The Many Lifes of a Room Divider Screen

Hi All!

I thought I would tell you about my room divider/screen...

Many moons ago, while we were stilling living in South Africa , I started making these..

This one had bamboo sticks glued to the bottom part.

I had a friend of my husband make  the panels, and I did the rest. Was just decoupage with gift wrapping paper and some paint and embellishments.

These are loose  panels of two different, but similar screens.



I sold them at craft markets and In-house boutiques.

But, after a few years, now living in USA, I got tired of mine, and had to change it, of course. So, I turned it around and decorated the back. Do you remember the stunning embossed wallpaper I used on this ?

Well, I originally got it to use on the screen. I cut the wallpaper in squares to make it look like tin ceiling tiles, painted it silver and distressed with brown artist's  paint. 

This is what it looked like then....

When I discovered the rust paint I talked about in my previous post, I just had to do it on this piece, too.

You can see it has gotten some nicks and wear and tear since...

By now it had been promoted to headboard in my bedroom....

Ugh. The color of my comforter is really nicer than it looks in this picture.

Guess what these adorable kiddos are doing....

We eventually got a real bedroom set, and now the screen has been taken apart, and two of the panels are used as wall art on either side of my bedroom's back wall.

This is the best I could do to show you. There it is to the far left of the pic. The other one is in the exact same spot on the right side of the room, next to that window.

Most of the times I like symmetry.

O, and FYI...that is Wonderhusband's side of the bed with the computer wires peeking out from under the bed. I hope he is embarrassed.....NOT!

So....would you say I have had my money's worth on this screen? Or can we reinvent it a few more times?

Have a great one!

love,

Suzanne




Linking up to:

Frugalicious Friday

Rust Effects

Er...H..hello there, Friends

My husband has a saying, "You smile like a dog who had just pooped in the bedroom."

Well, thats me today...guilty smile.

I am so guilty of neglecting all my faithful followers and readers. So,so sorry people. What can I say? This is not a Dear Abby corner, so I will stick with: Please forgive me and I hope I can get back to doing and blogging about it regularly again.

Today I want to show you some cool rust effects. I am not talking about the little kit of paint we buy at the craft store and then use normal rust colored paint to make something look rusty.

This stuff is the real deal.

It is made by Modern Masters and is called Reactive Metallic Paints .(Feel free to let them know I am advertising for them for free).


These paints are water based and contain real metal particles. They will tarnish naturally over time and when exposed to the elements.
But, if you are impatient like me, you can get the activator solution and apply it over the wet paint, and have the effect within 20 to 30 minutes.
The activator will react with the real metal particles in the paints, thus speeding up the oxidation process.

So, this is what  I did with it....

Don't know what you call those "indent" thingies, but I rusted mine.  :)

The base paint is black, with real iron particles in. Then, if you apply the activator over it, the iron particles start to rust. I wanted the effect of water that leaked and caused rust, so I applied the activator so that it ran down .The activator is runny, like water, so if you don't want this effect, you can use a sponge to apply it.

You get a protective coat to apply over the oxidized metal finish, minimizing any further corrosion, and  to create a weather resistant barrier, but I found that it darkened the color, and made it look less natural, so I'm taking my chances.

The more common use for it is on outdoor plant containers and ornaments, like this:

 I got this generic plant container at a garage sale for two dollars, and transformed it into something I love.

Again, I want it to go on rusting and tarnishing over time, so I did not put a top coat on.  

But then, of course, I was on a roll and could not stop myself... I just had to paint this wrought iron table's base , too. 

This is outside by the BBQ, so it, too, will tarnish more and more over time. Untill I get tired of it and paint over it, of course.

Well, that's it for now!

Love,

Linking up with

 

1, 2, 3 Makeover

Hi there, fellow citizens of Blog land!

Ssshhh! Listen! Do you hear that?...........    You don't hear anything?

I know! Isn't it wonderful?!!

I'M ALONE AT HOME! ALL ALONE...JUST ME...NO-ONE ELSE HERE...

Must be the first time in, oh, forever. So quiet, and peaceful....

What shall I do with all this alone time? Lets see: Blog, read, take a nice, long bath, nap,

or..all of the above..Hmmmmm.....

I'll start by telling you about this sweet little bedside table.........

My friend's daughter was moving into her own place, and needed a bedside table. This little red number would have caught my eye anyways, she is so cute in red..

Just so happens I saw her only a couple hours after I heard that Soi would need a few pieces of furniture.

I liked her just the way she was, but Soi wanted her black, and she had some damage that needed patching up.

 This is her after two coats of mat black spray paint. Now "she" looks more like a "he" to me..

 I liked the hardware, and just  sprayed with Oil Rubbed Bronze to freshen up the look.

 Soi loves her little bedside table, and it cost me $3.oo for the table, plus maybe $7.00 in paint.

$10.00 for a sweet, brand new looking bedside table.

Not bad, hey?

 Now for  long, hot bath....
See Ya!

                                        

....aaaand we have a WINNER!!!!!

Hello and happy Friday, Everyone!

As promised, we drew the winner of my giveaway today. By "we" I mean my baby girl and I.

I am not savvy enough to know even where to find that randon number thingy...not to mention taking a snapshot of my screen to show it.

So, we did it old school. I wrote down your name for every comment you made , put all the pieces of paper in a bucket, and had Baby Girl draw a name...

....and here's the winner...

    PAM, from Our Adventures in Home Improvement  !!! Congratulations, Pam! You will receive an e-mail soon, letting you know how to claim your prize.
I hope you let us know what you bought.

To all who entered...better luck next time. It was hard having to draw just one winner. I wish I could give each of you a prize...

I have some projects in the making...OK, maybe not making, still in the planning phase, but as soon as I feel like myself again, I am sharing them with y'all.

Have a fun weekend!