Glim Glam GOLD!!!

Summer is almost over, fall is coming, WINTER IS COMING!  This is one thing I dread all year -more than running out of chocolate or even diet coke.  WINTER.  These six letters represent all that I loathe: ice, shoveling, frigid cold, and bleakness.  The absolute bleakness of winter just makes me want to find myself a little cave and a way to hibernate for its duration.

SO, (I know you are starting to worry about me) GOLD!!!  If you are like me and see bleakness jeering at you from around the corner, then GOLD.  I mean, it would be nice to have a stash of it, as I would use it to get as far away from winter as possible, but gold is the accent color of this upcoming season.  It is the color people are using in their bedrooms, in their kitchens, in their bathrooms, living rooms: gold is in.

And so, it seems I am not the only one looking for some way to bottle up summer eternally for the whole year.  I am featuring gold in my shop and here are a couple of things that you will currently find:

(See the items in my shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChalksOLot)

May you too find a way to survive the seasons ahead, and add a little glam to your lives!  

Terrarium Mania

I get on these kicks.  First, it was French furniture, then it was garden art, then parlor tables (there are still more of these to come), and now: it is glass.  My daughter has been looking for brass accents for her house.  Shopping?  Yes please!

I don't need an excuse to shop, but it's definitely nice to have one.  We went to a few of our favorite digs and she did not have any luck.  (I, however, did come away with a condiment set and the most adorable wicker hamper - but, I digress).  So, we found a new store.  It's the most delightful feeling to discover a new store.  There are fresh sights, sounds, and deals.  So, into the store we went, and goodness did we have a great time.

And guess what we found?  Terrariums.  We found brass, silver, very old and slightly newer, but most importantly: we found glass.

I did not know much about terrariums before this visit.  I know I have seen glass covers that people put greenery underneath, but they were different than these.  These were geometric.  They opened and closed.  They were covered with glass, and I was in heaven.

Mostly, these pieces are in much better condition than some of the other pieces I come across, and only one required any amount of deep cleaning (there had once been a candle inside and anyone who has ever tried to get wax out of glass can feel my pain here).

Here are my spoils:

Find it here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/243031926/silver-hexagon-glass-terrarium-with

Coming Soon!!

Find it Here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/242439705/large-brass-and-glass-pentagon-terrarium

A Little About Me: preserving pieces of the past.

Lately, I have been thinking about painting.  Why I enjoy it so much.  Where this passion came from.  How I got...here: having a blog, with an Etsy store, and a house full of treasures.

It's simple: I love vintage.  I truly believe that the best pieces of furniture are old.  The designs, the craftsmanship, the real wood, the sheer weight of the pieces - they are still intact today because of the superior way in which they were made.  I love that.  I want to have a part of preserving that.

I know a lot of people who shop for their things at Ikea, have several neighbors whose houses could be featured in a Pottery Barn catalog, and others who have never perfected their own personal style.  It's all fine, it all works, but it's just not me.

I like different.

I like unique.

I don't want my house to look like everyone else's.

I want my house to reflect me.

I think my love of vintage furniture and old pieces began when my dad died.  I wanted to hold on to him, but all that was left were things that bore his memory, so I wanted to keep them.  This nostalgia expanded when my grandmother passed away.  I loved my grandmother, and loved her house.  When she passed away, I bought her bedroom set.  I even dug out of the trash, the piece of the foot board that my grandfather sawed off because she hurt her knuckles on it when she made the bed.  That piece has been reattached, but the line where it was sawed off it still clearly visible - and thus, the story is still clearly visible, so many years after she is not.

My grandmother's memory is a part of my house.

Since I do not have the type of family that hands down furniture (I had to buy anything I wanted - another story for another time), my love of heirlooms was passed on to other old pieces that I would stumble across in antique stores.  I love to shop, and antiquing became a regular part of my life.

Then, I discovered chalk paint and all the pieces came together: old furniture, love of shopping, nostalgia, and decorating my home.  With chalk paint, the old furniture that I loved could become modern, finished pieces that would fit right into my new home.

If you saw my house, you would either be disgusted or outright impressed.  It is full of history, full of memories, full of cans of paint, work stations, and inventory.  It is full of possibility, and I so enjoy bringing out the best in all of these old pieces.  Love finding that cobwebbed, tossed aside treasure that needs simply a deep cleaning, paint, and wax.  Love preserving pieces of the past, that will last for several more decades - heck, even centuries!

Wednesday #beforeandafter

This before and after is part of my recent push to expand my photography.  I am not a professional photographer.  I never will be.  However, photography is a compelling art and I have spent the past few weeks playing with light, angle, and setting for my pictures.  Want to see some examples??

Here is a picture of a mirror.  Taking pictures of something that offers a reflection is difficult, and too many times I see people who photograph themselves into the mirror.  Tip:  Angle the mirror, when possible.  If it is not possible to angle the mirror, angle yourself.  Here is the first before and after:

In the first picture, the window was in the way, the lighting was horrible off, and the picture of the piece became irrelevant.  NOW, I have changed locations, lighting, and angle.  There is no reflection in the mirror itself (which I may play around with in the future), and the piece stands out rather than being merely a reflection.

My second lesson with photography has been the appropriate use of props.  I have just began playing with this concept, and so I began with using some old books - since they are plentiful at my house!

Again, quite sure I do not qualify for any photography awards, but what a difference a backdrop, lighting, and a few well placed props can do for a photo!  Any #beforeandafter photos you are proud of this Wednesday?

A Little Love Goes a Long Way

I do love a good Cinderella story.  This table is a prime example of rags to absolute riches.

I was antiquing with my daughter - who I have happened to drag down into the depths of my obsession with vintage ware - and we walked into a little store on a quaint little Main Street.  It smelled like old books, wood, and I could detect the hint of something else: a piece that needed me.  I knew there was one to be found, so off we went: scouring the store for that one, hidden gem.

Now, in my experience, the hidden gems are never in prime locations; the window display, the front room, or even the whole main level.  No, they are usually in corners, in forgotten displays, outdoors, or in basements.  I did pay attention to the details on the main level, but the basement was where I knew I belonged so my daughter and I descended the dark stairs into the cool, bricked, non finished basement.

This basement has some very large pieces, some very expensive pieces, some very random pieces (vintage Halloween mask of a dog, anyone?), and as I diligently went through booth after booth, it seemed like I was going to walk away empty handed and disappointed....until my daughter said: "Hey mom, what about this??"

It was perfect, it was beautiful, I was old and sturdy, it was looking for some love, and it was coming home with me:

I have had quite the recent obsession with parlor tables.  I have some tall, some ornate, some plain, some round, oval: this one was square.  It is the first in a series of square parlor tables that I have acquired in the past several months.  I really do not have an explanation for this sort of obsession, except to say that I think the lines are beautiful, the design elements bold and demanding, the craftsmanship beyond compare and I cannot get enough of them.  It's normal to have an obsession with furniture pieces, right?

First step: clean off the cobwebs.  Second step: sand down the top.  Here's what it looked like after those two steps:

I then added a couple rounds of stain to the top of the table, some chalk paint (Old Ochre) to the legs, and dark wax to finish off the details.  I wanted it to be elegant, and regal, and reclaimed into the excellence it once knew.  What do you think?

The absolute best part?  It could be yours!  See it here:  

Minnesota: how cruel your weather patterns

My car read over 80 degrees today.  80!  Break out the shorts!  Shave those legs!  Get outside!  And then, the inevitable.  I give into the sunshine that beckons me out my front door and I am hit by wind.  Pounding, harsh, biting wind that lasts all day long.  And now, as I sit down for the evening, it starts raining, accompanied by bright lightning and harsh thunder.  

Sigh.  I am still not used to this arrival of spring.  In my perfect world, it is never below 50, and the flowers start blooming in March and continue into October....at least.  However, since I am here, and it is booming and flashing outside, it is a great time to leave a note- about my favorite project of all time.

I like to jump deep into projects.  Painting: the whole house.  Moving: different state.  Vacation: Europe.  Painting: largest piece possible.

Yup.  That's how I discovered Annie Sloan paint.  It was not on a piece of trim or the back of a scrap piece of wood.  It was on a cabinet.  A huge, antique, solid wood, china hutch - the kind that was salvaged from an old home, ripped right out of the wall.  

It was the most beautifully built piece I had ever seen - glass doors and knob, beautiful woodwork and the classic design elements.  The one problem, the tiniest little problem, was that the whole thing was red.  Toned down, deeply stained, single toned, red.  And it was definitely out of style.

I have attempted a few restoration projects - the kind where you strip, re-stain, seal, and try-not-to-kill-yourself-over-the-tediousness in the process.  It is not for me (remember the jumping deep, well it doesn't include tediousness: it's about results).  I had a vision for this piece.  It was beautiful, modern, and painted.  Gasp?!  Painted?  This beautiful piece?  Wouldn't that ruin it?  Tarnish it's originality?  Make a mockery of me?  After all, I had never used the paint before....

But, I dove in.  Just me and Old Ochre.  And a few places where I kept the original wood (and, admittedly took more hours to strip, stain, and seal than I care to admit), and the final product is the piece that I am most proud of.  

Before

Before

Wait for it.....

AFTER!

What do you think??

A New Day

Whew -after a wonderful summer and fall (and a new grand baby that I am beyond excited about!), I have returned to the world of blogging.  Mostly, I am back because I am really excited about the return of warmer weather (it was over 70 degrees!) and some sunshine.  I am a sunshine girl, and the winters in the MidWest are really lacking in that particular area.

So, now that the sun is back I feel like I am back.  I have been busy this fall/winter creating and making pieces for this coming season.  I have experimented with several colors and textures and am really excited to now be painting in layers instead of single colors.

Here are a couple of my recent projects:

 This waterfall dresser needed some love when I found it, and I obliged with layers of Annie Sloan Coco, Old Ochre, Paris Grey, and French Linen.

 The layers make all the wear and tear of this piece seem intentional and correct.  By adding the layers of paint, the finished result is rustic, chic, and definitely updated.  I see this piece as a statement in a guest bedroom or a children's room.  Leave a comment below if you have other visions for this!

 This china cabinet has the most beautiful design behind the glass, and the fact that its standing on legs makes me want to drool over it.  I mean: seriously.  How beautiful are they?  :)  I think this piece screams to be a bar - but it would also work well in a bathroom.  It is painted in Annie Sloan French Linen, with highlights of Paris Grey and Old White.

Okay, and I finally have to show off some of the work I did for my granddaughter.  Her mom is pretty picky about colors, but finally decided that a mix of Provence and Florence was the right hue for her newborn daughter's room (my first grandchild!).  I actually could not agree more:

Oh, and I couldn't resist painting up a rocking chair as well.  I thought that Provence made such a great match for the turquoise and wood topped dresser.  It makes me smile to think about how many books will be read, and good night hugs will be exchanged here:

Well, just a few highlights before I get back to work!  Coming soon are the story of my favorite piece of all time and getting ready for Spring!  Thanks for stopping! 

Luci