, more coming soon.

Steampunk Watch

I am having so much fun going through all my old books and finding great images to share. Here is a great Watch & Chain set that would be perfect for a Steampunk project.

Kitchen Cabinets Reno

The Work in the Kitchen has begun in earnest. This weekend was spent tackling the cabinets. The cabinets are not too bad, solid wood doors in a traditional style. The dark color is very heavy in a small space. So we decided to go light and bright.

First up was to see if the handles could be salvaged. After soaking in a bleach solution I rubbed them down with a fine steel wool. I think they look pretty good. They did have a back piece that really dated them. So those will get the heave ho.

We are using a new product by Rust-oleum called Cabinet Transformations. We opted for Quilter's White that ties in with our Vanilla color scheme. So far so good. The hard part was cleaning the cabinets so that the paint would adhere correctly. According to the directions it would take 2 coats of paint. By the fourth coat I was pretty happy. Of course waiting in between coats was a time killer! At least there are many other projects to do.

Thank God the basement was empty making enough space to create an assembly line of 15 doors and 7 drawers. Those numbers are burned in my mind after 4 coats of paint times 2 sides!

More soon!

Wedding Program Cover

Preview of a Wedding Program Cover. Kind of ironic, I married 2 images I found @ The Graphics Fairy. Trying to figure out if this is sufficient or if I need more. Any suggestions? The finished design will be printed on ecru parchment.

Reno House Update

Found this great chandelier @ The World's Largest Garage Sale. I had been looking for about a month for a fixture at all my regular Thrifty haunts and did not find anything for the price I wanted to spend. I had set a challenge to find something for $10. When I found this marked $10 I of course had to ask "will you take $8?". Not only did I pay $8 I also got the 5 muslin covered shades thrown in too!
So here is a sneak peak of the MB. If you need a refresher you can see the BEFORE HERE.

The refinished hardwood floors look Fabulous. Took more time than we expected, 2 weeks, but it was worth it. $1600 to do the Living Room, Dining Room, Hall and 3 Bedrooms including all closets. That price and all the relacing of the floors where the closets were expanded

Here is what the expanded closets look like, still need to do the fixtures and doors.

I,m linking this to Frugal Fridays @ The Shabby Nest.

Music Cabinet Re-Hab

Found this great music cabinet at a garage sale. It was painted a sickly green color when I found it. I used a great spray primer by Design Master and then a coat of black satin. The hardest part was the hand rubbed finish with steel wool! I wanted that black oiled finish, problem is it wears out your arms. You can find this piece @ The Design Haus. As Deb would say "It has great bones".

A French Confection

I found this great wood plaque in an Estate Sale box, 12 various designs in all! It has taken some time to pair the right graphic with each wood piece. You can see a previous pairing HERE. I thought this Chocholat Store graphic from The Graphics Fairy would bring to mind the Vintage Store Signs that a proprietor would hang outside their entry. I used the transfer method described HERE. Now I want a Bon-Bon!

I am linking this to Passionately Artistic

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Up-Cycled Candle Holder

This was a marriage of two things that both started life as light sources. The base with the hen was part of a broken lamp that Deb @ The Design Haus gave me to play with. The top was part of an Early Americana repro candle holder. Paired together with a long prethreaded rod, some black spray paint, and some gilding; this piece now looks so French Country. You can see it now in the Kitchen @ The Design Haus.

Wine

I found this great piece of broken ironwork and had to find something fun to do with it. I added the funky WINE letters in a gilded finish that covered the repair perfectly! This would be a great Father's Day present for a Dad with a passion for wine. It is hanging in the Wine Room @ The Design Haus just waiting for the right home.

Magnetic Memo Boards

I have all this great vintage and upholstery fabrics left over from design projects and came up with a way to ReUse them. I adhere them to metal backing and put them in found frames. Some of the frames get a make over with paint and gilding. Some are fantastic just as they are.

I make the magnets from broken jewelry and odds and ends of vintage buttons, bits & bobs.

These are the perfect way to display mementos and photos that you don't want those tacky tack holes in!

Ironwork Re-Hab

I found this piece at an Estate Sale and knew it had potential. It was distressed yellow and orange. Not exactly the colors you think about for grapes or wine. I sprayed it black, more coats than you would think, that yellow paint gave quite a fight! I used my favorite bronze paint and dry brushed it all over. This is a large piece. It is hanging over a door in the Wine Room @ The Design Haus. I think it would look stunning in a wine cellar over a rack of wine!

Up-cycled Frame

I found this great metal edging on clearance at a now defunct Home Improvement store years ago and have always wanted to use it for some project. It was marketed for kitchen backsplashes. I cut it up and glued it to a boring flat frame and brushed on gel stain. I decided to Bling it up with a Leopard print bow and chunky black rhinestone. The Paris image is courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.
Now it is ready for your photo or graphic @ The Design Haus.

UPDATE

I added another frame photo with a different embellishment.

Up-Cycled Books

Here's a way to get vintage looking books without the big price tag. These are Readers Digest Condensed Anthologies. First I sprayed them all over with Design Master Gold Floral Spray including the inside covers. If you don't know about the Design Master product you need to. Specifically created for the floral industry for artificial flowers, it can be sprayed on fabrics without the sticky residue that other spray paint leaves when it "dries". I then used a brush on chocolate brown paint to do the covers. I found some decorative metal and wood pieces, sprayed them gold, and glued them on the spines. There is no end to how these books could be decorated. Maybe a decoupage cover?

Vintage Tin Art

Deb @ The Design Haus gave me these 2 pieces of vintage tin to play with. I am not sure what they had started life as. Maybe part of a ceiling or building facade. I love the arch detail on them. I found a couple of images @ The Graphics Fairy and decoupaged them with MS Decoupage Medium that is supposed to work better on metal. I drilled some holes, threaded some ribbon and hung them at the store. I think they look great on the old wood walls.