Holiday Headboard

This is my headboard for the holidays.  I used two 300 light sets and it took about 5 minutes.  I'm getting into the holiday spirit.

Peace,

Cyndi

I hit the Jackpot!

Boy, yesterday was a great day.  I've been looking for a new piece of furniture to distress and chalk paint.  I answered an ad in Craigslist for a little dresser.  I ended up with a perfect, little dresser, an adorable roll top desk, a cute nightstand, a vintage crib and, not pictured yet, a small writing desk, a gorgeous mirror, a beautiful, pedestal dining table, and an oval coffee table with a pedestal base.  What a haul!!

I can't wait to get started.  I'm getting ready to place my Annie Sloan paint order.

I'm also getting ready to try something new.  Lately, I've painted some French Typography on a few pieces.  The painting can become a little daunting.  So, I'm going to try a new technique - Lasertran Waterslide Decals.  I'm going to try them out this evening.  I'll let you know what happens.

Peace,

Cyndi

Wood Burning - Who Knew!

I was at Michael's a few weeks ago and saw the wood burning tools right across from the Martha Stewart stencils.  I picked up the one for $5.99, figuring that if I'm totally bad at it, it wouldn't be a major, financial, loss.  Last night I decided to mess around with it.  I tried a little wooden tag.  

That went okay, so I moved on to a picture frame.  I have to say that I was pretty impressed with myself.

Tonight I worked on a little wood box, using the same pattern that I used on the frame.  All I did, was draw some curvy lines with a pencil, them started burning little abstract shapes inside the lines.  It's kind of tedious, but I love repetition and tedium.

I need to get some wood stain to finish the box and frame.  I added color to the tag by coloring with a watercolor pencil, brushed water on it to blend, then finished with a coat of glossy Mod Podge.  I stamped the letters for JOY on the tag, then traced around them with the wood burning tool.

The next thing I want to try is a piece of jewelry.  I'd like to find a large wooden pendant or a bangle to burn.

Today was a very exciting day for me.  I've been selling some things on Etsy - vintage items, some of my art, and things that I've up-cycled.  Today I sold the coffee table that I distressed and painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint.  I was so happy.  This was my first furniture sale!  I want to immediately start looking for another piece of furniture to re-do.  Here's the link to my Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/ceeceestudio

Peace,

Cyndi

Yesterday's Laptop

I think I've mentioned before that I love, mid-century, manual, typewriters.  A couple weeks ago, my father, the "King of Antiques", found a little Royal typewriter for me.  It's so cute!

It's from 1961, has a leather case, and it's a silvery two-tone silvery grey.  Now I have two in my collection.  I' m still waiting to find a cute pink one at a yard sale for two dollars. (I might be waiting quite a while)

Peace,
Cyndi

Miscellaneous Art on a Gorgeous Day

It's finally here!  Temperatures below 85 in north, Florida.  I've never made a secret of how much I hate hot weather.  It's actually in the low 70's right now and I'm loving it.  I just hope that the temperatures keep dropping.

I'm sitting on my porch enjoying the crisp day and figured that I would put up some miscellaneous things that I doodled.

 

 

 This is actually, a rubbing from a rubbing plate.  Then I doodled around with a marker.

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple things that I made and listed on Etsy.

 

 

 

I painted the, originally gold, frames pink.  I think these would look really cute in a little girl's bedroom.

 

 

 

 

 

These were also, originally gold.  I repainted them with the 2013 Pantone Color of the Year - Emerald Green.

 

I've had quite a few sales on Etsy recently, so I need to get to work on some new things to put in my store.

 

Peace,

Cyndi

 

Etsy Store Sale

I started putting some of my art and re-finished creations up for sale on Etsy a few months ago.  I'm slowly, but surely, building a little online store.  I've only sold a couple things so far, but I figured that it would take some time for people to find me.  As everyone knows, Etsy is huge.

I've decided to have a sale.  I'm calling it the Beautiful October Sunset Sale.  In this part of the country, the sunsets are really exquisite in October.  The deck off my bedroom faces west, so I have quite a show every evening.

Check out my Etsy store.  It would be the perfect time to pick up something that you just can't live without.

Peace,
Cyndi

Shades of Grey

I went nuts this weekend with the paintbrush.  If it was in my way - it was painted grey!

Here, I painted a little wooden box and a tin box with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, then taped off some stripes to paint white.  The bottles, I painted first with black gesso, then a coat of white acrylic on top.  After it was dry, I distressed them with sandpaper.  I used some stencils to pencil on the numbers, then painted them with black acrylic.  "52" is the age that I decided to make a change in my life.  That's when I started my blog and decided to pursue a more creative path.

The box in the forefront, was a Runite wine box that belonged to my Step-Grandmother.  My original thought was to paint it grey and put a French topography graphic on the top, similar to the other grey box that I did.  But, now I'm thinking about painting the top with the Union Jack flag.  The frames are going to be distressed and waxed, then I'll make them into chalkboards.

This little shelf was also from my Step-Grandmother.  Originally pink, I chalk-painted it and I think I'm going to paint a word on it.  I'm not sure what word, but a word.  Then I'll distress it.

On this one, I tried to make an antique-looking mirror out of glass.  First I painted and distressed the frame (you can't really see the details of the distressing on the frame because the photo is so crappy), then I sprayed the glass with half water and half vinegar.  I sprayed a light coat of Looking Glass paint.  After it dried, I did the water/vinegar and Looking Glass paint again.  I'm not happy with the outcome.  The process worked, but it just seems a little cloudy.  I'm going to try this again tomorrow.

The, above, is just a bunch of miscellaneous stuff that's in the line-up for re-doing in some way.

So, that was my weekend.

Peace,
Cyndi