She’s pretty now, but she didn’t start off that way. Few things in this house have stayed the same, but this built-in somehow survived the remodeling. Now there is a wall in front of her that you can see in this first picture. At one point I painted the cabinet black, that was okay for awhile, but too much black eventually starts sucking joy out of a room (at least for me). Once the new wall went in, the space got smaller, and the color needed to be lighter. 
A few things needed to happen. Kev built me 3 bigs doors that matched the 4 existing ones at the bottom. I applied a raised stencil on the bottom doors. I do not have this process documented in pictures, but you can click here to see how I have stenciled other things in the house. The stencil pattern is from Melanie Royals (of course), but I do not think it is available anymore (I looked). However, there are hundreds of other ones that would be great choices for a similar project, click here to visit her site. 
Because the cabinet was old and beat up in some areas, I used a tissue paper technique over the entire surface. Click here to view a video on how to tissue paper a surface. The technique and process is what I am recommending from this video, not necessarily the products. I did not use any of the products on this video. Tissue paper is a great way to add texture to a surface, give it some age, and also hide imperfections. This technique is not desirable for every surface. I don’t care for it on walls (though the attached video demonstration is of a wall) and I wouldn’t recommend it for you grandmother’s antique mahogany chest she left you in her will. However, if you have a piece of furniture in your house that is mostly fake wood and has a laminate countertop from the 70′s on top of it…then you my friend, may have the perfect piece of furniture for a tissue paper technique. 
As I said before, my surface was first painted black and I applied the tissue paper at this step. Over top of that, I painted 50/50 Paris Grey & Pure White chalk paint by Annie Sloan. I could have used Annie Sloan’s wax to seal this, but I don’t always love the surface with a wax topcoat, so I used a water-based sealer instead. Click here to view what I used.
Now she is frenchy and soft and blue and I like her much more. I’m not opposed to painting her again though if I don’t like the color later on, it’s just paint. In other news: we took our kids to Washington DC last week for Spiring Break. My brother-in-law shares a zip code with President Obama, so we lived the city life for a few days, and saw the sights. A few reflections: if you are a mother of small children and you live in a city that requires no personal vehicle and you have to either walk everywhere or get on the Metro where no one smiles…please email me or comment below so that I can personally respond and tell you how much I admire you. Also, the Cherry Blossom festival starts mid-March and ends mid-April. Not sure why, we did not see one cherry blossom. We did not take jackets and we froze the whole time. Also, most of our knowledge of American history and/or the Smithsonian Museum comes from movies. My kids referenced Night of the Museum 2 about 45 times, and I’m pretty sure at one point the words came out of my mouth, “I think that’s where the aliens landed in Independence Day.” American History is officially on deck for next year in 5th grade. Lastly, if you have a four year old, don’t take him.
My Painted Cabinet: Tissue Paper Technique
A Pop of Blue
This mirror’s previous boring color was black. I have owned it for many years and it was time for a new look. I almost painted it several times in the past, but could never settle on a color, so the high gloss black remained for a long time. But then I saw this mirror:
(photo credit: Veranda Magazine)
Hello perfect shade of blue with an elegant gold accent! I pulled out my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, mixed a few colors together, and hung a great “new” mirror over my grandmother’s sideboard the next day.
Here were my steps:
1. Mix 2/3 Provence chalk paint with 1/3 Duck Egg Blue chalk paint. Paint over entire frame of mirror.
2. I applied Antique Gold Rub N’ Buff (available at Michaels) to the interior detailing of the mirror.
3. Tint Annie Sloan Clear Wax with a very small amount of Paris Grey Chalk Paint, and apply the tinted wax over the entire frame of the mirror. The purpose of the tinted wax is to give another layer of depth, break up the boldness of the underlying color, and “age” the piece a little.
It’s a great look, and the pop of color makes me smile when I walk through the room.
Now onto other details…please notice the monogrammed candle. I have been playing with a new font. You can get my tutorial for how to make your own monogrammed candles over a Life in Grace. It’s an oldie but goodie. The new font I have been using is called “Barocca Monogram”. I love how formal it is.
And don’t forget, the tutorial is not just for monograms. There are plenty of great words you can use too. I love my “Thankful” candle that was clearly burned a lot over the past weekend; so now I’m moving onto to Christmas. ”Joy” may be what I paint next. Oh the possibilities.
Homeschooling Room Progress: the floors
There are not enough hours in the day. You feel this way too, right? My girlfriends and I have mastered communicating through a car window while busily buckling children into car-seats. We catch up with one another in these 2 minute driveway conversations as quickly as we can, as we know it will likely be the only time we have to speak throughout the day. I recently had one of the most philosophical and deep of conversations with one of my friends in her driveway, while my girls hung out of the car sunroof, and all the other little ones did figure eights around us on scooters. I dare say we packed in more theology in 3 minutes than any great scholar could have. Our days are fast, and my days at home teaching the girls are among the fastest days I have ever experienced. We get to 4:00 in the afternoon and I wonder where the day sprinted off to. I feel the aftermaths of its speed though, and I’m left tired and in a fog at the end of each days’ race. We haven’t yet mastered pacing ourselves, but it’s coming.
Instruction time is still spent somewhere in the kitchen or screened porch, but progress is happening upstairs in the homeschooling room. My floors are being installed and we are getting a little closer to hanging a Laduree sign on the door and serving macarons on the third floor. For real, it’s happening.
These floors are a great, durable product for this space. I will tell you more about them when the room is done.
And the loft, oh the loft. It is getting the same flooring as the homeschooling room. Now can we please get a railing up there. Please.
Progress is a great thing, more to come soon.
Royal Design Studio Stencil Giveaway Day!
How many times have you heard me talk about stencils on this blog? Probably too many, I know. I love the way they can change a room, or even a piece of furniture, with very little effort and (no offense intended) skill. Stencils are easy, therefore I love them, and maybe you should too if you have a project you have been wanting to start. Today at Playing Sublimely, Royal Designs is giving away a stencil of $50 or less. Any stencil, your choice. If you are interested in trying one of these stencils out, all you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me which stencil you would use and what your project would be if you won. Maybe you have a wall you want to spice up a little, or maybe you have a piece of furniture you would like to makeover. Click on over to Royal Designs and browse the possibilities, then come back and tell me your choice.
Here are a few of the makeovers I have created with Royal Design’s stencils:
Here are a few of my favorite projects from Royal Designs:
And here is my latest stencil project (still in process):
My stencil choice for this room was Florentine Damask, you can see and purchase the stencil by clicking here. It’s lovely and elegant and is perfect in this sitting room.
So tell me…which one would you choose? This giveaway will stay open until Tuesday night at midnight; at which point I will put every ones name in a hat, wake up Thomas and have him draw out a name. Perhaps I can find a more legit way to randomly choose a winner. In the meantime, check out Royal Designs website and pick a stencil!
