Petite Projects II

Those of you who follow my Facebook page may have seen a cryptic yet glam photo of some new materials I'll be working with in the near future, taking this digital petit salon in yet another new and delightful 18th-century direction.

In the meanwhile, I did some more little projects over the past few weeks to glam up my walls. The first was to find another home for the big ivy plant I brought home awhile ago and have been dividing up and repotting.

I didn’t have any more pots, and I didn’t have a plant holder for the wall. What I did have was a peanut butter jar, an old picture frame, and the enthusiasm of an 18th-century mod girl.

Basically I layered scrapbook paper against alternately-painted frames to make some nice contrast. Then I took picture wire and wrapped it around the peanut butter jar, then twisted the ends together into a long pointy rope. Next I poked a hole through the scrapbook paper/picture background, stuck the wire rope through it, then unwound it enough to flatten both ends against the back of the frame in opposite directions. I dabbed a thin layer of clear glue around the wire holding up the peanut butter jar even though it felt pretty sturdy, and I taped down the flattened wire on the back of the frame to hold it in place.

Pretty crafty! If you recall from my other Petite Projects post, I used the same Rococo-style scrapbook paper for the background. This type of repurposed plant holder probably isn’t something you’d commonly find from the 18^th century, but I loved finding another purpose for that scrapbook paper, and it’s just so sweet up on my wall!

This next project was with a Rococo-style swirly resin wall piece that I’ve had my eye on for awhile at Hobby Lobby. I finally sprung for it this week when it was half-off (I and the sales assistant who helped me agreed that paying full price for anything makes one feel sad) and got to work.

This job is pretty simple. You need the basic team on your side:

• primer
• paint of your choice
• a 1-inch paintbrush, or smaller, if you are more dedicated than me
• medium-grade or course-grade sanding sponge 

Prime the piece, allow it time to dry, then paint and allow that to dry. The main challenge to painting such a swirly fanciness is that there are so many freaking crevices to get the paint into. I said I used a 1-inch brush but you could use a smaller brush if you want to paint more carefully—since I knew I would be distressing the piece after painting anyway, I wasn’t quite so concerned if I painted it perfectly.

This is why I love shabby-chic. It’s supposed to look like it’s 250 years old or whatever, so who cares if you fudged that weird corner! It’s supposed to look like George Washington wrote the Constitution on it.

Enjoy and stay tuned for new 18^th-century-themed things for spring!