A recent windfall on vintage frames.
Lots of different shapes, sizes and styles.
Even a fun little sconce shelf!
Decided to paint them ALL white.
A little bit of sanding for a distressed look. (sorry, the distressing does not show up very well in the pics)
And here they are on display throughout the store:
So, the other thing that I did a lot of last week for the store is frames. Mostly smaller ones this time, because I have NO ROOM on the walls for bigger ones. (the excess bigger frames have been packed away to go to the spring shows next month)
I almost NEVER find two of the exact same frame. So this set of FOUR matching black distressed frames is a really rare find. Painted this 10×10 mirror frame to match.
This big, ornate mirror really needs to be hung on the wall, but I just don’t have time right now to rearrange an entire wall. So it sits propped against a dresser for now.
Beachy blue frame and some shabby Paris style painted mirrors; again propped instead of hung!
Some of the white frames I was able to tuck into the back of some shelf displays.
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Remember this post from last year, about my ‘happy accident’?
Well, here’s the shelf that was inspired by that accident. This time it was accidentally on purpose though!
It’s BIG, a good SIX feet tall. TOO big. Which is why I had initially passed on it when I saw it at the thrift store. (that, and the fact that it wouldn’t even FIT in my car!) But as fate would have it, Michael got off work early enough to go buy the frame before they closed that day.
And here, front and center in my craft room, it sat, for months and MONTHS! I knew ‘what’ I wanted to do with it. Michael had even cut the wood for the shelf and had it sitting in a pile just waiting for me to paint. It just took a while for the piece to ’speak to me’ as to what color it wanted to be.
I don’t much care for brown paint. It’s so blah and, well, BROWN! But this project had been awaiting completion for waaaaaaaaaaaay too long, so I went to Home Depot and forced myself to stare at paint colors until I chose one for the shelf. Much to my surprise, a chocolate brown (Ralph Lauren brand, of course!) spoke to me. But I KNEW I couldn’t paint the whole thing brown. It would be far too dark and cavernous all in a dark color.
So I looked around the store for ANYTHING that had brown on it to inspire me. Some pink and brown stationary caught my eye, and my decision was made!
As with all the bigger furniture pieces Michael and I construct from scratch, the ‘order’ we work in is:
* He cuts the wood pieces’
* I then paint the wood pieces. (yes, before the item is built!) It really Is much faster and easier to paint this way when you can just lay all the pieces out and paint them all at once. Plus with my bad back it prevents me from having to crane my neck (which doesn’t crane much!) and reach into all the corners (which is difficult and painful for my back).
* He assembles the pieces after everything is painted and dry using his beloved air nailer.
* And then I go back and quickly touch up the spots that the air nailer scratched up. We’ve really got it down to a science!
Voila!
The pink and brown combo inspired many other items as well!
OUR WEBSITE : www.cscrafts.com/aj.html
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~ primitives ~ trash to treasure ~ shabby chic ~ cottage ~ Paris apartment ~ repurposed home goods ~ repaired ~ restyled home decor ~ reused ~ recycled art ~ handcrafted gifts ~ one of a kind ~ artist originals ~ second hand style ~ junk market style ~ flea market style ~ beautiful junk ~ beach cottage décor ~ unique home décor ~ vintage home décor ~ unique gifts ~ custom made gifts ~ custom made home décor ~ personalized signs ~ Sophie’s Cottage ~ grubby candles ~ how to craft books ~ Shabby Paris apartment ~ baby gifts ~ personalized gifts ~ AJ Finsand ~ upcycled ~ rebuilt ~ flea market chic ~ gift baskets ~ custom orders ~ vintage ~ collectibles ~
Got these little mirrors at the dollar store:
The mirror part came out like the glass on a picture frame, so there were a good candidate for a make-over:
So, I took the mirror out, sanded off the surface design on the belt sander (on most painted items like this, the painted design is ‘raised’ , so you need to sand it all the way off). Since I was using a belt sander and it was quick and easy, I sanded all the way down to the wood.
Then gave them a base coat of black. Then a top coat of some dark teal. Hand sanded with a coarse sanding sponge to distress a bit. Then used foam stamps to put the designs on.
OUR WEBSITE: www.cscrafts.com/aj.html
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~ primitives ~ trash to treasure ~ shabby chic ~ cottage ~ Paris apartment ~ repurposed home goods ~ repaired ~ restyled home decor ~ reused ~ recycled art ~ handcrafted gifts ~ one of a kind ~ artist originals ~ second hand style ~ junk market style ~ flea market style ~ beautiful junk ~ beach cottage décor ~ unique home décor ~ vintage home décor ~ unique gifts ~ custom made gifts ~ custom made home décor ~ personalized signs ~ Sophie’s Cottage ~ grubby candles ~ how to craft books ~ Shabby Paris apartment ~ baby gifts ~ personalized gifts ~ AJ Finsand ~
New neighboring store (dog groomer/boutique) needed something to display some carded dog collar charms from and asked me if I could create something for them. Here is what I came up with.
Took this old frame that I had in my stash. It’s a DEEP shadow box type frame. Painted it black and distressed it. Michael cut a wood insert for the backing, which I painted red and glued in. Then I added some nails that I painted black for them to hang the cards from. (I just used those green pieces of paper to figure out the positioning of the pegs.)
View of back
Side-view.
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Lots and LOTS of new things to show you this week. I painted lots of birdhouses, frames and BIG candle pedestals . . . played with seashells . . . . got in some new scrapbook embellishments . . .
DON’T FORGET!!! We are now open Saturdays only; 9 am – 4pm. Nearly all the new items are ‘one of a kinds’.
Weathered beachy blue birdhouses.
LOVE the way these turquoise birdhouses stand out on this green chair!
There are also some WHITE spindle birdhouses like there. I just forgot to take a picture of them!
Sugar cookie scent panrty jar candles.
One of a kind primitive red candle holder comes with the grubby candle.
Loooooong black primitive tray with cinnamon dusted votives.
Turquoise pedestal candle.
These next three candle pedestals were made from ONE vintage table leg cut into three pieces:
One of a kind framed grubby flag.
A few more little birdhouses on posts:
Little silicone dipped replacements bulbs have arrived!
LOVE this estate sale find clear ginger jar lamp filled with shells!
Lots of little jars of pretty shells too.
Primitive ‘carved’ black frame.
LOTS more black frames just in!
I ‘tried’ to get up close to show the detail on these . . .
And some shabby white frames:
And of course some turquoise frames!
Remember these ????
I finally got a few of the frames repainted. Just went with black; distressed for a bit of the boue to show through.
Waiting for a bare spot on the wall so I can HANG IT. Will probably paint a few of them white next.
I haven’t repainted any of the canvases yet, BUT, the glitter that was on them that I thought was going to be an ‘issue’ to work around, DID indeed come right off with a wet towel (as a reader suggested I try)
This plain brown boring thrift store frame was given a ‘beachy’ makeover.
The ‘distressing’ never shows up as well in the photos as it does in person!
Went on a little frame ‘binge’ last week. Decided to dig ALL the way to the bottom of my ‘project’ table PILE and see what was down there that I needed to work on. LOTS of little frames. Many of them half finished.
Picked up these little framed tags YEARS ago on clearance at the craft store. When I went to put pretty papers into them, they came apart. So I just tossed them in the pile! Had to completely reassemble them as I added the scrapbook paper and monograms. Have a few pink ones too; just forgot to take a pic of them.
Little unfinished shell frames from the craft store. Painted them antique white, then added a little stain. Added SAND PAPER for the backing.
I usually paint designs on these little frames. Base coat black, then a lighter top coat of color. Then sand to distress a bit so the darker base coat shows through. Had about a dozen of these that I had ‘prepped’ as such. Just was NOT inspired to paint on any designs. After I worked on the little shell frames I came across a mailer with these shell pictures in it and I just tore them out to frame!
The pink one is a scrapbook embellishment.
Then a few I just stamped on some pretty flourishes:
. . . . shall keep a true trash to treasurer from completing her appointed duties!
DAY 4 Spring Break project marathon and you guessed it! Woke up to falling snow, AGAIN!!! It’s warmed up a couple of degrees now so that it’s just icy cold RAIN falling. Really windy last night, which kept me up half the night. I feel a nice looooooooooooong nap coming on this afternoon.
And I really, REALLY needed to be able to work outside today because it’s Saturday and Michael is home today and there is not enough room for both of us to work inside the workshop. I dragged a couple more small things inside the house to paint. First coat of white paint on those two little spindle legged tables. Waiting for that paint to dry for a second coat, or for the rain to subside enough that I can walk out to the far storage shed and get s few of those princess print frames to work on.
Oh well, maybe since it’s this bad outside now that means it will be nice and dry when we have to deliver to our first show next weekend. There is nothing worse than traipsing in and out and in and out, to and from the trailer hauling product in to the show in the rain!
HEY! I don’t hear rain on the roof! That’s my cue! I’m off!
Well, I’ve been in a bit of a BLUE MOOD lately. No, that that kind of blue. BLUE! The color blue. Pretty Robin’s egg blue. So I meandered about the store to see what I had that I could re-paint. A couple of white flower buckets, some tin boxes, some white shutters, a paper mache box, some little wood frames.
So, then I had a whole table full of blue stuff . . . . and it needed ’something’. . . . a decorative element of some sort. So I went rummaging through by big box of foam stamps and found this set. PERFECT!!!
I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t even remember when or where or WHY I bought these. I honestly didn’t even know I had them. But they are perfect and will be getting a lot of use now that I have discovered them. (the brand name is Making Memories)
These 24″ tin stars were originally rust color. Then I sponge painted them white. Now I’ve done blue over the white. The layers of color add a lot more depth and interest.
Close up
These pretty little embossed tin boxes came to me white, with a red crackle finish on the heavy cardboard lid. I HATE crackle finishes! Well, REAL cracked from age paint is wonderful; but I’ve never seen a fake crackle job that I liked in the least.
I painted several of the lids in assorted pastel colors (several coats to fully cover the red!) and left the boxes white. Then I decided to sponge paint the box to enhance the embossing of the tin. THEN I realized what a pretty design was on the bottom of the box. It’s just too pretty to only be used ONLY as a box bottom!
So I sponge painted both the sides and bottom of several of them and will hang them on the wall as a piece of dimensional art. Now I just have to find a use for the lids. Maybe a collage . . .
Love the way this blue and brown box turned out. Gonna have to do a few sets of these now!
Flower box
Old wood tissue box cover.
Metal flower buckets.
I had already painted this little shelf blue a while ago; just added the brown flourish stamp.
Decorative shutters.
Metal ‘enjoy’ wall words were originally tan/rust.
Another repainted tin star, just a smaller one.
Now today I get to rearrange the store and make room for all this new stuff!
