Tag Archives: chalk paint

5 Things to Paint in a Day (or Less!)

 

I always need some instant gratification…how about you?  I thought I’d post some easy things to do when you want to update some items you already have in your home. Paint is the quickest, easiest and least expensive ways to transform just about anything!

Mirrors…

A Mirror Before

And after… (more…)

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2 Comments | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, Decorative Finishes, interior design, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials

Fast and Beautiful DIY Finishes for Accessories in Your Home: Part 1

If there’s one thing that I do when I only have a little bit of time, it’s revamping an existing accessory in my home.  I’ve done it for photo shoots, gifts, home staging…or “just because,” I can always squeeze in a few moments to add beauty to an existing ugly or forgotten item!

 

revamped miniature Swedish Mora clock

A black miniature Mora clock I found at Marshall’s that I revamped

reproduction Mora clock before

You can read how I did this miniature Mora clock transformation here. (more…)

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11 Comments | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, Decorative Finishes, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials

A Hand Painted Miniature Swedish Mora Clock

repainted and antique Mora clock

Last summer, a friend of mine – Anthony {who is related by marriage} suggested to me that my reproduction Mora clock in the entry would look great if it was painted red.  I would have never considered that color in a million years – I have zero red accents in my house.  I love the color – but it never happened in my decor.  Now, Anthony is not just a casual observer who puts in his two cents…he is an artist and a designer and I have great respect for his talent and ideas.  Red would be such a radical change!  But – I did have this small reproduction Mora clock that I bought when I was first starting to stage homes for sale.  Maybe that could be my test case!

 reproduction Mora clock before

So, I had some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint left over from another project…so I dove in.  I paiinted the body in Emperor’s Silk and the moldings in Versailles. Then I did some distressing.

Chalk painted Mora clock

Then I started to do a little bit of research on various motifs that would be seen on authentic Mora clocks.  Several years ago I bought a fantastic book “Handbook of Decorative Motifs,” by Birthe Koustrup – a Danish artist.  This book is a great resource for any painter or designer.  The book has so many great motifs in it – so I highly recommend it.  But, there were two pages on Swedish design that interested me for this project.  There were bouquets and garlands from paintings in the Zorn Museum of Mora (in Dalecarlie).  I wanted something authentic for the center panel.  I also look up some other designs online and a few that could be placed elsewhere on the clock.  

Decorative Motifs bookPic of the bouquet…pic of the book

 I first did the center design the same size as it was in the book – big mistake.  It looked jumbled and crowded and I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon doing this.  Waste. Of. Time.  But – lesson learned.  So I painted over it, enlarged the pattern and deleted some of it so it would fit – and traced the S-shaped vine and made circles where the flowers would go and repainted again.  I just added two more flowers – one on the top and the other on the bottom to fill out the design. Much better.

motif on Mora clock too small

better sized motif on Mora clock

I wasn’t happy with a few of the flowers, so I changed the orange ones to Yellow Ochre and did my own design within it.  Nice thing about Folk Art – and Swedish Folk Painting in particular – is that their florals are fanciful and not true to life – very representative.  It’s really a lot of fun painting flowers like these!

repainted and antique Mora clock

I had to add a date to the piece, of course.  I remembered seeing one Mora clock with “1896,” so I put that date in the small center molding panel on the front.  I used the font Blackadder and sized it up to 72 pts. This font seemed the most naïve to me, so it worked.

Mora clock miniature on left side of mantle

Trying to figure out where it goes!

Mora clock from the side

I added some other scrolls etc to the sides – and I used some Dark Brown Faux Crème Color with a little bit of water to age some of the corners and motifs.  I haven’t waxed it yet – but I will probably use some Annie Sloan Clear Wax and then if it needs a bit more age – I’ll add some Dark Wax to it.

Mora clocks

Mama and baby Mora clocks!

close up of Mora clocks

I hope you like it – it was fun to do.  I am especially thrilled to be able to do some close up work now.  As some of you know, I had some eye surgery last week to correct an exo-tropism that had been plaguing me for the past year.  Better known as a lazy eye, this malady of mine should have been picked up when I was a kid but the doctors seem to think I just had great muscle control for many, many years.  It started to really affect my vision in the last year or so – my depth perception kept getting worse and worse.  As an artist, when your eyes begin to go – it’s very depressing. My eyesight is still a but blurry because the surgery was so recent – but every day I am seeing better and better.  The surgery even improved my general eyesight.  Unbelievable!  Now – if only they could do something about the pain right after the operation…

To read about how I antiqued the Mora clock in my entry, click here

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26 Comments | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, interior design, Paint, Tutorials

A Fall Mantle: Decorated in Silver, Gold, Pale Blue and Off White

antique blue lantern on a fall mantle

The blue lantern I just had to bring home!

I wanted to do something a little different than I normally would do, decorating-wise.  In my great room, I usually use rich, saturated colors but I wanted to try a color scheme I never use – blue, silver and gold.  I came across a beautiful lantern in HomeGoods – and that started the whole thing!

{I apologize in advance for the dark pics.  We have no electricity and my great room doesn’t get an inordinate amount of natural light.  I hope we get our power back soon}

natural wreath for a fall mantleAdding a neutral, textural wreath with painted berries and a brown velvet bow would be the centerpiece. You can see some of the scrapbook paper butterfiles that I made as well.

"Annie Sloan Chalk Paint," "Dick Egg Blue," "Decoupage" antique lantern, "burlap"Here’s a little rundown of what I did…

1. I found an aluminum-type lantern with some burlap covering – but, wrong color

2. I painted it Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Duck Egg Blue + spray painted some weeds white

3. I decoupaged some items to add an antique flavor

4. Made some butterflies from some scrapbook paper

A decorated fall mantle

I added some antique books, some silver pumpkins and gourds, some painted pumpkins, acorns and fall leaves. I also painted a small wicker chair Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg Blue – and added some excelsior for the painted pumpkin to sit in.

a decorated fall mantle with painted pumpkins and "Annie Sloan Chalk Paint" "Duck Egg Blue"Hope you enjoyed the long awaited Fall Mantle.  Prior to my photographing it, we also had some plywood on the windows becuase of Hurricane Sandy – making it impossible to take any shots.  At least with the plywood removed – it improved my pics somewhat…but the room is still fairly dark.

You may also like how I gilded and antiqued the fireplace mantle.  If so, click here.

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2 Comments | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, interior design