My Owl Gets a Makeover Inspired By Design Trends And Gets A Name Inspired By Friends

Yesterday I introduced you to this ugly, but cherished ceramic owl from my childhood in the blog post Following My Muse, Reminiscing of Times Gone By And A Owl That Needs A Name.  If you haven't read that post, I suggest you scroll back and read it first because it heavily informs this reveal.  For those of you who are too lazy don't feel like doing that right now, the short of it...I glazed this owl back during a summer when I was 12.  It was packed away in a box that I opened this past Fall.  I have an owl collection that most of my followers are aware of and probably sick of hearing about.  I always give the owls I find at yard sales and thrift shops a white makeover and they are perched in neat places around my house.  But, due to the history of this owl, I wanted to do something different. There.  You are caught up. Well, kinda.

So here is how it looked when I started.

-Before-

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I woke up a few days ago, was pretending to still be sleeping and thinking about the day ahead.  I wake up before the sun comes up often. My mind is rested and I sometimes get my most creative ideas in the still of the morning.  I was thinking about the 2012 Design Trends and which ones I thought spoke to my design styles.  One big trend of 2011, but predicted to gain even more of a prevalence is Metallic elements.  I can work with that one and quite frankly could use a little more of it in my decor.  But how, I thought?



This was my Eureka moment.  The one I talked about yesterday.  My owl would be the first entry into adding a few metallic accents to my home decor.  I thought about faux Mercury Glass, like the Mercury Glass Ornaments that I made back in December.  But, knowing that the owl was not glass, stopped that idea.  But how?  Well, I just decided to go for it.  Grab some stuff and see what happens...Let my Muse take over...  Here is what happened.

I rummaged through my paint supplies and decided to start with Rustoleum's Silver Metallic Spray Paint.

My owl is already looking better after two light coats of spray paint waiting 30 minutes in between. At this point, I decided that I didn't like the brightness of the surface.  I don't know if you can tell from the image, but this owl was screaming with brilliance!   I knew the piece needed some depth. I wanted to bring out the details that were lost and tone down the brightness of the surface.  What better way than with a stain or wash.

I let the paint set up over night.  I wanted to make sure that it had somewhat cured on the ceramic surface.  It also gave me some time to figure out what product I wanted to use next.  I considered watered down acrylic paint, but in the end settled on MinWax Stain in Dark Walnut.  I know...a little unorthodox, but hey, I was following my Muse!  (It's easier to blame someone else if things don't work out!)


I rubbed the full strength stain on with a soft cloth, let it set up for a few minutes and buffed it back up off the surface.

The stain remained in the crevices as I rubbed adding the depth and detail that I was wanting to achieve.  I was also pleased that the stain had help tone down the brilliance of the silver paint.  It created a nice patina on the piece.

I had planned to add a third step, but was so excited about the results, I stopped.  Sometimes, ya just gotta know when not to overwork something.  In this instance, that applied.  But, I had one more important issue to solve.  What to name this sweet creature...

Many of you suggested that I pick a name that related to the cabin where I spent my childhood summers.  A few thought a town name might be appropriate. It got me thinking.  The nearest town, and the phone book that we were listed in could be a great name, but it sounded female.  All my owls are 'hims.'  So I thought, "Why do my owls always have to be male?  What is up with that dynamic?"  If you take a look at this owl, it  looks super majestic, all knowing and protective.  So why not a she?  Why not, right?!!   So...introducing...  

Sylva 

By the way...  The irony of the name Sylva and the silver surface was not lost on me.

This is my favorite makeover of the year! Well, actually there have only been two, so I guess Sylva didn't have much competition.  My son is upset that I re-surfaced Sylva.  He said that he like the ugly owl.  Nice kid I got here.  Might need to get his eye re-checked.  (wink)

I wanted to thank everyone who gave me ideas for names.  I also want to say Thank You to Cassie at Primitive and Proper for her great photo holder idea made out of glass insulators.  I placed one of my favorite images of myself, my mother and my younger brother standing near the cabin with blooming dogwood trees in background.  My mom loved it when they bloomed.    Oh! and...Rosemary?!  Yes, those are the little bottles with antique keys that I bought from your Villabarnes Etsy Store!   Glad you noticed.  

The change is dramatic.  Just look at this before and after collage...

Perched alone without her ugly former self next to her.....

-The End-

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Goodwill Wreath Upcycled Using Recycled Shirt Tails and Scrap Fabrics

Have you been to your local thrift store in the last few weeks?  Seems like everyone, while packing away their holiday decorations, delivered a box of unwanted and tired wreaths and such.  I found this disgusting, dusty and overall unloved wreath and scooped it up for 50 cents!

The ribbons are so old, they look dark orange instead of red and that white stuff is so dusty, dull and ...let me be honest, sticky. Ewe.  So why buy this wreath?  Well, it is a red grapevine wreath under all that junk and I saw potential for something neat for Valentines Day.  

So today, I got busy and ripped all that trash off the wreath, saving the rusted out bells in my jar of rusty, crusty junk.  Might use them on a project someday.

After removing everything and using pliers to get the excess old glue off the wreath, I gave it a quick wash.  I then rummaged around in my supplies pulling out fabrics and such that I might want to use.  I knew that I was probably going in a Valentines Day theme direction, so I chose a lot of reds.

In the image above is a dress shirt that my hubby was getting rid of and I took it for my fabric supplies.  After all, there wasn't anything wrong with the red plaid fabric on the shirt and knew it would come in handy someday.  You can also see in the image the fabric sample books that I got for free from a friend of mine who works as a designer.   I sorted through and pulled out shades that I thought might work.


TIP:  If you know an interior designer who works with a large firm get yourself in the loop.  They get rid of their fabric sample books every so often.  Guess where they go?  The trash.  Yep, that is right.  She downloaded an unbelievable amount of amazing sample books to little ole me.  The fabrics are amazing. Many of them are high end samples in all sorts of blends, including velvets, tapestries, cottons and tweads.  You have to have a place to store them.  I made the room. They are stacked in my garage in a way I can access them as I want.

So, I gathered up all my supplies, including scissors and hot glue with my box of spare beads as well.  I first tried out wrapping strips of burlap, but didn't like the look I was getting.  I decided to use my hubby's shirt and I ripped strips out of the shirt front.

 I then took the strips and wound them around the wreath allowing some of the red grapevine to show through.  Here is what it looked like...

I then got out the fabric sample books and sorted though the selection.  I decided to use a combination of velvets, plaids and tapestries to form little rosettes in the same fashion that I made them for my Upcycled Sweater Wine Bottle Bags that I highlighted on the fifth day of my 25 Days Series last month.  

Here is the wreath after I made 6 rosettes using deep red, champagne pink and eggplant purple velvet scraps along with a red and white plaid fabric , a woven mauve fabric and  the tapestry fabric from the previous image. 

I used hot glue to affix the rosettes to a base piece of fabric and to affix them to the wreath.  If you look, I also worked in a few spare beads and pearls into the center of the flowers for a little extra interest.  I finished off the top with a bow made from the dress shirt materials.  I placed the bow slightly off center to counter balance the visual weight of the rosettes.

Here are the results...

I am super happy with the results.  This sweetheart of a wreath didn't take a ton of time and can be used well beyond Valentines because my home decor allows for a little something red here or there. 

Have you taken a trip to your local thrift shop?  Make sure you take a spin around the areas that old holiday decor could be offered.  You'd be surprised, if you keep an open eye and mind what you might find! 

-The End-
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Wintry Decor On My Pine Table for Blahuary

If you are anything like me, January can be Blahuary.  The holidays are over and the festive decorations are pack away.  The weather outside isn't the cheeriest.   In many places, it's downright cold and miserable.  But, ya can't give in.  Ya gotta get up and take the best part of this month and embrace it.   You gotta jazz things up a bit!

My sister and I started an tradition of thinking ahead for January.  I try to give her a Christmas gift that is home decor related, but is suited for after the holidays.  I gave her this neat silver and white throw pillow from Pier One.  She put it on her bed.  We both try to make an effort to pick up a little something new just so we have a few fresh accents to bring out and spruce things up a bit.  It keeps the winter blues away.  

 

This year my friend Danielle, whom I like to call Dani, gave me this snowy owl.  She knows how much I love owls and of course I loved it!  It hung near a lamp in my living room for most of the holidays, but I don't consider it a "holiday exclusive" item.  I knew I had bigger and better plans for him.  So when the holidays ended, I got to work.  Dani's gift has a second life to live.

You might remember my blog post about the Homemade Mercury Glass Ornaments.  If you miss it and want to see how I created them using mirror paint, click HERE.  I place the completed balls into a primitive dough bowl that I have with a few other natural elements like pine cones and fresh holiday greens.













Now that the holidays are over, I removed the greens and added a few little spheres from a White and Silver Sphere Mix I bought after Christmas from Pier One for a song.  I placed my little Snowy Owl into the mix. 

I love the little, crinkled wire balls.

I wanted to add a simple white table runner, but since we are 'recovering' from the holiday spending spree, I decided to make do with what I already had.  Remember the blog post from my 25 Days Series showing how to make Festive, Funky Doily Christmas Trees?  Well, if you recall, I bought a huge supply of assorted doilies from a yard sale for about 8 bucks.  Having plenty leftover from the project,  I got them out and fashioned a 'table runner' of sorts using varying sizes of doilies to create it.

I took bright white candles and placed them on two Dollar Store candle stick holders that I sprayed down with leftover Valspars Metallic Silver Spray Paint from the Metallic Ornament Wreath that got so much attention last month.  

Ugly, with a capital U.

Ooh la la!

Simple, clean and quick.  I have something fresh for my Pine Table without spending a dime. 

Is this the greatest table scape I have ever created? Absolutely not.  But I don't believe that every single thing I do has to be over the top and neither should you.  After all, we are all recovering from the holidays. 

Do you have a few little 'somethings' leftover from the holidays that could be used to create wintry jazzy pizazz on your table, mantel or sideboard? You don't have to completely leave behind the sparkle and glamour of the holidays!  You certainly don't want to leave it all bare and blah either.  After all, there is no reason to have a Blahuary when you can have Jazzuary!  So much more fun that way...

-The End-
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