Thursday, July 28, 2011

welcome to my newish dining room......

wowza!

in the last week,

i have painted....

a chair, a library table, a dining room table, two more chairs and a bench......loving the results of that project , i then painted my dining room walls.....which lead to painting my entry and hallway walls.......which lead to painting my kitchen and eat-in area walls!!

oh .......and a few days before all this activity, i managed to paint two paintings, inspired by a blogging friends trip to Giverney, France (i'll share those paintings soon...if i am brave that is)

PHEW!

i learned a long time ago not to question where these spurts of creative energy come from.

but to

just go with it.

so, i recently found a nearby shop that sells

Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. i had read about it all over blog land.

see that little chair against the wall?

that was my first victim at using this paint.

the painting above the chair is one of mine.....

i tend to paint moody-sepia toned landscapes on rainy days.

i sure do wish it would rain again soon.....

i am so over this this oppressive heat and humidity.

anyway, this chair has the perfect crackling on it, that only age and exposure can create.
i brushed "old white" chalk paint on it (even on the old leather seat) and then wiped some off.

here is the before.

ew.

ahhh.

then i painted this library table using "Paris Gray" chalk paint.

did you know, that the word gray can be spelled with either an a or an e?

it's true.

i looked it up.

i did some distressing to reveal the inlayed top.

i hit the terra cotta dutch shoes with the "old white" paint too.

next, i tackled the harvest table, two chairs and bench.

this set is from my childhood in the 1960's.....

boy, will my mom be surprised to see what i did to them.

the table top and chairs are mostly "old white", while the bench and trestle i painted "paris gray".

here's the "before".

dark.

no wonder we never use this room.

so much better!!

light and bright.

it's hard to tell from the photos, but the wall paint went much lighter too.

lovin the "linen white" shade from Behr!

another "before" shot.

miss swan is so much happier.

the chair now.

and then.

so the beauty of the chalk paint is...

no sanding.

no priming.

but to get an aged look, there are lots of layers, including two layers of wax.

a clear and then a dark wax.

gotta tell ya...i did not like the waxing.

i do like the white textured vinyl that i covered the seats with though...$3 for half a bolt...yard sales are cool.

i used "old white"

then "paris gray" in the cracks and crevices, for depth.

then clear wax.

then dark wax, which you have to rub off.

then more "old white".

then more wax.

lots of steps,

but the effect is pretty good.

i used a watered down "old white" on the table, so the grain of the wood shows through.

the dark side board and one corner hutch remain dark for now...they came from hubby's family and he (hubby) asked that i leave them alone ....at least for now..... they rather balance out the dark floors though.

i did tack (as in thumb tacks) old grain sacks to the backs of the windows to lighten and declutter the look.



o.k that's all for now.

i am exhausted and my wrists are tired....not sure why my wrists? but,

i feel great that all the painting is done....every wall needed two coats...oy...

but i am abso-tootly lovin the changes....and the house seems fresher and lighter and brighter...

and so do i.


i am joining these parties to show off my dining room.





thanks so much for stopping by and taking time out in your busy lives to visit me.

your lovely comments mean the world to me.

howdy to my new followers...and a special shout out to Carla!! who left me a comment....she is someone i new as a child and has found my blog through our parents!

my blog is such a wonderful safe place for me to share a little bit of myself.

and i like that very much.


erin

xxoo

nn

nn

btw....as i was painting my walls, i was reminded of the fact, that ALL of the walls still have their original wallpaper underneath....YES, you can paint over wallpaper...just make sure you use an oil primer first.


also, the two corner white hutches cost $25 (for both!) ...crackled green chair was $5....and all other furniture came from our families........the carved swan is probably the most expensive thing in the room! i think it was $50 from the nashville flea market.

cheap is good.


Saturday, July 16, 2011

one can feel lost in a sea of sunflowers.

everyone of them seemingly happy.
but if you look more closely...

take the time...... to get to really KNOW them...

familiarize~embrace~befriend

open your mind.....

open your heart.

to different points of view

your world will open up.

behind a sunny face,

often lies an even more beautiful core.

really worth getting to know.

mmm

mmm

my girlfriend, Anna called me the other day..... to tell me about this gorgeous field of sunflowers that she spotted (off highway 96, just outside of Franklin)......well, i couldn't get there fast enough to take it all in......... giddy with the possibility of a fabulous photo-op! Anna joined me early the next morning (clothes thrown on, no make up....i don't even think i brushed my teeth!) and oh. my!! isn't it beautiful? i can just imagine, what lovely people must live in that little victorian house behind the field, to take the time, to plant 2 acres of sunflowers in their front yard. DELIGHTFUL!

afterwards, we dropped off a borrowed sander at Anna's friends house, who lives down the street from the sunflowers........a lovely woman.....she had us in for cake (yes, cake for breakfast!) and hibiscus tea. she told us this is the first year for her neighbors to plant sunflowers and that she and her hubby are SO inspired by them, that they want to plant them in THEIR back field next year. who wouldn't? we talked about how striking it would be, if everyone along this stretch of road planted sunflowers......

isn't it amazing, that a simple field of sunny sunflowers,

can spread so much joy and inspiration.




Monday, July 11, 2011

"i believe in pink...

i believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.


i believe in kissing,



kissing a lot.




i believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.




i believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.




i believe that tomorrow is another day

and



i believe in miracles."

~audrey hepburn





joining kim klassen for texture tuesday


and exploring


PINK





Wednesday, July 6, 2011

the tall garden phlox is starting to bloom...

i can rely on this old fashioned beauty...
caught in the early mornin rays of the sun...
(before the neighbors can see me hopping around in the wet grass, in my jammies).

sleepy light flickering through the leaves...

the awakening of a pretty purple haze...

getting bizzy...or is it buzzy?

good mornin!

it's going to be...

a very good day.