Flawless Imperfection

It has been so long since I have written anything. Life has been difficult, but I will talk about that later. The topic for today's blog is all about character and beauty of imperfections. I am apart of several re-purposing pages on facebook and often I read some questions that trigger a gut reaction. One of these questions that I have come to realize is a major pet peeve is: what is the difference between hand painting or using a sprayer? Really...you really need me to answer that question?! So since it has come up several times and it usually strikes a sharp cord, I decided to address it to vent some of my frustration.

The big difference for me, between hand painting and using a sprayer, is the difference between your piece having character or not. Spraying the paint on a piece provides you with a flawless finish, but I guess my burning question is why would you want perfection from a piece that is brandishing scars from a life well lived. Character is the quintessential purpose when it comes to my approach to painting.

When I first started painting about 4 years ago I really had no idea what I was doing. I was floundering for something that was going to help with my OCD, anxiety, and depression and I thought that maybe painting would help. It did, of course, because using your hands is a very therapeutic experience. With hand painting I get this overwhelming sense of pride knowing that I have touched every inch of a piece when I am finished. It is extremely rewarding to see the fruits of my hard labor. And I do mean very hard labor. In my opinion, the whole purpose of the paint is to highlight the details of a piece that give it character, a past, which in turn help you tell its story. The perfection of a piece is found in the imperfections.

This was quite an epiphany for me. I finally understood that the whole point of painting and being creative was to let the piece speak for itself. I know I always say it, and people look at me funny when I do, that a piece will tell you what it wants to be.

This vanity was one of my very first custom jobs. Please excuse the messy back ground and complete lack of staging. I was still a beginner at this point. I estimated this vanity to be from the early 1900s. It was stunning, but it needed a face lift. It had the usual wear and tear, scratches, crackled finish, dings, and one very beautiful crack on the top. When the customer dropped it off, she expressed a desire for me to fill the crack and make it look perfect. I told her okay, because what the customer wants, the customer gets. When it came down to it, I just couldn't fill the crack. I just kept thinking about how covering that up was a crime. I felt that if I filled it and painted over it I would be taking away a piece of its history, a sign that it had lived.

So, in complete defiance of what the customer wanted, I followed my gut and left the crack in all its glory to be seen for the rest of its life. The customer loved it despite my disobedience. I just always wonder how it got that crack. What happened? Who am I to say this piece doesn't get to wear its marks proudly. The imperfection creates a perfect display of a life well loved.

This next piece is another great example of how a piece of furniture can bring so much character to the table. Because I hand paint everything, the paint does not go on even. It creates a variance in the coverage, which in turn gives the opportunity for flaws to come to life. Often times while distressing I always have the intention of not over doing it, but sometimes the piece shows me what it wants. It can reveal an imperfection that I didn't see with the naked eye, but the paint brought it to attention. The heavily distressed areas on the drawer faces were not intentional, but they showed that this beautiful dresser had traveled far and wide and lived life to the fullest.

This desk is one of my all time favorite pieces. It came in pretty good condition, just needing to be refreshed and given a new lease on life. My whole intent with this desk was to highlight the beautiful simple lines and keep the whole piece fresh and clean. Well, like every piece, they always have a say. After hand painting two coats and then beginning to distress, this piece revealed its so called simplicity, but also possibly a sordid past. The drawers, although seemingly perfect before paint, revealed little dings and nicks that seemed to give the piece a personality all alone. The hardest thing I had to learn was that hand painting doesn't provide an even application, nor does it provide for even removal while distressing. There in lies the true beauty. I hope that when someone bought this desk they had a moment and just wondered, if she could speak, what would she say. What is her story?

In other cases, some pieces seem to have no hope and you wonder why you even bought it. This desk was one of those pieces. I bought it because it was cheap and it had a crossbar on the bottom that I thought showed some promise. I took a chance. It was the ugliest desk I had ever seen in the most hideous shade of brown stain. As I started hand painting this desk I kept trying to come up with ways to give it character because I was sure there was nothing there to work with. Well, I was wrong. This piece had some character, it had just never been given the opportunity to bloom into its full potential. After a little paint, a stencil, some heavy distressing, and switching out the yucky brass knobs from the 1980s, this desk looked like she was ready for her day in the spotlight. Hand painting gave me the opportunity to infuse character into every inch of this little beauty. My mom took one look at this desk when it was done and insisted on buying it from me.

As an artist, you look at things with a different eye. You approach life differently. All of these looks I could not have achieved had I used a sprayer. I want a piece to speak when it is finished. It should display a legacy of a life well lived. A piece of furniture is very much like a life. We as people are scratched and marred along the journey. We do things to cover those pesky imperfections because they show our vulnerability, but the truth is those marks give us character. They tell us and others who we are, how we came here, and where we are going. Everything we see, touch, feel, and love changes us. Everyone we meet has the ability to leave an imprint on our lives.

This leads me to the hardest part of this blog. I haven't written in awhile because 2 months ago today, my beloved cat, Poncho, passed away. He had been having some health problems and we had to make a difficult decision to put him to sleep. It was one of the worst days of my life. We adopted him in 2014 at the ripe old age of 11. He was a sweetie from the very beginning. My own little fury baby sprinkling joy throughout my days. He came to us with some unforeseen health problems that were a constant struggle over the past 2 years and eventually claimed his life. But now he is gone and no longer in pain. At first the loss was more than I could bare. Poncho had been with me through some very difficult times. 

Now that he is gone, I am realizing that his presence in my life and my home has changed me! As much as I say that I rescued him, he really rescued me. His loss has reminded me that life is messy. We lose loved ones, we struggle to control inner demons, and we are faced with situations that test us to the very core of our being everyday. But that is life. These struggles are what build character. How we deal with them displays our legacy to the world, and determines our path into the future. Much like the furniture I paint, life is no where near perfect and then the question begging to be asked is, why would we want it to be? If a perfect life meant that I never had adopted Poncho, then it's not a life I would want. Yes I am in pain over his loss, but not to sound cliché, I would rather have loved and lost him than to never have found or loved him at all. My love for him is his legacy and proof that he lived.

So this blog post is for my beloved Poncho, who even though he is gone, he will always live on. In his short time with me he granted me a mark that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. One day, the open wound will heal to reveal only a scar. A scar that will be joined by many more throughout my journey. Those imperfections on the canvas of my life will create my own legacy. The true test is finding beauty in those flaws and accepting that they have crafted me into the person I am meant to be. So here is to my sweet Poncho who left his paw prints on my heart.

Vanessa

I Believe in Pink

Sharing with:

Feathered Nest Friday at French County Cottage

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Porch To Yours

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound

Simple & Sweet Fridays at Rooted in Thyme
Vintage Charm at The Blue Willow House

Feeling Blue

So I'm not really feeling blue...I'm more feeling THE blue. I took a major step this week. I bought this cute little cabinet from a friend and my first thought of course was to paint it in Annie Sloan Old White. My instincts just always steer me towards the simple and clean elegance that Old White provides. It fits into any decor, but I am trying to change things up. So I took a leap of faith and painted this in my favorite aqua blue. 

This is a picture of the new treasures I brought into my booth this week. As you can see I am feeling the blue hues right now. 

So I guess I should reveal all that surpassed with this piece. She almost didn't make it. I would like to offer a few pointers of advice for painters. I had to learn the hard way so here goes: first, make sure you mix enough color before you start. Second, don't paint late at night because you will invariable make mistakes that may cost you the entire piece. And third, don't under any circumstances, unless you know exactly what you are doing, remove veneer. This lady may look cute now, but wait until you hear the whole story.

This picture is more true to the color of this piece. It is bright and cheery although its beginning was gloom and doom. So where to begin with this little lady. She was a comedy of errors it seems. I started by painting her in this beautiful blue hue. It is a mixture of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colors Pure White and Florence. I don't have an actual recipe to achieve the same color every time, so I just mix until I like the color and call it good. I feel like having no specific recipe allows for more creative variance. Well, there in started my issues.

I am usually pretty good at guessing how much paint a piece requires. The paint goes so far that I thought no big deal for a piece this small. First mistake. After 2 completed coats on the body I went ahead and used Artisan Enhancements VP Antico on the door for a raised stencil effect. It looked beautiful...at least for a little while. I kept painting and re-painting the top because the bleed through was horrible. So, I then got the very bright idea at 10:00 pm to try removing the veneer on the top. The veneer was already lifting in the back and with the aweful bleed through I thought what do I have to lose... right? Apparently everything! So I took my hammer and my paint scrapper to try it out and see how hard it would be. After 10 minutes it was going pretty well...then the storm hit. I took out a huge chunk of the wood top along with the veneer! NNNNNOOOOOOO! After over an hour of chipping away little by little at the veneer and occasionally the wood top :( I knew I had made a huge mistake. So I thought, no big deal, a little wood filler and we are good to go. Bad idea. I am really not gifted with wood filler. This was a fact I already knew going into this project. Once I had bandaged her up the best I could, I then decide to check out the stencil on the front to see if it was dry. Not only was it dry, but it was not the color it was suppose to be...it was turning a grayish color from the demolition debris. I took my handy dandy paint scrapper that had already caused so much damage, and I chipped that stencil off, but not without ruining the paint on the door as well. So after assessing the damage to the patient and acknowledging the possibility that she was probably a lost cause, not to mention that my paint was GONE, I left her to sit over night and to gather my thoughts on my course of action.

The next day I came out to re-inspect her in good natural light, hoping and praying that it was either a bad dream or that she was not nearly as messed up as I thought. Yep, it was just as bad as it was the night before. Oh boy! I mixed more paint trying to match it and I didn't do half bad. I fixed the paint on the door and thought I would try painting the top, because sometimes paint can hide a multitude of sins. That was another botched idea. So I tried another coat, thinking that it might fill in some of the divots and you know...look good...yeah not so much. I just kept digging myself deeper into a hole with this one.

Finally, after so many failed ideas, my last ditch effort to save this piece was to enlist book pages and modgepodge. I first sanded down the top and then wiped it down with a baby wipe to make sure that the dust wouldn't interfere with the glue. I laid down one page after another, then at the end covered the whole top in a sealer coat of modgepodge. I stepped away to let it dry and pray that this would work.

Score! It actually looked really cute and I think fit the overall look I wanted to achieve. The last piece of work to do on this little lady, was to re-stencil the front. I decided to just use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White for the stencil. That is about the only thing that I didn't screw up on this piece. In fact it is probably the best stencil job I have ever done, because as I have stated before, I am terrible at stenciling. Once the stencil was dry and she had received a finishing coat of wax, I picked out a glitzy, large crystal knob from my stash.

So there is the very long tragic story of this sweet little cabinet. I always say a piece will tell you what they want to be and this is not the first time I have had protestations from a project.

Since I was determined to put that cabinet in my booth, I went ahead and restocked and re-arranged things as well. I brought in lots of doilies which are always great sellers.

That large blue bottle is probably one of my favorite finds ever. It is so unique, huge, and extremely heavy. I can just imagine this on a mantle above a fireplace for a bold statement. It could be filled with some kind of unique décor as well, like wine corks, dried rose buds, or cotton bolls...the possibilities are endless.

Lavender is probably my favorite scents. It just adds a beautiful feminine touch of country to any space. This jar is one of my favorite jars as well because of the unique toile like print on it.

Last, but certainly not least are these sweet vintage porcelain chicken napkin rings. I don't normally buy chicken décor, but these just spoke to me and I had never seen anything like them before. They would be the perfect addition to any farmhouse style table set for a casual dinner party.

That is all I have to share. I am sorry the blog was so long winded today, but that cabinet was going to be the death of me. I still can't believe what she put me through. Good thing I can look at it and giggle knowing what we both went through together. I know she definitely taught me some tough lessons. I will miss her when she goes to her new home. I hope you all enjoyed the story and that you will continue to check back for new projects, new lessons, and most of all just good fun.

Vanessa

I Believe in Pink

Sharing with:

Feathered Nest Friday at French County Cottage

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Porch To Yours

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound

Simple & Sweet Fridays at Rooted in Thyme
Vintage Charm at The Blue Willow House

Back in the Saddle Again

Well it has been awhile since I posted. Life has been crazy lately and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. I am finally back in the saddle. I just wanted to do a short blog to let everyone know that I am still here and working on picking unique items and painting projects. Just this last week I moved back into a small booth at my favorite shop Camas Antiques. I wasn't sure how much would fit into this small space, but I packed it full. Since the shop didn't have a larger booth for me to feature my furniture, I opted for a display cabinet where I could at least do smalls. My how I have missed doing displays.

I am really trying to re-focus my style on a cottage look with vintage touches and shabby elegance. As I have said before, my favorite place to pick is Goodwill and I have found so many great treasures lately that I think really pull everything together. The mirror in the back was a $5 find and it was just a plain wood frame and mirror. I tried a couple of ideas on the mirror itself, but settled for a clean stencil to keep the lines simple. I think it is perfect as the eye catching piece of my sweet display.

Having a display case as opposed to a booth is really forcing me outside my comfort zone. Since I can't fit dressers inside it, I am trying to think of items that normally I would pass on due to the size being too small. I think this is really going to be a great learning experience in how to come up with meaningful items, displays, and it will give me the opportunity to be more daring and creative when it comes to small furniture pieces.

I am really loving mercury glass, ceramic birds, and wooden bird houses right now. Maybe it is just the spring time fever. I love this unique bird house I found at a vintage show and it looks lovely paired with the unique shaped swan figuring and the very shabby mercury glass bottle. I wish I could find a place to put these items so I could keep them for my collection.

My new favorite things for spring is apothecary jars and clear glass canisters. There is just something so classic about items that you can keep out all year round and just change the décor inside them. These were both found at local thrift stores, as well as the little figurines inside. I just love the cute little face on that vintage bunny. He is perfect for Easter.

My latest craft item I have been making is just some aged book pages rolled up, bound in a bundle of 3, tied with some jute and a white vintage button. They look so adorable sitting on a side table, in a basket as they are pictured, or in a vase. They are just a simple way to add a touch of shabby, whimsy, and vintage to a small space.

This book was an experiment. I had never painted a book before, but I thought I would take a chance on it since I only paid $1 for it at an estate sale and it has failed to sell in as is condition. I painted it in Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint, added a band of lace burlap, and a lacey flower that I embellished with 2 vintage rhinestone earrings and a white button. Again, I wish I could keep this simply shabby sweet book.

For the last photo, this is probably my favorite part of my new little display case. These little vintage porcelain birds I found at Goodwill and thought they were so adorable. The little mint green bow really adds some character to their simple design. These little love birds looks so cute perched on this little wood shabby white bench.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures. I didn't realize how much I missed putting together displays. I love how this small space can be so intricately designed by adding varying heights of items as well as intriguing layers of items that have a detail and story all on their own. I hope you will come visit my blog again. Now that I am back in the shop business, be sure to stay tuned for new displays and new items available in my booth at Camas Antiques. It feels so good to be back in the saddle again! :)

Vanessa

I Believe in Pink

Sharing with:

Feathered Nest Friday at French County Cottage

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Porch To Yours

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound

Simple & Sweet Fridays at Rooted in Thyme

A Year in Review - My 2015 Favorites

Well, 2015 is now gone and as I sit here anxious and excited to see what 2016 has in store, I couldn't help but look at the projects I completed this last year. As I look at the photos I have taken, I can't hardly believe how much my style has changed. When I first started painting, I think my style was very French. All I ever painted were the outdated 60s and 70s French Provincial style pieces. Now I look at some of the beautiful pieces of furniture I have found and I am shocked at how much they have morphed my style. I rather like it!

Last January, I had the pleasure of picking up this darling desk. It was solid built and in pretty good structural condition. I love accenting the flaws in a piece of furniture to give it character and history. With this desk, I was able to do just that by painting her in Annie Sloan Old White and doing a heavy distress. I love how she turned out. This started my love affair with all things white this year. Not to mention the chair as well. It too was painted in Annie Sloan Old White and reupholstered with a beautiful blue fabric with silver polka dots. Ooo lala!

This vanity I refurbished was apart of an Antique Thomasville bedroom set. I found it on Craigslist and it was a very good price. I thought it probably had issues. Once I saw the whole set, I had to have it. It had character for sure. I painted this in Annie Sloan Old White and went even heavier on the distressing than I had planned. But with her cute little legs, curvy top, and beautiful hardware, this little lady didn't stick around for long.

Next up in the Thomasville set was this lovely, huge, and might I say extremely heavy dresser. Now my booth at Camas Antiques was down a very steep staircase in the basement. I kid you not when I say I wasn't sure that she or myself would make it down in one piece. But we did! Painted in Annie Sloan Old White with a heavy distress like her sister piece, she too didn't stick around for very long.

What I love about all of these pieces painted in Annie Sloan Old White is that it gives me the opportunity to let other colors shine, but it keeps these pieces elegant, classy, and timeless. I love accenting with colors, but this year, despite my belief in pink as my name suggests, I just couldn't get my fill of this beautiful custom mixed Aqua Blue. This color is achieved by mixing Annie Sloan colors Florence and Pure White. Just mix until you have the hue you desire and I promise it does not disappoint!

Here is one of my favorite items from this years picks. Now as I have said before, I love shopping at Goodwill. I never leave empty handed. This picket fence crate is one of many treasures that I have found there. I also always find a load of canning jars which paint up beautifully to make great flower vases. Another thing I love about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is that you can paint anything...and I mean anything! You can paint wood, plastic, laminate, paper, fabric, and even glass...all with no prepping or priming! It is amazing. One of my best sellers are canning jars that are painted, distressed, waxed, and accented with jute. By adding painted jars to this sweet picket fence, you can create a lovely table center piece for spring...just add some tulips and you have something very unique.

I love this bench. It too, was apart of the Thomasville bedroom set that I painted. Of course I painted it in Annie Sloan Old White. For the fabric I wanted to pick something very understated and simple. When I poured through my stash and found this sweet white fabric with beautiful yellow rosebuds, I knew I had hit the jackpot! This sweetie didn't stick around long either.

This dresser was painted for a dear friend. She wanted a shabby white dresser and so naturally I was there to deliver. I painted this dresser in Annie Sloan Old White. The hardware was a brassy gold color, so I left it as is for this stunner. The hardest part was to not get too heavy handed with the distressing. I think she is beautiful!

I know I shared a bit about this piece on my last blog, but she definitely made the list of favorites this year. I found this stunning antique music cabinet on Craigslist. I loved her Queen Anne legs and the intricate raised details on the doors. I painted her in Annie Sloan Old White and distressed her beautiful design features. She was intended for our laundry room, but she was too pretty to hide away.

This is one of my favorite vignettes from my booth this year. The sweet miniature tea set I found when we were cleaning our house preparing for our move. It was so precious I wish I could have kept it. One thing you will learn about me is that I love lavender. It is so simple and it adds a little bit of country to any decor. Plus it smells amazing too! This clock, I surprisingly got at Hobby Lobby. If you watch the sales you can get great deals on some of their pricier items. This clock was a real find. Vintage books are also a great way to add color, pattern, dimension, and detail to any space. Place them under a clock or another decorative piece for a very personal yet trendy touch.

Where do I even begin with this piece. I wish I had a before picture. It was the ugliest desk I had ever seen. But I took a chance on it because of the cute spindly legs. I'm so glad I did. She did need some help, so I painted her in Annie Sloan Old White, stenciled the drop down panel in Annie Sloan French Linen, and heavily distressed. If you are not gifted at stenciling like me, then a great way to hide the flaws is to heavily distress the parts that didn't turn out so hot. It give the piece character and age. This desk also had ugly gold knobs, so I switched them out for large crystal knobs that I got at Home Goods. Yes they sell hardware...really cute hardware and for pretty good prices. Once I finished this desk my Mom wouldn't let me sell it to anyone but her. I'm so glad we kept it!

Oh I just love this dresser. I am a sucker for the scalloped trim on these simple wood pieces. They paint up so well and they really have a country cottage feel. This dresser is painted in Annie Sloan Old White and distressed lightly. Again, I loved the hardware too much to paint it and so I left it natural. I also have an obsession with tole painting. When I saw these cute owls I had to have it. It sold right away, but I will always have this picture to remember it by.

So I know I have already talked about this dresser with an attitude in my last blog. Funny thing is that she is still voicing her protestation. Check out the hardware on the right of the bottom drawer. The handle is in the upright position. It's throwing the whole balance of the photo off and driving me crazy. Even though she was stubborn, her beautiful coats (4 coats to be exact...twice as many as normal) of Annie Sloan Old White do flatter her curves nicely. 

I know I shared this photo last week as well, but I can't help myself. I love the window, but I literally sweat bullets when applying vinyl to glass. It turned out pretty good though. The small pallet board I stenciled for my women's gift for our Christmas Eve cutthroat gift exchange. I tried to get her back, but I failed :( good thing I have another board to recreate the look. The coat rack behind the board was a simple piece I got at Goodwill. It was a dark wood and quite drab if I do say so myself. I debated doing Annie Sloan Old White because it is my go to color, but instead I went with my favorite blue. I wanted it a little lighter, so I added some more Annie Sloan Pure White to the mixture. With what I mixed, it was probably a 1/4 of a cup or less, I was able to paint 2 coats on the coat rack, the large frame, and 5-6 jars. The paint seriously goes a long way.

Well, that is my year in review. A lot changed last year, some good and some bad, but it's all about how you handle the change in the moment. I made it and I am a stronger person for it. My goals for this year are to continue to find pieces and give them new life, grow in the techniques I have learned, and get myself back into a shop where I can put my beautiful finds and flips on display. I hope that you enjoyed my list of 2015 favorites and that you will continue to check back for more projects, more treasure finds, and just more fun.

Happy New Year!

Vanessa

I Believe in Pink

Sharing with:

Feathered Nest Friday at French County Cottage

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Porch To Yours

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound

Simple & Sweet Fridays at Rooted in Thyme