TEA AT DOWNTON

Once I finished the small round table, I received a beautiful card from my friend Susan.  She used Downton Abbey scrapbook papers.  We are both avid watchers of the show and a bit saddened with the final episode a few weeks back.

 As she is a lover of a good cup of hot tea, I knew that I wanted to set a spot for tea  for the two of us.  Using the newly finished round table was an obvious stage for this setting.

 Now that the season is over and we have to wait almost a year for the next, we can take some tea time to discuss possible upcoming scenarios.

                                                    
                          Into my treasure trove of silver I found my Indian silver plated teapot.

                                                                      
                              My grandmother gave me a cup and tea saucer that I cherish.

                                                                                 
             I also found another cup and saucer at an estate sale in Peoria in the late 90's.

 

                  Some silver plated spoons rest on a small German porcelain china tea bag rest.

                                                                     
A 3-candle candelabra added a bit of elegance. The entire table setting is ready to serve scones and tea.

                                                                    

                                                                   

Won't you join me?

                                                          

CRAIG'S LIST VINTAGE DRUM TABLE

A month ago, Nell Hills out of Atchison, Kansas posted a blog about occasional tables.  The occasional table that she picked for her top pick was this one that cost about $3,000.  Notice the inlay details.  It is a gorgeous piece.

                                                 
This was the exact type of table that I was looking for to put in my bedroom.  However, the price was not in my range.  So, I started the hunt.

One Sat. morning, I pulled up my local Craig's List and began searching for vintage furniture.  I found exactly what I was looking for $40.00.   The down side was that a leg was broken off.  This was not a deterrent.  I knew Mr. Thrifty would fix it.

I went over to look at the drum table.  The owner had an array of furniture, beautiful antiques that she was letting go because of downsizing.  I just didn't have the room otherwise I would have come home with more than just this table.  To make a long story short, I met a lovely lady, toured her gorgeous home and came away with a soon to be treasure.

 I already had the two refurbished chairs finished in the Swedish Gustavian style. I had picked them up at the Hanscom Thrift shop for $12.00 a piece back in 2001.  Those were the days when I painted everything white.  It was one of my first attempts at reupholstering chairs and I think my most favorite result.  The white and light blue are such clean and cool colors.


Here is the before and after of the chairs. 

                                                                        
                                                            

                                  
 So, for $24.00 for both chairs, fabric, batting and foam the end result was and still is most pleasing.

Getting  back to the table that will complete this seating arrangement, here goes........

Here is the table before the fix.              

                                     
  The previous two plugs of the broken leg needed to be drilled out. How lucky for us that we had a piece of a dowel rod left in the scrap pile.  It looks like I had stirred black paint with it.  No matter.  No one will ever see it.

 
                     
                      Tool at the ready and the old plugs are drilled out. (Mr. Thrifty at work.)

                                                                        
                                                 New plugs are placed, glued and clamped.

                                        
 We also noticed that the trim around the middle was loose held in by one nail.  The Mr. removed it, glued and clamped that section to stabilize it.  It is SO important to do this work prior to painting.  It takes more time, but in the long run, it is a step not to be skipped.

                                                            
Did you notice the toothpick sticking out of the clamp?  I believe Mr. Thrifty did much better in Geometry because clamping on the curve needed the extra toothpick to lock the clamp more securely.

                     Here the table is structurally fixed.  Ready for the redo now.  Notice the top of the table.  I decided to lightly sand the entire piece to accept the new chalk paint. 

A side note here.  Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is said to be used over any surfaces without sanding or stripping.  I have only had luck on raw wood with the chalk paint.  I thought that if I sanded this table, I wouldn't have the bleed through affect.  I was wrong.

Are you starting to see the potential?

                                                             
After sanding.................................

                                             
Here is one coat of chalk paint.

                                                        
The chalk paint does recommend giving the piece a coat of clear shellac when a piece has a finish on it.  So a bit of backtracking and a coat of shellac was applied. Once dried, it was top coated with the white chalk paint.  The bleed through was fixed.

                                                                            
I had some Louis Blue Annie Sloan Chalk Paint leftover from a previous project.  I mixed in a small  bowl 3 parts white and 1 part blue to use as an accent around the band of the table.  It is a subtle look.  The last step is wiping a coat of clear wax over the entire table.  A good buffing finishes the piece.

                                    Now it was time for a trip to Hobby Lobby to buy some bling. 

                                       
                                    At 50% off  the new knob cost $2.00 and some tax.

                                                               
As you can see by the above picture, I added a bit of contrast by painting the inside of the drawer the Louis Blue Chalk paint.  A little bit of an unexpected surprise is a great touch for the piece.

                                              
The finished table..................

                                                           
                              The chairs and the table make a stunning setting.

                                                               

                                                                     
              Stay tuned using this staging for a Downton Abbey tea.  I'd love to have you join me!

HAPPY EASTER 2013

While creating the Valentine's Day display, I interchanged the Chinese blue plates with a shimmery pink heart tray that was used as the base for a candle and a vintage flowered platter found at an estate sale.

                                                                      

 

 

The pastel colors seemed to mesh with my plans for my Easter wreath.  I took the shabby pastel green window from my bedroom and added a wispy wreath.  Wrapping a garland of lavender crystals and another of pastel berries set the stage for the look I was going for. 

 (Sorry about the quality of the below picture.)

 

 

 

 To finish the window, I went to my Easter tub and took out my handmade glittered bunny made by my friend Tara. The look blends with the raspberry slip covered club chair.

 

 

A happy and blessed EASTER to you all.

                                                               

EASTER MANTLE 2013

My previous posting shared refinishing the French blue stool.  Now I am ready to work on the Spring mantle.

The three following items will set the stage for the Easter mantle.

1.

  2.                                           

 3.                                                         

                                                         
Because our winter here has been so dreary, I knew that spring flowers would perk up the mantle.  Filling up the Easter box was the first step.

                                                  
Some yellow and purple pansies were planted into two shabby chic cereal bowls on the other side of the mantle.

                                                                  
                        Pulling out one of my worn pastel colored quilts adds some color.

                                                                            
                               Cute buttercup yellow bunny candles say 'Spring'.

                                                                 

Going into the woods, I cut a few branches with early leafy growth and placed them in a clear vase.  I would have liked to have cut forsythia branches from the backyard, but they were not long enough.  Maybe next year.

 

 

    My collection of decoupaged eggs adds a whimsical surprise to the vintage egg crate.

                                                               
                                    Placed on top of the foot stool gives the egg crate height.

 

 

                                                                           
                                   And the completed mantle.......................................

                                                  

 

                                             With a bit of sunshine, SPRING comes again.

    Unfortunately, the live tulip display lasts about 5 days.  To make it until Easter, I created a permanent one to last indefinitely.  Coral tulips, forsythia, a violet flowered branch and some pussy willow bring all the spring feeling into the decoupaged box.

                                                                           

                                                                              
               This mantle will last until May minus the small yellow bunny candles.

                                                    

It was a challenge, but great fun to incorporate 3 unlike items into the space.   Hunt around
 your house for a vintage piece and make it your focal piece for your own Spring display.

AN UPCYCLED STOOL, A VINTAGE EGG CRATE AND A DECOUPAGE BOX

I pulled three items out to create an Easter mantle. Now, you might wonder what connection there is between them. Read on and find out.

 The first item was a foot stool that I purchased at an estate sale last year for $5.00.

                                                      
I thought that the stool had some great potential.  The first step was sanding the top piece.  Didn't that turn out great?

                                                               
Because I wanted to stain the top and paint the bottom, I covered the top and taped it off with a piece of cardboard.

                                                                       
I had in my paint supply a quart of French blue paint that I had used years ago on a chair.  Because I wanted to distress the blue paint after I was finished, I didn't even prime the base of the stool.

                                                                 
                                        After 2 coats of the paint, it looked like this.

                                                               
                        Now it was time to stain the top with leftover golden oak stain.

                                                             
    Distressing the bottom of the stool was the next step before using a clear wax on the entire piece.

                                                                               

The transformation is complete.

 

 

The second item that I wanted to incorporate into this display was a vintage egg crate that my brother found in Mom's attic.  I don't know if it came from my Grandfather's grocery store, but that seems a logical explanation.

 

 

There are four levels to the crate, each layer holding 3 dozen eggs.The crate holds 12 dozen or 144 eggs.

All of the original cardboard dividers are present in this box.

 

 

What a piece of history!

 

The third item that I was going to use is a darling decoupaged Easter box given to me by my sister Karen on a recent visit.

 

 

 

The box has beautiful turquoise paint on two sides.

 

 

Now that you see the three items that I will use for the Easter mantle, I am going to get busy to complete the vignette. 

 

Stay tuned for the reveal on the next posting!