Monday, May 28, 2012

Easy Lamp Shade Re-do


Stencilling on fabrics is so easy; great for many projects.  If you are new to stencilling; buy a good stencil brush, practice on some paper or fabric to get the hang of it (remember to "pounce up and down" only)~~use fabric paints on anything you intend to wash such as pillows or towels.

I buy most of my stencils from Etsy and Ebay sellers; there are hundreds to choose from.

Above picture~~I stencilled on a vintage linen napkin to use for the front of my lampshade project~~



I want to use burlap on the backside, so I start with the burlap on three sides of the shade using clothespins to hold (they work beautifully til you're ready to hotglue).




After I have hot-glued the top, bottom then the sides~~I  trim off excess fabric.




Now I'm ready to use the linen stencilled fabric~~following the same technique~~



Add some trims to the sides first; then top and bottom.













Stencilled "anything" sells right out of the shop booths~~chairs with stencilled seats (fabric or on wood); lampshades, pillows, etc. 

And anything with linen and burlap appeals to my buyers too~~it's a great mix with the galvanized / metal items arranged in my booths; softens up the "industrial stuff" that I so love to display.

~patty~

Join in the fun here and share your inspiration:

Knick of Time Interiorsblah2beautiful



Friday, May 25, 2012

Pan Stands from Lamp Bases



This was a quick and easy project!

I took apart the electrical cords; leaving just the base/neck of the electrical part (where the light bulb is screwed into)~~~filled in the little "cup" portion with a hardening compound then attached the metal tins with screws on top~~




I love the metal flowers and leaves on the lamps;  (found for $1.00 each at the thrift shop)~~

Painted them up with home-made chalk paint~~
added a bit of burlap and French wine labels~~



Using Mod Podge to adhere the burlap and label to the tins.

TIP:  if you run out of Mod Podge~~Elmer's Glue does the same job! ~~and it's a lot cheaper!  Dries clear and can use a tiny bit of water to dilute if need to.  I've done this a gazillion times.


Makes cute candle stands~~would be pretty with dried Hydrangea blooms (if I get any Hydrangea blooms this year!)

Have a fantastic weekend~~I'm off to lurk around the postings and see what everyone else is up to!

~patty~

Sharing this project here:




Thursday, May 24, 2012

Cheap French Kitchen Towels


I found these sweet red and white towels at Walmart to use for my latest project~~

So let me show you the wood architectural element first and then I'll tell you about the towels~~



I bought several of these wooden trim pieces on the cheap~~
painted and added a large hook from Hobby~~



So cute to hold kitchen towels~~





So I bought two types of kitchen towels from Walmart~~BEWARE~~
prewash first (they do shrink a bit)~~I used my fabric paints and stencilled on my design~~


The wider stripe (on the bottom of the towels) come in package of 3 and are a heavier waffle weave~~

The other type comes in set of 5; both were about $5.00 and well worth a sweet project~~both types are 100% cotton which I love for the kitchen.








I love stuff like this in the kitchen; don't you? 

Have a fabulous day~~I'm heading outside to the garden!

~patty~

Join these parties for inspiration~~



BRAMBLEBERRY COTTAGE  
 http://www.freckledlaundry.com/





Monday, May 7, 2012

You Make Me Happy When ~~


Last year I bought this cute little wall shelf for $1.25 (see the before pic. below~~brown wood with a not so charming picture of a palm tree)~~




(above is the project pile)

It's been painted up in some home-made gray-green chalk paint~~





Stencilled on top of a vintage sheet music to place behind the glass~~





~~and added the iron bird hooks.  Will look sweet in a kitchen nook area or laundry room.

I want to keep singing this little song everytime I look at it; hard to get it out of your head once you get started humming~~

you're singing in right now, arent' you!

Hope this made you smile~~have a great, sunny week!

~patty~


Friday, May 4, 2012

Friday's Thrifts


Today is a rainy day; planting flowers will be put off probably til Sunday afternoon when the weather cooperates~~

But, I did find these awesome deals at the antique mall where I have my booths!

Two galvanize/metal wire-mesh fishing baskets for just $5.00 each~~


A large grain sack with my favorite aqua color for $6.00;

a big enamal pan (is this a potty bucket??) for $12.00 than I'm cleaning up (bleached already) and stencil SOAP on the front for my laundry room.

How's your day going~~have you been out gardening in the sunshine today?

Have a great weekend~~and here's someplace to go for some inspiring ideas:
Boogieboard Cottage



~patty~ 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Little Pergola and Old Bricks


This is my little hiding spot.  My "iced tea with lemon" place.

It's just all green right now~~I have NO flowers : ( in bloom and haven't bought my annuals for the pots yet~~




I'm way behind!  Tomorrow will get some potting soil and spend the day picking out my flowers for the pots and iron planters on the shed~~



My old, old wicker.  Looks good back here though~~




The Virginia Creeper has grown fast in just two years~~I dearly love it.  And plan to paint the shed tan to match the new siding on the house~~then add my trellis and Virgina Creeper hopefully by this fall~~




It's so quiet back here~~I just can't wait to escape to my little hiding place~~
And my hostas are doing great this year~~another passion.



Between the little pergola and the shed
another hiding spot for outdoor gardening things (some old chairs to hold pots and my little metal potting table)~~
all tucked in behind these two structures~~~~




A sweet little place to hide a barrel of potting soil, clay pots, the wheelbarrows, etc.~~




I truly believe I have more bricks/pavers in my backyard than all my neighbors put together:  I even have them laid behind the shed so I won't have to mow there!  Love old bricks and pavers~~don't you?

Thanks for letting me share my little space!

patty

Sharing my garden spot here (you should too)~~

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Thrift Project Pile


Today I started the project pile~~the pic. below shows all I'm trying to accomplish this week for the shelves at the booths~~


I completed the lamp last night~~(yes~~another stencil project!)~~I tend to get on a roll with certain projects while the "thought" is in my head~~do you do that too?





If you saw the "project pic"~~and you're probably wondering why in the world would this women be doing a project with a corn meal/salt container??



I sell a lot of "little things" on the cheap~cheap and my customers love it~~these will go into the "dollar bin"~~



Makes sweet "shelf~sitters"; cute sitting atop of old books; a place to hold little papers and such~~






Spent some time out in the yard today~~but, more painting of projects tonight.  Tell me what you think of these burlap containers~~corny or what??

Thanks for peeking in~~love to read your thoughts and comments!

patty

Hey; here's a great party~~I'll see you there!
BRAMBLEBERRY COTTAGE