topiary love

Topiaries are defined as "the art or practice of clipping shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes." No matter what are they made of- real or artificial plants- topiaries could serve as excellent decorative objects in both homes and gardens.

here is the one I made for my store,

Drawer knobs

What is even better than finding a beautiful vintage drawer knob?

The answer is: Making your own!

Note: I used old wooden knobs, repainted them with Annie Sloan Pure White and hand painted the vintage numbers on the knobs.

The knobs found their place on this cute chest of drawers.

my new coffee table

When I first moved to US, I had no idea about the furniture stores. My husband and I desperately needed furniture so we rushed to IKEA, Thomasville, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and then we found Arhaus and etc. We paid tons of money for furnishing our town house and the result was not very satisfying . If only had I known thrift stores and online auctions before, I wouldn't spend a dime for the furniture I now have. Yet, I've lived enough to learn that life is too short to have regrets.

summer is over

Summer is almost over...
I had a wonderful vacation...Loaded with new ideas...
I need to go back to work and get ready to do the Christmas decorations for my space at On A Whim.

What color is your Christmas going be this year?

the story continues

I love the history that an object or a piece of furniture could tell us. It is not only just because I am a history major (although I am sure there is a lot to do with it) but because those objects are the reflections of the most sacred places of our lives; our homes... They all have a story to tell if we want to listen, a memory to share if we care...That's why I think that an old piece of furniture has more character. When painting an old piece, I just try to bring that character out so that its story continues...

Here is a desk/ vanity from Landstrom Furniture co.(est. 1879) that operated until 1958 in Rockford Illinois and produced quality vanities, beds, china cabinets, dressers, dining room sets etc. for middle class buyers. Here you can find more info on the company.http://www.rockfordreminisce.com/Furniture_Gallery_4.html

My desk happened to be from the Depression Era, from 1930s. It was completely ripped off from its mahogany veneer so I had this bare wood to play with.

look at these gorgeous handles...

Here is the company logo.

I decided to do a limed look by using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™. I picked Old White paint to do this.

In this technique you just paint in small sections and wipe it off with a clean lint free cloth before the paint dries. Here is a short video about it.

After I painted and wiped off the whole desk, I applied Annie Sloan wax to seal the paint.

Here is how it looks now. 

The story goes on...

 

busy week and a weekend project

The previous week was busy but this week is the winner I guess. I would like to share a fun project I did last weekend. There was a wood tray laying in my garage covered all over with dust. It fell into my hands in one of my thrift store adventures. This weekend, I had time to create a fun project with it.  Here is how it looked before the recycling:)

 I have painted it with acrylic paint for outdoors. After two coats here it is;

Then I started to stencil European cities one by one again using acrylic old white/cream like color . My favorite city goes first. 

Volia! Here is the finished tray. Don't forget to seal it in the end. (I used Artisan Enhancements' Clear Top Coat to seal it but you can use anything.)

My tray paired well with the Italy pillows...

 Europe is in the air! 

NOTE: Available to purchase at On A Whim, in Lucketts, VA.

catching up

I have been lazy. Beginning today, I will start sharing what I have done so far.
My dealer experience has been a wonderful adventure so far. I love being a part of On A Whim and I love my small space. Every time I put a new piece to my space it makes me super excited.
Here is what I have in my little space nowadays,

on a whim

It's been a while since my last post, I have been extremely busy, but it was worth waiting for. I have news. I will be selling Chippingpaint creations in On a Whim antiques which is located in Lucketts, VA. I rented a small space for my home decor items and also some big pieces such as my Annie Sloan chalk painted furniture. Pillows, side tables, barnwood frames, beautiful fabrics and gorgeous painted clay pots already took their places in the store. I am super excited.

milk glass lamps

Milk glass lamps

I love the look of milk glass lamps. I usually surf in ebay and always find ones that are in good condition. Those that come without their milk glass lampshades could be really cheap. I started buying them about a year ago and now I have a good amount of them at home waiting to find suitable shades. I recycle the lamps, change their cords if they are in bad condition and design shades for them. It is very important to find the right size for the lamps, because it is the shade which gives character to the lamps. While I was doing some research about the shades and lamp shade making, I came across with the lampshade lady. Have you heard of her? Her name is Judy Lake and she is a lampshade designer. I bought her book and immediately fell in love with her lampshades. For those of you who are interested, she has a blog.

My lampshades are not like Judy's. I buy plain, standard lampshades (you can find them in Michaels, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart etc.) with uno fitters and paint them or stencil them and design my own. Here are the pictures of some of my milk glass lamp collection and also there is one with the lampshade.

here is the upcycled one with the shade