Valentines, and a chair to match that desk. What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday, #295

It's Wednesday again, and for two weeks in a row, I'm in on the fun at Julia's with What's on Your Workdesk?  Wednesday.

Desk this week:

 Making a few Valentines, like this one:

And working on a chair to match the desk in THIS POST:

The girl child wants the base yellow, with crackles, and the deeper green that's the same color as some of the stenciling on the aforementioned desk.  Not sure I have enough green left, so we'll see how this turns out.  Maybe next week?

What's on YOUR workdesk?
:)

more prints--getting ready to make Valentines!

Had another little printing party today, making up some painty and inky backgrounds to use with Valentines, and to share at the Altered Pages Artsociates blog.  Yep, used the Gelli plate again--but I have been known to monotype print on that baking sheet, too!  In my last post, I was using DecoArt Traditions paints, but this time I was using the Americana Line--I like using less expensive paints for papers that are going to be backgrounds.  I could definitely tell the difference in the details, but the results were still great, and it's always good art therapy to pull a bunch of prints.

collage page from Altered Pages

I REALLY like the doily, such nice details.  Now I need to actually MAKE the Valentines . . .

By the way, Altered Pages is teaming with DecoArt this month--if you go to the Artsociates post, and share it on social media (fb, pinterest, google+), be sure to leave a comment telling Miss Jean you did--she'll put your name in the draw for $35 of DecoArt products, plus a very helpful brayer like the one I used here!

printing party--What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday #294

Party with my Gelli plate and some pretty new paints--won't bore you with too much talk, here's what's on my workdesk today:

Stencils and paints (DecoArt, media and Traditions line), lots of messy printing, and trying to use chipboard cuts for masks (swirly one from Leaky Shed Studio).

I really like the detail in this leaf!!! 

Seriously good art therapy.  These particular prints are getting stitched up into a book, but I'm making a buncha Valentine backgrounds, too.  They should be up Thursday. 

Happy WOYWW to you--and thank you, Julia!

how did I not post this sooner??? (published, yay!)

A while back, I mailed in a couple of submissions, and then promptly forgot about them.  So when this came in the mail before Christmas--

THANK YOU, Somerset Studio Gallery!!!

what a fabulous surprise, right??  They used a set of three cards, created using images and ephemera from Altered Pages and Something Tattered Wallpaper Background stamps:

That wish stamp and paint swipe--Pink Paislee

And to make it even more fun (for me, anyway), the layout of my cards is right next to a gorgeous piece created by one of my beautiful bloggy friends, the lovely and talented Lynne! 

(One time, two of my friends that I actually see and live near were in the issue of a magazine, which struck me as majorly funny and exciting.  But I digress . . .)

Anyway, this is still making me smile.

It's Friday already, have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

:)

chairs and trinket boxes--rehabbing and altering

We have a pair of child sized, metal folding chairs that I got at a garage sale twenty or so years ago.  They were quite old then (definitely safe to say "vintage" now!), and very much in need of some rust scrubbing and  new seat cushions.  I made them over with seat cushions that matched the quilt I had made for our oldest son.

These chairs are quite sturdy, and still have part of a Samsonite label attached to them, but I'm pretty sure none of my children should sit in them anymore!  Anyway, it was time to give the chairs a new face yet again.  Here is the BEFORE:

 Not bad, but getting a little scruffy looking.  And where did the seat cushion go?

But NOW:

painted with DecoArt Multi Surface Paints

Are you ready for this?  They look completely different now . . .

Layers of stencils--let me say, I learned my lesson, I will not try and use flat stencils on a curved surface.  But the Americana STICK ON STENCILS are GENIUS!!!  That Fleur di Lis above and this kind of brocade stencil here:

those are both stick on stencils, so easy to use on the curved surface of the chair back--this particular one is also on the desk drawer in the post above.

Chair cushions from a chenille bedspread

I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out, and will definitely be using that kind of paint again.

Now if you're here for a peek at the trinket box, created from an upcycled Laughing Cow cheese box.  You'll find this in its entirety at the Leaky Shed Studio blog.  It's a little shiny something for a shiny little someone:

Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderful creative week, everyone!

experimenting--a book, and a new life for a laminate desk.

Well, it's a new year, the perfect time for some arty experimenting.  Altered Pages is partnering with DecoArt for the month of January, and today I'm sharing the beginnings of a hand bound book at the Altered Pages Artsociates blog.  The pages are all Gelli plate prints, and the cover uses several of the new DecoArt media special effects products.  Here's a peek:

You can see some of the crackle from the Crackle Paste, and the gold from the Interference Paint shimmering behind the little fairy.  For more photos and info, please see the Artsociates post HERE--it's worth a little visit, just to get in on the chance at some of those DecoArt goodies!

Okay, and now the DESK.  Here's the story--I was aching to try out the DecoArt Chalky Finish paints on a piece of furniture.  Our oldest son's father-in-law drives a truck, and is in the habit of picking up stray furniture type things from the side of the road.  He happened to have a very plain, but very sturdy, white laminate desk--you know the type, but of course I forgot to take a "before" photo!  But surely you've seen them, they all look something like this:
Its only defect was a minor scratch on the front edge, nothing a little sandpaper didn't tidy up quickly.  I gave it a base coat of a color called Heritage, followed with Chalky Finish Crackle Medium and a coat of Vintage: 

Love the crackle!!!!  :)

As if the crackle wasn't enough fun, next I layered stenciled images--French Text, Keys, and that gorgeous Brocade from the Americana Decor series, plus a sweet little bird and a smaller brocade from the Large Fleur de Lis set:

one side

the other side

so cute! 

I replaced the original knob with a vintage crystal one from my stash.

this is on the desk top

this is also on the desk top--still lovin' the crackle!

Let me tell you, it's difficult to photograph desks . . . anyway, in the spirit of experimentation, it seemed fit to protect part of the paint with the Chalky Finish Creme Wax, and part with the Satin Varnish.

My daughter is very pleased with her new study desk, and I had a fabulous time rehabbing a roadside discard.  If you've refinished any furniture, or have any helpful hints, please share a link, I'd love to stop by and visit!