DIY Chalkboard from an old picture

I am sure you have all seen the huge large chalkboards out there with the most beautiful lettering art on them. They are everywhere and I have wanted to try out to make one for some time now. 

My family and I moved to a temporary condo close to where we will be building our house. The way things are looking we most likely will try to break ground this spring. (Crossing our fingers). 

Until than we have this adorable little condo, and I get to decorate decorate decorate!:) annnd I will be using lots of command strips, lol. I am slowly putting things together, keeping in mind that whatever I create will eventually go in our forever home. So I wanted to try out making my own chalk board.

my mom had this old picture frame in her basement, and She wasn't using it for anything so she gave it to me. And it was perfect for that huge chalkboard that I soooo envy other bloggers owning. And the frame was perfect too for it! The original gold it was painted was a little drab so I painted it Annie Sloans Graphite. ( oh dear how I am in LOVE with this color). LOVE I say:) 

Her is the BEFoRE picture:

I removed the glass and backing. Than cleaned it . I let it sit while I started on the frame. I painted the graphite on and than took a wet rag to rub off some of the paint to help the gold show thru. 

After that I started painting the glass. I used rust-oleums chalk board paint. This paint is awesome! I painted strait on the glass. About 4 layers. It takes a while to dry between layers so I had to be patient. 4 hrs between coats...sooo temping!

Once dried I placed it back in the frame. I have to wait a whole 3 days to use chalk on it, so I am on day 1 right now. Once I reach Wednesday or Thursday I will  than "Season" it. I can't wait! 

And here is the AFTER:

Please forgive me for posting this corner without any real decor. I'm still in the process of unpacking.

I can't wait to see how it will look all chalky. And hung up on the wall!

Now, on another note:

Introducing my new horse! I have wanted one of these forever and when I happened upon him at Tai Pan trading co I had to have him! The original one I fell in love with was white, but I still like him like this. 

What do u think dear reader? Shall I paint and antique him? 

If so he would look like this 

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay tuned for the chalkbaord all chalked (is that even a word) up!lol anyways...

~Cat

DIY Chalk Painted Trumeau Mirror {weathered/whitewash look}

I am simply smitten with trumeau Mirrors. I always knew I could NEVER afford a real one,the ones you can find in BD etc.  so when I came across this one in the classifies for $20 bucks I was happy to say the least!

BEFORE

 I instantly knew what I had in mind for this baby. A total makeover. I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like, {an old Scandinavian/French country type weathered white wash look} does that make sense? but unfortunately I couldn't find any online tutorials on how to do it. So I made up my own.

I have wanted to try out chalk paint forever and so on a whim I decided to try and make my own. If i didnt like it, I would go ahead and buy the real stuff. No harm done:) and I would be out well... ALOt less money than if I bought the real stuff.

I used this recipe for my paint.

Although I didnt use hot water, I basically just dumped the ingredients into the paint ,closed the lid and gave it a good shake! lol....yup thats how i roll. 

Did I like it?

YeS!

Here are the paint colors I I used. They each cost under $3 bucks each. 

After prepping with some painters tape I wiped the frame down. Than I painted the first 3 coats or so with Valspars Universal Umber. 

Next with a dry brush I painted over the entire piece to give it a chalky effect. I used Valspars Thistle Seed.

Next I made a chalk paint wash out of V's Stone mason Grey. I thought this is self explanatory but I let each coat dry in between the next;-) haha!

lastly I used V English Tea Party as a type stain. I watered it way down and drenched it in some places to bring out the details. 

After it was all dry I went over with it with sand paper to distress it a bit. 

Lastly I went over it again with the Thistle Seed paint to tune it up a bit. 

AFTER

My mom was cute and while I was on vacation picked a fresh batch of lavender from her garden and placed ontop of it...love my mom:)

I am in love with the finished product! And I am so glad that I found a way to get the look I want. I WiLL be using this technique for many more furniture pieces in our New bUild. Hopefully it will bring in the look and style and design that I am going for in the overall house.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Cat

at the party with http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Mora Table Clock redo

A few years ago I was doing my regular houzz browsing when I saw a clock that was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! It looked like a grandfather clock of some sort...than after some research I discovered it was called a Mora clock. An old antique clock found in Scandinavia, Sweden to be exact. 

How on earth did I miss this in my Scandinavian upbringing?! 

I realize now that when I was little in Denmark and I drew grandfather clocks they were indeed very similar to the Mora clocks. With the beautiful rounded features... I guess I did know what they were;) so glad I opened up my subconscious mind to them again!:-) lol....

With the research that I did I quickly discovered that I would not be able to afford an authentic one until I would be old and retired (hopefully). I currently have started a Cats Mora clock fund for that dream to be fulfilled.;) I am taking donations too so feel free to contribute ;) hehehe. 

So I was searching the internet for replicas, diys etc. And than one day in my inbox I see this bit of lovely sent from a website that sends u deals each day. A Mora style table clock!! I snatched it up As FAst As I could! I knew the black finish wasn't really true Mora clock style, and upon receiving it in the mail I saw how much I truly disliked the distressing done to this. All good reasons in my mind to paint it. 

The black really wasn't That bad but...

...I HATED the red that was showing under the black....not my style. (If it wasn't for that I might have considered keeping it black).

Here were my diy chalk paint choices:

Valspar Stone Mason

Devine Colors Horizon by Target 

(love this new light/minty/cream color!!)

Valspar English Tea Party

Folk Art metallic gold craft paint

I started with 2 coats of the Stone Mason

Than one thin coat of Horizon.

I than painted and than wiped quickly off with a rag the gold. Only on some places to bring out the details.

Once I was done with that, I made a wash/glaze with the English Tea party. And did THIS so it leaked all over.

I quickly dabbed / wiped it all off/down over the entire thing.

A few touch ups here and there to get the effect I wanted ( I added one more thin dry brush coat of the horizon all over too.here and there...kind of felt like painting a picture;)

A close up...

I really love how it turned out. The gold only shows up at certain angles and that I love! I will have to finish up the inside of the clock another time.

But what do u think? Shall I keep it like this? 

Or perhaps paint it all a solid Horizon?

 The beauty of paint is that I can change it again when I get tired of this. I have even played with the idea of painting it that lovely ASCP Graphite if I want to go back to a dark color.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cat

at the party with 

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Antique End Table revamp

I have lots of painting projects to complete before the house is done. Given that we r still waiting to break ground means that I have ALOT of time to use on planning how I want our decor to look like. It's driving me slitely crazy, all the time we have to wait to turn in our building permit. One word= moratorium. Don't know what that means? Google it. Basically it stinks when u have your application ready to go and the county won't even look at it until the moratorium has been lifted. Enough venting...Moving on...lol.

With all This extra time I get to paint paint paint! Especially with the summer weather, it's perfect for it!

These lovely antique endtables were a gift from my hubs. He knows that I love antiques and whenever he runs into them  he thinks of me:) I instantly knew that I wanted to paint them and already had the color mind. I have been wanting to try out Annie Sloans Chalk paint so I figured I would splurge and buy some. I made my own chalk paint which I Loved how it turned out. But for this project I wanted a particular color and I didn't want to mess around trying to create the same color only discovering that it didn't work the way I wanted it. So I suggest; make your own chalk paint if u r willing to play around to get the effect you want. If u mean business, and want a VERY spacific color, buy the ASCP:) I did and let me tell u...I LoVe it!

I used Annie Sloans Graphite, it's a soft grey/blue/charcoal. 

The great thing abou chalk paint is that I didn't have to sand or prime it before.

Removed the cute little doors and with a dry brush lightly went over the metal parts with gold acrylic paint. I painted only 2 coats of the graphite, I love the texture this paint has.

And here she is all finished!

I love it!!!!!!! If I could hug it I would;)
I kept the inside the original color, so as to be able to see displayed things inside.

One missing piece for the door... but doesn't bother me...:) the other unfinished endtable has both knobs in tact to it will balance it out;) adds character;)

I distressed the corners and details to make them stand out more. I still have to put wax on it to finish it up, but I could not wait to share this so, here ya go! Now tomorrow I will be finishing up the wax and than start on endtable nr 2! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Cat

ps.
at the party with http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
&
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Choosing our Brick

 My husband and I have come to an agreement throwout this whole building process. I get to design the interior and he gets to design the exterior. With that said, our agreement applies as long as we dont hate the others choice. It is interesting enough, because I am quite surprised that my husband and I have actually almost the same taste in a lot of things! What a pleasant surprise!He has long dreamt of an all brick home. Where I have always loved the mix of finishes, rock and hardieboard to be particular. If it were up to me we would be building a traditional craftsman home, but it isn NOT up to me alone..lol..I am glad that he has convinced me to go with the all brick. Hopefully The whole look of the house will be very classic.  And I am finding that many of the new homes that are being built are very ``trendy`` in many ways. I bet we will get caught up in some of these as  well...but We want our home to have a certain timelessness. That is what we have in mind when choosing almost everything in our home. When picking things I always ask myself if this is something that one would find in an old house...(if we coul d find a functional old house to renovate we would...but our familes lifestyle is a bit different than oh say peeps in the 1800`s..so yup, were building).

We both are head over heels for old red brick homes, buildings etc. I LOOOOVE them. So with that in mind I am all for the all brick house!

There are so many advantages to building an all brick home...
here is what ehow.com said

1. Low Maintenance

   • Brick is very low-maintenance. A brick house will never need to be repainted. It won't be in danger of rotting, and termites and other pests will not damage brick. This durability not only makes brick a convenient and worry-free choice, but also saves homeowners money over time.

   Energy Efficiency

   • Brick is also more energy efficient than other building materials. It will help keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter and also lower your energy bills. According to the Palmetto Brick Company, the energy bills of brick homes are eight percent less than those in vinyl homes.
   • 
     

   Appearance

   • Brick offers an elegant, timeless look that improves as it ages. In addition, brick comes in a variety of colors, textures and finishes that won't fade with time.

   Insurance Discounts

   • Since brick is durable, fire resistant and pest resistant, home insurance costs are often lower for brick houses than houses constructed of vinyl or other materials. Over time, this discount can help recover the initial cost of brick.

   Noise Barrier

   • Brick walls block out noises from outside more effectively than other building materials, which creates a peaceful and calm atmosphere inside your home.

   Higher Resale Value

   • The elegance and efficiency of brick make it a top selling point in real estate. Choosing brick will ultimately increase the value of your home, making it easier and more lucrative to resell.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/list_6588617_advantages-brick-homes.html

So off to the brick supplier we went to find the perfect brick.
Goal: We want a red brick home with black trim and black/charcoal roof.

Interstate Brick is where we found our 2 favorites... or so we thought;-).

Dartmouth

We loved it at the supplier, but quickly realized seeing it in larger scale that it didnt have enough color variation that we want to add texture and depth.

Stratford

Nice variation...Way to brown.

The supplier gave us a list of addresses to look up the brick that has been used in nearby homes.

And after driving around for 2 hours, we decided that those particular bricks where not what we had in mind. My husband knew exactly what brick he wanted, but none of these were it.

Back to the drawing board. We went back to the supplier and had a look at one brick that we had completely missed...Old Baltimore.

And we FOUND IT!..the exact brick Mr B liked!

Old Baltimore has a ton of color variations, we absolutely love it. We will be using a tan to chocolate color motar like in this close up picture..We are so excited!

Our sample swatch..the picture doesn't do it justice!

Installed brick. It's crazy how different colors pop out of it due to the trim color choices. Our accents will be dark charcoal or black.

Now let's get that dang moratorium lifted so we can turn in our building permit already!

Cat

Building our own Home

I havn`t had many projects going on since the past 6 months have been a whirl wind in our family. We moved and are currently staying with family as we begin the process of building our dream home. I am beyond ecstatic for this! Seriously I have been dreaming of this for ummm...my whole life.. lol

            Our front yard

Our side view from our front yard

Our sidewalk ;-)

As we wait on all the paperwork aka (a moratorium to be lifted) so we can get our building permit processed, I will be sharing with you the decor choices AND projects for our home to be. Once we finally break ground I will share with you the whole building process. We are our own GC for this big event, so this will  surely be an adventure for us! Luckily my husband has worked around this type of business his whole life and both his brothers built their own homes, so there will be many familiar things (many new I am sure too), but we are confident that it will turn out good:-)

So Stay tuned for more updates!


~Cat