March Madness Day 30 - Vintage Platter

This might not be a vintage platter but it's not painted with Amy Howard Vintage Affliction.  Let's talk about blue....

If you're not seeing blue everywhere you're not paying enough attention.  Platter is Amy Howard Vintage Affliction, bowl I found a long time ago that was blue and jumped in my cart, the flower pot was a class I taught at ACE Hardware in Amy Howard Tick Tock.

Watch your TV shows, look at the clothes in the stores, look in the magazines.  BLUE is everywhere and I can't get enough of it either.  

All shades of blue and then put all those blues together. 

This handle looks good right?  A little distress with some Amy Howard Vintage Wax.

Do you remember the before?   I used this tray for Jr.'s birthday party rice krispy treats and then I washed it.... water spots galore.  

Now no more water spots.  

A quick peek at the before and after.

One more day of March Madness.  Oh what will I do with all my time?

Later..... 

March Madness Day 28 - Graphite Shelf

I was trying to arrange my gallery wall on the carpet the other night which includes this shelf.  I painted it Annie Sloan Graphite.

The shelf has lots of details and makes it pretty unique.  I distress the details to make them stand out.

And then used Annie Sloan Dark Wax.  No clear wax this time, when using dark wax directly on the graphite it becomes a beautiful black finish.   I couldn't find a before picture of this shelf.... I think it was before I starting taking pictures of my finds.  But if you happen to find it on the blog let me know.  

So you ask how the gallery wall went?  It didn't..... wrong day, wrong time, wrong light.... I just wasn't feeling it.  Everything got put back away and I'll try another day.  

Later.....

March Madness Day 27 - Happy Easter with flowers

My very wonderful neighbor and friend knows I love tulips and this morning she brought me down the most beautiful tulips for our Easter table.  She and her husband are the best and we are so lucky to live right next door to them.  We might get into a bit of trouble with them..... like Friday's adventure to watch the Badger game lasted into Saturday morning....

So how about this weekly find painted.... 

It was pretty ugly in it's before state.

I painted the inside and outside with Krylon Spray Chalk Paint in White

Then I painted the outside only with Amy Howard Cartouche Green.  I love this color, very beachy spring color.  Distressed down to the white and in some spots the raw metal.

Used Annie Sloan Clear Wax to finish it, I liked the clean fresh look so no dark wax was added.  Don't be afraid to mix all the different brands of paint and finishes they get along very well together.  

Another look at the before and after.  She sure is pretty now.

Later.....

March Madness Day 26 - Bird Print

The bird print didn't last long without me putting some paint on it.  I liked the soft yellow of the mat and decided to use Amy Howard Mollie Yellow which matched perfect.

He got paired with my other bird tile in the bathroom.

And it matches this vase too.

A little distressing and then Amy Howard Clear Wax.

Another look at the before and after.

Later.....

March Madness Day 10 - Flower Pot

Tonight I taught an Amy Howard Painting class.  We started with plain terra-cotta flower pots that I'm sure most of you have in your garden sheds in various sizes.  

To give them a new life this summer grab yourself some chalk paint.  The terra-cotta will soak up the paint really well but with the chalk paint you still need no prep work and they will only need one coat of paint.  

I started mine with the top rim painted in Spa White and the bottom half in Tick Tock.

I taught a new process tonight called white washing.  Mixing the Spa White with water and washing it to mute the bright color.  

This paint will dry very quickly because the terra-cotta will soak everything right in.  The paint will feel cold but it will be dry.  Distress the pot however you chose with 120 grit sandpaper.   Embrace those chips with a bit of distressing, imperfections make them more interesting.  

I waxed with Amy Howard Vintage Wax and added a little Dark Wax on the Tick Tock to recreate those dirty garden hands that aged this pot.

Love the brush stokes and I can't wait to put this on the patio table and light the candle on those warm summer nights.  

Wanna come to a paint class?  There is a sign up at the ACE Hardware store for the monthly class. These girls are a lot of fun.  April is a Drawer or Door class which will get you a liter of paint and one of the Amy Howard brushes to take home.  It's a great deal, I'll see you there.

Later.....

Snickers Tin - Trash to Treasure Tuesday

A stunning cookie tin that will look fantastic on your cupboard and if you're a grandma it could be a favorite with the grandchildren.... when it's full of course.

This tin reminds both John and I of a tin his mother had on her cupboard, it was always full of Snickers snack size candy bars.  John hates chocolate so he didn't remember what was in it but I do.  Whenever there was a health issue with his dad or her she would tease about having to stock up on Snickers since they were a favorite for everyone and extra company meant more Snickers were eaten.  

One time I remember her giving me a Snickers from that tin is when we had to go tell her and dad some news.  As we sat down she could see I needed a pick-me-up so she handed me a Snickers from the tin.  Our news was difficult and I wasn't able to eat the candy bar so I set it on the end table in the living room.  That candy bar sat in the exact same spot for a good year or two.  It was a reminder for her about the news we shared.  Shocking news but wonderful news.... our first grandchild was born, we had 20 minutes to adjust to the news and so far 12 1/2 years to enjoy every minute of her.  Grandma Great's Snickers have gotten us through good times, bad times and in our case an amazing life.

  I'm not sure what happened to the tin but it sure is a memory for us as I hope this one will be for someone as well.  Maybe they will stock it with Snickers.

Painted with Amy Howard Nottaway.

Distressed very heavily to show wear from the hundreds of times a Snickers was enjoyed.

Clear and Dark Wax for some more wear.

I just love that little bird I found at a second hand store, he's a salt shaker and he's a treasure of mine that won't ever see paint.  

In case you didn't see this tin from last weeks finds here it is again before it got a good cleaning with all the grease and grim that was left behind.  Chalk paint does not need any prep work but making sure the piece is clean MUST be done.  Grease and paint are not friends.

I'd love to keep this tin for a reminder of Grandma Great but it's not her tin and I can't keep Snickers in it at my house.  I'm not sure how she didn't eat them all but I would.  I'm known as the Fruit Snack and Juice Box Grandma to my grandchildren.... Gotta have them at all times and grandma usually sneaks at least one in their hand as they say good bye.  

 So this tin heads to the store this week along with many other painted treasures.

What will your grandchildren remember you having for treats during their visits?   Make it memorable.  

Later....

Trash to Treasure Tuesday - Recipe Box Makeover

Here we are Tuesday again.... good thing I've been spending a few hours in the garage.  Last weekend I finished up this sweet recipe box and had to bring her in the house for her own little photoshoot.  

Isn't she sweet?

Do you remember how she started?   Pretty plain and solid, not much to show off on your cupboard... not a fun spot for those hand written recipe cards that have been passed down from your mother or maybe even your grandmother.  She just needed some layers of love and paint.

And she's ready to take the job of holding and sharing those special recipes.

I gave her a solid color of yellow and then washed her with a soft aqua/green.  A bit of clear and dark wax to give her a bit more age and I can't take my eyes off her.  

My own recipe box isn't this fun but it was a wedding gift so I won't be switching them.  I don't use my hand written cards very often but when I looked back through them there are recipes in there from my mom and John's mom.  It was fun to look at them again.  I also found a few photos that were tucked in there.  This one of my mom riding Adam's rocking horse the year she gave it to him for Christmas.  

Here you can kinda see the rocking horse she found it at the dump, she scooped it right up and brought it home.  Gave it a fresh coat of paint, made him some new leather ears and gave him to Adam for Christmas when he was 1 year old.  She was a pretty crazy grandma, she was always being silly which is why she is riding the horse....... I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree...... with her love for junk at the dump and being a bit silly.   (don't you just love the Charlie Brown tree behind her..... that was totally her style)

My mom died 6 months after this was taken..... The horsey still gives my grandchildren hours of fun and as much as he needs painting again it just won't happen.  Somethings are meant to remain a memory from those we love.

Here is another one I found in there of mom.  The grandkids always wanted her to play the piano so they could sit with her and sing.  Lynn standing, Shannon sitting on moms right and Marcus behind her.  

I love that I found these memories, they were found on a day I was missing her. 

Back to the star of the post.  Her insides are the soft aqua/green and my waffles card seems to always make the front row. 

I don't think I need to brag her up anymore, she is beautiful.

What memories do you have in your recipe box?     Later....

Circle Challenge

Before Christmas my girlfriend brought me a bag full of wood circle pieces.  She challenged me to find something to do with them, her father makes a beer can holder and this is the part he throws away and he has LOTS of them.  She's like me..... it's hard to throw a perfectly good piece of wood in the fire.

I tried many things but nothing worked.  I put them away and searched Pinterest many nights trying to find something.  There is many ideas but not really anything I liked.  The challenging part is the hole in the center and the sharp lip around the diameter. 

So this girlfriends 50th birthday is coming up.....  I had one idea that I needed to try so I could surprise her with completing the challenge.   This is a bad cell phone photo with it laying on the table but John and I finished it just minutes before walking out the door to the party, no time for formal pictures.

I brought it with to her surprise birthday party and her dad had to rush right over and check it out.  Poor guy still thinks I carved each of these flowers out of those oak circles.

Back board and wood knobs are painted with Rust-oleum Linen White with Clear and Dark Wax. 

The circles are painted with Amy Howard Cartoucsh Green with Clear ad Dark Wax.

She had one of the circles painted red already so I just added a heart and a fun window bracket thingy with an old screw to cover up the hole and some twine for hanging. 

So proud that I passed that challenge, it wasn't easy and she loved it.  

A true trash to treasure with a bit of memory for a friend.

There might still be a few of these going in the campfire but I'm willing to try again to find another use for them. 

Sometimes you don't find what you need on Pinterest so you have to use your own creativity

Later....