Making the Most of What You've Got

Years ago, I enjoyed watching a Canadian cooking show called "The Urban Peasant".  The chef was an older man transplanted from England, with a fun sense of humor and cute British accent.  One of his favorite little saying was
"make the most of what you've got" 

(imagine said in an English accent!!) 

Meaning, instead of running out and buying a bunch of fancy ingredients for your dinner, look around in your pantry and fridge to see what you've got.  Find some inventive and resourceful uses for what you already have on hand to create a delicious meal!

So, weather it be in life, decorating, crafting or cooking, I try my best

to make that my life's mantra and

"make the most of what I've got".

(which I often repeat to myself in the chef's accent!)

With that, I can't wait to share with you my latest glittery Christmas creations,

made with what I already have on hand!

 (I got a little carried away with my photo shoot, so lots of pics coming up!!)

I found this adorable vintage French Christmas angel on Pinterest.  Isn't she a doll?

I knew right away she would be perfect for what I had in mind!

 For the petite faux Christmas tree that I've been putting up in our sunroom the past few years, I've decided to go with a glittery French theme.  

So I fashioned these pretty little ornaments that I had so much fun putting together!

Silvery tinsel trim, shimmery silver cording, silver glitter glue, and sparkly snowflakes, and 

oooh, la, la!

 I'll show you in a sec what materials I used.

 Continuing on with my "use what you already have" motto,

I took a glass jar that held a candle that we just finished burning. I removed the label and gave the inside a good washing.

 I then used a light coat of Mod Podge to adhere vintage sheet music and the angel graphic.  After it dried, I applied a top coat and generously coated it with clear coarse glitter.

(Martha Stewart brand is my glitter of choice.)

 I tucked a tea lite inside, and when lit, the effect is just magical!

The jar came with a gold metal lid, but I wanted it to be silver.

No worries!  I just brushed on some more Mod Podge, then a liberal coat of fine silvery glitter.

Because you know what my motto is..................

"You can never have too much glitter!"

I didn't want the glitter to shed whenever I lifted the lid, so I brushed it with a coat of glossy clear sealer.

 Ok, back to my ornaments.  I also made gift tags as well

 Since I wanted the gift tags to have a bit more substantial weight 

( I thought the recipients might like to hang them from their trees),

I began with chipboard for their bases.

I covered the backsides in pretty scrap booking paper that looks like vintage postcards.

 For the bases of my ornaments, I used the hardcovers from vintage Reader's Digests.

Yep, that's right!  While I would never tear apart valuable vintage books, I picked up a stash of old Reader's Digest's that a thrift store was giving away. They had been gathering dust in a corner, and I thought the covers would make a perfect canvas!  I just used a sharp box cutter to cut the covers down to the size I wanted.  

I just used a glue stick to adhere the vintage sheet music to both front and back of the ornaments.

As for the chipboard, I never buy it!  It often comes inside of picture frames, is used in packing materials, etc.  So I save it for future projects!

Here is my work table, with the supplies I used.

 As you may guess, I go thru lots of glitter here at the chateau.

I added some glitter "snow" to the ornaments, as well as "Stickles" brand glitter glue.  In the vintage salt shaker is my fine silver Martha Stewart brand glitter that I so love.

(Martha, if you are reading this, I would love to be your official

"Glitter Ambassador", tee , hee!)

 After Christmas last year, I purchased on clearance a package of these pretty glittery foam snowflake stickers.  I had no idea what I would do with them, but just knew they would be perfect for some kind of project!

 I also really love the silver tinsel trim by Tim Holtz.

 So there you have it, my glittery French "Joyeux Noel" creations!

 

 I hope this has inspired you to

"make the most of what you've got!"

 Have a fun and creative day!

 Au revior!

Glittery Fun!

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Ok, I am not one who likes rushing the Christmas season. It seems that it comes earlier and earlier each year, doesn't it?

So what have I been doing, but creating glittery Christmas ornaments!

I know, I know, but I just couldn't help myself!

 A few weeks ago I picked up a few paper mache star ornaments from Hobby Lobby, not sure exactly how I would use them. I decided to give them a glitter French twist!

So I pulled out bits of this and that, all things that I happened to have on hand.

I started by decoupaging copies of vintage French Christmas sheet music

(found at the Graphics Fairy) to the stars.  Then the fun really began!

I used both clear glass glitter as well as regular iridescent glitter to cover the stars.

 I "aged" this gorgeous silver tinsel trim with dark brown ink to give it a more vintage feel.

 Then I created a bunch of little "Joyeux Noel"

(French for "Merry Christmas") and mounted on heavy chipboard.  Also glittered, of course!

Love!

 I had a bunch of pretty silver glitter snowflakes left over from last year, which were perfect for this project.

 I combined them all together, along with some wonderfully crinkly cream seam binding, and this is what I came up with!

 The glitter isn't showing up well in the photos, but they are nice and sparkly!

I think they will look so pretty hung from the tree, and really will glisten in the lights!

 They were so fun to make, I want to create some more!

 Happy creating!

What a Difference Paint Makes

Hi everyone, how is your week going so far?

Today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest projects that I've created for my Etsy shop.

I love birdcages, and was super excited when hubby brought me home this beauty!

 This is one tall bird cage, standing at over 2 1/2'!  It didn't begin looking like this, though!  I'll show you the before in a second.  I really love the arched top and cute little wood finials, too!

It even has a tray that slides out at the bottom, so it could be used for an actual birdcage.

 Ok, here is the before!

It's amazing what a difference a little paint and tlc makes, don't you think?!

 I love the cute little door at the front:)

 I think it looks so much better in my signature creamy dreamy white!

 Another favorite recent makeover is this pretty vintage wood corner shelf.

You should have seen what this puppy looked like when I first spotted her!

 I just love the ornate cut work design.

This is another large piece, at over 3 1/2' tall.

 Ok, are you ready for this?

Here is what the poor thing looked like when I discovered her hiding in a corner!

Yikes!  Not only was she pretty dusty and dirty, but had probably the ugliest paint job I have ever seen!

What on earth were they thinking?  Someone had spray painted her bright red, just randomly, so you could still see the white beneath.  I am sure they thought they were being creative, but

what a hot mess!

 After giving her a good bath, I couldn't wait for the transformation to begin!

I could almost hear her shouting

"thank you!!!!!" as I was painting her a nice creamy white!!

Oh so much better, I think!

 Ok, I don't have a before shot to share with you for my next project, but I just had to share this pretty French cloche that I created!

After painting the wooden base, I then stenciled in dark midnight blue a gorgeous fleur de lis image.

Because what could be more French than that?

 I then added a cute tag that I created from chipboard, as well as a copy of a vintage French book page and a fleur de lis image.  Glittered, of course!

 It was alot of fun to create!

 Thanks for visiting today, now go out and find something to transform with a bit of paint and tlc!!

Whimsical Birdcage

Bon jour Mes Amis!

It's a chilly and drizzly day here at the Chateau, perfect for working on some creations in my craft room, and curling up with a cup of 

chocolat chaud (hot chocolate)! 

Do you ever pick up treasures in the making, only to store them away for months on end, not sure what you will do with them?  Well, that is just what happened to me when I found a gorgeous and glittery bird cage many months ago.  I knew that it would be a perfect project project to embellish and transform, but I just didn't know at the time what I would do with it!

So, I pulled it out of my cupboard a few weeks ago and just had it sitting on the counter, 'til inspiration struck!

 I began by pulling out various bits of this and that, including a large silk flower, which I transformed with my secret painting technique.

 I also had on hand these beautiful dusty pink and creamy taupe flowers, made of velvet, sheer glimmery fabric, and vintage book pages.  Look closely and you will see that the flowers have glittery centers!

The flowers are attached to a wire garland, perfect for embellishing the bird cage.

 Oh, I also added a few large faux leaves to the top, which I painted and glittered (of course!).

I had fun twisting and bending the wire, creating a fanciful effect.

 I guess you could say that crinkly seam binding is one of my signature looks, so I just had to add a very generous bow in dreamy creamy white!

Below is another close up of the large faux flower.  I really love how after being painted, it has a faded over time look!

Also for a fun and romantic touch, I added this cute little heart which I made from chipboard, and covered with a snippet from a vintage French book page.  A generous dusting of iridescent glitter adds even more bling!

 I had so much fun creating this whimsical birdcage!

I'll be putting it in my Etsy shop tonight if you want to check it out:)

Have a creative and glittery day!

Chalk Painted Pedestal Plant Stand

Bon jour Mes Amis!

Hope your November has gotten off to a good start!

Today I thought I'd share with you one of my latest transformations, an antique pedestal style plant stand that I gave a new lease on life!  Now, I know that many would cringe at the thought of painting an antique.

And if this were a fine antique, I would probably be hesitant to paint it.

But, the stand, which belonged to my grandpa, (my mom's dad) was looking pretty tired and literally dried out!  I had inherited it many years ago, and attempted several times over the years to strip the layers and layers of dark finish from it, to no avail.

 Then it finally occurred to me recently that it could look oh so much better if it were painted!

At first I thought I would use my usual favorite shade of cream, but for some reason it just didn't seem to suit the stand, which lives in our sunroom.

So I ended up painted it my very favorite shade of light blue, and am so happy with the end result!

 The same shade of blue is in the floral cushions of our wicker furniture.

Here is one end of our sunroom.  

It is our favorite room in the house.  I would dearly love to paint those wood walls, but someone 

(whose name will go unmentioned!)

doesn't want them touched!

 Anyway, I didn't have the shade of blue on hand that I had in mind, so I pulled all of my chalk paints out, and mixed up about 4 different colors, til I came up with this!

It only took two coats to cover, yeah!  I let it cure for a day, then distressed it a bit.

Dry brushing is a relatively new technique for me, and I knew that I wanted to try my hand at in on the stand.

So, I kind of winged it, and subtly dry brushed both a light gray chalk paint, as well as dark brown wax.  I could have just used dark brown paint, but I have a jar of the brown wax that I really want to use up.

 I didn't want anything looking too heavy, so if I didn't like the look, I would just wipe it down a bit with a rag as I went along.

 I also used a clear wax for a subtle sheen and protection. I must say that I am 

really happy with the end result!  

And I am glad that I went with this shade of blue, rather than the cream.

Perched on top is my grandma's (my dad's mom) Christmas cactus.  I've had it for many years, and have started new plants from it too.  I just noticed today a few little pink buds showing, so I am excited about that!

I think my plant stand is much happier with its new look!