seeing stars

Enter the star...

Those of you who know me, or have been following along with me, will know that I love a simple graphic pattern. I love stipes, dots,and swiss crosses. These patterns show up all the time in both my work and in my house. I love their boldness matched with their simplicity. It was only a matter of time before I added stars into the mix.    

I picked this bar cart up the other day at a favorite thrift store. It was in desperate need of some love, but had great bones. It didn't take me long to decide what to do with her. She called out for something more than just a solid colour, but nothing too fancy. It still had to be simple.

Oh and I took these pics before the hardware was re-attached. Just too impatient I guess.


Here she is before:

A slight upgrade, I think.


Here is what I did:

• under painted in charcoal grey
• 2 coats of homemade chalk paint in pure white
• hand painted starts in a random pattern
• light distressing
• waxed and buffed for protection

Oh and just to get you into the star spirit too here are some amazing images featuring stars:

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

You can find all these images, as well as a link to their original source on my Pinterest page.

Come on, admit it, you're loving the stars as well.

*** A big thanks to Jamie @ better with age for featuring my polka dotted cabinet ***

Linking to:
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://www.primpjunktion.com/ 
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/
coastal charm
http://missmustardseed.com
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/
http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/
http://diyshowoff.com/
http://www.somuchbetterwithage.com

 

favorite buys: the leather bag...

So today I am featuring one of my all time favorite buys. I have been looking for a new bag for a while now, and if you follow me on Pinterest then you will have noticed my minor obsession with bags.

I am really discerning when it comes to bags.

I have 2 reasons for this: one being that I am trying to streamline my life, and therefore my wardrobe, and only buy things that fit both the need and love categories. Let me tell you this is no easy feat as many, many things fall into one of the 2 categories but very few things fall into both categories.

I was also particular about my new bag because I absolutely LOVED my old bag.  I received my old bag as a gift, a few years ago, 3 I think and I loved everything about it. I know you have seen these bags before:

feed projects

 Overall this bag held up really well and I was really considering getting another, but I will tell you why I didn't. Though I LOVE the burlap I can't wash it and for my everyday bag I NEED to be able to wash it or clean it up in some way. While the bag is structurally still going strong, the burlap is a mess. The message: I should have been more careful with it.

So anyway, enough with my love letter to my old bag, lets move onto my new bag:

It was love at first sight.

the leather has been worked, tanned and died by the seller himself

hand forged pieces brought in from Tennessee

hand stitched

I've had this bag for about a month now and I love it more everyday. It is pretty roomy (perfect for this mom with toddlers - or someone who has a lot of stuff to tote around). It is something that will last forever and only get better with age.

Here is where you can get one for yourself:

little lion man leather

Yes this bag was pricey. But considering the craftsmanship and the longevity that this bag promises, I think it was worth every penny.

***disclosure: everything featured in my favorite buys segments have been purchased by me and in most cases the businesses featured are unaware of my endorsement at the time of publication***

should it stay or should it go?

Move over stripes, cause I've found a new obsession...

So what is this new and ground breaking discovery?

Well, friend, I'm glad you asked cause this is going to blow your mind...

...or not.

My newest phase is... drum roll please... the lovely polka dot.

Oh how I love them. And you guessed it. They are starting to take over around here (you may have noticed the progression of this obsession, if you follow me on pinterest). I have polka dot sheets, polka dot pants (oh yes I do), polka dot dresses (truly what wardrobe is complete without at least one). Oh, and of course I am churning out polka dot furniture like there is no tomorrow. 

Here is my latest addition to the polka dot furniture family:

isn't she sweet?

It may not look like it but this girl is HEAVY so I really didn't feel like moving her around, dressing her up and then hoisting her into the car to go to the shop. I tried to convince myself that the above photos were "good enough," but in the end I thought she deserved a little better and so I finished the job. I moved her to a better spot, styled her up and then something happened...

Turns out I may have fretted unnecessarily, as I am pretty sure she has found a new home, right here beside my couch.

She fits in perfectly and has introduced just the right amount of dot to our living room. My wallet is taking one for the team and has agreed to look the other way. love when that happens...

For those who are interested here are her details:

• under-painted in charcoal
• 2 coats of Annie Sloan's pure white chalk paint
• light distressing to allow the charcoal to peak through
• random polka dot pattern stamped onto interior panel of the doors
• sealed with clear and some dark wax to lend a little more "age"

Linking to:
http://diyshowoff.com/
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://www.primpjunktion.com/ 
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/
coastal charm
http://missmustardseed.com
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/
http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/
http://www.somuchbetterwithage.com

lucketts green and polka dots

 I was able to combine a couple of my loves into this little project, that being, my long-time love of polka dots and my new love of lucketts green.

There is so much that I want to tell you about this project, but I will try to keep to the point and not ramble...

 

I didn't prep the piece at all, just jumped right in and painted 2 coats of lucketts green milk paint. It went on pretty well and had excellent coverage. You can't really tell from the photos but there is an amazing variation in the colour giving this piece such depth.

After painting and distressing the table I stamped polka dots on the drawer fronts as well as the table top. I used a permanent, water resistant ink to do the stamping. I also painted the hardware, and to ensure good adhesion, I used Miss Mustard Seed's bonding agent. When everything was good and dry I waxed and buffed it.

Here it is all styled up:

This was my first time using Miss Mustard Seed's paint. I have had a love affair with her colours from afar, but hadn't made the leap to buy until now. I typically use the Old Fashioned Milk Paint, cause it is what I started with and now I am super comfortable with it.  It was a fun challenge to try something new and I have to say I love how this piece turned out.

I will be sorry to let this one go. But go it must. So, if you're local you can check it out in person at my space (booth 202) at the Old Strathcona Antique Mall.

Linking to:
http://diyshowoff.com/
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://www.primpjunktion.com/ 
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/
coastal charm
http://missmustardseed.com
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/
http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/

favorite buys: paper straws

Today I'm featuring these amazing straws:

I picked them up from a pretty incredible lady (who is also our latest craft group recruit), but enough about how amazing, funny and talented she is - I could go on all day there - lets talk paper straws.

These guys are handmade and are sold in a variety of colours. Of course I went with grey and white...

Here they are all styled up and ready for use:

 

I LOVE them. They are so pretty and match my kitchen so perfectly. I will admit that I have not used them yet. I am hoarding them. I'm not ready to sacrifice one just yet - but when I do I'm pretty sure I will have the cutest drink on the block.

Here's how you can get your hands on some of these cuties:

www.a-la-carte-designs.com 

Happy shopping :)   

***disclosure: everything featured in my favorite buys segments have been purchased by me. In most cases the businesses featured are unaware of my endorsement at the time of publication***

dining room vignette

I have been moving things around in my dining room lately. Nothing major, just a few tweaks here and there.  I may show the complete room, eventually, but until then I will offer up a few snippets...

I bought this tray table several years ago, it was cheap and was a perfect fit in my then-house. Last year it received a makeover with some white paint and some sandpaper. This table has been moved all over the house, it always seems to fit, wherever it goes.

I shopped the house for all my "tray toppers".  A glass canister holds my budding collection of vintage silver serving spoons, a pastry "cloche" is layered over a white shell topiary, and then I have a vintage silver candle stick in there too - thrown in for good measure.

I am loving this mix of old and new; mat and shinny; dark and light. It's the perfect fit for this corner, for now at least. Even if, as is characteristic of me, the table isn't centred quite perfectly on the painting, the candle is a little askew and the painting isn't exactly level (I am wandering over there right now to fix all said problems - so can we just pretend that you don't notice them in the pictures).

Anyone else caught the re-decorating bug lately?

Linking to:

http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/
http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/
http://diyshowoff.com/
coastal charm
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://www.primpjunktion.com/ 
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/

PS - for anyone interested: long before we had our new floors put in I did a post about the plate display in here. You can check that post out here.

spring time pots...

I thought I would share a little project I recently completed for a family member (remember my rule about custom: only family).  I started it for her before the snow flew, but knowing that winter was upon us she told me to wait until spring to finish them (a time line I could work with...).

The other day I pulled the 3 large pots out of my basement and finished them up. I couldn't really stage all 3 together and since they all look the same I am just showing you the one. So without further adieu, here it is:

You can't really tell from the pic, but this is a pretty big pot, about 18".  I under painted it in grey and then over painted it with white, i watered it down quite a bit, so that it would have an aged and uneven look. Mission accomplished...

My plan all along was to distress the pot after the graphic was applied, but I kinda like it as is, so I left it. The graphic hails from the graphics fairy.  Instead of doing a transfer for the image I decided to make a stencil. It was a bit of a process to make the stencil, but I didn't have to worry about transfer adhesion and evenness.

Anyway, these pots put me in the mood for spring. Now if only the weather would cooperate...

Linking to:
http://diyshowoff.com/
http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.ca/
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://www.primpjunktion.com/ 
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/
coastal charm
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/
http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/