Annie Sloan, where are youuuu?

I haven't been posting lately because I haven't been painting furniture. And I haven't been painting furniture because (a) I've been in repair mode and (b) I have been sick with a hellish flu for 11 days.

Just before I was felled by the flu, I went to fluff my booth and found this.

Well, how 'bout that? Someone busted the leg off my little desk.

And that opened a whole new kettle of fish. Little did I know but Annie Sloan paint is no longer available in Southern Oregon and I didn't have one speck of olive paint left to match the desk. I wasted a bunch of time trying to mix olive from what I had on hand but it always came out too blue. 

I think I now have the paint I need to mix the olive but I haven't gotten to it yet. Because then I got sick.

But let's get back to the important part of my little narrative here. 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is No Longer Available in Southern Oregon.

Oh sure, I could mail order the olive paint. That would only cost me $26 for a sample size - which is all I need. And, forget it. I'm of a frugal nature.

I guess I have become a CeCe Caldwell user by default. It's lovely paint, so I have no qualms about that. Except for the olive missing from her line.

I have some other repairs to do in order to clear out my workroom and bring in something new. But I'm still moving slowly, recovering from that stupid flu. What I didn't realize could happen is my blood counts taking a hit from being sick. I was doing so well and now I'm back to feeble. Plus, I just want to sleep all the time.

(Can you believe I can't get Chalk Paint locally? sheesh)

A friend brought over a cute little table that turned out to be over her skill set. It was just the perfect little project to get my spirits back up. She left with a  nightstand and I had a table with 8 layers of paint and a few more layers of dried stripper. What better way to get over the flu?

Camo that feels like dinosaur skin. Oh boy.

 I got busy with my palm sander and got into the crevises as best I could, fixed the broken drawer, and grabbed my MMS Milk Paint in Iron Stone. I was going to fight chippy with chippy!

The end result.

 The table came with the oversized glass pull. I think it's cute!

 The Milk Paint left a lot of the under-layers exposed, so the table kept its primitive look. This look isn't for everybody - it seems it's a "Love it" or "Hate it" technique.

 

The natural chipping of Milk Paint.

 

 My new white table. And I was able to get it done between naps.

Linking to
miss mustard seed
shabby nest
redoux
my uncommon slice of suburbia
primp
a stroll thru life

Can't I just leave anything alone?

Uhhhh. No. No, I can't.

I took inspiration from my own mirror inspiration post and changed the windows in my hall bath again. You know how sometimes you just aren't happy with something? That niggling feeling that you need to rethink it? Or, in my case, that in-your-face feeling that That's Just Wrong? That's how I felt about the checkerboard fabric in my windows. And the teal suede. It wasn't me - I'm not a glue-picture-to-fabric girl. I like to push things a little farther.

Soooo...

Yesterday the windows went from here

To here

Yup. Frames.

And then here

Pulling out all the teal suede gave me an opportunity to refine my skills at finding thumbtacks with stocking feet alone. Pretty soon I'll be ready for competition.

The tops of the windows gave me grief.
First I thought 'found objects hot-glued to wood.' Nah, too rustic. Besides, I didn't have enough little treasures I was willing to hot glue.
So that idea was out.

Tiny mirrors propped in the panes?

(Geez, lighten up with the mirrors all ready!)

I was wishing I could ink jet transfer onto glass but that skill eludes me. BUT! I could print out transparencies instead of the paper images I've been using.

I trimmed the transparencies and affixed them to the glass. I'm liking it so far, there is a subtle 3D effect now.

On the big frames I used MMS Milk Paint over randomly applied bonding agent. I wanted a little bit of control over the chipping. The joke was on me however, I must have skimped on the bonding agent because the paint chipped its little heart out.

The little frames are ASCP.

I ditched hanging the little frames because it was getting too shabby for my aesthetic. I tried it and forgot to take a picture before I ripped them out of there. I went for randomly propping the frames in to see what that looked like. yay! I liked.

Then I spent an hour looking for my double-sided carpet tape. Never did find it so I used some Gorilla Tape I found in the garage. Strange tape, that. But it worked after I figured out its idiosyncrasies.

Is the 3rd time the charm? Will I wake up next week and wonder what I was thinking? Maybe.

Linking to:
miss mustard seed
shabby nest
redoux
my repurposed life
common ground
five days five ways
the dedicated house
pjh designs

Where Halloween goes to hide

They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky. They're all together ooky .......
 

I found where Halloween hides while it"s waiting for October.

 At first I wasn't going to go.

I hemmed and hawed and looked at the Craigslist pictures but I really didn't want to drive that far ..... then I saw it. Wayyyy back in the corner. What the heck is that? The stuff of nightmares, that's what.

For some reason that clinched it and I went to the sale if only to see what was up with the giant bear. Or is it a mouse?

It all looked so normal when I got there even though the barn was almost completely dark. And it was so, so, SO COLD! I couldn't stop shivering. I was so cold I couldn't concentrate.

I went up and down all the tables, speed-shopping. I think I was hunched over with cold as a matter of fact. And my nose was running.

It didn't matter if I was freezing because I knew I-Must-Prevail.
I am Picker, Hear Me Roar! Plus I'd driven, like, 45 miles. So I found a few things: a rocking horse, a couple metal table bases, some tools and a nice curio cabinet.

Then I took note of the bear. Then I noticed the bin full of masks and,
uhhh, body parts? Shudder.
Up close he is not a nice bear. Then I took a slow look around.

 Oh, good lord! My worst nightmare. CLOWNS! I feel sick.

An alligator! Eating raw meat!

More body parts.

The 'parts' again. Wait. Are those prizes?

Oh my gosh, there was so much creepy stuff just beyond the tape, lurking in the semi-dark, I half way expected to see the giant desk from the hoarder sale I went to.

I asked the seller if it was a closed amusement park but she said it was a haunted house. Ohhhhh. Okay, that made sense. No wonder there were
bins of masks.

Of course! Why else would there be a row of skulls just outside? And a hearse parked in a shed?

And a barrel of alien slime? Interesting garage sale, I'd have to say. I mean, how many times to you get to go to a haunted garage sale?

I wonder if the family's last name is Addams?

All in all it was a good, if a bit unusual, sale. I was happy with what I found and even happier when a nice man loaded my car for me. Sadly, the mirrored back of the curio broke on the way home. sigh

But as I left I had to wonder, how in the world did I not see
THIS on the way in?

Seriously? I drove right by this? Eegads.

Linking to:
shabby nest
redoux
five days five ways
pjh designs one of a kind

My imaginary mirror wall

 I love old, foxed mirrors. Well, that's only kinda true. I actually obsess over them and want to own them all. At estate sales and thrift shops I grab the wavy, black-speckled mirrors every time. Luckily for me most people regard them as ugly and damaged and not worth having. I've even been asked what in the world I would want "that" for. All I can say is all the more for me. Bwah ha ha ha ha.

I plan to do a 'gallery' wall with my lovely-flawed frameless mirrors once I have enough variety of sizes. Then I'll need a wall and sadly, there's only one available. I just have to finish a faux barn door project to free up the wall space and I'm not able to do that without major help. So, until then my wall is in my imagination and in blogs all over cyber-space. I live vicariously through other people's mirror walls.

Source

 Be still, my heart. I love this and it is my 'go by' for when I actually do my own wall. Ribbons, frames in front of mirrors, foxing on the mirrors ... oh heck, when can I move in?

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This is one of my favorite looks.

dishfunctional designs

Easy and pretty. What could be better?

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I love this bathroom. This, after I just finished coloring-up my own beige bathroom.  Mirrors make all the difference! And isn't that white fan tower adorable? Looks like a fairly simple DIY.

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Come in? Thanks, but I'll just kick back here in the entryway.

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Sometimes you just have to mix it up. The reason I like frameless mirrors for gallery walls is they look uncluttered. This wall appeals to me as well because all the elements compliment each other and are monochromatic. I could relax in the tub and look at this wall for hours.

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The minute I find 5 matching mirrors this is SO happening on
my new mantel!

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This is another project I can see myself doing because it would make a great focal point. I have the perfect mirror for it, too.

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I would give up all my mirrors if I could have this Venetian mirror. Well, there are a couple I'd keep, or maybe three. Or four. Ah-hem, I would give up LOTS of my mirrors if I could have this Venetian mirror.

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 Venetian mirrors in collages - not as busy as one would expect. They make a more feminine wall than the plain frameless ones. I think Mr. Bad would react the same to a venetian wall as he did when he (mistakenly) thought I was painting the bedroom pink.

Christy of Our Southern Home SC posted the before and after of her wall which illustrates why  I, personally, think coordinating to reduce the chaos factor is important.

Before

 This is her trial layout on the floor. The mismatched frames and red shelves don't have the same inviting feel as a more monochromatic wall.

After

Christy painted the frames and shelves to match and the look is entirely different! She created a fabulous wall chronicling her children's Santa pictures through the years. And changing that old golf print into a chalkboard was inspired!


Here's my own 'before' wall - on the floor.

Yep, my mirrors are too big or too small for the most part. I need to find some mid-size mirrors that are juuuust right.

Remember  I said I had mirrors I wouldn't give up?

This is my favorite mirror out of the couple dozen I have. I just happened upon it. I was driving through a neighboring town and impulsively followed a yard sale sign. The sale turned out to be at what looked entirely like a meth house. I would have driven on by except there was an old juke box in the yard making me think there was a possibility of other fun stuff. I love my $1 mirror! I'm so glad I stopped.

However.
 I do not advise stopping at scary looking houses when you're alone.
Just sayin.'
Actually, let me rephrase - Just. Don't. Do. it.
really

In collecting my inspirational images I ran across 2 blogs that are wealths of inspiration and ideas. One is dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com  and the other is littlebluedeer.com. Dishfunctional Designs has ideas for windows, doors, shutters, you name it! And Little Blue Deer, well, you just have to go there. It's eye candy for creative types.

You'll love both those sites!

Sharing with:
shabby nest
french country cottage
redoux
five days five ways
tater tots and jello
the dedicated house
pjh designs
common ground
primp