Makeover Madness

I hope that everyone had a nice Easter break ~ it all seems such a long time ago now, and I have been absent from blogging for too long!

It's amazing how a deadline focuses the mind isn't it? I have a stall at a local antiques fair in Hungerford tomorrow and wanted some new (old) items for displaying buttons, ribbons & fabrics etc. I had some pieces under the bed waiting for a makeover and I finally decided that now was the time to get the paint out and try and work some magic. My motto recently has been; 'if in doubt paint it white' ~ which is essentially what I did!

I have had this miniature vintage trug on my desk for ages holding pens & pencils etc.

Three coats of Chalk White later, with a bit of rubbing back with a sanding block to give it a timeworn feel it now looks like this...

Months ago, I bought a large sized jewellery stand in the shape of a mannequin (a modern one, with lots of glitzy decoration, not my style ~ but I wanted a larger size and couldn't find anything else) so I stripped her bare, took it all apart and then covered the body with scraps cut from an original vintage French embroidery magazine. I didn't want to photocopy the magazine as I like the flimsyness of the paper on the original and the worn texture, so I cut it up into varying sized pieces and slowly covered her in a decoupage manner, overlapping as I went until the resin base was completely covered. I then coated her with PVA glue which works just as well as any varnish and let her dry. I am sharing the stall at the fair with my Mum who specializes in 1950's costume jewellery, so I expect she will be adorned with beads and baubles along with a little bit of lace and silk. I forgot to take any 'before' photos, but here she is now...

Next for the white paint treatment was a little old wooden box with compartments that I bought on ebay for next to nothing ~ this time I used Joa's White from Farrow & Ball which is a creamy aged white. After a bit of scuffing on the edges with the sanding block and lining the little compartments with some of the same old French paper it now looks like this...

Using the same colour, I overpainted an mdf trug that I had painted red about 5 years ago! After a couple of coats and some rough treatment, I managed to get some of the old red paint showing through which I was quite pleased with ~ and it is a perfect size for displaying some small pieces of vintage fabric...

Gorgeous girl felt that she was missing out on the painting action and had to join in ~ the kitchen table was a busy little area, I just managed to stop her from painting everything green!

I found this lovely vintage Terry's chocolate box with drawers for a song with the thought in my mind of covering it with old fabric. Firstly, I had to paint it with a coat of white as the fabric I had chosen was quite thin and the dark pattern showed through.

The fabric is French c.1900 and pretty shabby ~ very faded florals, my favourite kind ~ with a few holes here and there so I knew that I couldn't really use it for much else ~ but it covered the box like a dream...

Last on the list was a peculiar little single drawer also bought on ebay that looked like an old tool box drawer ~ very dirty and odd looking, but I have a thing about miniature drawers (nothing to do with lingerie!).

I used some leftover paint from my Easter egg project in another Farrow & Ball colour called Pale Powder which has the merest hint of duck egg blue and then covered the top with another piece of 1950's French paper, I love the typography and graphics! The little vintage brass drawer knob I already had in my box of treasures just waiting for the right project.

Phew! That was my week of makeover madness ~ I think I will put the paintbrush away for a little while ~ until I can work up some energy to tackle the stack of old picture frames under the bed. ('Under my bed' works in the same way that Mary Poppins' bag does!)

Have a great weekend, until next time...

Ali x