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Stemware Dipped in Chalkboard Paint

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2012 – I feel almost guilty that this year has been such a good year for me personally when, for so many others, there has been only hardship, pain, tragedy and loss.  In years past, I have had those times that I was thankful when the year came to an end and where my New Year’s wish was filled only with the hope of something better.  The way of life is a bit like a ferris wheel.  We buckle ourselves into the seat and wait for the ride.  Anticipation becomes reality as we feel the rush of being carried upwards to that highest place, where we can look out over the whole world and delight in the thrill of being on top of it all!  Sometimes the ferris wheel pauses here and we squeal with laughter and enjoy the moment to the fullest as we set our seats to rocking.  Other times there is no pause at all and as soon as we reach the top the ferris wheel begins it’s rapid descent.  We feel the drop in our stomaches as we head back down to the real world at the bottom of the wheel.  Then begins another ascent . . . and the ride continues . . .
Few people I know have perfectly steady and untroubled lives, . . . and those that do I really wonder about!!!  If we are honest with ourselves, and others, we all have problems and we all have things that just plain break our hearts.  I’ve been in places of brokenheartedness and I’m so thankful for those God sent into my life in those times to offer hope for a better future.  This has been a very good year for me.  A year of sweet memories made with family, old friendships renewed, new friends made, hard work rewarded . . . blessing upon blessing upon blessing.  It brings me such joy to be a part of  the ministry of Freedom Session and to be able to offer God’s hope to others.  I truly believe that there is a purpose to all the hardships we experience in life and I also believe that the core of our pain is the core of our purpose. 
So . . . on to a celebration of the year to come!  This is a fun project that I saw on my favorite TV network, HGTV!  It is stemware dipped in chalkboard paint (this is not the same as the chalk paint that I use to paint furniture).  As you toast the New Year, you and your guests can write your names or initials on your glasses to keep track of them.
Since my focus is OLD THINGS NEW I took a trip to Goodwill where I found these glasses on sale for .99 cents apiece.  While I was there I also found a tarnished silver tray for $2.99.  I’ve been keeping my eyes open for one of these, with this specific purpose in mind, so how fortuitous that I found everything together!  You’ll notice from the close-up of the stem that this is not just plain glass but really nice crystal.  What a buy!






I had some chalkboard paint on hand from other projects . . .

. . .  so it was as simple as dipping the base of my glass into the paint like this . . .

 

. . . letting the excess paint drip back into the can . . .
 

. . . and then setting it on waxed paper to dry.  Note:  This will NOT work well if your paint is too thick.  An alternate method is to brush several thin coats of paint on with a soft paintbrush, allowing the paint to dry completely between coats.

 

While these were drying I painted the bottom of the silver tray with three coats of chalkboard paint, allowing it to dry between each coat.  Any chalk will work to write your message but I really like the chalk pens found in the bridal section at Michael’s.  They fly off the shelves fast so I bought two to keep on hand.
 

 

As you can see, our New Year’s toast will be made with a fine Sparkling Grape Juice!!!
 


 
And now, my wish for all of you in 2013 is that family bonds will be strengthened, friendships (old and new) will be rich and rewarding, you will find something positive in every situation (even when that’s hard to do!) and that God will bless you in every area of your lives.
Oh . . . just one more thing!  I want to wish you all the gift of SILLINESS and LAUGHTER . . .
 
 
. . . even when . . .
 

 
 . . . that means laughing . . .

 
 . . . at YOURSELF!!!
 
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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Merry Christmas!!!

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On this Christmas Eve I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the last ten days in sunny Florida, meeting up with old friends, making new friends, and spending time with our kids.  We all live so far apart that any time we have together is especially cherished. 

I’d like to share with you some of the fabulous Christmas decorations in the Disney World parks and hotels.  I didn’t do much decorating at home this year, but we had the BEST DECORATIONS EVER at Disney and I left inspired for next year.  Note: I took hundreds of pictures and didn’t have time to crop and fine tune them for this post so I apologize for lack of quality.

 The Grand Floridian Hotel

 


This is the life-sized Gingerbread house in the lobby of the hotel.  The details are amazing.

 

This is the lobby of Wilderness Lodge.  It felt a lot like our own Pacific NW.

 Brrrrrr . . .


The Magic Kingdom is so beautiful at night. The castle looks like it is covered in icicles.

 

 
Fantastic dancing lights display in Hollywood Studios.

 
 The life-sized Navity is gorgeous!
 
 
The Magic Kingdom by day was warm and glorious.
I loved all the garlands and wreaths . . . especially the mouse ears!



 
Even the food is Christmassy!
 
 
I had so much fun with my darling daughters.

 
It was a VERY Merry Christmas Vacation with the Kranks!!!
Merry Christmas to all of you, with wishes for a New Year filled with abundant blessings . . .

and as they say at Disney . . . 
 
Have a magical day!

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Christmas Cloche Ideas

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What exactly is a cloche and what is it’s origin?
Cloches are transparent bell-shaped domes used to cover plants outdoors to protect them from frost.  This was their original purpose but today they are also used extensively in home decor.  Since my purpose is to write about a NEW use for something OLD, let’s take a look at some of these decorative cloches.
  Lately, I’ve been admiring the many beautiful cloches filled with Christmas cheer.  Here is a peek at some of my favorites.  The first from BHG is a beautiful outdoor display. A little elegance added to this rustic potting bench.

Here is another outdoor cloche idea from ClassicChicHome.  What a wonderful way to light the path to your front door.

I was really drawn to these cloches because of their wintry white, coastal feel.
Source: PaleAndInteresting.

I think wire cloches are interesting and I love this one from Courtney at HoneycombCreativeCo.  Head over to her blog for more pictures of her lovely Christmas decor, all done in silver and white.

For more bling, look at this gold tinsel cloche on a silver stand from Marianne at Songbird.  Her site is filled with pictures of her very vintage Christmas.

The cutest cloche I’ve ever seen is at RhonnaDesigns. Pay a visit to her blog to see more of these glitter houses and a tutorial on how to create your own.

Here is another from BHG, simple but fun don’t you think?

Take a look at this Santa under glass at Pat’s BackPorchMusings blog.  I think he is just darling!  While you’re there take a peek at even more of her lakeside cottage decor.

This little cloche delighted me and the directions for putting it together can be found at VintageStreetMarket. This website is filled with lovely vintage papers for wrapping or scrap booking and is a nice place to revel in a bit of nostalgia.

 

I absolutely love the elegance of this cut crystal cloche from Cindy’s MyRomanticHome.  Crystal, pearls and silver, oh my!  A visit to her holiday home is a must!

Can you believe how beautiful this cloche filled with pastel ornaments is? This display was put together by TheAtticGirls. They sell “modern vintage” items on Coronado Island in California.  Road trip anyone?

I couldn’t do this post without including a picture of this beautiful Nativity cloche since that is our reason to celebrate Christmas.
Source: macroimagen

And finally, I’ll share my very simple Christmas cloche with you.  My mom was a proud Finnish lady, so it was a delight to receive this little guy to add to my Santa collection.  Here he is, frolicking in his dome-covered woods of Finland!

In this week leading up to Christmas, I hope you enjoyed taking a look at the many ways people use cloches in their Christmas displays.  I know it is a busy week but remember to take some time to
just breathe!

Blessings,
Patti

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Two Wreaths, Plain and Fancy

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I’m not doing much in the way of Christmas decorating this year because we’ll be flying off to sunny Orlando next week to spend the holiday with our two beautiful, brilliant, funny and loving daughters. My eldest daughter, Joy, will be flying in from New York with her husband Andrew (who is just the best son-in-law in the world) and Bethany will be flying in from Los Angeles.  Since we live in the great Pacific Northwest that is three corners of the country converging on the fourth.  Disney World here we come! 
I don’t feel bad about missing out on the hours and hours (really days and days) of decorating this year, but I wanted to add a few little touches of Christmas to the house for our wonderful house sitter, dog sitter, prayer buddy and my good friend Deanna.  I’ve been having a lot of fun making rosettes from different fabrics. Not only are they fun but they are so easy.  For this post I’ve made two types of wreaths . . . one plain . . . one fancy!









Here is the “plain” wreath with rosettes made from an old plaid shirt that once belonged to my husband (it wasn’t one of your good ones dear).  Before I throw any piece of scrap fabric or OLD clothing away I am in the habit of looking at it’s potential to be made into something NEW.  This wreath was really inexpensive to make.  The grapevine wreath was from The Dollar Store and the burlap was cut from a large bolt of burlap I have on hand for other projects.

I made two types of rosettes, the larger ones with shirt fabric only, the smaller ones with shirt fabric edged with burlap.  I wasn’t at all concerned about the fraying of the fabric as that is the look I was going for.

After trying this wreath out in several different locations in my house, I ended up hanging it on the front of my kitchen cabinets.  This was kind of tricky as I had to pound a nail onto the inside of my cabinet door without pounding it all the way through to the front.  It would have been a sad day for me if I had ruined one of my newly painted cabinet doors.  I like the way red stands out on the white.

The next wreath is the one I call “fancy” although it’s origins aren’t too fancy.   It is made out of leftover drop cloth fabric from my Drop Cloth Draperies For my Front Door post.

  I’ll zoom in here so you can see the little bit of sparkle I added to “gussy it up”!

I have a bit of a passion for old frames.  I really like ornately carved frames and like to display them together in vignettes.  This frame, however, was just a cheap plastic one that I found at a garage sale.  This is what it looked like originally . . .

. . . and here it is after an application of Rub ‘n Buff.  This is a really fun product to use.  It is a wax that comes in a tube in many different colors.  Like the name says, you rub it on, let it dry, and buff it off for a shiny finish.  The shine is actually much brighter than I was able to capture in this picture. 


So those are my two wreaths, plain and fancy.  The art of hanging wreaths originated from the Romans who hung wreaths on their doors as sign of victory.  In Christian tradition the circle shape of the Christmas wreath represents Christ’s eternal love, his strength, and the creation of new life.

For a complete tutorial on making rosettes out of fabric, here is the link to a previous post where I showed how to make Burlap Rosettes.  While it may seem tricky at first, I’ve found that the more of these you make the easier it gets and that the more twists and turns you give your strip of fabric the better the rosettes end up looking.

Now I’m off to pick up a few more things for the Christmas gifts I’ve been making.  My dining room table looks like a crafter’s paradise!  I hope to give you a peek at the gifts I’ve made before flying off to warmer weather.

Blessings to you,
Patti

 


 

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New Life for an Old Table

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I am happy to say that I finally found some time to work on this little occasional table that has been standing forlornly in my garage.  I found this piece, and it’s sister, at an antique mall that was going out of business last summer. I’ve been longing to freshen her up.

The top of the table was in pretty rough shape and I wasn’t sure if I would paint over it or try to leave it natural.





When I took the sanding block to the top I found that the varnish flaked away quite easily revealing a beautiful grain to the wood.  Thus, my decision was made.
 
So here she is, painted with Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint, and then antiqued with some watered down ASCP in French Linen.  I brushed it on and then wiped it off  immediately with a damp rag, leaving color in the carved areas.

I am SO pleased with the way this turned out.  The wash shows off the details of the carving and the shapely legs. I chose not to do any distressing for now.  I’ll let whoever buys this little beauty decide whether or not they want a more aged and distressed look.
Here are a just few close ups:
I still need to seal and protect the paint with some soft wax which will give it that soft glow that I love, and I’ve yet to decide how to seal the bare wood top. Wax or Polycrylic? I’m open to suggestions as, up until now, I’ve completely covered every piece of furniture I’ve worked on with paint!
This table is pretty tall and I think it would look quite grand in the middle of an entry hall, with a large floral arrangement (these are my now fading Birthday roses) . . .
 . . . or perhaps as a side table . . . as a bright spot at the end of a hallway . . .or beneath a lovely mirror . . .
My “store” of restored furniture is growing as I try to decide how to go about selling the Old Things I’m making New!  This is an absolutely wonderful hobby and I’m having so much fun.  I’m sure my husband will be almost as happy as I am when the garage begins to clear!
 Many blessings and a happy weekend to you all!
 
Patti 
 
 
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