Friday, March 12, 2010

Project time!

Thanks to week without many commitments and some rainy weather I’ve had (taken) time to complete a couple fun projects.

The first is a mirror, you’ve seen them…..they were often used in dinning rooms, hanging above a buffet, in the 40s.  Of course, I NEVER think to take before pictures (I’m working on that) so this is step one, it was already painted white.  I brushed on a thin wash of Norsk blue Folk Art paint.mirror 002

Over that, a thin wash of white.  Then the fun begins, I like to use my fingers to add highlight of gold.

 

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To soften the gold and add character, I antiqued the frame with a mix of black and burnt umber acrylic paints. 

 

 

 

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The photo is a little dark to see the finish well but it turned out looking old and grungy….that’s what I was going for.  One of the end pieces of mirror had been broken, so I had the glass shop cut a new piece and they, also, drilled holes for the screws that hold the mirror to the frame.  Now, all I need to do is decide where I am going to hang it.

A little simpler but fun project involved a galvanized bucket!  Simply washed the bucket, added a strip of black chalkboard paint and then stenciled the numbers.

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I’m doing this for a little gift for my Granddaughter and her husband who are expecting another daughter in about six weeks, so……………

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soon they will be a family of four!

Now, to drill some drain holes in the bottom, fill it with soil and add some white and red blooming plants!  By the way, the other side is plain chalkboard black so she can write a message and turn that side out. 

How much fun can you have in one week?

2 comments:

Journal Swag said...

What cool projects, Jan! I love the mirror especially!

Hugs,
Sheila

Toni Youngblood, aka "Sparky" said...

Hi Jan:
I can hardly believe your mirror project post, because it is so timely! Two nights ago I went diving into my neighbor's dumpster for what looked like a picture frame---only a corner was sticking out of the dumpster. As I pulled and pulled and pulled on it, it turned out to be a very old mirror frame amazingly like yours. The delicate ornate detailing is worn or broken off in several places, but it still has merit. I may give it a life just haning on the wall "as is". No trace of a mirror remains. Or I may hang small pieces of artwork within the three open sections of the piece. How fun that you have one intact and posted about it so close to when I found my little relic. Thank you! ~Sparky