Spring Loveliness - In the Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing with French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday.

French Country Cabinet Makeover

 

 

Finally, there are no more dark brown pieces of furniture in the front entry.

I painted a brown hutch that we inherited with the new house to match the French Bench across from it. 

 

This was how it looked 'before'.  I was about to take the piece to the goodwill, but it fit perfectly in the entryway.  It gave me just enough storage for seasonal décor.  What to do??

 

 

 

Paint it, of course.

 

Here's a quick look at the process.

Putting on the first coat

First coat on

Second coat on, still wet



Paint is all dry, ready to do a light sand to remove any brushmarks

Brushing on the dark furniture wax

You can see the waxed, and unwaxed area

 

 

As you can see in the 'before' picture, there was leaded glass in the doors.  Unfortunately, it did not come out in one piece.

 

 

OOPS!

 

 

But, I had some chicken wire in the barn.  And some hot glue :)

 

  

 

 

 

 

Here's the finished piece.

 

 

 

The lilacs around here have been so beautiful.  It's my surprise garden again.  Rhododenderons and Lilacs, and things of all kinds blooming everywhere.  I put together an arrangement of white, dark purple, and traditional lilacs, together with green hellebores and euphorbia.  I put them into a white soup tureen. 

 

 

They made the whole house smell amazing.

 

 

 

Sharing today with:

 

Saavy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays

French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia's Tuesday's Treasures

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

 

 

The Butterfly Shawl

 

My recent finished object is:  The Urania Shawl.

 

 

This shawl took about 3 months, and you can see it in an earlier stage here.

 

 

Made of sturdy shetland wool, with two alternating colors - both of which have long repeats themselves.

 

Here is the shawl as it is blocking.  I am loving my lace blocking wires.

The colors blend right into my garden. 

 

I couldn't love the 'funky' colors more.

Definitely reminiscent of a moth or a butterfly.

 

The zig zag's or chevrons make me think the popular clothing designer Missoni.

 

 

back view

Even if I'm in a hurry, or wearing sweatpants to the grocery store, the addition of this colorful shawl makes me feel like an artist. 

Everywhere I go.


Joining in this week with:

Ginny's Yarn Along
Frontier Dreams Keep Calm Craft On
Natural Suburbia's Creative Friday
Tami Ami's Finished Object Friday
and
Just Winging It's Show Your Stuff

French Bench

 

It's another Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Makeover. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This peice had definitely seen better days. 

 

 

 

This time I used the color French Linen.

I also used the dark wax instead of the clear.

I used a drop cloth from Home Depot as the upholstery fabric and stapled it to the underside of the bench.

I'm so happy with how it turned out.  And it's so much better than the dark brown.


Spring has definitely sprung around here, and I am in heaven.

 

There is no more wonderful fragrance than the air of Spring.

It's pure loveliness. 

Sharing with:

Feathered Nest Friday
Fabulously Creative Friday Linky Party
Furniture Feature Friday