Wood Aging an Oval Silver Mirror

I found the perfect mirror to go in the spare bedroom.  It is oval and simple, big and was "silver".  I had a tiny mirror where I want to put this mirror.  It was one of those "It'll make do for now" that lasted for years.  I didn't want a silver mirror so every time I saw one I passed it up.  When I saw this one I decided I couldn't wait any longer for the perfect solid wood mirror.  I could make it look like wood. 

Like this one -

I primed it with Annie Sloan Pure White chalk paint so I didn't have to sand it.  It worked perfectly.  I then went to it with an aging glaze mixed with dark wax.  No paint at all.  Just glaze and wax.  I painted it on with a brush and it came out beautifully.  It looks just like wood that has an aged patina.

 

I don't have any before pictures but just think of "silver oval mirror". 

 

 

I like this mirror because it is large and heavy.  But not too heavy.

A truly solid piece. 

It's going to look great in the spare bedroom.

 

1 Year Anniversary

I have been spending more time working on DIY projects,
my booth at the antique mall I am in right now,
decorating the house for the holidays,
getting new floors FINALLY
and of course writing in my blogs.

I was trying to figure out how to add pages at the top of my site and while I was going through the archives linking things together I noticed my first post was "Halloween" last year and I just started laughing. 

There is not a single picture, just a "Happy Halloween!" to whomever might be out there and find me.......it was crazy. 

 

 

I had no idea what I was doing (still on the low end of the scale, ugh). But I have learned so much this past year. 

 

I can see so well that I need to invest in a good camera and some lessons on how to use it.  I have so much fun looking at all the blogs out there and am so amazed and overwhelmed at all the talent in our little world. 

 

It seems like a really big world when I look at all the people and places and projects and food and pictures and on and on and on....whew!

 

It humbles me and also is very intimidating.  It has been a long time since I felt like and had time to be creative.  I have been through so much these past 8 years since my divorce.

You can see a lot of it on my 2 other blogs, Panic and Anxiety  and Hope in Him. 

 

I had long down times where I felt I was just healing emotionally. 

 

It really was in the past 2 years that I felt like writing again or antiquing and working on furniture.

 

~We used to write in journals in my day and I have a lot of journals.

~I have had booths in antique malls for many years and couple of my own store fronts. 

 

As I write this I feel like there is so much to tell and I actually feel like sharing.  It doesn't hurt so much. 

 

I got side tracked when my aunt moved in with us and I became a caretaker of 2 people.  You can see where I tried to start a blog about that adventure here.  I don't mention that blog on this blog.  It ended pretty quickly.  I had no time or energy.

But here I am a year later and I feel like I made some progress and am happy with where I am with blogging and doing all the things I am blogging about.  

 

Having a creative outlet is so important to me. 

 

I am having fun and I am feeling less stressed out because I have an outlet.  Everyone needs a safe place and an area where they can spread out and roll around. 

 

   

 

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Fall and Getting Ready for Halloween in Atlanta. Harvest Time

Fall came a couple of weeks ago and we still have green, green, green everywhere and it's still very warm during the day.  It's cooler at night but the air conditioner is still on (not as much but still on). It's a  little tough to get into the spirit of Fall and Halloween when you don't have red, yellow and brown leaves falling all around while a brisk coolness settles on the land and house but it's here so I better get on it!! Before we know it we will be planning our Thanksgiving menus.

We got the Fall (I call it Harvest Time) and Halloween box out of the shed and had so much fun. I surprised myself how much fun it was because it has been such a busy summer and I didn't think I'd have the "desire".  A few days later and a new laminate Brazilian Cherry wood floor downstairs and I am still tweeking but I'll show you what I have done so far.

The orange "clay" candle boxes lent the perfect whimsy to the fun metal witch. Very colorful and fun. Fits just right on our kitchen table in the breakfast room. The candles are a new addition to the Halloween decor this year. The table runner and witch we had.

 

Onto the dining room table. More color! This was fun. I took my mom around to a new antique mall and to Michaels. We got just a couple of pumpkins. All the rest we had on hand. I had a bag of fall colored leaves that I had fun just dropping over the centerpiece just like the leaves falling like they should be outside! Isn't Mister Scarecrow cute?

 

I wanted to make sure you saw the table runner up close. It can be dressed up or down!

 

 

I mentioned that we got new flooring.  Here's a peek.........

While rummaging through my Orange Halloween Box I found a baggie with a bunch of little felt pilgrim hats I made 10 years ago. I couldn't believe it. It's a long story but I had a lot of things in storage and am finally getting around to purging! Surprisingly I am finding some treasures in that storage. My crafting bug got me and I ran out to Cracker Barrel where they still had the same candy canes I used with the hats. At the same time I found the hats I was playing with cans and burlap. This is what I came up with. One for the mantle and one for the candy canes and hats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I keep trying to figure out what was on the top of this mason jar but it was just created to look "earthy" and it does!

 

 

 

Coudn't resist including this fabulous Turkey Tray. 

 

 

 

 

 Don't you love the detail on this Turkey Tray?  Outdoor decorating will be another day.