America the Beautiful Mirror

It is Memorial Day weekend.  Schools are dismissing for the summer, grills are being fired up, trips are being planned, and everyone is gearing up for outdoor fun. We must remember, however, that the basis for this holiday is to honor all those who have served to protect our country and our freedoms.  We must take a quiet moment to reflect upon the sacrifices individuals and families have made and thank them.

(Please forgive me if I hung the flag the wrong way. I am never sure when I hang it down which side the stars should be.)

I had planned to do several projects with an Americana theme, but the heat was oppressive today so I did not finish as much as I wanted.  I started early this morning with the primitive mirror I bought at Habitat two weeks ago.  (Don't worry - I am still junk sober and only shopping in my house!)

I saw potential in this mirror.  The glass itself is antique -thick and wavy.  I think someone built a frame for it and painted it white.  During its next makeover, it was sanded and corner supports were added.  After this, some kind soul reinforced the back with a sturdy piece of plywood.  This addition was fairly recent because the plywood looked brand new.  Evidently the previous owner was not pleased with the result and the mirror was donated to Habitat.

(Lucky, lucky me!  Happy dance, please!)

First I used craft acrylic paint to paint the back.  This was the only paint that could stand the heat.  I used a foam brush and kept dipping it into water to keep the paint flowing across the board.  I used a bright red mixed with a barn red.  I know this was not necessary, but I like the backs of things to be finished in some way.

Next I applied a medium blue.  I mixed paint to water about two to one.  I wanted the paint to soak into the wood and not rest on the top.  I painted with a brush to get into the crevices around the joints.

Of course the reason I bought the mirror was the chippy white paint on the frame so I did not want to lose the texture of the old paint.

Here I have applied the blue over the white.

Immediately after painting. I rubbed with a rough, cheap paper towel dampened with water over the area to reveal the white paint.  I was moving fast because of the heat.  I could have used a glaze medium or an extender, but chose not to.

Water is always the cheapest option!

Next I added AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL - LONG MAY SHE LIVE around three sides in red.

I just free-handed the letters - I wanted that distressed, primitive look.

I stood the mirror up to see what else needed to be done.

Scout was busy trying to find the puppy in the mirror.  He insisted on looking behind it.

Willie had no interest.  He was off chasing lizards!

I decided it lacked something.  Then I thought of those gold stars bought on my low country crawl.

Not only were they gold, but glitter had been added. They were the little stars made from grapevine.  

I placed them on my ever-present, ever-helpful window screen and sprayed them white.  Yes, I forgot it was ninety degrees and humid.

 

Luckily the screen is light-weight so I ran around the yard looking for the coolest place out of the sun.  

I am sure my neighbor thought I was crazy! (I am almost positive I heard her tell someone that on her phone!)

It took about two hours, but they finally were dry enough to bring in the house.

I wired five stars - just an arbitrary number - no real significance.  Next I wrapped the ends of the wire around tacks and nailed them down the side of the mirror.

Here it is - a red, white, and blue primitive mirror ready to celebrate Memorial Day.

I will have to move the mirror to another place away from the pool.  Seeing yourself in a wet bathing suit is too much of a shock!

I hope your weekend is a safe and happy one.

I appreciate you visiting and taking the time to read my post.  If you have time leave a comment.

See y'all!


 

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Yellow Fellow - Bookshelf Beau

 This is the story of Yellow Fellow, the Bookshelf Beau.  Remember I had left him in the back of my Blazer with Miss Star Dust, the bed that could, for several days.  They snuggled and got quite acquainted with each other until I pulled them apart to paint them.  Miss Star Dust  became a lovely summer sky color after distressing.  As for her beau Yellow Fellow, well...

Here is his before picture.

And to the right is his after picture!

It does not appear I did anything with him and I will tell you why.

After a good washing,  I noticed that under the bright yellow coat of paint was a lavender paint.  Now I like the look of yellow and lavender together - you can just look around my yard and tell that.  Maybe, just maybe, I could use a finish grit sandpaper and take just some of the yellow away and leave some lavender peeking through.  Those of you who do this, know sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail.  

A TOTAL SUCCESS!

After sanding with the palm sander, the lavender came through with little difficulty.  When doing this, always think of where a piece of furniture would wear.  I try to think of places on the piece that people would touch or handle a lot.

I heavily distressed around the front of the bookshelf where things would be slid in and out.  Also, in the middle of the top where something would be placed.  Down the sides I chose to think of it rubbing against another piece of furniture.

You do not want to end up with just random scratches here or there.  The piece will not look naturally distressed.

Why did I buy Yellow Fellow?

 I have a weird attraction to furniture carrying the unmistakable scars of mouse and rat gnawing.  Don't know why because I do not care for vermin, but I think the little holes add a certain distressful air to the furniture.

Yellow Fellow had a mouse-sized bite on the top corner.  There must have been something good in the bookshelf, but I had to wonder why didn't the mouse just run around to the front?

Now I know whoever buys Yellow Fellow will most likely repaint him and fix this hole, but it will really be there under the repair, won't it?  I think he is good at keeping secrets.  I still don't know what he and Miss Star Dust were up to in the back of the truck!

Here Yellow Fellow sits happily next to Miss Star Dust (you can just see a peek of her on the left.) carrying quite a load of items for sell.  I know those of you who do sell in antique malls are appalled at the condition of this booth.  Actually, except for pushing Yellow Fellow back some for his picture, I had just finished cleaning and straightening.  I like my booth to have that "treasures in the attic" feel. I encourage my customers to dig all they want.

After seeing these pics, I've gotten sort of attached to Yellow Fellow.  Maybe Miss Star Dust did find his hidden charms!

This photo has nothing to do with the rest of this post, but I had to show you these sweet little silverware pouches.  Some wonderfully talented person took ordinary white rolled silverware pouches and embroidered linen covers to sew to them. I had to display them in a box with pink tissue paper and pink French seam binding ribbon.

In other business, the debate continues about whether those little wheels on furniture are casters or castors.  I looked it up in a real live paper dictionary to discover both are correct.  "Caster" is the preferred spelling and "castor" is the acceptable spelling. So, guess what, we were ALL right!

Come back to sit and browse again.  I'll be here!

See y'all!

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