Transforming a Gaudy Frame into a Glam Chalkboard

You know how much I love making chalkboards, right? Well today I thought I'd share with you my latest gaudy to glam chalkboard project!  When we were down in Savannah this past winter, I found a large vintage framed print while out thrifting.  While it was looking a bit worse for wear, I immediately was drawn to the ornate details of the frame.

 Here I am giving you a sneak peek of the end result, but it didn't start out looking this great. 

Oh, no! 

Here is what this puppy started out life as!

While I actually liked the vintage Italian print, which was mounted on hard board, it was looking pretty tired. And it just wasn't the look I was going for!

The frame actually was even gaudier in person than in this photo. The inner boarder was a gold velvety type material. But I didn't let that deter me!  Did you know you can actually paint over fabric?

Yes, you can!

So, after removing the print and giving the frame a good cleaning, I mixed up several shades of chalk paint by DecoArt, til I created a pretty shade of Robin's Egg Blue. One of my very favorite colors, I might add!

For that gold velvet border, I first painted it with Behr latex wall paint in cream. I didn't want any of that gold to show thru my chalk paint.  Once dry, I went over the entire frame with several coats of the Robin's Egg Blue.

Did I tell you how much I love that shade??!

 Then, I mixed both clear and brown creme waxes, also from DecoArt, and applied to the frame (but not the velvet border).  After letting dry, then buffing out, I was amazed at how the wax not only gave the frame an Old World feel, but highlighted all of the wonderful details that had been lost!

 I had hubby cut me a new piece of Masonite board, which I then covered with heavy duty chalkboard vinyl, and 

Viola!

A glamorous new chalkboard was born!

 I must say that I am very happy with how it turned out, and now I'm glad I gave that tired looking frame a second chance at life!

I've added it to my Etsy shop, if you care to take a look!

I wanted to thank all of you who visited my feature last Saturday, over at Junk Chic Cottage, and left such sweet comments!  I was beyond thrilled to be included in the Blogger Spotlight, and your kind words made it even more special!

Have a great day!

Another Drab to Fab Makeover!

Hello everyone!  Hope you all had a great Christmas!  It's hard to believe that it's over with already.  I don't know about you, but I'm so not looking forward to taking down decorations!  It's just not nearly as fun as putting them out!!

Now that Christmas is over, I finally had some time to work on a drab to fab makeover.  It felt so good to play again in my craft room!

Here is a sneak peek of the "after"!

And here is the "before"!  I found this wood framed chalkboard several weeks ago, in dire need of some love!  I knew right away that light pink would be the perfect color for this beauty in the making!

 So, I pulled out my "chalky finish" paints by DecoArt, and found just the right shade of pink that I was looking for!

I really love the beautiful carved floral and leaf design on the frame, which was hidden in that dark brown finish.

 So much better now, I think!  I also really love the sweet little built in ledge, perfect for an eraser and chalk!

 I gave it a generous dose of distressing, then followed with a poly sealer, also by DecoArt.

 Oh, and I recovered the old chalkboard with chalkboard vinyl, for a nice clean and fresh look.

 I've placed this cutie in my Etsy shop, if you care to take a look!

 Have a great weekend!

Some of My Latest Creations

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Well, another week has flown by, and we are already halfway thru the month of November!

There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to complete all of the projects and ideas that are swirling thru my head (I am sure you can relate!).  And with the holiday season fast approaching, I know that it's time for me to try and get super organized (notice I said "try"!).

So today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest creations that I've added to my Etsy shop.

 I'm always hunting for frames to paint, and when I find a matching pair, I quickly snatch them up!  For these little cuties, I've added copies of gorgeous vintage floral wallpaper.  I am really loving the look!

 Why didn't I think of that sooner?  I can't wait to put some more together!

Love the sweet flowers and colors, too!

 Next up is a set of glass vases, that I hand painted in pretty shades of coral. I've been having fun playing with coral, it's a popular color right now.  And it's also really popular to use painted vases at weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, and more!

 I gave these a generous dose of distressing, and embellished them with some of my glittered hydrangea blossoms, all tied on with sweet creamy cotton lace.

 Love how all of the details just pop, with the addition of the paint and distressing!

 I never realized just how much I love coral!  For the frame below (that comes with glass and backing), I mixed up my own pretty hue, and was pleased with the end result!  Love the pretty wooden appliques at each corner.

 You've probably seen my frame collections in the past.  They are one of my favorite things to do.  I hunt weekly for interesting frames that I can paint.  While the recipient can of course add their own photos or artwork to the frames, for their photo shoots I like to add decorative papers to jazz things up at bit!

For this set I painted the frames, all vintage, gray, cream, and pale pink (love that combo!).

 The frames all have great curves  Isn't this gray one cute?

 And you know how much I love chalkboards!

I repurposed this vintage Homco frame into a new and pretty chalkboard.

I hand painted it a very pale pink.  Notice the cute little flowers that go all along the border?

 And still feeling in a coral mood, I painted this sweet cottage style shelf the same pinky coral that I did the larger picture frame that I shared with you.

 Shelves are always very popular in my shop, and this one just sold.

The other goodies can be seen here if you want to take a peek!

Have a great weekend!

A Drab to Fab Makeover & a Fun Win

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day weekend!

It's hard to believe that the middle of May is already upon us, isn't it?

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recent "drab to fab" makeovers.

Of course I have to show you a little "teaser" photo first!  I love finding unique frames that I can transform into chalkboards. 

 Sometimes of course you have to look past what is, to what could be.

Are you ready to see what it used to look like?

I immediately was drawn to this large hand carved wood frame, with a linen looking inner fabric border.  I just knew it would make a gorgeous chalkboard, with a little tlc!

Wow!  Does this photo scream 1970's, or what?  I did feel a bit sad thinking that someone (a family member?) didn't value the photo of the little girl enough to keep it.

It actually hailed all the way from Prince Edward Island, Canada. What it was doing in a thrift store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will remain a mystery!

Ok, I am totally dating myself here, but I remember when this young girl's look was in style!

As a matter of fact, I wore a dress very similar to this, when I was a junior bridesmaid in my older sisters wedding!  My mom made all of the bridesmaid's dresses, in baby blue polyester!  They had long sleeves, and plenty of lace like in this photo.  And can you believe that my sister's wedding dress was polyester as well?  Yep!  That was the 70's for you!

 Ok, I'm getting a bit off track here!

Are you ready to see the "after"?

 Wow, what a difference paint makes, don't you think?

I knew right away that I wanted to paint it my favorite shade of creamy white.  Hubby cut a masonite board for me, which I then painted with many layers of chalkboard paint.

A bit of distressing, and I think the frame is so much happier, don't you?

I've placed it in my Etsy shop, if you care to take a peek!

 Awhile back, I was thrilled to win a giveaway of a Ramsign enamel sign, over at Trisha's, of 

Glass Slippers and All Sorts of Stuff!

(thank you again, Trisha!)

 Well, I was super excited when the package arrived in my mailbox the other day, all the way from Denmark!

Rather than choosing our house number (since I didn't want to leave it behind when we move, whenever that may be!), I decided to go with our wedding anniversary date (an idea I got from Trisha!).

The sign is even nicer in person than I thought it would be!  It is made from a heavy, high quality enamel, in my very favorite blue and white!

Here I created a little vignette, along with our wedding picture.  Hard to believe that this August we will be celebrating 13 years!  We were married on the beach in Kauai, at sunset!
(whoops!  I just noticed that you can see a reflection of my pjs in our wedding photo!  I snapped the shot while I had my pink puppy pjs on!)

Time sure flies!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Chalkboards!

Bon Jour Mon Amis!

If you visit me on a regular basis, you know how much I love chalkboards!  So today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest creations that I've placed in my Etsy shop.

 I was thrilled to discover this vintage Syroco frame last week.  Of course it was "gaudy gold" when I found her!  It's amazing what some Heirloom White and a little tlc can do, don't you think?

Actually, this chalkboard has a little secret!

 She's also a mirror!  I added chalkboard vinyl to the reverse side of the mirror.  So, just flip it over for a totally new look!

 Next, I painted a large wooden frame a pretty baby blue (my favorite color!). 

 I think this would be great in a baby boy's room!

 For this oblong chalkboard, I made a bit of departure in my usual color palette.

I painted the frame a metallic gold, followed by some distressing.

 Then, I added some red and burnt umber paint, to give it Old World appeal, and highlight all of the wonderful details.

 Ok, this large cream chalkboard is one of my favorites.  It's huge!

 The pictures just don't do it justice!

 I found this pretty vintage Homco frame a few weeks ago.  It was missing it's mirror, so of course I just had to turn it into a chalkboard!  The frame was originally a boring brown.  I think it's oh so much better in pink!

 After making dozens and dozens of chalkboards for my shop over the past few years, I finally got around to making this one for myself!  I've placed it in my craft room, with scripture that really helps give me a lift.

Powerful words for difficult times.

 I found the frame at a garage sale earlier this summer.  It actually had a mirror in it, that ended up breaking as I was trying to remove it from the frame (phooey!).  So, I knew that was a good excuse to turn it into a chalkboard for moi!  It was gold when I found it, so I could hardly wait to give it my Heirloom White treatment!  Believe it or not, the frame is molded plastic, but you'd never guess!  It really has the look of carved wood!

Only a few short days before hubby and I leave for France!  I am so excited, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep the night before we go!  

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Au Revoir!

Giant Vintage Framed Chalkboard Makeover

Hello, and Happy 4th, a day early!  What are your plans for the day?  Tomorrow we will be having friends over thru out the day and evening, for a cookout, time on the lake, then fireworks over the lake.  Oh, and a boat parade around the lake at noon:)

So, I thought I would take a break from preparing for the festivities, and share with you one of my latest transformations.

You know how much I love creating chalkboards from found frames. Well, here is my latest, and I must say all time biggest, vintage framed chalkboard!  This puppy is huge, measuring nearly 5 feet long!  I wish that I had saved a photo of her "before", but I accidentally deleted it, ooops!  Anyway, it's made of a heavy resin, similar to Syroco.  I happened to find her last summer when we flew home for a quick visit. She was at a yard sale, looking none too pretty with her dirty gold frame and a, well, lets just say rather homely looking and equally dirty old print.

Since she was so big, and not about to fit into our carry on bags, I stored her at my Mom's house, til we moved back here this spring.  A good cleaning, some Heirloom White, and a new masonite board (cut by hubby) covered in chalkboard vinyl, and she is much, much happier!

 I really love the details of this amazing frame.  It is heavily grained, and really does look like carved wood!

The exciting news is that I placed her in my Etsy shop, and a bride to be purchased it for use at her wedding!  Yeah!

On a side note, I do want to thank you all for your prayers for my Mom.  This past week has been very difficult, and just knowing that you've been praying brings much comfort.

Enjoy your day tomorrow, and stay safe!

Another Drab to Fab Mirror Transformation!

Hello, hope you all had a great weekend!  Did you remember to "spring ahead"?  While I love the extra day light, I hate losing a precious hour of sleep!  I do love my sleep!

You know how much I love both mirrors and chalkboards, right?  Well, today I'll share with you one of my latest creations, which combined them both!

Usually I like to show you the "after" first, but today I thought I'd go ahead and show you what this baby started out life as!

Not terrible, but kind of boring, don't you think?  And oh so ready to be painted a nice creamy color!

 And viola!  Here she is after her makeover!  I just so happened to have a pretty floral resin applique on hand, that I thought would be perfect added to the top.  I then painted her my favorite Heirloom White, followed by what I like to call a "generous dose" of distressing!

 

I love how the mirror is tiltable, and now has tons of vintage charm (though she is a newer piece).

 Here's a close up of the applique.  Isn't it gorgeous?

 And, to make her even more versatile, I added chalkboard vinyl to the backside of the mirror.  (that was another of hubby's brainstorms!!).

 I'm so happy with how she turned out (and I think she feels much better, too!)

 While I would love to keep her for myself, I've placed her in my Etsy shop.

Hope you have a great week!  Now go out and find something to transform!
Linking up with White Wednesday, over at Faded Charm.  Be sure to check it out!