~~~~SHABBY COTTAGE CHIC NAPKIN RINGS~~~~ A Simple Tutorial For You

 ~PRETTY SPRINGTIME SETTING~

One of the things I love about romantic cottage chic decor is that you can create pretty complements for your home and be as simple or elaborate as your heart can imagine!  Yesterday I worked on some charming little Napkin Rings for a Spring Brunch I'm hosting for three of my closest friends in the month of May.  Thought I'd let you tag along as I show you just how I they were made!

 ~VINTAGE 1970'S WOODEN NAPKIN RINGS~

The old Napkin Rings you see above are from the 1970's and were manufactured by Home Interiors.  Originally they were a dark walnut and well...you KNOW I just couldn't have that!  After a light sanding I painted them with VALSPAR'S Spray Paint (Churchill Vanilla) and then shabbied them up just a tad!

 ~VINTAGE SATIN RIBBON IN PINK~

A gentle wrapping of vintage pink rayon ribbon gives the Rings just a tiny hint of my very favorite color in all the world!  Pink Rules around here (make no mistake about it)!  These days though I definitely lean towards using the palest, softest shades I can possibly find!

 

 ~VINTAGE MILLINERY and PARCHMENT ROSES~

Because I decided I wanted the Rings to be a "complement" to my table rather than the focus I decided to keep them fully romantic, but understated!

 ~READY TO ASSEMBLE~

~SUPPLIES SET IN PLACE~

 ~CREAMY WHITE ROSES A MUST~

After wrapping each Napkin Ring with vintage ribbon a single large cream rose was hot-glued over the seam. 

 ~PINK and CREAM FOREVER~

Next came the placement of two vintage pink velvet leaves.  They were hot-glued over the ribbon and up-close to the center rose.  Two smaller cream roses were then hot-glued on top of the vintage leaves!

 ~PINK RIBBON FINALEEEEE~

I opted at the last second to add two sagey green leaves atop the pink leaves before hot-gluing the vintage pink bow in place.  It was attached at the base of the center cream rose!

 ~SWEET and ROMANTIC TOUCH~

  ~VINTAGE LINEN NAPKINS~

Last year I found a brand-new-vintage-set of pure linen napkins at an estate sale...

~BELGIUM NAPKINS~

They were only a few dollars and trust me when I tell you they are 1000th better than anything I've ever purchased new from Dillard's!

 ~A LITTLE TABLE PREVIEW~

Here's a sneak-peek at the mock run-through of the table.  Not sure just what silverware I'll use or even the dishes~  But, at least this will give you an idea of what I'm planning!  This project was SIMPLE and I hope it will inspire you to create something lovely for your own springtime gathering!

Hope you are having a beautiful Spring-Fling kind-of-day!  Blessings to live your day with Joy and Passion~

Love to you...

~SHABBY COTTAGE CHIC MIRROR...Romance for Pennies~

~Vintage 1940's Frame~

Shopping Estate and Tag Sales are one of the highlights of both spring and summertime living for me here in Oklahoma.  I'm not afraid to venture anywhere in our gorgeous Red Earth State if it means I just MIGHT find a deal that is too good to pass up!  Even so, there are times when I find myself slinking, slithering my way into what are often Grand Estate Auctions hoping against hope that I'll be able to come away with maybe ONE tiny little treasure.  Most times the merchandise goes sky high making it impossible for me to purchase a single solitary thing.  And so...I have a tendency to favor Sales that might not seem at first glance to be as grandiose.  I almost ALWAYS come away with something fantabulous! :)

Take the mirror you see above.  I found it last year at a neighborhood, family-run estate sale.  Back then it wasn't a mirror at all, but the picture you see below.

~Old Landscape Print~

Now...I love landscape artwork.  I do.  It's just I favor flowers and mirrors more.  Besides, this picture was way too dark for my home and besides it appeared to be faded and discolored...probably from smoke.

However....

The WOODEN FRAME with its bits of detailed plaster and corner accents was LOVELY!  Ticketed price was $10.  Originally the Frame was gold.  Flat, ugly, discolored Greyish-GOLD!!!  :(  Still, her lines were beautiful and I knew immediately I wanted to make her into a mirror.

 ~Gorgeous Details~

 ~New Mirror Cut for $35~

Originally I had plans to hang the fabulous aging piece in my bedroom, but~once our dining room makeover was underway because of her overall size I opted to hang her in our beautifully redesigned space

~Final Price...About $50~

Now...here are some tips when refashioning old framed prints or even mirrors.

If you don't like the outside color of your frame you can easily change it with paint.  I opted NOT to spray paint this frame because sometimes it can cause the decorative plaster and/or resin to chemically melt!  Instead I used a sponge brush (those cheap 2" wide ones at Home Depot and Lowe's) and lightly covered it with my Favorite Zinsser Primer.  I gave it too good coats (front, back and edges) opting to leave bits of the original color in place.  After allowing the frame to dry I then coated it with my FAV PAINT, Behr's Cottage White Satin from Home Depot.  Again, I purposefully left areas of the original color in place.

After curing for a couple of days I then went back and gently distressed areas of the frame that were raised.  Next, the new mirror was added (I found that going to a small independent glass shop is WAY less expensive than having a mirror cut at the big chain stores!).

Now...you can't see the entire room in this shot because I'm quite sure I'll end up moving some things around before I'm completely satisfied.  I've given you a few peeks here and there but now that the French Doors are painted I'll be sharing more with you soon!

I'm sooo happy you visited today!  Blessings for a wonderful Tuesday! 

Love to you~

~LET THE HUNT BEGIN - Oklahoma Tag Sale Finds

~TOO DARK FOR MY HOME~
(But Still Lovely As Ever)

With warmer weather on the horizon I'm antsy about the return of Tag Sale Shopping. Although really great garage and estate sales can be found in Oklahoma all year long, there is just nothing quite like those spring and summertime jaunts around our city that, more often than not, unearth fabulous treasures.

I'm already weak in the knees thinking about finding snippets of old laces and ribbons, aging pieces of rose china and maybe even a lovely sampling of vintage barkcloth...

A few days ago I made my way to a grand old sale and snagged this pretty tiered shelf for only a few bucks...

Well...it was MORE than a few bucks if you want to know the truth. Not everything I find is a bargain, you know? :( But I did manage to winkle out of the seller a better than quoted price. Besides...I was looking for this exact kind of shelf for my formal dinning room! I'd have even have paid him his asking price if he'd stuck to his guns!

If he only knew!

~JUST PERFECT NOW~
(Brush Painting Rules!)

And so the ritual began.

I cleared away the painting table in my hubby's shop, cleaned the shelf up and then primed it with my favorite ZINSSER Primer. A couple coats of soft and creamy cottage white paint later and my lovely little shelf was almost good to go!

I love GENTLE distressing because it adds a hint of dimension to aging woodwork. After two LONG days of curing, my Mr. AGPMan hung my new little pretty in place.

DRESSED TO THE NINES
(Sorry for the Gray-Day Photo)

Here she is dressed and ready for her close-up!

~A BIG LARGER VIEW~

Now, even though I'd much rather play decorator, I'm off to do some real work which in turn will allow me to purchase the things like I've just shared with you.

~I BUY, I BUY! SO...OFF TO CREATE SAYS I~

Blessings to you as you enjoy the first beautiful week of March...