A few of My Hand Painted Pieces

Here is a picture of a chair I picked out of a trash truck. I loved the lines but not the brown color. So I added some happiness to the chair :-) This style of painting is actually my favorite but you know what they say about variety...

My first try at zebra stripes:

First attempt at pansies:

All done freehand

Trying out metallic paint~trying to go for a Steam Punk look. The spikes on the back as well as the top have holographic glitter on them:

Blonde laminate Cedar Lined Wardrobe found on side of road. Just added some happy paint and sold it to a new home.

Before:

After:

Nightstand

I got this night stand from Gently Used (actually got a pair of them but someone bought one before I could even clean it up!)

So here's the before:

After:

Close up of drawers:

I'll try to get a picture in better light tomorrow.

The paint is Heirloom White with Golden Oak stain over it.

The drawers are decoupaged out of scrapbooking paper.

I'm still debating if I should paint the drawer pulls...any suggestions?

Edit to add better picture of drawers:

Merry Christmas Every One!

From our family to yours

Look What The Guys Brought Today

Perry and Clay stopped by this afternoon. Their van FULL of wonderful, sparkling  and exciting stuff. Before I could say "Hey, wait just a minute here", there was all the pretty stuff on a polka dot area rug (I love!) sitting right in front of the shop. Then Perry had the nerve to ask me which pieces I would like to purchase! Well how the heck am I supposed to choose. Clay understood right away and said it was like Sophie's Choice. It was. So, Perry struck up a deal for the lot and I just couldn't resist. (They are so slick those two). They knew all they had to do was wave shiny objects in front of my face and I would be hypnotized.

The lamp pictured below is made of wood and it is HEAVY! But the best part...it has a twin that came with it :-)

Aren't the details just gorgeous?

I have already taken the first lamp apart and started painting it :-)

Then they showed me this:

and this:

and these:

I will try to get a better photo of these (above) when I have time to set up a light box. There are four matching serving pieces from the 1950's and they have a very bright, shiny chrome finish.

Can you see how resistance was futile??

There were plenty more wares that I will save for another day.

Perry asked me what I thought my favorite piece of the lot was. I'm still trying to decide.

It's a soapmaking frenzy!

For the holidays I make special soaps with soothing oils and oatmeal for winter skin.

Everyone who knows me sort of rolls their eyes at Christmas and says "Gee, wonder what this is?" in a sarcastic voice when they receive their gifts from me.

Here is the Lavender Sage soap getting ready to go in the oven.

Here it is after it has "baked" for 2 hours:

On the drying rack:

Other soaps on drying racks:

Met some new friends today...

Perry and Clay have been coming by York Village since as long as I can remember and we have always exchanged pleasantries but never really conversed.  Perry deals in antiques while Clay deals in books (and Pyrex).  And they have a blog! Check it out!  They have some beautiful finds on their site. (Yeah, yeah. I know I overuse the exclamation mark.)

Perry and Clay came by this evening as I was unpacking some neglected crystal stemware and asked me if I would be interested in a pair of wall sconces he had  Anyway, we got to talking and I was intrigued by all these guys do but even more intrigued by all these guys KNOW. It made me tired just thinking about all the time they spend on the road buying and selling goods. Perry looked at the stemware I'd been unpacking and told me what it was - far better than my description "stemware" .

Visit Perry and Clay at TwoGuysAntiques.

Little Red Desk

I forgot to take "before" pictures. Sorry :-)

I didn't use any stencils ~ this is all free hand which would explain the non-uniformity of some of the patterns ;-)

A shot from above. I painted the desk top with chalkboard paint. I had a heck of a time finding chalk. I finally ended up with sidewalk chalk.

Top and front of the desk

Some more detail

Back of seat

Seat detail

Top Detail

Look What I Found At "Gently Used Thrift"!

Would you just look at these happy Santa lights?!? Aren't they adorable?!? I bought them at Gently Used Thrift for $1.50. They're so cheery I'm just going to have to find a place for them front and center! Gently Used still has LOTS of Christmas and Holiday decorations. Check them out!

Cabinet Door into Memo Chalkboard

Someone was nice enough to bring me some cabinet doors. So of course my mind began racing. I got out the chalkboard paint, Heirloom white and went to town. This is what I came up with.

What do you think?

Yuzu Soap

Two posts in one day :-)

<-Here is the Yuzu Soap all fresh out of the oven. It smells heavenly and looks oh so wonderful.

Yuzu fruit has a dry, tangy almost floral note (scent).

"Used in aromatherapy, Yuzu is said to have a refreshing and uplighting effect on the body whilst calming the mind. The oil is said to have a powerful anti-bacterial which makes it effective against colds and flu, which would account for its popularity and success in Japanese folk medicine.

The oil is also said to be effective for stress, burn-out, nervous tension or anxiety, where it brings soothing and calming effect to the emotions. Likewise it gives upliftment to depressive states, frustration, regret and helps to build confidence." http://www.quinessence.com/yuzu.htm

The ingredients in this batch of soap are: Saponified Coconut oil, Palm oil, Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Shea Butter and Castor Oil (<-humectant) with retained glycerin and some skin soothing oatmeal blended in for winter skin.

My local readers can find this lovely soap at the shop after Saturday.

Soap on drying rack See the pretty oatmeal flecks?

Save the Trees

Tommy and I bought an artificial tree the first year we were married. The kind that has the color at the end of the wire branch that goes into the pole (and a lot of the colors looked the same so we always had to re-do several of the branches). Tommy took the tree out of the attic this year and we looked at each other realizing the tree couldn't really even stand up well anymore (the tree has outlived 3 cats and 4 puppies). I didn't want to donate the tree, it was our first. Even though we have 4 other trees I tried to figure out a way to save this one. This is what I came up with. Greenery for the mantle.

Holiday Open House!

Saturday December 12, 2009, most shops at York Village will be hosting an Open House during regular business hours.

Come on by for a visit.

Thomasville Cabinet Contiued

Here she is...all done and sitting in "Once in a Blue Moon".
Isn't she pretty?

<-Detail

Thomasville Cabinet

Brian brought this beautiful sideboard to me so I could put a coat of flat black paint on it~I didn't take a before because I didn't think about it. She was completely sanded already!

Here she is with her hardware, doors, and drawers removed.

Brian is going to distress her today (I think). I will post "After" photos as soon as he does.