Before & After: Chippy Chalk-Painted Aqua Dresser Mirror

I'm sure I'm not the only junker who stockpiles treasures to work my paint magic on at a later date, but I don't normally wait a whole year to do it!

I remember when I saw this mirror at Goodwill.

It had just left the stockroom and was still on the cart, waiting to be put on the shelf.

It was quite easy to imagine how beautiful it would look with layers of chalk paint.

So after procrastinating the design process for a year, this project was one of those delightful surprises when it magically falls into place instantly, and designs itself.

Nope, no real brainstorming this time.......

Just beautiful chalk paint layers of Aqua, Cream, Beige, and metallic warm Gold.

A really awesome bonus to this piece? The original lacquer on the wood base had authentically crackled, so it gave added texture to the chalk paint layers.

It also facilitated my distressing process. Where I normally only use various grits of sandpaper, this time I also used a chisel to scrape off paint. The old lacquer helped the paint come off in a more chippy appearance, which looks totally awesome.

The cardboard backing was in decent shape, with no tears or puncture wounds,

so rather than rip it off and create another tedious step, 

I chose to seal it with wood glue and cover it in chalk paint and wax.

Underneath the base, it still had its original label with handwriting,

so of course I left it that way. I have a soft spot for original labels, 

especially when they're really old like this one, so it's my M.O.

to keep them intact if they're on the bottom not hurting anybody....

It's my way of preserving a little memento of its history.

Oh, I do love it when painting progress comes together easily.

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Aqua & Red, Baby!........Chalk Paint Makeover

Aqua and Red, Baby!

Y’all know how much I adore any shade of Aqua, and paired with Red, it’s perfect!

Before:

After:

This poor little jewelry box had great bones, but really needed cosmetics to accentuate the positive.

It was also musical, but the mechanism was broken. So, like I’ve done in the past, I removed the chime parts, and filled in the holes.

It also had/has a chip on the bottom front corner of the top drawer. Since I planned on distressing this piece, I chose to leave it, rather than repair it, as it would add more authentic charm.

While my typical M.O. is to layer several chalk paint colors, this piece was more about the hand-painted designs and the good bones.

I started with a base coat of warm black, and then Annie Sloan’s Emperor’s Silk Red. After that, I spent hours designing and re-designing the graphics and placement of the Aqua, Red, and Black topcoats.

The gorgeous Aqua is a custom mix that resembles a deep Tiffany blue. Need proof? Here ya go….

After stripping the drawers’ interiors, I lined them with gorgeous and vibrant Italian paper. I was looking for a design with Red and just-the-right Aqua, and found it in a paper that I ended up having to order from an Etsy shop in Germany! How’s that for being ultra-picky! 

The paper’s graphics truly dictated my hand-painted designs, thus making this project especially challenging. I really wanted them to gel with the style of the paper, so my choices had to be somewhat geometric, without looking modern. While it might seem like a no-brainer to design a modern piece that could have more mass appeal and sell easily, I tend to only create for my own taste, and modern is not it. I think it’s safe to say I always gravitate towards Medieval or Old World, which seems to be an obvious indicator I lived there in a past life…..:)

I drew shapes that slightly echoed the shapes in the paper, without looking too matchy-matchy. I even added that shape behind the drawer knobs, as sort of trompe l’oeil rusty escutcheons. It just gave the plain knobs a little more visual interest. I’m a big fan of adding the illusion of objects and architecture using only paint. So cheap, yet so effective!

Okay, so I said my next project was going to be the spice cupboard, but since the Italian paper was waiting for me, I felt obligated to finally use it. Since I’m planning on a really time-consuming design for the cupboard, I may end up working on it simultaneously with a couple other projects, so I don’t feel completely imprisoned. I say this because whenever I’m focused on one painting design, depending on how long it takes, I feel completely liberated when I finally finish it. I think since the sun is finally shining and Spring is in full bloom, the chicken wire creations keep calling me back. We’ll see what I finish first……:)

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Creating Rustic Garden Seed Packets

I recently brought home a full box of orange kraft coin envelopes from the thrift store. While I didn’t have any immediate need for these, since I don’t sell jewelry supplies or tiny parts in my Etsy shop, I have a tendency to buy large lots of small items that I can use as crafting supplies.

I really like the size of these size 3’s, measuring 2-1/2” x 4-1/4”, but wasn’t keen on their plain and new condition.

Not too long after bringing them home, I completed painting my mercantile seed tray. As I stared at the tray, I felt it would look more authentic if it had a row of seed packets inside it. So I got to work.

Plain Jane new coin envelopes are now...

Rustic distressed seed packet envelopes!

Perfect for display in a rustic kitchen, craft room, or garden shed. 

I stamped the backs with “Quality Seeds” and the company date of “1862”, as though they were manufactured with the tray.

Since I can’t seem to stop experimenting with my homemade wood ebonizing mixture of rusty vinegar, I used it on the envelopes too! Paper comes from wood, after all. I hand-dipped each envelope in the mixture, then slipped them over bamboo skewers, propped in a glass, to drip-dry. ( I even dipped the sisal twine in the mixture too, so it would look aged with the envelopes.) Once dry, I spattered the envelopes on both sides, using a toothbrush dipped in the rusty vinegar, then slipped them back on the skewers to dry again. (The aging technique removed most of the gummed adhesive on the flap, but that seemed more authentic for an old envelope anyway. Any need to seal them closed could be easily remedied with a glue stick or cute old-fashioned Washi tape.) 

I left the envelope fronts blank for writing seed identification info, or to stamp an image. I think these would make charming packages for sharing garden seeds with friends, or as gift tag envelope for a garden-themed gift basket. I’d use the Washi if I was putting seeds in it. For an enclosure card, I’d just use a hole punch, tie the hole with twine, and secure it to a basket or package.

I listed a few small bundles in my Etsy shop, and if I sell them, I may just feel compelled to make more……

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Chicken Wire, Moss, & Glass Globe Vases

Okay, so you’ve seen my one-track mind lately, creating one project after another using chicken wire.

While I do have other ideas yet to take form, this is probably the last chicken wire treasure I’ll post for now, so I can get caught up on some chalk paint projects waiting in the wings.

So without further ado……

Globe-shaped chicken wire and moss vase!

And a little bling added to each.

Along with the great textures and colors, the added bonus is the moss can be used for something else, because it’s not glued to the vase, only held in place by the chicken wire.

I started with small round glass vases, easily attainable from Goodwill or the craft store.

Cut and then hot-glue a circle of cork to fit the bottom surface of vase. You’ll find out why later.

Cut a strip of chicken wire long enough to go completely around the vase, and wide enough to extend about a ½” above and below the vase.

Fold over or curl all the cut ends of top and bottom as I did with the nests and candelabra cups.

Lay the piece flat, then press down a layer of moss over the whole thing.

This next step is a personal preference. I joined the 2 short ends with wire into a tube, then I slid the glass vase into the tube. You can also wrap the chicken wire with the moss around the vase, then join and wire the 2 ends while holding it all together.

Once you've positioned the vase inside the moss & wire, start squeezing together the hexes closest to the top and bottom openings, which will mold the open ends close to the vase.

Now the reason for the cork circle. When I originally made this without the cork, the chicken wire and moss slipped around a bit, and when they were the only thing under the bottom of the glass vase, it wasn’t as stable as I wanted. Molding the wire tightly up against the cork will keep it from slipping all the way under the glass, and the cork offers stability for the vase.*

Once you have the chicken wire molded tightly in place, you can tuck in pieces of moss where any glass is showing.

And you know me. I always have to add something unexpected to my creations, and what better than some vintage bling! The wire and moss are perfectly accommodating for securing a brooch or buttons. I just pinned the brooch right to the chicken wire on the chartreuse moss. On the Spanish moss, I created a brooch using a rhinestone button. I cut a star shape out of cardstock, poked a hole in the middle for the button shank to go through, then covered it with German glass glitter. I slid a bobby pin through the button shank, then tucked the bobby pin into the moss and wire. Voila. Vase jewelry! But bling or no bling, these are lovely either way.

Now add some water to your vase, and fill it with flowers! And because you're using preserved moss that won't dry up or shrivel, you can use these vases over and over, and for every season! This project is just another reason why I pledge my undying love for the versatility of chicken wire and moss…..:)

*The reason I ultimately chose a globe-shaped vase is because it holds enough water to keep the flowers happy. (I even experimented with glass votive cups for smaller moss vases, but after stuffing them with flower stems, the amount of water in them was enough to keep the flowers happy for about 5 seconds.) The shape doesn’t have to be globular though, because ultimately you are still molding the chicken wire into a globe shape. You would just need to tuck in more moss to fill in the space between the vessel and the chicken wire. If the vessel has a wide mouth like a jar, you might wish to extend the chicken wire all the way over the mouth to continue the globe shape, which would also create an instant flower “frog” to hold the stems up. 

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