Buying More and More AND MORE Chalk Paint

On Friday,

  Kris (my buddy and bidness partner) and I

 went up to my other buddy's new store.

We went to the new and improved....

Maison Decor!!!!!

We brought Amy, the proud proprietor, a couple of tables that I had painted,

 so that she could sell them for me,

 and that way I could get them out of my house.....

I told you guys about the first one.....

It was a coffee table that I found and reinvented.

Remember this?????

I painted the top to look like stone.....

It's now in her new shop in Reading Massachusetts, and it's dirt cheap, in my humble opinion.....

Here it is in her store, 

so go buy the damn thing, already.....

The other table that I painted and want you to buy.....

is a little Victorian gingerbread dealio that I think is really cute.

I deleted my before pictures, before I down loaded them, because I am a moron......

Soooooo.....

let me show you part of what I did to this little guy.

I started by painting the body in Cream colored Chalk Paint....

Then I started to  slap a coat of paint on the top, realized I had made a huge mistake, and quickly washed it off. 

whew.....

After the body was painted, I used a leetle brush to outline the gingerbread details in Pure White.

I had to tip it on its side, to get to all the nooks and crannies.

I even outlined the curvy parts between the legs!!!!!

I painted the edges of the legs white, also, for a little more contrast.

Then I lightly distressed the whole thing.

Here it is for sale at Amy's store, 

even cheaper that the coffee table!!!!!

The overall look of the store is more upscale than the one she had in Malden....

the girls getting sophisticated...!!!...

Before Kris and I left her new establishment.....

I dropped a whole wad of cash,

buying more Chalk Paint.

I tell ya, Amy's got me at both ends, if you know what I mean.....

That whole pile on her desk, is what I bought that day.

I swear, I drink the stuff.

I hate to think what my retirement would be like, if I hadn't found Amy who introduced me to this wonderful paint, that keeps me busy and out of trouble.

If you need me.....

I'll be down in my basement painting studio, using up more Chalk Paint, so I can then buy more, and give my buddy more bidness.....

On that note....

Latah, Gatah

Finishing Details in a Cottage Bedroom

I like soft lighting in bedrooms.

There are all different ways to accomplish this.

In my buddy, Kris's guest room, we replaced the paper lantern that had been hanging from the ceiling with a vintage fixture that shed an all over warm glow.

I spent days scouring ebay before I found this.

I was very excited!!!!!

Kris, bless her heartless soul, gleefully pointed out, that I must really like this fixture....

because I had found the same style for her bedroom.....

Well, at least the canopies and stems are different.

Actually.....

this is a good thing, because the rooms are side by side, so it won't look like a sample sale at a lighting store.

Between the two iron beds, I had the electrician wire another vintage light made of glass, that is a wall sconce.

I am a sucker for this type of light, and have two similar ones in my master bath....

We didn't have a lamp shade yet for Kris's sconce, so I went shopping in my closet inventory, and found the shade I had used on my sconce in my Watertown home.

I drove it over had it carefully shipped to Kris's house, and we tried it on her old sconce in her new guest room.

I think it is da bomb!!!!!

It is just an old beat up shade from a junk store.

Underneath it.....

we originally were going to hang a framed needlepoint picture.....

that we got at auction.

We Kris bought a pair....

They're really pretty.

It looked nice against the wallpaper....

 under the sconce.

But then.....

I started working on a watercolor from ebay.

When Kris got it, it was matted in a 

screaming white.

But after my eyeopening experience in Flerida,

with my transformation of my guest bath.....

I assured Kris that I could fix this baby!!!!!

Sooooooo....

I took it out of the frame.....

And found that it was glued to the mat.

So I cut out a piece of paper the same size as the painting, to cover the part I wanted to protect.

and then I dry brushed the mat with some Chalk Paint.

I took off the protective paper, to see how I was doin'.....

I like it!!!!!

Sooooo.....

I taped off part of the mat for a contrasting stripe,

put back the special protective cover, custom made by moi.....

and painted the green stripe around the watercolor.

Then, I crammed it all back together.

Now, it looks like an expensive mat job.

I replaced the needlepoint picture with this watercolor, just to see how it would look.....

Kris and I decided that we liked this better.

True to form.

I didn't take an overall shot of the room with it in it.

But I will for the next post, when I show you the rest of the art work on the walls.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

Betsy's Musing #627

When I was 30, and talking to my mom about marriage.....

she told me that she thought I would be happier if I never tied the knot.

Now.... 

before you get all up in arms about her anti-marriage views.....

let me point out that she has been living in wedded bliss for over 70 years, 

and her four other children have spouses.

It was just me.

She knows her chillins so well!

Of course...

I didn't believe her, 

and had to succumb to society's (and my hormones) pressures, 

dating anything and everything that wasn't nailed down.

I think I even dated some inanimate objects too.....

At one point I was even engaged.

(boy, that freaked me out.....)

(I realized, that once we got married he would never go home) 

I have a good friend, Jeff, who was married once,

he still likes his ex-wife.

But,

he told me the problem at the end of a nice day together was that she didn't leave.

He now has reached the same conclusion I have, 

we are both living in single bliss.

But,

there are downsides to living alone.

Last week I had to waste 20 smackers on a co-pay at my doctor's office.

There was a round red spot the size of a nickle on the back of my thigh.

If I had a mate, he would have been able to look at it for me.

It was hard to see in the mirror.

I twisted thisa way and thata way, and still couldn't get a good view.

I was afraid it was a Lyme tick bite.

(It wasn't)

The bulls eye rash can take some time to appear, and I didn't want to take any chances, since it's an epidemic here in the good old Massachusetts. 

My family, full of doctors, wasn't around.

(useless people)

So I did what any freaked out old biddy would do, 

and went to the doc.

At least she didn't laugh at me.

No tick bite.

Not even a bite.

It was just a little patch of psoriasis or eczema or something like that.

Weird, but not lethal.

Very attractive!!!!!

If I was married I could have save 20 big ones.

But don't worry.....

I will make at least that much this month from this blog.

This was just a post with TMI.

You guys are so special, I tell you everything!!!!!

Before I go.....

I have written a guest post over at Fine Craft Guild on color and pattern flow, just an FYI.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

The First Piece of Furniture I Painted

Before I was a blogger.....

Before I ever heard of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.....

Before I was sucked into the world of DIY bloggers.....

I painted a chest of drawers.

This was one of the first pieces of furniture that my bidness partner, Kris and I 

bought for our very important and highly chic antique store.

We did not know what the hell we were doing.

Our goal was to make at least 25 cents apiece, and have some fun.

The guy that sold this to us saw us coming.....

He couldn't get away with this now!!!!

NOW WE BE SAVVY!

NOW WE BE SHREWD!

The condition this was in was not so great.

Lots of veneer loss.

BUT!

I am embarrassed to say.....I agreed to pay way too much for it.

It is very well made.

I think the lines are pretty.

However, there was no room left for any profit.

Sooooo.....

we did what we always do in this case.....

we kept if for ourselves!!!!!

It is now in Kris's guest room,

waiting to have all sorts of art work hung above its pretty head.

The color is a little off from the other greens in the room, but I like it like that.

I like when things aren't perfect.

When I painted this baby, I had to sand the whole thing and patch the veneer.

I didn't know about Elmers wood filler, so I used Bondo.

Way more difficult.

Then I primed it.

Pain in my @$$.

Then I painted it with Benjamin Moore paint.

I painted all the little details in an off white with a little brush in a fairly dark space with my nose up against the bureau so I could see what the hell I was doing.

It took forever.

I painted the criss crossey things....

and the little molding on the drawers.....

And the molding on the side panels.....

And the details on the feet.

Then, I distressed it for an aged look.

All I can say now is....

Thank goodness for Annie Sloan. 

Now I can paint furniture to my little hearts content, and not have to do all that prep work.

If I hadn't started blogging, I would never have found out all sorts of cool @#$!!!

On that note,

It's time for my dinner....

Sooooo...

Latah, Gatah

Sometimes Furniture Has to go in Front of Windows!!!

One of my readers commented on not liking furniture in front of windows.

Now, normally I agree that I don't like to block a window with stuff.

BUT

there are exceptions to every rule.

Sometimes bedrooms have windows just where you want to put the bed/beds!

This happens mostly in older homes.

My buddy Kris's house is around 130 years old.

Maybe they didn't have beds back then........

Anyway.....

I often have to put beds in front of windows to allow for the best arrangement of furniture.

In these cases, I use metal beds that have an open work headboard.

This way the window is not blocked.

I did the same thing in her master bedroom.....

(We're in the process of getting bedding for her bed.....)

(I wish her blinds would come in, already, the lace sheers on on my last nerve.....)

And in my guest room.....

In Kris's guest room, 

I took advantage of this problem,

and made it into a design accent.

For the windows behind the beds,I had the valances curve out a little, like half testers, to create a romantic backdrop for the beds.

Notice that the valances curve forward over the headboards.

For the other window, the valance was made straight across.

It's subtle, but these are the types of details that float my boat.

Often when I design draperies with valances, I add a contrast tape or cuff at the bottom.

This works to visually separate the fabric, so the valance shape is more clearly defined.

I very often use the same fabric on the bedskirts as I do on the hangings behind the bed.

This creates a cohesive look, creating the feel of it being one unit.

In this case I'm using the large floral for the skirts.

We haven't had them made yet....

because I'm waiting for Kris to get the mattresses on the beds made, so that they end up being the same height off the floor.....

I'm getting sick of hinting......

maybe, when she reads this post, she'll get off her @$$ and get if done already.....

We've chosen the fabric to use on the frou frou chair!!!!!

Remember this?

I'm going to reupholster it with this....

It's a linen, and I can sorta see things behind it, so I may need to cover the chair first with lining fabric.

(pain in my butttt.)

For those of you interested, 

here's the info for the fabric.

Here it is with the other patterns in the room.

I thinks it's  going to lay out on the chair beautifully!

As I redo this chair, I will share the journey in excruciating detail!!!!!

I must say, I just love this room.

I wish I could use this stuff in my house,

but I've run out of space.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah