I guess my desk will never by the same

I havent been here for awhile…but it wasnt that i didnt want to be!
I have been crazy BUSY…
my desk looks like this almost every day now!
Ive been painting everything!

The first two paint workshops that we had here in early May only served to inspire me more…everyone was so creative. It was fun…so i have scheduled two more workshops one on June 13 and one on June 20th. Both will run from 5:30 to 8:30 pm…

Heres a little table that started out just plain white. Its wearing a coat of Versailles with some metallic gold trim. What a beautiful color. I crackled the top and clear/dark waxed the whole thing…LOVING.
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I am awaiting a package from a new paint company…cant wait to get it to experiment. Its pretty cool and i am hoping to add it to the mix here. Stay tuned.

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Pine Cone Hill Bedding

While it was raining yesterday i worked in the Paris Boudoir…arranging the beautiful Pine Cone Hill Bedding…

I love this bedding because it is both beautiful and affordable.
It’s perfect for our Paris Boudoir here at The Whistling Elk

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It’s cold and rainy outside

I wish i still had this comfy hancock and moore sofa to curl up on today!

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Our First Paint Workshop is Scheduled

This table is finished…yesterday i mixed some Annie Sloan dark wax with mineral spirits (just a little) and brushed it all over the table top and base…rubbed most of it off, let it dry then sanded the piece all over with 600 paper, applied a thin coat of clear wax which was then buffed. Finis!

Our first Paint Workshop is going to be in May. Space is limited. The class will be held at The Whistling Elk in Chester, NJ…we have several time slots available…so call us if you would like to attend! 908-879-2425 Do you like the way it turned out?

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Gotta Love Those Good Bones

Today i started working on this round table. It has what i call “good bones” – that is architecture that sings! (to me anyway).
it was completely black with an oak grain to it. I covered the whole table with Old Oche Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. When it dries, i am going to hit it again with another coat.
I want to make sure i cover the black with a good solid coat of paint!
Tomorrow i am going to give it yet another coat…but of pure white. The Whistling Elk is turning into my own private paint workshop where it seems every day now something is being newly designed…
I just found a great ceiling medallion stencil that i am going to tailor to fit the top of this table. Ooh la la! This table is going to go in our Paris Boudoir when complete and will feel so soft and elegant that it will be unrecognizable. Can’t wait til the next step tomorrow!
Do you feel like painting yet?

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I like to live dangerously while painting

It is not unusual for me to live dangerously and just start painting on a piece at home without actually clearing it off…lucky for me that i am a neat painter!

I have owned this beautiful bookcase for many years. It is pine and was imported from Europe and just brie waxed and left in its natural state. Up for a change in my home decor I decided that i would paint the outside shell of the piece and give it a new design. The Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray paint on the wall was my inspiration. So here it is with its first coat of Annie Sloan Paris Grey. I painted the sides and the front facing edges.
After this dried, I painted Olde White on the parts that i considered trim. You cant see them in the picture but at the bottom of the bookcase there are 2 drawers…these i painted as trim also.

The piece remained like this for several days as i had to wait for another day off. But actually i could have stopped here – it was simple and pretty and looked great in the room.
Meanwhile i was rummaging in my stencil collection and found one that i could run down the front side edges…so i kept going.
I clear waxed the piece then dark waxed it, rubbed off the excess and sanded it down to distress it.

I also gilded the beaded trim and the stenciled trim on the front sides and the crown.

I thought i was done but I think i will do some trim work on the drawers…but that will have to wait for another day off from The Whistling Elk.

There is an old hole about the wood knob and i am thinking that i can paint a fabulous “lock” above the knob. This too will have to wait for another day.

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Yesterday i was on a painting rampage

While i worked on painting the little stool I was also painting on some small boxes…then as i had the Annie Sloan paints open i decided to experiment with the inside of my pantry closet. I am working up to painting all my kitchen cabinets but that will have to wait for another day off from The Whistling Elk.

On the back and side walls of the closet i used provence and then on the shelves used duck egg. Love the subtle contrast! (I think my kitchen chandelier is throwing an interesting pattern on the shelves for a little play on light and shadows.)
I only did one section because i only had a very little Provence…but i will have to get more because i love the way it turned out. The room is Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray so these two colors work wonderfully well as an accent.

I still have plenty of the duck egg so i guess i will finish this project after i go shopping for more paint. Meanwhile i was also working on my old pine bookcase. More pix on that later!

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Little Miss Muffet didnt have as cute a tuffet…

This little footstool was feeling very dreary in its old finish of rust/grey…
So i took it home yesterday and gave it a coat of paint. I waxed it with a little clear wax and let it sit overnight.
This morning i threw it in the car, drove it back to The Whistling Elk where i finished it off by sanding for a distressed look and gilding it around the top edges with a little of the Annie Sloan kings gold wax which i also rubbed into the top then dry brushed the legs…you can never have too much gold!
It’s just too pretty now. I love the way it looks sitting on the oriental carpet.

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Paint is part of accessorizing a bookcase

This wall mounted bookcase is in my guest bedroom. It’s from Elden Collections. I have always loved the architectual feeling it brought to the room. Since i just finished painting the room Ben Moore Adagio i decided to give the bookcase a facelift. Since the room is going in a shabby chic direction i went with Decorator’s White advance semi gloss. This is a fairly new trim paint from ben moore that is water base but it paints on like oil base…love it and the finished product!

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Taking Freight in the Pouring Rain

I have been in the new shop location now for one month and yesterday i received my first large freight order…in the pouring rain with nowhere to conveniently take delivery. I must say you can get pretty innovative when you have too. But i do miss the basement at my old location. Sigh…

The arched mirror above is one of the large mirrors that came yesterday…its very shabby chic and looks great in the Paris Boudoir.

This one i had stashed away but since we sold a piece of art…it got a chance to hang on the wall. What a crime that i didnt hang it sooner…

Here’s another one that is now unpacked and leaning on top of a beautiful habersham console. It’s one of my favorite mirrors.

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