Turquoise Faux Rococo Shelf

This little shelf came from a yard sale where everytime I asked the woman, "how much?", she would say one dollar. Some of the stuff was probably worth a buck, but some of the things were worth a lot more. It did not matter to her because as far as she was concerned, it was all a dollar. It was like the dollar store of yard sales!

I painted the shelf with a couple of coats of turquoise craft paint.

This is what it looked like after two coats of paint. Better than before, yes, but still boring and doing nothing to bring out the scrolling details.

I turned to my old favorites, Ralph Lauren tobacco glaze and antique gold Rub 'n Buff, to bring out the details and add a little interest and depth to this piece. I think they worked their magic!

A shelf worthy of its (faux) Rococo title!

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Brass Candlesticks Revived in Aqua

This old pair of brass candlesticks came from the same attic sale as this pair. They had been sitting out in the rain and were discolored and splotchy when I came to their rescue. I am sure they would have been destined for the trash, if I had not come along at the right time.

I love thier shape and thier tall stature. After painting on the Bullseye prmer, I painted them gray and they just looked kind of bland to me. So...I mixed some turquoise and cream craft paint to make a creamy aqua color. I gave it a couple of coats and distressed the edges.

Ahh...Much better!

Mini Lamp Shades Transformed

I have a wall sconce for sale at the boutique that I purchased at a yard sale with two mini shades for $5. When I bought it, it was black iron, but Mr. Rubbish spray painted it heirloom white for me (before he quit). I added a glaze that I made by mixing some brown acrylic paint with water and then distressed it. This wall sconce was one of the first items that I took to the shop. Recently, a customer bought the two mini shades on the sconce for a light she had at home. My poor wall sconce was left naked.

It does not look very pretty here. I am sure it does not help that the wall color looks exactly the same as the color of the sconce.

Luckily, I had two crystal-trimmed, yet plain, shades from another garage sale that I decided to recover in the same cabbage rose fabric that I used for this rectangular shade. I find it easiest to cut and glue each section for these wire lamp shades, otherwise it is difficult to keep the pattern straight. The cylinder shades are definitely easier and less time consuming because you just have to glue one piece around. I used a linen-colored trim for the top and bottom and covered the seams with folded fabric strips.

Here they are - perfect for my wall sconce and hopefully for a new home soon!

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Vintage Crewel Fabric Pillows

I have been kind of obsessed with vintage crewel fabrics lately. I love the 3-D effect of the chunky embroidery on a linen background. They usually have interesting and colorful floral patterns too. I decided to dress up my living room with a few crewel pillows. I already had the feather inserts, so I used the crewel fabric to make removable covers.

The first pillow came from a vintage Romann & Stroheim fabric sample (sad there was only enough for one pillow) that I purchased on ebay for $.99 plus shipping! It came with another sample that I did not like as well. What a deal! They were so cheap because some of the dye from the embroidery had bled onto the linen. I figured, for a dollar, it was worth a try and the dye came out when I laundered them with a little stain stick. I backed the cover with some plain linen and made ties for closure on the back.

I made two more pillow covers with vintage crewel fabric sold by the yard on ebay. I only needed one yard for the two pillows, so it did not cost me too much. I added some pom pom trim for the edging and an envelope closure on the back. I love the moss green linen backround of this fabric.

See what I mean about the vintage crewel embroidery? Isn't it gorgeous?

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