Shabby Chic - Old, Older & New

I love my new, little old table.  The look is perfect in my living room for now and the color picks up the slightly aqua blue in some of my paintings.  Eventually, the table will live in my studio...if I ever get that finished.

The table started out like this, a mess of a find at a yard sale that I got for only $3.  Remembering that I had one 18"x18" unpolished marble tile, I immediately measured the top and was excited that it fit - almost.  As you can see, I needed to trim the ends of the table top along with those little "wing" thingys that stuck out from the legs.  No idea shat they were for.  A good washing and a little sanding and it was ready for paint.  I started with a couple coats of white and let them dry well before adding a coat of the blue.  After the blue dried, I began sanding lightly with a coarse paper.  For the most part, I only wanted the white to come through.  Thought in a few places, I sanded more vigorously to bring out some of the underlying brown.  It ended up looking legitimately old and well worn while the seamless marble top gave it a clean, crisp look.

I was inspired to make this rustic, twiggy candle holder by something I saw on a Pinterest board.  I thought it would be a breeze and if I had used hot glue, it might have been.  But I don't like all the glue strings so I went with my old standby, E-6000.  Because it doesn't dry on contact, it took a little longer and the whole project was not as easy as I thought I would be.  Still, I'd do it again because I love the look.  It reminds me of a campfire with the light flickering inside.  Just a fun, rainy day project and the cost was $0.

This is another Pinterest inspired adventure.  In case you don't recognize the location, it's the toilet tank (just under the lid) and I thought my grand kids would get a kick out of the little critter when they visit in a few weeks.  The one on Pinterest is actually a decal by Decal Village that you can order from the blog "Rare Bird Finds".  Click HERE to link.  I was in too much of a hurry to wait for shipping and only want the little critter in place for a few weeks so I made my own with a strip of electrical tape and a used a white paint pen for the eyes and a black one for the hands and pupils.  It only took a few minutes and it makes me smile every time I enter the room.