Shabby {Fabric Strip} Lampshade Makeover DIY

 Some lamps are worth hanging onto...even if the shade deteriorates.

This cute little crystal lamp was a wedding present 20+ years ago.

AND...

it's made by Waterford!

Minny's Chocolate Pie...Yum!

OK, so I have CHOCOLATE on the brain!

I thought I'd repost this recipe of 

Minny's Chocolate Pie, in case you missed it....enjoy!

The Oscar nominations are out, and to celebrate the many nods that the movie "The Help" received, I'm making my version of MINNY'S CHOCOLATE PIE!  I don't know about you, but I'm hoping for Best Picture!

How to Mod Podge Prints to Canvas DIY

Since we're on the subject of chocolate,

I thought I'd take you into my Master Bathroom, 

which also has chocolate walls.... and show you

a fairly recent project.

Armoire {Painted Furniture} Makeover

Let's just say, any furniture in my house that has a wood finish....
IS NOT SAFE!
I loved transforming this wood armoire into this layered,
painted masterpiece!
And I did it without stripping, scraping or priming.
Yep...you guessed it!
 Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
(and no, I am not being paid for this endorsement)

If you don't know about this paint, I hope to
educate you a bit in this post, because this is the
first "piece of furniture" that I've painted using ASCP.
Other posts where I have used ASCP can be found here and here.

This armoire is a reproduction piece, so it isn't an antique,

but it has great carving and adornments that made it

a perfect candidate for painting in layers.

I bought it from a friend who didn't have room for it in her new home, and we had just moved in and had this big empty wall across from the bed in the Master Bedroom.

The problem from the beginning was that the wood finish didn't look so great with my "chocolate" colored walls.

And I was NOT going to change my chocolate!!!

First, open your can of paint and begin painting.
(ok, I did have to dust it and tape off the mirror)
I used the color French Linen, which is a medium grey tone. I used my new Annie Sloan paint brush that I won at the Haven conference,
and they are lovely to work with.

Paint and don't worry about the brush strokes...
these will add character later to the finish!

Next, I watered down some Old White paint and put that on over the French Linen. 

I tried to leave the crevices free of Old White, but because the paint was thinner, sometimes it got in there, but no worries!

The piece was definitely looking a bit ghostly 

next to the off-white trim in the bedroom...

but later, the wax would do the trick!

I then used 220 grit sandpaper, and just sanded in those places and spots that would naturally show wear and tear. 

In some places I sanded down to the wood finish and in others just to the French Linen layer.

Some of the areas were: around the handles, corners and edges that could easily get bumped or nicked over the years, raised decorative areas. 

Then I also picked a few random places on the side panels, just because those get scrapes too.

If you want your piece to look old, you have to study the genuinely old pieces and duplicate.

Then came the wax!
Annie Sloan makes a clear wax and a dark wax.

At the Haven conference, I took an advanced painting class and learned from Miss Mustard Seed that you can mix the clear and dark wax together, instead of using the clear first, then the dark.

This was great news, because it saves a step in the process.

So I scooped out 3 spoons of clear wax, 2 spoons of dark wax, then about 1 tablespoon of French Linen paint.

 (you can also tint your wax with paint)

I mixed it together, and it looked alot like chocolate frosting...lol!

I took the largest of my handy dandy AS paint brushes, dipped it in and began slathering it on. I kept spreading it til it wouldn't spread anymore.

Then I dipped again, and as you can see in the picture above, the difference in color.

 The door and left column does not have the wax applied to it yet.

After the wax dried, which doesn't take very long,

I wanted the "high" areas to show more of the white paint.

To remove some of the dark wax mixture, you simply

use some clear wax.

 So I used an old white t-shirt,

dipped it in clear wax, and began rubbing those

areas that I wanted to highlight.

When you are satisfied with the colors...let the wax dry. 

Then buff with a clean white t-shirt until the entire surface is smooth.

You will begin to see the sheen and no longer feel resistance.

I was blown away by the truly lovely finish the wax gave this piece.

I also painted the hardware with AS Graphite paint.

Brushed on some of my wax mixture, then buffed them as well!

Here you can see some of the details.

 

Here's a closeup of where I sanded to the wood, and took down the dark wax to highlight the white in these raised areas.

Even the side is varied in color, and it doesn't have to be even.

 That's the beauty of mimicking an old painted piece.

Now it pops against the chocolate walls...and it's very reminiscent of 

the high-priced pieces I've drooled over in the magazines!

Linking to:
Miss Mustard Seed
Savvy Southern Style
French Country Cottage
Stone Gable

Chic on a Shoestring
My Romantic Home 

We have a winner.....!

I would like to announce that

Rebecca Monce

is the winner of the stencil from Royal Design Studio

in the amount of up to $50!

Congratulations Rebecca!!

Keep us posted on what you decide to do with your stencil. 

Love to see others ideas!

Thank you to all of you who entered!

and a BIG shout out to

Royal Design Studio for their generosity!

Here at All Things Beautiful, ...stay posted

I've got a painting project and furniture redo coming up soon!

xoxo

Teenage Boy Room Reveal

 My son's room has been in the works for awhile now, but IT'S DONE!

He had a "cowboy" themed room, and once he turned 13, we began to brainstorm other ideas.

This room has a hodge podge of themes going on, 

like "hunting/antlers", "maps/globes", 

"music/guitar", "rustic", "vintage".... 

 He really liked the idea of sleeping against the wall. We had a trundle bed frame leftover from our daughter's room, so we decided to use that and placed it on the wall with the small square windows.

We found this deep brown duvet cover and shams at PB Teen, grey t-shirt sheets at WalMart, fuzzy pillow at Target, and the serape style blanket online. That set the color scheme!

 There were a few elements that we kept, like this barnwood framed chalkboard. I had made it for his cowboy room, so I repainted the flip side, to have a fresh chalkboard finish.

 I pulled these semi-rusty gym baskets out of the garage...I had picked them up at an antique fair a while back.  Grouped them in a wall arrangement, and put some fun items in there.

 This side table stayed along with his favorite old Ball jar of keys! 

Also, my grandparents old Jiffy Kodak camera.

On the right side of his bed, I hung this old print I found. 

I haven't researched it, but it's a medieval soldier with full armor on. 

I love that the horse is bowing. 

It reminded me of the scripture talking about

 "putting on the armor of God".

 His desk has a classroom map of Europe, from the 50's hanging above it that I found on Ebay, for $8 + $15 shipping! Still a bargain!!

On his desk, I placed this old wooden box, 

that just so happens to have been

used for ammunition. Ha!

If you knew my son, and his fascination

with "how things work"...

you would find this extremely funny!

 Notice one of his books is "Backyard Ballistics"! 

What was I thinking???

 The final touch are the roller shades I stenciled with acrylic craft paint.  

You can find that tutorial here.

My son helped build frames for the small square windows. 

I painted them black, then stapled fiberglass screening and muslin fabric to the back, to filter the sunlight.

Some things you can't see:

 His weight bench is under the chalkboard wall, 

because he's 14 and is working on his "buff".  His electric guitar is on a stand by the left window. His acoustic guitar is usually hanging around by his bed, but it didn't make it into the pic. Neither did his amp and pedals...which are crammed in his right bedside table.

A little bit of "this" and a little bit of "that"!
A TeeNaGe BOy's RoOm!

Linking up here:
French Country Cottage
Bliss Ranch
At the Picket Fence
Funky Junk
Cowgirl Up 

Call My Blog Maybe {Bloggersdance}

I am so thrilled that it's SUMMER!

I am lovin' being with my kids,...most of the time!

I am tickled pink that both of my teenagers wanted to 

"help" me with the July Bloggersdance!  WOO HOO!

We even got some "random neighbor kids" to help out too!!

*wink wink*

 I think it took 3 days...

Take 1-I was driving waaaaay too fast for my BFF, who was videoing

Take 2-my car was too small to get all on film, 

so waited for BFF's hubby to get home to use his car

Take 3-a mysterious finger showed up on film, 

so my hubby became videographer

Take 4-the sun was glaring and flickering in our faces

Take 5-the car was almost out of gas and everyone was hungry

Take 6-I think we have a winner!

Makin' memories...yep!

We had so much fun!!! Thanks kiddos, you all did a superb job!

Last month, my daughter showed me a video that has gone viral.

It's the Harvard Baseball Team's "Call Me Maybe" video.

If you haven't seen it, search for it...

that video was our inspiration.

Thank you to my friend Kerry@HouseTalkN 

for getting us all to DANCE! 

 And, yes...if you missed my first bloggersdance, you

can find it here.

How To Make a Camera Strap

 What do you do the night before you're leaving for a DIY Blogger conference? Well, I must confess....I was making a custom camera strap. Why, you ask?

As I was packing, it dawned on me that my camera looks like most others, and I didn't have my name, or any other identifying marks on it.

Fortunately, I had a fabric stash, and the instructions I found 

online were easy cheesy!

 My neighbor works at a furniture store, and she brought me the samples that were being discontinued....SCORE!!

Do I have plans for these?  Just wait and see...Hehe

I found DIY instructions here at Cluck.Cluck.Sew.  She made hers with 2 different fabrics, but gives the measurements if you want to use one. 

Most camera straps are similar length, so be sure to measure yours and then add 1".  My strap is about 2" wide, so cut your strip of fabric

5.5" wide X 26" long

I also cut a strip of thin batting I had 2" wide X 25" long.

First, fold the short ends of the fabric back 1/2" (wrong sides together), and sew across both ends, about 1/4" from fold.

Then, fold along the long side of fabric, right sides together, matching ends of fabric and pin in place.  Stitch 1/4" from edge.  Zigzag edges.

Turn the tube right side out...if your fabric is thick, like mine was, it may get stuck, so use a wooden dowel to help push it through.

 

(If you notice the decorative trim, you could add it now. I used 

fabric glue and pinned it in place until it was dry.

 I explain later why I had to use it.)  

I decided to add the batting so the strap would be cushy!

I put a safety pin at the end of it, thinking it would help me feel and push it through.  I also used my little wooden dowel to help shove it to the other side. It worked!!

Next, I wiggled my camera strap through there,

 using the dowel as needed.

Hmmmm, like some of my projects, I'm not always exact...and my strap cover was about 1/2" too short.  Great!

Measure twice, cut once...I gotta remember that rule!!!

I took my camera to the Haven Conference with the "too short" strap cover, and sadly, I never took it out of my purse, or hotel room. 

I had planned on taking the photography class...maybe next year!

Now that I'm home, I had to come up with a FIX.

Ahhh...decorative trim.  I went through my stash and found 2 kinds of trim that matched, so I glued some on each end with fabric glue.

Voila! Problem solved!!

Then I decided to top stitch the edges, so the strap would fit snugly and not shift or move on me.  I placed the presser foot on the edge of my fabric, then moved my needle over so it would stitch 1/8" from the edge.

I wuv it! I love the added cushion the batting provides.

Next year, I'm just gonna wear my camera around my neck!

Can't wait for Haven 2013!!!