Road Trip and Homemade Owl Lamp - What a HOOT!!

I did a quick trip this week to Winston-Salem, NC (I used to live there back in the 80's) to see some great friends. My friend, Carl, is the quintessential host...We had an elegant dinner party, a little gift exchange, and a lot of fun!

 His home looked incredibly festive.
I've always coveted this painting he has above the mantle.

On the way, I stopped off at a Goodwill (surprise) in Reidsville and found a few last minute Christmas gifts.  One for myself.........
I've been wanting one of these owl lamps!

They are so kitchy...this one is from West Elm for around $100.

And this one is from the Reidsville Goodwill....I know, it's U G L Y.

 It was a whopping $1.50.  My kind of deal...

The first thing I did upon arriving home was spray paint this bugger.
I had a smidgeon of  Metallic Silver Rustoleum spray paint left over from the silver desk project...

 Once I find the right shade, it will be living permanently with me.

Merry Christmas to me!
Wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday!

Santa is on a Roll!!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa's workshop is bustling!  Packaged goods, paintings, tags, furniture..........lots of goodies are going to be received for Christmas this year!!!  Here's a quick look at some of the loot that I'll be gifting as well as items I'm putting in my little booth at West End Antiques.

If you could see my house right now, well.....let's just say, it ain't pretty!  Forget the Christmas decorations. There's no room at the inn.  

Here are a few things Santa's been working on.

 A trip to my storage unit for the spoils...........

 This old clock cabinet is so cool.  Originally I thought I would paint it, but I decided to enhance its rustic condition...

I inserted a equestrian needlepoint, then added oversized pewter railheads......A great way to frame art!!!!!

I had purchased four little oak school chairs from a yardsale, along with this little blonde wood end table...

I color washed the chairs in primary colors...........then added words to each of the seats...





...and to the tabletop:

Now it's a great set for a child's creative corner, just waiting to be snatched up and placed under the Christmas tree for some lucky boy or girl!

 Here's an oversized chalkboard I made with a large gilded frame.  I cut a piece of MDF and painted it with graphite chalk paint.  It also is in my booth at West End Antiques.

Small benches and stools sell really well in my booth, I guess because they're small enough to hide in a car trunk til someone can sneak it in the house;) (Thanks, Jeannie, for that tidbit of wisdom!)

This one definitely needs a little spruce up.

Bling bling! I painted the base in metallic silver paint and then reupholstered the top in a zebra print.....

Here's a cornice I designed and created for a client:

 I added buttons and tabs....Looks great in her guest bedroom!


I painted this little piece awhile ago....When designing some packaging for my bath salts gifts, I thought....duh!!!!


I took a photograph of the little painting on the side of the piece...

And used it for my little paint cans of lavender bath salts:


Santa stays busy throughout the year making little gift tags...........it's a sickness. I can't stop....


But my real find this Christmas was a technique I read about on line, and with a little practice and enhancement, voila!  Original art!! It's actually a combination of photography manipulation, decoupage, and overlay painting.

This portrait I gave as a gift to a special friend.

 And here's one of my brother and his mutt, Jessie Dog!

 And my Dad, who passed away last year.

 Framed for my mom. Guess what she's getting for Christmas? (Don't tell!)

 Time to wrap.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

One silver desk. Check. Four french dining chairs. Check. One Lavender Bath. Check.

Okay, the desk is finally finished.............Rejoice!!!!!!! (SFX: Chorus of angelic voices.)

What a bear this was........I know now why I LOVE aged/distressed finishes....because THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT!!!!!!! This desk looks so simple, but it was hell on earth.........High gloss shows every little imperfection..........but I must say, now that's it's finished, I think it looks pretty happening!
I had to sand off all the Krylon Chrome spray paint I originally went with. Then I repainted it in Rustoleum in Metallic Silver finish. Much better.  It doesn't rub off!  I  think I'm done with Krylon for life.......It was terrible......Today, I had to redo one of the drawers because it wasn't smooth and it was bugging me.  When I sanded down the paint, which has been on there for DAYS, it was like goo............it never dried! Horrible stuff.

The glass knobs are on.  I lined the drawers with some asian wallpaper....Fini!
This is going in Bonita's new modern bedroom with neutral shag carpet, crystal glass lamps, and newly painted light tan walls...........Wouldn't a lucite chair be THE BOMB?

Yesterday I also finished up two more of these chairs.....

....And then there were four.  

Next up, three window treatments for a client....The fun never ends here at the SheShe Ranch!

I love my boss.

Even A Magician Can Have an Off Day!

Ever have one of those days?

I did......today........

Nothing seemed to go just right today. 

Argh.

Remember the ding I put in my refrigerator yesterday??

No sweat.   

After all, this is what I do for a living

I think outside the box.

I come up with a different, smarter, cheaper way to fix something..

So I thought myself pretty dang clever today when I used this little graphic from a $5 book I got from Hobby Lobby to camouflage the little ding...........

I can totally live with this.

(Keep in mind, now, I've had this fridge for about 5 years without one single mishap.)

So today, when I'm putting another chair back on the kitchen island to wax it, 

I am extremely careful........

As I lift it, the leg slips off the island,  and BANG! 

Guess what? This is not just a ding.  It's a crater.

So now my refrigerator door looks like this.

F%#&!@***

Next up, my friend and client, Bonita, wants her desk painted 

in a mercury glass finish.

Here's the before shot of the desk:

After several days of sanding/priming/base coating, 

I found a chrome spray paint that was giving me that great glassy look......

Looking pretty cool! 

Yep, making progress! 

(Maybe I can even get this thing out of my living room by the weekend!)

With these glass knobs from Hobby Lobby, 

it's definitely looking like that Hollywood Glam style we're after...

Here's a close up.

Only problem is, I'm finding that even a light brush with the hand, 

and the finish is marred........

the metallic finish just comes right off.....

You've heard of the man with the golden arm?

I'm the gal with the silver fingers.

This isn't going to work...

And I was so close.......

So I try a little spray lacquer hoping to seal the paint........

it totally disintegrates and melts the metallic finish.  

Now the dresser drawers look like this.  

I drove all the way back out to Short Pump to get more chrome paint..

Out of stock........

F%#&!@***

It is now time for lavender bath salts and wine.

Tomorrow is going to be a great day!

A girl can dream, right?

Out with the Lavender, In with the Grey!

Wow, two consecutive daily blog posts!! This is history in the making!

Here's a recent room makeover I did for a client.  

Here's what the guest bedroom looked like before:

It was definitely time to reinvent this lavender room with the 80's swags........

 The vintage Jenny Lind bed had boring white bedding.  We can do better!

 To the right of the room, there's a door that leads out to an enclosed balcony.  Great light but a little privacy was needed.

 Nice carved soapstone mantle....

 Going into the attached bedroom was rather difficult with these two large pieces semi blocking the entrance.

 Over on the other side of the room, the client had a vintage wicker set...

Great set but once again, it needs an update!

Okay, are we ready to part with the swags?

YES!!!!! This room oozes with calmness now!  I painted the room in BM Balboa Mist.  New window panels came from West Elm..I moved a piece of furniture to serve as a nightstand.

All this delicious mismatched bedding came from Marshall's.

 This Cynthia Rowley duvet cover with rows of box pleats was on clearance for $15! Score!

On the other side of the bed, I accessorized an existing  little table with the client's fun pieces.

 I purchased store-bought sheers,added a bottom pocket and gathered on sash rods to add more privacy to the french door.

 Next, I painted the little vintage maple dresser in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and Paris Grey.  I cut up a placemat and used as a stamp for the designs.

 Then I aged the piece with sanding and waxes.

 I moved the piece to open up the bathroom entrance.

 I moved the wicker chair over in front of the fireplace and recovered the cushions in this graphic moroccan print.

 The sofa got new upholstered cushions as well, and some new throw pillows.

 And finally, at the foot of the bed I added a small area rug for warmth.  Open for guests!