Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Monday, June 21, 2010

A little birdie told me......

Good Day everyone!  I wanted to share with you one of my garage sale makeovers that I just finished.  And yes, it involves Heirloom White spray paint, and Ralph Lauren antiquing glaze in "smoke".  I know, you are shocked and surprised!  There are very few projects that I don't use Ralph on, and while I seem to use HW on just about everything, I am getting bold and branching out to the aqua family!  I'll be sure to show you some of my aqua redos soon!

Do you see the plain ol' ordinary wooden wall organizer in the photo below? Well, I know it looks pretty boring here, but check out what I did with it!

I just couldn't wait to get this baby painted when I brought it home, and while I didn't know exactly what I was going to do with her, I knew HW and some decoupage would be in her future!  First off, I primed, then followed with Herloom White spray paint.  For this project, I hung it up outside from a tree with a bit of floral wire looped thru the hanger on the back.  I really like this little technique. Rather than having to wait for one side to dry before doing the other side, you can get it all done at once!  Just be sure you don't accidentally spray paint the tree!  Oh, I forgot to mention that I epoxied a pretty wooden applique to the top, before I began painting.  They were on sale last week at Hobby Lobby, so I stocked up! I really love how the appliques add so much interest & detail!

After the paint was dry, I lightly sanded the edges & followed up with the antiquing glaze.  Just wipe it on & wipe it off.  Couldn't be easier!  I knew that I wanted to decoupage vintage sheet music to the front, as I've really been liking that look lately.  I wasn't sure what I was going to use after that, then I remembered seeing these sweet bird images over at The Graphic's Fairy.  I love birds, and I think these are just the cutest!  I especially love the bird below.  So after several coats of Mod Podge, letting dry in between, my little organizer was almost done.

There were three cup hooks at the bottom, and while they didn't look too bad, I wanted to freshen them up a bit.  I got out the Rub-n-Buff in "antique gold", and with disposable gloves on (a must when you work with this stuff, or you'll never get it off your fingers!), I applied a bit to each hook, then rubbed off the excess with a paper towel.  I put the screws back in place, and voila!  A brand new look!  I love the way it turned out, and can hardly believe that it's the same organizer as in the "before" picture!

I am linking up with these fun parties!
Karen at The Graphics Fairy, for Brag Monday
Trash to Treasure Tuesday, over at Reinvented
Faded Charm, for White Wednesday
Bobby Pins Boardwalk Bragfest
Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party
Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

45 comments:

mizdarlin said...

Okay..but see, you changed it up by makin' it funky with the sanding and adding the bird graphics..white never looked so good..and coming from someone like me, who is really not into white, that's a compliment! Excellent job.

Christine said...

I love love love how that came out! Wow!

Kim said...

Wow! Such a great transformation. Gotta love that Heirloom White!
xoxo,
Kim

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

Great job and a huge difference! It will fly out of your etsy shop. HA! Get it? Fly? oh boy, I'm losing it!

bettyp said...

What a beautiful letter holder !! Yours so smart!!!

kimmykats said...

I have been in the mood to use a little music myself! Beautiful finished job! Your HW never looked so good!

Prior said...

Love the little decoration at the top. You did at great job. Lezlee

Karen The Graphics Fairy said...

Wow, talk about drab to fab, this is gorgeous!!! It really looks like an expensive piece from a high end boutique. Great job!! Thanks so much for linking this one up to Brag Monday.

Sweet Bee Cottage said...

Hey that's tweet - oh I mean sweet! LOL

Wendy said...

Wow!! You did an amazing job! It looks great!

Cindy Adkins said...

Wow--this is astounding!!! What a fantastic job you did--you should be so proud--totally adorable!
HUGS,
Cindy Adkins
www.recoveryartist.com

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

What a great transformation! Charming!

Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door said...

Beautiful!! I guess we were both in a bird mode!! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It made my day, too!

Holly Lefevre said...

Love those birds and the Graphics Fairy! What a great makeover

Tania said...

this is so beautiful!

Amaco said...

Like what you did. Glad to see you found another use for AMACO Rub 'n Buff. I'd like to post your project on our Facebook and Twitter page to share with our followers. Can't wait to see your next project!

Heidi said...

That looks terrific, great job! I love the birds, your piece will really add a lot of interest to a room. Drop by for a visit sometime!
XO
Heidi - Heart and Home

My Cottage Charm said...

Hey, glad you stopped by my blog! :) I thought the sconces turned out nice...I just love goodwill and yard sales and all the great things you can do with all the junk you find! LOL I LOVE what you did with the organizer...too cute with the birdies. :) Heirloom white is a wonderful paint and I'm also getting addicted to the oil rubbed bronze. My house is kind of a mix of elegance meets cottage. :)
Have a great week
Melissa

Sarah AKA The Thriftress said...

I love your mail sorter now! You had a great vision to make something dated beautiful!
Sarah

One Cheap B*tch said...

That looks gorgeous now! I love the sheet music/bird combo!

Jeanine

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

Now that's just too darn cute!
Love the birds.

hugs
Sissie

Debbie said...

Oh my~~~I love how this turned out! You did a wonderful job with your mail sorter. Too cute!
Debbie@houseatthelake

Diann @ The Thrifty Groove said...

That turned out so sweet! I love your choice of graphics!

Amanda at 32˙North said...

Hi Donna,

i love decoupage, too, and your birds were such an excellent choice - it really came out well!

Amanda

Robyn said...

HOW fabulous! I love birds too and I think they are the PERFECT touch to your organizer! Glad I saw this on white wednesday!

Anonymous said...

Boy -- that turned out fabulous! I LOVE IT, Donna!

Rebecca said...

O.M.G. That is adorable! Thanks for sharing your wonderful white makeover! Happy WW! Hope your day is a lovely one.

Back Porch Blessings,
Rebecca

Suzanne said...

This is a fabulous project. You have such vision! You took something that was plain jane and made it fantastic!

Theresa Plas said...

How creative! Really love the end result. Great tip on your spray paint method too - so much faster that way!

Unknown said...

OMGosh I love it, that is the sweetest thing I have ever seen to put your mail in.

Melissa

Cheryl ~ ZanyMayd said...

What a Change ~ Love It!

Kathy said...

Hello there! Amazing results! You did a terrific job! I just love the birds and the sheet music behind them. The applique adds just the right touch!
Hope you have a terrific week - it seems to be on the downhill of a roller coaster !
God Bless,
Kathy

Brenda Pruitt said...

I adore decoupage, and your project is so lovely! Isn't The Graphics Fairy the best?
Brenda

Sherrie said...

Such a cute redo of your organizer. The birds are the perfect touch!

~ ~ Ahrisha ~ ~ said...

I love what you did with this little organizer. I use lots of vintage music too for crafting and love the look.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Attic Rat said...

Your mail sorter is wonderful! You have it a whole new life!

Happy hunting,
Teresa

Cecily said...

Super pretty! That turned out awesome! Great job.

Melissa said...

It is gorgeous sheet music and birds, one of my favorite combinations...

crimsoncat05 said...

I love this project!! I have one of these same mail/key holders (bought at the thrift), and haven't wanted to start on it yet. After seeing yours, I think I'm ready to tackle it!!

Tania Pelletier said...

Oh, I love it! I see those old organizer things all the time at garage sales... I'm gonna have to get me one!!!

Tania

jerriann said...

HI, thanks so much for leaving me a comment, makes me feel good. :) I love your project and I completely agree with adding the wooden applique. It adds such a nice touch. Love the sheet music and the birds, too. I'm going to have to remember some of the touches you used on this project.

I have a question, how do you link up to more than one party at a time? I've seen others to this and I just wondered how to do it when they are on different days.

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

What a brilliant idea! You did a super job on this, love it all, kudos to you!
Cindy

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Very pretty, Donna! I love the transformation! I'm sure someone will scoop that right up from your Etsy shop.

Anita said...

OK, you had me at spray paint....Brilliant ideas!

Unknown said...

Saw your post on The Graphics Fairy. Love your mail sorter. I just saw one at a thrift store and I'm wondering if it's still there.