Back to Creating!

I have been so busy with a couple of customers' projects that I have not had much time to just create and list new items on my site. I was so excited to have an order of 40 of my hand painted Easter eggs. A very nice customer was giving them out as favors at her anniversary party. I am also working on a bedroom redo for an 11 year old girl. I will post pics when it is all complete. I love projects like those. But I am happy to get back to creating! I just finished this floral piece which I will list on my site very soon! Hydrangeas and Roses - my favorite!

Dining Room Makeover

Well, I haven't posted on my blog as often as I would like, but I am working on that! I have been pretty busy lately working on projects both for my business ( I will talk about those in my next post) and at home. Our latest project was and still is the dining room. We called it the extreme dining room makeover as we started the project just weeks before Christmas. Yes, we are crazy. At that time the room was full of toys. Here are some before shots (after we emptied the toys).

So, we took the wallpaper and mirrors down and painted a deep red wine color ( Cottage Red from Benjamin Moore) It is very dark, but I do love it. We painted the trim and bottom half in Benjamin Moore's Linen White. We do all of the trim in the house this color. It is creamier than a bright white and I love the contrast. My husband is still going to add boxes with moulding below the chair rail. I want the finished room not to be very formal but more of a romantic cottage style. This might be a challenge with the color we chose. We still need to find some furniture for this room. A friend gave us the dining room table and chairs. They are in great shape, I just need to refinish the top and I want to paint the chairs. I was thinking about painting roses on the backs. That will be a project for the summer. We also need to find a hutch for the big wall and a sideboard. I will probably look for something that we can paint to match the table and chairs. And then the accessories! I have already picked up a mirror that I just loved! The curtains I reused from our previous home and the hardware is from the Simply Shabby line at Target. I will post more pics as we go! Let me know what you think so far!

New Spring Products

As you know, I don't make everything that I sell on my site. If I did - I would not have much to sell, because I just can't keep up! So I do order some beautiful products and they have started to arrive. I just listed some on my site today. And the photos show just a few examples. The floral pieces I create myself. And I have lots more in the works. So check back often. They don't stay in stock for long! I am also making some more eggs for Easter- they are just so much fun!

Glittery Easter Eggs

I just wanted to share these new eggs I am working on. I will be adding them to my site this week. I took paper mache eggs and hand painted them in pinks, blues and whites with pink roses. Then I covered them in German glass glitter. I think the berry rings make the cutest little display stands. It is so cold today - I think I am ready for Spring!

Painted Tiles

It just got really cold here in NY and I already can't wait for Spring. I just painted these new tiles -( the Lavender one is for a customer ) and it really got me in the spring mood! I was in heaven when I was creating these as painting roses is my favorite thing to do. It is just so relaxing. I set up my little one with her paints, turn on Il Divo and I just seem to forget about everything during this time. I am adding some of these to my site over the weekend. (Click on Il Divo for a link to their site and listen to their music - I think they're great!) Let me know what you think!

Always Kiss Me Goodnight

I painted this piece as a Christmas gift for my oldest. She could never go to sleep unless my husband and I kissed her goodnight when she was in bed under her blankets. She has kind of grown out of that stage but I really don't want it to end! So to remember those times I gave her this sign and hung it over her bed. I am happy with the way it turned out so I will probably paint some more for my website.

Holiday Wishes

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! See you in 2007!

New Hand Painted Decorations

Here is a little sneak peak of some new pieces I have been painting over the last couple of days. I will be listing these on my site tonight under Painted Pieces and Christmas.

Getting Ready for Christmas!

It is only November 5th and I already put one of my Christmas trees up this weekend. I do think it is a little early - but this tree is in my home showroom, where I display and sell all of my products in. I decorated this one - (and still have more ornaments to add) in pinks, creams, gold and I added some chocolate brown roses, I love the combination. I like to use silk flowers in my tree to give it that romantic look. I also spray some with gold glitter for added sparkle! I have also added some ornaments for sale to my website under Holiday. I am working on some hand painted and handmade ornaments which will be added soon!

Little Girl Bed

Here is the bed we completed for our daughter's room. It started out as an unfinished piece. We added the floral appliques from www.shabbysuite.com. The paint color we used is a perfect shade of light pink recommended by an artist from Make Mine Pink. You can find her article and paint formula on www.makeminepink.com. Just click on Romantic Decorating and the Little Pink Secrets article found in the Archives. I would also like to point out the use of the wall scroll and brackets over the bed - great for draping fabric. You will find the scroll and more like these on www.MyHydrangeaHome.com , very soon!

Mirror Redo

Here is a before and after project of a mirror someone was getting rid of (so it was free!). I painted it a pale pink after adding floral appliques. I distressed the raised areas of the appliques a little with sandpaper and then finished off the piece with a clear coat for protection. It now sits over my daughter's dresser. I also finished the bed to match. You can find appliques in so many shapes and sizes at www.shabbysuite.com.

Window Treatment

One place I always look for window treatments when I am shopping is the women's accessories department. Women's scarves make great swags or valances for your windows. This is one I did in my daughter's room, the pink scarf was only $8 and I just love the ruffled edge. The pink rose tassels make great tiebacks. I will have these up on my website shortly.

French Doors

We have a few large doorways in our house leading to the living and dining rooms. My husband recently installed french doors and decorative molding in all three of those doorways. I found these great knobs for them in Manhattan at Anthropologie. Their web address is www.anthropologie.com. They have great furniture, accessories, hardware and even clothing.What I love the most is there store displays and you can get some really cool stuff on sale!

Hallway Light Redo

I have this light fixture in my hallway which I would love to replace, but as a temporary fix I spray painted it white and antiqued it with a little glaze I made with glazing medium and raw umber acrylic paint. I also added some pink glass beaded chain to the ceiling plate and hung some large crystal drops and crystal chain to the bottom of the fixture. I get so many complements on this light, I think I can live with it for a while now.