Tiki Themed Card Box

Made a card box this weekend for an engagement party.  The theme was Hawaiian, so I went with a Tiki looking box.  I purchased a sturdy box from the dollar store with a removable lid.  Cutting the “slot” was a little difficult, but I managed.  I wrapped the box and the lid in burlap and secured it with glue.  I also glued two pretty shells to the lid.  I purchased two lei’s and cut the string. With the loose petals I attached several together to make a more full flower and sewed a few stitches, this made it so much quicker to just have one big flower to glue to the box lid.  I then glued one jeweled stone to the center of the flower.  I also purchased some bamboo sticks, they were great and so easy to cut.  Glue the bamboo pieces to the box and Voilà!  My Tiki Themed Card Box at a small cost of $12.06 and took about 2 hours to make… Woohoo!

Tiki Card Box

Buffet Side Table Given A New Life

Another project finally completed!!  Took many weeks (okay months…) to get done but I am so happy with the final look of my buffet side table.  Originally teak, yes it was nice, but hohumm kind of boring and I really loved the piece but I wanted a shabby chic look to it.  The preparation was what took so long, the sanding, the sanding and yeah the sanding (and I HATE sanding), BUT you have to do it, and look what you get, marrrrvelous.  Well I think it looks great anyways. 

I achieved this look by removing all the hardware (bought some new cool knobs in a brushed silver contemporary look),  I even took off the doors, I had to shave the doors upper edges because the doors just would not close properly.  I then removed those nasty metal floor protectors on the bottom of the legs (I don’t know who thought metal was going to save their floors?  I purchase some nice new plastic with felt nail-ons to replace them and boy are they nice, so much easier to move the buffet now).  Next was the sanding, and this part takes looooong, real long.  I started with an 80 grit sand paper and moved on to a 100 grit.  I re-sanded with a 150 and then washed all the buffet with a damp cloth to remove all of the dust.  I applied my first coat of “Painter’s Touch” satin paint in ‘Heirloom White’.  Water based paint so clean up is simple.  I applied a thin coat of paint, let it dry completely and sanded with a 400 grit sandpaper, remove dust with a damp cloth.  I repeated this step 3 more times.  Then I used a 150 grit sandpaper to sand off some of the paint here and there until I was happy with my “Shabby Chic” look.  I used a damp cloth to remove any dust and applied two coats of “Saman” satin water based varnish.  Again when the varnish was completely dry, I used a 600 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded the entire buffet and wiped it down with a clean damp cloth.   Should be smoother than a baby’s butt!  I lined the end cabinets with some pretty wallpaper.  I also lined the top flatware drawer with some black velvet.  Now to get started on the matching Dining room table and chairs  Whewwwww…   😀

Here’s my before and after shots:

Teak Buffet Side Table
“BEFORE”

Halloween Once Again…

Halloweenie time again!  Seems it rolls around faster and faster every year.  I had an amazing weekend, Saturday was absolutely beautiful out so it was time to do my photo shoot with some fantastic models modeling  some of my costumes.

The fall backdrop was just gorgeous, and the warm weather just made it a perfect day.  Will have to start my Halloween decorating too, hmmmm maybe something scary for the kiddies…

Corpse Bride
4 piece ensemble.

Woman’s Pirate Costume
Blue Velvet-Blue Satin Leather and Lace

Woman’s Gypsy Costume
Velvet – Satin – Brocade

All my costumes are available at Etsy.com  my shop “Peonie’s Closet”

Christmas Craziness

How is everyone doing with Christmas now?  Is everyone going cray cray with the shopping, the baking, the wrapping, the decorating, well you get it, the list goes on and on and on…

I am busily painting, I must confess the above has not gotten done, well okay except for decorating the tree, (and that is even a lie, Ooops!  My daughter decorated the tree).  Oh boy okay so I am going to be late in getting everything done, but that is okay, I will not stress out, I will do yoga!  LOL

Here is a picture of my tree to get everyone inspired and get their tree up for the holidays, it’s not too early for the fake ones and you may as well get it up early and enjoy it for a longer period of time.   Don’t you just hate all the work of getting out the boxes, unwrapping those oh so delicate ornaments, trimming the tree and what?  it’s over a week later   :0   Then ya gotta drag out all the boxes and tissu paper and put everything back!  But we must love it, right? cuz we do it year after year!  My real one will go up in a few weeks.  Does anyone have any good ideas or tricks to help endure the life of a real Christmas tree?  I just love the smell of a real tree when you walk into the house, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm like being in a pine forest    

A little peek into what I have been painting and you can find them at my Etsy shop “Peonie’s Closet”…

Handpainted Mirror

 

Halloweenie Time

Took some time out this weekend to decorate for all the Halloweener’s.  I always try to do something that I can find around the house and it was really very inexpensive this year.  If you put your mind to it and use your imagination, anything can happen.   I first took a walk in the forest and gathered some old long branches that were lying around on the ground (money spent = FREE).  I scavengered for the best looking and scariest ones.  I am pretty lucky since I am right by a forest full of dead branches.  But you can look right on your property, the park, just about anywhere and I am sure you can find some.  Carrying them home (a 2 minute walk lol), I then planted them in some tall garden planters that I had around the house.  I also filled them to the top with earth for stability.  Once they were in the pots firmly, I began to decorate with the faux webbing (.99 cents at the dollar store for a bag with spiders and one bag goes a loooong way).  I added some silhouette ghosts, some spiders here and there, a witches hat and Voila!  A spooky halloween… I can’t wait for Halloween night   muhahahhaha.

These are the pics in day-time.  I will be carving out my pumpkins the morn of Halloween and will take a few shots at nightime to get that spooky eeeerie feeling. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FOLKS!!!

Halloween Haunt Entryway

Week of Tole Painting

Once again it’s been a very busy week of painting, painting and more painting.  What can I say I love to paint!  I have been working on many items for my store “Peonie’s Closet” at Etsy.  I have completed some but still have yet to finish up others.  What I did get done is an address plaque, one of my favorite things, my “Cookie Box” in my cottage collection color and a cute easel and frame for displaying your child’s wonderful artwork.   I will have many more things to add to my shop shortly. 

I am still in the process of working on my vintage dining chairs, they are coming along but it is a long process and I need to prep them properly before I apply the NEW color to them.  I am getting excited to see the final product.

Amidst all of my painting projects, I am doing some small renovations indoors.  I am redoing my entryway and have been busy at Benjamin Moore deciding on what paint colours I want to use to transform that space.  It is not a huge space, but I know what I want it to look like and I think since the weather is cooperating once again I will start the priming and painting process this weekend.   The only thing I dread is sanding that gyprock, UGH!  and it is sooooo messy.  Cough, Cough!  Guess I will have to pick up a mask as well.   Then I will be moving onto the kitchen and hallway and living area, needs a new paint job and it will be nice to change things up a little.  

I have been on this decorating site called “Houzz”.   I absolutely love it, you can make your own idea books.  It’s a great place to get wonderful ideas.  I have been checking out the landscaping photos as well, wowwww, so many ideas, I could spend hours scrolling through the pages.  Great ideas for spaces small or large.  When I am ready to completely renovate the kitchen I know where to look for interesting looks.

Makes a great Wedding Favor filled with your own homemade cookies!

“Hydrangea” Address Sign / Plaque

Cottage Collection Frame & Easel with Seashell Embellishment.
(Artwork not icluded)

Driving me carazzzzzy

This weather is driving me carazzzy!  I have come to the conclusion that I must wake up at 4:30am to get some outside chores done.  The weather is just too unbearable after 11:00am, and when is it going to rain???   The poor rivers….  they are so sunken and low, the water looks muddy and mucky, poor little frogs and duckies and whatever else is living in there.  Although I do love a sunny day I have just about had it with this humidity and sun, sun, sun.  I WANT IT TO RAIN!!!   

Now I know how roasted chickens feel :O

Getting up early has it’s benefits,  no one else is awake, it’s quiet, you hear everything so clearly, the birds, the crickets, the ants (okay not the ants)…  it is actually so peaceful, I enjoyed watering my garden (ever so slightly with this drought, but I transplanted bushes so I just had to, Oooops) in the quiet of the early morning, it was kinda dark, I noticed it’s darker now, hmmm fall is coming (yeayyyy).  I love the fall, cooler weather, pumpkins and Halloween…   

I worked on a few chairs this morning, sanding away like a nutball, even in this heat, happy I did it.  The mornings are kind of cool, nice and breezy.  I will soon have them painted or stained, maybe add a cool looking cushion and they will be available for purchase in my Esty shop “Peonie’s Closet”.  This week has been a painting week, started a cool mailbox and address sign.  Hope to have it done by the end of the weekend.  I have also gotten a cookie box completed, and started many other projects.  It was a good productive week.  Awww yes the benefits of getting up early and catching the worm,  however this is sure to be me at 2:00pm  hehehehe

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
(123rf.com)

In Need of a Facelift?

So here is the picture of all the chairs that I really hope to work on this upcoming week, that is if the weather cooperates with it’s much nicer cooler sunny days.  The humidity the last few weeks has been horrendous!  And since this is an outdoor project, I am looking forward to not so hot days.  These chairs really need some TLC, okay okay so they REALLY need a facelift, uhaul whatever you want to call it, but they certainly have seen their days, but after I am done with them, they will see many more days to come.  I plan to use a shabby chic painted look, not too much just to enhance them a bit.  Not sure about colours yet, but when I get to that I will figure it out, if anyone has any ideas, they are most certainly welcome …  (I wonder how many butts have sat on these chairs LOL!).   So stay tuned for an updated, shabby chic look.

Ugh!   these are going to take more work than I am anticipating! ……  Ya Think!?

Painting Frenzy

Back in the workshop this week painting like a crazy person.  The weather has taken a turn from hot and horribly humid to absolutely divine.  Perfect weather for painting and getting a few of my things in the shop.  I will be taken out some old vintage chairs I purchased a while back and will start the long process of removing old chipped paint, can’t wait to see what they will look like after they have had their face lift, hahaha.  I will post before and after pictures of the chairs.

Just a few pics of my newly added items to Peonie’s Closet.

Cottage Collection Box Frames with shell detail

Cottage Collection Napkin Holder                    

 

 

 

 

Cookies-in-a-Box!

I love to bake and give my baked goodies as gifts.  I think it’s more personal and I especially try to give my gifts wrapped, or boxed in a creative and unique way.   I had a bunch of these wooden boxes on hand, and I think they make great boxes to wrap cookies in, you can paint them, decoupage them, cover them in pretty small flowers, oh there are so many possibilities! (no toxic paints though!).   Leave them untouched in their natural state and let your recipient do whatever they wish… that’s the nice thing about these wooden gems, you get cookies (or brownies, or fudge, you get what I mean) and a pretty box!

Keep an eye out, if anyone is interested, my Cookie Boxes will be available for purchase at my store  “Peonie’s Closet”  very soon.   😀

(You can fit about 10 medium sized cookies in the box).