Busy

I'm preparing for my first show this year (I took a break from them over the winter) this coming weekend, so I'm pretty busy in my studio, and garage.  I'll be sharing random pics as I work this week.  Today, I worked on small items.  Like these tags I added vintage images  and dried flowers to.

I've given quite a few items white plaster-like finishes. I'll have to share how I got the peeling finish on the finial I created at some point.

I made fleur de lis pieces, and did some silverleafing.

I turned this rock into a pretty paperweight by adding a romantic image.

I turned one of my photos into magnets.

I filled vintage bottles with lavender,

and, painted, painted, painted.

Gotta take a break.   I'll be sharing  furniture redesigns, finds I didn't have to do anything to (yeah), and I may get in a tutorial before the weekend.  See ya soon.

Sharing With:
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
At The Picket Fence: Inspiration Friday
2805: Potpourri Friday
Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
Faded Charm: White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays
Passionately Artistic

Pretty Box

Boxes are a lot of fun to redesign.

This one used to look like this.

Cardboard.  I added a little dimension, followed by multiple coats of thickened paint.  I used a gypsum based powder to add thickness to the paint.

I could have stopped here, but I decided I wanted a little color.  The image I used is from an old book of mine.  I reduced the image, and copied it onto a copy of blue ledger paper  (I wanted to preserve the original sheets).  I then tore the edges, and decoupaged it to the top.

I decoupaged more paper to the inside.

This was a fun redesign.  Making cardboard pretty.

Sharing With:
Thrifty Decor Chick: Before and After
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
Remodelaholic: Remodelaholics Anonymous
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday
The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
No Minimalist Here: Open House Party
Beyond The Picket Fence: Under $100 Linky Party
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays
Faded Charm: White Wednesday
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint
Passionately Artistic
Sassy Sites: Trash to Treasure
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesdays Treasures
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Under The Table and Dreaming: Sunday Showcase
The DIY Showoff: DIY Project Parade
The Girl Creative: Just Something I Whipped Up
Homemaker on a Dime: Creative Bloggers

GIVEAWAY#6

Here we are at the end of February, and as  promised,  I am giving away another vignette. Everything you see here was designed, or redesigned by me.   Here is GIVEAWAY #6.

The winner will receive this vignette, which includes: A redesigned box, bottle, two tags, vintage towel, and pillow.

The box was hand painted by me, with a dimensional design, and applique.  A numbered tack was added.  The inside was altered as well, with vintage sheet music.

I altered the bottle with paint, material, and a vintage image.  I made the pillow with two vintage linen napkins, and a transfer design.  The vintage linen tea towel has a different transfer design, which I created with a vintage image and added lettering.  The wooden tags were altered with dimensional paint.  Ribbons have been attached.

If you would like to enter this giveaway, here's how:

1. You must be a follower of VILLABARNES, and let me know you would like to enter. Leave a comment letting me know if you are already a follower, or if you've just joined me.
2. Follow me on Linky Followers (Located below Google Friend Connect on my sidebar) for an extra entry.
3. For additional entries, share this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, etc.
4. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Example: If you share the giveaway on your blog, FB, and Twitter, that's three additional entries. Don't cheat yourself out of an entry.

I am getting ready for my first show of the year, so this giveaway will close a little earlier than the previous ones.

You have till Thursday, MARCH 1st at 12:00 midnight, CST

***TO ENTER***

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

The winner will be picked by Random Number Generator

***GOOD LUCK TO ALL***

Gorgeous Grey

You'll remember this table from my "Quick Table Project" post. I've been dying to give it a little something extra. Inspiration struck yesterday.

I love deep shades of grey. You've seen it as an undertone for my "Old World" finishes. Well, this time I did the reverse. I have my original white undertone,

with a deep shade of grey as the top coat. I tranferred one of my favorite vintage images to the top, and gave it a little sanding.

I'm loving the gorgeous grey.

I've received lots of emails asking me about my images. I've collected ephemera for many, many years. The images I use are from my own collection.

More projects await. See ya soon.

Sharing With:
Thrifty Decor Chick: Before and After
Primitive and Proper: Piece of Work Wednesday
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesdays Treasures
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Under The Table and Dreaming: Sunday Showcase
The DIY Showoff: DIY Project Parade
The Girl Creative: Just Something I Whipped Up
Homemaker on a Dime: Creative Bloggers
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
Remodelaholic: Remodelaholics Anonymous
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating: Flaunt It Friday
At The Picket Fence: Inspiration Friday
Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration Friday
2805: Potpourri Friday
The Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home

Fleur de lis Sign

I created this sign with a discarded piece of wood, thickened paint, wood filler, a fleur de lis stencil, and vintage rubber letter stamps. I used wood filler for my dimensional fleur de lis images. You can review the dimensional technique HERE.

I applied multiple layers of black paint first. I then followed with two coats of white paint, to which I added a thickening agent. Next, I gave it a little sanding, to show the undercoat, and highlight the fleur de lis.


It makes the fleur de lis look like it's embedded in the surface.

After stamping "Fleurs" with black archival ink, I sealed the surface with wax.

I'm off to make more, and finish up a few furniture redesigns.

Sharing With:
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
Remodelaholic: Remodelaholics Anonymous
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
At The Picket Fence: Inspiration Friday

The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
Beyond The Picket Fence: Under $100 Linky Party
No Minimalist Here: Open House Party
Faded Charm: White Wednesday
These Peas Taste Funny: Link It Up Thursday

Vintage Linen Redesigns

I'm still having posting and editing issues. I can only post in the "old" post editor. Arghhhhh. I spent way too much time trying to resolve the situation, and I'm done. So, instead of taking a revolver to my computer, I'm going to take a deep breath, and show you what I've been doing today to clear my mind.




I have a pile of vintage tea towels, napkins, runners, etc., I've picked up over the years. I decided to transfer some of my graphics to them. Yes, I used my blender pen (tutorial on my sidebar). Some of them will become pillows.

I love the way my graphics work with the original designs.

When I say I have a pile, I mean like boxes full.

I have about four or five other designs I'm playing with. I'll be sharing. More furniture redesigns are in the works too. See ya soon. Hopefully with things back to normal.

Sharing With:

Savvy City Farmer: Thrift'n On Thursday
Someday Crafts: Whatever Goes Wednesday
Ivy and Elephants: What's It Wednesday
The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays

Passionately Artistic


 

Blog Issues

I'm having trouble with Post Editor. I can't post or edit. Has anyone else had, or is having this problem? I'm using the Old Post Editor for this, which I hate.

I'll be trying to figure this out today. Pulling my hair out. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Old World Birds

I was half way through this transformation, when I realized I hadn't taken a before photo. These birds are syroco composition, and were painted gold. They had great details that weren't being highlighted. They were perfect candidates for my "Old World" finish.

Layers of grey, with a wash of gesso. The finish brought out the intricate details.

They're a good size. The tall one is over 13".

I love the way they turned out.

I have several variations to this technique I'll be sharing with you, including multiple colors.


Sharing With:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesdays Treasures
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Knick of Time: Knick of Time Tuesday
Homemaker on a Dime: Creative Bloggers
Under The Table and Dreaming: Sunday Showcase

GIVEAWAY #5 Winner

Once again, a sincere thank you to all who followed, participated, and shared. I will have another giveaway this month. More from me to you.  So, stay tuned.

Here is the winner of GIVEAWAY #5


The winner of my vignette,

is, and early bird:

Lesley at The Homeless Finch.

Congratulations Lesley. Email me with the address you would like your packages sent to. I will ship it ASAP.

Lavender and Metal

I've been trying to relax today. Something that's hard for me to do. I didn't work on any major projects, but I found myself playing with vignettes. Here's a simple one I put together with two of my favorite things. Lavender and metal.

I've had this timeworn clock face for a while. I love the chippy weathered finish.

My little urn is not an old one, but I love the shape. It's traveled all over the house, holding everything from pens, to candles. This is what it looked like back in the Fall.

Well, I wanted the urn to look a little more like the clock face. So, I took a razor blade to it, and went over the details with a coarse sanding pad. Throw in a little lavender, and they make a nice little vignette on my bedroom dresser.

Relaxing tonight. Hunting, gathering, and redesigning tomorrow. See ya soon.


Sharing With:

Faded Charm: White Wednesday
A Stroll Thru Life: Tabletop Tuesday
My Romantic Home: Show and Tell Friday
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

Old World Stand

I was in a zone with this redesign, and didn't take step by step pics. I do that a lot.

This is where I started.

See the lovely hole?

I covered that up with a fleur de lis, and added a little floral dimension to the drawers. I applied a layer of light grey primer, followed by a brush of glue here and there to create crackling. You can review my tutorial for using glue as a crackle medium HERE. I used a thicker layer of glue on the top.

The grey topcoat is a custom mix of mine, combined with a little gesso for texture. I scraped the surface in spots with a razor blade. My "Old World" wash followed.

I lightly transferred a chandelier image to the top. I wanted it to fade into the finish. My transfer method can be found on my sidebar. The crackling and imperfections are enhanced by the gesso wash.

I stenciled a mirror image of the floral on the upper corners as well. I think the crystal knobs are more at home with this finish.

On to the next redesign.



Sharing With:

Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesday
Primitive and Proper: Piece of Work Wednesday
The DIY Showoff: DIY Project Parade
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Homemaker on a Dime: Creative Bloggers
Under The Table and Dreaming: Sunday Showcase
The Girl Creative: Just Something I Whipped Up
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
Remodelaholic: Remodelaholics Anonymous
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating: Flaunt It Friday
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can
2805: Potpourri Friday
At The Picket Fence: Inspiration Friday
Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration Friday