LaPlata Antique Show

Good Morning!

Its gorgeous outside the sun is shinning and its suppose to reach 60 degrees today <3 its funny how the weather totally effects my mood ~ are you like that too?



Chair spring nestled in a painted terra cotta dish with a nest filled with sheet music egg, pearls,moss and paper roses



As promised a couple of days ago, I wanted to tell ya all about the latest Antique show that i did ~ the LaPlata Highschool Antique Show. I absolutely love setting up for shows, if you follow me on Pintrest then you've probably seen my shop ideas board.  Its all about displays ~ one of if not the most favorite aspect of this business , I LOVE DISPLAYS and booth set up I love seeing the creative innovative ways dealers show off their finds/inventory. Really its all about the displays isn't that what draws you in to a space or keeps you coming back for more? Even if you don't realize it ~ it promotes a feeling. Most of us are visual people if we like what we see with out eyes then we want to touch with our hands and then fall in love with our hearts. :)   I hope you fall in love with my displays ~ although i must say we (ME and Brenda frm Time and Again Antiques) decided to participate in the Laplata show literally a week before the show so there wasn't much of any elements of surprise here i was more like a robot just doing what needed to be done to have furniture ready in a week.

Enjoy...

 Iron Bistro Set all chippy and sweet~ covered in Waverly fabric

 Super Cool Vintage Fireplace Mantel

My firefighter placed corrugated tin on the inside ~ really gave it sort of an industrial feel and the tin  is magnetic so you can hang love notes, pictures, quotes or whatever.

 Me and my antique books I just can't get enough of them

 Art deco dresser didn't Sell that day it is currently at my booth in A Unique House Antique Mall waiting for a new home. I painted it with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White and Napoleonic Blue then finished it off with clear and dark waxes. It was so shinny I just loved the way it sparkled under the florescent lights in the gynasiuam.

Shows are typically really busy early , everyone wants to get first dibs on the goods and of coarse i was still moving things around so i didn't get pictures. before i knew it we were slammed so there was so much i didn't get photos of.

 

 How bout that AWESOME Victorian Parlor Sofa!!! The above pic is a close up of the beautiful carved rose detail on the sofa. Painted in ASCP Old white.

 

Grey Toile covered Victorian Chairs, ironstone, and a early recovered footstool what more could ya ask for?

 sorry these pictures are a bit yellowish from the reflection of the gym floor plus they were taken with my phone. :(

 Handpainted Stenciled drop leaf primitive table w/ matching chairs in yummy turquoise

Old window is now a chalkboard and magnetic board with loads of charm!

And Lastly antique sheet music angle wings ~ these did not sell either and I've decided they look absolutely perfect hanging above my bed at home so for now I'm gonna have to keep them. But i do plan on making another pair for the shop so expect to see them soon.

Also we had a pair of antique iron candelabras and an late 1800's gorgeous round oak frame  that we converted into a chalkboard. 

I just love doing show and am already planning for my next one.

Have a Fantastic Day ~ Everyday!

Erica

Darling Little Chest Makeover

Hello Loves!

Before Picture of Cute Pink Chest

Today I wanted to show you a before and after that I recently completed for a client.  She had bought this at our store in Waldorf years ago although it was very cute it was also very worn and it was definitely in need of some loven. I think at one point in the conversation she had mentioned that she thought of taking it to the burn pile so that's when i knew i just had to save it :) I mean how could i live with myself if i let this darling little 3 drawer chest get destroyed!

BEFORE

I began to sand it down and clean it up Unsure of how I was going to transform this piece but I had some thoughts floating around in my head. Going off of ideas I gathered from my client ... she like whimsical, mosaics, colors with a girly flair, vintage, pattern fabrics. Sounds easy and fun doesn't it?!

I removed the old broken hardware and filled in the holes to get ready for the chic black knobs that I chose instead of handles.

 Instead of Applying a fresh coat of paint I left the pink strips barley visible and the added the trio of black distressed diamonds on the drawers.

 I then went threw my scrapbook stash and choose coordinating papers with greens and blacks and decoupaged them onto the panel insets on both sides. As I was sanding down the entire 3 drawer chest bits of green were popping out ~ this cute little chest must have been green in another life. Which is why I used paper scraps in green to match all that chippy goodness shining through.

 There was about a 4 inch backsplash header piece on the top, that was perfect for adding the mosaic art of broken china. I don't know why but its so much fun taking a hammer to dishes and breaking them up :) I mainly used floral vintage china ~ I know some of you are probably thinking WHAT?? but I only break up pieces that are already chipped or broken. Sometimes at auction I purposely buy the chipped up dishes just for mosaics ~ I have a HUGE stash nobody ever wants the broken plates. Mosaics are pretty time consuming but what a fantastic way to resuse broken china.

And lastly I Painted the inside of the drawers a bright bubble gum pink ~ can't get much more girly that that. I love the hidden surprise of painting the drawers a bold color. Plus it cleans and brightens up vintage pieces.

 I have one confession to make... Below is the "finished" picture getting ready to be delivered but then after speaking with this super cute 3 drawer chest's owner, I ended up painting the top Purple. I can't find my picture of the "Really Finished" Picture but let me tell ya ~ it looked awesome! It was the perfect shade of purple , I used Annie Sloan Decorative Chalk Paint custom mix of Louis Blue and Emperiors Silk. By painting the top a rich purple it really anchored the whole piece ~ it was a great addition.

Thanks for being here you are greatly appreciated!

Now go add some Whimsy in your life!

xoxox,

Erica

Faux Grain Sack French Chairs

Hello Loves!

So my house is for sale and I am in the process of "decluttering" which is a great feeling. I don't think i realized just how much all these unfinished projects were weighing me down. It was so easy to just pass by furniture that needed to much work when I had something that was ready to be painted, and oh so quickly did my fixer uppers accumulate in the corner in fact they were taking over the garage. I'm sad that I haven't been to to an auction in over a month, unusual for me but I'm glad cleaning up and actually discovering some hidden treasures in the process. Just to give ya an idea of how many projects I had piled up... I had the best month yet at my booth at A Unique House Antique Mall (King George, Virginia)  which means I had alot of furniture selling and i was able to fill my booth back up with my "junk" that Ive been storing, and I also Set up for a Antique Show this past month (all the juicy details for that in tomorrow's post)  and everything in the show was also the fixer uppers from the garage! Ahh it does feel nice to have some room in the garage now! 

I'm showing you today a set of French Chairs that I've probably had for about 2 years ~ :) Upholstering Chairs is something i don't really enjoy doing , it's so time consuming and all those dang staples are such a pain removing! But the end result in usually stunning. And I am so pleased with how these turned out.

 It appears to be upholstered in  grain sack fabric, but i cannot tell a lie ~ its not. I painted those stripes on. :) My first time painting fabric and I'll definitely do it again. Its smooth, soft to the touch, and was super easy.

The fabric on the back side of these chairs are the real showstopper! I fell in LOVE with this Deep Grey Velvet Damask fabric when I saw it and thought it would look fabulous on these chairs.

The Chairs are painted in ASCP custom mix consisting of French Linen and Pure White. I felt like the gorgeous trim needed to be shown off a bit more so i went over it with Old White and it was just what these chairs needed. Finished off with clear Wax and buffed until buttery smooth and until there was a sutle shine. 

 I also wanted to share this two tiered Antique Side Table that I also finished. The bottom is painted in Annie Sloans Old White and for the top I dusted off my overhead projector and painted on a French Graphic from the Graphic Fairy. Maybe you recognize it from another table that i did? You can read more about it here.  After the transfer was painted and slightly distressed I covered the top with a redwood stain.

 My booth at A Unique House Antique Mall. Come see all my creations at booth #33.

 

Have a splendid day ~ Everyday!

Erica

ASCP Graphite China cabinet

Hello friends!

Iv'e got something great to share... lets just let the pictures do the talking today :)

 Painted in Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint ~ Graphite with French Linen Highlighting the trim and finished off with clear wax.

  For the inside I applied a gorgeous floral wallpaper I had left over from my powder room. Beautiful bouquets and swags of roses against a deep black background.

 I love adding a hidden surprise something fun and unexpected ~ nothing does that better than a pop of Florence Chalk Paint!

 my babe loves to "help" me out at the antique mall!

I hope you enjoyed my pictures cause i loved sharing them with you! xoxox

Have a Wonderful Day!

Erica

Paloma ASCP Desk and shop pics

Hello Friends!

Im so excited to share with you my latest furniture redo! I scored at the thrift store on this computer desk. This thrift store is sooo awesome i always find greatness there but i do have to travel almost an hour to get there. ( and i'll never tell where so don't ask :)) But its so worth it when i get to come home with fantastic pieces like this one. Although, i know others are familiar with my hidden gem too because if you pass a piece up to go home and "sleep on it" well i can guarantee you it'll be gone the next day. I'll never forget the time i passed on a Italian tole birdcage chandelier ~ as soon as i got home i thought "what the heck was i thinking!" the next morning i traveled back up to the thrift store only to find it was in someone else cart! I couldn't help myself i went right up to that shopper and told her how i dreamed of that chandelier and that i needed it and that i drove an hour just to buy it! first of all im pretty sure she thought i was a little crazy but then she said she felt the same way. HMMMM what was i to do? I walked away sad and jealous that she got there before me and got to take home about a $400 (not to mention gorgeous) chandelier for only $50!!! ok anyway enough about that lets get on to this Gorgeous Desk!

My latest Annie Sloan Chalk Paint fav color of the week is Paloma ~ its this soft grayish lilac. Purple being my alltime favorite color i can't believe i haven't tried this out sooner honestly it doesn't look anything like the tiny paint chip that i have.

ok without any further ado here she is...

 lovely lovely carved details  highlighted in Annie Sloan's Old White

shelf pulls out for your keyboard I covered it with script paper then applied a dark wash and sanded to give it an aged appearance

 I also painted up some vintage frames to match and then placed some lavender colored scrap booking paper with beautiful script on the inside instead of a photo seems appropriate for a desk huh?

Isn't the shape so cool ~ at first you think its a corner desk then you soon realize the ends are the only thing on a right angle

 A few pictures of my Booth at A Unique House Antique Mall

Thanks for letting me share with you!

Until next time,

Erica